The machine saluted and remained in that position.Then a hatch on it’s chest opened and three hand sized men appeared, and they saluted again. I not...ced they wore Union Black and I recognized them as Mini Terrans.A magnifying field screen established between me and one of the men said.“Lieutenant Charles Bergdorf and two specialist of the New World Commonwealth reporting for duty, Ma’am. Admiral Rutherford personally sends this Terror Mech. He thinks you might be able to use it and us.”“Welcome. The plastic credit cards would take care of clean clothes along the way. Even there, Marty had done his research. He had purchased and loaded three prepaid Visa cards. He would be carrying the card with the most money. I would be carrying a card with a lesser amount, and a third was to be hidden on his bike just for emergencies. The idea was that if something happened to him, I could use my card to get home. His card would be paying for the expenses of the trip, but if stolen, nothing much. Mutual friends had introduced us. She was clearly out of my league, quite attractive, came from a well-to-do f****y, and somewhat ‘proper’. Nevertheless, we had a connection of sorts. One evening after a movie, she was going through my small library and pulled out my rare copy of Story of ‘O’. ‘What’s this’? she asked. I suggested she read it & find out. When she left, she took it with her. Two weeks later, we were out for dinner. ‘About that book’, she said, ‘is that what you’re into’? I told. I found bread rolls and took it all through.I confined myself to two bowls of soup and two rolls. Robert was half a lap behind already. I paused for breath."That was very good. Just what I needed." I telegraphed a question."You looked like you needed something. We - I have an arrangement with Martha Riches. She provides food when we - I need it. In fact she's looked after us - me for quite a while. Neither of us was domestic, so it suited us. And she'll always help out if I ring and say I've.