Chapter 15

There's a starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He's told us not to blow it
Cause he knows it's all worthwhile
He told me:
Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie
- David Bowie -

Angie looked back at her crew assembled on the command deck for departure from Masai's planet and smiled. They looked relaxed for a change. The last few weeks of rest and recreation had revitalized them for the difficult task ahead, but, she knew that it had not been enough to assuage the fears that were running rampant among the crew. She just wondered if their fears of the Dragon aliens surpassed their fear of her.

"Take us out of orbit and up to jump speed, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

"Where are we going?" Marty asked.

"It's a G0 dwarf 42.1 light years away," Karl said. "It has a luminosity of 1.2 and is a prime candidate for habitable planets."

"I doubt that this is the home world of the Old Ones," Rosie said. "They would inhabit a planet around an older star."

"I'm beginning to think that the Old Ones, as you call them, are from Andromeda," Marty said. "They're just lurking around in our galaxy because there are so many species that they prefer as food over here."

"Why do they want to eat us?" Uma asked.

"That's a very good question," Marty said. "Maybe it's an acquired taste."

"The only way we're going to find that out is to go to Andromeda," Ferris said. "They are obviously an old species and somewhere along the way they ran into pseudo humans and decided that they like their meat."

"They are as numerous as cockroaches," Uma said. "We will be overwhelmed by them."

"Not if I have anything to do about it," Angie said. "If I can find their home world, I'll stuff it full of nova busters."

"What you're proposing is the annihilation of an entire species," Marty said.

"Pretty much."

"Perhaps we can establish a treaty with them," Tyler said. "We will agree not to destroy them if they leave us alone."

"If they don't eat us, who will they eat: other species?" Marty said. "We can't just think about ourselves. We've already run into several pseudo-human species so far and I'm sure that there are many more out there. We just can't leave them unprotected."

"There's no use arguing about it," Angie said. "If there is a way to negotiate, I'll try it, but in the meantime, we have to find all of the butcher camps that we can."

"Jump will commence in two minutes, Angie."

"Execute on count, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

The jump began with the usual spinning and elongation. The new crewmembers looked upset, but they survived with minimal effect.

"We have entered normal space, Angie."

"Take us down to 1000 kps, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

As the breaking engines screamed, the crew took their respective stations.

"The star is G0 V class and has a mass of 0.93 and a luminosity of 1.2," Karl said. "Its temperature is 5860 K. There are a few sunspots, but nothing serious."

"There are plenty of planets," George said. "Six gas giants and five inner planets. Oh, wow!"

"What wow?" Marty said.

"This system is very much the same as Birdie's. The fourth and fifth planets are in synchronous orbit at 1.1 AU."

"There is one major difference," Lia said. "We're not detecting any signals from either planet."

"I can not detect any enemy vessels in this system," Ninja said.

"I am detecting energy signals from both planets," Marty said. "But they are of unknown configuration, definitely not Dragon."

"I have both planets showing oxygen and water peaks," Anne said. "They both have chlorophyll peaks as well."

"That means that they both have life," Ferris said. "But, there is the possibility that it is not intelligent."

"Put us on course for planet four, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

"We'll just have to look at both," Angie said. "In the mean time, keep searching for information." She looked over at Marty. "You and George have the night shift, so if you want to take a nap, go ahead."

"We're coming up on a gas giant that is similar to our Saturn," George said. "It has an equatorial radius of 68,562 kilometers. Its mean density is 0.98, which is much higher than our Saturn. The rings extend out over 200,000 kilometers from the planet and they have uncountable separations."

The image of the planet filled the main screen. The rings were tilted at a 38 degree angle and radiated with a full spectrum of colors.

"God, is that beautiful," Lucia said. "What a magnificent sight."

"Amen to that," Marty said.

"This is what makes it worth being out here," George said. "This is worth all of the danger. We are the chosen ones. No other humans, or aliens for that matter, will ever witness something this close up."

No one could refute that emotion.

###

Night shift is a bitch. The subdued red light doesn't help keep one awake. Marty had consumed several cups of coffee, but still felt sleepy. He couldn't tell if George was asleep or not. He hadn't heard a peep from him for over an hour.

