Authors: Lolita Lopez
a thin stack of pamphlets onto the table and sat down.
“Each pamphlet wil give you information you’l need
to make your transition to this new life successfuly. The
first one is about navigating the ship and using al the
different devices in your home. The second is about your
rights aboard the ship and in this new society. The
rights aboard the ship and in this new society. The
procedure for filing for a separation is in there. The blue
one outlines your access to medical care and explains the
most common medications and procedures. The green
one is al about shopping in the retail section as wel as
understanding the monetary system here. It’s credits, by
the way.”
“Credits?”
Halie nodded. “You’l get the hang of it.” She lifted
her wrist. “The chip they gave you is your method of
payment. It’s attached to Menace’s bank account. The
money is deducted automaticaly.”
“That would have been handy back on Calyx,” Naya
murmured. “I wouldn’t have had to chase down so many
people who owed me money.”
“You were in business?”
“I owned a pawnshop.”
“How cool is that?” Halie seemed impressed. “You’re
going to be a great addition to our wives club.”
“I am?” Naya sipped her tea. “I’m not so sure about
joining a social club.”
“Oh, you have to!” Halie practicaly pleaded with her.
“It’s so nice to get together with other women from our
“It’s so nice to get together with other women from our
planet. We’re so outnumbered by men here. Plus we’re
doing good work.”
“How so?”
“We’ve created a domestic violence resource center.
Next month, they’re opening a new counseling division in
the med bay for couples who need a little help adjusting
or communicating. We’re getting a distance learning
program so those of us who want to finish our educations
can do so. Some of the mothers in the group have started
a playgroup and even have a babysitting pool that they
use to give one another a day or night off every week.”
Naya wasn’t so sure about that babysitting stuff but
she thought the idea of counseling was probably a good
one. Finishing school had always been a dream. “I guess
it wouldn’t hurt to come to one meeting.”
Halie beamed. “You’l love it—and I make cookies!”
Naya laughed. “I’m sure you do.”
Halie held her mug in both hands and sat back in her
chair. “What can I say? I’m a happy little homemaker.
We al fil different roles in life. Who knows? Maybe
you’l open the first wife-owned business on the ship.”
Finished with her breakfast, Naya reached for the
pamphlets. “Is that even possible?”
Halie shrugged. “I don’t see why not. There are
vacant storefronts in the market. You wouldn’t be able to
run a pawnshop. I’m not sure the concept would work
here. They don’t do debt or credit here.”
“I wasn’t realy thriled with running a pawnshop in the
first place,” Naya admitted. “It was just the easiest
business for me to get into at the time. The only way to
make a business work is to find a need that isn’t being
filed in the current market.”
“You mean like having access to comforts from home
or clothes that fit and aren’t ugly as homemade sin?”
Halie pinched the front of her boxy dress. “If you saw
what kinds of alterations I have to make just get my
clothes to fit!”
Naya sized up Halie. “You must have a ton of fabric
left over.”
“I turned some of it into napkins or throw pilows The
rest is in my scrap box.” She made a face. “Vicious
thinks it’s sily for me to keep the scraps but old habits,
you know?”
“Oh, I know.” Naya’s gaze fel to the top pamphlet.
Surprise gripped her. The drawing on the front was al
Surprise gripped her. The drawing on the front was al
too familiar. “Who drew this?”
Halie broke a cookie in half. “I did. Why?”
Naya’s startled gaze jumped to her new friend. What
had Danny said? The Artist had been Grabbed and lived
happily on a ship. Could it be? Was Halie the young
woman she’d known only as the Artist? “I bet my aunt
Ruthie Frances would love one of your paintings.”
Halie stiffened. Her shocked expression slowly faded.
“I know Ruthie would.”
Ruthie Frances. Red Feather. “Should we keep talking
in code or do I just come right out and ask?”
“Ask me.”
“You were part of the Red Feather. You drew
passports.”
“I did. And you?”
“I’m very good at smuggling.”
Halie’s eyes widened briefly. “Wait! Are you
Dankirk’s contact in Connor’s Run?”
Now it was Naya’s turn to be surprised. “I was. You
know Danny?”
“I spoke with him via my sister just the other day. He
has a list of women who want out of Harper’s Wel.
has a list of women who want out of Harper’s Wel.
Dankirk helped my sister escape to the colonies. How
are things now? Has the smuggling chain been busy?”
“There were riots in The City five weeks ago. The
government clamped down pretty tightly.”
“Riots?”
“Over food shortages,” Naya explained. “We had
people pouring into Connor’s Run and Grogan’s Mil.
There were so many cargo ships from the Jesco colony
making ilegal flyovers and taking passengers that the
colonies put up a barricade. The backlog for customs
processing in Safe Harbor and Jesco is so bad that some
of the ilegal immigrants were dying in the cargo holds.”
Halie gasped in shock. “That’s awful.”
“The fees for those kinds of transports have gone up
tremendously. The ships we work with like the
Shepherd
are stil doing low-fee transports, but it’s getting harder
and harder to move people. Finding people to sponsor
immigrants is almost impossible. The colonies have also
stopped offering paperless entry for women who win the
Grabs. I had to buy fake papers for Jennie and me. They
weren’t nearly as good as yours.”
“Jennie?”
“Jennie?”
Sadness squeezed her chest. “She’s my friend. Her
number was puled in the lottery so I bought my way
onto the list. We had a pact that we’d both run together
and get taken together if we couldn’t escape.”
