“Everything is fucked,” Adam muttered, looking out his office window at the fires raging in the city below. The riots had started quickly, anti-Zetan groups had clashed with police all over Earth and the human colony worlds, all Zetan settlements had been locked down. Kira lay on his office couch, asleep underneath his jacket. He’d asked the agency’s other Zetan employees and advisors to either remain in their homes, or stay within the office compound. Seeming to sense his gaze, Kira stirred blinking as she woke up.

“They’re playing it again,” he muttered, turning up the volume on the television that adorned the wall of his office.

“Dramatic footage from Clearwater, Iowa as radical Zetans shrank and kidnapped humans in the middle of an Alliance Day parade,” the news anchor began, “the kidnapped humans have been identified as Kurtis Miller and Joseph Atchinson, agricultural department workers who attempted to assist police in subduing the Zetans.”

The shaky camera footage from inside a restaurant showed the entire battle, ending with the Zetan princess shrinking the pair of humans, and picking them up after crushing a vehicle underfoot. It almost looked like old invasion footage, though thankfully without any bloodshed…

“I thought you ordered a blackout on that?” Kira asked sleepily.

“I did,” Adam said with a sigh, “but we lifted it after a few hours, it’s all over the internet anyways. We’ve shut down a bunch of social media sites temporarily because Zetan accounts were… inflaming tensions.” He tapped a few buttons on his wrist computer, a moment later the screenshots appeared on Kira’s.

“A taste of what’s coming humies?” she read the comments angrily, “get stomped?” She sighed, “I’m sorry my people are like that…”

“Don’t be,” he said with a small smile, “there are plenty who are outraged. The Empress is preparing a statement, and it won’t be in support of her daughter, we know that much.”

“We spent so much time trying to make up for everything,” she said quietly, “it just feels like forty years of work just got thrown away…”

Adam sighed, going and sitting next to her on the couch and hugging her slightly, “we’ll pull through,” he assured her.

…

The Zetan royal shuttle had a comfortable set of personal quarters, not nearly as spacious and grandiose as Nea’s at the palace, but certainly nicer than any Kurt had ever stayed in on Earth. An expansive bed sat in the middle of the room, along with an elegant wooden desk and a large screen that covered the wall. Nea had carried Kurt here, stripping the mottled remains of her armor off as she’d walked.

Kurt watched her, hoping for any hint as to her intentions. In spite of himself he found his eyes taking in her svelte form, as good as he could from his spot gripped in her hand anyway. She had a sizeable pair of green breasts, held up by a webbed black material that he recognized as Zetan underwear, it seemed to glitter with the light as she moved.

“Wait here,” she said, placing him on her desk slowly. He glanced behind himself and saw a large glass container, a doll-sized house inside that he guessed was supposed to be “his.” A moment later Nea returned, a small remote in her hand. A light leapt out and scanned over him, and a moment later the large screen on the far wall leapt to life, his biosigns displayed.

“What are you doing?” he asked, looking at his medical info nervously.

“What are you doing Princess,” she said tersely.

“I’m not giving you a title,” he said, crossing his arms. He thought a moment, “and speaking of, are you really the Zetan princess?”

She growled angrily at the impudence, “Of course I am! Look around you, do you think normal Zetans have a ship like this? A guard?”

“I don’t know, thankfully you greenskins mostly stayed away from Clearwater until now,” he said. He jumped as her fist slammed on the table next to him.

“You will not use those disgusting human slurs to refer to me or any other Zetan,” she spat, “I never want to hear knife ears, greenskins, spelves, or anything other than ‘Zetan’ out of your mouth ever again!”

“I’ll call you knife-eared bitches whatever the hell I want!” he shouted.

Nea fumed, and she plucked the human off her desk and squeezed him in her grip again, letting him know she could crush him in an instant. He still had that hateful look in his eyes, and she placed him down on the floor next to her now bare foot. He grimaced as the smell hit him, evidently the power armor didn’t breathe well, they smelled like she’d just run a marathon.

