Maria stood on the front deck of her small cottage, overlooking the main valley of the capitol city of Rossak.  The early morning steam rose from the tops of the tropical jungle plants, much thicker than the steam rising from her tea.  She sipped her tea, took in the morning air, and awaited her visitor.  She was nude, and when she finished her tea, she would dress and await Inspector Chalmers.

Rossak was the fourth planet circling the sun.  The equatorial regions were hot, very tropical, and steamy.  The tropical forests of this planet were noted for the wide variety of herbs and medicines that were beneficial to humans and some alien groups.  It was the principal export of the planet, and the forests were well protected by the government.

As one headed away from the tropic areas, the planet became dryer and cooler, finally ending in barren and bitter cold polar regions.  Only weather stations were kept at the northern polar region.  TransStar, the company that controlled ninety percent of all space travel, kept a base on the South Pole.  The radiation belt had a hole in it over the pole, which made entrance and exit to Rossak much easier. 
 
Maria finished her tea and headed into her kitchen, where she brewed herself another cup.  She walked out the back door and into her garden.  Just behind the garden, but still on her land, was a nice-sized lake.  She walked onto the dock, sat on the edge, her toes just tickling the surface of the smooth, still, deep-blue liquid.  The sun glinted off of the piercing she wore in her hood.  She had a small diamond hanging over her clitoris today; she would change it later to a simple barbell.

This lake was where one of her lovers lived.  He was a DNA-enhanced octopus, quite large, with a head that could easily pass for human.  Two of his tentacles had been converted to hands.  He possessed rudimentary human intelligence, and could perform simple underwater construction tasks.  Indeed, the animal had been designed for just that purpose.  He also had a fondness for human women.

Maria's other lover was a cyborg space pilot.  A human brain, alive, attached to a frigate to navigate and run a starship's functions, the vessel's equipment became the arms, legs, eyes, and ears of the pilot.  She only saw him when his vessel was in port.  Although he could leave the vessel in a special container, the confinement of a planet could, after a time, unhinge him.  Space pilots preferred the openness of the stars.  She would travel to the South Pole and spend a few days with him, the two making love.  He had tried to persuade her to join him in space, but she refused.  She found it frightening.

Maria sat on the dock and finished her tea.  She looked across the lake and thought about the road that had brought her to this point in her life.  She was a breeder, but retired.  Breeders were human women who mated with cyborgs, DNA-enhanced creatures, and aliens.  These women supplied genetic patterns necessary to modify the creatures.  They were far and few between, and much in demand.  Maria had never, in the twenty-three years of her life, had had sex with a human male.

The girl stood up and went back into her cottage.  She placed the mug in the sink and headed into her bedroom to dress for her visitor.  She admired her nude form in the full-length mirror. 
 
Maria was thin and athletic in shape, with a generous, rounded bottom.  Her feet were tiny.  She was of average height.  Her stomach was flat.  Her breasts were perky, rounded, and had large, dark nipples.  Her mouth was wide, with full lips, and she had an engaging smile.  Deep, dark eyes flashed back from the mirror.  Her hair was ebony, rich, and thick.  It hung to the top of her bottom.  Her skin had a faint olive tint, which was enhanced by a suntan.  She had no hair anywhere on her body.  Indeed, she could easily pass for sixteen.

Maria pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and then went to the closet to pick an outfit.  She selected a light-blue skirt with a bit of a flare, which fell to just below her knees.  A simple peasant blouse, which was worn off of the shoulder, white, with a red trim around the collar, completed the outfit.  She had been wearing underwear less and less lately, and decided she would wear none today.  She applied a small amount of lip-gloss, left her feet bare, and went out to the front deck to await her visitor.

Maria watched Inspector Chalmers struggle up the road to her home.  He still wore the same wrinkled and messy blue suit, white shirt, and striped tie.  He refused to change to lighter-weight clothing to allow for the climate of Rossak.  He was perspiring.

Chief Inspector Chalmers (he had been promoted, a fact of which Maria was not aware,) was in his early fifties.  He was tall, still thin and in good shape, which was a consequence of his exercise ethic.  He had never married.  His brown hair was graying around the temples and thinning on top.  His face was plain and a bit handsome.  He was a keen judge of human character, and possessed a mind like a steel trap.

Maria stood at the edge of the deck, smiled, and greeted the Inspector as he approached.

"Please come in, Inspector, out of the heat.  Would you care for some cool tea?"

"Yes, please, Maria," Inspector Chalmers responded.  "Just a touch of sweetener.  This climate is brutal.  And tell me, how have you been?"

Maria did not answer.  Instead, she led the Inspector indoors, where he chose to sit on a comfortable chair.  Maria proceeded to her small kitchen and made up a large mug of iced tea for the inspector.  She slowly carried into her parlor and handed it to him, and then settled into a chair opposite and relaxed.

Inspector Chalmers loosened his tie, unbuttoned his collar, and took a generous sip of the cool and refreshing beverage.  Then he leaned back, crossed his legs, and relaxed with a pleasant smile.

"You have not answered my question, Maria.  How are you, and how goes the tea shop?"  Maria ran a small teashop, which served freshly brewed drinks and sold bulk for home brewing.

"The business loses money every day, Inspector.  Tea is plentiful here; it is not a rare commodity."  Maria laughed, a seductive and womanly laugh.  "At my current rate of loss, Inspector, I will be broke in, shall we say, three hundred and forty-five standard years!"

