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  A ping message came in from Amanda, saying she was almost at the suite, and not to be alarmed when the door opened. A minute or so later, and the door did open, and in she came. She was loaded down with packages, and I gave her a hand with them into the second bedroom. My attempt to find out what was in them was politely rebuffed.

  "Are you ready for dinner?" she asked me.

  I realized the day had rushed past as I was engrossed in wading through my emails. And in spite of having eaten earlier, I was hungry again.

  "What do you suggest?" I asked her.

  "Let's order room service," she replied. "What do you fancy?"

  "I could go for a steak and chips."

  "How do you like your steak?"

  "Medium to well done. I don't like it burnt, but I also don't like it getting up off the plate."

  She grinned.

  "Veggies or salad?"

  "Salad."

  "Coming right up."

  She busied herself with the room service menu, while I went into my bathroom and freshened up. When I came out, she wasn't there, but I could hear noises coming from the other bedroom.

  "Isn't Aleesha joining us?" I called.

  "She's on perimeter patrol, until she's relieved later. We tossed for it, she lost. She'll eat when she's relieved. When you go to sleep, one of us will sleep in the sitting room in case anyone tries the door."

  She emerged from the bedroom, and stood in the doorway with a smirk on her face as my jaw dropped. Instead of the black outfit, she was wearing a light dress in pale yellow, with a black belt cinched around her waist. Her legs were visible below the knees, and she was barefoot. There was a slight bulge on the right thigh, where I guessed her sidearm was still located. I didn't ask. I just quietly closed my mouth, and waved towards a chair. She stepped lightly across the room, and sank into the seat. For the first time I noticed she moved with the grace of a dancer.

  "So," I started, but without any idea where that was going.

  "So," she repeated back.

  "How come the change of outfit?" I asked.

  "Off duty," she replied. "And I got ordered to 'lighten up'. I talked to the Colonel while out, and was told to stop being 'so military for once'. I was on detached duty, and should enjoy it for a change."

  "You don't get…" I started.

  "No, we don't. Usually a bodyguard job requires distance from the client. Apparently you're different, but we don't get to find out why for a while. The orders are to keep you safe, but enjoy the hotel while it's available."

  "Talking about safe, what happened with those men who attacked me this morning?"

  "They're both fine, they were just stunned. It's not permitted to carry anything except stunners on most stations, and the penalties for ignoring that rule are severe. Those two are in deep trouble. They were carrying slug throwers. Those things can do actual damage, and station managements don't like their stations being damaged. They're both locked away securely, and they won't be going anywhere for a good long time."

  "I didn't even see them coming."

  "We know. We were watching you. You haven't even thought about the software upgrades the General gave you this morning, have you?"

  "How did you know that?"

  "We were told."

  "You're right, I forgot all about them."

  "Well you need to install them before we let you out that door again. One of them is a sensor package, which alerts you to nearby threats. The rest are combat protocols and weapons guidance, as much protection a non-military person can get legally."

  "Talking about tomorrow, I'll need to go out. I need to visit a number of guilds, and I have to do some shopping."

  She pondered for a minute.

  "No, we'll get them to come here. I'll ping the Colonel to get Alison to come by. She does our 'personal assistant' role when it's needed on a job. She can organize times for them to visit. Also, I assume you want clothes, so we'll get a tailor to visit, and take your measurements. Then you can shop online. Anything you find there, I'm sure the tailor will be happy to make up for you. We also want to get you 'kitted out'."

  "Kitted out?"

  "Yes," she said with a smile. "You'll see."

  There came a series of beeps from the kitchen. Amanda sent me in to retrieve dinner, and when I came out carrying two trays, I found a dining table in the middle of the room with two chairs around it.

  "What? No candle-light?" I asked.

  She laughed.

  "Sorry no, this isn't a date."

  We sat down to dinner, and talked generalities while we ate. It was an enjoyable meal, and the first really comfortable moment since I'd found myself in hospital. We found desserts in the cooler, and ate them in the easy chairs. Amanda cleared away the dishes, and, as I was listening to the clatter of dishes in the kitchen, I fell asleep.

  Six

  I woke up in a strange bed. For a moment I didn't know where I was. Then the events of yesterday came back, and I realized I was in the bedroom of the hotel. Not only that, I was naked. I sat up suddenly, and peeked under the sheet, and yes, nothing on down there.

  A movement next to me startled me even more. Amanda was on the other side of the bed. As I looked, her eyes opened, and she smiled at me.

  "Good morning," she said.

  "Err," I replied, "What are we doing in the same bed? Ah, why am I naked?"

  "Aleesha and I put you to bed last night. You fell asleep in the sitting room. We didn't think sleeping in your clothes would be very comfortable. They went into the robe on clean cycle. You want the shower first?"

  I shook my head and watched as she sat up, the sheet tumbling down to reveal a pair of small but perfectly shaped breasts. I felt fire flood into my groin, and my face went bright red. She grinned at me, threw the sheet back, stepped out of bed, and headed for the bathroom. I got an excellent view of what can only be described as a 'class arse'. Oddly though, she was still wearing the black belt around her waist.

