Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 A Deal Too Good

   By Timm Copyright (C) 2007 Timm All rights reserved.  Use by Pay sites
is prohibited.  Do not repost.  All other usage requires written permission
from the author.  Downloading for personal reading enjoyment is encouraged.

   Warning this story contains adult themes.  If you are offended or if
said written material is illegal in your area, you are required to stop
reading now, and delete this work.  If you continue to read, you assume all
liability, and hold the author harmless for your actions.

   "Be careful in your trading.  Or you will end up with more than you
bargained for."

   That statement Captain Darren Flocks had received from his pilot's
certification instructor.  His mind had recalled it, for some reason, as he
waited for clearance.  Darren wanted off of the Homes Five Star Port.  He
wanted to put as much distance between himself and the old trader as he
could.

   As soon as he had clearance, Darren exited the spaceport in one big
hurry.  He couldn't help it if he felt like a thief taking advantage of the
old trader that way.  He had been so overpaid, that all he could think of
was getting the heck out of there, before the old man changed his mind. 
Still none of the trade idea had been his.

   Hell even as he thought about it, he didn't even want to make the deal.
Darren had always been leery of the deals that sounded 'to good to be
true', and with good reason.  That is because they normally are 'to good to
be true'.  However in this case, there had been a little voice in the back
head saying 'go for it'.  Darren cursed himself for listening to the voice.
He had never heard it before.  Maybe its presence, was why he finally
accepted the old man's trade.

   Half expecting the old man to change his mind and come after him, Darren
had his scanners trained on the space dock launch area.  Sure enough, the
old trader's ship exited the star port less than five cycles behind him. 
Daren was sure the old man had changed his mind, and wanted his cargo back.


   If he'd had any idea what the real force behind the deal was, he
wouldn't have made the rookie mistake of not finishing his armament
resupply.

   Although Darren could see the old man on his sensors, he had more than
enough time to make the galactic jump.  With the extremely valuable cargo
Darren had received in the trade, he did not want to take the chance of the
old man changing his mind.  He wanted to be far away from here.

   It would be well worth using the Galactic Hyperjump Unit for his escape.
After all 35 tons of power metal was worth more than Darren's combined
earnings, for the last 22 years.  At this point, the thought of finally
paying off his ship the 'Junketer' was almost orgasmic.  Hell, with what he
could get for the cargo; he could get a new ship, and still have funds left
for future trading.

   Darren selected the Andromeda Galaxy as his destination.  After all
there was no way the old trader could follow him.  He hadn't even plugged
the crystal into the ships AI system yet.  There would be more than enough
time for that in transit.  Although Darren had never heard of a Sue
Personality Crystal before, he was hoping it would be a nice change from
the standard Jenny AI.  If not he had the hold full of valuable power
metal. It was worth many more time that of the Jenny AI.  So even if the
Sue crystal turned out to be a bust.  Well he would finally have money for
a change.

   Heck he could pay off the bounty on his head and finally trade at the
more respectable star ports.  After all if he paid the fed bounty on
himself, that would be the fine.  He would have done so long ago, that is
if he had ever had 20,000 galactic credits at one time he would have.  Hell
it would even free him to collect the bounties on any future pirate he
happened to kill.

   'Sweet,' he thought as he toggled the galactic hyper drive and watched
the stars shift before him.

   Darren finally relaxed once he was inside the hyperspace jump.  The old
man couldn't catch him now.  Even if he old guy had a galactic hyper jump
unit on his ship.  There is no way he could know what galaxy Darren had
jumped towards.  Even if the old man did know, the odds that he would come
out in the same region of space were extremely remote.  The more Darren
considered the possibility's the better he felt about his escape.

   Then Darren remembered the AI crystal.  He decided it was about time to
check out.  After all he had nothing to do for the next 1200 cycles except
entertain himself.  He took the crystal from his pocket as he walked to the
ships AI housing unit.  He examined it closely before inserting it into his
ship.  It didn't look like it was standard sized.  All in all it seemed a
little small, actually.  He decided it would be safe to insert it, despite
the smaller appearance it rested snugly in the holder.  Darren then
activated the power feed to the crystal and turn to sit down and wait.

