SIRIUS CONFIDENTIAL Episode I: A ride on The Crown's tab (ePub)

At the beginning of the 26th century, newly deep space faring Humans had become aware Earth had for ever since been protected by Galactic Council superpowers, first and foremost protected from MintAlSai Syndicate, an alliance of brigands and pirates operating from hideouts within the Mintaka-Alnitak-Saiph triangle.

Soon, the Galactic Council was confronted with evolving United Earth Space Fleet's ambitions to stand Earth's ground on its own and join the fight against MintAlSai as an equal partner.

After plenty of negotiations, even Queen Shayala of Rigel, once the Galactic Council's most vocal opposer of UESF's military ambitions, could be swayed to give the Humans the benefit of a doubt and in 2516 agreed to a mutual officer exchange between the mighty, battle-hardened Rigelian Fleet and UESF, which by the timescale of the legendarily long-lived Rigelians had since only a blink ago been undertaking metrical deep space travel.

By fall of 2521, three UESF exchange officers had arrived on Rigelion Prime, arrived there to find themselves not only right at the epicenter of deep space military conflict, interstellar politics and intrigues, but also to find themselves in a society of promiscuous and sexually libertarian alien telepaths and right in the middle of alienating customs.

The March 2522 ride to Paradise Island on Sirius Prime should have been a long overdue fun tour for Major Brit Johannsson, exchange officer, hotshot and well-respected CO of Royal Rigelian White Fleet's newly formed Squad 5-3.

Should.

Had there not been pressing business of the RIA, the Rigelian Intelligence Agency, and Queen Shayala herself to be tended to on that occasion.

And had there not been the Sirioids' rule to bring no weapons to Paradise Island, a rule which to break and make it through a nasty penance ritual had become the sector's commissioned officers' social obligation when visiting Sirius Prime.

So Brit found herself on Paradise Island not lazing about on vast white beaches, as Queen Shayala had sketched it for the public during a farewell address in Brit's honor, but, while trying to gather information for the RIA, preparing to in the nude, tied and on a leash be paraded to a military penitentiary facility and to submit herself to a contortion drill.

FOR ADULT AUDIENCE ONLY!