AGU SCI 1: The Star Brotherhood by Thomas DePrima Read Free Book Online

return for safe passage to a world where I could be free. I was the only woman on board, so I provided all the off-duty entertainment. I doubt if I spent more than one day a month off my back over the next eight months. Thankfully, Terrans and Uthlarans aren’t biologically compatible, so there was no risk of pregnancy, and Uthlaran men are tall, with huge feet, but small in other ways, so all I had to do was moan a little and tell them how wonderful they were."
    "You're lucky they didn't use you for sex and then turn you in for the bounty on escaped slaves once you reached that world."
    "Yeah, but after eight months of having sex with every crewmember, we had bonded enough that they wouldn't have done that."
    "Those years must have been horrific. I'm glad to see that you were able to overcome them and retain your sanity. So you got here by stowing away. How did you ever achieve such a high position of responsibility in the supposedly all-male Brotherhood? "
    "The freighter was a Brotherhood ship that had just delivered supplies to the resort. The captain got me in the door here and the rest just happened. Contrary to popular belief, there are a lot of women in the Brotherhood. It did originally start out as an all-male organization, but it had to change as it expanded. They needed women they could trust for both the administrative jobs and the more— menial chores, so they made us full-fledged members. Eventually, a few of us were able to climb the ladder."
    "And you've climbed it all the way to the top."
    "On this little planet, yes. But I'm still low in the overall scheme of things. The operation here is pretty small. We're not the Raiders, but we continue to grow. Having the GA take over this region of space has really helped. The Uthlarigasset military maintained a tight grip on commerce in the nation; with them gone, crime groups are flourishing. So how about you? How did you wind up out here, and how did you become a smuggler?"
    "Life doesn't always turn out as we expect it will when we're young."
    "That's for sure, but what made straight-laced Victor Gregorian become a smuggler?"
    "Opportunity, and the desire for a life better than I had. During my third year of college, my folks were killed in a tube train accident when an earthquake ripped the tunnel apart and the earth shifted. The train was too close to the shift location to stop, and over two hundred people died when it impacted a solid wall of earth and rock that faced the shifted tube. I never returned to college. Instead I got a job as a freight hauler. I learned the trade and ultimately won a small ship in a high-stakes card game. Then it was simply a matter of slowly improving my situation as any good, independent businessman would."
    "An independent businessman who smuggles illegal goods and runs guns."
    "Among other things. I also deal in honest wares at times. I take consignment loads and trade merchandise. It's all a matter of what comes my way. Of course, smuggling always pays best."
    A light chime noise sounded at the same instant a small light illuminated over the door Lippaula had come through.
    "That means lunch is ready," she said.
    "Great. What's on the menu?"
    "Gillanno told me he owes you a bowl of Tarlovo. I asked my chef to prepare that."
    Vyx scowled. "I guess I should have come after lunch."
    Lippaula giggled. "I thought you might feel that way, but you should know that ninety-five percent of the cooks on this planet either don't have a clue about the proper preparation of Tarlovo or don't want to take the time to do it right. No matter how they cook it— boiled, baked, or fried— or what sauces they use to hide or enhance the taste, it always tastes greasy and salty."
    "Yeah, that was my assessment of the bowl Gillanno spilled."
    "But my chef knows how to prepare it properly and takes the time to do it. The secret is all in the preparation of the meat for cooking. It must be soaked in the oils recovered from the Tarlovo's sex glands for