“Conflicting Expectations”
It started with a poke.
An innocent enough poke. An index finger jabbed skillfully into Roman's rib cage. It was delivered to his blind side taking care to dig in deep and with intention.
A normal person would maybe jump and yelp and smile.
Not a TK Factor subject grade five.
Roman fell apart. He became a mass of uncontrollable giggles. His legs turned to gelatin and he fell to the carpeted floor of the safe house he and and Sabrina were occupying on Luna, the Terran Moon.
They had been on the run for two weeks now. They got split up. Dr. Bowen was under house arrest, Cathy had been taken in with the Terran Government and David had gone his own way.
That left Sabrina and Roman.
They were an unlikely pair and Roman was at first against taking her with him. But she was skilled and she seemed to adapt well to the life of a fugitive. That was good, because the life of a pirate was not much different.
With the Terran Government after them, the only life of a fugitive with any good chance of long term survival was that of a space pirate.
Space pirates had the best technology at their disposition, they were quick and invisible and so long as they were not too greedy and not bloodthirsty, they were even tolerated. Insurance soaked up the losses and if anyone was ever lethally attacked by pirates they probably had it coming. It was all about business for the more skilled pirates.
Two weeks on the run. Roman was getting close to make a deal with some pirates. Sabrina had been covering his back well as he went from contact to contact. They had worked as a rather good team the whole while.
That's why the poke took him so off guard. He really hadn't expected it.
Nor what followed.
Sabrina's long fingernails continued to poke at his ribs, his underarms and his belly. He laughed like a little boy, defenseless and totally at her mercy. If the Terran goons could see him now, they would probably wonder why they were so afraid of such a vulnerable person.
“Don't tell me you are that easy to tickle, Roman,” Sabrina said. “I love revenge tickling but you've got to earn it. I won't go easy on you.”
“Knock it off,” Roman said breathlessly between laughter that brought tears to his eyes.
“Make me,” she challenged as she dug her fingernails firmly into his underarms.
He laughed more. He could not use his telekinetic powers without concentration and despite the fact that he was stronger and heavier, it did not matter as long as she did not let up on her advantage.
Sabrina's words seemed to echo his thoughts.
“A big strong man like you being dominated by a small weak woman like myself,” she said as she rolled him over to one side and tickled his belly. “It turns me on.”
She slid her hand down his belly and into his pants where she felt his arousal. She proceeded to tickle there as well with explosive results.
That was her mistake... or perhaps her intent.
With her hand trapped down his trousers she could not pull it free as Roman reacted and he violently screamed and turned swinging Sabrina over him and to the ground with her back on the carpeting.
The tables had turned.
Roman tickled back with a vengeance as he pulled her hand free of his trousers. He knew Sabrina was as ticklish as he was, so he didn't have to be too creative. He had tickled her before, but he swore that this would be a tickle session she would not soon forget.
He needed only a few moments to concentrate his thoughts and his TK Factor would give him the edge. He clamped Sabrina's arms and legs to the ground with a thought and she struggled against the telekinetic grip, but she could not escape.
He then relished tickling her. He tickled her ears and he giggled with delight as Sabrina protested and jerked her head left and right in an effort to escape.
Sabrina Trevor was a beautiful woman. She was taller than Cathy with ice blue eyes and long black hair she would brush for hours and leave flowing behind her. Her body was strong, but it has a less athletic and more voluptuous build to it. She had cute dimples when she smiled and when she laughed her laugh was deep and sexy.
He went to her underarms and reached under her blouse to kneed her soft belly with his fingers. She twisted and turned and laughed uncontrollably.
As he tickled her, he noticed her large and shapely breasts that heaved as her lungs drew in air desperately to be able to laugh. He had noticed them before but he now had them so close. Her flesh and her ribs were soft and warm and inviting under his fingers and he felt dizzy as blood rushed to his head.
He did not stop tickling but as he continued tickling her sensual navel and then reaching behind and tickling her back he felt himself aroused in a way that caught him quite off guard.
With each passing moment he felt his blood race faster and faster and his whole body shook with anticipation.
“Are you doing this to me?” he asked Sabrina in shock at the intensity. The day in the café when she had flooded her unsuspecting guinea pigs with lust, the group of TK Factor subjects each thought they would know if they were being manipulated.
Roman could not tell the difference.
“Does it matter?” Sabrina said with a delightful smile between her bouts of involuntary laughter. Her legs were free and she kicked off her shoes and pressed her bare feet to his chest and face tempting him out of his senses.
“It's not real,” Roman said pausing in the tickling and trying to regain his composure.
“It is so real, Roman,” she said. “That I dare you to resist and walk away.”
Roman thought for a moment concentrating on her blouse and it tore open violently snapping the buttons off in the process. He unfastened her black lace bra and released her large heavy breasts. He tickled them intently starting below the rounded curves and gradually reaching towards her underarms before switching to the tips of her nipples. All was ticklish territory and all brought deep laughter mixed with pleasure.
Images of him making wild love to her popped into his head as his imagination began to run.
“Do it,” she coaxed sexily as he paused briefly.
Roman hesitated.
“Better men than you with discipline greater than yours have given in,” she said. “None have ever had a single regret.”
Roman could no longer resist and he gave himself fully to his desires. They removed their clothes in a heart beat and Roman's manhood plunged into Sabrina.
“Tickle me,” she begged as she moaned with pleasure.
Roman pulled her feet to his face as he made love to her and used his telekinetic powers to hold her bare feet and legs firmly in place. He tickled those ever so ticklish feet with his fingers and Sabrina went mad with laughter that was mixed with the most intense pleasure. Her feet would pull violently on even the most powerful restraints making tickling them even dangerous. But with the telekinetic force field in place, her feet were absolutely helpless and vulnerable.
Not satisfied with running his fingers up and down her pretty soles and and in between her toes, he began to nibble her toes tenderly. Sabrina's laughter and pleasure increased a notch making her climax violently. He could feel the toes wiggle helplessly in his mouth and hearing her yield to her climax, he could not hold back his own climax and finally they both collapsed next to each other.
After a few moments of silence, Roman looked over at Sabrina's sweat drenched face and spoke.
“Was that real?” he asked. “Or did you manipulate me and make me feel something that wasn't real.”
“Reality is more subjective than most people think,” Sabrina replied.
“I feel like those two you manipulated at the café,” Roman said. “Is this all going to disappear in the morning?”
Sabrina smiled as they crawled into bed next to each other. “Sleep on it, Roman. You can tell me tomorrow in the morning.”
Roman nodded to himself before accommodating himself for sleep.
“Tomorrow, then,” he said before drifting off into a deep relaxing sleep.
Unfortunately, that tomorrow never came.
* * * * *
The hot sun on K-19 rose and Cathy was awakened by the sound of heavy cases being moved.
“Rise and shine,” Roman said as he opened several metal cases. He was dressed in Terran attire that was a little of fashion but it probably wouldn't seem too out of place in other parts of the galaxy.
His face was shaved and he looked much more like the Roman Cathy remembered except that his face was marked by sun and scars.
“I've got some weapons, fake biometric identifications and several fake credit accounts prepared for just such an occasion,” Roman said pointing out to the items one by one. “I suggest you stop using your personal credits. The Terrans will be watching.”
“You're coming with us to find Bowen?” Cathy asked surprised.
“Let's say I owe Frank Bowen,” Roman said evenly, “and if by helping you find Adel I can make things right, I'll be settling a debt.”
Qua-lynn appeared and she was also dressed in Terran clothes that seemed too big for her but she had already adjusted to fit her smaller frame.
“Are you crazy, Roman?” Cathy asked. “You can't bring her with us.”
“It's not optional,” Roman said with a smile. “You take us both or you don't take us at all.”
“There's not even space on my Interceptor for the two of us,” Cathy said. “We'd have to fit Mirth into the cargo compartment as it is. Another passenger is out of the question.”
“I have another Interceptor,” Roman said bluntly. “It's hot, but by now so is yours. We'll lose them at the nearest space port.”
“And then how do you propose we find Dr. Bowen? On foot?” Cathy asked.
“Your bad guys aren't Terrans,” Roman explained. “If they were, they would have nabbed you first. No, these guys are more tricky and they are sporting technology only a pirate could use or provide.”
“We are going to look for a pirate?” Cathy asked surprised. “I've hunted for them for years. Slippery little bastards.”
“You don't find good pirates looking for them, Cathy. That why the Terrans aren't successful in stomping them out.” Roman said.
“A good pirate always finds you.”
* * * * *
Adel awoke on the damp ground of a clearing in a forest.
It had been years since she had been in a forest. The scent of wet and wild vegetation with sweet pine filled her nostrils. That was rare on Earth and even more rare on Janthor. The Terran parks were petty substitutes for the real thing.
It was a sunny day and she was dressed in a white gown and wore sandals. She did not have her wire rimmed glasses but she could see quite perfectly. She was very surprised since she had refused laser surgery for years preferring to use old fashioned glasses.
Now she had perfect vision and was in a woodland paradise. There were bird's chirping and a cool pleasant breeze. All her senses were tantalized.
