The Escort - Part 1

Friday fiction! Escape pod here if...

1. You are not interested in Eve Online fiction.
2. You not an adult.

Today's fiction isn't THAT raunchy but it does contain a short bit of, erm.... nibbling! Plus themes of an adult nature. Probably not PEGI-12!


The Escort - Part 1

"Miss, I really don't think you appreciate the trouble you are in. This charge-sheet is long enough to put you away for many, many years!" the grizzled detective said, blowing out a plume of grey smoke as he exhaled.

"But I didn't do anything wrong!" the young woman protested. She looked up with pleading eyes at the detective's partner who was casually leaning against the back wall of the interview room. He just stared back at her impassively through the gloom of the dimly lit room and the cigarette smoke. She assumed they'd made the interview room intimidating to scare suspects. Given them a taste of what might await on some awful deep-space asteroid penal colony if they didn't cooperate.

"I've got eight dead bodies on the upper decks of this space-station, a 15 metre wide crater blown out of docking bay 58, a stolen frigate, half a dozen burning wrecks floating in space between here and the Heydieles stargate. Not to mention 30-something frozen corpses already. The Sisters of Eve rescue ships are reporting no one made it to the escape pods, they didn't have time with a single massive strike by a destroyer. We are expecting a death-toll of over 50 in the end. Of the three people that we believe are responsible for all of this, you are all we have. So you are saying you are the innocent party? It was the other two?"

"Yes!"

"The other two dragged you in against your will?"

"Absolutely!"

"And the fire-fight that engulfed this space-station and this solar system was their fault and nothing to do with you?"

"That's right! Can I go now?"

"Sorry miss, but you are going to have to start at the beginning. It had better be a very good story as to how we found you alone, drifting in that stolen Merlin class attack-frigate with a trail of destruction in your wake!"

"OK." she began, taking a deep breath "It all started two days ago. I got a call from my agency...."

-o0o-

Two days ago......

Jasmin closed her datapad and placed it on the side. She undid the thin belt and slipped out of her silk robe letting it pool around her feet on the tiled floor. She stepped into the luxurious bubble-bath that had been slowly filling for the last twenty minutes. As the warm water enveloped her body she inhaled the fragrant steam. The young woman wondered how those people on the space-station, hundreds of kilometres above, managed without proper baths. Water on a space-station was far too a valuable resource to use on bathing. The rich and the powerful had high-efficiency showers up there, but the majority of people had to make do with UH-frequency sonic showers. No, Jasmin could never live off-planet. However, if she didn't get some work soon she'd need to leave this luxury apartment and find somewhere cheaper that might not have a tub. Her money was running out fast and she'd need to downgrade if she didn't come up with some soon. The planet of Lirsautton III had been hit by a bad recession. Some local idiot bankers thought they were some sort of Caldari super-investors and had played the markets with disastrous results. It had led to a planet-wide stock-market crash and subsequent recession. During these times, luxury services, such as those she provided, were in less demand.

She closed her eyes and tried to relax. She was just nodding off when her datapad bleeped.

"Shit!" she muttered.

She reached across and grabbed the datapad, her arm dripping soapy water on the tiled floor. She looked at the screen. Her new boss was calling. Her heart skipped a beat. Possible work? Money?

"Hello?"

"Do you like women?" her boss asked without introduction.

"What?" giggled Jasmin in surprise.

"You're new on our books, I don't know do I? I've had a specific request for you, but its from a couple."

Jasmin was a courtesan working for an up-scale agency in the Gallente Federation. She had recently gone from independent to joining an agency following an unpleasant encounter with a Client. Whilst the agency would advertise her services and offer much needed protection, there was more competition for bookings and they also took a healthy cut of the fee. She had been worried she'd made the wrong decision as she'd not had any bookings in her first week with them.

"Well, I've never done that, but I'm OK with it."

"Are you 100% sure? Pulling out mid-way or doing a bad job is going to get you dropped. The lady of the couple will have, shall we say, expectations." her boss said sternly.

"I'm sure. Happy to go gay-for-pay. What's the deal?"

"I have no idea. The booking is through a proxy company that has been used with us in the past. This means its a VIP couple."

"What do you mean a proxy company?" Jasmin asked worriedly.

