(As a disclaimer, this story is set in an alternate world of the Traveller RPG, which I don’t own. Specifically, this is set in what one might call the “Karinaverse” ~ much like the Third Imperium setting of Traveller, but with a few tweaks here and there. Though it isn’t especially important for this story, Traveller imagines that by the 57th century CE humans have spread far across the galaxy and their greatest political power is the Third Imperium, now in the year 1084 of its history and consisting of more than 11,000 worlds. Though ruled by an emperor, the Imperium allows most member worlds to govern themselves; nonetheless, Shululsish in this story is a rare world with a direct democracy despite a huge population in the tens of billions. It sits about 20 parsecs from Terra (our Earth, also part of the Imperium), relatively nearby in the vast reaches of the Imperium. Unlike in the source canon, Shululsish here has an atmosphere dangerous to humans because of UV radiation, forcing humans to live in vast cavern complexes; crops engineered to endure the radiation thrive on the surface, however.

Karina Farwall in particular ~ POV of this story ~ is a character created by amiwakawaiidesu at deviantart (and used with permission) so there is art of her floating around. Most are SFW, but if you dig around deep enough you may find exceptions.)

It all started simply enough. I’d already given up two hits, watching them sail up among the overhead lights of our underground city, and now I faced a cleanup hitter with runners on third and fourth; any well-hit ball could cost us the game. But soon I had him in a hole with three strikes; looking in for the sign from my friend Heinz, I nodded and let a curveball fly. It was a good call; thump the ball went in Heinz’ mitt, and the umpire called strike four ~ we’d won the game!

I ran out to hug my catcher at once; just then I didn’t care that Heinz had a girlfriend who happened to be my other best friend; we’d beaten our city rivals in a fiveball game that cost them a trip to the planet championship! I couldn’t be prouder for the awesome game he’d callen.

Oh, me? My name is Karina Farwall and I was 16 at the time. Heinz my catcher was 16 too, along with most of our teammates who swarmed and hugged us. Krakatoa City 12 wasn’t knwon to be a great team, but just now we were on top of the world...

Eventually, the clamor died down, and Heinz’s girlfriend Kaffe found us; seriously cute ~ red hair, dark skin and barely 150 cm tall ~ she was a child of nobles and far removed from my own humble birth. Also notable for a small cross she wore; most people thought Christians were part of a crazy fringe cult, but Kaffe was sweet and kind and you couldn’t help but love her.

“Damn, Karina, what a pitch! You locked him up good!”

“No, really, it was Heinz who gave me the sign...”

“I think you’re too modest! Anyway, back to my place?”

Pausing just long to change out of my uniform and into a blouse, skirt and wedge sandals, I then joined Heinz and Kaffe for a little celebration the latter had planned at her house (win or lose). Of course winning just made it sweeter; even as two girls in the outfield landed to doff their antigrav packs, I felt both awesome and humbled, wondering if fate had simply been on my side this day.

Weirdly, on a world overrun with people (and potential adoptive parents) huddled among the city-caves ~ I was still an orphan in my mid-teens, whereas Heinz (son of two bankers) and Kaffe (daughter of two nobles) enjoyed such privilege as I could only imagine. Yet I knew I wasn’t an ordinary orphan; whereas most of my orphanage-mates were victims of the ‘wormie’ plague, there was nothing obviously wrong with me. And indeed, testing suggested I was above average in intelligence. That was why I was allowed to join the regular school of Heinz and Kaffe (and tried not to make too much of it when I helped Kaffe with her N-dimensional calculus homework... )

All that notwithstanding, Heinz and Kaffe and I were soon back in Kaffe’s bedroom, on the second floor of a nice house in Krakatoa City. Kaffe thought she had some Stymbeers in the fridge to celebrate, but apparently she was wrong.

“Fuck,” she said, “Karina, I know you like Stymbeer ... I’ll run down to the corner store to buy more!”

“Gaia, Kaffe, don’t worry about it...”

But Kaffe wouldn’t be persuaded, bounding downstairs and leaving Heinz and me alone.

“That was a hell of a game,” Heinz ventured. “You made Ishugi look like an idiot...”

“Oh, come on,” I said; “he’d have cracked a triple if you hadn’t made the right call.”

Then a weird silence, as Heinz looked at my bosom. Though I was still a virgin, I was plenty curious about sex and liked that boys were starting to notice my growing boobs; even Heinz gave them a glance now and then ~ but never so intently and so up close. Not that I especially minded; Heinz was a good-looking boy ~ blonde hair like mine, easily 180 cm tall and muscular to boot...