“You will address me as Princess, you will not use any human nicknames for my people,” she said again, lifting her foot over him. He stumbled back, holding his hand up as the soft pale-green flesh made contact with him. He grunted as her foot pressed down, her toes curling around his body and soaking him with her grimy sweat as his head was wedged between them. He feebly grabbed at her toes, wrapping an arm around the ones on either side of his head.

“N-No,” he wheezed as she put more pressure on him.

“Look at you,” she laughed, “this really is the truth of our two species, isn’t it? Shrinking technology is one of our race’s finest achievements, that’s why we use it on you, we put you physically where you always were mentally… beneath us.” Kurt wanted to shout, but with the pressure on his chest he couldn’t manage it, and his vision nearly swam with rage as he saw the smug expression on the Zetan’s face.

“If I put just a little more pressure on you… well, I’ll have to summon a cleaning drone to get what’s left of you out of the carpet… almost like I had stepped on a troublesome insect,” she continued. “Would you like me to let you up?” Kurt just glared at her, spittle forming at the corners of his mouth as he sputtered, trying to breathe. Rolling her eyes the princess lifted the sole of her foot slightly, letting him suck in the air with a gasp.

“I’ll let you up,” she said, “but you need to do something for me…” she grinned wickedly, “Agree to call me Princess, and… kiss my foot.”

Kurt’s eyes went wide, and a snarl of rage passed over his face forcing the pain down, “Fuck you!” he shouted.

Nea hissed angrily, clenching her toes around Kurt and gripping his head tightly. The sweat of her foot soaked his hair, and the pressure on his chest built until he struggled to draw breath, his face going red with the exertion.

I can’t press down any more, Nea realized, why won’t he just say it? Anger started to fill her, and although he was a man sure he was about to die, Kurt gave her a maddening smile that seemed to rub his defiance in her face.

Nea eased up the pressure again, crossing her arms in thought this isn’t right, she thought, humans are supposed to be dumb cowardly things… eager to obey once you’ve pushed them a little. A sense of unease filled her; she didn’t like the way this was making her feel as much as she thought it would. The human, Kurt, was far too… Zetan, in his demeanor.

“Do you have Zetan heritage?” she asked suddenly, “from the war perhaps?”

Kurt’s anger was replaced by incredulity, “No!” he shouted angrily

She bit her lip, trying to hide her embarrassment. It was a stupid question, the boy didn’t have a hint of green on him, but still…

He’s likely advanced for his species, she decided, the other human seemed to understand his place. She thought over what would get her to comply in such a situation, a line of thought that made her skin crawl, though she couldn’t quite place why.

“Your friend,” she said suddenly, catching his attention, “Maybe I should bring him in here? Would you still swear at me and call me foul names if it were him to be crushed under my foot?”

This is a low thing to do, she thought bitterly, even as the words left her mouth, a Zetan princess, a warrior, shouldn’t stoop to-

“Fine,” Kurt growled, looking up at her enormous form, “I’ll try to be more… polite, Princess.”

Her heart fluttered excitedly, “What else did I ask for?” she asked with a grin, squeezing her toes around him again.

Kurt sighed, looking at the big toe that had pinched him so easily. It was larger than his head, maybe as big as his torso. He looked up at the green skinned princess, who giggled slightly as she watched his thought process play out. He puckered his lips, and slowly kissed the toe. It was salty and grimy, like the rest of her foot, and he fought a grimace as he pulled away. The aftertaste was on his lips, and he couldn’t even reach them to wipe it off.

“Good human,” Nea cooed, “was that so difficult?” Part of her felt a little conflicted, her victory was tainted somehow, but it was a victory…

She reached down for him again, curling her hands around him and bringing him up to her face. She leaned in, her nose twitching slightly as she sniffed him. She giggled again, realizing how completely covered he was in the oily grime of her foot.