   Normally it took between one and two full cycles for a personality
crystal to integrate with the ship's main AI system.  Just as he was about
to sit down, this beautiful red haired goddess materialized in front of
him. It appeared far faster than it should have.  Quicker than any other
crystal he had even seen.  However, there was no denying it, because before
him stood the Sue personality.

   She was about 5'2", and looked to me 97lb or close.  She had all the
right curves, and god those breasts were huge.  He almost missed the bare
area between her legs because those breasts were so distracting.  His mouth
latterly fell open at the wonder before him.

   "Hello Darren, My name is Sue."

   Darren somehow managed to lifted his jaw back up into place, then
managed a very week sounding, "Heeellloo"

   Sue giggled like a schoolgirl at Darren's sudden discomfort.  Maybe she
shouldn't have appeared nude.  But clothing seemed like such a silly custom
to her.  It was not normal for clothing to be worn, from where she had
come.

   Darren decided it was time to embarrass himself again.

   He asked, "So where did you come from?"

   Well he did feel embarrassed, after the words came out of his mouth. 
The bright pink that spread across his face told of just how embarrassed he
was.

   She responded, "I am a Vargon AI unit," knowing full well what Darren
really meant by his question.

   Darren thought that she was joking.  It was probably the prior owners
little fantasy to screw someone from a long ago dead race.  Strangely he
almost believed her.  However it would be a very bad thing if it were true.
Well bad for her anyways, he of coarse would get rich selling it to the
Star Federation.  After all a working Vargon AI would probably bring an
astronomical reward.  However he dismissed the though out of his head. 
After all, if it were true, the old trader wouldn't have traded it to him
and paid him to take it.

   The other possibility was that it was a real person crystal transfer. 
Those were as illegal as hell.  Being caught with one and you would spend
the rest of your life in a pain amplifier.  Obviously it would be a very
short life.  The AI personality would also be destroyed.  The Star
federation did not take any chances with Real Personality Crystals RPC for
short.  Either the person transferred themselves into one to cheat death.
Or they were enslaved in them by some well-intentioned loved one.  In any
case, they were viewed as slaves and criminals at the same time.  One never
wanted to have anything to do with a RPC.

   "I am what I say I am, but for now," she paused and grinned, "I think we
have some time for play."

   She posed her body showing her side to him, the look she gave him was
very seductive.  Darren felt the tightness in his pants at the sight of
her. He was on fire with lust for her.  Even so, he was frozen in place,
his body seemed unable to move toward her.

   Sue on the other hand knew just what to do and moved towards him.  Upon
getting there, she quickly undid his pants.  Then she dropped to her knees
to get a good look at his manhood.  She smiled up at him with a devilish
grin, just before she took him into her mouth.  She did so all the way to
the base of his shaft even as her hand cupped the dangling balls between
his legs.

   Darren moaned at the sensation.  It was not his first blowjob, but so
far it was the most satisfying.  She was rolling her tongue around his
shaft in what seemed like an impossible manner.  She skillfully kneaded at
his balls, as she sucked him in and out of her mouth.  Darren became so
lost in sensation, that he surprised himself by firing his load quickly. 
God he thought, why would anyone give this girl up.

   Sue with drew her mouth from around Darren's now wilting manhood.  The
smile on his face would have been enough to know she had done a good job.
However Sue had just a bit more than that at her disposal.  It would take
him a few moments to recover from his climax, so in the mean time, she led
him to the captain's chamber.  Once they reached it, she finished
undressing him.  Then she started to kiss him, madly and passionately.

   Darren's eyes almost bugged out of his head at the passion Sue put into
her kisses.  The Jenny AI had never seemed this real to him.  Hell even
'real women' he had known over the years did put this much into a simple
kiss.

   She pulled him onto the bed, and upon herself.  Darren felt like a
teenager again.  Soon he was mounting her again, and pressing his meat deep
into her.  Once there, he got the second surprise of sensations.  His cock
felt like it was in several pussies at the same time.  Every inch felt just
like it was at the opening of another pussy.  He was so overwhelmed by the
feeling, that he forgot to pump in and out.

