business for the day was over, and even then he strictly maintained a limit of two. When he had drunk more than that in his younger years, he had tended to desire female companionship and sometimes gotten foolish and talked too much, leaving himself open to possible blackmail. He'd always regretted it in the morning and had finally outgrown the behavior after a woman had been dumb enough to try using his loose talk to her advantage. She'd disappeared very soon thereafter and was never heard from again. He couldn't even remember which whore palace she had been sent to after her mind was wiped.
After his second drink, Strauss walked to the bedroom and flopped onto his bed. His dinner, untouched, grew cold on his dining room table and eventually went into the disposal unit.
* * *
Nicole Ravenau stretched out languidly as she relaxed on the sofa in her quarters, an excellent bottle of wine from the Sebastian Colony chilling in a wine bucket on the side table. The DNA Manipulation formula she'd subjected herself to while at Raider-One had left her almost impervious to the effects of alcohol, and the most recent application, the one that changed her sex, hadn't altered her tolerance. Where in the far distant past she had sometimes used alcohol to intentionally dull her memory, that was no longer possible. Now she imbibed only in social situations or when she had acquired a particularly excellent vintage. On this occasion she was celebrating with a bottle of the priciest wine available in the online catalog. She had delivered the formulas to the Raider Central Labs and was still alive. What's more, she was still free. That was more than she had expected following her meeting with Strauss.
Of course, Strauss could still come after her, but every day that didn't happen lessened the chances that it would. Perhaps he had decided she still had enough value to the corporation as an administrator that he should keep her around— at least for now.
Ravenau was currently attired in the slinkiest lingerie she owned. She was trying to fully adapt to her gender change, and lingerie was the most pleasant aspect. She still hadn't been able to wrap her head around engaging in sex with a male, though. She had all the right equipment now, and there was no lack of admirers who would love to bed her, but more than sixty years of living as a male had left her with certain— prejudices. She had three times tried sex with female partners since her gender change, but it just wasn't the same as when she had been a male, and each encounter had left her more unsatisfied. She was alone at present and wasn't expecting company, so she was trying to drown her current sexual frustration in a fine wine.
Suddenly Ravenau sat up straight, her eyes wide. Then a huge smile played across her face. Perhaps it was the wine or perhaps it was just her baser instincts, but she had been struck by an idea, nay an epiphany, on how to settle the issue with Strauss once and for all and at the same time resolve several other longstanding issues.
* * *
"Sir," the controller at a Flordarya Planetary Defense Distant DeTect Grid console said to the lead controller via his com headset, "I'm getting some strange readings on the grid.
"What kind of strange readings?" Supervisor Caulliffyr asked.
"The grid indicates that there are five ships headed inbound towards the planet, but we're not expecting any arrivals this morning."
"Five?"
"Yes, sir."
"What kind of ships? Passenger or freighters?"
"Uh, the equipment puts them at about small passenger ship size, but…"
"But what, Azeallum?"
"Uh, there're no AutoTect signals."
"Do you think it's a ghost reading?"
"Negative, it's too strong. They're coming in slow and in tight formation. If I was going to guess, I would say it's five warships about the size of destroyers. They're moving like a task force."
"And no AutoTect?"
"That's correct, sir."
"I'm coming over."
Caulliffyr rose from his chair and walked to the steps
After his second drink, Strauss walked to the bedroom and flopped onto his bed. His dinner, untouched, grew cold on his dining room table and eventually went into the disposal unit.
* * *
Nicole Ravenau stretched out languidly as she relaxed on the sofa in her quarters, an excellent bottle of wine from the Sebastian Colony chilling in a wine bucket on the side table. The DNA Manipulation formula she'd subjected herself to while at Raider-One had left her almost impervious to the effects of alcohol, and the most recent application, the one that changed her sex, hadn't altered her tolerance. Where in the far distant past she had sometimes used alcohol to intentionally dull her memory, that was no longer possible. Now she imbibed only in social situations or when she had acquired a particularly excellent vintage. On this occasion she was celebrating with a bottle of the priciest wine available in the online catalog. She had delivered the formulas to the Raider Central Labs and was still alive. What's more, she was still free. That was more than she had expected following her meeting with Strauss.
Of course, Strauss could still come after her, but every day that didn't happen lessened the chances that it would. Perhaps he had decided she still had enough value to the corporation as an administrator that he should keep her around— at least for now.
Ravenau was currently attired in the slinkiest lingerie she owned. She was trying to fully adapt to her gender change, and lingerie was the most pleasant aspect. She still hadn't been able to wrap her head around engaging in sex with a male, though. She had all the right equipment now, and there was no lack of admirers who would love to bed her, but more than sixty years of living as a male had left her with certain— prejudices. She had three times tried sex with female partners since her gender change, but it just wasn't the same as when she had been a male, and each encounter had left her more unsatisfied. She was alone at present and wasn't expecting company, so she was trying to drown her current sexual frustration in a fine wine.
Suddenly Ravenau sat up straight, her eyes wide. Then a huge smile played across her face. Perhaps it was the wine or perhaps it was just her baser instincts, but she had been struck by an idea, nay an epiphany, on how to settle the issue with Strauss once and for all and at the same time resolve several other longstanding issues.
* * *
"Sir," the controller at a Flordarya Planetary Defense Distant DeTect Grid console said to the lead controller via his com headset, "I'm getting some strange readings on the grid.
"What kind of strange readings?" Supervisor Caulliffyr asked.
"The grid indicates that there are five ships headed inbound towards the planet, but we're not expecting any arrivals this morning."
"Five?"
"Yes, sir."
"What kind of ships? Passenger or freighters?"
"Uh, the equipment puts them at about small passenger ship size, but…"
"But what, Azeallum?"
"Uh, there're no AutoTect signals."
"Do you think it's a ghost reading?"
"Negative, it's too strong. They're coming in slow and in tight formation. If I was going to guess, I would say it's five warships about the size of destroyers. They're moving like a task force."
"And no AutoTect?"
"That's correct, sir."
"I'm coming over."
Caulliffyr rose from his chair and walked to the steps
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