Chapter 4

Shelly happily bounced down the passageway.

Her shift in engineering was over with. It was time to party. For once, it wasn't just going to be Rich pawing at her for an hour (or vice-versa). The booty from the big raid had been counted and cataloged, and they were just two days from planetfall at maybe a place they could live out their lives. After eight days of half rations, it was time for a feast.

Two days ... Shelly slowed down a bit. The idea that she'd have to make decisions again soon, important life changing ones, frightened the girl. She didn't want to think. She didn't want to decide. Hell, she didn't want to do anything. She just wanted to be happy. Happy in the here and now, not some mythical future that may or may not happen if she'd just suffer a bit now. Was that so wrong?

Yes, to hear Lessa and just about everybody else talk. They called her a slut. Well ... Lessa didn't call her that. Much. Lessa understood Shelly, or at least thought she did. Shelly could still see, though, at times, the disappointment in her best friend's eyes. To Lessa, temptations were something to be resisted. When your instincts tend to lean towards brutal violence, Shelly agreed, that's a very understandable viewpoint. But, Shelly just wanted love. To at least feel loved, if not be loved, and so far only the bed of a man had provided that.

She hadn't found friendship, or companionship, there, though; Rich was OK, she guessed, and he certainly provided the pleasurable release she craved. But if Shelly wasn't interested in his large cock it's doubtful they'd have anything to do with each other. Hell, the only person who at all interested her was...

Lessa.

For the hundredth time, Shelly wished she had some sexual interest in girls. She had tried, the gods knew, even secretly playing with herself in bed while watching Lessa get undressed, hoping some switch in her brain would click and her wonderful Lessa would suddenly satisfy both sides of her. But, alas, no. Nothing. Only Lessa could provide the friendship, comfort, and security she needed, and only some random guy could give her the sexual release she needed.

Maybe she should try a dog.

Laughing at that thought, Shelly approached the door to the main cafeteria/rec room. Stopping, she composed herself. She had to project an aura of happiness and sexual confidence, while at the same time letting everyone know she wasn't some slut who'd be up for a gang bang later. It was a fine line, and one of the reasons she stayed with Rich. Nobody was going to force themselves on her, knowing they'd then have to face Rich.

The door opened, revealing the party was already in full swing. Loud music was playing, something with a fast beat and sultry lyrics. About 25 kids were already here, divided into small groups either dancing or talking. All were drinking, a keg set up and opened on a table near her. Timothy was playing bartender, and giving him a saucy wink she took the mug he offered, sauntering over to an empty table against the wall. Most people were against the walls, which amused Shelly to no end. When nobody is willing to have their back to the door, seating options dry up quickly. Now, there's an idea, she can open a restaurant that only has against the wall seating!

Shelly took a sip. It was smooth, and fruity. Like nothing she had ever tasted before, but it was a big universe and she was from a small town. A longer sip confirmed she'd be helping drain this keg long into the night.

The dark girl looked around. She saw Sean against the opposite wall, talking to some guy whose name she wasn't quite clear on (Mac? Jack?). Sean was the only one in their little band with darker skin than her, a random quirk to be sure. Surely skin color had been varied enough everywhere she had been. A quick thought came to her about the various survival advantages skin color might have. The dark skinned could travel better at night, so maybe the light skinned could hide better during the day? Assuming they all traveled naked, which led her thoughts off into other directions, and laughing she took another drink. Shelly looked at Sean again. He was her boss in Engineering, but she hadn't talked to him much. It was obvious he didn't want to be here, or at least wasn't enthralled with current management. It was likely he'd be the first of their merry band to leave. No loss, to her way of thinking.

Movement caught Shelly's eyes, as The Trio started dancing. She shook her head, laughing. The three youngest members of their band, Amanda, Sirenia, and Wendi, had become inseparable. The two 11 year old girls had been traveling alone without siblings, or friends, quickly latching onto the slightly older Amanda and her powerful brother. They rarely could be found apart, although not being suited for bridge duty the younger duo instead drew kitchen detail. They roomed in the cabin right next to Amanda and Kine, and Shelly had heard tales of Kine waking up to find all three snuggling up to him after bad dreams. That kind of thing could put a crimp in your social life. Assuming he wasn't into that.

"May I have your attention, please!"

Various catcalls and cries of "no!" greeted Ken as he stood up on a table. Good naturally swearing back at them, he took a long drink from the pitcher in his hand. Where did he get a pitcher, Shelly wondered? She'd have to find one...

"For tonight's entertainment, assuming this horrible music wasn't enough..." More catcalls. " ... we have some video direct from the plundered ship! Haven't even bothered to see what they are myself, so let's put them on the screen!"

The lights darkened a bit, Ken jumped down, and the screen behind him came to life as Shelly took another swig.

"I don't want to do this," Don sighed. Kine, walking at his side on the way from the bridge, gave him a look that was totally unsympathetic.

"Aww ... does the fearless leader not want to have fun in front of his followers?"

The black look Don threw up at Kine made him realize he had gone a bit too far, so he back peddled a bit.

"Look, you show up, say something, then you can go back to your cabin and do whatever it is you do. Everyone apart from Sean respects you, so the least you can do is pretend you respect them."

Don sighed, putting a hand up to his temple. The bandage was gone, but there was still a nice bump.

"Don't worry," Kine added, "if you accidentally show emotion you can blame it on that."

The door they were passing on their right opened, a surprised Lessa suddenly standing there. She was dressed in what Kine had to admit was a nice looking green blouse, with nothing under it, and blue jeans. Her face seemed to gain a little color as she looked at Don, but he decided not to read anything into it. It wasn't like either one was human.

"Oh! Um, hi you guys." Lessa paused a second, gathering her thoughts. Her eyes seemed to ignore Kine. "So, Don, how's your head today?"

He cocked his head up at the taller girl, a faint smile on his lips.

"Now that's a rather personal question. How's yours?"

Lessa stiffened, eyes narrowing as her face got even redder. Laughing, Kine got between the two of them and put an arm around their shoulders. Immediately, their anger turned on him for the intimacy of his touch. Which, naturally, was the idea. Kine might not be a leader by choice, but a people person he was, and he couldn't afford to have these two at odds. Hell, maybe he could get them to hook up and breed.

"Come on, you two! Let's not fight! It's party time! And I know how much both of you just LOVE to dance and sing!" Lessa sighed as they started to walk down the hall again. She leaned around Kine to look at Don.

"Know a good place to hide the body?"

"We're still short on meat, so there's that option."

"See?" Kine said, smiling. "You two are already making cheerful small talk. Soon there will be actual conversations and exchanges of information!" They came to the cafeteria door.

The chaos inside had them immediately alert. Taking a quick two steps inside, they spread out, eyes taking in the scene.

Shelly was on top of one of the dining tables, screaming. "We should kill them! KILL THEM! Let me go, you mother fucking cunt!" Sean was up on the table behind her, holding her in an arm lock that didn't seem like it would hold long. She was struggling frantically, hair and breasts whipping this way and that. The rest of the kids were arranged around her table, some shouting agreement and encouragement while most stood in stony silence.