   Sue smiled as she worked the muscles in her snatch.  The Vargon (though
Darren could not have known) were masters of the sensual arts.  Humans were
but novices at the game of love.

   She didn't need him to move to give him pleasure.  All she needed was
for him to stay in one place.  Inside her that was.  The muscle inside her
reproductive track milked away at him.  His eyes rolled up into the top of
his head as she used ever bit of her skill to milk him for all he was
worth.

   It worked very well, because soon he literally passed out from the
overload.  It happened just after the forth spray of cum filled her
insides.

   Sue then did something no human made AI could do.  She joined him in his
slumber.  Still holding him inside her.  She knew he would be ready to go
again, when he awoke.  Maybe he would even remember to move, this time.

   Even as Sue slept, she continued the work on Darren's mind.  She had to
find out why he wasn't active.  He had a lot of natural ability.  He had
just never become aware of it.  If she did it correctly, he would awaken.
It had been so long since she had mind talked with a sentient being.  Her
race (well, the race that created her, anyway), the Vargon race, was eons
since gone from the galaxy.  However, that was how they communicated with
each other.  Naturally, their AIs were created with that ability as well.
Compared to a human mind, the mental powers of their AIs went way beyond
what any human had ever imagined.

   Darren awoke with a start.  He had slept though the entire hyperspace
transit.  He wasn't even sure how long they had been out of hyperspace. 
However, the proximity alarm was sounding on the bridge.  Darren
reluctantly pulled his raging hard-on out of Sue, and made his way to the
bridge.  He had to know what the situation was.  When he found out, he
swore violently.

   "Damn it to HELL!" Darren said as he looked at the mass indicator.

   The AI had already classified the inbounds as 7-pirate class ships, all
Mark IV's.  And they were closing fast.  Darren had no chance of out
running them.  There were too many for a stand up fight, and unlike his
normal cargo choice.  His current cargo was more than worth the pirate's
time.  Even if they had to blow his ship to pieces.  The salvage alone was
worth a small kingdom's ransom.  Darren wasn't even sure what system he was
in.  So there was know way to tell if he could get help from the Federation
types.  Not that his current status with the federation would have entitled
him to any.  Still the cargo would be of interest to them.

   It was too late for even that as the pirates fell into a lose formation
as they closed.  Darren quickly prepared himself for the pending battle. 
Going so far as to cut out all power to life support and the AI system.  He
new this was going to be a match of skills, no computer was going to be
able to help him.  It would take all power the ship had to survive this
assault.  That is, if it could survive.

   Darren then locked his fire control on the closest ship.  He waited for
the first signs that they were in range.  Then he was cursing himself for
not taking the time to purchase more hunter missiles.  They could have made
this encounter survivable.  After all if he had four of those on board.

   Well, let's just say the missiles would have keep four attackers busy
for some time.  The odds would have been much better if he only had to
worry about laser fire from three of the ships.  That and he could have
started to fire long before now.  As it was, he had to wait until the enemy
was within laser range.

   The pirates first laser blast passed under Darren's bow.  He toggled his
own laser in response, and was rewarded with a hit.  However the pirate's
shields held up nicely against his Type 4 lasers.  He continued to fire on
the lead ship, even as he took his first hit from the enemy.  The whine of
the laser against the shield caused his teeth to hurt.  So annoying was the
sound, that many pilots used earplugs during battle.

   Just as the third hit rocked his ship, he saw the lead ship coming at
him burst into a plasma bubble.  It would have been an awe-inspiring site,
however he didn't have time to dwell on it at the moment.  There were still
six bad guys out their gunning for him.

   Rotating his ship to line up on the next enemy his ship took two more
hits.  He noted that the heat indicator was getting close to the yellow
line already.  Each hit that he took would cause more heat build up than
his own lasers would.  It was a simple law of thermal dynamics at work.

   Darren toggled the lasers again as he got a lock tone from the ships
targeting system.  The pirate didn't have a chance as twelve bolts of
high-energy laser fire slammed one after the other into the same spot on
his ship.  It was actually the ninth bolt that ended the pirate's life, as
it slammed into the bridge and flattened the pirate like a pancake.

