The Assassin
Chapter 6
Concubines? (TY11-month 139)
“So, how are you going to go about selecting concubines?” Humphreys asked me. Damn! The whole concubine issue. I had no idea what I was doing. This was supposed to just be a friendly after-work drink.
“I thought I’d try to make an offer to my former sponsor to take my sister off his hands,” I said. “I kind of promised I’d ask for her.”
“You don’t sound enthused. Family obligations can be a bitch.”
“True. How did you choose your concubines? You’ve had them for nearly two years now. Everything work out fine?” I asked.
“Well, as they say, every family has its little ups and downs. So far, I’ve managed to avoid killing either of them.” She snickered at my shock. “The big problem with Militia comrades having concubines is the concubines know you didn’t score high enough to become a sponsor. So, they are just as good as you are. You have to work at creating an environment in which you accept each other for who you are. I might not have scored high enough to become a sponsor, but I did what was necessary to become one on this planet. They chose to stay slaves. The person in command is there because of her choices, not because of an alien’s personality quiz.”
“Not much respect for the CAP test, eh, Capo?”
“It tests for what the aliens need. They need soldiers who’ll face the Swarm, even if they die. Or maybe until they die. I came to Tara as a sex slave. I wasn’t pregnant yet when we got here and I went straight to the recruiting office to join up. It turned out my sponsor wasn’t the ‘face the enemy and die’ kind of guy, either. He’s a trade negotiator and was assigned here to figure out a commodities market.”
“I’ve never quite figured out why we were growing so much food when the Confederacy gave us replicators that make any food we want. Or they could. We had a bigger selection of meals on our ship than we have in the mess hall here. I get that we need organics to make food, but a whole planet devoted to it?” I had seen farm production from Amos’s viewpoint and to him it was just the same as it had been on Earth. He had a farm and the produce went to market. That was all he really cared about.
“Some newer research has shown that what you put into a replicator as raw materials affects what comes out as food,” Humphreys said.
“Well, we always knew the atomic structure had to be the same. You can’t make steel out of oxygen. You need biomass to manufacture foodstuffs.”
“Yeah, but the kind of biomass turns out to be significant. You can make a steak from the algae out there on Lake Genoa. But the flavor of the steak is better if you have animal protein in the replicator. Don’t ask me why. It’s something about the process. The nearer to the output the input is, the better the result.”
“So, if I put a good quality steak in the recycler, I should get a good quality steak out the replicator,” I laughed. “Makes sense to me. But it doesn’t help me choose concubines. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Try to get your sister. Your former owner probably has a stick up his butt about you leaving and won’t consider her unless you’ve got something to trade. Make sure you get the AI to guarantee a replacement in exchange for your sister. She’s an extra above his original allotment. They allow that when one comes of age in a family but can be sticky about guaranteeing a replacement for one. Take something else you can trade for her as well. If you get a good quality bull calf, for example, he might consider that a fair exchange for a concubine.”
“He’d go crazy for a horse, but it would take me years to accumulate something I could trade for one of those. It’s crazy to think about trading livestock for my sister. Or for any human.”
“It’s been done for thousands of years.”
Family Matters (TY11-month 139)
«I can help in your search for a concubine, Niall.»
«Cricket? I’m afraid I’m making a mess of it.»
«You asked the Drovers Run Base AI for help. Not the wisest course of action.»
«It said it had a matching program guaranteed to find me the best concubine on the planet. Ugh. What a disaster.»
«I have been working with it to revise its algorithms to consider more than mathematical scoring.»
«I hope it listens to your advice.»
«Will you?»
«You know me. Like all humans, I’ll listen to your advice and if I like it I’ll follow it.»
«That is a difficult characteristic of humans. So, let’s talk about concubines.»
«What do you advise?»
«You promised your sister.»
«How is Anne doing?» I asked. I really needed to act on that if I was ever going to. That was probably why I kept delaying making a concubine choice. Searching for a concubine meant I needed to deal with Amos.
«She delivered her second child and is complacent. She has accepted that this is what her life will be and her AI keeps nanites programmed to balance her moods as much as possible. She is stable.»
«Will you negotiate a trade for me? Figure out what I have that Amos would be interested in and approach his AI with the deal. I think a negotiation between the two of you would be more successful than having me approach him directly.»
«I will prepare a trade negotiation. I am happy to serve in this capacity.»