"Hey, George, are you still awake over there?"

"Yes, I am, but it's not easy."

"Amen to that. What's cooking?"

"Planet four and five are identical just like in Birdie's system. They both have large moons, and I've been able to detect artificial satellites around both planets."

"That means that there are intelligent aliens on both, and they have space capabilities."

"It sure looks that way, although, I wonder why Lia can't pick up any signals from either."

"Maybe, they don't use radio signals," Marty said. "They could be using optical signals."

"That's a good possibility, because I have detected radiation in the visible range between the fourth planet and a satellite orbiting it."

"Can you capture it?" Marty asked.

"Yes, but I don't know if it has any data."

Marty keyed a message to Lia's quarters telling her that they may have discovered an optical signal from the fourth planet. Within five minutes of sending that message, Lia appeared in her bare feet and wearing a very sheer, short nightgown.

"Can you send that signal to my station?" she asked, plopping in her chair.

George keyed something into his station and the signal began to display on Lia's screen. Lia keyed something into her station and the computer began analysis.

"You're out of uniform, Lia," Marty told her.

"I apologize," she said without taking her eyes off of her screen. "I didn't have time to dress. Are you going to punish me?"

"I would never do that," Marty said, sounding offended.

"You would never do what?"

Marty turned to behold Angie dressed in her white uniform. "Good evening, Admiral. I see that you took time to dress."

"I was never undressed. Be that as it may, you didn't answer my question."

"I would never punish Lia for being out of uniform."

Angie laughed before plopping down in her chair at the command station.

"The computer is getting a lock on that signal," Lia said. "I may have something in a few minutes."

"Are you having trouble sleeping again?" Marty asked Angie.

She sighed. "Yes. These jumps are wrecking havoc on my hormones. I feel like I'm about to jump out of my skin."

"Have you seen Onuki?"

"I hate going to her. She always wants to do a complete physical."

"I know what you mean."

"I have something," Lia said, switching it to the main screen.

"Good heavens," Marty said. "They're another pseudo-human species."

"They also have good taste in fashion," Angie said. "Look at the hair. They all have long beautiful hair."

"I assume that these are females," Marty said.

"No shit," Angie said, grinning. "They're all well endowed in the mammary department."

"Maybe they're like Masai," Marty said. "I wonder if they constantly lactate."

"Is there any sound?" Angie asked.

"Yes, but a translation will take more time," Lia said.

###

The image of a beautiful blue planet dominated the main screen. Land masses of green peaked up under swaths of white that encircled the globe of the alien world.

"We are in stable orbit, Angie."

"Maintain stealth mode, Delphi. Launch atmospheric and oceanic probes."

"Yes, Angie."

After the probes had departed and had penetrated the planet's atmosphere, images began to stream to Ferris's and Anna's stations.

"This planet has strong stratospheric winds," Anna reported. "I'm measuring velocities in excess of 500 kilometers per hour at 7000 meters."

"This planet's oceans have a salinity around 20 grams per liter," Ferris said. "Temperature is a balmy 22 C at 30 degrees latitude."

"Oxygen measures 20%," Anna said. "The carbon dioxide is around 0.02%. Atmospheric moisture is around 1%. The pressure is approximately 15 pounds per square inch at the surface. We should have no trouble breathing the air."

"The ocean is filled with life," Ferris said. "I do not recognize any of the life forms. They appear to be mostly air breathers. The other forms resemble plants." She switched an image to the main screen. "Check this out."

"What the hell!" Marty said. "That looks like a mermaid."

"It's some kind of air breathing creature that has a humanoid form with a streamlined lower torso," Ferris said. "We'd have to get down there to really determine what they are."

"They have good eyesight," George said. "They're looking at our probe."

"Launch a Biometric Mother, Delphi. Disperse the insects at a 1000 meters."

"Yes, Angie."

