It took Jane several days to recover from her adventure in Avalonde. A long soak in the bath sufficed to wash off the grime and the sweat, but it took much longer for her to feel truly clean again. Her behavior haunted her: She'd openly masturbated on a public street and relieved herself in the park like a wild animal. Even worse, she'd allowed Varsenne to service her sexually, grunting in pleasure as she received his thick cock.
Encountering him in the reading room the next day was incredibly awkward. She was fully dressed, of course, wearing her crisp navy uniform with its high collar and sturdy black boots. Her blonde hair was again neatly piled atop her head in tightly coiled braids.
But from the look in his eyes, she could tell he remembered how she'd been yesterday: naked and disheveled, down on all fours, raising her rump in the air to offer herself to him.
"Professor Varsenne," she said stiffly, by way of a greeting.
"Dr. Talbot," he nodded in return. Mercifully he didn't say a word about fucking her.
They chatted briefly about her work. He'd brought some history books he thought would interest her, and laid them out on the table for Jane to examine. She leafed through them one at a time, handling them carefully so as not to crack their antique leather bindings. They
were
interesting--treatises on the care and handling of fems from the previous century. How to quarter them, how to care for them when they were pregnant, that sort of thing.
Jane realized with horror that Varsenne probably thought she was carrying his child. The Tyrians had no knowledge of Earth birth control technology, so when he'd ejaculated inside her, for all he knew he was breeding her. She carefully placed the battered volume back on the table and gave the bottom of her tunic a sharp tug to straighten it. No point in mentioning it now.
Suddenly there was the sound of a woman clearing her throat.
Jane looked up. It was the young lieutenant who had recognized Jane when she'd returned to the Visitors' quarters in Varsenne's company. Jane's heart skipped a beat.
"Dr. Talbot?" the woman asked.
Jane nodded. "That's me."
"You're a hard woman to find."
Jane sighed. "I've been here in the reading room all morning. And you are?"
"Lt. Gita Chandra. We met the other day."
Lt. Chandra was a tall, dark-skinned woman with a thick black braid that hung down her back. The collar tabs on her uniform identified her as a member of the
Bellerophon
's security team.
"What can I do for you, Lt. Chandra?" Jane asked, the color rising in her cheeks. She well remembered the circumstances under which they'd met.
"There's been a security incident." Gita said. She glanced significantly at Jane, then toward Varsenne. "And I think you two are uniquely suited to helping us resolve it."
"What sort of incident?"
"Commander Stark has gone missing" Lt. Chandra said bluntly.
Jane's eyes went wide. Kate Stark was the
Bellerophon
's second-in-command, a tiny, energetic woman who was always was on the go, monitoring operations and barking orders at her subordinates.
"She disappeared when she was out inspecting the perimeter," Lt. Chandra went on. "We're worried it might have something to do with the Tyrians' odd attitudes toward women."
Jane was shocked. While it was true that the male Tyrians were disconcerted by the female members of the
Bellerophon
's crew, there had never been any indication that Jane and her shipmates might be in danger. The Tyrians' attitude was more one of bafflement and curiosity. From their perspective, human women were strange talking animals who perversely walked around in clothes.
"That's horrible," Jane said. "But how does this involve us?"
"We have reports that Lord Champolleon has recently acquired a new fem," Lt. Chandra said. "A fem who bears a striking resemblance to Commander Stark."
Lord Champolleon was a local land owner who lived in a sprawling manor house a few miles from the university. Jane had glimpsed him once--a tall, elegantly-dressed om with an imperious air, riding with his hounds in the fields beyond the university wall.
Varsenne stepped forward. "I find it hard to believe that Lucan Champolleon could be involved in anything sinister," he said. "The man's character is above reproach. He is a patrician and a gentleman, as well as a good friend."
"That's exactly why I think you can help us," the lieutenant said. "If you were to call upon your good friend at home, we may be able to clear up the mystery of Lord Champolleon's new fem. Dr. Talbot would accompany you of course. She's served under Commander Stark for years, and knows her well."
"Such a thing is utterly impossible," Varsenne exclaimed. "You know that only a select few in the government are privy to the existence of the Visitors. Were Dr. Talbot to show her face at Lord Champolleon's house, the scandal would be enormous."
"I was thinking she would go in the guise of your fem, Professor Varsenne. I know for a fact she has left the compound in your company before. I saw her at your side only a few days ago."
Jane shifted uncomfortably. The memory of being naked and collared gave her an shameful thrill.
"If Commander Stark's safety is at stake, I don't see how I can say no," Jane said softly.
"Excellent! I knew I could count on you!" Lt. Chandra said
* * *
Varsenne made all the arrangements. In two days, he would call on Lord Champolleon and Jane would accompany him disguised as Pip.
Lt. Chandra insisted on being allowed to tag along. It was decided she would pretend to be a fem as well, and a male member of the
Bellerophon
's security team would act as her sire.
The morning of their visit, Jane and Gita met in secret so the anthropologist could teach the other woman in how to act like a fem. They went to the same secluded garden where Jane had met Varsenne the night he had first taken her to Avalonde.
There was no one else around; The two naval officers circled the fountain in solitude, the sharp tap of their boots on the paving stones mingling with the gentle plash of the water.
