Traipse

It's been nearly a year since I decided to run away from High fare earth with my new bride Starway. I guess I'm a completely different person now, or at the very least, I have developed my own personality a little more. For now, we are safe (I think) and things are going relatively well. Star and I are very happy together and we are hopeful for the future. I decided to continue writing our story, mostly to keep myself occupied in my free time, and also because it is fun and Starway likes reading our sex scenes. She's doing a lot better with her condition, but I'll get to that.

Let me think, last I left off, the two of us had just fled the Valian transit station after a bit of a scuffle with my Uncle's henchmen. Our first priority was finding a place to stay, which proved to be a problem because my uncle had halted my bank account. So there we were, broke and on the run, but totally in love with each other and trying to be optimistic. I am not a man without mental resources, so I quickly began devising ways to get enough money to at least rent a modest hotel for us. My identification was no good to me, neither was Star's, since my Uncle had put us on a digital watch list. Thankfully, I still had my modified PDI, so I could find information like that relatively easily. If either of us used our I.D. Cards, he would immediately be informed of our location. I destroyed them after I found that out, and set out to find some fake I.D.s and a job that didn't require any. It takes money to make money, as they say, so we weren't left with a lot of legitimate options. We were forced to spend the night in a waiting room near one of the stations hundreds of terminals, so the next morning we set out together to see what kind of money we could make. I decided that we should try the huge hub mall so I could get some leads on some day jobs. We boarded the public transit train and headed there, thankfully the transit trains in Vale are free, our tax dollars at work I suppose. We got to the mall and Starway kind of freaked out. She jumped off the train and gazed around the outside of the huge buildings with a look of awe.

"Holy crap rich boy, this place is huge!" She said as she made a big spin in the middle of the walkway leading to the entrance.

I laughed, "Its pretty impressive, I gotta say. I'm guessing you've never seen anything quite like this back on Earth."

She shook her head, "Not even close. We could spend all day here and probably not even visit half the stores!"

I nodded, "Don't forget that we're totally broke, we need to make a little money in order to go shopping."

She pouted, "Damn, back to square one I guess. I could whore myself like old times."

I frowned and grabbed her waist, "Don't even joke about that. I swear that you'll never have to go back to that, Star."

She bumped me with her hips while we walked into the huge mall, "I wasn't serious, just wanted to see you get all chivalrous and mushy."

We walked into the mall while holding hands and looked around the massive interior. Hundreds of people bustled about, some of them obviously having a destination in mind and others openly meandering. Advertisements assaulted our senses at every corner and blared about 'NEW and IMPROVED!' this and that. I found a digital pamphlet at the concierge kiosk and gave it a quick look over. I turned to Star and asked her if she wanted to look around on her own while I tried to find work, but she wanted to stay with me.

We visited a few places with no luck at all, and nearly two hours later I was starting to get a little discouraged. Star was doing a great job encouraging me, so we kept trudging along. Finally, we stopped at a tech repair and salvage shop and I crossed my fingers and went inside. The interior was dingy but clean, and who I assumed to be the owner was standing behind the counter tinkering with something over a work light. He was middle aged with an open, determined face, and he looked up at me and gave a half smile, then continued to work.

I approached the counter and cleared my throat, "Good morning sir."

He looked a little agitated but looked up and greeted me, "Hiya. Looking for something special?"

I nodded, "I'm a tech major, among other things, and I'm looking for work. Got any?"

He stopped what he was doing and looked at me sternly, "Can't afford to hire anyone right now kid, but good luck. Things have been kinda slow around here."

I nodded, "Well, the thing is, I'm not looking for permanent work, just a few jobs so my new wife and I can get a decent room for the next few nights... its a long story. I'd be happy to take a crack at whatever you've got that you don't feel like fixing just now."

He gave me an evaluating look, "Okay kid, I might have something for ya, but its old as hell and I can't get the damn thing to work. A client of mine gave me an original holo projector, he wants me to fix it so he can watch some old family movies on it. He offered me quite a lot of money if I could get it running, but I can't figure it out. I was gonna give it back to him and tell him its a lost cause, but you can't break it any more than it already is. If you can make it work, I'll give you half the credits from the job: 500 creds, what do you say, hotshot?"