"Don't stress deary." Her boss said obviously hearing the tension in her voice "We've taken bookings from them in the past and every time, without exception, its gone very well for both our girls and us. No one famous is going to deal with us direct. They use this proxy company which ensures that communication and money trails are broken. You, nor the other couple, will be appearing on the front cover of next weeks Dodixie Hot Celebrity Gossip by doing it in this way."

"Someone famous?" Jasmin asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"May be. Darling, if its being done this way then whoever is behind the booking is either very rich or very powerful and therefore could be very famous. I already have a confidentiality and non-disclosure contract here that they sent for you to sign if you, and I hope you will, accept. Its all above board."

"I don't know. This is all a bit heavy. Where is the job?"

"I don't know the location."

"This is sounding worse and worse every minute." Jasmin grumbled. Her boss laughed.

"What do you expect? Their home address? What if it is the current darling couple of the Dodixie holoreel industry making this booking? You must have seen the rumours in the gossip pages about those two and what their ex-maid claimed! May be you'll be going to someone's office and it turns out to be the CEO of the Quafe Corporation and his wife? What about that fire-brand senator who is on a crusade to clean up Gallente society? For all we know he and his wife could be the kinkiest of us all behind closed doors! They will provide two-thousand credits advanced travel allowance to get you to a specific space-station in Dodixie. Then they will take care of the other travel arrangements from there. That way they don't even know what system you yourself live in. See this protection thing works both ways."

"Wait! did you say two grand just to make the first leg of the trip?" Jasmin paused for a second. "What is the fee then?"

"Well its a full over-nighter" replied her boss. Jasmin thought about it, she was listed on their books as 1,500 credits for over-night, 8pm to 8am. "They are willing to pay fifty grand plus travel."

Jasmin sat bolt upright in the bath sending bubbles and water cascading over the edge, sloshing onto the floor.

"Did you just say fifty grand?"

"Yes darling. This is the big time after all."

Jasmin did the sums in her head. The agency took 25% of all fees but that would still leave her 37,500 credits plus what she could save from the two grand travel allowance. The equivalent of 25 over-nighters. Even before the crash she'd need between four to six months to make that.

"What's the catch. There must be a catch?" she asked warily.

"No catch darling. This is the big time with the big spenders! They expect high-class and above all, discretion."

Jasmin held the datapad in the air as she dunked herself into the warm water with the largest smile on her face she'd had in a long time.

"Hello? Jasmin? Are you there.....?" echoed from the datapad.

-o0o-

24 hours later....

Jasmin sipped the expensive Gallente champagne from the crystal flute as the shuttle approached the station. She leant back in the luxurious seat padded with soft Matari Telemark leather. The initial leg of her journey had been just about bearable but the second leg was amazing. Thinking to keep some of the two thousand credit travel allowance, she'd taken the cheapest economy InterBus shuttle from her home planet to Nugoeihuvi Corporation Development Studio station that she could find. Just two hours ago she'd been drinking Quafe Lite from a plastic bottle whilst wedged between an Amarrian monk and a Matari professional fighter! She had been glad to get off that shuttle when they arrived in Dodixie. Her instructions had been to proceed to a separate private docking bay. She'd found a shuttle there waiting to take her to the destination. She had been treated like royalty since, and not a Quafe Lite in sight or any overly-chatty Matari fighters. Just expensive Gallente champagne and first class service.

The shuttle entered the destination station at a private hanger and Jasmin disembarked into the elegant arrivals room. She looked around for some hint of where she was and saw none. A man in a smart uniform complete with cap was waiting for her.

"Miss Jasmin?" he enquired in a posh Gallente acent.

"Yes?"

"I am Jean-Baptiste. I am to escort you to the hotel. Please let me take your bag."

Jasmin smiled and handed over her small roller case. She had been instructed not to bring much luggage and that clothing for the night would be provided. For once she was traveling light. She followed the man over to a small station-car and he opened the door for her. She slid inside to find it was not a standard station car. Leather seats, wood trim and a mini-bar with a chilled half bottle of champagne awaited her. She smiled to herself, this was certainly the way to travel.