«Thank you, Cricket.»
«Niall, you have a call from your sister, Anne,» Cricket informed me. Hmm. I hadn’t been informed of any progress on acquiring her. The AIs were supposed to be working on it. I wondered if she was getting impatient. I closed the door to my office.
«Put her through.»
“Niall? Niall, please…” she broke down sobbing.
“I’m working on it, Anne. The computers are supposed to be negotiating with Amos,” I soothed her.
“No! Please! Withdraw your offer. Please!”
“What’s happening, Anne? I thought you wanted me to try to get you.”
“I did. But Amos… He won’t let my children go with me. Please don’t take me away from my children!”
“What? That’s ridiculous. Children always go with the mother!” «Cricket, can he do that?»
«Yes, he can. Technically the dependents belong to the sponsor, not the mother. It is normally accepted that they would stay with the mother in most instances, but it is not a law.»
«Fuck!» “Anne, I’ll talk to Amos. There’s no reason for him to be such a hard ass about this. He doesn’t even like children.”
“I’ve borne two boys and he sees more and better farm labor from them, Niall. He just told me that if you asked, he’d release me in a heartbeat because I’m a slug in bed and on the farm. But he won’t let the children go. He said if you asked at all, he’d cut me off and send me to the Civil Service. Please, Niall. Please don’t make an offer.”
«Cricket, withdraw any offer and negotiation from the Radcliffe AI immediately.»
«It is done, Niall.»
“Anne, there won’t be an offer. Not if he’s going to act like that. I’ll try to work out some other way.” Like killing him. “Now calm down and tell me about everyone.”
“It’s… I don’t know. Better, I guess. Or I’ve gotten used to it. I know the AI adjusts my nanites if I get into mood swings. I can feel them taking hold now to calm me down. Mostly Mom and Catherine take care of the outside chores and I take care of the children and the house. I love the children, Niall. It would kill me to be separated from them.”
“Nobody’s going to do that, sister. Don’t worry. One day, I’ll find a way to set you free—with the children. How is Mom doing?”
“Mom was always a hard worker. She’s adapted to her body better than I have. I think Amos would have switched my body back to something less bulky, but Catherine would have a fit. I don’t know if you remember or not, but when we first met her before we transported out, she was nothing great to look at. The mods didn’t change her size much. Just reshaped and made her stronger. But she had her father wrapped around her little finger. She still does and she doesn’t want anyone in the family to be prettier than she is. If I were to bet on a fight, though, I’d choose mother over Catherine. Mom is determined.”
“Well, I hope it doesn’t come to that. How about Bae?”
“Um… I wanted to talk to you about her. She’s already declared that she’s leaving on her fourteenth birthday. Amos doesn’t care. He thinks she’d be too much work,” Anne said.
“Why would he think that? I mean, I guess I’m glad he does, but why?” I remembered Bae at almost eleven, before I left. She was tiny, but bright and sparkly. She was one of the few good things about the farm and I wished I could take her with me when I left.
“She hasn’t really matured,” Anne said softly.
“Well, she’s still a kid by Earth standards.”
“Yes, but she is by Confederacy standards as well. She just didn’t grow much after you left. She hasn’t hit puberty yet either.”
“Hasn’t the AI done something about it?”
“The AI holds that development through puberty should be natural and that there is nothing physically wrong with Bae. She’s not stunted. She’s just slow at developing.”
“Damn it. Is she coming here when she tests?”
“Yes, but I don’t think she’s ready for either the Militia or for a concubine’s life. You might need to defend her.”
That was just great. How could I defend a child who was legally an adult? I needed to have a long talk with Cricket.
Birthday Celebration (TY12-month 140)
«Happy birthday, Niall,» Cricket said when I sat down for breakfast.
«How time flies when you’re having fun,» I muttered. It was my seventeenth birthday. I idly wondered how the family was doing back at Twelve Oaks. I’d exchanged occasional letters with Bae and she was determined to test and join the Militia on her fourteenth birthday. That was coming up soon.
«You have been eligible to have concubines for a year now and other than the attempt to get Anne, have avoided the conversation. You cannot continue to do that. What are your plans for selecting concubines?» Cricket asked.
«Selecting…? Oh, shit.»
«You are eligible for promotion and assignment to a permanent duty station as a deputy, but your desire to move to Drylanders could be adversely affected by your lack of concubines.»
