Noisy and crowded but the professional dancers were very good. There were 2 dancers, an intermission, and 2 more dancers. Then they announced an amate...ur hour. The contestants were required to start with their street clothes and strip down to nothing except their panties. The winner to be chosen by audience applause and would get $500 in cash. She had the option of stripping naked after being selected as the winner, in which case the prize would be $800. Tom asked if I’d volunteer – he said I. I looked around the room, puzzled, then my brain whirred into life. The room, the smells, the bed, my oily hair. It all clicked into place. I sat up and called out, ‘Who wants me?’ Rebekka breezed in uninvited and set a large tray on the side table, threw back the curtains and promptly climbed into bed next to me, uninvited. ‘I do,’ she purred, then in an annoyingly bright and cheerful voice she chirped: ‘But c’mon sweetie, it’s 10:30 and you need some breakfast to restore your energy first.’. She crewed sixty. Though she was not particularly impressive to look at and though she was downright uncomfortable to serve in, she and her sister ships were among the most sophisticated and expensive machines ever built by mankind. They and their EastHem counterparts, the Henry's, possessed an ability that no other spacecraft could; the ability to move and work in space undetected by the sensors of other spacecraft.Large spacecraft such as the California Class super dreadnoughts, or the. I wondered why I hadn't noticed it before."He said when I see the bright light, I had to enter it. If I waited too long, I would be trapped here forever. It used to be so bright that if we were looking at it with eyes, it would have blinded us for sure. He said if I didn't pass through tonight... Tim, I won't be able to help you after I pass through. And I don't... " Okay... I understand. Tell me everything you know, then maybe if you have time afterwards I can ask you questions?" Yeah, that.