Her last memory was being abducted.
“It is beautiful here,” a voice said from behind her.
Adel turned and saw the six armed woman who had kidnapped her. She was wearing a white gown as well with sandals. Her page boy hair gave her an innocent air, but Adel would not be fooled again.
“You knew me as Kali, Dr. Bowen, but my real name is Alana,” she said holding out one of her right hands to shake with Adel.
“Where am I?” Adel asked taking the hand and shaking it cautiously. “Why did you kidnap me?”
“We are in a sort of paradise. At least your idea of paradise,” Alana said. “This is all product of your imagination. It is very pleasant.”
“Why did you kidnap me?” Adel asked.
“We needed your data base,” Alana explained. “We needed to know all the TK Factor subjects and the psifonts you had discovered over the years. We knew the data base was not online in a way that a hacker could resolve. You paper files were mostly inaccurate and most misleading.”
“And now you want me to tell you where the real files are?” Adel asked.
“No,” Alana said. “We know where the real files are.”
“Then what are you doing here with me?” Adel asked. “What do you plan to do with me?”
“Your future depends on us getting that data,” Alana asked. “But I came here for a totally different reason.
“You are the greatest investigator of the TK Factor and other related studies. I need to ask you something.”
“Go ahead,” Adel said.
“Is there a cure?” Alana asked. “I mean, can I be cured of ticklishness? I've tried hypnotherapy, desensitization therapy and nerve sensory overriding and none have made me even the slightest bit less ticklish even though in non-psifonts and non-TK Factor patients, they that provide almost complete elimination of tickling sensation.”
“Ticklishness is a gift, young lady!” Adel said sternly. “It's not something to not desire. It is something to cherish. To share with children and friends in a playful manner and to enjoy in a more serious manner in the company of a special loved one. Yes, it can be used against you and against your will, but if it were not for ticklishness we would not be the people we are.”
Alana frowned.
“I thought you might say something like that,” Alana said. “But you see, I am not the person I would like to be BECAUSE of my ticklishness. And it makes me sad to know that I must endure this curse for the rest of my life.”
“Have you ever been tied down and tickled by a lover?” Adel asked. “Have you known what it feels to be pleasantly tickled out of your senses and then made love to by someone you adore? Have you?”
Alana shifted nervously on her feet deciding whether to ignore the question or not.
“I didn't think so,” Adel said sadly but then added sincerely. “But I really hope you do, Alana.”
“Th- that doesn't matter now,” Alana stammered nervously scolding herself silently for not showing her confident side and instead revealing her vulnerable side. “The Headmaster is going to run some tests by you. Then we'll see how much you love tickling, doctor.”
“Headmaster?” Adel asked. “Caine Fellows? Is he cooperating with you?”
“I've said too much,” Alana said. “Maybe I'll stop by later after you've recovered and we can speak some more.”
“Recovered?” Adel asked. “Recovered from what?”
Alana was gone. As if she had suddenly disappeared into thin air.
“Caine Fellows,” she whispered to herself examining her surroundings. “What are you getting yourself involved in?”
“Kali has most imprudently given away my presence,” the older man said as he appeared dressed in full battle gear behind her. “I'll deal with her later.”
“Caine, you betrayed me,” Adel said. “Again.”
“Guilty as charged,” he admitted. “I wish we could just be friends but if you insist on thinking of the past, well I'll just have to treat you as one of my test subjects.”
“What kind of testing?” Adel asked nervously.
“I started developing means of capturing and securing TK Factor subjects for the Terran Government while you were giving your high and mighty presentation to the scientific community. They scratched my budget and pulled the funding and thought it cheaper to hire from the Assassins Guild and simply erase the problem instead of solve it. I was furious, but I found new persons interested in funding and I have completed my research. You, of course, are not TK Factor active, but you are a psifont and I need to use my technology on as many subjects as possible before we start using the system mainstream.”
He removed eight tennis ball sized spheres from his pocket. They were chrome and shined brightly on the ground.
“This is the culmination of fifteen years of research,” he said. “I am as proud of this as you are of the TK Factor research you've conducted, doctor.”
“What are they?” Adel asked with dread.
“I suggest you not stay around to find out,” the Headmaster said.
Adel did not like the sound of that.
“There is an exit to this paradise of yours. You know where it is,” he said. “If you reach the door that lets you escape, then I will let you free. Regardless of what my employer says. I am a man of my word, you know that.”
“But you don't expect me to get there, do you?” Adel asked.
The Headmaster smiled.
“I'll give you seven minutes,” he said. “Two more than I usually give.”
Adel turned and ran. The Caine Fellows was a man of his word. If he said there was a way out there was. She ran as fast as she could through the beautiful landscape she so much would have liked to enjoy.
She knew that this was a simulation. The Headmaster had in his vanity made his image much more handsome and charming than he was in reality. He was an expert in engineering and use of virtual reality for training and simulation, be it training for persons, simulation for machines or, as in this case, both.
He had somehow created this world from her mind so she was pretty sure she knew where the exit would be. She rolled down a grassy hill desperate to get down the hill and across a stream that she knew was next to it.
She raced across a stream and that was when she saw the spheres hovering above the ground and descending at a terrible speed. She could see the door, hidden in the center of a huge oak tree with the words “EXIT” carved neatly into the wooden door.
She crossed the stream and stood only 20 meters from the exit. She ran as best she could with the white gown and it was then that she heard a lashing sound. A cable had issued from one one of the spheres and it wrapped around her ankle and tripped her. She went down to the ground only a couple meters from the door.
Another cable from another sphere wrapped around her other ankle and they wrapped the cables around her ankles. Before she could attempt to crawl to the door, the spheres popped open revealing multiple metallic members that in a heartbeat cut free the sandal straps and applied their pointy edges to the soles of her bare feet.
Adel laughed instantly. Her feet were her most ticklish spot and once something started tickling them she was totally at the tickler's mercy. The metallic fingers of the spheres seemed to be as well programmed and prepared as Mirth himself. The tickling was effective, efficient and devastating.
Her arms flayed from side to side for a few moments as she desperately attempted to free her herself, but the other spheres made quick work of her thrashing arms and secured them by the wrists with cable that was unbreakable and pulled them behind her back. She could hear more cables being lashed out and the spheres pulled her ankles to her wrists and left her laughing hogtied on the ground.
She rocked from side to side for a few seconds until the spheres had the cables anchor her firmly and neatly to the ground. She was not able to move anymore and it tickled even more because of the immobility.
One of the spheres approached her open and laughing mouth and inserted one of its mechanical legs. A sort of air pouch inflated from the member and she could no longer laugh. She was effectively gagged and her screams and protests were totally muffled.
The Headmaster approached and with a touch of a control in his hand the spheres stopped tickling her feet.
“Effective, don't you think?” he said testing the grip of the cables and tickling Adel's sides to test the tension. Adel screamed into the gag, but she could not move a muscle.
“I've been testing it for years now, but with Kali and Char I have been able to battle test them with TK Factor subjects,” he said as he touched her soles and tickled a bit more.
“They've run the scenario dozens of times and they usually don't get much further than this,” the Headmaster said. “If you have any input regarding the effectiveness of the TK Bots, please tell me. It is after all a scientific study.”
The gag was removed and Adel could speak.
“You can rot in hell,” Adel said angrily.
“I've had that comment before,” he said coolly. “I'll be sure to add it to my log.”
“What are you going to do with me?” she asked.
The Headmaster made a adjustments on his control and stood up as if to leave.
“Kali and Char will need you to act as psifont,” he said. “Curiously, even simulated tickling can provide psychic energy for the TK Factor. Did you realize that?”
The spheres took new positions on her feet, her sides, her back and her underarms.
Adel winced in anticipation.
“Trust me though, Dr. Bowen,” he said as be stood to walk away. “Even as a simulation, you are not missing anything of the real thing.”
The sphere's parts whirled mechanically before they applied themselves to Adel's ticklish spots.
Adel went mad with ticklish abandon.
* * * * *
Mirth was getting bored.
They had landed the Interceptors at a seedy space port on some dusty rock in Alpha Centauri. They abandoned them and arranged transport for the Asteroid Belt in the Terran system. Catherine disagreed and they argued heatedly about the dangers of getting so close to Earth when both she and he were now wanted by the Terran Government.
While they argued, Mirth took the time to speak with Qua-lynn in her native tongue and add to his already quite extensive vocabulary.
She shared information about tickling in her native Ragnar culture and described fascinating rituals which he, the galaxy's foremost expert on tickling, was completely unaware of.
He asked about the tattoo of the sun which surrounded her navel which he had seen during the night they spent on KL-19. Qua-lynn blushed a bit as he mentioned that tattoo and she explained that it was part of a rite of passage.
When a person was ready to become an important part of Ragnar society, he or she, would undergo a special ritual which would mark a person's most ticklish spots so in any future rituals there would be no doubt as to where a person could be most stimulated and when captured by the Ka-man za the beasts would tickle swiftly and accurately. That was considered a benefit and worked well for both the Ragnar and the Ka-man za.
