SImp

"Ladies, here is our situation. We are lost in the space-time continuum and so far away from home that it would take centuries to get back home with our current flight capabilities. You have seen our ship. And one look out the cockpit windshield would make a believer out of anyone after seeing the earth swimming in space. I hope you realize that our technology is far ahead of what even your greatest dreamers such as Robert Heinlein, Murry Leinster or Doc E. E. Smith have ever dreamed of, well maybe not Doc Smith…. Anyway, to get back home, we desperately need your help." At this point, Serina held up her hand in the stop gesture.

"I know what you are thinking, but it is not the technology that we need help with, we need material assistance to build the equipment that will take us home. Our first step is to acquire a small fortune as it is going to take a large corporations worth of help to build what we need." Holding up the cash that we had collected from the bikers Serina said, "in rescuing you we found enough money among them to buy a home, almost ten thousand dollars." And Serina paused for effect. Silence, so loud that you could hear each breath, roared in response.

Continuing Serina said, "If you agree, we can help you far beyond what we have done so far and hopefully we can help others that find themselves in a similar situation as when we found you. For instance, how would you feel about calling in an air strike, I mean the two of us in our armor, on any bad guys you found molesting someone?" And Serina paused to let the squeals of excitement die down. Or how about thinking of your self as the information network that the Shadow used. I'm sure you have heard this, 'Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!' Well, you can find out where the evil is, and we can be Superman coming to save the day. " More squeals of excitement told us that Serina had hit the mark and they were all fantasizing about helping real superheroes, not comic book ones.

Looking very serious Serina continued, "However, you will have to swear to take all knowledge of us to your grave. No one can know of us, or irreparable harm could happen to the space-time continuum. Literally by talking you could be killing your children's children. If you want out you have our word that you will be returned to your home safe and unharmed, you will have a vague memory of a fun night out, and you will never see us again." Again Serina paused to let this idea penetrate.

"We know that two wrongs do not make a right, but if we can save other girls from the same fate that happened to you and gather some cash at the same time would not this be the perfect revenge for you?" Continuing Serina pled, "If we can accumulate enough cash, we can push the technologies that we know we will need to grow. Plus we can use that cash to help you in the future as the more knowledge you have and the more opportunities that you have, the more you can help us. It will be a win-win."

Lance stepped next to me, and we put our arms around the other's waist standing together as one. Lance then asked the big question. "Who wants to help us?"

We might as well have tossed a bomb in the room. Words flew fast and furiously about the cockpit. Too fast to even comprehend. The girls fear tearing at their very cores. The girls were hugging each other one moment and threatening suicide or mayhem the next. From the heights of excitement to the depths of despair and back again. Slowly order began to congeal from the chaos. Revenge was a word that popped up as recognizable most often. The phrase 'honor and loyalty' would bubble to the surface of the confusion now and then. What stunned me the most was that Lance was the target of some of the hugs being tossed around like so much confetti.

Ashley and Barbara were the first, they were both bawling their eyes out and hugging me when they got shoved aside by Marjorie, and as Lance was the closest stable body, they just used him. I could tell he was stunned and the look in his eyes was priceless. They hugged him closer than I would typically like, but I knew deep in my heart that he would be mine forever. Plus the girls needed this right now as their world had just been torn apart and was in the process of being put back together in a shape that they would never have imagined before. Bridget and Caitlín, the two redheads, joined the sobbing hugging group, and Lance just helplessly patted the head of whoever was closest at the time. If the situation were not so unbelievable, I'd be on the floor laughing. That the five girls would allow themselves to even touch a man at this point boded well for their eventual full recovery.

Eventually, after a un-measurable period of time, peace descended. Lance was cuddling the twins, one arm around each of them, their heads on his chest. The other three pressing as close to the twins as they could get. They were all looking at Lance when Ashley said, "We're in, what do we need to do?"

[Serina? Help!] Lance subvocalized.

Serina said out loud, "I hope none of you fear needles because we need to inject some robots that are so small that you can't see them with your naked eyes. Some of these robots will replicate themselves and remain in your body to help heal you if you need it, while others will settle in around your ears and we will be able to communicate with each other. Kind of like a telephone but no one will be able to hear what you will listen to. A whisper so faint that no one could hear what you said a foot away from your mouth will be as good as a yell. Our ship, which we named 'Bit,' will listen to you all the time but he will only connect a telephone-like-linkup if you ask for it. This is our secret weapon. One particular thing you must know is that the medical robots, by the way, we call them nanobots, will prevent fertility. If you want that switched off, you will have to ask Bit to do it for you. Which also means that Bridget and Caitlín will have nothing to worry about from last nights events."

In answer Ashley, the surprising leader of the group, did a rapid visual vote of the other girls and stuck out her arm, while grimacing, saying, "OK."

I almost laughed outright, a whisper of a chuckle did escape my lips, and I said, "It is much more comfortable than that and more complicated at the same time. At this point, I doubt that any of you cares, but if you do, I'll blindfold Lance… Oh! We should have introduced our selves long ago. My name is Jane, and my husband's name is Lawrence—or my favorite nickname for him is Lance. Now if you will take off your clothes and lay on one the bunks you see against the wall, Bit will be able to scan you so that the nanobots can be built just for your genetic makeup and no one else. Bit can also scan to make sure that there is nothing wrong inside your body and if there is Bit can fix you right now."

"Bit, sorry for the late introductions, is an incredibly complicated device that we call 'artificial intelligence.' You can think of Bit as a super powerful ENIAC if that helps. Bit is not only the name of the ship but also the name of the artificial person who controls the ship." What I got back was open-jawed amazement. Ashley was swinging her head back forth in a no gesture while saying under her breath, "No one will believe this, even if I told."

However, the girls did move to the tiered beds and removed their clothes before laying down. Bit got right to work and swung the scanning bar out of the wall of each bunk as soon as each girl had settled in place. Lance's eyes grew about as round as saucers as one by one they took their clothes off. Look but don't touch was the unspoken rule of the Imperial society, and it was not that he was unacquainted with the sights; especially after being stationed on Carribia. But still, the poor guy had been brought up in a clothing-will-be-worn culture. It was all I could do to not laugh out loud.