  "Oh my, a real water shower. Hey you, come and wash my back."

  I sat there, frozen in place, not knowing what to do.

  "Hey, haven't you seen a naked girl before? It's no big deal. In the military you bunk and wash communally. Get in here!"

  I obeyed the command in her voice, got out of bed, and padded into the bathroom. She was already under the water flow. I stepped into the shower alcove, and she turned and handed me the soap. She cast her eyes down for a few seconds only.

  "Down boy," she said quietly. "You really haven't seen a girl naked before?"

  "Yes," I stammered, "But only once, before I left Outback."

  "Soap."

  I did as she asked, and soaped her back, stopping at the black belt, which surprisingly was not wet, even under the full flow of the water. She put her hand out for the soap, finished washing herself, stepped out of the water flow, and went for a towel. I stood there under the water, watching her towel off.

  When she'd replaced the towel on the rack, she went to an underwear dispenser, which produced a tiny top and briefs, which she slipped on. Between them, they only just covered the basics.

  With a grin, her belt suddenly expanded, and in seconds, she was dressed in the slinky black outfit of yesterday. I stood there goggling at her. She laughed, and headed out. I turned back to the water flow.

  A moment later, I heard footsteps enter the bathroom again. I turned and saw Aleesha standing there. As I watched, her slinky black outfit flowed away to become just a black belt, and she stood there in the same underwear Amanda had just put on. They were quickly removed, and she moved into the shower behind me.

  "Soap," she commanded.

  I handed her the soap, and she proceeded to wash my back, except she didn't stop at my waist, but kept going down to my feet. Once again I felt a rush of heat in various places.

  "Swap," was the next command.

  We swapped places, she handed me the soap, and stood under the water flow.

  "Back."

  I soaped
her back down to the belt, and stopped.

  "Continue," she said.

  So I kept on going down to her feet. She turned, and grinned at me, holding out her hand for the soap. I gave it to her, and she finished washing herself, stepped out, and repeated the drying, underwear, and re-clothing Amanda had only recently done.

  "Breakfast," she said, and headed out.

  I stood there. I could see in the mirror I had a goofy look on my face. I thought about what I'd just seen. And yes, they were totally identical. I grinned. The grin faded as I saw the bruises all down my left side. With vision came awareness, and I felt a dull ache. I stepped back under the water flow, and let the heat work on the ache. I lost track of time as I stood there.

  "Oi!" came in from the sitting room.

  I finished washing, dried myself off, and sent the underwear dispenser the command for briefs and socks in my size. The briefs felt a little tight for some reason. I walked into the bedroom, and found my faded jeans and red t-shirt hanging in the robe, now looking clean and pressed. I put them on, and headed out for breakfast.

  The dining table was set for four, with a set of covered dishes in the center.

  Amanda threw me a smirk.

  "What were you up to in there?"

  Aleesha smiled as well.

  "Bruises," I said, looking Amanda in the eye with a straight face.

  "Ah."

  A knock came on the door. Aleesha moved to the door and opened it, admitting a tall blonde woman. She seemed a few years older than the twins. I pegged them as early twenties, and her as later twenties.

  "This is Alison. She's our personal assistant operative, among other things."

  "Hi," I said.

  "Nice to meet you," she replied. "Nice set of bruises," she went on. "How far do they go?"

  "All the way down," chimed in Amanda, before I could answer.

  The grin on her face dared me to comment further.

  "I see," said Alison, and it was obvious she did.

  "Did someone mention breakfast?" I asked.

  "We have your favorite muesli," said Aleesha. I shuddered. "Just kidding," she added.

  The four of us sat down to eat, and I helped myself to scrambled eggs and sausage. We sat there munching away for a time. I finished first, took my plate to the kitchen, and sat in my easy chair, where I called up my emails. More junk mail, several more congratulations, two more requests for a drop account, a request for an interview with a local news service, and one that stopped me cold.

  'YOUR DEAD FUKKA' was the title. The rest of it was in the same vain, and demonstrated a lack of spelling, grammar, and any real ability to hang a sentence together, as well as outright hatred. The others had looked toward me seeing my visible reaction.

  "Death threat," I said. "Who wants it?"

  "Let me have it," said Alison, "I'll forward it on to Abigail to look into."

  I sent her the email, and deleted it.

  "That won't be your last, I'm afraid," said Amanda.

  "May as well get used to them," added Aleesha.

  Alison turned to the twins.

  "Who's on the perimeter? BA will be getting antsy about being relieved if someone doesn't hurry up."

  The twins looked at each other for a few seconds, Aleesha rose, and was quickly out the door.

  I turned to Amanda.

  "Amanda, how did you two work out who was going? You just looked at each other."

  Amanda and Alison were both shocked.

  "How did you know I was Amanda?"

  "How can you tell them apart?"

  I stared at them both, and found they were actually serious.

  "I don't know. I just know."