It took approximately half an hour until they reached the hotel on one of the upper decks of the station. The driver collected her bags and escorted her straight to the lifts, no checking-in she noted. On the 49th floor the lift opened and they stepped into the luxurious corridor. Her driver pulled a keycard and opened one of the three doors on that floor. She stepped into a truly amazing suite.

"I would get some rest Miss. Some people from the spa will come to see you at 1600 hours station time to get you ready. I will be here to collect you at 2020 station time. Please enjoy the facilities." the man explained before tipping his hat and leaving.

Jasmin went to the huge paroramic window that looked into deep space.

She stood there and stared into the blackest space she'd ever seen. She knew she was no longer in Gallente hi-sec, the green nebula was too far away. She assumed she was now in low-security space. She searched around the suite and found it had separate bedroom, living room and huge bathroom with a big soak-bath before returning to the large window to gaze out over the near-by moon and into deep space again.

"Oh yes, this is the way to do business!" she whispered to herself

-o0o-

After a good sleep in the most amazing bed she'd ever experienced, Jasmin ordered a light lunch from room service. She watched some cheesy movies on the holoprojector and generally slobbed out. At 1600 sharp the door buzzer went. Jasmin opened the door to find three Caldari women dressed in crisp white spa uniforms. They were carrying a selection of bags and pushing various trolleys and clothing racks. She was slightly surprised to find Caldari working on a Gallente station but then again Caldari did make some of the best masseuses.

The next four hours were a blur for Jasmin. She was treated to an afternoon of pure pampering. Massages followed by skin treatment and hair removal followed by more massages and even more skin treatment. By the time they were finished doing her hair and make-up she hardly recognised herself. Her skin felt softer than she could ever remember and she felt radiant.

They had brought a selection of clothes for her, all high-fashion, all hideously expensive. Given her profession, Jasmin was used to dressing up, but this was a whole new level. The three spa girls helped her dress, she felt like royalty with the three women waiting on her, helping her dress. Jasmin smoothed the luxurious black Amarrian silk stockings up her legs and fixed the delicate silk tops to a matching Gallente lace suspender belt.

The spa girls eased her into the other skimpy pieces of Gallente fashion-house lingerie that were no more than whisps of silk and lace. It was all covered by an elegant House of Ranai satin cocktail dress. Finally the stiletto heels from famous designer Vallou completed the outfit. Jasmin looked in the mirror. She could have been going to a high society ball. Elegant, beautiful, sexy.

Within five minutes of the spa team clearing out the door buzzer went again. She opened it to find Jean-Baptiste there.

"Good evening Miss. You look radiant. Are you ready?" he asked.

Jasmin nodded and followed him to the lift. She was nervous. The ride in the lift was very short, just one level up to the 50th floor. The lift pinged and the door opened into an entry room. The driver beckoned her to enter and she did. Jasmin turned and saw he had stayed in the lift.

"Are you not coming?" she asked nervously.

"No Miss. A scanning drone will just do a routine check of you for security reasons and the door will unlock. Have a good night Miss." and with that he doffed his cap and the lift doors closed. Movement caught Jasmin's eye as a painting in the wall opened out and a small machine slowly hovered out. It was about the size of a shoe box and covered in antennas and small dishes.

"Please stay still" it said in a pure Gallente accent as it hovered around her. A wide but thin blue light shone over her as the drone moved up and down ensuring it covered her completely in the eerie blue light. She hear a click that made her jump.

"No weapons, bio-agents or explosives detected. No virus or communicable disease detected. You have a clean bill of health. Please continue, the door is unlocked." the drone stated as it hovered back to its hole in the wall.

Jasmin shook her head at the bizarre encounter with the drone and moved to the large wooden doors. On a space-station wood was not a common material. If a location has wood then it is a high-class area for rich VIPs only. She opened the door and stepped inside a massive lounge. The entire back wall was a window which provided a magnificent view into space, ornate furniture from all around New Eden was carefully placed around the room. It was simply breath-taking.

"Welcome." said a voice to her left which made her jump. Whilst he spoke Gallente, there was a strong twang of Caldanese. She looked over and saw a man behind an ornate black bar making drinks. Three glasses were placed on top of the bar and he was filling them with colourful liquids. The man stopped what he was doing and came out from behind the bar and walked towards her. Jasmin studied him carefully as he approached. He was Caldari, very fit, light hair, tall and walked with the up-most confidence. His eyes burnt with passion and he had a slightly bemused look to his lips. He was enjoying this.