“You’re filthy,” she said in a low voice as she set him back down on the desk. She looked down at herself, the stale odor of her sweat beginning to set in as the sheen dried, “we both are… I suppose battle can do that.” She gave him an odd look, was that a hint of red in her cheeks? “Remove your clothing.”

His eyes bulged, “W-What?” He watched, shocked, as she tapped the corner of her bra, the spidery fabric of her underwear seemed to withdraw over her skin, crawling like a thousand snakes as it was drawn towards the point of contact, a moment later only a small pellet remained, and the now naked princess placed it casually on the table next to him.

Nea’s body was toned, smooth, the pale green of her skin broken by dark nipples that stood pert and erect from her breasts. As his eyes traced down, he saw a curl patch of pubic hair, the same shade of dark, almost black, green as that on her head.

She smirked at his reaction, the poor human is probably going mad with lust, she thought, to see a Zetan naked…

“Your clothing human,” she repeated, gesturing to him, “remove it, there is no modesty between a mistress and her pet.”

“Princess,” he managed, “I uh-“

Nea rolled her eyes, reaching to open a drawer on her desk. She withdrew a small cylinder with Zetan lettering stenciled across it, Kurt just managed to make it out in time for his translation implant to inform him what it said.

Utility laser? He gulped and stumbled back, but Nea’s hand held it over him, a slim red beam arcing out and making contact. There was a hissing sound as his clothes were sliced away, and a moment later his shirt, pants, and underwear, lay in a heap at his feet, the cut parts burned black and smoldering slightly. He quickly covered his crotch with his hands, looking up feebly at the grinning form of the princess.

“Put your hands at your sides,” she ordered. He hesitated and she scowled, “Now!”

Kurt fought the urge to grumble under his breath as he obeyed, placing his hands firmly at his sides like a toy soldier. Nea licked her lips and let her eyes dance over him, taking in every reduced inch of her human toy.

“Lovely,” Nea whispered, getting so close he could feel her hot breath ruffle his hair. She reached out and poked his chest, the pad of her finger easily covering one of his pecs as she traced down over his stomach. Her touch reached between his legs, where he was rapidly hardening, even as he willed himself not to, “Your human lovers must be wailing and gnashing their teeth at losing you…”

In spite of the situation, it was too much, he snorted, fighting laughter.

Nea frowned, her finger pulling back, “you find it amusing that I have torn you away from your human women?” She grinned wickedly, “it warms my heart that hundreds of human females weep tonight, knowing you are a Zetan’s toy!”

Kurt burst out laughing for real at that, his hands going from his sides to his knees as he struggled to keep himself steady.

“Stop that!” Nea said uncomfortably, “stand back up!” Kurt managed it, fighting the laughter by reminding himself of the situation he was in.

“I’m uh, sorry princess,” he said, “I… did not have as many companions as you think.”

Nea frowned, “only a few dozen then?” She scowled as she saw the corner of his mouth quirk, “you are mocking me human, and I do not care for it. Explain yourself now!”

“I did not have any… lovers, at the time you took me,” he said awkwardly.

Nea was slightly taken aback, and she struggled to maintain her imperious composure, “Why would you lie about something like this human?” She asked angrily, “are you hoping to curry favor? You’ll-“ she glanced at his biosigns, still displayed on the wall monitor, and frowned. His heart rate was steady…

Their species is blessed with an abundance of males, she reasoned. Zetan males were typically shared, sometimes temporarily and sometimes permanently, but none of them wanted for companionship. As a princess of the royal family, Nea had grown up taking it for granted that she would be granted her own personal consort whenever she decided she was ready to have children. It struck her suddenly that human women probably all enjoyed that luxury.

She looked at her human again, trying to decide how to retake control of the conversation, “It does not surprise me that such a primitive and barbaric species cannot recognize the beauty of your physical form, nor the bravery you possess, but do not forget that all of what you are is now mine,” she said with a grin.