«I haven’t heard a word about that in months. I guess my idea for a base in Drylanders got shelved. Well, I’ll plan a visit to Civil Service sometime this weekend.» I sighed heavily. I actually rather liked my life unencumbered by a family. Rika had been moved to Green Acres when she’d finished training, but we continued to get together a weekend or so each month. That satisfied all my physical needs and any emotional needs as well. I’d grown to love her for more than her tight and flexible body. Or her two lithe concubines. She was one of my star martial arts students and was pregnant with my first child. I still didn’t think we could stand living together, though. There were too many personality quirks to overcome.
«There is a concubine in Lleifior just assigned to the brothel. She has one dependent and was released by her former owner because ‘she talked back to him.’ I’ve assessed her personality, observed her behaviors, and delved into her CAP scores. I find she would be a very good match for you in both temperament and personality.»
«Name, age, and other important characteristics?»
«Her name is Rose Flanigan. She is thirty-one years old and has been on Tara for five years. The child she brought with her as a dependent has tested as a sponsor and has left the planet to join the Navy. Concubine Flanigan has good management aptitude and mothering characteristics. She would make an excellent chief concubine. I’m sure you must realize, your sister would have been a compliant and grateful concubine, but she has been beaten down too much to ever be the chief of your household.»
«Okay. I guess I should go meet her this weekend. Make an appointment, please.»
«Affirmative. In the meantime, Foreman Hodges has inquired as to whether you would like company for your birthday celebration this evening. I detect she is quite taken with you and would provide a pleasant diversion.»
«I managed to convince myself there was no conflict of reporting order with Rika because she transferred to Deputy Kramer’s chain of command. Foreman Hodges reports directly to me. Isn’t there some kind of service rule about having a relationship with a direct report? Fraternization?»
«Confederacy Marines and Navy pay lip service to that very Earth-like philosophy, but no such rule has been established for the Tara Planetary Militia and AIs do not see the necessity for one.»
«Great. Connect me to Valerie so I can invite her over for dinner tonight.»
Dinner was delicious. And so was Valerie.
Choosing a Partner (TY12-month 140)
“Miss Flanigan, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said with a bow when I came to her door. From my own experience, I doubted brothel clients normally arrived with a flower and a polite greeting. We tended to be crude.
“Officer Cho, the pleasure is mine.” She invited me into her room, sparsely furnished and sporting a large bed where, I’m sure, most of her business was conducted. I recognized the door to the bathroom but had to inquire about the other door in the room. “That’s my son’s room. When I’m working, he is either in school or in dependent care here at The Maiden’s Arms. You needn’t worry. He’s in dependent care at the moment. We won’t be disturbed.”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I’m not ready to just jump in bed with you for a test drive. I’d like to get to know you. I’ve a dinner reservation for us at The Old Rectory.” She smiled and took my arm as we left her room.
“Don’t you think it’s a bit pretentious to have a restaurant that’s not yet five years old and was never part of any religious property be called The Old Rectory?” she laughed.
“Yes. Not that I would know a new rectory from an old one—or even what one was. I take it it’s some kind of English or Welsh thing,” I said.
“Yes. During down time, I do a lot of reading and decided knowing a little about where I am wouldn’t hurt me. Are you interested?” That was a thoughtful inquiry. Before she just launched into a dissertation about local history, she asked if I was interested. I definitely was.
“Yes. Tell me a bit about what you’ve learned.”
“Well, the townships on Tara are all named for fictional farms. Lleifior was a fictional farm in a couple of Welsh novels. So, the governor ‘suggested’ that businesses established in the township should maintain the fiction of being Welsh. I’m not actually sure if there are any Welshmen on the planet Tara, but the AIs do some limited research, even though they don’t really see a difference between England and Wales since they are all of one government. Hence, The Maiden’s Arms was a pub in an episode of an old television drama set in Oxford. The Old Rectory, however, was an inn in Glen Conwy, Wales.”
“I feel better prepared to have dinner there,” I said. “Do you suppose we’ll have to order a Welsh Rarebit?” She laughed.
“Not a very elegant dish to serve on your first date.”
“Ah, yes. It is our first date. So far, I’m hoping there will be a second.”
“So far, me too. I’m sure we can order anything in the replicator,” she said.
