Chapter Eleven

JESSE

Annalee continued to disrobe. Layer after layer disappeared until she was standing in her shift, giving me an erection and making me move slightly to conceal my hard cock.

"Why are you undressing?" I asked, moving uncomfortably as my pants became cramped. "I appreciate the view, of course, but we're not a clothing-optional planet."

"Is this hovercraft fitted up to Union standards?" she said, looking irritated.

"Yes."

"Where's the bedroom?"

I motioned to the far end of the ship, and she vanished. I wondered if she wanted me to follow her into the bedroom. But considering the look on her face, romance seemed the last thing on her mind. I thought it was safer to remain where I was. Porter had taken us high into the air and was flying at a reckless speed. He was trying to get us to headquarters as quickly as possible.

When Annalee returned, she looked quite different. She was wearing a pair of blue standard issue pants and a T-shirt. I had only seen clothing like that when I had left the planet on Underground business.

The pants fit her perfectly. They had a mechanism inside that sized itself to the wearer. The T-shirt showed off her fabulous breasts. It was tight against her body, and I wondered if she had done it to tease me. If she had, she would pay tonight when we were alone in my quarters.

"I am sick of those dresses," she said with vehemence. "Has anyone here ever thought a woman might want to get out of a carriage by herself?"

Porter and I glanced at each other.

"Are you trying to go back to the dark ages or something?"

I looked down at the floor and then back up at her face, thinking about how I could best answer to her question.

"Technology almost destroyed us once. We don't want that to happen again, and we're not sure what to do," I murmured.

"People almost destroyed your civilization," she said. "I hope you're not hoping you can save your people with restrictive clothing because it's not going to help." Annalee walked up beside Porter where he was resting. The ship was on autopilot.

"How are you, Annalee? You're looking beautiful in your non-restrictive clothing," Porter said.

"I've been better. The two people I've trusted the most on this planet have been lying to me."

"Jesse swore an oath, Ann. He's a good man. The best," he said, meeting my eyes and then looking back at Annalee. "He's saved my butt more times than I can count."

"We've saved each other," I said. "Now can you stop talking about me like I'm not here?"

She looked over at me. "Explain yourself, then," she said, her tone demanding as she crossed her arms over her perfect breasts.

"When Porter and I were younger, we found a computer."

"The one that got you the tattoo?" she asked. "Porter was with you at the time?"

"That's the one," I said "Porter was smart. He poked at it but said we should leave it where it was. I couldn't resist."

I looked her carefully in the eyes. "I took it home. It still worked. I was fascinated by the beautiful photographs and what it could do. For three wonderful weeks, I kept it under the floorboards in my room and learned how to use it when I had spare time. I hardly slept. My family was starting to wonder what was going on."

Annalee glanced at Porter, who was staring into space. He knew what came next.

"Then they found it."

"Who?"

"The Bureau of Purity. It was a standard search. They conduct them regularly."

"That sounds impossible. How could they find it? Surely they wouldn't look under all the floorboards in every house?"

I shook my head. "No. That's where their hypocrisy comes in, Annalee. The Bureau of Purity uses technology to find contraband technology."

"What?" she said, in outrage. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

I winced. I still wasn't used to hearing profanity in a woman.

"Sorry," she said. "Are you kidding me?"

"He's right," Porter interjected. "I worked for the Bureau for three years. When I left, I had a high clearance level. I learned about the types of technology they use. They don't hesitate to eliminate anyone if they suspect you'll reveal their secrets."

"How did someone that's part of the Underground end up working for the Bureau?" Annalee asked.

"That's coming later," I said. "They found the computer in my room, and I'm sure my guilty face told them everything they needed to know."

"You didn't look guilty at all. You looked angry that someone had taken your toy away."

I laughed. "A little of both, I suppose. A year later, someone approached me in the woods and offered to teach me some secrets if I joined the Underground. At that point, I understood the risks more clearly."

"It took him nearly half a decade before he finally gave in," Porter said. "I'd been working for them for a couple of years before he relented."

"How did you end up with the Bureau?"

"I went undercover. I learned a lot of information and somehow escaped with my life. I keep under the radar now and live in the shadows. If they find me, they're not going to do anything nice to me."

Annalee looked horrified.

"That's why you hid when the Bureau showed up at the inn. I thought you were a coward."