Mirth asked if it was impolite to ask if she had other tattoos and she blushed once more before she shook her head and told him that she also had several on the soles of her feet and a couple in her under arms.
Mirth absorbed all the information like a sponge. Those points being so sensitive, he wondered how it was possible to tattoo them without extreme pain.
Qua-lynn explained that the ink was applied with the barb of an animal on KL-19- The barb caused paralysis and the mild venom left a mark in the skin where it entered. So as the barb painted the images during the ritual, the ticklish spots were totally anesthetized and unresponsive to tickling.
The ritual would continue with the anesthetized tickling spots being continuously stimulated by fellow tribes members through out a whole night. As the sun would rise on the following morning, sensitivity would gradually return. The sensation was quite extraordinary as Qua-lynn described it. Sensitivity returns and one goes through all the different stages of being totally not ticklish to finally breaking out in extreme and uncontrollable laughter.
The tribe would gather around at the first twitch and cheer as the ticklishness returned. As the sun rose, so did the laughter and finally the newly tattooed person was considered an official member of the tribe.
Mirth found this information very interesting and only wished he could share it with Dr. Bowen. He sighed in a very human way wondering when he would be reunited with the doctor.
* * * * *
The Reaper appeared via holograph in a dark room in front of a very large desk.
The man behind the desk watched the holograph image intently.
She was covered from head to toe in black and her face was covered with a black scarf.
“I'm not happy,” he said. “You realize that, Codename: Reaper.”
It was not a question.
“I've provided you with raw material for months now,” she replied in a audio distorted voice. “I've drawn little or no suspicion from the Terrans. I have Dr. Bowen and I am just missing the android to complete the information we are missing.”
“Did you know that Codename: Feedback was sighted with Codename: Think Tank and the android in a space port just two days ago?”
The Reaper was silent.
“Think Tank?” she finally repeated.
“Yes,” the man replied. “Do you know how embarrassing this could become? Do you realize that two TK Factor grade five fools will not stop until they find Dr. Bowen or they draw enough attention to themselves to make the Terran Board look like a bunch of incompetent idiots?”
“I´ll take care of them,” the Reaper promised.
“No, not this time, Reaper. I prefer you continue your reaping. I'm sending in a clean up team,” the man said. “Assassin's Guild. They'll clean this up. They are thorough enough. You keep to the reaping. You're good at that.”
He turned to look at the Reaper's reaction, but she was gone.
“Maybe I'll send them up to clean up your case, Reaper,” he said thoughtfully after assuring himself that the connection was dead.
“Perhaps I can negotiate a two for one discount...”
* * * * *
“Come on you two,” Roman said interrupting Mirth's wandering thoughts as he and Qua-lynn finished their conversation. “We're ready to get on board.”
They were in front an old grey cargo transporter. It was dusty and grimy and it looked not much unlike a huge battered shoe box.
“We're traveling in that hunk of junk?” Cathy asked surprised when there were dozens of other better looking vessels. “It hardly looks space worthy.”
“That hunk of junk is our ticket to finding our pirate,” Roman said confidently.
“I don't see how,” Cathy said as they boarded the vessel.
The ship had seen better days. It was mostly cargo it transported but there were several passengers. The ship's destination was Janthor which in Cathy's view was making this whole adventure a wild goose chase.
The vessels lifted off and blasted out into space on schedule.
“I registered my name as Hugh Booth and yours as Ella Claire Pickings,” he explained a while later as they settled into their private booth and shut the door. They'd carried on board several cases containing weapons and equipment which were not searched while they boarded. That was the big advantage of not using a commercial space line.
“So?” Cathy asked as they sat down and awaited lift off.
“Hugh Booth and E.C. Pickings is pirate code,” Roman explained. “It's very old code. Almost twenty years when I was smuggling radiation, but I'm pretty sure her people will raise a red flag on this.”
“What does the code mean? Who do you mean by 'her people'?” Cathy asked.
“The code means 'Huge Booty' and 'Easy Pickings'. Many times we'd point out targets that way and avoid using any kind of direct communication,” Roman explained, “and she... well she is the best pirate there is out there.”
“Polly the Pirate?” Cathy asked surprised.
“The one and only,” Roman replied.
“I knew you were a smuggler, but I didn't know you were a pirate,” Cathy asked. “And a crew member of Polly the Pirate, at that! You'd be arrested for mere association if the Terran Space Combat Division knew of this.”
“I'd be shot on sight if the Terran Space Combat Division knew I was out here with you as it is,” Roman said.
“We have some time on our hands, so why don't you tell us the story. How did you end up being part of her crew?” Cathy asked.
Mirth and Qua-lynn both looked expectantly at him. Qua-lynn could not understand the words said, but she could read what Roman meant with almost no difficulty.
“I wasn't part of her crew. She only hires women for her crew,” Roman explained. “She usually hits only insured commercial vessels. The insurance covers the loss and makes the crews less willing to put up a fight.
“But sometimes, she'd see a fat rich smuggling vessel and she'll make a hit. She gets up and close and stealthy in a smaller boarding ship and she'll pump in a special kind of sleeping gas based on some nitrous oxide cocktail she designed herself. Just a whiff will make you laugh like crazy and after a few minutes a deep harmless sleep sets in.
“It's foolish to resist Polly,” he continued explaining. “So we just breathed in the gas and hoped she'd leave something behind. But as they boarded they heard my laughter and they were intrigued that I was laughing so hard and taking so long to asleep. So they took me on board their vessel and took me back to the Jolly Rodger.”
Qua-lynn and Mirth did not understand.
“The main ship is called the Jolly Rodger,” Roman explained. “Captain Polly is a big woman. Maybe half a head taller than I am and with a huge mane of fire red hair. Her face is long and narrow and resembles a fox. You can't miss her because of her height and she always sports a huge cybernetic left arm, totally mechanical and usually with a huge hook on the end.”
“She's quite the eccentric,” Cathy mentioned recalling the dossiers and files he had read while serving the Terran Space Combat Division.
“Yeah,” Roman said nodding. “She loves a good laugh and when she heard mine, she had me taken back to the ship. They kept me in force bonds and took turns tickling me just for kicks. They all have a passion for it.”
“Roman, the Tickled Slave,” Cathy said laughing as Qua-lynn joined in with her laughter. Mirth did not detect the humor however and remained quiet and attentive.
“Ha, ha,” Roman said frowning. “That's why I don't tell this story.”
“Don't leave us guessing,” Cathy insisted. “What happened next?”
“They kept me bound most of the time at first. I was just a tickle toy. Her crew enjoyed tickling me and I had not developed any control over my TK Factor abilities yet. Entire evenings were spent with me being the literal center of attention and source of entertainment.
“So I just tried to make the best of it and I used my charm to get of the better side of Polly and her crew and after a while they let me roam around the Jolly Rodgers without restraints and even let me participate in tickle fights with her crew. I almost always lost, but at least I had a fighting chance. After a few weeks I became close personal friends with Polly and I spent the next few months with her until I felt it was time to get back to smuggling. Six months later, I was rotting away in a Terran prison until Frank Bowen busted me out.”
“That doesn't sound like the whole story,” Cathy said suspiciously.
Roman flushed a bit in embarrassment and Qua-lynn became quite interested in what he was leaving out.
A heavy thud was heard and a voice was heard over the loudspeaker.
“This is Polly the Pirate speaking,” the voice said menacingly. “I'll be taking your cargo. Resistance will be met with lethal force. So, sit back, get in a few laughs and when you wake up, it will all have passed.”
The transmission ended and a loud hissing sound was heard.
“She's pumping gas into the vents,” Roman said relieved to be free of telling his story. He opened one of his cases and removing three sets of small gas masks for Cathy and Qua-lynn.
“She did say lethal force,” Cathy warned as she put her mask on.
“She's all bark and no bite,” Roman said. “Let me handle her.”
“I'm detecting twelve females boarding the ship near the cargo bay,” Cathy said concentrating and using her powerful scanning ability. “They are all heavily armed and one of them appears to be a cyborg.”
“That's Polly,” Roman said as they headed to the cargo bay.
As they approached the cargo bay they saw the pirates boarding and they pointed the weapons in their direction.
“We come in peace,” Roman said pulling the blaster from his belt and the rifle from his shoulder and placing them on the ground. He signaled that Qua-lynn and Cathy do the same.
He could only see six pirates. They wore motley colored clothes that were all bright and cheerful, but covered with standard black body armor. They had utility belts that Roman knew contained everything offensive from laser swords to plasma grenades and everything defensive from forcefields to smokescreens. They were all women with fierce looks in their eyes but the glimmer of high intelligence was also present. Their hard and well trained bodies that said they meant business. It was not a normal crew of pirates. These women were born and bred for this life, backed by technology, attitude and a philosophy of survival of the fittest.
The six drew near with their rifles pointed in their direction.
“The tall one is Polly,” Roman said quietly to Cathy even as he searched for the pirate. But he could not single her out.
