We learned the hard way, my three colleges and I. That you do theaten the queen of this newly discovered planet. I was pondering this as one of these barefoot bombshells was painfully standing in my face. The four of us were sent here two weeks ago by the Union Aerospace Corperation in order to build a treaty with the resident population. We were authorized to offer anything in trade for mining rights. We were also authorized to make demands under the threat of imminent attack. This threat was to be issued only if negotiations broke down. Look, I just work here. I don't make the rules. I have a family to feed. All of that seemed like rubbish at the moment as my nose was being painfully pressed under this cruel sole. We began negotiations with the queen shortly after our arrival. We gave them our proposal. It seemed logical. Medical facilities, schools, jobs and more importantly. Money. The queen at first took right to the idea of having all of the afore mentioned commodities. And the mining was fine with her too. Only she would not allow strip mining. She was not going to have her beautiful world torn asunder for the sake of minerals. No matter how valuable. She had one other condition. There were to be no men in positions of authority. She contended that women were far superior to men in many respects. And they were not going to have the opportunity to do what they nearly did to thier world nearly two centuries ago. As the story goes, the men for centuries. Had women in a subseriant role. Cleaning the domicile, preparing the meals etc. The men were also domineering due to the fact that the law was that women were not allowed to enter the work place or be allowed to make earnings of any kind. This in itself was designed and engineered to keep women under the thumb of the men. All of that changed. For years before the great revolt, the women had formed a very large and complex underground. Here they toiled to ready themselves for the day of reckoning. With thier vastly superior intellect. (As was proven by thier accomplishments.) The women invented cloning! Also, shortly following cloning. Came the advent of cellular growth. They had the ability to not only clone themselves. Now they could also clone giants! And clone them they did. The giants were very suseptable to suggestion at "birth". These fully grown 200,000 pound 60 foot tall women were programed to crush and destroy all men in one swift stroke! And crush them they did! Upon thier release, all 10,000,000 giant women were released onto the world! 150 years of toil and labor was rewarded within just two days! Of those men that were not crushed into unrecognisable pulps under the trampling feet of the giants, were eaten or dashed onto mountainsides and valleys. The carnage lasted two days! Then after the women were satisfied that no man on the planet remained alive. The clones were taken back into the underground caverns and placed into a deep sleep. Had I only known this before. It was just recited to me by the woman balancing on my face. There I lay, in the queens audience chamber. My head being painfully pressed under those unyielding soles. I wished painfully that I had not communicated the threat. It all started when I told her that UAC would not agree to not oversee the project. I tried to explain that we had a great deal invested in this project. And that we planned on working with her subjects. To work with them as equals. She would hear none of it. I guess it was too engrained into thier culture. So I read the threat... "Under the articles of mining 1546.86 PARAGRAPH 11. UNION AEROSPACE CORPERATION is authorized to take by force all that is not given in trade under the articles of free trade as set forth in CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE 45 AMENDED BILL OF CORPERATIONAL RIGHTS. This planet is to be seized by and conquered by the military services available at time of request. CONGRESSIONAL BODY and LOBBY UNION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 28 SEPTEMBER 2145

Your planet is to be hearby confiscated under the above provisions and its indiginant life forms, sentient and not. Are to be subjigated for the sole use of UNION AEROSPACE CORPERATION."