"The laws here are no joking matter, Annalee." I stood and walked over to her. I took her hands and gazed into her eyes, hoping she could understand. "I trust you realize how close you came to death."

"I know," she whispered, her face white.

"I'm not sure you do. It was reckless of you to bring a phone here in the first place. Once you saw the man killed, why would you keep it?"

"I..." She turned away. "You'll probably think it's silly. But I made a promise to a child to keep his picture with me wherever I went. It was stupid, I guess."

"You can call it silly, or stupid, or whatever," I said gently. "If it happens again, we might not be able to rescue you."

"I'm sorry. I never thought my actions would affect someone else. Does this mean they're coming after you too?"

I nodded. I wasn't sorry for myself, but I felt sad for my father.

"I am a horrible person," she said, sitting down in the co-pilot's seat. "I always thought I was a good daughter, but the truth is I resented my mother and how she wasted our money."

Her eyes filled with tears. "Now I've taken away the only thing you ever wanted."

She put her hands over her face, silently sobbing.

I looked at Porter helplessly. "Annalee, I never would have been good at farm life. I belong with the Underground. You helped me realize it. I would do it all over again if I had to."

"You said that you and Porter can't take any more missions like this."

I put my hand on her cheek. "I meant we didn't like worrying about the prisoner. We've never had to break out someone who was important to us. All our rescue missions had been for strangers before."

"Oh," she whispered. "You two care about me?" She looked back and forth between us and dropped her head, looking bashful.

"Porter's your friend," I said. "I am another friend and your husband. Of course we care about you."

She nodded silently, seemingly overcome by her emotions.

Porter coughed. "Anyway," I said, returning to the original topic of conversation. "I joined the Underground, and I've been working for them since then. I don't advertise the fact, of course. I somehow believed that I could do both forever. I was a fool."

"It's all my fault," Annalee began, looking anguished again.

"No, Annalee. A man must choose his side. He can't straddle two worlds. He has to make a decision and stick with it. It was time for me to choose..."

"But…"

I continued if she hadn't spoken, making sure to meet her eyes. "...and I have."

Porter looked up as the monitor began to flash.

"We'll be landing soon," he said, turning in his chair and tapping at the console.

"Where are we going?" Annalee asked.

I gazed out the window down into the forest. Even though I couldn't see anything yet, I knew the place like the back of my hand. I would know it in my sleep.

"The Underground headquarters."

ANNALEE

"Just give me a minute," I said.

Jesse seemed like he wanted to fix something between us, but eventually, he nodded his head and let me go. I wanted to be alone right now. I made my way to the bedroom where I found my new clothes and flopped back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

What I learned in the past half hour left my head spinning. I tried to list everything out so I could make sense of things.

First of all, Jesse and Porter had risked their lives to get me out of the clutches of the Bureau of Purity men.

Second, to do that meant Jesse was giving up everything he and his father wanted. Surprisingly, he didn't seem too upset. I guess Jesse meant what he said: it was time for him to choose a side. He couldn't be a traditionalist by day and part of the Underground by night, like a Yordbrook Batman. I imagined the double life was tearing him apart.

Third, we were all on the run now, including me. I had inadvertently broken the law on this planet. Being a criminal wasn't something I had intentionally done before. It would make it harder to get off-planet when it was time. Maybe the Underground could help. I wondered if they had ships taking off and landing on a semi-regular basis.

Fourth, I wondered what was going to happen when we arrived. The two men certainly seemed excited to get there.

I stopped listing things when I started thinking about how comfortable and practical pants are. There was a gentle bump and the sound of the hovercraft powering down.

We had arrived.

As I stepped out of the hovercraft (without any man's help, I might add), I drew in a sharp gasp. Everything looked normal here. Outside was a large hanger. After only a few steps, we arrived at something that appeared to be the main control room.

The enormous space was curved, and there were screens on all the wall. The displays showed various places on Yordbrook. One screen focused on the space station that was the main way on or off-planet.

People stood in the middle of the room. They worked on consoles floating around them, speaking into the air.

"Okay, stop right now," I said, and both Porter and Jesse turned surprised faces my way. "How in the name of all that's holy does this planet have any level of modern technology?"

JESSE

It was better to tell her everything now, so she knew the entire story of my planet. I had given her a shock earlier, and seeing her look of betrayal hurt my soul. I didn't want to keep any secrets from her.