“What are you doing?” a pirate asked aggressively taking him by the shoulder and putting him on his knees. The tip of the barrel of her plasma rifle pressed firmly against his temple. “The captain has resisters keelhauled, don't you know that?”
Roman nodded. “I used the Hugh Booth code,” he replied as he watched Qua-lynn, Cathy and Mirth get flanked and placed in a similar position. “I just need to speak with Polly.”
“Captain Polly,” the pirate corrected sharply. “And you'll be well advised to stay on your knees in her presence.
“She knows who I am,” he replied. “Tell her it's Roman.”
“Tell her yourself,” the pirate said coolly gesturing to the other pirates.
Roman searched for the tall captain and could not see her.
“If you tell her, I'm sure she'll sort this out,” Roman replied.
“Captain Polly is right here,” a short woman said stepping in from behind the rest. She was young and small framed, but the hair and the face was unmistakable.
“Polly?” Roman asked.
The captain's face was very young. She could not be more than eighteen or nineteen years old while Roman knew a Polly that was probably in her mid twenties and would have to be perhaps in her mid forties by now.
“Captain Polly,” she replied. “Didn't you hear my first mate?” she asked as she raised her left arm that was totally cybernetic and tipped with a hook. The hook of the mechanical arm opened and twisted into a pair of huge jaws which clamped Roman's arms to his sides and pressed him hard.
Roman found it difficult to breath and struggled to speak.
“The Captain Polly I knew would know who I am,” he struggled to say. He could break the arm easily with a TK Factor force blast, but he was counting on their aid.
“I do know who you are,” the young woman said. “You are Roman Finn, born Martian, age 36, petty radiation smuggler two decades ago. Served time on Earth for smuggling. Released to the care of Dr. Francis Bowen to a special psionics program as Codename: Think Tank. You were deemed to have an extraordinary level of telekinetic ability. You were scheduled for termination by the Terran Board ten years ago. A failed assassination attempt was covered up and reported as successful, but many even among the Terran Board suspected you were still alive in hiding. Three days ago you purchased tickets using credit and a code only Roman Finn would use. We had visual confirmation of your boarding and prepared accordingly.”
“You did your homework,” Roman said complimenting the captain.
“We are always thorough and while most people believe we just traffic goods, we also traffic information, technology and people,” she explained.
“I flew with your crew. Many years back, there must be someone who remembers me,” Roman said.
“Maybe,” Captain Polly said. “But maybe not. What's to stop me from crushing the life out of you with my bionic arm?”
The arm pressed harder and Roman felt his rib cage begin to crack.
“A two ton force blast would help,” he said with extreme difficulty. He began to concentrate and a force bubble began to press the jaws of the powerful arm open.
“We know all about you, Roman Finn,” Polly the Pirate said increasing the power on her arm to match that of Roman. “More than the Terran Board itself. I know you can use your telekinetic force to free yourself despite my powerful arm. But we do not meet the Terran fascists with brute force. We hit them where they are weak, not where they are strong.
“As I do with you,” she said her eyes flashing.
Before Roman could comment, mechanical tentacles issued from the arm and they swiftly found their way into his shirt and to his vulnerable flesh. They could easily harmed him before his telekinetic powers could stop them.
They did far worse.
They tickled him.
His contained force blast automatically failed and he felt the arm clamp down harder. The tentacles were on his underarms and ribs and the pressure was perfect for tickling. He collapsed in laughter and before he knew it, if gas mask had fallen to the ground.
“Pretty laughter,” she complimented him. “I can see why they kept you aboard. But there will be time to enjoy you laughs on the Jolly Roger. Right before I keelhaul the lot of you on our way to Mars.”
One of the tentacles positioned it self in front of Roman's face and a cloud of pink gas was sprayed in his face. He laughed more intensely, but the gas was making him drowsy.
“This is not right,” Cathy said as she wrenched the plasma rifle from her captor and pounded the rifle's butt into her face knocking her out cold. Qua-lynn's captor pointer her rifle in Cathy's direction and Qua-lynn swiftly struck the pirate to the throat area and swept her off her feet in a technique she had learned from Roman.
Cathy pointed the rifle at Polly and prepared to fire.
“Catherine Rivers,” Polly said rolling her eyes up briefly as she recited from memory. “Terran by birth, 28 years old. Codename: Feedback. Psionic scanner. Running dog for the Terran masters and first lieutenant of the Terran Space Combat Division. Absent without leave. Reportedly a good shot with a plasma rifle.”
“I'm a great shot actually,” Cathy corrected. “Tell the others to lower their weapons. We are at a stalemate. Try to kill me or Roman and I don't care what kind of forcefield protection you've got. At this range, a plasma blast is fatal.”
Polly nodded to her crew and they obeyed.
Cathy was certain that she had detected a dozen pirates, but she could only see six of them now. She had to concentrate on the shot and could not rescan.
Roman was unconscious in Polly's mechanical grip and it would only take a thought to crush him to death. Qua-lynn stood behind and watched Cathy. Mirth took the plasma rifle from his captor and tossed it away. He was programmed to not use weapons. No matter what the situation. He simply stepped back behind his captor and watched.
Polly dropped Roman and the elaborate arm returned to normal.
“Don't move,” Cathy said. “I will fire.”
“You will try,” Polly said, “But you were captured long before you pointed that rifle at me. Haven't you wondered why your scanning abilities tell you we are twelve when you can only see six of us?”
Cathy frowned. The same thought was running through the back of her head.
“Good night, Catherine,” Polly said smiling.
Cathy pulled the trigger but her blast was diverted to the ceiling by some unseen force. An arm wrapped around her from behind and she felt a prick on the back of her neck as a powerful sedative was injected into her blood stream by a pistol shaped injector.
She instantly fell asleep.
Qua-lynn was subdued in similar fashion and she was fast asleep long before she hit the ground.
Four stealthed pirates unstealthed and made quick work restraining their victims with force bonds.
Everyone's eyes turned to Mirth.
He did the only thing he really was good at. He pressed an index finger on his captor's neck and injected Sodium Titulate before wrapping an arm behind her and holding her close. He had scanned the pirates and strangely they were all psifonts. And not only that, they were all extremely ticklish.
One of his fingers turned into a long bristled brush and he pointed it menacingly at his hostage.
“I'll tickle her,” he threatened. “And when I'm finished with her, I'll deal out more of the same for the rest of you.”
“Bravo! Finally a threat we are impressed with,” she said smiling and clapping with approval. “You are Mirth. The last functioning android of your failed model. They were all too human for their own good.”
“Or not human enough,” Mirth mentioned.
Polly shrugged. “A shame you were not programmed to be ticklish.”
Mirth's eyes narrowed.
“That would make you even more human, don't you think?” Polly asked.
“My script was programmed with the best tickler in mind,” Mirth said hesitating. His bristled brush trembled slightly and although she did not touch his hostage, she started to struggle and laugh in his arms.
“Well, among humans, the very best ticklers are usually very, very ticklish,” she said. “What does your statistics tell you?”
“True,” he said making the calculation automatically. “7.8 out of 10 of the best ticklers were reported having been rated as extremely ticklish themselves.”
“Numbers don't lie,” Polly said, “and neither do I. Come aboard the Jolly Rodger. I have a script programmer who can make the adjustments for you. You would have the full human experience.”
“I can't betray my masters,” Mirth said as he felt the human sensation of temptation. “I must be loyal even though I realize that the moment I tickle this woman, your remaining stealthed pirates will incapacitate this system.”
“That is quite possible,” Polly admitted.
Mirth's brush on his finger rotated and he pressed it hard against his hostage's ribs right where the armor allowed him to enter. The ticklishness combined with the Sodium Titulate make her easy game no matter how much armor she wore. She screamed and laughed out loud begging him to stop, but he did not. He simply continued tickling her mercilessly finding her ticklish spots (her knees and underarms) and he attacked them efficiently. He continued for two minutes until the only thing left on the ground was a weak semi-conscious pirate who giggled helplessly to herself in a state of tickling bliss and madness.
Mirth looked up at Polly and asked curiously. “You could have stopped me at any moment.”
“I don't stop a master while he does his art,” she said.
Mirth nodded.
“Very well then,” he said stepping towards Polly but before he could take a second step the last two pirates unstealthed and attacked him with taser beams that shorted out his electronic synapses and shut down his main system. His system enter convulsions and he collapsed to the ground automatically shutting down to save him from long term damage. It was sort of like blowing a fuse.
Polly looked down on the captured group as they were secured and loaded onto hover skids to be transported back to the Jolly Rodger.
“Dangerous bunch, if you ask me,” her first mate mentioned to her captain.
“They wouldn't be worth as much if they weren't,” Polly said. “We wouldn't be good pirates if we couldn't detect value.”
“And if we're wrong and they aren't worth anything?” the first mate asked.
“Then we'll just tickle them for our entertainment and keelhaul them at the next opportunity,” Polly said. “If we don't, word will get around that Polly the Pirate is getting soft. Without that solid reputation, what would we be?”
“Dead pirates,” the first mate said automatically with a broad smile.
“Exactly,” Polly said smiling back.
To be continued...