Without even a word, Heinz lifted his right hand to cup my left tit.

A shiver ran up my spine, but seeing I didn’t mind, Heinz started to cup and caress both my tits.

Well, one thing led to another. I opened my blouse and unclasped my bra to unclasp my 38D’s, and Heinz seemed amazed as he took them in his hands, fondling the taut boobs and nipples. Then he was on top of me (on Kaffe’s bed) and started to suck my tits as he moved between my legs. We knew this was dangerous; Kaffe might be back any second! Then Heinz was fumbling at his fly and I caught a glimpse of something like a thick pink worm before Heinz pulled aside my panties and rammed it right inside me.

Thankfully I was wet (and had played with a dildo before so I wasn’t ridiculously tight); but feeling that thing inside me ~ my best friend’s penis! ~ made me shiver with excitement. I could actually feel its shape as my folds wrapped around it, the proud head pressing deep inside me, shaft hard with veins pulsing inside me. But again, urgency ... Heinz started thrusting, and I was seriously afraid Kaffe would catch us coupled like that. But maybe it might be worth it, I thought, as Heinz began thrusting harder, faster ~ then he gave a straining grunt and came in me.

Then we heard the front door open. Shit!

Heinz shared my panic, but couldn’t pull out in the middle of his nut. Even as I felt something warm and wet between my thighs, Heinz seemed to need another moment to finish, and I looked at him fearfully as he remained pressed deep inside me. Then we heard Kaffe’s feet on the stairs (she was wearing chunky wedges too), and Heinz finally pulled out to tuck away his cock; as for me, I just had time to fasten my bra and pull down my skirt before Kaffe arrived with the Stymbeers.

“So, what were you up to?” she asked, noticing I hadn’t buttoned up my blouse.

“Oh, Karina was just showing me her boobs...” Heinz said.

I panicked at his honesty, but Kaffe took it in stride.

“Did you feel her up?”

“Oh, pshaw...” I said, covering my boobs; “Heinz was just curious...”

“Well, you do have nice tits,” Kaffe said, surprising me by squeezing my left tit through my bra. “But anyway, let’s watch those highlights!”

Handing us our bottles of Stymbeer, Kaffe then pulled up the citynet on her holovid and accessed the game. Of course, it was too trivial for professional commentary and editing, but the network AI did a passable job of making it watchable. Not that I could focus on the game, though; even as Kaffe held onto Heinz’ arm, I was acutely aware of his semen in my panties and we shared more than one furtive glance. I was just glad Kaffe’s parents could afford simfiber sheets; discreetly feeling for a damp spot where Heinz had fucked me, I was relieved to find none.

Maybe sooner than Kaffe would have liked, I then made the excuse I was tired and ought to get back to the orphanage. Heinz offered to walk with me, but I said he ought to stay with Kaffe and she was happy with that. Only then, after I got back to my cubicle room, did I admit my own frustration. Sure it had been exciting, but I barely got my motor running when Heinz left his nut in me. I wanted more! But how to get away with it...?

I slept on it and got a brainstorm; since the next day was sixday (the weekend), I called Heinz and was glad to catch him alone in his bedroom.

“Hey, Karina,” he said. “Um ... about last night...”

“It’s all right; it’s not every day you lose your cherry to your best friend.”

“You were a virgin?”

“Couldn’t you tell?”

“I don’t remember feeling a cherry...” he said.

“Well, I have had another boyfriend,” I said, pulling the fone back a little to show him my dildo.

“I think I’m jealous of your boyfriend,” Heinz said. “But actually ... it was kind of my first time too...”

I smiled; so that was why he hadn’t lasted thirty seconds in me.

“I had a feeling. Kaffe told me she was thinking of letting you go all the way after the winter dance ~ and kind of implied neither of you had much experience.”

“I’m sorry...” Heinz said. “I mean, you’re not my girlfriend, but I wish it could have been better for you.”

“About that ... actually, I have an idea.”

Said winter dance would be in seven weeks, marking the start of the Holiday break, and I suggested it might be nice if we could give Kaffe a boyfriend who knew his way around a bedroom. Though I’d only just lost my virginity, I’d already learned a lot about sex after bypassing the child-lock on the citynet. Hypothetically, if Heinz was willing to let me meet him after school at his house ~ say, for four weeks ~ maybe I could teach him a thing or two. We couldn’t start on sixday or senday because Kaffe would be hanging out with Heinz, but maybe the wait would just make it better.