“Is she here with you? I can put a cal through to her
quarters and have her over if you’d like to see her.”
Naya gulped down the grief that swamped her. “No,
she actualy made it to the safe zone where her boyfriend
was waiting.”
“Oh,” Halie said quietly. She reached across the table
and grabbed Naya’s hand. “I’m sorry.”
Naya looked at the friendly hand gripping hers.
Halie’s kindness overwhelmed her. “Thank you.”
“I know how hard it is to adjust to your new life. I’m
not promising it’s going to be sugar and sweetness. There
are going to be bumps. You’re probably going to want to
thrash Menace a few times but you’l get through it. If
you’re meant to be together, that is. If you’re not? You
come to me. I’l make sure you get your separation
papers and I’l help you find your way to the colonies
and your friend.”
Naya gawked at Halie. “You’d do that for me? But
Menace is your husband’s friend. Wouldn’t that make
Menace is your husband’s friend. Wouldn’t that make
things difficult between you?”
“You let me worry about Vicious. You just worry
about your relationship with Menace.” Halie puled her
hand back. “If you can make it work, I think you’l be
very happy. Menace is a wonderful man. Vicious
wouldn’t count him among his closest friends if he wasn’t
loyal and honest.”
Halie hadn’t said anything that Naya wasn’t already
thinking when it came to Menace. “I do like him. He’s
been patient and sweet with me. The sex is pretty
awesome too.”
Halie actualy blushed and dipped her gaze. “Yes,
these Harcos men seem to be masters of seduction.”
“Boy, that’s no joke. I thought Menace was going to
make me pass out last night.”
Halie laughed. “Yeah, I’ve, uh, been there quite a few
times.”
Naya knew enough about Halie’s hometown to guess
that she was probably a virgin when she’d come onboard
the
Valiant
. What a shock her first introduction to sex
with her sky warrior must have been!
“Why don’t we go dig through my closet and see if we
“Why don’t we go dig through my closet and see if we
can find you some shoes?” Halie gathered up their
dishes. “The first pair Vicious brought me was too big,
but I bet they’l fit you just fine.”
Naya folowed her out of the kitchen. Once in the
spacious master bedroom, she couldn’t ignore the door
to the couple’s playroom. Naya didn’t even want to
imagine what a frightening man like Vicious did to poor
Halie in there.
Folowing her gaze, Halie shot her an apologetic look.
“I should probably warn you about the officers-only club.
Menace wil want to take you there.”
“A club?”
“It’s a place where officers and their wives and
sometimes their single friends get together to play in
public or the theme rooms.”
Naya’s gut clenched. “I’l pass.”
“You might not be able to,” Halie replied, her voice
muffled as she stepped into the oversized closet. A
moment later she reappeared with a pair of simple black
flats. “These aren’t the most supportive shoes, but they’l
do until Menace can get you something else.”
Naya sat down on the bench at the end of Halie’s
massive bed and slipped on the shoes. “Why wouldn’t I
be able to pass on the invite to the sex club thing?”
“Vicious and I had only been together a day when he
came home with an invite to a private party given by
General Thorn. I didn’t want to go. I was terrified,
honestly, but I knew that if we didn’t go, Vicious might
be snubbed by his superior. For officers, the promotion
game is one that includes making appearances at a
variety of functions. Vicious gave me the choice to say
no, but I couldn’t do it.” Halie sat down next to her. “I
ended up wearing a cat costume.”
“Wait. What? A cat costume?”
Halie giggled and clasped her face in her hands. “I
know. How ridiculous, right? General Thorn has a fetish
for cat-play games. There are actualy groups of couples
who get together here on the
Valiant
for puppy-and-cat
play parties.”
“I don’t understand.” Naya tried to process Halie’s
information. “You dress up like a cat or a puppy and
pretend you’re one?”
“It’s a little more intense than that for couples who are
realy into it but, yes, basicaly,” Halie said. “It doesn’t
do anything for me but I know a few women who enjoy
do anything for me but I know a few women who enjoy
it very much. They find extreme pleasure in giving total
control to their husbands, their masters.”
Naya shook her head and slipped on the shoes.
“That’s batshit crazy, Halie.”
“In this society, they believe everyone is entitled to
their desires and their brand of kink. If you go to the
officers’ playroom, you’l probably see some strange
things. Wel…strange to women like you and me,” she
clarified. “To these guys, it’s as normal as breathing to
see a woman tied up, flogged and taken in public by her
husband and his two best friends.”
Naya blinked a few times. She would never admit it
aloud but there was something oddly aluring about
Halie’s description. “I don’t even know what to say to
that.”
“To each their own, I guess.”
Naya took a few test strides in the shoes. They were a
little roomy on the sides but they’d do. “Were you realy
angry when that party was over and Vicious brought you
home?”
“No,” Halie said, her face flushed. “Actualy I found it
al rather arousing there at the end. Vicious showed me
that there’s no shame in exploring my sexuality. When
that there’s no shame in exploring my sexuality. When
I’m with him, when his hands are on me, I feel braver
than ever and so incredibly secure.”
Naya understood that. “I felt that with Menace this
morning. It was…uncomfortable.”
“I know what you mean,” Halie assured her. “This
mix of pleasure and pain and dominance is confusing.
Even now, I sometimes have nights where I struggle with
giving up control to Vicious, but when I do? He always
rewards my trust.”