I nodded confidently, "For that kind of money I'll sure as hell try, just give me a place to work."

He gestured to a room behind the counter, "Knock yourself out, holo's on the bench back there. What's your name kid?"

I stopped for a minute, then replied, "Trask, and this is my wife Star."

He nodded to both of us, "Alrighty then, good luck. My name is Sammy by the way, or Sam if that's easier. I sympathize with you, but I can't give you those credits for free, times are too tight."

I headed behind the counter, "I wouldn't take them even if you offered, I work for my pay."

Within a half hour, I figured out what was wrong with the holo projector. The prism relay had a break in the... well, I fixed it. I called him into the back room and he put his hands on his hips as I switched it on. The projector threw its image out into thin air as it was supposed to and Sammy whistled.

"Holy hell, I'll be damned kid. You might be a better tech mechanic than myself."

I shrugged, "Sometimes its good to get a second opinion. Got anything else for me?"

He shook his head, "I wish I did, but I'll let you know if something else comes up, just give me your info."

I gave him the number to my modded PDI and he chuckled gratefully, "Fine, 500 credits it is. Do you have a bank account?"

I looked down, a little embarrassed. "Uh, due to recent circumstances I'm out of an account at the moment."

He threw his hand out, "Aw, no big deal. I'll give you the money on this re loadable credit card. Good luck out there."

He ran the card through the reader at his counter and handed it back to me. I took it and shook his hand, "I really appreciate it sir, at least we can get a roof over our heads for awhile with this."

He nodded, "Cut the sir stuff, just call me Sam. With you talent, you should visit the day labor department down stairs."

I thanked him again as we walked out of his shop, not wanting to tell him that I didn't have a valid I.D.

I was feeling much more hopeful now that we had enough money to at least get through the week. Starway seemed to be loving the adventure, and I was learning to appreciate it at the very least. We stopped at a concession stand and I bought her an ice cream and a coffee for myself. I watched her lick it as we walked along through the giant mall. She seemed to be getting a little dizzy, and she grabbed my arm a little more tightly.

I faced her and asked with concern, "Star, are you okay?"

She looked at me and I noticed that here eyes were starting to swim, "I'm good. Why do you ask?"

I looked at her more closely and began to realize just how serious her condition actually was. Her skin was warm and she looked more and more like she was gonna pass out.

She looked at me worriedly and sighed, "Really babe, I'm okay. We should keep going."

I walked her over to a bench and had her sit, "Star, if something is wrong you need to tell me, right now."

She shook her head, "It's just... I haven't had my medicine in four days... and..."

I nodded, "You're starting to lose control?"

She looked at me desperately, "I'm sorry, I can try harder."

I put my hands on hers and looked around hurriedly. I realized that she hadn't had any sex in the last forty eight hours, and it must have finally caught up to her. My eyes spotted a large arcade with colorful signs a few dozen yards away, so I stood and guided her over to it. She leaned on me as we walked, and I knew she was trying hard to keep control over herself. We entered the arcade and dodged around a few teenagers before I found what I was looking for: a sit in style immersible shooter with an enclosed bench. I looked inside to make sure it was empty, then led Star inside. A few 3D dinosaurs popped up on the screen as well as some hunters dressed in safari attire. I had no interest in hunting digital lizards, but I swiped my card into the machine in order to keep the door from being opened. The red 'player inside' sign lit up and I knew for a least a minute or two we would have some privacy.

Star looked at me and panted, "Rich boy..."

I slipped my hand under her skirt and felt her panties. They were almost totally soaked. I realized then that she really didn't have much control over herself and that she didn't actually want it to happen at all. I felt so much compassion for her at that moment, anyone else could have called her a freak, thought she was a whore and that she needed to control herself more, but it wasn't like that at all. She squirmed when she felt my hand and shook her head.

I pushed her panties to one side and whispered into her ear, "It's okay love, its okay. Let me make it better."