To say Heinz seemed excited would be an understatement. But what about Kaffe? Wouldn’t she also want to be with Heinz after school too?

“There is your ROTC unit,” I noted; “Kaffe doesn’t need to know you won’t be meeting up again for a month.”

“This could be cool...” Heinz said, shifting with an apparent hard-on. “But ... could you do me another little favor? Do you remember those high heels you wore at Kaffe’s birthday?”

Indeed I did: strappy black barely-there sandals with 10 cm spike heels; surprising comfortable, though ~ with reactive poly-gel they were comfortable to wear all day. Admittedly, they had cost half of my savings (a hundred credits!), but totally worth it as I showed off my legs like a proper minx. I think I have cute feet, and I enjoyed the discreet eyes of Kaffe’s dad, uncles and cousins on me as I struck a contrapposto by the pool with my hand on my hip. And apparently Heinz had admired me too.

“You want me to wear those?”

“If ... you know ... it’s not too much trouble...”

“Sure,” I agreed, and Heinz moved his free hand downward to his groin. He was rubbing himself now and made an excuse that he had to go ~ though he said he looked forward to meeting me at school on wonday. I just smiled as the screen went blank and I knew my dear friend was jerking off now. I was flattered to have that effect on him, and curiously even more excited than I was reflecting on our secret quickie the day before...

Since our school had a uniform ~ a pleated skirt and sweater with our school patch for girls ~ I discreetly tucked my hundred-credit sandals in my bookbag before I got there. Toward the end of the day, I had a class with Heinz and decided to give him a treat, slipping on those fuck-me heels. I’d also plunked down 10 credits on a pedicure, and I knew I looked good. Heinz shifted with an obvious woodie as he looked at my feet, and other boys and Kaffe noticed my fuck-me shoes too.

“Damn, Karina,” Kaffe said after class, “you have a hot date?”

“No, I just thought I’d wear these again.”

Kaffe also noticed I was wearing my favorite silver hoop earrings and just a bit more makeup than usual.

“I wish I had cute feet like yours.”

“You have nice feet,” I replied.

“Yeah, but I’m so small they look more like little kid feet; you look like a fikken supermodel.”

“I don’t know about that...” I said. At 170 cm and 60 kg I was a little too short and a little too plump to be a model.

“Maybe you should get yourself a boyfriend.”

“Boys don’t like wormies, though ~ or poor orphan girls...

“So, walking home with Heinz?” I asked.

“No, he said he has that ROTC thing.”

Sweet, the setup worked. We parted, and I found Heinz just outside the school (less his Imperial-style uniform, which he’d have to get into if he really was heading for training). Instead his regular sweater and pants ~ and a serious chub.

“Damn, you look good!” Heinz said. “Do you really want to...?”

“Come on,” I said with a smile, after making sure Kaffe wasn’t nearby. “Let’s go work on Lesson One.”

If it was a little awkward walking the half-klick to his house in spike heels, it must have been harder for him with that erection. Like Kaffe, Heinz lived in a 2-story house in a nice neighborhood; at this time of day both his parents would be away. Glancing up, I saw the perennial back-and-forth of antigrav cars, bikes and drones against the dark roof of the city cave, and it occurred to me that any number of drones might be capturing imagery of Heinz inviting me into his home; it was a big planet, though, and what a couple of horny teens got up to wouldn’t attract much attention. I hoped.

Up in Heinz’ room, I didn’t waste any time chatting. Surprising Heinz, I first removed my bookbag, sweater, blouse and bra right there, then dropped my skirt and panties. Probably for the first time, he got a good look at my nearly hairless slit ~ naturally like that with just a bit of fuzz. Striking that contrapposto pose again, off-center with a hand on one hip, I stood in just my heels.

“Keep these on?” I asked, of my shoes.

“Please?”

I shifted my weight and was proud of the effect I had him ~ very hard now, though still dressed.

“So,” he continued, “what’s Lesson One?”

“Well, maybe let’s start with Lesson Zero,” I said, reaching in my bookbag and pulling out a small silver square. Inside was a 0.1 credit birth control patch, which I applied to my shoulder. “When you do it with Kaffe, make sure she has one.”