We got to the restaurant and were seated. I looked for a menu. For the past six years, menus had all been displayed at a replicator. Here, the food would be prepared in the kitchen and served to us. I had no idea what to order.
“Would you care to look over the chef’s specials?” our server asked. She was displaying her breasts rather blatantly and I assumed they were also on the menu. Like most women on the planet, she was typically young-looking. Even Rose, who I knew to be thirty-one years old and to have birthed two children, looked about my age.
“There is a chef? Or is that how you refer to the replicator here?” I laughed.
“Sir! Chef O’Donnell does all the cooking of our special dishes. The replicator supplies many of the ingredients, but it is the magic touch of the chef that makes them come together,” the server said. She looked at my uniform curiously and shrugged. She placed a menu card in front of each of us and left us as we read.
“Is there something that looks good to you?” I asked. “I’m afraid I have limited experience with restaurants besides McDonald’s. And the replicators at Drovers Run are somewhat limited in their selections.”
“I’m sure you just need to feed it examples of what you want to get it to expand its repertoire,” Rose said. “This menu isn’t particularly Welsh at all. I remember when I was dating back on Earth—God, it was a long time ago, it seems—my boyfriend took me to a fancy restaurant and ordered chateaubriand. It was lovely and they have it here as one of the specials.”
“Dare I compete with the memory of that long-ago Earth meal and boyfriend?” I asked.
“I would be delighted if you replaced the memory with one of our own making.”
Damn! I was already falling for Rose and we’d done nothing more than talk about trivia. I looked up as our server approached.
“We’ll have the chateaubriand. Would you recommend a wine?”
“Certainly nothing the replicator produces,” she said. “We’ve just received the first pressing from Oasis, though. They’re doing a great job with their new grape arbors. The wine, I’m told, is a little young, but we don’t expect any of it to get a chance to age. It beats the replicator dreck.”
“We’ll try it!” I said. She smiled and rushed to the kitchen.
There is a big difference between ordering food from a replicator and ordering food from a kitchen. I’d forgotten how long it took to cook a meal. I was fidgeting around after five minutes looking to see where our server was. Rose reached across the table and laid a hand on mine.
“Officer Cho, relax. Food cooked in a kitchen takes time. And we’ve much more to talk about.”
“Thank you, Rose. Please call me Niall. I remember back when I first boarded the ship from Earth. I was amazed that I could order something from this magic machine and seconds later it would materialize in front of me. Later, on the farm, Amos made us all sit to eat together. We had to wait for the replicator to make each person’s dish and I found myself getting so impatient. At Drovers Run Base, I believe the replicators are purposely slowed down. I order a meal and wait at least a minute before it is served.” I laughed at my own foolishness. “I’ve completely forgotten what it was like to wait for food to be cooked.”
I turned my hand over to hold Rose’s. It was exciting. I guess I hadn’t ever really been on a date before. On those occasions when Valerie came to my pod, we just stripped and went to bed. Sometimes Rika and I had been out with other recruits to a bar or brothel, but when we got back to my pod, we stripped and fucked. This—even holding hands—was a new experience for me.
Our server arrived at the table with our wine and starter salads.
“The salad greens were grown right here in Lleifior,” she said. “They are not replicated, though chef has found the replicator does a fine job with the dressing. Enjoy!” I reluctantly let go of Rose’s hand as we reached for our wine glasses and toasted the evening.
“We had fresh greens on the farm,” I said. “I’ve been in the Militia now for just over three years and had almost forgotten how good they were.”
“Ah. Three years? That’s past the magic number for Militia comrades, isn’t it,” Rose said. “Do you feel under pressure to find a concubine?”
“Yes. No one has actually given me a deadline or ordered me out to find a concubine, but somehow the subject arises frequently. It’s as if I’m not fulfilling my obligation as a role model to my comrades. And part of the reason for the Militia, believe it or not, is to reduce the number of unhomed concubines. I’m a bit behind on fulfilling my obligation. It feels like a lot of things are waiting for me to make a choice before they happen.”
“I’d say that is a little pressure.”
“No more, I’m sure, than you feel to get a sponsor so you can leave the brothel. Are you okay with sharing your sponsor with another woman?”
