| Doyle's Extra-Curicular
Activities |
Rhade was coming off a bad case of the shakes, but he was beating his addiction. It had been a week since he had touched a drop, and he was grateful to his friends that they had put up with his moods. Of course, he wasn’t going to tell them that. Besides, there were other benefits to being sober. His senses were sharper and his reflexes were back up to what was normal for him. Of course, his sense of taste was back as well. Too bad there really wasn’t anything available that tasted very good. He would have to hold out hope that the Andromeda’s auto-chef would soon be functioning again.
He scowled down at his plate, not able to identify what the meat was and not all that sure he wanted to be able to. With a snort he pushed it away before leaning back in his chair. “Trouble, Rhade?”
“Just missing the old days.” He looked across the table at Doyle. She didn’t even bother to pretend that she could eat or drink any longer, but she still had an interest in watching organics. Today, however, she seemed strangely… distracted. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Hmm? Oh! I’m fine.” She blushed, actually blushed! Harper did an impressive job in building her, given his limited facilities at the time. “I was just… monitoring some transmissions.”
“Anything I should know about?”
Doyle looked a bit uncomfortable with that question. “No… it’s nothing. I need to see what Harper’s up to. He might need my help.” She got up from the table in a hurry, avoiding his eyes. It was very odd behavior for her.
“Hey, Rhade. What’s with Doyle?” Beka sat down and claimed his abandoned plate.
“I don’t know. She said she was monitoring some transmissions, but obviously didn’t want to say what they were about.”
“Huh.” Beka grimaced at the taste of what was supposed to be a vegetable of some sort. “Do you think it’s anything we need to know about?”
“Hard to say. It did make her nervous, though.”
“Nervous.” Beka laughed and shook her head. “Harper really did a bang up job on her. She gets nervous, she blushes, has nightmares… did you know he even made it so she can get a headache?”
“Just like the real thing.” He gave Beka a playful smirk as she threatened him with a fist.
“You know who would rat her out, don’t you?”
“Andromeda. They still don’t get along.”
Beka waggled her brows at him. “Wanna take a trip in the Maru? Could be fun.”
Rhade considered it for a moment, and then shrugged. “It would be something to do.” He watched as Beka took a final bite of mystery meat and pushed the tray away.
“Let’s go.” They left the tavern and made their way to where the Maru was docked. The trip up to Andromeda was a quick one and without complications. The docked in Beka’s usual hangar and made their way to the command deck.
As they entered command, Logic’s hologram flickered into being. “Greetings, Beka, Rhade.”
“Andromeda, looking lovely as ever.”
“Thank you, Rhade. You are looking more like your old self. My scans indicate that your body’s advanced healing abilities are repairing the damage inflicted to your internal organs by excessive drinking at a satisfactory rate.”
Beka grinned over at him as Rhade gave the hologram a brilliant smile. “Ah, Andromeda, you certainly know how to flatter a man.”
“I try.”
“Andromeda, Rhade and I came up here to see if you know what Doyle’s been up to? She’s been acting kind of funny lately. Something to do with transmissions.”
Logic arched an inquiring brow. “Accessing.” There was a pause as the ship gathered information. A moment later Core appeared on the main screen. “I have found several transmissions with Doyle’s unique electronic footprint attached to them.”
Rhade smiled. “Knew you wouldn’t let us down. What has she been doing?”
Logic gave an almost surprised expression. “It appears that with our presence in this system there is a growing use of previously avoided technologies. An interplanetary communications system has been established. It is small and not entirely stable, but it is a start.”
Beka frowned. “What kind of communications?”
“Some of it is what can be expected. There is news, communications between friends and family members… there are also several rudimentary discussion groups.” The AI’s representation looked perplexed. “This is strange.”
Beka and Rhade exchanged a look before Rhade inquired. “What’s strange?”
Logic squared her shoulders. “Doyle seems to be a member of a discussion group based on you, Rhade.”
“A discussion group about Rhade? Who’s on it? People who want to kill him?”
“Not quite. It seems that your exploits in the Seefra System have not gone unnoticed. I am finding discussion groups centered around you as well, Beka. There are also groups for Dylan and Harper, and a new one just started about Trance, although they insist on calling her ‘Princess Trance’.”
Whatever they had been anticipating, this certainly wasn’t it. Beka burst out laughing. “Okay, so Doyle is part of a discussion group about Rhade. What do they discuss?”
Logic flickered out of view, leaving Core to carry on. “Most of the transmissions posted onto the discussion board deal with various admirations of Rhade and his fighting abilities, as well as the cut of his clothing. The less… modest of the posts appear to be centered on sexual fantasies.”