NEXT: “A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME”
It started with a poke.
An innocent enough poke. An index finger jabbed skillfully into Roman's rib cage. It was delivered to his blind side taking care to dig in deep and with intention.
A normal person would maybe jump and yelp and smile.
Not a TK Factor subject grade five.
Roman fell apart. He became a mass of uncontrollable giggles. His legs turned to gelatin and he fell to the carpeted floor of the safe house he and and Sabrina were occupying on Luna, the Terran Moon.
They had been on the run for two weeks now. They got split up. Dr. Bowen was under house arrest, Cathy had been taken in with the Terran Government and David had gone his own way.
That left Sabrina and Roman.
They were an unlikely pair and Roman was at first against taking her with him. But she was skilled and she seemed to adapt well to the life of a fugitive. That was good, because the life of a pirate was not much different.
With the Terran Government after them, the only life of a fugitive with any good chance of long term survival was that of a space pirate.
Space pirates had the best technology at their disposition, they were quick and invisible and so long as they were not too greedy and not bloodthirsty, they were even tolerated. Insurance soaked up the losses and if anyone was ever lethally attacked by pirates they probably had it coming. It was all about business for the more skilled pirates.
Two weeks on the run. Roman was getting close to make a deal with some pirates. Sabrina had been covering his back well as he went from contact to contact. They had worked as a rather good team the whole while.
That's why the poke took him so off guard. He really hadn't expected it.
Nor what followed.
Sabrina's long fingernails continued to poke at his ribs, his underarms and his belly. He laughed like a little boy, defenseless and totally at her mercy. If the Terran goons could see him now, they would probably wonder why they were so afraid of such a vulnerable person.
“Don't tell me you are that easy to tickle, Roman,” Sabrina said. “I love revenge tickling but you've got to earn it. I won't go easy on you.”
“Knock it off,” Roman said breathlessly between laughter that brought tears to his eyes.
“Make me,” she challenged as she dug her fingernails firmly into his underarms.
He laughed more. He could not use his telekinetic powers without concentration and despite the fact that he was stronger and heavier, it did not matter as long as she did not let up on her advantage.
Sabrina's words seemed to echo his thoughts.
“A big strong man like you being dominated by a small weak woman like myself,” she said as she rolled him over to one side and tickled his belly. “It turns me on.”
She slid her hand down his belly and into his pants where she felt his arousal. She proceeded to tickle there as well with explosive results.
That was her mistake... or perhaps her intent.
With her hand trapped down his trousers she could not pull it free as Roman reacted and he violently screamed and turned swinging Sabrina over him and to the ground with her back on the carpeting.
The tables had turned.
Roman tickled back with a vengeance as he pulled her hand free of his trousers. He knew Sabrina was as ticklish as he was, so he didn't have to be too creative. He had tickled her before, but he swore that this would be a tickle session she would not soon forget.
He needed only a few moments to concentrate his thoughts and his TK Factor would give him the edge. He clamped Sabrina's arms and legs to the ground with a thought and she struggled against the telekinetic grip, but she could not escape.
He then relished tickling her. He tickled her ears and he giggled with delight as Sabrina protested and jerked her head left and right in an effort to escape.
Sabrina Trevor was a beautiful woman. She was taller than Cathy with ice blue eyes and long black hair she would brush for hours and leave flowing behind her. Her body was strong, but it has a less athletic and more voluptuous build to it. She had cute dimples when she smiled and when she laughed her laugh was deep and sexy.
He went to her underarms and reached under her blouse to kneed her soft belly with his fingers. She twisted and turned and laughed uncontrollably.
As he tickled her, he noticed her large and shapely breasts that heaved as her lungs drew in air desperately to be able to laugh. He had noticed them before but he now had them so close. Her flesh and her ribs were soft and warm and inviting under his fingers and he felt dizzy as blood rushed to his head.
He did not stop tickling but as he continued tickling her sensual navel and then reaching behind and tickling her back he felt himself aroused in a way that caught him quite off guard.
With each passing moment he felt his blood race faster and faster and his whole body shook with anticipation.
“Are you doing this to me?” he asked Sabrina in shock at the intensity. The day in the café when she had flooded her unsuspecting guinea pigs with lust, the group of TK Factor subjects each thought they would know if they were being manipulated.
Roman could not tell the difference.
“Does it matter?” Sabrina said with a delightful smile between her bouts of involuntary laughter. Her legs were free and she kicked off her shoes and pressed her bare feet to his chest and face tempting him out of his senses.
“It's not real,” Roman said pausing in the tickling and trying to regain his composure.
“It is so real, Roman,” she said. “That I dare you to resist and walk away.”
Roman thought for a moment concentrating on her blouse and it tore open violently snapping the buttons off in the process. He unfastened her black lace bra and released her large heavy breasts. He tickled them intently starting below the rounded curves and gradually reaching towards her underarms before switching to the tips of her nipples. All was ticklish territory and all brought deep laughter mixed with pleasure.
Images of him making wild love to her popped into his head as his imagination began to run.
“Do it,” she coaxed sexily as he paused briefly.
Roman hesitated.
“Better men than you with discipline greater than yours have given in,” she said. “None have ever had a single regret.”
Roman could no longer resist and he gave himself fully to his desires. They removed their clothes in a heart beat and Roman's manhood plunged into Sabrina.
“Tickle me,” she begged as she moaned with pleasure.
Roman pulled her feet to his face as he made love to her and used his telekinetic powers to hold her bare feet and legs firmly in place. He tickled those ever so ticklish feet with his fingers and Sabrina went mad with laughter that was mixed with the most intense pleasure. Her feet would pull violently on even the most powerful restraints making tickling them even dangerous. But with the telekinetic force field in place, her feet were absolutely helpless and vulnerable.
Not satisfied with running his fingers up and down her pretty soles and and in between her toes, he began to nibble her toes tenderly. Sabrina's laughter and pleasure increased a notch making her climax violently. He could feel the toes wiggle helplessly in his mouth and hearing her yield to her climax, he could not hold back his own climax and finally they both collapsed next to each other.
After a few moments of silence, Roman looked over at Sabrina's sweat drenched face and spoke.
“Was that real?” he asked. “Or did you manipulate me and make me feel something that wasn't real.”
“Reality is more subjective than most people think,” Sabrina replied.
“I feel like those two you manipulated at the café,” Roman said. “Is this all going to disappear in the morning?”
Sabrina smiled as they crawled into bed next to each other. “Sleep on it, Roman. You can tell me tomorrow in the morning.”
Roman nodded to himself before accommodating himself for sleep.
“Tomorrow, then,” he said before drifting off into a deep relaxing sleep.
Unfortunately, that tomorrow never came.
* * * * *
The hot sun on K-19 rose and Cathy was awakened by the sound of heavy cases being moved.
“Rise and shine,” Roman said as he opened several metal cases. He was dressed in Terran attire that was a little of fashion but it probably wouldn't seem too out of place in other parts of the galaxy.
His face was shaved and he looked much more like the Roman Cathy remembered except that his face was marked by sun and scars.
“I've got some weapons, fake biometric identifications and several fake credit accounts prepared for just such an occasion,” Roman said pointing out to the items one by one. “I suggest you stop using your personal credits. The Terrans will be watching.”
“You're coming with us to find Bowen?” Cathy asked surprised.
“Let's say I owe Frank Bowen,” Roman said evenly, “and if by helping you find Adel I can make things right, I'll be settling a debt.”
Qua-lynn appeared and she was also dressed in Terran clothes that seemed too big for her but she had already adjusted to fit her smaller frame.
“Are you crazy, Roman?” Cathy asked. “You can't bring her with us.”
“It's not optional,” Roman said with a smile. “You take us both or you don't take us at all.”
“There's not even space on my Interceptor for the two of us,” Cathy said. “We'd have to fit Mirth into the cargo compartment as it is. Another passenger is out of the question.”
“I have another Interceptor,” Roman said bluntly. “It's hot, but by now so is yours. We'll lose them at the nearest space port.”
“And then how do you propose we find Dr. Bowen? On foot?” Cathy asked.
“Your bad guys aren't Terrans,” Roman explained. “If they were, they would have nabbed you first. No, these guys are more tricky and they are sporting technology only a pirate could use or provide.”
“We are going to look for a pirate?” Cathy asked surprised. “I've hunted for them for years. Slippery little bastards.”
“You don't find good pirates looking for them, Cathy. That why the Terrans aren't successful in stomping them out.” Roman said.
“A good pirate always finds you.”
* * * * *
Adel awoke on the damp ground of a clearing in a forest.
It had been years since she had been in a forest. The scent of wet and wild vegetation with sweet pine filled her nostrils. That was rare on Earth and even more rare on Janthor. The Terran parks were petty substitutes for the real thing.
It was a sunny day and she was dressed in a white gown and wore sandals. She did not have her wire rimmed glasses but she could see quite perfectly. She was very surprised since she had refused laser surgery for years preferring to use old fashioned glasses.
Now she had perfect vision and was in a woodland paradise. There were bird's chirping and a cool pleasant breeze. All her senses were tantalized.