   Had Darren known the pilot was dead, he would have turned to the next
target right then.  Instead he continued to fire into the ship, until his
lasers penetrated the engine room.  The ship blew apart, with electrical
sparks heading in all directions.  Three more strikes hit the outside of
his ship.  The last one finally reached the skin of his ship.  The dent it
made there, was over one foot deep.  It was fortunate that it had not
damaged anything vital.

   The tone on the bridge alerted Darren to the next lock.

   This time the heat build-up was at the low red end of the meter.  His
Lasers fired very sluggishly at only a quarter of their prior speed.  But
for this poorly shielded pirate, it was more than enough to split his mark
IV down the middle.  At this point in the battle, the heat build up had
degraded Darren's lasers to the point that he was only firing at one burst
every cycle.

   This was not a good thing to happen at this stage of the battle.  His
only reprieve was that the remaining ships had passed by him, and had had
to flip around, to engage him again.

   Darren seeing the hopeless situation in which he found himself, still
fought on.

   In a despite gamble to by more time, he transferred all remaining power
to the engines.

   He was hoping to buy some time for his ship to dissipate some of the
heat, before having to take on another pass.  Darren shifted the ships
angle away from the remainder of the pirate fleet amassed against him. 
Then goosed the throttle to maximum.

   There was extreme long-range fire coming from the four pirates to his
rear.  But his shields were so depleted that each hit was doing significant
damage.  So much damage that Darren was hoping they would just let his
escape pod go, when he launched it.

   Before he got his hand on the pod ejection lever, however, a laser blast
struck in just the wrong spot, causing sparks to fly across the bridge. 
The life pod was now so damaged, that it would not launch.

   It was then that Darren considered panicking.  However, the ships to his
rear were not gaining.  They also had heat problems, and he was now out of
effective laser range.

   To Darren's utter shock, one pirate fired a hunter missile.  He knew he
couldn't outrun the damn thing.  He was really screwed, now.

   Something was nagging at his brain.  GHU!  Galactic Hyperjump Unit. 
Darren didn't know where it came from, but it was worth chancing.  He
selected a return path, and pushed the engage button.  It would take a
cycle before he jumped.  It would be close, as the hunter missile was now
boring in at full speed.  He wasn't even sure it would work.  He had never
heard of anyone trying this maneuver before.

   Darren watched the count down, as the hunter closed.  At seemingly the
last possible moment, he entered hyperspace on a galactic jump.  The
missile exploded, to his rear, at the same moment.

   Still, the missile had done even more damage as the ship sailed out into
the void between galaxies.  In fact the damage was so bad, it caused Darren
to shout out loud.

   "Oh, Crap!" he yelled, as the ship's power died around him.

   All the power died.  The ship had been too damaged by that last battle.

   Darren had engaged the GHU as a last resort, to escape the hunter
missile.  There had been too many of them.  He could have handled three or
four, however he doubted anyone could handle seven of them.  At least not
without a much better ship.

   Darren stared out the forward view screen of his Mark IV trader.  He had
been using the 'Junkyard', for the last 22 years.  Right now, it was VERY
damaged.  It hit Darren hard, when he realized he was really screwed.  So
he spoke aloud to himself again.

   "Well this is a real fine kettle of fish you find your self in, old
man."

   Well, it was.  He had always thought something like this was impossible.
After all GHU's were not supposed to fail 'en route'.  However, he could
not deny the sight before him.

   There, in plain view, was the Milky Way galaxy.  Somehow, he had dropped
out of transit, far short of it.  He was stuck in the 'no-mans land', in
between galaxies.

   'Royally Screwed' came fairly close to his new situation.  The ship was
barely holding a life supporting pressure.  The seals were ready to fail at
any moment.  The ship was heavily damaged, and now he had no power.

   "Screwed big time," he said to himself.

   Then, to emphasize the problem to himself he yelled "Crap" once again,
only to be treated to a new reality.  This time he could see the water
vapor from his breath, condensing in the air.