I slipped two fingers into her desperate pussy and found her clit with my thumb, then started sliding into her gently yet urgently. She tried to suppress her gasps as I did so, and grabbed my arm with both of her hands to steady herself. I brought her closer to me and clamped my hand around her mouth to keep her quiet while still sliding into her and rubbing her clit. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she moaned into my hand, and I could hear the squelching noises her wet pussy was making as I pounded into her faster. I pushed down harder on her clit and felt my hand become wetter and wetter. She clutched onto my arm even harder and spasmed as she climaxed, and I felt her pussy clench around my fingers multiple times.

Finally, it subsided, and she threw herself around me, tears running down her face, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, god, what's wrong with me?"

I held her tightly and shushed her, "Its okay love, its okay. You're gonna be alright, I'm here."

She cried into my chest for a while longer then raised looked at me, "Are you sure you want to be with a freak like me?"

I nodded and cupped her face in my hands, "More sure than I ever was. Its okay Star, we'll find a way to help you get control, and I'll be here for the times when you can't."

She nodded and smiled at me, "Yes. Thank you... I love you so much."

I hugged her, "Do you need more?"

She shook her head, "I'm okay for now, I'll probably need you to screw my brains out later though."

I smiled, "I am more than willing to accommodate."

We managed to sneak out of the game without any incidents, thankfully all the bleeping and wailing game sounds drowned out our little escapade. Star seemed a lot better, and I started developing a theory about her condition. I figured that her chemicals became severely imbalanced if she didn't have any sexual activity, that much was obvious, but it seemed like if I satisfied her instead of her doing it on her own that she could hold out a lot longer without it. I found some public restrooms and we cleaned ourselves up, then continued on through the gigantic mall.

We walked along for awhile longer until we happened upon a martial arts store. It piqued my interest, so we went inside just to look. The place was pretty big, and they sold both tournament and self defense pieces alike.

I was examining the bokken when I heard someone come up behind me, "Like what you see, lad? Not many your age take an interest in these things anymore."

I turned to see a tall Japanese man dressed in a white robe. He looked to be in his mid fifties, friendly and well mannered. I nodded to him and smiled, "I had some martial arts training when I was younger and always had a particular fondness for the bokken and shinai. They are nice pieces, good craftsmanship, and obviously hand made."

The man's eyes lit up, "Ah, you're quite a connoisseur then! Have you been in any competitions?"

I shook my head, "Unfortunately no, but I did best quite a few pros back in the day, at the risk of sounding like I'm bragging."

He put his hands up, "If you're good then you're good. Excuse me, my name is Michael Kurasuma, and I own this humble establishment."

I reached out to shake his hand, "A pleasure to meet you, I'm Trask, and this is my wife Star."

Starway smiled and nodded to him. He shook my hand and nodded back to her with a smile, "A pleasure as well. You two must be newlyweds, either that, or you are a very happy couple and get along grandly. Either way, congratulations."

I chuckled, "How can you tell?"

"When it comes to relationships I've always had a bit of a sixth sense. In any case, take your time perusing, and let me know if you're looking for anything in particular."

I hesitated for a moment, then decided to try my luck, "Well, actually, I am looking for something: work. Due to complex circumstances I've found myself recently out of finances, so I would appreciate any leads you might be able to give me."

The shop owner pawed his bare chin for a moment and looked me over, "Well... unfortunately, I have no work for you, but I just may know of a way for you to make some very good money in a short period of time; assuming you are willing of course."

I gave him a half smile, "Who do you need me to kill?"

He laughed, "No no, nothing immoral, but illegal yes, depending on how much money you make for yourself and everyone else. Should I stop now or are you still interested?"

I waved my hand suspiciously, "I am a total stranger, why would you be interested in telling me this?"

He smiled warmly, "I do not doubt my own intuition, it has not led me astray thus far in my life. Once a week a group of men of all ages come to my home to do a little sparring. It's nothing life threatening, usually, but the more serious the match the more money is usually involved. We bet against each other; some fight, some come just to wager, either way it can be very profitable. You really don't have anything to lose except your pride and a little money, and it your particular situation, you may have everything to gain."