After the Mother had released its insect probes, images began pouring in. The planet had large stretches of forests, but the alien trees were weird. Roughly resembling conifers, they had thick scales with nearly square leaf structures that gave them an overall bullet shape. Strange animals ran about on the forest floor. Some were six-legged oval-shaped furry creatures. Others had more than ten legs. Some hopped on two legs while other slithered about like snakes. Many insect species crawled or slithered about.

"How can these aliens look like us when the animal species are totally alien?" Marty said.

"These people did not evolve on this planet," Ferris said. "They came here from somewhere else."

"I found some males," George said. "They seem to be as well dressed as the women."

The scene on the main screen showed men and women walking through a park near the center of a city. There were no signs of any conflict or violence.

"They look like their out on a Sunday stroll," Marty said. "They don't appear to be gender dysfunctional."

"We can't jump to any conclusions," Angie said. "Masai's people appear to be much the same as these people." She turned to look at Masai. "I meant no insult."

"I understand," Masai said.

"These aliens look more like us," Ferris said. "Their faces appear to more human-like. However, there is little doubt that they are related to both Masai's people and Gem-Ado's."

"And to us," Marty added.

"Yes, that is a reasonable theory."

"Are you going to make contact?" Marty asked Angie.

"I believe so. I'll take the Lander down with Lia, Tyler and Uma."

Angie took her team to the equipment deck to prepare for a mission to the planet. She took two important precautions. "I want you to take a handgun, Uma. I'll take one too. I'm having second thoughts about taking you, Tyler. If these people are like Gem-Ado's, you could face a tough time of it."

"I accept whatever happens," Tyler said. "I do this in the interests of establishing an agreement with these people."

"Okay then, let's mount up."

After boarding a Lander and then taking it out of the hangar, Angie plunged the vessel down into the planet's atmosphere. Despite evidence that these aliens had aircraft and space craft, their trip down attracted no interference. Angie landed in an empty field that was 200 meters away from any structures. However, she knew that some of the aliens had seen the Lander coming down.

When Angie and her crew exited the Lander, there was nobody around. When they started walking toward a building, three aliens saw them and began walking toward them. They were very human looking, but had protruding lines running down their foreheads on both sides and their eyes were very dark, almost black, with almost no white areas. They were dressed in jackets over pants and the jackets had high collars with medallions that appeared to be studded with green gems.

"Keep calm, people," Angie said. "Act as if there's nothing wrong."

When the two groups met halfway to the building, the contact was peaceful.

"Who are you?" a woman asked.

"We are visitors from across the stars," Angie said, allowing Lia's translator to interpret her words into the alien language.

"How is that possible?" a man asked.

"We will explain that to your leader," Angie said. "We are here on an urgent matter. We must talk to your leaders."

"If you are from across the stars, how do you know our language?" a woman asked.

"We have a translator device that converts your language to ours and our language to yours."

The first woman pulled a device from a pouch on her belt and began talking into it. Angie and her crew assumed that it was a communications device and that she was calling for help.

"Is that the vessel that you came across the stars in?" the man asked.

"No," Angie said. "That is a auxiliary craft. Our main ship is in orbit around your planet."

"We were not informed of any unknown craft orbiting our planet," a woman said.

"Our main ship is hidden from view by our technology," Angie said. She turned to Lia. "They always ask the same things."

"And, you always give the same answers," Lia said.  "I'm sure that it is caused by the fact that their thought patterns are similar to Masai's people."

After a few minutes passed, a new group of aliens approached.

"I am told that you claim to come from across the stars in a craft that orbits our world," a woman said. "Our astronomers do not see it."

Angie keyed her long-range mic. "Take the stealth down for a few minutes."

"Yes, Admiral."

"Have them check now," Angie told her.

The woman talked into a small communications device for a few minutes before smiling. "We are ready to talk."

"Good. Is there a location that is out of the light of your star?"

"Yes," the woman said. "Come with us."

They walked with the aliens to a building in a complex of several buildings. Each structure consisted of a basic geodesic dome over round smooth windowless walls. The entrance was a solid metal door that retracted into the wall. After Angie and her crew had entered, the alien woman pointed at Tyler.

"Our laws do not permit males to enter our buildings clothed."