  "That's amazing," said Alison. "I've known them for years now, and I still can't tell them apart. They're identical in every way. We treat them as a unit, and never even try to figure out which is which. You can really tell?"

  "Sure. You're right, they are identical, but I still know. I have from the moment I met them." I paused. "Okay, not the moment, but as soon as I figured out there were two of them."

  Amanda smiled, but Alison's eyes lost focus for a moment.

  "Tailor's on the way," she announced.

  The breakfast dishes quickly found their way into the kitchen. There was a sound like a burp, and I assumed the remains of breakfast had disappeared into the bowels of the hotel, to go where ever dirty dishes and left over food went.

  Amanda took up her station against the wall by the door. Alison had it open just as a man arrived. He stepped in, identified himself as 'the tailor', and set to work with a scanner getting my dimensions. Before leaving, he sent me his contact details, assured me all I needed to do was identify what I wanted, and they would deliver it to me the next day, tailored to fit perfectly. He left.

  A short time later, another man arrived, this time from the bank. He went through the procedure for identification to ensure I was who I said I was, according to my records on Outback Orbital. All being in order, he pulsed me over my drop account details, and left. I stored these in a secure slot, and added an extra code lock.

  Now I had a drop account, I went back to the requests for it, and sent short replies including the drop account trigger. All they would need to do was activate the trigger, which would take them to a bank interface, and let them transfer funds to my drop account. No-one would ever see account numbers, just a link to the funds transfer page for my account. It was exciting in a way, even if what was coming couldn't possibly eclipse what had already gone in.

  I had barely finished the emails, when someone else arrived, this time an older woman. She greeted me and announced she was Noreen West from the Traders Guild. Alison sat us down in the easy chairs, and left us for the desk. Amanda was still glued to the wall by the door.

  "What is the Traders Guild?" I asked.

  Noreen looked me over for a few seconds, obviously deciding how to respond.

  "The Traders Guild is, at its core, a membership of trade ship owners and captains, who originally came together to pool information, and provide a central place for work to be advertised and sought. That's its main function, but it also offers many other services, including protection, and products such as software upgrades, and ship enhancements, which do not need a shipyard to fit."

  "And your interest in me is?"

  "One of the services we offer is allowing members to post a bounty on those who pose a genuine threat to all traders. In some cases, the guild itself will often match these bounties to make them more attractive to bounty hunters, or the more, shall we say 'aggressive', of our traders, in order serious threats be removed."

  She paused to see if I was following. I nodded.

  "Sector governments do this in a general manner, but only when government interests are threatened. System police forces, especially in space, are costly, and instead of spending on those, a lot of systems choose to offer bounties instead. Sometimes both. Where multiple systems have the same bounty posted, the eventual payout is made at the sector level. So some of their bounties are on the same people as ours, but more often the bounties are different. A good bounty hunter knows who is wanted by both the Traders Guild, and the sector governments."

  "I'm here today to see if you wish to join our Guild. We are aware you're now captain of a small trade ship, so you fit our requirements for membership. And as the person who rid us of a particularly serious threat, we have made a determination of at the moment your Uncle died, our condolences by the way, you became captain of your ship. Thus as a trader captain, you were eligible for membership at that moment. As a happy fluke, the paperwork was received by us at that time, and all we need is your authorization to activate you as a member from that time. This allows us to pay you the bounties due that small, but greatly appreciated, service you performed for all traders."

  She smiled at me, and sat waiting for a response.

  "I don't yet know what I'm going to do."

  "It doesn't matter. Membership requirements do not i
nclude evidence of active trading. Shall we proceed?"

  "Ok."

  "Please give me access to your room coms."

  This I did. She called up the relevant forms, and had me complete the details, including my contact details, and drop account trigger.

  "Thank you Mr. Hunter. You will receive a notification of payment shortly. Should you decide to actively seek those on our bounty list, there is a notification service you can activate to be kept up to date. It was good to meet you."

  With that, she left.

  I checked emails, and there were already two emails from the Traders Guild. One was a notification of membership acceptance, giving contact links to various guild functions. The other made me sit down again suddenly, as I was informed ten million and change had been deposited to my account. I shook my head in disbelief.

  Both Amanda and Alison looked at me with puzzled expressions.

  "Credits," I said. "I no longer need to worry about the cost of some clothes, and whatever you meant by 'kitted out'."

  "You need the same armour we all use, and appropriate weapons," said Amanda.

  "Coming later today," said Alison.

  As she said it, she once again moved to the door, and another person entered, this time from the Bounty Hunters Guild. This was not a man to mess with. He gave Amanda a quick appraising glance as he entered, and I saw she did the same thing. Apparently mutually satisfied, he moved to the indicated chair, and sat.

  Obviously military I thought. The conversation went much the same as the previous one, with the exception as a trader who had successfully terminated the subject of a bounty with the guild, I was entitled to the bounty regardless of joining the guild or not. The benefits of joining seemed obvious, and having done so, he was gone, and I was once again looking at two emails. This time, obvious shock showed, as I read the figure of over twenty five million.