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Homecomings

A Scarborough Fair Story

by RedFox6

Chapter One

Moondance.

The Al ha'Rem

Planet Cernia

House al'Malik Shipyards outside the Capitol, Chawkerlent

Onboard the Scarborough Fair.

Present Day.

Leu was on the bridge, working on the books and balancing the accounts. The money they'd received from House al'Malik made for a nice cushion to cover any emergencies that might arise, and he was determined to husband it carefully once they returned to the Confederation.

The House al'Malik shipyards had also repaired and refurbished the Scarborough Fair at House expense, part of the reward they'd received for services rendered. During their two month stay as guests of House al'Malik, they'd replaced the expended HAWKs with the next generation of missiles, and upgraded the beamers to be even more powerful and long ranged. The extensive damage to the armor and engines had taken the most time to repair, but the ship was running like new again. Despite her attempts, Marie was unable to totally hide how pleased she was with the upgrades made to her ship.

Studying their cargo manifest, Leu idly scratched at the new scars on his left arm, souvenirs from their encounter with the kanis several months before. The flash burns from the plasma blast had healed up nicely, but the claws had slashed his arm to the bone, and the venom in them had destroyed some of the tissue so thoroughly that the Daktari had had to use Synthskin to repair the damage. It hadn't quite finished integrating with his skin yet, so it still itched. He hadn't been bitten, though, so all in all he considered himself quite fortunate.

Marie interrupted him while he was trying to decide where to sell their cargo and in what order they should travel to the different planets. "Leu," she said. "You said to remind you."

"Hmm?" he responded, looking up. On the screen the date flashed, brightly and insistently. Looking at it, he went on, "Deities, has it been a year already?"

"Yes, Leu," Marie answered patiently. "It has been a year. I have reconfigured the entertainment room as you requested, prepared the meal and slotted in the appropriate music chips. Tollel is waiting in her cabin for you, so I suggest you get ready now.

"The reservations you requested at Tony's have been made and they are awaiting our arrival.

"Enjoy your anniversary."

Simultaneously, in Tollel's cabin.

Tollel was sitting on her bed, dressed in the formal gown she'd received from Ayla Binici, the House al'Malik Navigator they had rescued. She was talking with Marie while waiting for Leu to arrive.

"I must admit," Marie was saying. "I did not really expect you to still be onboard. Leu has had other 'broken wings', and they have rarely remained with us for more than a month or two.

"You have both been good for each other," she went on. "Since your arrival, Leu is calmer, more relaxed, and he drinks much less than he did, while you are no longer the helpless, terrified and abused slave you were. You have, in fact, become a valued member of my crew.

"Before your arrival onboard," Marie continued. "I had estimated that Leu had less than three years before he self terminated in one way or another. Your arrival has changed that. For example, in the last year we have visited his friends at Tir na n'Og and Marrakesh more than we did in the previous decade. And Leu has stopped accepting high risk jobs that have the potential to kill him.

"If all goes well," she finished up. "it will be decades before I am forced to seek a new crew. By then, hopefully, you two will have safely retired somewhere together."

Mustering up her courage, Tollel finally asked a question she had been curious about for some time.

"Marie," she asked hesitantly. "how did you and Leu meet?"

There was silence for a moment as she considered possible consequences of answering. Then, Marie said, "I used to smuggle weapons and equipment to Johnny Rotten. When his group was broken, I helped Leu to escape. We have been together ever since."

"You, you met Johnny Rotten?" Tollel asked, awe in her voice.

Again, there was a pause as Marie carefully considered her answer, working through the potential outcomes. "We always talked over secure commo channels. I never met Johnny face to face, I always dealt with intermediaries, usually Leu and his friend, a cat morph named Starling Kit. The two seemed inseparable.

"I do not know what happened to Mr. Kit on that last day," Marie went on. "Leu has never said. But the indications are that it was bad. Leu has spent many years and much money tracking down many of his former comrades, but he has never searched for his best friend. Whatever happened is something that he seems to feel much guilt over. It is one of the things that fueled his self destructive tendencies.

"But now is not the time for that," she finished, as her monitors reported Leu's approach. "Leu is coming to take you to the dance. Enjoy your anniversary."

Standing up, Tollel smoothed the dress down against her body. Ms. Binici's personal designer had done his usual brilliant job. Low cut, sleeveless and backless, the gown was a sea green color that set off her fur, tailored to closely fit her in such a way as to cover but not conceal her body, hinting at the treasures beneath. Leu hadn't seen it before, and she smiled to herself as she anticipated his reaction.

There was a knock at her door. Crossing her room, she answered it to find Leu dressed in his formal suit.

"Wow!" was all he could say, eyes widening in shock at how beautiful the dress made her look.

"Do you like it?" she asked with a smile. Mischief glinting in her eyes, she twirled around teasingly, pleased at his wide eyed reaction.

Recovering, he grinned and said, "Oh, yes!

"Milady," he went on, bowing and offering Tollel his arm. When she accepted, he escorted her to the entertainment room.

The entertainment room had been reconfigured as a ballroom, with a single table and two chairs in the middle. A hologram projected on the ceiling made it seem as if they were outside under a clear, starlit sky. Marie had modified the programming for the ventilation system to provide a gentle breeze, lightly scented with jasmine, while the electric lamp on the table flickered in time with the breeze, providing the illusion of actual candle light without the danger of an open flame. Several drones were patiently waiting to serve them.

It was a marvelous time for Tollel. Sitting at the table Marie's drones had set up, they dined on the finest food and wine that House al'Malik had to offer, with the drones silently bringing each course to them while they talked and laughed with each other, discussing everything and nothing.

The meal over, Marie activated the music chips. Offering her his arm, Leu escorted Tollel to the center of the room, while the drones removed the table. The two danced together for hours, dancing to music ranging from ancient tunes that predated spaceflight, to classic songs from the old Terran Hegemony, to some of the most modern hits on the charts today. Though the classes had been a favorite of hers in the Kennels, ballroom dancing was not a skill that many of her former owners had cared to take advantage of, and she reveled in the chance to show off her abilities and repertoire. Leu was talented, as an amateur, but made up for it in enthusiasm. And a willingness to let Tollel take the lead, where necessary.

After they had danced to exhaustion, Leu and Tollel found themselves in Leu's bed. They spent time exploring each other's bodies, and making slow and gentle love, before falling asleep in each other's arms.

"A perfect evening," Tollel thought, curled up next to Leu with her arm across his body. _"A good dinner followed by dancing and ending in bed with a lover not a master." _ She fell asleep smiling happily.

As Tollel slept,vague dreamlike images filled her mind. She was in a facility of some sort, servicing two figures in white coats. On her hands and knees, she serviced the female with her mouth while the male pulled her tail up and entered her rear.

"Deities," one of the two was saying. "this slitch is good! Are you sure she won't remember any of this?"

"Not a bit of it," the other responded. "Between the Xombex and Brain Bleach, this entire period won't even be a dream."

"Good," the first responded. "It makes things much simpler."

She awoke, disoriented and frightened. Leu moved in his sleep, and Tollel knew where she was. Comforted by his presence, she relaxed and went back to sleep. As she dropped off, she wondered, were the images a dream, or a memory?