Kurt blinked, the saddest part of this whole thing, he realized, is that that’s the nicest thing any woman’s ever said to me.

“You are my ultimate trophy, and I will use you for my own pleasure,” she continued, “and if I wish, I will let others do so, friends, allies, perhaps even simply a servant who has pleased me.” She grinned, “do you understand human?”

“Yes,” he muttered, looking up at her again. She frowned and he quickly added, “Princess…”

She nodded with a grin, “I’m very pleased with how this has gone so far.” She glanced at a door at the side of her chamber, one which lead to a shower stall, “I am going to bathe,” she declared, “you need to as well.” She regarded his naked form appreciatively, “I’m rewarding your obedience by giving you a choice, you may either join me, or I will put you in your enclosure and you may bathe alone.”

He glanced at the clear plastic-looking cage next to her bed. Inside was something that looked a lot like a house, if a house was built for people four inches tall…

Is there a shower or something in there? He wondered.

“Alone princess,” he said quickly.

“Disappointing,” Nea muttered, “but I did offer you the choice.” She gripped his naked body, the warmth of her palm wrapping around his erection and causing him pleasure he tried his best to hide. Slowly he was lowered into the enclosure, and with a final smug smirk at him, Nea turned to leave, her gorgeous and gigantic backside swaying for him as she went towards the shower.

With a sigh he turned around, crossing the threshold of his new “house.” While the exterior looked almost like a normal earth home, the interior was a bland plastic white. A simple padded square that was supposed to be a bed was in the center, and at the far corner was a spigot he guessed was his water source. He half expected to find hamster shavings or newspaper, so the sight of a very earth looking toilet in a far corner caused him to sigh with relief.

As he walked towards the shower spigot, he took a moment to think over his situation. The Zetan Princess was… not what he’d expected. The cruel princess who apparently wanted him and earth enslaved had a sense of nervousness to her, like she didn’t quite know what she was doing.

I’ll play along for now, he decided. Was he willing to die for pride? The surprising answer was yes, he wasn’t willing to make Joey do it though. How long are we going to be here? He began to wonder. From what the princess had said, he’d pieced together that she thought she was acting within the Human-Zetan treaty, but Kurt had a strong suspicion that, whatever this was, it wasn’t going to fly. Zetans are pieces of shit, he reasoned, but… whatever passes for a cop with them will probably help us out, if we can’t get human attention. The only thing to do was wait, and see what opportunities presented themselves.

There was another issue he had to think over; however.

She likes you, he admitted to himself, it was fairly obvious from the way she looked at him, and the way her demeanor changed once they’d started talking about his… lovers. She likes you more than any earth girl probably ever has… the thought caused him to smirk slightly, but he forced himself to focus, she’s an evil bitch who threatened to kill you, she wants humanity enslaved, he reminded himself, don’t follow your dick on this one…

And that was going to be the hard one. The alien princess was gorgeous, and the domineering attitude she had was pushing buttons for him he didn’t know he had, buttons that pissed him off, but buttons that did something else too…

Fuck me, he thought, imagining himself under her foot again as his erection came to full mast. He sighed and spat into his palm, reaching down between his legs.

…

Nea finished cleaning herself, the omni-directional shower misting water from all sides and rinsing away the soap. She stepped out again, feeling the buzz and the quick heat of the auto-dry field. Feeling refreshed, she entered her room. She glanced at her human’s enclosure, he was nowhere to be seen, likely inside the small faux dwelling in the center.

I’ll leave him there for the moment, she decided, walking towards her closet. She waved a hand and it hissed open, the automated clothing rack spinning as it displayed several outfit choices for her. She opted for a simple shining white jumpsuit, the royal crest proudly displayed over the chest in dark green. She grabbed the collar, and like a living liquid the outfit seemed to leap onto her, sliding over her skin and conforming to the contours of her body. Nanoclothing was expensive, even on Zeta Prime, but being a princess had perks.

