Ships are stupid, you decide. Far better to be somewhere where you can be sure of finding more things. You set the coordinates, and it is not long before you and Rachel have reached the planet and touched down.
You are never sure what to expect from a planet when you land in it, but the planet that you're standing on certainly surprises. Instead of a city, you are standing in a barren wasteland of rubble. There was a city, perhaps, but it has all been destroyed. You look around, distressed, then leave the craft.
Suddenly, a beautiful, well-formed blonde woman in a small dress is standing in front of the two of you. "Identify yourselves," she says, in a voice that is astonishingly soft and sweet for the nature of the words being spoken.
"We're travelers," you say, not technically lying. "Our ship is dying. We need repairs. Do you think you can help us?"
"Perhaps," she replies, looking at the ship. Suddenly, she smiles, in a wonderfully seductively way and runs her hand down her body. "It would, of course, be quite a big task. But I'm sure you could manage it. And I would be ever so grateful." She points at Rachel. "I could take care of her while you do it. And when you're done, me and some of my fellows could take care of you, rather well, I think." She draws her hand up her leg.
You can't help asking. "What do you want?"
"There's a criminal somewhere out there," she says. "You would have a better chance of finding him. He hides instinctively from women. And my fellows are all women."
Something is probably odd here, you think. But then again, she is making a rather attractive offer. And catching criminals amuses you as a job. |