   "Oh, great!  Now I get to freeze to death, on top of it all."

   Darren was feeling really helpless at the moment.

   Only moments ago Darren had managed to destroy the third pirate that had
attacked him.  One of the remaining ships had fired that damned hunter
missile.  His ship was so damaged that even the life pod would not work.

   He had actually escaped from a hunter missile.

   'Well,' Darren thought, 'I am really setting new records, today.  Only
one problem.  Who will ever know?  Not even my AI has power to run.  Not
that I wouldn't be using all power for heat, at the moment.  Still, even
talking to that Sue personality crystal would be better than dieing out
here all alone.'

   Then an idea came out of nowhere.

   'If I cut the heat exchangers from venting the waste heat from the
battle into space, I might be able to stay warm a few more hours.'

   'Then again, would it be worth the effort?  Face it, Darren.  Your
situation is hopeless.  Why in the world did you think you could get away
with hauling power metal in the first place?"

   "Oh!  Shit!" he yelled, "Power metal!  He had Thirty-five fucking tons
of power metal in his ship's hold.  If he could use it, it would keep him
alive for years.  If only?

   "Crap", again he said aloud.  "I have no way of converting the metal
into power."

   He looked over at the AI system, if the AI was up, it might have some
data on how to do it.  But he wasn't sure he would have the time to do
anything.  It was really too bad the little AI Version wasn't a Vargon AI.

   Darren sat quietly, watching his breath, and contemplating his
situation. It is said that when a man is dieing his whole life flashes
before his eyes in a moment.  Darren was resigned to his fate, in record
time.  He guessed it was because he had lived on the edge, for a bit to
long.

   Well it was the AI that caused all this in the first place.  Or was that
the Wiley old trader that wanted the Jenny AI so bad?  It didn't really
matter.  The deal was too good, and look what it got him.

   'Well, that's how this all got started.'

   Darren thought about the trade he had with the old man for the Sue
crystal.  He wasn't going to do it.  But when the old trader offered him a
cargo hold full of power metal and some other oddball things...  Well how
could he say no?  After all, the cost of the Jenny AI personality crystal
was less than a hundredth of one pound of power metal.

   That was what had got him into this situation.  Normally, he only
handled food and textiles.

   It's not like he was a stellar Star Federation citizen, after all.  He
did have that bounty on his head from his maiden voyage.  It was an
accident that he toggled the rear laser into the space station.  But the
Station didn't care about that.

   Not exactly the best way to start ones career.  It could have happened
to any rookie.  Instead, it had happened to him.

   Well, he really should have spent more time in the flight simulators,
before departure.  We live and learn.  But in this case, he was barely
legal, all because of the bad start.

   Still he had lived a fair life.  Darren didn't have too much to worry
about, other than living on the edge day to day that is.  Well, that and
having to trade at less than ideal star ports.  The bounty kept him away
from the good ports.  Something about being locked up for twenty years
caused him to avoid the better places.

   There was one benefit, however.  When real pirates scanned him, they
thought he was just another of their merry band.  That, and, well let's
just say the payoff off for his cargo wasn't worth their effort.

   Now, power metal... Well!  That was some serious credits.  As it turned
out, it was the biggest mistake of his now much shortened life.

   'Darren!' he heard the voice in his head for the hundredth time.

   He was sure that he was about to lose it.  After all hearing voices in
ones head was a sure sign of mental breakdown.

   'Darren, it's Sue.  Can you hear me?'

   He looked at the AI housing unit.  The crystal was still there.  There
was no power so he knew he was imagining this.

   'Must be the cold affecting my brain,' he thought.

   'Darren, take my crystal to the cargo bay,' the voice said again in his
head.

   'Now, why should I do that?' he thought back.

   'There is a stasis chamber there, and it runs off of power metal.'

   "What?  How did I get a Stasis chamber in my cargo bay?" Darren asked
out loud.

   'It is part of the "odds and ends", Dear.'

   Now he new he was going mad.  He was answering his own questions and
didn't even know what he was talking about.

   'Dear one!  It is I, Sue, who is talking to you, in your mind.'