"Hi, I'm Jasmin." she said and held out a hand. The man took his hand in hers and kissed it. She felt how soft his hands and lips were. In fact they were too soft. Even an office worker who has never done manual labour in their life should have tougher skin that his.

"Of course you are." he said with a wink whilst extending his other hand to encourage her towards one of the plush black leather sofa's.

He was right, Jasmin was not her real name. The men who booked courtesans didn't generally care for names really, however for security it was always best to use a fake one. An exotic one was best as these helped grab attention on the site, she like the scent of Jasmin so when she needed to choose a professional name it hadn't been hard. The man hadn't offered his name and she wouldn't ask, she'd lost count of the number of Mr Smiths she'd slept with. She sat in one sofa and he sat in the other opposite. She looked at his clothes and couldn't make out the fashion house. The clothes he wore were obviously expensive judging by the material, but she'd never seen any like them before. She was wondering if they were custom made or whether he worked in the fashion industry and these were new season clothes not out on the street yet.

"How was your journey?" a female voice asked.

Jasmin looked over to her right and saw a woman appear from a side-door. Although she too spoke Gallente she was clearly Amarrian. Flowing jet back hair and a slender frame. Again the clothes were unknown to Jasmin. A plunging short dress, seamed stockings and knee high boots. The woman's skin also looked too good to be true.

"It was good thank you. I'm Jasmin." she said as she stood and faced the woman. The Amarrian walked up to her and greeted her with the traditional Gallente greeting, kissing her on both cheeks. Jasmin noted that her skin was the same as the man's, baby-soft. The woman backed off and sat down next to the man. Jasmin retook her seat, being careful not to expose too much. The dress she was wearing was very revealing and she knew sitting the wrong way would expose the tops of her stocking tops. Normally with a Client this wouldn't be an issue, in fact she'd more often than not purposely do it to move things along. However, being with a couple was a new situation for her and she wasn't sure how to behave. The last thing she wanted was the wife to suddenly become jealous and ruin the night.

"Are you two married?" she ask trying to make small talk. The two opposite her smiled at each other. The man rose to his feet and headed to the bar.

"No. We are just very, very good friends." the woman replied. "And please, call me Cat."

Jasmin glanced over to what the man was doing. He finished off the drinks, gathered them up and brought them over. He handed one to Jasmin and turned around to pass one to Cat. Jasmin saw a flash of metal under the man's hair at the top of his neck as he stretched. Suddenly everything fell into place. The money, the secrecy, the security, their clothes and the skin.

"Judging by our guests expression she's just connected the dots." Cat purred in the sofa opposite. The man laughed as walked back towards Cat glancing back at Jasmin. "Really? Already?".

"You are a capsuleer. An immortal!" she said in awe. The man nodded and smiled at her before taking his seat next to Cat.

"We both are actually. You are the quickest we've known to make the connection. Bravo!" Cat replied as she raised her drink. "To an entertaining night."

They talked for a good hour. Jasmin had a million questions but needed to remember that she was working and needed to keep professional. She asked generic questions about the capsuleer life and found that the un-named man had saved Cat from an Amarrian Holder after her parents had been killed and he'd taken all family assets, including her, as payment for an outstanding debt. Her lover had then paid for her to be put through capsuleer training. Jasmin filled them in with a few details of her own life. More than she would usually do with Clients but these two were different. If they really wanted to, with their connections, they could know everything there was no know about her. Capsuleers were some of the most powerful people in the cluster.

"So why me? I enjoyed the travelling but surely there are more local agencies." Jasmin asked. Cat smiled and nodded to her man as she rose, collected the empty glasses and went to make some more drinks.

"We're picky" the man said lazing back in the sofa on his own. "We keep an eye on all the top agencies. When we both are in the mood and we spot one we both agree on, then distance is no object."

"Do you do this a lot then?" Jasmin followed up.

"Not really. A couple of times a year." Cat replied coming back with the refilled glasses.