Rhade looked pole axed. “There’s a discussion board about this?”
“And Doyle’s a part of it?” Beka crossed her arms over her chest.
“Correct. She apparently posts to the board under the pseudonym of ‘Barbie Avatar’.” The name did not seem to sit well with the Core. “Most of her posts involve vid pic of you, Rhade.”
“What kind of pics?”
“Displaying now.” The other screen switched from a star chart display to a view of Rhade punching a couple of thugs in a fight he helped to break up the week before. That shot changed to one of him laughing at some joke Harper had cracked. Then it changed again to one of him helping Beka fix the Maru the week before last, after he had taken off his shirt to make things a little cooler. Then it changed to one of him taking advantage of the Andromeda’s showers.
“Where did she get that?!”
Beka let out a long, low whistle. “Nice. Rhade, I had no idea you were so… fit.”
He gave her a sarcastic smile. “Next time why don’t you join me?”
“With features like that, I just might.” She grinned as he blew her a kiss. “Still, it doesn’t explain why Doyle is posting vids of you for a bunch of faceless strangers on a discussion board.”
“They call themselves ‘fan girls’, more specifically, ‘The Rhadicals’.”
“Cute. Are they dangerous?”
“Only if Rhade is allergic to being covered in chocolate and whipped cream.” Rhade and Beka whirled around to see a rather angry Doyle stalk onto the command deck. Logic flickered into being before her.
“How did you get onboard without my knowing about it?”
The android gave the AI a scornful look. “Oh, please, like that was hard to do. What gives you the right to go poking around in my personal correspondence?”
“Excuse me, Doyle, but your personal correspondence has to do with me. Why are you sending vids of me to complete strangers?”
“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing! Come on, Rhade. Surely you didn’t think something that good looking could go gallivanting around and not attract any interest from the female gender. You should read the stories section. The things they want to do to you would even make Dylan blush.”
Beka quirked a brow. “Really? Andromeda, please pull up the stories section. This I gotta see.” She hopped onto a control platform and pulled up the data. Rhade rolled his eyes and looked at Doyle.
“Fan girls?”
“Rhadicals. I suggested the name. When I learned that there was a small, but growing, faction of women who had become… enamored with you, I saw an opportunity to relieve some of the boredom of day-to-day existence. They’re quite amusing, almost rabid when it comes to you.”
“I’ll say! Rhade, you should see what this girl wrote. She’s got an entire fantasy involving you, a pair of hand restraints and a vat of lime jell-o.”
Rhade frowned over a Beka. “I hate lime.”
“Yeah, I’m a cherry person myself. Not to mention I don’t a Nietzchean even has that much stamina.”
“Tyr was that much of a disappointment, was he?”
“Ha-ha. Doyle, maybe you should try to get footage of Rhade and one of his little tramps. Bet the Rhadicals would love that.”
“Oooh… I like that idea.”
“I agree.”
Rhade spun around. “Andromeda!”
Logic arched a brow at him. “I merely agree that the Rhadicals would appreciate the recording, not that I agree it should be done.”
Doyle gave a disdainful snort. “Wimp.” She turned to face Rhade with a toss of her hair. “So, Rhade, feel like a little porn shoot?”
“That’s a great idea!” Beka hopped off the command platform. “Think about it; we shoot the vid, only give the Rhadicals a snippet of it, and then sell the full thing at a premium.”
“The idea does have merit.”
Rhade looked from Beka to Doyle and back. “I don’t know, are you and Beka going to join in on the fun?”
Doyle gave a shrug. “I might be interested.”
Beka snorted. “Not on your life buddy. I may have done some kinky things in my life, but filming myself having sex and then selling the footage isn’t one of them?”
“I can blindfold you if you like.” He grinned at her, knowing she had probably all but forgotten that particular long ago conversation. It took her a second to catch on, but her brilliant blush indicated when she had. “However, Doyle, in all seriousness, I refuse.”
“Spoil sport.” The android actually pouted. “Shutting me down won’t stop them, you know. They’ve all gotten hooked on you and they don’t want to be cured.”
Rhade growled and turned away from Doyle before he hit her. Beka gave a chuckle behind him. “Come on, Rhade. Look at this way. At least you know someone out there wants you, maybe even loves you.”
“Fan girls.” Rhade braced his hands on the railing
of the ramp leading from the door to the main command floor. “You’ve
got to be kidding me.”
~*~The End~*~