Her last memory was being abducted.
“It is beautiful here,” a voice said from behind her.
Adel turned and saw the six armed woman who had kidnapped her. She was wearing a white gown as well with sandals. Her page boy hair gave her an innocent air, but Adel would not be fooled again.
“You knew me as Kali, Dr. Bowen, but my real name is Alana,” she said holding out one of her right hands to shake with Adel.
“Where am I?” Adel asked taking the hand and shaking it cautiously. “Why did you kidnap me?”
“We are in a sort of paradise. At least your idea of paradise,” Alana said. “This is all product of your imagination. It is very pleasant.”
“Why did you kidnap me?” Adel asked.
“We needed your data base,” Alana explained. “We needed to know all the TK Factor subjects and the psifonts you had discovered over the years. We knew the data base was not online in a way that a hacker could resolve. You paper files were mostly inaccurate and most misleading.”
“And now you want me to tell you where the real files are?” Adel asked.
“No,” Alana said. “We know where the real files are.”
“Then what are you doing here with me?” Adel asked. “What do you plan to do with me?”
“Your future depends on us getting that data,” Alana asked. “But I came here for a totally different reason.
“You are the greatest investigator of the TK Factor and other related studies. I need to ask you something.”
“Go ahead,” Adel said.
“Is there a cure?” Alana asked. “I mean, can I be cured of ticklishness? I've tried hypnotherapy, desensitization therapy and nerve sensory overriding and none have made me even the slightest bit less ticklish even though in non-psifonts and non-TK Factor patients, they that provide almost complete elimination of tickling sensation.”
“Ticklishness is a gift, young lady!” Adel said sternly. “It's not something to not desire. It is something to cherish. To share with children and friends in a playful manner and to enjoy in a more serious manner in the company of a special loved one. Yes, it can be used against you and against your will, but if it were not for ticklishness we would not be the people we are.”
Alana frowned.
“I thought you might say something like that,” Alana said. “But you see, I am not the person I would like to be BECAUSE of my ticklishness. And it makes me sad to know that I must endure this curse for the rest of my life.”
“Have you ever been tied down and tickled by a lover?” Adel asked. “Have you known what it feels to be pleasantly tickled out of your senses and then made love to by someone you adore? Have you?”
Alana shifted nervously on her feet deciding whether to ignore the question or not.
“I didn't think so,” Adel said sadly but then added sincerely. “But I really hope you do, Alana.”
“Th- that doesn't matter now,” Alana stammered nervously scolding herself silently for not showing her confident side and instead revealing her vulnerable side. “The Headmaster is going to run some tests by you. Then we'll see how much you love tickling, doctor.”
“Headmaster?” Adel asked. “Caine Fellows? Is he cooperating with you?”
“I've said too much,” Alana said. “Maybe I'll stop by later after you've recovered and we can speak some more.”
“Recovered?” Adel asked. “Recovered from what?”
Alana was gone. As if she had suddenly disappeared into thin air.
“Caine Fellows,” she whispered to herself examining her surroundings. “What are you getting yourself involved in?”
“Kali has most imprudently given away my presence,” the older man said as he appeared dressed in full battle gear behind her. “I'll deal with her later.”
“Caine, you betrayed me,” Adel said. “Again.”
“Guilty as charged,” he admitted. “I wish we could just be friends but if you insist on thinking of the past, well I'll just have to treat you as one of my test subjects.”
“What kind of testing?” Adel asked nervously.
“I started developing means of capturing and securing TK Factor subjects for the Terran Government while you were giving your high and mighty presentation to the scientific community. They scratched my budget and pulled the funding and thought it cheaper to hire from the Assassins Guild and simply erase the problem instead of solve it. I was furious, but I found new persons interested in funding and I have completed my research. You, of course, are not TK Factor active, but you are a psifont and I need to use my technology on as many subjects as possible before we start using the system mainstream.”
He removed eight tennis ball sized spheres from his pocket. They were chrome and shined brightly on the ground.
“This is the culmination of fifteen years of research,” he said. “I am as proud of this as you are of the TK Factor research you've conducted, doctor.”
“What are they?” Adel asked with dread.
“I suggest you not stay around to find out,” the Headmaster said.
Adel did not like the sound of that.
“There is an exit to this paradise of yours. You know where it is,” he said. “If you reach the door that lets you escape, then I will let you free. Regardless of what my employer says. I am a man of my word, you know that.”
“But you don't expect me to get there, do you?” Adel asked.
The Headmaster smiled.
“I'll give you seven minutes,” he said. “Two more than I usually give.”
Adel turned and ran. The Caine Fellows was a man of his word. If he said there was a way out there was. She ran as fast as she could through the beautiful landscape she so much would have liked to enjoy.
She knew that this was a simulation. The Headmaster had in his vanity made his image much more handsome and charming than he was in reality. He was an expert in engineering and use of virtual reality for training and simulation, be it training for persons, simulation for machines or, as in this case, both.
He had somehow created this world from her mind so she was pretty sure she knew where the exit would be. She rolled down a grassy hill desperate to get down the hill and across a stream that she knew was next to it.
She raced across a stream and that was when she saw the spheres hovering above the ground and descending at a terrible speed. She could see the door, hidden in the center of a huge oak tree with the words “EXIT” carved neatly into the wooden door.
She crossed the stream and stood only 20 meters from the exit. She ran as best she could with the white gown and it was then that she heard a lashing sound. A cable had issued from one one of the spheres and it wrapped around her ankle and tripped her. She went down to the ground only a couple meters from the door.
Another cable from another sphere wrapped around her other ankle and they wrapped the cables around her ankles. Before she could attempt to crawl to the door, the spheres popped open revealing multiple metallic members that in a heartbeat cut free the sandal straps and applied their pointy edges to the soles of her bare feet.
Adel laughed instantly. Her feet were her most ticklish spot and once something started tickling them she was totally at the tickler's mercy. The metallic fingers of the spheres seemed to be as well programmed and prepared as Mirth himself. The tickling was effective, efficient and devastating.
Her arms flayed from side to side for a few moments as she desperately attempted to free her herself, but the other spheres made quick work of her thrashing arms and secured them by the wrists with cable that was unbreakable and pulled them behind her back. She could hear more cables being lashed out and the spheres pulled her ankles to her wrists and left her laughing hogtied on the ground.
She rocked from side to side for a few seconds until the spheres had the cables anchor her firmly and neatly to the ground. She was not able to move anymore and it tickled even more because of the immobility.
One of the spheres approached her open and laughing mouth and inserted one of its mechanical legs. A sort of air pouch inflated from the member and she could no longer laugh. She was effectively gagged and her screams and protests were totally muffled.
The Headmaster approached and with a touch of a control in his hand the spheres stopped tickling her feet.
“Effective, don't you think?” he said testing the grip of the cables and tickling Adel's sides to test the tension. Adel screamed into the gag, but she could not move a muscle.
“I've been testing it for years now, but with Kali and Char I have been able to battle test them with TK Factor subjects,” he said as he touched her soles and tickled a bit more.
“They've run the scenario dozens of times and they usually don't get much further than this,” the Headmaster said. “If you have any input regarding the effectiveness of the TK Bots, please tell me. It is after all a scientific study.”
The gag was removed and Adel could speak.
“You can rot in hell,” Adel said angrily.
“I've had that comment before,” he said coolly. “I'll be sure to add it to my log.”
“What are you going to do with me?” she asked.
The Headmaster made a adjustments on his control and stood up as if to leave.
“Kali and Char will need you to act as psifont,” he said. “Curiously, even simulated tickling can provide psychic energy for the TK Factor. Did you realize that?”
The spheres took new positions on her feet, her sides, her back and her underarms.
Adel winced in anticipation.
“Trust me though, Dr. Bowen,” he said as be stood to walk away. “Even as a simulation, you are not missing anything of the real thing.”
The sphere's parts whirled mechanically before they applied themselves to Adel's ticklish spots.
Adel went mad with ticklish abandon.
* * * * *
Mirth was getting bored.
They had landed the Interceptors at a seedy space port on some dusty rock in Alpha Centauri. They abandoned them and arranged transport for the Asteroid Belt in the Terran system. Catherine disagreed and they argued heatedly about the dangers of getting so close to Earth when both she and he were now wanted by the Terran Government.
While they argued, Mirth took the time to speak with Qua-lynn in her native tongue and add to his already quite extensive vocabulary.
She shared information about tickling in her native Ragnar culture and described fascinating rituals which he, the galaxy's foremost expert on tickling, was completely unaware of.
He asked about the tattoo of the sun which surrounded her navel which he had seen during the night they spent on KL-19. Qua-lynn blushed a bit as he mentioned that tattoo and she explained that it was part of a rite of passage.
When a person was ready to become an important part of Ragnar society, he or she, would undergo a special ritual which would mark a person's most ticklish spots so in any future rituals there would be no doubt as to where a person could be most stimulated and when captured by the Ka-man za the beasts would tickle swiftly and accurately. That was considered a benefit and worked well for both the Ragnar and the Ka-man za.
