A former starship captain is thrust into a series of adventures on parallel worlds which, for some reason, almost always seem to require her nudity and sexual submission. Is someone or something behind it all, or is it just the natural order of things?
Note: This is a sequel to Emily 2.0 but also contains characters, and references events from Casey's Fall and Casey's Rise. While not essential, it is recommended to read those first to get the most out of this story.
Warning: some chapters may contain scenes of non-consensual or reluctant sex.
Themes include embarrassment, humiliation, non-consent, reluctance, public nudity, public sex, a touch of BDSM here and there, and occasional violence if it's relevant to the story or character development.
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"The story is long, and I should start at the beginning," the Master continued, "but first, Chief Engineer, I assume you have made some progress with the time travel formula?"
"Sort of," Collingwood answered. "Thus far, the only coefficient that seems to be capable of working is minus five hundred years. Any closer to zero and the equation simply won't solve. If I round off and punch it into the nav system anyway, it rejects it or it freezes up. Likewise with any positive number which would allow forward travel, even in five-hundred-year increments. All I get is syntax errors."
"Therein lies the first issue with time travel," the Master began while knowingly nodding to indicate Collingwood's finding was not an error. "Five hundred years to the past is the only jump possible, albeit it can be to any world within certain caveats. The second issue is that, once done, it cannot be undone. There is no travelling back to the point from whence one came. The third issue is that the past cannot be altered. Attempting to do so only creates new timelines. New parallel worlds occur even with the tiniest of alterations, including the very act of arriving back within another time, while the old timelines continue as they were."
"So, it's useless then?" Collingwood gathered. "If you can't change anything, or get back to the present, it cannot serve any real purpose."
"That is not completely accurate," the Master smiled. "There is a way, and, as you have surmised, it has been done, but not in the way that you currently imagine. This is not the first iteration of this current timeline. It exists in hundreds of variations, if not an infinite number, throughout the multiverse."
Collingwood scratched his head at the revelation and what it meant, but more importantly, the Master had just admitted that he had meddled with time after all, and he had lied about it in their former conversations.
"So, you lied to me? You have been to the past?" Collingwood challenged.
"Told you, Gregster. The shit with Jolene is all time travel related. You owe me fifty bucks," Cassandra spoke up, obviously alluding to a former conversation with Greg as she turned to him with her hand out as if expecting him to pay up on the spot.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Greg replied, rolling his eyes, "but where am I gonna get fifty bucks from around here?"
"I'm sure I can think of a way you can work it off," Cassandra grinned.
"You're only parroting Cabrón's theory anyway," Greg argued.
"Who told you to call me that?" Collingwood objected, before realising it was obviously Madison. "Madison!"
"Don't look at me," Madison replied, holding her arms up feigning innocence before a knowing smile crossed her face.
"Can we get back to what's important here? This is serious!" Emily interrupted before turning to the Master. "You lied to us, Master? Why?"
"It is necessary to conceal some elements to allow the course of events to proceed naturally, and also to prevent paradoxes," the Master responded unapologetically. "However, paradoxes can also be useful tools. Let me begin by explaining the original timeline. The story begins with the same hyperdrive test flight that brought you to this world, which we have come to refer to as 'Earth 2'. Your originating world being 'Earth 1' for the sake of needing a descriptor when discussing travel between our worlds. However, the original incident caused you to become stranded on Ms Reine's world, the one we have come to refer to as 'Earth 3'." He looked at Casey before addressing her. "It brings me great joy to see you here. Your life has many variables that can cause you to end up in a multitude of other destinies. I will explain further as I go."
"Okay..." Casey answered, assuming some response was required, but with no idea what he was getting at. The Master smiled warmly before continuing.
"As it would turn out, the scientists on Ms Reine's world had done some experimentation with hyperdrives some years before but had abandoned it after losing their original ship and pilot." He turned to Madison and gave her a smile. "You were that pilot, Ms Torres, and also an unexpected surprise in later timelines."
"So, I did come from that world originally?" a clearly puzzled Madison asked. "I thought it was the same, but because I hadn't been there in like ten years, it was different enough for me not to be one hundred percent sure."
"It was the same place but from a slightly different timeline, hence your confusion. Allow me to explain further," the Master clarified before getting back to the story. "Now, because the project had been abandoned, Chief Engineer Collingwood and Captain Birmingham were faced with the dilemma of starting from the beginning, while attempting to gather the previous scientists for assistance. The issues were largely the same as you faced here with reproducing the fuel required, but also to create the mathematics to plot courses between worlds, in particular a course back to your home world. A further difficulty is that these equations did not exist at that time, unlike here where I was able to give them to you."