Angie gave Tyler a I'm-very-sorry-about-this look. Lia grinned. She figured that this was payback time for her ordeal on the Drak planet.

"I will comply, ma'am in the interests of this mission." He quickly undressed and handed his clothing to Angie, who folded it and placed it inside a satchel she was carrying. The two other alien males removed their clothing and handed them over to a woman, who went off somewhere. Angie tried to avoid looking at them, but Lia didn't practice that restraint. Tyler joined his naked brethren and followed Angie, Lia and the alien women into the main part of the building. The inside was all marble with shiny metal sculptures that looked abstract in design. They had curved surfaces that resembled Möbius surfaces. As with the other pseudo- human structures, there were pools surrounded by gardens of alien plants and flowers. Fountains added a peaceful ambiance.

What got Angie was the gracefulness that these aliens exhibited when welcoming visitors from outer space.  If something like this had happened on Earth, the visitors would have been killed or taken prisoner and dissected. The only problem that she had with these aliens is their strange treatment of males.

Angie and her crew were ushered to a meeting chamber that had a table and chairs. While Tyler and the two alien males stood along the walls like decorations, Angie, Lia and Uma took seats at the table.

"First, I wish to express our gratitude for your hospitality," Angie said. "We have come here to discuss a serious problem. We wish to help you, but if you do not want our help, we will depart and leave your system. We do not come to conquer or dominate. We are here on a mission of mercy."

"What is this serious problem that you speak of?" the obvious leader asked.

"Show them the picture," Angie told Lia.

Lia passed the large picture of a Dragon alien to the leader.

"This is an image of aliens that are ravaging this galaxy. They either destroy whole species or take many captives and butcher them for food. We are on a mission to rescue the captives and destroy these aliens where we can."

"We have not seen this creature, but we do experience unexplained disappearances."

"We will make an effort to find your people and return them to you," Angie said. "All we ask in return is some help in finding them."

"How can we help?" the leader asked.

"We would like to have one of your people go with us. This individual should be someone knowledgeable in stars and planets."

"We will consider your proposal," the leader said. "I assume that you are in charge of your star-crossing vessel."

"Yes. I am the Commander of a fleet of these ships."

"We will contact you when we are ready," the leader said.

Angie got up. "That is acceptable. We will go now and await your decision."

They exited the building with Tyler bringing up the rear.

Lia turned to look at him, making sure that he saw that she was examining his genitals. "How does it feel to have your bare ass hanging out, Tyler?"

"I say, this is most humiliating," Tyler said.
"Now, I know how you felt, but it is not the stern that I am concerned about, it is the bow."

Lia laughed.

Angie handed him his clothes. "Here, put these on. We're out of their damn building."

He did so without wasted effort.

###

"How'd it go?" Marty asked Angie the instant she appeared on the command deck.

"It went well, except poor Tyler had to strip. It seems that they don't allow males to wear clothing when they are in buildings."

"That's weird," Marty said. "I'm glad that I didn't have to go."

"From now on, I'm not taking any of you guys down to these pseudo-human planets. Their attitude is stupid."

"If this is like some mythical matriarchal society," Marty said. "It does make sense. In the fantasy world of Forgotten Realms females rule Drow societies and males are merely servants or considered pets."

"Lucky for you guys, I'm running this show. These aliens seem to like that fact and comply with my requests."

"I have a message from a laser beam that originates on the planet, Angie."

"Play it, Delphi."

"We have approved your request, commander. I have one individual who can help you. She will be ready at the rise of our star at your landing area."

"Send my thanks, Delphi and tell them that we will pick her up."

"Yes, Angie."

"You have this down pat, Admiral," Marty said. "I wonder if she will adjust to our ways?"

"We own her ass," Angie said. "She'll do as I tell her." She stood up to address the entire crew. "I am in charge here and my rules apply to everyone. There will be no punishments unless I order them." She looked at Masai and Gem-Ado. "Do you understand?"

They both nodded. Noasa and Tem-Dao looked pleased but did not speak.