Heinz nodded, and I encouraged him to undress too. For me, too, this was a first good look at his muscular body, and that penis! If Heinz had been whacking it over the weekend to ‘beat down’ his urges, it must have been a losing fight. It was absolutely beautiful, 18 cm if it was 1, and thick with it, studded with veins and capped with a proud helmet already oozing pre-cum. It was strange to realize I’d already had this inside me once; now, I wanted it again.

Hoping he wouldn’t nut on the spot, I crossed over to join him on his bed and took his penis in my hand. I loved the feel of it, and dared to stroke the shaft.

“Lesson One,” I said, “let’s call this ‘oral’...”

Making sure he was backed up against his headboard (so he could see), I gave another two strokes, then leaned in close to kiss and suck on the tip. I knew his glans was much like my clitoris ~ rich with nerves ~ so I supposed it was easy to overstimulate. That in mind, I then licked up and down the shaft, then cradled the shaft in my hand as I dared to suck on his balls; hanging heavy, I knew these were analogous to my ovaries (so very sensitive) but my friend’s moaning suggested he liked it as I slurped his orchids into my mouth.

Meanwhile, his penis was pulsing and I knew he wouldn’t last long. Curious to intercept his nut, I went back to the helmet and sucked on it ardently.

“Karina...!” Heinz gasped, holding my head, “gonna ... cum...!”

Wish granted: a moment later, his sticky spunk sprayed into my mouth and I could taste its flavor on my tongue, salty and just a little bitter. I was actually afraid I might gag on his cum, though, as it kept squirting; letting it pour from the corners of my mouth, I lifted up and caught two more spurts on my nose and cheeks. I loved the sight of it ~ knowing I could give my friend so much pleasure ~ and took the shaft by the base to squeeze it tightly; more semen oozed out, and I surprised Heinz by lapping that up too.

“Now do me,” I said, rolling over beside him and spreading my legs.

“I’ll need a minute if you want to fuck...” he said.

“No, oral, silly! Kiss me down there.”

I rubbed my clitoris to show him the spot, and he moved tentatively between my legs. I could see he wasn’t sure about his approach, so I gave a suggestion.

“Just think of this as my penis,” I said, pulling back the hood to expose the little button. “Actually, it would have been a penis if I were born a boy...”

“I’m glad you’re not a boy.”

“Me too,” I said, continuing to rub my pussy. “Just try kissing it.”

Starting with that, Heinz lowered his lips to my clitoris and gave a tentative kiss. A jolt of excitement shot through me, then another as he began to suck on it. It felt really good, but like Heinz I knew I could be easily overstimulated.

“I have labia, too...” I said; “trying kissing down there...”

Obligingly, my student started exploring my petals, licking up and down as I returned to frigging my clitoris. Then Heinz figured out he could get his tongue in me, and I rewarded him with a gush of my juices.

“Maybe use your fingers too...” I suggested.

“Will I hurt it?”

“I’ve had bigger things in me,” I noted. Purposefully, Heinz then slipped one finger inside me, then two, and I was soon close as he started to finger-fuck me.

“Heinz, I’m close now...” I said, resting my hands on his head as he returned to my clitoris. I think he was trying to be gentle, sucking tenderly at the little bud even as he stabbed his fingers into me, but one way or another I came ferociously, shuddering and crying out as I pulled his face into my groin. More fluid gushed out of me and Heinz lapped it up ~ apparently as curious about my bodily fluids as I was about his.

“Heinz...” I gasped afterward; “you made me come...!”

“You taste good,” Heinz said, lifting his eyes to look at me. “I wish we hadn’t skipped this before...”

I smiled, and caressed his face.

“Oh, I’m hard again,” he said, “if you want to ... you know.”

“Oh, Heinz,” I said, drawing him upward until he was above me, his beautiful weapon aimed at my hole. I took it in my right hand, and guided the proud head up to my pussy mouth.

“Lesson two?” he asked, using his own hand to rub his penis up and down between my labia.

“Lesson two,” I replied, finally feeling him pop inside me. Then the tantalizing sensation of him sliding downward, slowly, through my folds. He paused about halfway, looking at me lovingly, then leaned in to kiss me and drive his shaft home. I gasped in pleasure ~ it felt so good in me! ~ but also surprise, as I hadn’t expected us to kiss. Somehow, I thought that was something he ought to save for Kaffe. Yet pressed deep inside me, his helmet snug against my cervix and balls crushed into my ass, how could I deny him? He began to move, rolling his hips, and I sucked at his tongue as he explored my own; then he was grinding into me harder, and I pulled up my feet (still in those fuck-me shoes) and used my legs to pull him even deeper.