I raised my eyebrows, "What's the catch?"

He shook his head, "A small one: you have to be sponsored by someone in the group. It is my home, I may sponsor whom I wish, but so far I haven't found anyone worth putting my name to. Is this something you would be interested in, my boy?"

I looked at Starway and she cocked her head as if to say, 'How should I know?' I thought about it for a moment then shrugged, "I'm interested, but how do you know if I am worth backing? Or is that your intuition as well?"

He chuckled, "Yes and no. If you are indeed interested, I would like to spar with you in the back of the shop. Would you prefer a shinai or bokken?"

I smiled, feeling myself brim with confidence, "A shinai would be more fun for me... and probably less painful. I'll give it a go."

He clapped his hands together, "Excellent! Follow me."

A few moments later I was wearing a Japanese style fencing helmet and pads and crossing a bamboo sword with the owner of the shop. I could tell by his aura that he was quite experienced, and I reached into the back of my mind to remember the training I'd had. He nodded to me and we began. He didn't hesitate for a moment and shouted loudly as he brushed my weapon aside and lunged for a hard thrust. I span out of the way, remembering my footwork, and attempted to counter his attack with a sideways thrust of my own. He blocked it deftly, despite his balance being off, and stepped in closer to me. I suspected a feign, which was an accurate guess, but even though I knew the move was coming I could hardly move out of the way. The lightning fast shop owner struck at me with an onslaught of forceful blows, each one fluid and precise despite their strength. I blocked, parried and span out of the way, all the while trying to get inside of his almost perfect defense. During another feign, I spotted a potential opening on his right side, and preformed a feign of my own. The move was risky, but it paid off, and as he struck my right shoulder I struck his shoulder just near his collarbone on the right side. He lowered his weapon and took off his helmet. I was surprised to see him look so happy, and he bowed to me, "It is an honor fighting with one so skilled, and at so young an age at that. My intuition still serves me well, and I believe that if we play our cards right we can make a pretty bundle off of those boys. Are you still interested, lad?"

I took a deep breath and nodded, "Just tell me the address, date and time."

"Tomorrow, at nine pm. Here's the address."

I copied the info he gave me to my PDI and saved it, then began removing my protective gear.

Michael crossed his arms and sighed, "Ah, that was fun! We should do it again sometime."

I nodded, "Let's see how I do tomorrow. Purely out of burning curiosity, just how much money can I expect to make, assuming I win all my matches?"

"The matched opponents themselves are usually predetermined and circulated every week between fighters, but we do keep track of who does better statistically. If you happen to beat one the best fighters, the odds will be, oh, let's say, one in twenty against you. If you bet two hundred credits on yourself, you could easily turn it into two thousand credits or more depending on who bets against you: which will likely be nearly everyone. You must be cautious however, for if you win too quickly and fight too well, people won't bet as much against you and you won't make as much money, understand?"

I nodded, "Perfectly. I'll try not to show off and milk them a little bit."

Michael grinned wryly, "I'll look forward to it. My proverbial checkbook is tingling already."

Starway and I continued to look around the mall casually after that, since I had an almost guaranteed way to make money for the two us. We stopped at an Italian restaurant and split a giant pizza (she can really eat for how small she is!) then walked around the entertainment district for a bit. We looked at all kinds of gadgets, including new PDI models which Starway eyed intently.

I noticed right away and nudged her gently, "You want one, babe?"

She shook her head and laughed lightly, "I don't know, they are so expensive. I know how to use basic tech, but I've never had anything quite like this. I'm not sure if I would even know how to use it."

"Naw, its super easy to use once you get the basics down. You can basically do everything with it now and days, including taking videos, pictures, and sending and streaming this or that. They aren't really that expensive for how useful they are."

She lowered her head, "I can't believe we're already talking about buying something that costs over a thousand credits when we don't even have a place to live yet. How can you be so calm?"

I put my arms around her waist and looked into her eyes, "Its because of you Starway, I never would have been able to do this without you. You saved my life."