Angie sat back down. "I'm sick of this shit. I have enough power at my disposal to destroy planets. We're out here to find these damn Dragon bastards and destroy them not put up with idiot aliens. From now on they'll do it by my rules or I'll go down with Ninja and his Drak army in full battle array."

Marty looked at her and wondered if she was on the verge of snapping. He came to the conclusion that she needed rest and relaxation.

"You and Ninja go down there and pick the bitch up. Take weapons, and if they give you a hard time shoot them."

"Yes, Admiral." Marty gestured to Ninja.
He signaled for two Drak females to join him. Marty led his troops to the equipment deck, got into armor and grabbed new Mark AR-51 combo assault rifle and grenade launchers.

"We're taking a fighter," Marty said.

"Are we expecting a battle?" Ninja asked.

"I don't know about you, but there's no way in hell that I'm going to let these people make me strip naked."

Ninja didn't react to that.

###

When Marty and Ninja appeared on the command deck, Angie smiled at them. "I think you scared the shit out the leader. She sent a message asking if she had done something wrong. I told her we were expecting a Dragon attack."

"Jet-Lee looked terrified," Marty said. "Especially when she saw Ninja and the Drak females. Talk about your culture shock."

"I have a better shock for her; I'll allow you to examine her."

Marty grinned. "Oh, you devil you."

Lia came into the command deck with Jet-Lee. The alien female looked around with wide-eyed astonishment. She was obviously overwhelmed.

"This is our Admiral," Lia said. "She is in charge of our fleet, and this is Commander Sinclair. He is in charge of this ship. We do not consider males as inferior, so you will obey him."

"We are all equal on my vessel," Angie said. "Gender, race or rank make no difference. We also allow skin exposure, but we do insist on the wearing of standard issue clothing."

"I understand, memsa."

"What did she call me?"

"That's equivalent to leader in her language," Lia said.

"Well Miss Jet-Lee, go with Commander Martin here to Medical Station where your body will be examined. We do this to all of our new recruits." She winked at Marty.

Marty returned a big smile.

After Marty and Jet-Lee departed, Angie turned to Rosie, Karl, Masai and Jem-Ado. "Find us a new star. We'll go there next after we visit the twin planet."

"Yes, ma'am" Karl replied.

###

"Take us out of orbit, Delphi. Take us as quickly as possible to the twin planet."

"Yes, Angie."

"Where's Jet-Lee?" she asked Marty.

"Lia's giving her a crash English course."

"What did you think of her?"

"Without clothes she looks like any other woman. There are a few differences: she has big breasts like Masai but she's not lactating. She's also missing a clitoris like Masai and Gem-Ado."

"Did she have trouble with you examining her?"

"Not at all. In fact, I think she enjoyed it. She said that a lot of young women on her planet don't like how men are treated. They are banding together to push for reform."

"Good for her. I think that she'll fit in well."

Marty smiled. "I'm sure she will. She's afraid of you."

"She has good reason to be afraid," Angie said.

Lia, Jet-Lee, and several Drak females came on the command deck and took their jump positions. When the deck began to rotate and elongate, Jet-Lee's eyes ballooned, but she did not cry out.

The course to the twin planet was much like that they had executed when in Birdie's system. A quick jump out at an angle to the star, come to a complete stop, turn and do a quick jump back at an angle. When the jump was complete, the ship flew into the star's corona. The image of the star close up in the main screen was awesome to all who cared to look at it. Fortunately, the light of a boiling surface of hot gases was filtered to avoid overexposure of the video arrays.

The X-4001 approached the planet at high velocity and braked at the last possible moment. This should have been quite visible from the planet, but nothing came up to confront them.

"This planet is identical to the first," George said. "The land masses are differently shaped, but the ratio of land to water is the same."

"We are in a stable orbit, Angie."

"Good, Delphi. Launch atmospheric and oceanic probes."

"Yes, Angie."

"I am detecting no hostile actions from the surface," Ninja reported. "There are satellites orbiting the planet, but they are benign."

"Readings on the atmosphere are identical to the first planet," Anna said. "The oxygen and water vapor concentrations are the same."

