A Well of Soul...

2356A.D./14 JULY/OSTERS PLANET OUTER ORBIT

The long boring trip was nearly over, and the pilot was relieved. This had been one of the strangest transports of his life.

His two passengers were the cause of his unease. The man was a Major in the Legion, a branch of the pax humanus Armed Services which dealt with criminals who possesed psychic or telepathic ability. They were also in the front lines when contact was made with any new species that the pax humanus encountered in it's ever extending reach. His purpose was to prevent the other passenger, a woman, who had apparently murdered three men on a station in the Outer Rim, from using her mental powers during her transport to the Psychic Detention Center on Osters Planet.

The pilot was uneasy about transporting someone so potentially dangerous, but the Legion officer offered double his normal fee, showed impeccable credentials, and assured him that he would hardly notice their presence. And he had not. Not a peep. The only time he even saw the Major was when he got food and when he brought the dishes to the recycler. The new quantum route to the Outer Rim was not yet rated as clear and safe, and when the Major restated the necessity of a safe transport, they had taken the old route, which snaked through the territory. Five long days they had waited at junctions and way stops. He had been willing to go through the new route, it would have meant only two short stops instead of many. But, he had been hired to transport two people, not haggle over direction. It just started becoming a little creepy near the end.

He contacted Osters Planet space control to get landing clearance. There was a sharp burst of subspace static, then the controller gave him his instructions. He expertly guided his ship through the landing beacons, bringing it to a majestic stop on the magnetic landing grid. A solid thump and two green lights told him he was magnetized to the grid. He shut down the engines, then the remaining systems as the docking umbilicus extended towards his hatch. This trip was going to buy him a week of R&R in the town near the spaceport, and he planned to enjoy himself.

He was just exiting the cockpit, when the Major was suddenly right in front of him. He was a largish man, with red hair and a beard to match. His eyes were most striking, being quite large and dark turquoise green. His immaculate dark green uniform jacket accentuated his broad shoulders, trimmed smartly around his slim waist, continuing down to same colour pants with gold pinstriping on the sides. Highly polished black dress shoes showed reflections from the surrounding ship.

The pilot started to say something, when over the Majors shoulder, he saw the woman prisoner standing in the doorway. She was quite attractive, athletic build, with long chestnut hair and brilliant blue eyes. Her smile arrested him, full lips backed by perfect, white teeth. It was the smile of a cobra with the prey in it's sights. His momentary ardour quickly turned to surprise, then shock, as he realized she was no longer wearing the psychic suppression collar she had been wearing when she was brought on board. The collar was the means by which the Major could use his own powers to keep hers subdued. After a moments confusion, he realized that without the collar, the Major had no control over the prisoner, and that his life was now in serious jeopardy.

A trickle of cold sweat ran down his back. The woman smiled suddenly. The pilot knew she was in his mind. She knew when he realized his doom. She was excited by his terror. She began to walk towards him, a slow, slinking stride that turned his bowels to water. He could not move a muscle. He belonged to her. His mind filled with the horrors of debauchery, perversion, and senseless slaughter, crushing his own will and sweeping it aside. The woman was now inches from his face. The Major had stepped aside, also under her control. Her breath was sweet as peaches on his face. He then felt the overwhelming desire to please this woman, in whatever manner pleased her. He waited in rapt silence for her commands.

When she spoke, she sounded to him like a concert of a thousand violins, accompanied by a thundering waterfall.

"I am Cathis. Thank-you for conveying me to my destination. You should be rewarded, but I have more pressing matters. Set your ship to auto-take off when we leave, then, when you reach a resting orbit, you must die."

She headed towards the exit hatch with the Major, while the pilot scrambled to the cockpit to carry out her instructions. They had barely stepped off the ship when he set the auto mode, and the moment the ship reached its orbit, he died. With a raptured smile on his face, he was dead before his body thudded to the deck.

Walking with the Major as if still his prisoner, with the now inactive collar around her neck, they proceeded to the Detention Center, where her friends were waiting to greet her.