“So...” he said, lifting up slightly, “do I get extra-credit for fiday’s lesson...?”

“Oh, Heinz...” I said, just enjoying our fuck now. For several minutes we went at it, his organ slipping, stabbing, slurping in my juices, and my pussy clenching tightly on every inward stroke. This was so much better than fiday! But maybe I could make it better still...

“Heinz,” I said gently, “bonus anatomy lesson. Lift up a little.”

Curious, he lifted up on his arms and stilled his thrusting. I gave his cock a tender squeeze, then laid my hand on my groin, just above where his root was pressed inside me.

“This is where my pubic bone is,” I said, before touching him just above the base of his penis. “And this is yours; see what’s between them?”

“Your clitoris?”

“I’ll bet if you concentrate and crush my clitoris between our pubic bones, it’ll feel really good.”

Intrigued, Heinz moved back into a traditional missionary, and started grinding with a focus on my clitoris. Already it felt good, and even better as I felt my pussy bathe Heinz’ shaft with fresh juice.

“Is it working...?”

“Heinz...” I gasped, thrusting upward to help his grinding, “Heinz ... that’s so good...!”

Again, Heinz looked at me lovingly, and I felt my inside muscles clench in spasm.

“Heinz...!” I cried out, pulling him deeper with my arms and legs, “you’re making me come...!”

If my first orgasm was good, this was spectacular; deep inside me, I felt my muscles wringing Heinz ~ clenching and squeezing ~ even as my juices overflowed our union. I hoped he could feel it too...

“Karina...” he managed, “now you’re making me cum...!”

It was a perfect ending for our first proper fuck. I felt Heinz’ whole body stiffen, and he grunted with strain as he erupted inside me; I could actually feel his penis kick in my pussy as I continued to wring him, literally milking him as he poured his seed into me. I silently thanked my little pussy for helping my friend feel good, too, now feeling a familiar warmth and wetness between my legs. Heinz didn’t just spurt and pull out, though; for easily a minute he remained buried to his balls in me, seemingly determined to bathe my womb in every wriggling tadpole still left inside him.

Then we both relaxed a little, and he lifted up slightly to brush a blonde hair away from my face.

“I never noticed,” he said, “you have hazel eyes.”

“And yours are brown,” I said with a smile. Still hard in me, but not ming now, Heinz bent down to kiss me again and I savored his lips on mine ~ the smell of our sex now thick in the air as our tongues met and explored each other’s tender undersides. Only then did he begin to soften, but I bore down one last time to squeeze him inside me.

“I want to make sure I get every drop,” I said.

“Oh, I think you did that,” he said, slipping out of me to uncork a beautiful flow. Gaia knew how many times he’d whacked it that weekend ~ to say nothing of the load he pumped in my mouth today ~ but it was still remarkably thick, surely swarming with potent, youthful sperm. Then I glanced at the time.

“Jesus Gaia! I’ve been here almost two hours!”

As we knew, his parents would be home soon. Trying to stay calm, I pulled my clothes back and Heinz did likewise, though he did look a little sad.

“What’s the matter?” I asked, checking my hair in his mirror.

“I wanted to fuck you some more...” he admitted.

“Don’t worry, Lesson Three is tomorrow.”

He brightened.

“You’ll like it: cowgirl style. Just try not to jerk off tonight; I want all that sperm in my pussy.”

“I’ll try...” he said, without conviction. But I couldn’t blame him; I knew I’d sure be reliving this with my first ‘boyfriend’ tonight!

“So, did I miss anything?” I asked, looking at myself. “Put my skirt on backwards or anything...?”

“I think you look fine,” Heinz said. “Beautiful, even.”

It was sweet of him to say; now that it wasn’t so weird, I kissed him again on the lips ~ glad those 10 cm heels made us just about the same height. Then it was time to go, and Heinz guided me out the back door ~ just as Mr. and Mrs. Scheissen were coming in the front! Now those heels were less of an asset, click-clacking on the backyard patio as I made for the side gate, but I thought I got away clean.

And anyway, what’s an adventure without a little danger?

