Expedition Westward

  ***

  Star didn’t know how long she bobbed in the water near the bathing platform – seconds, hours? Finally, a mech wolf yip brought her back to reality. She looked over to see Ripper standing on the shore, staring at her intently.

  What happened? she wondered.

  Then the full memory slammed back in. Winston was down there – with three finned floozies! Well, he could just stay there and enjoy himself! She would not interfere with his good time.

  But her jealous rage soon passed. She had to get Winston back, now. Any reckoning about the floozies would have to wait for later.

  “Come on Rippie!” she called.

  The mech wolf jumped in the water and swam toward her. Star prepared to dive under the surface, then thought better of it.

  “Wait a minute.”

  She climbed onto the shore and hurriedly dressed herself. The seductive power of those mermaid things was far too great to be confronted without clothes.

  “Let’s go, Rippie!”

  Star dove deep and was soon at the entrance of the cave. She waited there for Ripper to catch up with his peculiar combination of dog paddle and breast stroke. Under other circumstances, his efforts would have been amusing. They entered the cave together.

  It went up and up. Star kicked furiously and stroked her arms with maximum power. She broke the surface inside a small enclosure. She could barely make out the surroundings, as the only light came from a fissure high in the rocky ceiling.

  Her optical sensors began adjusting to the low light. On the shore directly beside her lay the deactivated figure of another mermaid – no, this one was male, a ‘merman’ type creature. She ignored it.

  Ripper bobbed to the surface beside her. She scarcely noticed his arrival, as her eyes were riveted on the disgusting sight across the water. On the opposite shore, the mermaid sluts were swarming all over Winston, and moans of exquisite pleasure issued from his throat.

  “Ohhhhhh! Ahhhhhh! Morrrrre!”

  Black fury almost choked Star. That was the correct term, choked, even through she possessed no respiratory nor digestive system.

  “Come on Rippie!”

  With a few powerful strokes, Star gained the opposite shore. She prepared to leap out of the water and grab the floozies by their long hair. She’d bash their heads against the rocks, she’d ... Two of them looked toward her and smiled. Their siren song rose to an ecstatic crescendo, echoing off the stone walls. Star halted dead in the water.

  How could she have been angry at such lovely creatures? They were waiting for her, right there, and they knew erotic secrets that Star had not even dreamed about! Scarcely aware of what she was doing, Star began unbuttoning her blouse.

  “Hold on ...” she murmured, “I’m coming.”

  Ripper bumped up against her. Star turned languidly toward him. The mech wolf leered back at her ferociously.

  “Why, Rippie, what on earth is the problem?” she asked.

  In response, he let out an auditory sensor-splitting howl.

  AWOOOOOO!

  The brutal noise ricocheted off the walls, shattering the ambiance. The mermaids’ siren song abruptly ceased. Star wrenched back to her full senses.

  “Save Winston!”

  Ripper jumped onto the shore and confronted the mermaids, fangs bared, growling ominously. They retreated in terror, flopping over each other in their haste. Star reached up and grabbed Winston.

  “Nooooo!” he cried as Star pulled him under the water.