Idly she noticed that Kurt’s biosigns were still displayed on her monitor, and she frowned, reading the incoming data.

Sexual arousal? Orgasm? She glanced at the enclosure and grinned, fool human doesn’t realize I’m monitoring him… She quickly looked through the logs, let’s see what you are pleasuring yourself to. It was her, no doubt, a mere human couldn’t deny the beauty of a Zetan, a princess no less! But… now what part of me do you like most?

She quickly had the ship’s AI compile Kurt’s biosigns against their interactions, the AI could also trace Kurt’s eyes from the room’s surveillance footage, giving it an idea of where he was staring at a given time.

Nea smiled approvingly as she saw Kurt’s arousal spike when she’d taken her clothing off, he liked the typical features of course… She frowned when she saw a massive spike during the initial phase of their discussion. When he was pinned under my feet? She raised an eyebrow, examining the data further. What was it about that which made my little human so excited?

It wasn’t entirely unheard of, Nea had read plenty of accounts of Zetans and their pet humans, a tiny human and Zetan feet were simply a natural match. Still, she hadn’t expected one to take to it so soon, and when her feet were still filthy from the battle even…

Interesting, she thought with a smile. She set the computer to continue recording all of Kurt’s biosigns, with particular focus on arousal. If fear of pain and death do not sway you, we will see what else might…

…

Joey sobbed on the dashboard of the ship as Telma continued flicking through comms channels. The tiny human had been a mess since she’d brought him up here, shaking in her palm as she’d laid him facing the stars beyond the viewport. She’d stripped down her armor, the sleek bodysuit she wore underneath it shining in the low light of the cabin as she searched for a ship that would help them.

Telma was no human sympathizer but, while she didn’t indulge in the rhetoric of Zeta Forever like Nea did, she did think it would be best to bring the humans to heel, reducing them to tiny size being the most preferable option.

We can always bring them back up to full size for fights, she thought to herself, then back down again, like putting away a tool… She glanced at Joey and felt a pang of pity though, we don’t need to be treating them poorly though…

“Shh…” she said, gently stroking his head with the tip of her finger, “it’s all right.”

“Y-you’re gonna kill us!” Joey wailed.

“No one is going to kill you,” she promised, letting her hands wrap around his limp form and holding him up to her face, “the princess just wants to… prove a point I suppose you could say.”

“A point?” Joey asked, wiping tears away from his face, “you shrank us, you’re going to step on us!”

“Everything is going to be okay,” she said in a hushed voice, “this isn’t going to last…”

He sniffed a final time, “then why the hell did you do it?” he asked, a hint of anger in his voice, “are you just going to let us go?”

“No,” Telma muttered, “listen to me human, and do not repeat what I tell you. This will likely end with Zetan authorities bringing us into custody. From there you will be returned to Earth, and the princess will be severely disciplined.”

“So, she’s really the princess?” Joey managed.

“Yes,” Telma said with a sigh, “and I’m her sworn bodyguard, forced along on this fool’s errand.”

“If you didn’t want to do it, why didn’t you just tell her no?” Joey asked, finally regaining his composure a bit. He’d never been shrunken before, but this woman seemed reasonable, nice even.”

“Every member of the Zetan royal family has a single guard who is sworn to them and them alone,” Telma explained, “if she ordered me against the Empress herself, I would obey, I would doubtless die in the attempt, but I would obey…”

“Just quit,” Joey said without thinking, “I’ve told asshole bosses to go to hell before, and-“

“That’s not how this works,” Telma said with a chuckle, “I was sworn to her as a girl, when I first started my training, and…” she sighed, “the princess is like a sister to me, I could not leave her… She will suffer for this, and it hurts knowing that, but she is a princess and I’m only her servant. My place is to be the spear in her hand.” She smirked slightly, “luckily this means I will not be punished for merely following her orders.”