The Inspector gave out with a hearty laugh.  He knew just how much money Maria had.  She had become quite wealthy.  Her pay from being a breeder had been high.  There was also the fact that she had helped him solve a serious problem concerning a high official in TransStar.  She had stolen quite a bit of money from TransStar, which TransStar had chosen to ignore.  Maria was wealthy indeed!

"And yourself, Inspector?  What have you been doing lately?"

"Well," said Inspector Chalmers, smiling with pride, "I have been promoted to Chief Inspector and given my own department.  I have also been given a quite nice raise, and two standard months leave.  I will relax, unwind a bit, and then get back to work."

Maria smiled.  The Inspector deserved it.

"Congratulations."

Inspector Chalmers looked closely at the young woman sitting across from him.  She was wise beyond her years.  Her life would have destroyed a weaker woman.  And yet, she had not become bitter and angry.  The affection and generosity that he had sensed in their first meeting had never left her, but instead had seemed to increase.  If anyone had reasons to be bitter, angry, and selfish, she did.  But Maria never descended to that level.  Instead, she appeared to have grown.
The Inspector took a long sip of tea, uncrossed his legs, leaned forward, and, with his face taking on a very serious expression, looked intently at Maria and began to speak.

"Maria, there are two things I wish to discuss.  The first is your generosity concerning the family of Dr. Hamlyn.  What you did went far beyond kindness.  The doctor's wife and children will never want for the rest of their lives."
Maria looked down at her feet and held back tears.  Dr. Hamlyn had been the psychiatrist assigned to the case with Inspector Chalmers.  He had been killed.  Maria had grown close to him, and trusted him fully and completely, something she had refused to do with most human males.

"It was the least I could do, Inspector.  He was helping me.  I think, perhaps, I was starting to love him a bit."

"You helped both him and I, Maria," said the Inspector, his voice low and tone very somber.  "We both owe you a debt we can never repay.  As does Transstar.  Now, I only wish to thank you, and let us drop it.  Understood?"

Maria nodded.

"The second item, Maria, is even of more importance.  Your story must be preserved.  TransStar, as well as the governments of Rossak and Delta Pavonis, will never officially acknowledge your role in this affair.  Indeed, the three of them refuse to acknowledge the roles of breeders.  This is hypocrisy of the highest order, as all three organizations use cyborgs.  You must tell your tale, and preserve it!"

"And who would believe, Inspector?" responded Maria.  "I am a whore for aliens and creatures, a woman of low stature, selling herself.  Who would accept my tale, much less preserve it?"

Maria had grown quite agitated.  Her dark eyes flashed, and her gestures became very animated.  She was not ashamed of what she had become; it had been her tool for survival.  But her treatment at the hands of "proper people," who benefited with a higher quality of life from her labor, always made her angry.

"Both Rossak and TransStar will preserve your tale, Maria.  Perhaps, some day, it will even be published.  But for now, the important thing is preservation.  Tell your side of the story!"

Maria stood up and began to pace the room, her arms folded on her breast, her eyes looking at the floor.  The Inspector remained silent, knowing she was deep in thought.  He had to convince her to preserve her role in the affair.  Maria paced for several minutes, stopped, turned, and faced Inspector Chalmers.

"Tell me, Inspector, how do I preserve my story?"

Inspector Chalmers smiled and relaxed.  She was warming to the idea.  He had the perfect tool at his fingertips with which to convince her.

"TransStar," said the Inspector, "has agreed to provide you with a communications computer.  You will enter your story on the computer, and transmit it to the TransStar base here.  My work brings me here quite often.  I will access the files, edit them, and transmit it back to you for your approval.  When we finish, I will burn it to a secure drive on the TransStar home planet.  A duplicate copy will be kept in the government vaults here on Rossak.  You know it will be quite secure."

"Well, Inspector," said Maria with a chuckle, "those computers are quite expensive.  I can afford one, but it seems quite a waste just to buy one to record and transmit my memoirs.  Whatever would I do with it after I was finished?"

Inspector Chalmers knew he had her now.
"Maria, TransStar will provide a computer, free of charge, for you to use.  When you are finished, they will take it back and reformat the thing.  All we need to do is go to TransStar's offices in the city and pick the model.  I can teach you to use it in a few hours time.  Interested?"
For the first time in many years, the Inspector felt a deep wave of emotion wash over him.  The girl smiled, and gentle tears flowed.  As Hamlyn, before his death, had said, Maria needed a release.  Her telling her side of the story would provide the release.  He watched Maria shiver and gently sob.  The Inspector stood up and gave her a gentle and fatherly hug.  He spoke softly and warmly into her ear.
"You will do a service for the woman like yourself everywhere.  It is required, and most necessary."
Maria softly cried a bit more, and then pushed the Inspector away.
"Yes, Inspector, you are right.  I will do this."
"Good!  I can go to my office and arrange for a selection of the computers to be set up for you evaluation right now.  It will take about five hours.  Do you wish to do it today?"
"Yes, Inspector.  I have to go to my shop and do some bookwork.  I can be at your office in five hours.  I know where the TransStar building is located."

Inspector Chalmers merely smiled, buttoned his collar, and tightened his tie.  He was, after all, on duty.  He hugged Maria again, kissed her on the cheek, and walked out the door and headed down the road to his transport.  As soon as he reached his office, he would have the computers set up for Maria to evaluate.

Maria watched him leave.  She smiled a sad smile.  She would tell her story.  Maybe it would benefit someone.  If nothing else, it would be a good read, and would provide pornographers with material for one hundred years.