She placed one in front of her man and then sat next to Jasmin handing her a drink. Jasmin accepted the drink and took a good gulp knowing things were moving forward. They continued the conversation until that drink was exhausted. As she placed her empty glass on the small wooden table, Jasmin felt Cat's hand on her knee. She shifted slightly towards her and turned her head. The Amarrian woman had amazing eyes that seemed to penetrate her soul. There was something about these Capsuleers. It wasn't the implants that allowed them to control their massive spaceships simply by thought. It wasn't that they were immortal and could live forever. There was something else. Something special. Cat raised a hand and brushed a strand of hair away from Jasmin's face with a smile. The hand lingered and Jasmin leant her head into the soft touch of Cat's hand. Her thumb brushed Jasmin's lips and she parted them slightly.

Cat leant in slightly and Jasmin mirrored her moves, their lips meeting softly. For Jasmin this was the first time she'd kissed another woman. It was soft, warm, erotic. Slowly and very gradually the kisses became more passionate. Tongues meeting as she felt a hand start to explore her body. Jasmin opened her eyes briefly to sneak a peak to see what the man was doing. He was still leaning back in the sofa with his arms spread over the backrest. He was watching intently. Jasmin closed her eyes again and continued to enjoy the sensations. A hand snaked over her knee and up to her thigh, she felt the soft skin of the exploring hand meet her own exposed flesh as it crossed over the silk tops of her stockings and over her exposed thighs. The hand then disappointingly snaked around her hips and up over her waist and up over her breast. The thin satin material of the dress make the sensation mind-blowing. The hand continued its advance up her chest, onto her neck and into her hair. Cat expertly pulled on Jasmin's hair slowly and lightly, forcing her head backwards, breaking the kiss which disappointed her. She then felt the her lips start trailing kisses down her throat and around to the side of her neck sending what felt like electricity coursing throughout her body. She let out a moan of pleasure. Usually these were faked and for the benefit of the Client. Normally as she would be thinking about what groceries she needed to buy next week or other mundane task. Not this time, this was a real reaction. She let out another small gasp of pleasure as she felt a hot tongue run all the way up the side of her neck from the base and then teeth nibbling her earlobe. A soft, warm hand had returned to her chest and was expertly teasing her through the thin satin of the dress. The sensation was overwhelming and she felt as if the room shook. Her eyes snapped open as she realised she really had felt the room shake. 

She saw Cat was rising off her, her lover was sprinting towards the bar. Confused Jasmin looked around and realised there was debris on the floor and smoke in the air. She looked towards the entrance and saw the big wooden door had almost been blown off its hinges. Masked men in combat fatigues were charging into the room with guns. One of the men shot at Cat's lover as he propelled himself over the bar, the rounds raking gouges in the wall as he flew behind the bar and vanished. Cat had also disappeared around the corner and Jasmin looked on in confusion. One of the masked men turned to her pointing his rifle in her face.

"WHO ARE YOU?" the masked man screamed at her. She couldn't answer, she was frozen in fear. She stuttered an answer as the gunman braced the rifle into his shoulder as if about to fire. A red mist erupted from the side of his head and he fell to the floor. The other three men who had been looking towards her all started to turn. They fell to the ground in turn, dead before they had even brought their guns to bear. Jasmin looked over to the bar where the Capsuleer stood with a smoking pistol.

"Time to go?" Cat asked from somewhere behind her. Jasmin spun her head and saw her emerge from the other room with a large bag in one hand and a gun in the other.

"What about her?" the man asked.

"We cannot leave her. They'll be more of them coming. If they grab her they'll spend hours squeezing everything she knows out of her and when they get bored, they'll kill her."

"OK Jasmin, guess that means you are coming with us!"

Jasmin was about to protest when Cat raised her gun and fired once. During the action she never took her calming eyes off Jasmin's. There was a thud and a masked man fell through the hole that had been blasted in the door. She'd hit him in the centre of the forehead without even looking. Jasmin had read about Capsuleers in school. They had the implants that increased their perception far and above that of a normal human.

"I'm serious." Cat said still looking into Jasmin's eyes. "These men will capture you, torture you and then kill you for simply talking to us. You need to come with us if you want to live."

She held out a hand and Jasmin took it as the thunderous sound of running boots grew louder. The two capsuleers raised their guns towards the door, shielding Jasmin behind them.


.... to be concluded....