It sounded more like a declaration to me. But anyway. I eyeballed my colleges who looked back at me. With a nod to the others, I drew my phase pistol and like it was drilled. My colleges' pistols were in thier hands as well. Then out of no where, WHAM!!! I found myself on the floor on my back and these cruel feet lept onto my face! My nose was immediately broken! "Raise him!" Said the queen. Upon which, to my great relief. The pressure left my face and I was brought to my feet. I had laid there about 4 or 5 minutes. The only thing that had kept me from stuggling was my blaster was in the hand of my tormentor. I had seen it through her toes. As I stood there I tried to stauch the blood flowing from my nose. "How dare you?!?" Raged the queen. "How dare you come into my palace and threaten to take my planet and subjicate my people?!?" She then told me the story about the giants. I began to shiver as the implications of what she told me sank in. The queen then walked over to me. She was quite beautiful. A very voluptuous figure. Not an ounce of fat on her lean muscular body. She walked with the suple gait of a lioness. Her beautiful steel blond hair was pulled into a tight french braid on the back of her head. In her right hand she held a septre. The top of the damned thing sported a replica of male genitilia. Sculped in gold! And the damned thing had a hard on! Life size too. I began to wonder how she spent her nights... Her eyes were staring strait into mine. And in them I could see the burning flashes of a terrible anger and wrath! "I asked you a question male! I expect an answer!" "I am sorry my lady." I stammered. Damn! My nose was bleeding again. "Get him a cloth." She said to one of the women standing in the court. I heard one of them take off. "Now, you are going to listen very carefully to what I have to say." She whispered as she drew near my face. "I want you to call your ship down here." Her eyes were still flashing sunspots of cold rage. I knew I had better be damned careful about what I said. "I can't call it down. It is against company policy." I said trying to sound official. But it came out like a remark made by some pompous ass. "Very well!" She screamed. "Take that one and bind him tightly!" She said pointing to Clark. Oh man, this was getting intense! I knew we were in a jam. But if I brought that ship down and surrendered it to them. I was done for! If this queen didn't kill me, then the company sure as to hell would. After binding Clark, on the queen's order. They laid him flat on his back. Then the queen turned back to me. "If you don't surrender your ship to me, that man dies!" She said turning my head by my chin to face Clark. Poor Clark, man! This was loused up! The damned company! What in the hell have they gotton us into? But my mind was still grasping at straws. I had to think of a way out of here. So... "Ma'am, I am sorry. But I am not authorized to surrender company equipment under any circumstances." I stated in my most proffesional voice. She turned back to me, her body shaking with rage. "Infidel!!! Crush that man immediately!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. With that I heard numerous feet marching our direction. I was turned to view what was happening. Poor Clark, he was squirming against his bonds. But he was held fast. He was too damned proffesional to cry out or beg for mercy. There was a garrison of about twenty women approaching Clark. They were marching in a tight formation of four abreast. Over thier heads they were carrying a sheet of some kind of thick plexyglass. As the garrison reached him, Clark was turned over onto his back. The women of the garrison handed the plexyglass panel hand over hand and laid it on top of Clark. Clark's eyes went wide with terror. He looked over at me with a pleading in his eyes. He mouthed something. I couldn't make out what it was. But it seemed to be "don't surrender." There were tears in Clarks eyes. I tried to turn my head but I was prevented. The garrison of women marched onto the panel. Clarks head began to turn red under the strain! Shortly, all twenty of the women were on the glass. They found a balance so that not one corner of the panel touched the ground. Clark was bearing it! It was unbelievable! But he was looking up at his executioners and he was gritting his teeth! I knew Clark was strong, but jeese! How much can a guy take? They stood on him for about 90 seconds before Clark began to fade. As he began to lay his head back in resignation, the queen's septre pounded the floor with a sharp crack. With that, all of the women lept into the air as one body and landed hard back onto the panel! Clark's insides exploded out of his neck and shot at least twenty feet across the floor! I nearly threw up! Before I could however, the queen was back in my face. "Do we crush another of your team mates, or do you surrender your ship?" My head dropped. "Give me a moment to converse with my colleges my queen." I said with fear and humility. "I promise no funny business." She sighed in a tight breath. "Very well, you have five minutes to talk it over." With that she turned away giving an eye signal to her guards. We were taken into a huddle in the back of the court. "What in the hell are we going to do sir?" Jason said with desperation in his