"The oceans have the same salinity," Ferris said. "There are life forms, but they are different than on the first planet. However, many of them appear to be air breathing."

"The surface looks different than the first planet," George said. "The vegetation appears to be more Earth-like. There are more of the larger land animals running about."

"Launch the Biometric Mother, Delphi. Disperse the insect probes at 1000 meters."

"Yes, Angie."

After the Mother had launched and the insects had been dispersed, image streams began to inundate the video arrays.

"Interesting," George said. "They employ the same geodesic dome architecture."

"Were your people aware of this planet?" Angie asked Jet-Lee.

"Yes. We have sent ships to them and they have reciprocated."

"Are your people and these people on friendly terms?"

"We have treaties that foster trade and exchange of technology. Their society is even more female centered than ours."

"I would be most interested in studying these treaties," Tyler said. "It may give us an insight into their psyche."

"I have no intention of putting you through that again," Angie said.

"I appreciate that, ma'am, but I am willing to sacrifice my modesty to study these aliens."

"Their laws do not permit males to wear clothing at all," Jet-Lee said.

"That's weird," Marty said. "That has to be the ultimate in matriarchal power. Men must have no more value than dogs or cats on Earth."

"If you need moral support, Tyler, I volunteer to accompany you," Jean-Michel said.

"I welcome your offer," Tyler said.

"You two guys do not have to do this," Angie said. "I was going to take down a bunch of armed Drak females."

"We will make a propitious substitute, ma'am," Tyler said. "It will exhibit a peaceful intent on our part."

"Okay, but I'm still taking weapons," Angie said.

"Check this out," George said, switching a scene from an insect probe to the main screen.
"That looks like a typical street scene. Men and women strolling about, going to and fro, except for the fact that the men are naked."

"I don't understand how they can live like that," Marty said. "It's obscene."

"To us, but obviously not to them," Ferris said. "If men are considered inferior, this treatment would not be all that unusual."

Angie stood up. "Lia, Uma and Jet-Lee, I choose you for the landing team. Tyler and Jean-Michel, you're welcome to come, but you'll have to leave your clothing on the ship."

The two men stood up. "We understand, ma'am," Tyler said.

When the Angie and her landing team got to the equipment deck, the mood became serious. Angie strapped on a hand gun and gave one to Uma. Lia took a translator. Jet-Lee was given a pack containing scanning instruments.
The women waited while Tyler and Jean-Michel removed their clothing. When they had finished, Lia smiled at them. Uma enjoyed feasting her eyes on them. Jet-Lee was unimpressed.

They boarded a Lander and waited while Delphi pumped the air from the hangar. When the process was complete, Angie moved the Lander out of the hangar and fired braking engines to enter the alien planet's atmosphere.

Angie turned to Jet-Lee after she leveled out the Lander and headed for a city." Have you ever visited this planet?"

"No, but I have seen many images of it."

Angie put the Lander down in a round paved area near a group of buildings. People who were strolling around in the circle quickly ran off to the sides of the paved area to provide space for the Lander.

When they exited from the Lander, the aliens approached Angie and her party. These aliens were much the same as Jet-Lee. In fact, they were identical. Their clothing was not quite as fashionable, but the females wore tunic coats over pants that covered them from top of their necks to the ground. The males were nude, and they looked like typical human males.

"Who are you?" a woman asked.

Angie pointed at Jet-Lee. "This is Jet-Lee from your companion planet. We are travelers from across the stars. We came here to talk to your leaders about a serious matter."

"Who are they," a woman asked, pointing at the Drak females, each of which was standing at attention while holding a BFG."

"Those are Drak females. They protect us. Don't make them angry."

That caused some people to back away. Others stared at them with concerned expressions. No one paid attention to Tyler or Jean-Michel. The alien women were so accustomed to seeing naked men they were jaded.

On the other hand, Earth women found naked men fascinating. They were all trim, muscular and well hung. Uma and Lia were enjoying themselves like kids in a candy store. Angie was too perturbed to pay attention. The Drak females were unimpressed.