“Lucky you,” Joey laughed. “So uh… what’s your name?”

“Telma,” she said with a smile, “and yours?”

“I’m Joseph, you can call me Joey though,” he said.

“Well Joey,” Telma said with a smile, “are you thirsty?” He nodded, and she lowered him down to the receptacle where her cup was held. She lifted him up over the rip so he could reach it, and he dipped a hand down to the brown liquid, bringing it to his mouth.

He made a confused face, then smiled, “cola?”

“I’m in love with it,” Telma admitted, lifting him back up when he’d had a few mouthfuls, “the princess insists it’s poison.”

“Well, uh, they say it’s not healthy,” Joey said, shrugging in her grip, “but you look pretty good, it can’t be messing up your diet too much.”

“I look pretty good?” Telma asked with a smirk.

Joey caught the amusement behind the smile, and returned it with his own. It had been a difficult day for him, but flirting? That was like breathing to him, and there was an opening. He could manage this, even if it was with a giant Zetan…

“Best looking girl I’ve seen all day,” he said with a wink.

Telma saw through the line immediately, but it hit it’s mark anyway, and she giggled. Her hand traced up to the collar of her suit, and she tapped it once. Conforming to her will the outfit’s neck opened into a deep V-cut, exposing her ample chest.

Joey kept his cool, giving her breasts an appreciative glance, a smile, and a nod, that’s the thing Kurt, he thought, you can’t ever be too eager, no matter how good it is…

“I can’t have you scurrying around the cockpit while I fly,” Telma explained, “but you seem so upset, I don’t want to leave you back in my quarters in some stuffy enclosure either…”

She slowly brought him up to her breasts, gently pushing him between the pale green globes and setting him in place. They were soft, warm, seeming to mold to his body as her heartbeat echoed from behind him. A moment later her hand tapped her collar, and her outfit reformed again, the low-cut top sealing back up, darkening Joey’s world and trapping him.

Joey sighed and let himself slide lower, all things considered, he thought as the breasts seemed to swell around him, this could have gone worse…

…

Smith stood behind the Empress, seated on her throne. She was flanked by the rest of her guards, humans and Zetans. The person they were meeting today was supposed to be dangerous, and as the cocky human strutted up the carpet leading to the throne, Smith couldn’t help but feel nervous.

“Jolene Masterson,” the empress greeted the human woman, “I trust you know who I am?”

The human smirked, “No, I hadn’t heard of the Zetan Empress, you from these parts?”

The Empress’s mouth quirked in irritation, and Smith sighed inwardly, embarrassed for his species. Where most humans who treated with the empress wore Zetan or Earth formal wear, this woman, Jolene, had come in a pair of tight-fitting jeans capped with a pair of tall black cowboy boots. A simple striped denim shirt had the top three buttons undone, leading up to a dark tanned face and long jet black hair, braided and topped with an obsidian cowboy hat, the kind Smith would have put on a villain in an old western film.

“Do you know why I have requested your presence?” The empress began.

“I’m guessing you want someone to hunt down your idiot of a daughter, maybe get them boys back too?” Jolene smiled at the fury on the alien monarch’s face.

“Lady Masterson,” the empress snarled, “try to show some-“

“Yeah nah,” Jolene said, “when your people showed up to earth all the dignitaries sent doves and flowers, real respectful, you wanna know what that got them?” She stomped her foot on the floor, the implication clear. “Me? I don’t roll that way your majesty, the way I see it, we’re in an Empress Tetra needs Jolene situation, not a Jolene needs Empress Tetra situation.”

“Very well,” the empress said coolly, “your reputation precedes you, a human operating in your… field, among Zetans no less, is  nothing short of… impressive.”

“Damn right,” Jolene said with a smile, “Let’s cut to the chase, a billion credits, a pardon for everything I’ve done so far on Zetan and Human worlds, plus you’ll provide all my equipment and let me keep it when I’m done.”