voice. I understood fully what he was feeling at that moment. I was a little desperate myself. "Maurice, what do you think?" I said turning to my chief engineer. "Well sir, I don't know. But I think they will probably kill us anyway. So I say we make a break for it. Maybe one of us can make it back to the shuttle and get back to the ship." Muarice was a proffesional from day one. When he gave me his opinion, I would generally take it seriously. But this time, I disagreed. "Look around chief. They are begginning to gather all around us. We would never make it that way." I turned to my navigator. "Walter, what do you think?" Walter looked back at me with a touch of martyrism in his eyes. "Sir, I will volunteer to be crushed if it will set the rest of you free." I started to dismiss him but he waved me off. "I mean it Jim, if it will buy your freedom. Then I will do it." Walter's thick New York accent was really coming through. I could see the worry lines in his face. "I have been with UAC for twenty five years now captain. When I retire, I'll just get stuck up in some dinky retirement cubicle where I get fed ration crap every day." Walter continued with a look of sadness in his eyes. Then squaring his shoulders. "Sir I demand to be allowed to go out in this sacrifice! My son would get a flag and everything! If it gets you free, then I'll get to be a hero!" Walter's eyes had begun to tear up. I looked at him and remebered Clark. The way his chest exploded. I began to shake my head. I was suddenly pushed aside. Walter had bashed his way past me! He was now running toward the queen with his hands on top of his head! I couldn't believe what I was seeing! I just stood there with my jaw hanging wide open! Just then Walter began screaming. "I will sacrifice myself if you will set my men free! I am the captain of the ship. Set my men free!" I nearly fainted! Jason and Maurice were both looking at me with horror struck faces. Just then, Walter was seized. And the queen was approaching him. Then she turned back to me. With a swipe of her arm, the guards came and took us back into the court. "So, this is your captain is it?" She said looking at me. I couldn't let Walter make that kind of sacrifice on my behalf. "No ma'am, I am the captain. Walter here is one of the best officers I have ever known. He though he could get us released if he sacrificed himself to you. But I can not allow that to happen. I will surrender the ship to you." I lowered my head in submission. The queen began to look appraisingly at Walter. "So you were ready to sacrifice yourself to save your crew mates. I admire bravery. I will grant you a boon." Then she turned to me. "I accept your surrender. Now get me that ship!" I hander her the shuttle locater. "I will order Jason to take you to the shuttle and go back to the ship." Handing her the locater I said "My lady, I know we are probably doomed anyway. So may I beg your highness for a quick and painless death?" After taking the locater, she guestured to her guards again. I was immediately seized! "You are a coward! I have recognized you as such from the moment you arrived here! I despize cowards!" With that she turned away. "Take him from this place and place him in the tiles of the market square! Where he will be trodden on by all of the inhabitants of the city until he is dead!" The guards immediately began to drag me away. I was dazed. Then I saw Walter appoach the queen and say something to her. "Wait!" The queen wailed. "Bring him back to me." After I was dragged back to her. The queen got very close to my face. "Walter here has offered to take your place. So that you may not suffer such a horrible fate." She turned and smiled at Walter. "So therefore, I have decided to accept his offer." Walter stared up amazement. He was obviously speechless. "Never tempt fate." Said the queen turning toward Walter. Immediately, the guards took hold of him and he was dragged away. The queen then guestured toward my other two crew members. Jason and Maurice began to suirm visibly. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to have you put to death. No, you are to service us. You both are to immediately begin the study of podiatry. You both are going to spend the rest of your waking hours careing for and nurturing the feet of all of the royal members of this palace. Take them away!" Then she turned back to me. "Now as for you." Her eyes narrowed. "I am going to give you a first hand glimpse of what it is that you have wrought against your world." She began pacing back and forth across the room as she spoke. "You see, we have had many years to develope the males' technology. And guess what. We have the ability to travel to your planet." She stopped pacing in front of me and stared right into my eyes. "When I get the navigational information from your ship, we are going to prepare an invasion force of giants!" The queen took a couple of steps back and pointed at me for emphasis. "And now where you come in. I am going to have a special polyglass shoe made for the strongest of my giants. And I am going to a likeness of you molded into the insole! Thats right! You are going to watch helplessly as your race is crushed underfoot like the bugs they are! Take him away!"

The end

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