A small group of women approached. An obvious leader acted as spokesperson.
"Why have you come here?"

"We are searching for the home world of bad aliens who eat people like you and me." She motioned for Lia to show the picture of a Dragon alien.

The leader and her group reacted with shock.

On the command deck ofthe X-4001, the conversation wasn't as terse.

"I wonder how the Admiral's doing down there," Marty said.

"I don't know," George said. "I'm just glad that she didn't pick me to go down there."

"We should thank Tyler and Jean-Michel for their sacrifices because they prevented our Admiral from making a serious mistake."

"What's wrong with her? She seems so agitated of late."

Marty sighed. "Yeah, she worries me too. But, she has the will and strength to keep these aliens in line, especially since they outnumber us."

"If this trend keeps up, we may end up like the humans in Animal Farm."

"Hopefully, we'll go back home before it gets to that."

"I have images from the surface," George said, transferring them to the main screen.

After viewing the images for several minutes, Marty rubbed his jaw. "It sure looks like Angie, Uma and Lia are getting an eyeful."

"Why do these aliens treat men as if they were dogs?" George said.

"The only thing I can come up with is that they consider men as inferior."

"But, why don't they allow them to wear clothes?"

"Why do the Drak males do the same thing to their females?" Marty asked rhetorically. "It has to be a method of subjugation. A naked person is unlikely to cause problems."

"True, but it's cruel and obscene."

"To us, but obviously not to them."

George sighed. "I hope that this doesn't give the Admiral ideas."

Marty laughed. "She may be crazy, but she isn't nuts."

What difference does it make?

###

Marty turned to watch Angie, Lia, Uma, Tyler, Jean-Michel and Jet-Lee come onto the command deck. Angie looked stressed, which was not good. Tyler and Jean-Michel looked relieved, which made sense. Uma and Lia looked happy, which means that they had fun.

"Guess what those idiots are doing," Angie said with her eyes shooting fire.

Marty was almost afraid to ask. "What?"

"They're giving their men to the Dragons."

"No way."

"Yes, way. They've been doing it for some time. I told that dumb bitch that these Dragon bastards are skinning them alive and butchering them up for food.  She didn't even show any sorrow for those poor men. I told her that she had better start thinking about what she's doing because it's cruel and stupid."

"I think that she received your message loud and clear, ma'am," Tyler said. "I noted that the news of what was happening to the men spread around quickly. These people are going to have a big problem on their hands if there is a backlash over all of this."

Angie turned to Jet-Lee. "I hope that I didn't get your people in trouble. At least you're not giving your men to the Dragons. They're probably taking both your men and your women, but it is being done without your people knowing what is going on, unlike these idiots."

"Our relationship with these people is one of neutrality," Jet-Lee said. "We simply trade goods and ideas. Our leaders do not approve of their system."

"That's one up for you," Angie said. She turned back to Marty. "We did get some useful information from them. Their astronomers had traced the trajectory of the Dragon ships when they left this system. They also gave us some of their star charts. You should have the information at your station, Karl."

"I do, ma'am."

"We'll go to first star on their list," Angie said. She turned to Rosie. "I found out that the Dragon aliens are multilingual. They know a lot of alien languages."

"I know. They know our language."

"Is there anything else you know about them that you haven't told us?" Angie asked her.

"You haven't asked me before," Rosie said.

"Well, I'm asking you now."

"The Old Ones are intelligent and able to learn quickly. They steal technology and are quite adept at obtaining information from other aliens. They have evaded our attempts to penetrate their social and cultural lives, but we do know that they are family oriented. They respect their females and children. Their metabolism relies on high intake of protein. That is one of the reasons that they consume the meat of species such as you and the other pseudo-humans. However, they do occasionally take other non-humanoid species such as my people, so I have a direct interest in finding their home world."

"Now, that's very useful information," Marty said. "If they have families, then they must establish safe havens for them. If we could find one of these, we may be able to locate their home world."

"I have the first star," Karl said. "It's a G5 V class star 37.8 light years from here."

"Take us out of orbit, Delphi. Take us up to jump speed."

"Yes, Angie."