The next day, I was tempted to fuck Heinz in a school storage closet at lunchtime, but the school was well-monitored and we continued with afterschool sex as planned. Back in my fuck-me sandals again, I gave Heinz a ‘refresher’ lesson on oral with a thirsty blowjob, and he returned the favor before I gave him the treat of impaling myself on his penis. As I expected, he liked this; not only could he lie back and let me do most of the work, it also let him play with my boobs more easily. Then, before he could cum, I moved to Lesson Four (reverse cowgirl); maybe he liked that even more, telling me I had a beautiful ass as I ground my hips against his. It also placed my feet alongside him in easier reach, letting him indulge his little fetish as he first wrapped his hands around my spike heels, then got his thumbs between the insoles and my feet to caress my soles. Again I appreciated my investment in those sandals; they seemed to keep Heinz very hard, and I rode him a good half hour before he finally blew his third load (so far) deep inside me...

Somehow, I was afraid something would spoil our fun; maybe Kaffe would follow us, or I’d run into the Scheissens when I shouldn’t be there. But in the meantime, lessons continued on pace. We rounded out the week with some doggystyle and standing, finishing on fiday with a first stab at anal (so to speak). I wasn’t sure if I wanted Heinz to try that on Kaffe ~ he’s awful big, and that hurt in my butt at first! But if nothing else my goal was thorough education, and it did feel nice when Heinz squirted in my rectum, following by a partly-melted ice cube to cool me off.

Then a weekend break (during which we hung out with Kaffe as if nothing was happening), and on to more explorations. I found the “X” and lotus positions interesting (with an eye toward things a small girl like Kaffe might like), but it was all fun. Maybe the only awkward moments came when Heinz was desperate to cum in me and would blurt out that he loved me. But that was a lesson too; as I milked his orgasm afterward, I reminded him that we shouldn’t hold people to things they might say in bed.

A little awkwardly, I expected my next period to start on forday or fiday; I was pretty regular that way, and had a contingency plan to focus on fellatio, a footjob or tittyfuck rather than make Heinz deal with my monthly friend. It didn’t start on forday or fiday, though (which was kind of a relief since Heinz wanted more anal and a sore ass wouldn’t be fun plus cramping!) Then sixday came, and senday and still no flow. Just to be on the safe side, I slipped down to the local gene vendor station (which was automated, of course) and peed in its sampler.

Pregnant.

“What?” I asked. “How?”

I’d used a patch faithfully every time we fucked, hadn’t I? Well, all except that first time, but I tended not to think of that as ‘counting’ since we didn’t know what we were doing. Apparently my eggs and Heinz’ sperm knew what they were doing, though; Heinz had knocked me up the very first time we fucked!

As a follow-up to the 1-credit pregnancy test, I coughed up another credit for a deep scan and saw it myself. No bigger than a poppy seed ~ maybe just a millimeter long and resembling a tiny tadpole ~ it was surely alive and growing bigger by the second. Already (the vendor AI helpfully noted) it was 10 times bigger than the egg it sprang from, and would grow to the size of my fist in less than 3 months; then, as I was a healthy young girl, I could expect to carry the fetus to term about 6 months after that.

On balance, that seemed like an odd thing for the vendor AI to say; aside from pregnancy tests and mending minor bruises and scrapes, vendor stations were most noted for providing convenient abortions. But maybe the vendor AI already knew about my bank account; an abortion would cost at least 25 credits ~ no small change for a girl with a minimal orphan’s allowance...

Then again, there was the other service a gene vendor station was actually named for: for about twice the cost of an abortion, the station could remove an embryo (or fetus) from its mother and place it in cryostasis, ideally with an eye toward having it adopted and carried to term inside an adoptive mother. I didn’t know a lot about this, but I did know a station sometimes paid reward money for especially desirable DNA, and some girls (with more money than me) actually played what they called the ‘baby game’, letting boys knock them up and then gambling that the reward money would offset the cost of the procedure. And it must have pretty popular: the network was all over the Third Imperium, encouraging girls with a taste for danger to risk actual childbirth if they happened to carry a baby too long to get the procedure.

“Station,” I said, resting a hand on my tummy, “how long would I have ... if I wanted to give up the baby?”

“A gene vendor procedure is allowed on Shululsish through the first trimester, or 11 more weeks in your case.”

Probably why the AI had mentioned the size of the baby in 3 months; it would be about that size in 11 weeks.

“Man...” I said, pursing my lips. “I don’t want to kill my friend’s baby...

“What should I do?”

“I am not qualified to counsel you. You might contact your counselor for guidance.”