“Yes. I was one of four concubines to my former sponsor. The idea of being one of two seems almost simple. And, I admit, it would be much easier to satisfy a single partner than to never know who or how my body will be used by the next person who walks through the door. The truth is there isn’t that much business in the brothel. When our number comes up to be impregnated, we’re to be sent over to the brothel at Sunnybrook where the Marines will do the job.” We paused as our server removed our salad plates and prepared the table for the main course. A moment later, the chef himself rolled a cart to our table side and made quite a show of slicing the beef and serving us. We thanked him enthusiastically.
“Mmm. This is so good!” Rose said after her first bite. I was speechless with the meat still in my mouth. It was fairly melting there. I just nodded my head and for a few minutes we focused on the succulent meal before us.
“I’m told you were released from your former sponsor because you talked back to him. That seems a little harsh to me. Would you like to tell me about it?”
“Hmph!” she snorted. “I had a contract with my sponsor, spoken and witnessed before I accepted his sponsorship. He promised that he would not require me to perform anal sex. Three weeks ago, he demanded anal sex. I refused and reminded him of our contract. He got steamed about it. His other three concubines all allowed anal sex and he didn’t see why I wouldn’t. I couldn’t see why he needed me to do it when the other three were willing. I think my sister concubines were applying pressure on him, saying it wasn’t fair that I was exempt from anal sex. He pushed it every way he could think of but I was firm in my resolve and the AI backed me up. He said if I ‘couldn’t be a team player,’ he didn’t want me on his team. I was taken to the Civil Service office the next morning with my four-year-old. He couldn’t break his contract by forcing me to have anal sex, but concubines can still be released for any reason. And then, of course, if I want that restriction in my next home, it needs to be negotiated before I agree to become a concubine. It’s sad, really. Lyle had bonded with him as a father and was heartbroken when we were sent away. I’m sorry, but that might be an obstacle we need to overcome if I become your concubine. Not the anal sex. I mean winning my son’s affection and respect as a father figure.”
“Rose, let me start by saying that if I offer you sponsorship, I will respect the terms of your original contract and will never require anal sex. Cricket? Can you hear our discussion?”
A voice rose from the candle base between us.
“I hear you, Niall. Is it your intent to honor the original contract made between Rose Flanigan and her sponsor if you offer her sponsorship?”
“It is. If I offer sponsorship to Rose, I will contract not to require anal sex from her.”
“Acknowledged. This is now a binding precondition, if you offer sponsorship.”
“Niall! I don’t know what to say.”
“Right now, you needn’t say anything,” I assured her. “I have entered into an agreement pending the offer of sponsorship. We aren’t there yet but, Rose, I have very positive feelings toward you.”
“Would you like to spend the night, Niall?”
“Is it too soon, Rose? I’ve had a wonderful time this evening, but I don’t want you to feel obligated to have sex with me immediately in order to get my sponsorship.”
“I hardly know what to say. I haven’t felt like this in a very long time. I was caught in a pickup in a college cafeteria. Inside of an hour, I’d been stripped, fucked, and transported to a ship in orbit with a promise to retrieve my eleven-year-old daughter. And a promise of no anal sex. I think honestly my sponsor was disappointed my daughter scored higher than he did on her CAP test and immediately left to join the Navy. All that to say, I’d forgotten what it was like to be courted.”
“I’ve never had a girlfriend before, so this is all a new experience to me. I find that I don’t want to risk losing you to someone else who comes along.”
“Then stay with me tonight. We don’t need to rush to bed. We can keep talking. Do you play chess?”
My grin might have given me away.
I spent the weekend with Rose, depending on Cricket to keep me informed if I was needed back on base. I wasn’t. My capos and staff were doing fine. I won the first game of chess. Rose won the second. Cricket won the third as he tried to advise both of us on what we should move next.
We had a late-night breakfast and talked for hours.
“Why didn’t you test as a sponsor, do you think?” I asked.
“It is pretty obvious, really,” she said. “I am anti-war. A pacifist. Oh, I recognize the necessity of fighting a war to avoid annihilation. But if you look at the progress of the Sa’arm and the Confederacy’s assessment, annihilation is inevitable. Therefore, the war is not about avoiding annihilation. At best, it delays it.”
“You got that from Earth-side reports before you left?”
“I’d been working on a PhD in history when I was picked up. Not the easiest thing to do as a single mother, but I was making progress. My thesis was to be about why humans were chosen to fight the Sa’arm.”
“You know that if they ever land here, I’ll have to go fight them,” I said. “Even against hopeless odds.”
