Learning Experiences: Lone Huntress, #1

By Andrew L Miller

Uncovering an alien conspiracy aimed at the most influential members of the Federation has certainly done Lisa's career a world of good! Her reputation as a bounty hunter willing to track down and discretely retrieve whatever the client might desire has begun to soar, to the point that planetary leaders have begun to seek out the services of the brutish amazon. Whether it's the geniocratic splendor of New Athens, or the transhumanist exotica of Furcadia,

Lisa has a plethora of new people to encounter, feel incredibly awkward around, and struggle to socialize with. Including more than a few who find her far more attractive than she ever found herself. But every world faces its own unique challenges, be they inhuman (and inhumane) masters of the art of negging and radicalization, covert and amoral entrepreneurs, or xenoarthropods dropping in to make a buffet of the locals. It looks like the reward for a task well done is an even harder task, and Lisa's going to have to learn on the job.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AP MILLER PRODUCTIONS
• Release date: Aug 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201323370

Book preview

Chapter One

Lisa had never actually been in a library before. She owned several libraries, of course; it was always good to have reading material to enjoy when she was on the toilet, or fighting boredom during a long trip. All the knowledge of human civilization was out there for the reading, and even knowledge gleaned from the few friendly alien races of similar development humanity had managed to encounter in the last millennia. She was particularly fond of using the Aksum reader, by preference. Most reader software these days had the auto-editing option as a standard feature, measuring the subject’s comprehension of the text and editing the page to improve said comprehension in real time; Aksum’s auto-editing was the best, she felt. More importantly, she was used to it and didn’t feel like changing programs without a good reason.

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But this was a classic, historical library. This was the kind that had paper books in it, with text that never changed no matter how long you stared at the page. And desks and tables, and everyone encouraged to keep their voices down. It was an anachronism, a relic from ancient times. Just like any other religious or cultural icon. Not because it was necessary, but because it was glorious.

The best part about coming to a world like New Athens was seeing just how far deliberate cultural engineering could go. This planet had been colonized by intellectual elitists. Not wannabe cowboys, not woke environmentalists, not even a massive chunk of population with a shared heritage. The original settlers had considered lab coats to be the pinnacle of fashion, and it showed. Lisa had been people watching, even as she sat there with a book (a paper book! Made of paper!) on her lap, trying to determine the influences on their outfits. It helped that the book’s title was the New Athenian Fashion Boutique: Where Did That Come From? The librarian had even shown Lisa how to use the index to look things up, using her own outfit as an example. Which had also provided a good fifteen minutes’ worth of reading up on turtleneck sweaters, and the back baring variant known as the virgin killer.

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A man had just walked past her in a suit bedecked with a disturbing amount of chrome and brass embroidering, and Lisa had eventually identified the style as Steampunk. That had been fascinating enough on its own, but then had come two more men in togas. Greco-Roman fashions were exquisite when it came to highlighting the male body; Lisa felt the usual pangs of hopeless longing at the sight.

And then... she approached. Lisa glanced up and immediately felt something go ping! in her chest somewhere beneath her hefty mammaries. Long brown hair cascading down her back, straight and unadorned, a pretty face beneath thick black framed spectacles. Her slender body looked so young, and something about her outfit just seemed... fetishistic. Lisa felt her mouth going dry, even as the young woman approached. ...Hi, the fetishistic beauty said, in a voice that sounded almost as shy as Lisa felt.

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The larger, taller, physically imposing young woman gulped and managed the wittiest response she could think of. ...Um. Hi.

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The girl didn’t ask for permission to join. She simply reached out slowly, tentatively pulling out a chair in order to sit down, and Lisa couldn’t help but glance down at those long, coltish legs as they crossed at the knee. The way they flared from the short, pleated skirt. ...Um... what are you reading? the owner of those legs asked.

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Uh... Lisa was finding it difficult to speak. She lifted up the book to brandish the cover for the young woman to read for herself.

...Oh. The young woman bit her lower lip thoughtfully. It was a glossy pink, adding to her youthful allure. Um... my outfit’s based on twentieth century school uniforms... she volunteered helpfully.

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Lisa looked her over again, more boldly, at the invitation to ogle. The tan sweater vest, the white shirt collar and long white shirt sleeves. The short, pleated skirt. ...You mean... the Dark Times? And instantly Lisa felt like kicking herself for blurting out something so potentially offensive.

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The young woman in the schoolgirl outfit blushed, smiling shyly. Um... yeah. They were really... repressed. Sexually. Rigid gender roles, a lot of talk about traditional family values. Repressed cultures made some of the hottest outfits... um... She blushed more deeply upon admitting that she’d chosen her attire specifically in order to appear sexually enticing.

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Lisa barely even noticed. That shy smile had seemed to light up the room. It had definitely lit up something inside of her. She nodded in agreement. Yes. Aren’t there still military uniforms being based on Third Reich standards? Suddenly it was her turn to blush, realizing she’d just mentioned one of the nastier regimes of the Dark Times.

Yeah. Especially with planetary defense forces. It doesn’t take much to make them more palatable, once you take away the skulls and those swastika things. The young woman sounded a little more relaxed now, as the conversation continued.