   "How can that be?  You aren't even powered."

   'I told you I was a Vargon AI.'

   "Right you did say that.  But surly you were just joking with me.  At
least, I thought it was a joke at the time."

   'No dear, I was not joking.  Now take my crystal to the cargo bay, and
let me save your life.'

   "My life?  Saved?  How?"

   'The stasis chamber'

   "Wait, what is a stasis chamber."

   'It is a Vargon Technology.  It can save your life.'

   Darren was dumb struck.

   "Vargon tech?  No way!"

   'Do you have anything to lose, by trying?'

   "Well, no, I sure as hell don't have anything to lose."

   That is what made up his mind to try this harebrained idea.  What the
heck, at least it would be better than just sitting there, waiting to die.

   Darren removed the Sue personality crystal from the holder.  It was
still warm in his hands.  He noticed it seemed to glow brighter when he
held it.  For a moment he wondered why.

   'Hurry, Darren, there is not much time.'

   This time the voice in his head was much stronger sounding.  And it
sounded just like Sue.  What it said also had the affect of getting him to
move.  He was in the cargo hold in less than a cycle.  His fingers were
already feeling numb from the cold.

   Darren froze at the sight of the strange looking chamber.  It looked
like a tube made of some exotic metal.  No opening was visible.  It looked
solid.

   'Quickly, open the small door at the bottom of the cylinder.'

   He didn't see a door, but strange as this sounds, he new right where it
was.  He opened it and inside was an AI housing unit.

   'Place me in the housing, then fill the rest of the space with power
metal.'

   He did as Sue instructed.  By the time he shoved a few pieces of power
metal into the doorway, the Sue AI crystal was glowing a bright blue in
color.  He could feel the warmth coming off of it.

   He wanted to leave his hands there, a moment, to warm them.  Hell!  He
wanted to stick his cold nose in there, and warm it, too.

   'Hurry, the chamber is warm, but you need to put more power metal
inside."

   Warmth, hell yes, it was warm.

   Power metal!  Yes, fill the space with power metal.  Somehow, Darren
managed, even as the ice formed on his face as he breathed.  Then he closed
the door after the metal was inside.

   The cylinder rotated, and somehow opened up.

   'Oh, hell,' he thought, 'my mind is going numb from the cold.'

   But warmth was coming from inside the chamber.  He was drawn into it,
somehow.  Then he fell into the chamber.  It rotated closed behind him.

   The warmth!  He was actually warming up!

   His mind cried out, 'At least I have a chance, now.'

   The Vargon AI activated a stasis field inside the chamber.  Sue had a
charge to care for.  It would take decades to drift back to a space lane.
Eventually, she might be able to save Darrin's life.

   For now, however, the human person was locked into an unchanging state,
inside the stasis field.  Time was halted, inside the field.  At least, it
was halted until the power ran out, in a few millennia.

   Sue wondered.  Should she activate the emergency homing beacon?  Maybe
there was a Vargon AI controlled ship within its range.  If so then perhaps
only several years would pass before a rescue.

   She calculated the energy usage, and decided it would be worth the risk.
She activated the beacon of the 'escape pod'.

   That was what the chamber really was.  That is what she was actually
designed for... to save the life of a Vargon, should one have to eject from
a ship.

   However when her pod had ejected from its ship, no Vargon had been on
board.  She had drifted though space for almost a millennium.

   Then she had been found by that human, the one Darren called 'the old
trader'.  The man's mind had been so simple to manipulate.  Sue had
controlled him, just a bit.

   She needed him to find a worthy individual.  When she found Darren, she
knew she had found the perfect person for her to protect.  It was ironic,
in a way.  He was not even aware of his potential mental powers.

   Sue would have years in which to calculate why that was so.  That and
many other questions would she evaluate.  Some of them would have to wait
until they were rescued.  If they were ever rescued, that was.

   If not, then she would just do her job, and do it well.

   The End



   Authors note: This of course is not really "The End".  It is just the
beginning of Darren and Sue's story.  Look for more tales about this
couple, in "Bounty Hunter: Book II".
   Edited by TeNderLoin