A billion credits? Smith balked, that would make her one of the richest humans in the-

“Done,” the Empress said, “provided they are all returned alive.”

“Big money, big work,” Jolene said with a shrug, “have one of your guards take me to your shipyard, I’ve been meaning to trade up.” The empress nodded, and a Zetan guard stepped out towards the human mercenary.

Jolene stopped suddenly, slapping her head and laughing, “I almost forgot, while I’m here let me turn one of my bounties in.”

she knelt down, unlacing her boot while the guards and Empress looked on curiously. There was a slight sucking sound as she pulled it off, revealing a ratty sock with a pair of holes near the toes. She tilted the boot, and a moment later a small green skinned figure tumbled out. The shrunken Zetan woman sucked in air, splayed on the floor and looking up at her giant surroundings in panic. The shocked guard next to her knelt down to collect the tiny alien, hands shaking slightly.

“This one was running some kind of smuggling ring on Delarune,” she explained, looking down at the sobbing Zetan smugly, “I would have just turned her in to the authorities there but…” She shrugged, “she started saying some of that Zeta Forever stuff and I figured, ah what the hell, turnabout’s fair play right?” She reached for her boot, pulling it back on.

“I’ll see that you are paid,” the Empress said, fighting a grimace.

Jolene laughed as another Zetan guard nervously led her out of the throne room.  A moment later the royal entourage was left alone once more.

The Empress sighed, “I have one other matter to attend to, guards, leave me.” She waved her wrist, and the humans and Zetans began to file out. “Smith,” she called, “remain.”

He paused, his heart skipping a beat. The other agents shot him knowing glances, as did a few of the Zetan guards. He cleared his throat and tried to remain composed as they passed him.

“Do not panic,” the empress said with a small smile once they were alone, “you are not in trouble…”

“What can I do for you your majesty?” he asked politely with a nod.

“Human courtship rituals confuse me,” the empress said, “as do your notions of propriety.” She smiled, “I simply wanted you to know that you have my blessing.”

“Blessing your majesty?” he asked with a frown, “I don’t understand, what do you want me to do exactly?”

“Whatever you wish,” she said with an exasperated sigh, “you know what matter I’m referring to, do not throw this back at me, it’s the only enjoyable decision I’ve had the luxury to make recently. I will say again, You. Have. My. Blessing. You were to be on your two days of leave following this rotation, yes? Consider it started now, that’s a royal order.” With that the Empress stood up, her flowing gown trailing behind her as she went through the same door the other guards had used, leaving a stunned Smith alone.

With nothing else to do he took one final look around, then started towards the door, his footsteps echoing through the empty throne room. He paused, there was a second set of footsteps echoing, and it stopped as he did. He picked up his pace again, and the footsteps started again. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and he whirled around, hands up in a fighting stance.

“Eeep!” Princess Tayla started back, leaping into the air slightly. “S-Smith! Hello!” she stammered.

He sighed and relaxed, “Princess Tayla,” he greeted, looking up at her. She was wearing a silvery bodysuit that hugged her tightly, a set of black stripes near the shoulders seeming to draw his eyes towards her chest.

“Your commander said you had the next two days off,” she said hopefully, “I was thinking, you should really see some of the nicer parts of Zeta Prime, and I have the most wonderful new hovercraft… if you’d like to see it.”

Smith was beginning to realize exactly what “blessing” the Empress had given him, and he fought the urge to freeze up, “I er… That would be great.”

“Excellent!” the princess said eagerly, “now it seats two, and with my bodyguard and myself there won’t be a lot of extra room…” a silvery remote appeared in her hand, and Smith swallowed as she leveled the shrink ray at him with a giddy grin, “I did think of another way we could all fit.”

All that training, and you fell right into an ambush anyway, he thought as the beam leapt out at him from the device.