Chapter 8

I grabbed Sam's portable carrier and transferred her unit into it. AIAs reside in a sealed unit about the size of my fist (remember I have big fists) that looks like a silver/black cube with only a single data port in the bottom. The units are damn near indestructible seeing as they are used as data recorders. Ships have been blown to pieces and AIA units have survived to tell what happened. The only thing more likely to survive is something we refer to as the hardened vault, a massive reinforced and shielded data storage unit.

The portable carrier can be worn but I ended up putting it in my duffle since there was plenty of room. The ladies felt that all I needed was toiletries (even that they almost decided against when they saw the generic brands) and that anything else they would buy. I tried to tell them I could buy my own clothes but I ended up getting my first taste of 'the look'. If you've ever been the target of 'the look', you know what I'm talking about. For those that don't, it the look you get when a woman doesn't say a word but speaks volumes, mostly on the inadequacy of men in one way or another.

Of course I just stood there and gave them my look of 'what-the-fuck-ever'.

Soon after we left the ship with me securing the hatch and off to the Inquisition, I mean shopping. We made our way down to the bottom layer were the shops were and they steered me to the shops they wanted. Katherine seemed to be in charge of the shopping expedition and told Mari which district to head to. I hadn't even known the bottom layer was split into districts depending on the tastes and trends. All the shops looked the same to me.

Mari was leading the way with Anna and Katherine in the middle and me bringing up the rear. Again, I wasn't complaining. The scenery suited me just fine but I was also looking around casually and keeping an eye on things around us. Again, we were lucky and the crowds weren't all that thick though that would change in an hour or so with the end of midshift and beginning of lateshift.

"We're not going to be able to do much right now," Katherine was telling Anna. "We'll just pick up an outfit or two tonight for a casual dinner. We'll see about a suit tomorrow and the some other things."

I shook my head. It usually took me all of an hour at most to do my shopping. In and out, that's the way I shop. Katherine was sounding like tomorrow would be an all day excursion. If that's the case, kill me now.

Katherine pointed to one shop and we headed there. As soon as we walked in I knew that I would never shop there. The clothes were what could be called 'trendy' and were definitely not a style I liked. A salesman walked up to our group as if he were doing us a favor, gave me a look like he'd stepped in some shit, and turned to the women and put on his sales face.

"How may I help you, ladies?"

Katherine and the others hadn't seen the look he'd given me. She turned to him with a smile and said "We'd like to see if we can get some outfits for our friend here."

The salesman looked at me with a slight sneer and told us "I'm not sure we have anything that would look, appropriate, on him." He sighed a sigh of long sufferance. "But I-"

"Nope, you're absolutely right," I interrupted. "Besides, I don't think I could wear this shit." I turned on my heel, catching the look of shock on his face, and walked out.

I waited until the women caught up with me a short ways away and said with a straight face, "That was fun."

I think Mari just about hurt herself trying to keep from laughing out loud. Anna and Katherine weren't doing much better while trying to look stern. I just looked around.

After they recovered somewhat, we were off again. This time the store we went into actually had things that I would wear without feeling like a clown. This store had both men's and women's clothes and I just knew I wasn't the only one that was getting an outfit. Pack mule time.

The salesman on the men's side actually came up to me and asked in a friendly and respectful tone "Hello, can I help you find anything?" That is the kind of person I will definitely talk to and get fashion advice from.

Pointing to the women I said "They tell me I need new clothes. I want something that won't make me feel like an idiot."

He got a big grin on his face. "Privateer?" At my nod, he went on. "Yeah, we don't get a lot of you in here but when we do it's pretty obvious. Let's go back here." He led us to a changing area and had me strip to my skivvies. "Pariclesian?"

"Looks that way." At his questioning look, I added, "Orphan."

He nodded. "What are you looking for? Casual? Formal?" He was taking some measurements.

Katherine, who had been standing in the background, came forward and took over. "For tonight, something casual. Tomorrow we'll be looking for something more formal and some other outfits." She said this in a way that left little doubt, 'make him look good tonight and we'll be back tomorrow'. "We'll need shirt, trousers, shoes, and a light jacket. What's your name by the way?"

"Thomas, ma'am. Let me grab some things to start and see what we can come up with."

"Thank you, Thomas. I'm Katherine and this is Maxwell."

I looked around and saw a tabletop AIA interface and asked Sam if she wanted to watch. When she said 'yes' I pulled her carrier out of my bag and plugged it in via a cable for that purpose. Her meter tall hologram popped up on top of the table and looked around.

Thomas returned a few minutes later with an armload of pants and shirts. He spread them out so that I could look them over but Katherine started grabbing them and holding them up to me. "No, not the right color for your complexion. This one's not bad. Definitely not," and on and on. Thomas had me step onto a tablet-like device that measured my foot size. After choosing several shirts and pants, Katherine had me go into the changing room and put them on in the combinations she decided. Why into a changing room, I don't know. It's not like going to get any more undressed.

I came out in the first outfit and she promptly handed me another shirt and pushed me back in. When I had changed and came back out, she came up and walked around me, tugging and pulling here and there. I just stood there playing mannequin. I noticed that Anna and Mari had disappeared into the women's side of the store.

Katherine and Sam made comments on my appearance and debated over what looked good on me. Katherine handed me another outfit and change into it, setting the first one aside. The same procedure was repeated for the next 30 minutes until she was satisfied with two sets. I know I tried the same pants and shirts on more than once but didn't say a word.

At some point Katherine stopped sending me back to the dressing room and instead would take the shirt and pants off herself. While doing this she started to rub my chest, arms, and legs. I have several scars from training and some fights and she would trace them with her fingertips. Needless to say this had an effect on me. I got hard as she did this, teasing me here and there, running her hands over me. I came very close to grabbing her head and doing something when Thomas came back with an armful of boxes. Fortunately his vision blocked by Katherine who stood before me while I adjusted myself in my pants.

Katherine pointed to a chair and I sat in it, giving her a look that promised payback. She was smiling while biting her lip and looking demure, silently laughing. She grabbed boxes and started looking at shoes, finally handing me one pair. I put them on, wiggled my toes, and said they fit. They were some kind of loafer with an almost non-existent heel.

"Can you stand up and let me decide?" she asked me with a smirk. Sam was giggling and watching us.

Fortunately my hard-on had gone down and I could stand without showing it off. I stood up and was a little off balance.

"You OK?" Katherine asked.

"Yeah, just not used to these kind of shoes."

"What are you used to wearing?"

I pointed to my heavy work boots.

"When was the last time you had a regular pair of shoe?"