Mirth asked if it was impolite to ask if she had other tattoos and she blushed once more before she shook her head and told him that she also had several on the soles of her feet and a couple in her under arms.
Mirth absorbed all the information like a sponge. Those points being so sensitive, he wondered how it was possible to tattoo them without extreme pain.
Qua-lynn explained that the ink was applied with the barb of an animal on KL-19- The barb caused paralysis and the mild venom left a mark in the skin where it entered. So as the barb painted the images during the ritual, the ticklish spots were totally anesthetized and unresponsive to tickling.
The ritual would continue with the anesthetized tickling spots being continuously stimulated by fellow tribes members through out a whole night. As the sun would rise on the following morning, sensitivity would gradually return. The sensation was quite extraordinary as Qua-lynn described it. Sensitivity returns and one goes through all the different stages of being totally not ticklish to finally breaking out in extreme and uncontrollable laughter.
The tribe would gather around at the first twitch and cheer as the ticklishness returned. As the sun rose, so did the laughter and finally the newly tattooed person was considered an official member of the tribe.
Mirth found this information very interesting and only wished he could share it with Dr. Bowen. He sighed in a very human way wondering when he would be reunited with the doctor.
* * * * *
The Reaper appeared via holograph in a dark room in front of a very large desk.
The man behind the desk watched the holograph image intently.
She was covered from head to toe in black and her face was covered with a black scarf.
“I'm not happy,” he said. “You realize that, Codename: Reaper.”
It was not a question.
“I've provided you with raw material for months now,” she replied in a audio distorted voice. “I've drawn little or no suspicion from the Terrans. I have Dr. Bowen and I am just missing the android to complete the information we are missing.”
“Did you know that Codename: Feedback was sighted with Codename: Think Tank and the android in a space port just two days ago?”
The Reaper was silent.
“Think Tank?” she finally repeated.
“Yes,” the man replied. “Do you know how embarrassing this could become? Do you realize that two TK Factor grade five fools will not stop until they find Dr. Bowen or they draw enough attention to themselves to make the Terran Board look like a bunch of incompetent idiots?”
“I´ll take care of them,” the Reaper promised.
“No, not this time, Reaper. I prefer you continue your reaping. I'm sending in a clean up team,” the man said. “Assassin's Guild. They'll clean this up. They are thorough enough. You keep to the reaping. You're good at that.”
He turned to look at the Reaper's reaction, but she was gone.
“Maybe I'll send them up to clean up your case, Reaper,” he said thoughtfully after assuring himself that the connection was dead.
“Perhaps I can negotiate a two for one discount...”
* * * * *
“Come on you two,” Roman said interrupting Mirth's wandering thoughts as he and Qua-lynn finished their conversation. “We're ready to get on board.”
They were in front an old grey cargo transporter. It was dusty and grimy and it looked not much unlike a huge battered shoe box.
“We're traveling in that hunk of junk?” Cathy asked surprised when there were dozens of other better looking vessels. “It hardly looks space worthy.”
“That hunk of junk is our ticket to finding our pirate,” Roman said confidently.
“I don't see how,” Cathy said as they boarded the vessel.
The ship had seen better days. It was mostly cargo it transported but there were several passengers. The ship's destination was Janthor which in Cathy's view was making this whole adventure a wild goose chase.
The vessels lifted off and blasted out into space on schedule.
“I registered my name as Hugh Booth and yours as Ella Claire Pickings,” he explained a while later as they settled into their private booth and shut the door. They'd carried on board several cases containing weapons and equipment which were not searched while they boarded. That was the big advantage of not using a commercial space line.
“So?” Cathy asked as they sat down and awaited lift off.
“Hugh Booth and E.C. Pickings is pirate code,” Roman explained. “It's very old code. Almost twenty years when I was smuggling radiation, but I'm pretty sure her people will raise a red flag on this.”
“What does the code mean? Who do you mean by 'her people'?” Cathy asked.
“The code means 'Huge Booty' and 'Easy Pickings'. Many times we'd point out targets that way and avoid using any kind of direct communication,” Roman explained, “and she... well she is the best pirate there is out there.”
“Polly the Pirate?” Cathy asked surprised.
“The one and only,” Roman replied.
“I knew you were a smuggler, but I didn't know you were a pirate,” Cathy asked. “And a crew member of Polly the Pirate, at that! You'd be arrested for mere association if the Terran Space Combat Division knew of this.”
“I'd be shot on sight if the Terran Space Combat Division knew I was out here with you as it is,” Roman said.
“We have some time on our hands, so why don't you tell us the story. How did you end up being part of her crew?” Cathy asked.
Mirth and Qua-lynn both looked expectantly at him. Qua-lynn could not understand the words said, but she could read what Roman meant with almost no difficulty.
“I wasn't part of her crew. She only hires women for her crew,” Roman explained. “She usually hits only insured commercial vessels. The insurance covers the loss and makes the crews less willing to put up a fight.
“But sometimes, she'd see a fat rich smuggling vessel and she'll make a hit. She gets up and close and stealthy in a smaller boarding ship and she'll pump in a special kind of sleeping gas based on some nitrous oxide cocktail she designed herself. Just a whiff will make you laugh like crazy and after a few minutes a deep harmless sleep sets in.
“It's foolish to resist Polly,” he continued explaining. “So we just breathed in the gas and hoped she'd leave something behind. But as they boarded they heard my laughter and they were intrigued that I was laughing so hard and taking so long to asleep. So they took me on board their vessel and took me back to the Jolly Rodger.”
Qua-lynn and Mirth did not understand.
“The main ship is called the Jolly Rodger,” Roman explained. “Captain Polly is a big woman. Maybe half a head taller than I am and with a huge mane of fire red hair. Her face is long and narrow and resembles a fox. You can't miss her because of her height and she always sports a huge cybernetic left arm, totally mechanical and usually with a huge hook on the end.”
“She's quite the eccentric,” Cathy mentioned recalling the dossiers and files he had read while serving the Terran Space Combat Division.
“Yeah,” Roman said nodding. “She loves a good laugh and when she heard mine, she had me taken back to the ship. They kept me in force bonds and took turns tickling me just for kicks. They all have a passion for it.”
“Roman, the Tickled Slave,” Cathy said laughing as Qua-lynn joined in with her laughter. Mirth did not detect the humor however and remained quiet and attentive.
“Ha, ha,” Roman said frowning. “That's why I don't tell this story.”
“Don't leave us guessing,” Cathy insisted. “What happened next?”
“They kept me bound most of the time at first. I was just a tickle toy. Her crew enjoyed tickling me and I had not developed any control over my TK Factor abilities yet. Entire evenings were spent with me being the literal center of attention and source of entertainment.
“So I just tried to make the best of it and I used my charm to get of the better side of Polly and her crew and after a while they let me roam around the Jolly Rodgers without restraints and even let me participate in tickle fights with her crew. I almost always lost, but at least I had a fighting chance. After a few weeks I became close personal friends with Polly and I spent the next few months with her until I felt it was time to get back to smuggling. Six months later, I was rotting away in a Terran prison until Frank Bowen busted me out.”
“That doesn't sound like the whole story,” Cathy said suspiciously.
Roman flushed a bit in embarrassment and Qua-lynn became quite interested in what he was leaving out.
A heavy thud was heard and a voice was heard over the loudspeaker.
“This is Polly the Pirate speaking,” the voice said menacingly. “I'll be taking your cargo. Resistance will be met with lethal force. So, sit back, get in a few laughs and when you wake up, it will all have passed.”
The transmission ended and a loud hissing sound was heard.
“She's pumping gas into the vents,” Roman said relieved to be free of telling his story. He opened one of his cases and removing three sets of small gas masks for Cathy and Qua-lynn.
“She did say lethal force,” Cathy warned as she put her mask on.
“She's all bark and no bite,” Roman said. “Let me handle her.”
“I'm detecting twelve females boarding the ship near the cargo bay,” Cathy said concentrating and using her powerful scanning ability. “They are all heavily armed and one of them appears to be a cyborg.”
“That's Polly,” Roman said as they headed to the cargo bay.
As they approached the cargo bay they saw the pirates boarding and they pointed the weapons in their direction.
“We come in peace,” Roman said pulling the blaster from his belt and the rifle from his shoulder and placing them on the ground. He signaled that Qua-lynn and Cathy do the same.
He could only see six pirates. They wore motley colored clothes that were all bright and cheerful, but covered with standard black body armor. They had utility belts that Roman knew contained everything offensive from laser swords to plasma grenades and everything defensive from forcefields to smokescreens. They were all women with fierce looks in their eyes but the glimmer of high intelligence was also present. Their hard and well trained bodies that said they meant business. It was not a normal crew of pirates. These women were born and bred for this life, backed by technology, attitude and a philosophy of survival of the fittest.
The six drew near with their rifles pointed in their direction.
“The tall one is Polly,” Roman said quietly to Cathy even as he searched for the pirate. But he could not single her out.