"So, we were stuck there for a fair while?" Emily prompted.
"Yes, almost a decade," the Master answered. "It was only the Chief Engineer's creation of an artificial intelligence to help him that eventually solved the problem. While its primary design was quantum mathematics and physics, it also proved uncannily accurate in predictive modelling. It could predict with reasonable accuracy what would occur given a certain beginning, both at individual levels and on a global scale. It also became a confidante and sounding board for the Chief Engineer. He spent many years openly speaking his mind with the entity, discussing things of his personal life and the problems of both worlds, as well as working on the problem of plotting parallel worlds."
"Um... I think I see where this is going..." Collingwood interrupted. "I can scarcely believe it, though. Please continue, Master."
"Thank you," the Master smiled. "During this time, the Chief Engineer began visiting a local bordello with a rather unique business model. He described a place of wonder and charm, filled with women who lived their lives naked within the confines of the property and would do anything asked of them. Men paid a membership fee, and all services were provided as part of that fee. There, he met a slave girl called Casey who had been coerced into the industry by her sister, the owner of the bordello. While initially appalled at what her sister had done, Casey described a contentedness with her lot, as did the other women who had been similarly coerced. The Chief Engineer marvelled at the harmony of the surroundings despite its abhorrent beginnings and its unpleasant owner. The women basked and went about their business unashamedly and willingly revealed, with no need or want for coverings, while the men treated them with respect, strictly abiding by the commands for all sexual engagement. Conversation and laughter abounded, unlike other bordellos where the women would only engage with the men during the transactional act. Here, the Chief Engineer surmised, was the solution to the world's problems. Men were free to satiate their sexual appetites without rejection or frustration, while also getting to know the women as fellow humans. As a result, the men developed a sense of purpose and gained confidence, which made them productive and peaceful. Women's lifestyles were financed in providing it, plus it was not without pleasure for them as well. Friendship, mutual respect, peace and betterment were the results. Here lay a template for a peaceful coexistence that could be employed to solve the other problems of the world."
"Was it the same Crescent we have now?" Casey asked.
"No, it was on a smaller scale, and public nudity was not yet legal," the Master answered. "A corrupt government turned a blind eye to it. In fact, many of the clientele were government officials."
"The time travel, Master," Collingwood prompted. "Obviously you went back in time and changed things."
"I will get to that," the Master tittered briefly before continuing. "Mr Collingwood was so taken with the bordello, and its concept being the solution to the world's problems, that he described it to the other members of the crew who also became members as a result. Captain Birmingham was not so impressed when she found out. She forbade them all from returning to it, confining Mr Collingwood to his quarters, and sought to have the bordello shut down. Her efforts mostly fell on deaf ears, but some listened. It was enough to gain the attention of the media who drew attention to the government's corruption. Mr Collingwood, of course, completely ignored the orders given to him and continued to see Casey in private. As things grew more tense in the local community, he and the entity discovered the solution to hopping parallel worlds but kept it concealed from Captain Birmingham and the other scientists. Eventually, he formed a plan to escape back to his home world with the crew and the slave girls from the bordello, leaving Captain Birmingham and Jolene behind."
"I left Emily behind?" Collingwood gasped in incredulity.
"Tensions between you had become extreme, bordering on hatred," the Master explained. "Captain Birmingham was not the same woman we now know and love. She fully intended to have the Chief Engineer court-martialled for his impropriety on their return to their home world, should they ever achieve it. Mr Collingwood saw little choice but to leave her marooned, whilst also rescuing the slave girls from Jolene's tyranny. Whilst the women lived freely for the most part, Jolene ruled them with an iron fist."
"This sounds so very strange," Emily contributed. "I take it the story doesn't end there?"
"Indeed," the Master agreed. "On discovery of the Chief Engineer's treachery, and that she was in fact stranded, strange bedfellows emerged. Jolene was likewise outraged and sought to recover her property. This led to a pairing of Jolene and Captain Birmingham. Jolene using her money and influence with government officials. Captain Birmingham and the local scientists teaming up to build other ships. The corrupt government, meanwhile, enacted legislation to silence and control the media and other dissenting voices. The world quickly descended to complete authoritarianism shortly after. By the time the ships were completed, and the mathematics of mapping worlds was solved by the local scientists, it had become a very dark place. The military had control of the ships and sought to use them to conquer other worlds and spread their ideology."
The Master paused as he surveyed the astonished faces around him, before continuing.