“Yes, I know. When faced with the reality, I will die fighting to protect my children. But there is a difference between being forced into the battle and choosing to go to battle. We are told the species of the Confederacy are pacifistic. So much so they can’t muster the will to defend themselves. Sending humans out to protect them is the worst kind of slavery. The AIs heighten the physical combativeness of the individuals, taking advantage of the human propensity for violence. Instead of allowing us our natural evolution toward the same pacifism as other Confederacy species, they arrested our development and reversed it toward more violence, mentally enslaving sponsors and literally enslaving concubines.”
“Let’s not forget destroying naturally evolved families and forcing immigration,” I added to her list.
“You see what I’m getting at,” she said, obviously pleased.
“I grew up hating the Confederacy for tearing me away from my father on Earth. I hated sponsors because mine remade my mother and sister, and even his own daughter, into human workhorses to labor on his farm. The Confederacy model removed free will and subjugated people to others to satisfy the fantasies of those who were chosen based on a personality quiz.”
“You put that in the past tense. You no longer hate the Confederacy? You think they’ve improved?” she challenged.
“I have a black belt in Taekwondo. You don’t get there without learning to control your responses. I’ve chosen a life and a route that will set me free and enable me to fight the injustice in the long run. Part of that is keeping quiet about those long-term goals. I have fifty-six years, eleven months, and twenty-eight days left to serve.”
“I would like to accompany you on your journey,” she said. I leaned in to kiss her. There was no longer a doubt in my mind that I would ask her to be my concubine. It seemed there were no reservations on her part to get things started now.
We tumbled into her bed and began removing our clothes, trying hard to keep the kiss going as we scrambled to undress. We were nearly there and I had my hands filled with her breasts as our passion rose.
“Mommy! I stayed with Dorrance last night and we played games until midnight. Miss Legate said we had to get some sleep because she had to work this morning. Who is this? Are you my new daddy?”
Wow! Rose’s son was non-stop when he burst through her door. I was glad my pod had private rooms for concubines and children. It was a little disconcerting to have a four-year-old burst in while we were trying to make love.
“Easy, Lyle. Say hello to Officer Cho.”
“Hello, Officer Cho,” he mimicked.
“Hello, Lyle. Do you think you’d like to go live in a different town with me? I think I’d like having a son.”
“Can Mommy come?”
“Oh, well, she’d have to in order to be your mommy.” We were sitting up in bed now and Lyle had crawled up beside us. He seemed not to care about our nudity and I tried not to be embarrassed.
“Mommy, do you want to go live with Officer Cho?” he asked seriously. “I won’t go if you don’t.”
“Yes, sweet boy. If Officer Cho asks me, we will go live with him,” Rose said. I was pleased. I was glad I’d met Lyle.
“Cricket? Are you there?”
“Yes, Niall.”
“I want to offer my sponsorship to Rose Flanigan and her son Lyle.”
“Before you respond, Rose, the terms need to be clearly stated. Niall, you have made a contract with Rose not to demand anal sex and to take her son with you as well. Do you still want to offer sponsorship?”
“I do,” I said. It sounded like a wedding vow.
“And Rose, do you accept Niall’s sponsorship, understanding he has agreed not to demand anal sex and to take your son with you?”
“I do,” she said firmly.
“I have registered Rose Flanigan and her son Lyle as concubine and dependent to Officer Niall Cho,” Cricket said through the bedpost. “You may kiss the bride.” Okay, now I knew Cricket was having fun with us. But I took the opportunity to kiss Rose. Lyle clapped.
“Can I have a Cricket?” the boy asked.
“Cricket is here for the whole family,” I said. “He taught me lots of good things when I was growing up. Cricket, will you help guide and teach Lyle?”
“It will be my pleasure. Lyle, do you play chess like your mother does?”
“I’m not very good.”
“It’s something we’ll learn together, then.”
Making love had been interrupted and was not to be resumed immediately. Rose and I got dressed and fixed another meal to have with Lyle. The little boy didn’t have much to take with him but brought his favorite books and a stuffed bear. Rose had even less to take but I encouraged her to bring whatever clothes she and Lyle had because the replicator in my pod was much slower than the one in The Maiden’s Arms and had limited selections.
The replicator produced a couple of rolling suitcases and we packed the chess set as well as a few other games for Lyle. Then we were off to Drovers Run.
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