“What are you doing?” a pirate asked aggressively taking him by the shoulder and putting him on his knees. The tip of the barrel of her plasma rifle pressed firmly against his temple. “The captain has resisters keelhauled, don't you know that?”
Roman nodded. “I used the Hugh Booth code,” he replied as he watched Qua-lynn, Cathy and Mirth get flanked and placed in a similar position. “I just need to speak with Polly.”
“Captain Polly,” the pirate corrected sharply. “And you'll be well advised to stay on your knees in her presence.
“She knows who I am,” he replied. “Tell her it's Roman.”
“Tell her yourself,” the pirate said coolly gesturing to the other pirates.
Roman searched for the tall captain and could not see her.
“If you tell her, I'm sure she'll sort this out,” Roman replied.
“Captain Polly is right here,” a short woman said stepping in from behind the rest. She was young and small framed, but the hair and the face was unmistakable.
“Polly?” Roman asked.
The captain's face was very young. She could not be more than eighteen or nineteen years old while Roman knew a Polly that was probably in her mid twenties and would have to be perhaps in her mid forties by now.
“Captain Polly,” she replied. “Didn't you hear my first mate?” she asked as she raised her left arm that was totally cybernetic and tipped with a hook. The hook of the mechanical arm opened and twisted into a pair of huge jaws which clamped Roman's arms to his sides and pressed him hard.
Roman found it difficult to breath and struggled to speak.
“The Captain Polly I knew would know who I am,” he struggled to say. He could break the arm easily with a TK Factor force blast, but he was counting on their aid.
“I do know who you are,” the young woman said. “You are Roman Finn, born Martian, age 36, petty radiation smuggler two decades ago. Served time on Earth for smuggling. Released to the care of Dr. Francis Bowen to a special psionics program as Codename: Think Tank. You were deemed to have an extraordinary level of telekinetic ability. You were scheduled for termination by the Terran Board ten years ago. A failed assassination attempt was covered up and reported as successful, but many even among the Terran Board suspected you were still alive in hiding. Three days ago you purchased tickets using credit and a code only Roman Finn would use. We had visual confirmation of your boarding and prepared accordingly.”
“You did your homework,” Roman said complimenting the captain.
“We are always thorough and while most people believe we just traffic goods, we also traffic information, technology and people,” she explained.
“I flew with your crew. Many years back, there must be someone who remembers me,” Roman said.
“Maybe,” Captain Polly said. “But maybe not. What's to stop me from crushing the life out of you with my bionic arm?”
The arm pressed harder and Roman felt his rib cage begin to crack.
“A two ton force blast would help,” he said with extreme difficulty. He began to concentrate and a force bubble began to press the jaws of the powerful arm open.
“We know all about you, Roman Finn,” Polly the Pirate said increasing the power on her arm to match that of Roman. “More than the Terran Board itself. I know you can use your telekinetic force to free yourself despite my powerful arm. But we do not meet the Terran fascists with brute force. We hit them where they are weak, not where they are strong.
“As I do with you,” she said her eyes flashing.
Before Roman could comment, mechanical tentacles issued from the arm and they swiftly found their way into his shirt and to his vulnerable flesh. They could easily harmed him before his telekinetic powers could stop them.
They did far worse.
They tickled him.
His contained force blast automatically failed and he felt the arm clamp down harder. The tentacles were on his underarms and ribs and the pressure was perfect for tickling. He collapsed in laughter and before he knew it, if gas mask had fallen to the ground.
“Pretty laughter,” she complimented him. “I can see why they kept you aboard. But there will be time to enjoy you laughs on the Jolly Roger. Right before I keelhaul the lot of you on our way to Mars.”
One of the tentacles positioned it self in front of Roman's face and a cloud of pink gas was sprayed in his face. He laughed more intensely, but the gas was making him drowsy.
“This is not right,” Cathy said as she wrenched the plasma rifle from her captor and pounded the rifle's butt into her face knocking her out cold. Qua-lynn's captor pointer her rifle in Cathy's direction and Qua-lynn swiftly struck the pirate to the throat area and swept her off her feet in a technique she had learned from Roman.
Cathy pointed the rifle at Polly and prepared to fire.
“Catherine Rivers,” Polly said rolling her eyes up briefly as she recited from memory. “Terran by birth, 28 years old. Codename: Feedback. Psionic scanner. Running dog for the Terran masters and first lieutenant of the Terran Space Combat Division. Absent without leave. Reportedly a good shot with a plasma rifle.”
“I'm a great shot actually,” Cathy corrected. “Tell the others to lower their weapons. We are at a stalemate. Try to kill me or Roman and I don't care what kind of forcefield protection you've got. At this range, a plasma blast is fatal.”
Polly nodded to her crew and they obeyed.
Cathy was certain that she had detected a dozen pirates, but she could only see six of them now. She had to concentrate on the shot and could not rescan.
Roman was unconscious in Polly's mechanical grip and it would only take a thought to crush him to death. Qua-lynn stood behind and watched Cathy. Mirth took the plasma rifle from his captor and tossed it away. He was programmed to not use weapons. No matter what the situation. He simply stepped back behind his captor and watched.
Polly dropped Roman and the elaborate arm returned to normal.
“Don't move,” Cathy said. “I will fire.”
“You will try,” Polly said, “But you were captured long before you pointed that rifle at me. Haven't you wondered why your scanning abilities tell you we are twelve when you can only see six of us?”
Cathy frowned. The same thought was running through the back of her head.
“Good night, Catherine,” Polly said smiling.
Cathy pulled the trigger but her blast was diverted to the ceiling by some unseen force. An arm wrapped around her from behind and she felt a prick on the back of her neck as a powerful sedative was injected into her blood stream by a pistol shaped injector.
She instantly fell asleep.
Qua-lynn was subdued in similar fashion and she was fast asleep long before she hit the ground.
Four stealthed pirates unstealthed and made quick work restraining their victims with force bonds.
Everyone's eyes turned to Mirth.
He did the only thing he really was good at. He pressed an index finger on his captor's neck and injected Sodium Titulate before wrapping an arm behind her and holding her close. He had scanned the pirates and strangely they were all psifonts. And not only that, they were all extremely ticklish.
One of his fingers turned into a long bristled brush and he pointed it menacingly at his hostage.
“I'll tickle her,” he threatened. “And when I'm finished with her, I'll deal out more of the same for the rest of you.”
“Bravo! Finally a threat we are impressed with,” she said smiling and clapping with approval. “You are Mirth. The last functioning android of your failed model. They were all too human for their own good.”
“Or not human enough,” Mirth mentioned.
Polly shrugged. “A shame you were not programmed to be ticklish.”
Mirth's eyes narrowed.
“That would make you even more human, don't you think?” Polly asked.
“My script was programmed with the best tickler in mind,” Mirth said hesitating. His bristled brush trembled slightly and although she did not touch his hostage, she started to struggle and laugh in his arms.
“Well, among humans, the very best ticklers are usually very, very ticklish,” she said. “What does your statistics tell you?”
“True,” he said making the calculation automatically. “7.8 out of 10 of the best ticklers were reported having been rated as extremely ticklish themselves.”
“Numbers don't lie,” Polly said, “and neither do I. Come aboard the Jolly Rodger. I have a script programmer who can make the adjustments for you. You would have the full human experience.”
“I can't betray my masters,” Mirth said as he felt the human sensation of temptation. “I must be loyal even though I realize that the moment I tickle this woman, your remaining stealthed pirates will incapacitate this system.”
“That is quite possible,” Polly admitted.
Mirth's brush on his finger rotated and he pressed it hard against his hostage's ribs right where the armor allowed him to enter. The ticklishness combined with the Sodium Titulate make her easy game no matter how much armor she wore. She screamed and laughed out loud begging him to stop, but he did not. He simply continued tickling her mercilessly finding her ticklish spots (her knees and underarms) and he attacked them efficiently. He continued for two minutes until the only thing left on the ground was a weak semi-conscious pirate who giggled helplessly to herself in a state of tickling bliss and madness.
Mirth looked up at Polly and asked curiously. “You could have stopped me at any moment.”
“I don't stop a master while he does his art,” she said.
Mirth nodded.
“Very well then,” he said stepping towards Polly but before he could take a second step the last two pirates unstealthed and attacked him with taser beams that shorted out his electronic synapses and shut down his main system. His system enter convulsions and he collapsed to the ground automatically shutting down to save him from long term damage. It was sort of like blowing a fuse.
Polly looked down on the captured group as they were secured and loaded onto hover skids to be transported back to the Jolly Rodger.
“Dangerous bunch, if you ask me,” her first mate mentioned to her captain.
“They wouldn't be worth as much if they weren't,” Polly said. “We wouldn't be good pirates if we couldn't detect value.”
“And if we're wrong and they aren't worth anything?” the first mate asked.
“Then we'll just tickle them for our entertainment and keelhaul them at the next opportunity,” Polly said. “If we don't, word will get around that Polly the Pirate is getting soft. Without that solid reputation, what would we be?”
“Dead pirates,” the first mate said automatically with a broad smile.
“Exactly,” Polly said smiling back.
To be continued...
NEXT: “A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME”