No one had approached us yet. I led her to an unoccupied bench. We sat down together.

"Remember one thing about us," I said. "Our planet is not a Phase 1 world. We are no longer a developing civilization. We are a Phase 3 world that chooses not to use technology that we once had."

Annalee nodded silently.

"In the beginning was The Before Times. We call the time after the bombs The Between Times. We rarely mention The Between Times. What happened then doesn't fit well with our current version of history."

Porter spoke up. "An interim government arose during The Between Times. There was a dramatic decrease in population, but the people who survived wanted to get their old lives back."

"There was a problem," I said, reclaiming the narrative. "The biggest challenge facing the government was whether we should return to the old ways that led to the destruction or choose a new path. A few people wanted to go back to The Before Times. But a majority thought that was a mistake, and voted to adopt a simpler way of life."

"That's how Yordbrook ended up this way?" Annalee asked.

"Yes," Porter said. "Ever since those times, there has always been a minority who believed we made the wrong decision. When we constructed the official government and passed laws restricting technology, the Underground was born as well."

"We are merely the current leaders. One day, we hope for an open-minded regent who will grant us an audience and begin negotiations with the Underground."

"Wow," Annalee said.

"There are rumors that our planet's leaders want to reintroduce technology, but the timing has never been correct. Since we don't have an inside source, we think they're fantasies," Porter said with a shrug.

"These headquarters are hundreds of years old and were built right after the bombing. We kept the hovercraft running. They are all vintage, perfectly maintained ships from The Before Times," I said, looking around as I spoke.

"With state-of-the-art modern cloaking technology, of course," Porter added.

"I can't believe it," Annalee said.

"It's true." I was looking for Sheera. I found her barking orders at someone. The three of us and our fourth partner, Dayne, were the Underground leadership.

ANNALEE

My mind reeled as I contemplated the backward history of Yordbrook. Meanwhile, an excited hum buzzed through the room. A pants-wearing woman came over to us.

"Jesse," she said. "Porter. Welcome back. I see you've brought someone with you."

"I'm coming back to stay, Sheera."

Her eyebrows lifted. "Are you, now?"

"We had to extract Annalee from the Bureau. They'll be looking for me when they realize I disappeared the same day they lost my wife."

"Wife?" she asked.

"We were recently married."

She looked at me. "You're not from around here, are you sweetie?" The endearment grated on my ears.

"How did you guess?"

"You wear those pants like you were born in them. Most Yordbrook women come to like them eventually, but if this were your first encounter with them, you'd look a lot more uncomfortable."

"Sheera," Jesse said, trying to take control of the situation again. "This is Annalee, my wife. Annalee, this is Sheera, one of the other Underground leaders. She's in charge of Headquarters."

"Nice to meet you," I said, holding out my hand to shake.

Sheera looked surprised. "You really aren't from Yordbrook, are you?" she asked, taking my hand and shaking firmly. "It will be fun to have another modern woman around here."

Her face looked pleased, but I was getting a strange vibe from her.

"We've had only a little sleep," Jesse said. "We're all exhausted, Sheera. I think we'll head over to our quarters now. We can debrief in the morning."

"I'm happy to see you again and to meet you, Annalee."

I nodded and smiled blankly. At the mention of bed, I realized I could barely hold myself up. I tried not show it, but suddenly keeping myself upright was taking all my strength.

Porter was only a few doors away from us. We said goodnight and retired to our rooms.

"I've missed showers," I said as Jesse closed the door. Sweat drenched my clothes. The temperature in here was much higher than outside. He opened another small door that opened into a private bathroom.

"Here you go."

"Is this bathroom just for us?"

"Yes."

"We have a toilet and a shower and everything?"

"You'll find soap, shampoo and anything else you might need."

"I feel like I've died and gone to heaven," I said.

Jesse grinned. "Not yet. But you will once I get you in my bed," he said. I narrowed my eyes.

"If you think I'm doing anything else except having a shower, you are gravely mistaken," I said. No one was getting between me and that shower, not even the sexy man in front of me. "I need to sleep, and so do you."

"Oh no. Take your shower and get nice and clean. I have plans for us."

My skin heated at the thought. I knew I was blushing.

"You do?"

I shivered and hurried into the bathroom.

"No need to dress when you come out," he called from the other room. "You won't need any clothes."