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Well, it has been over a thousand years, Lisa agreed. You might as well be offended by togas.

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Oh, I bet a toga can get pretty foul mouthed when it gets drunk, the girl teased, then tensed slightly as braced for a poor reaction to the attempt at humor. When it didn’t come, when Lisa just grinned at the joke, the girl smiled more brightly and added, ...My name’s Sara.

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I’m Lisa, came the response. And that was how it all began. With a discussion of fashion trends and ancient history. And then it went on to educational systems, and Lisa was mildly surprised to learn that Sara was actually several years older than she was, despite her alluringly youthful appearance. And then a discourse on adapting technology to suit cultural traditions. And by that time it was beginning to near dinner time, and Lisa had only just arrived on the planet.

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Would you... do you want to have dinner with me? Sara stammered so cutely, when Lisa

mentioned the time and her mounting hunger. Um. I mean. At my place. I can cook for us. If you want.

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I’d like that, Lisa nodded, and stood up with the book clutched in one hand.

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Sara gasped softly, and Lisa immediately froze at this reminder of her size, her build. The fact that even an average male found her size intimidating. She glanced down at Sara to see her reaction.

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Sara’s expression was heart achingly familiar. Lisa had seen that expression on more than one face since adulthood. The expression that reminded Lisa exactly what sort of over-sized freak she had made of herself. ...Wow... Sara breathed softly. Then she blushed beet red and gulped. Um. Um. I mean... wow... you’re...

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I know, Lisa sighed, suppressing the urge to charge out of the library like a frightened bovine. It takes getting used to.

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"I could get used to it really fast," Sara breathed, still staring with that same expression. That same, heart achingly familiar expression that Lisa had always associated with disgust, revulsion, and fear.

But it was the first time that she had ever heard someone speak up while wearing that expression. And for the first time in her life, Lisa found herself reconsidering what that particular expression really meant, when people wore it while looking at her.

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And Sara was adding something else to that expression. The wide eyes and the mouth gaping wide remained standard first impression of Lisa expression, but the corners of that open mouth were curling slightly. Now it made Lisa think of the last time she had been on Kunlun, and treated herself to another Six Six Six Frozen Paradise, in nostalgic memory of her first time with Brock. The way other people had looked at her massive metabolic bomb with awe and ravenous desire.

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And now Sara’s looking at me like I’m a Six Six Six Frozen Paradise?

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And for the first time, Lisa was beginning to wonder if perhaps she had more in common with the largest and most expensive dessert in the Kunlun spaceport, than just being the largest thing on the menu.

Chapter Two

Sara’s apartment could be considered to be in the nicer part of town, except that Lisa hadn’t seen anything that could be considered anything less than nice. There were no large domiciles, no single family residences. Everything appeared to be palatial apartments with all the amenities. It made her wonder what sort of economic system they used.

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Parking was on the rooftops, as a rule. Parking structures for the skycars on every rooftop, bridges between buildings much as with Kunlun, and yet with a rather different architecture. Not quite as built up, for starters; Kunlun was literally nine layers of streets, whereas the New Athenian capital was a large suburban sprawl by comparison.

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Sara didn’t say much during the elevator ride to her floor. She appeared to be nervous, even as she gave Lisa the occasional glance and reassuring smile. But when the door to her apartment opened and Lisa stumbled in after her, her guest couldn’t help but marvel at the sight. This... is that an art display? Lisa gasped incredulously. Or is that the wall? She stepped closer, not quite daring to

touch the transparent surface containing the mass of packed dirt.

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Yes, Sara answered mildly, a smug little grin on her face as she watched her guest’s fascination with the wall. Behind the transparent surface the intricate series of tunnels formed in the soil made for a magnificent abstract design.

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Lisa watched the small insects scurrying through the tunnels on their appointed tasks. Those are colony insects, right? she wondered, looking to see if she could find the chamber with the queen.

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Yes. Harvester ants. From Earth, Sara said. They help enrich the soil for the terrace gardens on the building. She left Lisa observing the movements of the ants while she headed for the kitchen to begin the meal preparation. Seeing the ants helps to remind us of how civilization functions.

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Lisa thought she had found the queen. It looked to be larger than the others. And the others were... swarming over it. She understood why, of course. It wasn’t moving, staying put as the other ants did things to it and around it. Just like a BEM queen. What do you mean? she asked, while watching

the insects feeding and grooming and caring for their reproductive unit.

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Hold on. Let me finish getting dinner going. It was a few minutes before Sara had finished setting the parameters for the kitchen drones, but then she was able to return to the living room as a small army of robots set to work under the central control of the kitchen computer. Ingredients were removed from cold storage, sliced, minced, browned, set to roast, and otherwise handled with mechanical efficiency. Leaving Sara to focus on her guest.

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They both sat down on her coach before continuing the discussion, and Sara was more than happy to share about her culture. Isaac Newton once said, If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. She paused a moment, then smiled as she delivered the punchline to what was clearly an old joke for her. "He stole that from Bernard of Chartres. Which is the point. We build on what others have done.

Those who came before us... Here she waved her hand at the room, at the wall with the ant colony, and at the window through which the city was a magnificent sight all its own, even in the darkening twilight. ...And those who live alongside us today."