"We can't stay here," he said. "Not long term."

All three of them nodded agreement.

"We know," Reema said. "We've all been thinking about it."

He looked at her.

"Meela said you had an idea, but that you weren't sure I'd like it."

He'd been meaning to bring that up for days, but had been too comfy just spending his time alone with them. He hadn't wanted to trouble himself with it.

Lazy is what I've been.

Reema looked down at the floor.

"It would mean leaving Earth. Probably forever."

Meela and Seema looked like they were watching for his reaction.

He took a breath and flipped around on the couch, laying his head in Seema's lap and staring up at her.

"Somewhere else, huh? I've never been very attracted to Mars. Too cold all the time."

Meela shook her head.

"Mars wouldn't work. If they found out we were there, they'd never leave us alone. There's never been a single catgirl approved for a Martian citizen. Europa has more or less the same problem, plus there's only a couple of million people there. Too hard to be lost in the crowd."

Probably why they're bidders I guess. I should pay more attention to politics.

The two others got up and sat on the floor beside him and Seema.

"What we need," said Meela, "is somewhere that we could be useful, and where they need hands more than they need money or prestige. Somewhere that being a member of the community meant everything."

"Is there such a thing?"

That sounded more like some place from 400 years ago than anywhere he could think of.

"On Earth, not a lot. Some of the traditional low-tech communities maybe, but they would never welcome the three of us," Reema said sadly. "Plus of course we'd never be safe here anyway."

"You'd look great in Amish bonnets and dresses though," he said.

Seema smiled and laid her hand on his stomach.

"What we would need are idealists," Meela said. "People who care more about what they're trying to do than about status and money."

"I'm not sure there's any such thing," he said again.

"Not here on Earth, no," Reema said. "The Belt is more independent and anarchic, but there are too many Earth corps with claims there. We wouldn't be safe." Then she grinned and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"What we could do is leave this whole damned solar system behind."

Her voice was surprisingly intense. He turned his head to look at her, and she didn't back away. Her eyes were unusually fierce. He was used to her being the most restrained of the three.

"You say that like it has real meaning to you."

She nodded.

"We found our master, but every way we look at it there are powerful people here who are going to try to take you away from us. They won't ever stop. There's no way to stay here and be safe. Ever."

It was the same issue he'd worried about with them before. The stress of there being no clear solution to keeping their master safe wasn't good for them. It went against everything they were made to do.

So they want to put me on a spaceship and head out into the darkness. That way nobody will be trying to split us up ever again.

Even if it was possible, it was a pretty extreme solution to an admittedly intractable problem. Or intractable from their perspective at least.

"Is there such a thing? Where do we grab this starship that will take us away from all of our worries?"

But he already suspected he knew the answer.

"The Oort colonies, master. It is well-known that they're building several generation ships."

Generation ships. Big, slow starships that would take actual generations to reach another solar system. Hundreds of years spent in little enclosed worlds that would travel between the stars, and eventually fill a new system with life.

Earth's own sperm cells, fertilizing the stars one at a time.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The Oort colonies were far, far out from the sun. Most of them were way out past the orbits of Neptune or Pluto. They had created their own loose societies out there, making their way by settling the distant, dark icy little worlds that circled the sun in their trillions. They traded with the inner solar system of course, but they mainly kept to themselves and tended to whatever their business was.

He looked over at Meela.

"How do you feel about this idea? I don't really know much about them. Who even thinks about them?"

She nodded.

"That's what makes it such an interesting option. Reema and I have been studying what there is to know about the Oort colonies."

Mike really had never given them a lot of thought. They were their own little civilization out there past the edge of the solar system, and apart from being mysterious bad guys in games and shows, they didn't have a lot to do with most people's lives. They were usually tall and thin like belters, but he'd only ever seen one or two in real life. They were far enough away that no ordinary person gave them much real thought.

"What is there to know?"

Reema perked up.

"They seem very practical. The ones who are working on making the ships to sail across space to the other suns at least. I feel as if they don't think very much like people do here on Earth. Most of their trade is in tech, and they're always looking for upgrades and new discoveries."

"I think they would be very interested in what we could do," Meela said.

You bet, he thought. Enough so that they're bidding for you right now.

Part of him wanted to tell them the truth, but that was going to open up a huge can of worms. It would mean admitting that he was still working to sell them away.

He sat up again, frowning.

It felt like - it was, in one sense - a betrayal. From their perspective. Since they were working hard on finding a way for them all to stay together.

Though maybe the Oort colonies won't just tear them apart. It would be a relief to know that.

But of course the way Aventine was setting things up, only one of them would get to go to possible safety. The other two might not have it so easy.

On top of which I am going to have to order them to accept their fates.

He knew they would do it.

But who gets to go to the one buyer who might not spend years dissecting them?

"Master?"

He realized he was staring up at the ceiling with his hands clenched together tightly.

"Sorry," he said. "I'm just worried about everything. Tell me more about it."

He only half-listened to them all explaining the setup of the Oort societies. They were scattered, loosely affiliated colonies derived from Belters and various research stations that had managed to create self-sufficient societies far out on the edge. They mined, manufactured, and created new places to live. Apparently some of those places were big and warm and full of plants and water and light now. Which didn't sound so bad, but it was all very remote from anything Mike had ever thought about.

Their light-time communications with the inner solar system took dozens of hours or even days. They were about as offline as you could get.

Finally Meela must have sensed that he wasn't listening attentively and shushed the other two.

"Master, we apologize. You have a lot on your mind. We're sorry if we were bothering you with this idea."

Seema nodded.

"We will go wherever you want, master. This is just an idea we had. But if you don't like it, we will forget about it completely."

Reema nodded. She obviously felt strongly about this, but she looked at him wide-eyed now.

"I thought maybe we could be together if we went away. Far away. But Seema is right. Our job is to do what you want. I'll stop working on it if it doesn't please you."

She looked distraught, like she thought she had possibly done something wrong.

Mike at least knew how to make them happier by now. He had learned that much. He patted the cushions and let them swarm him. They all burst out purring right away, and he stroked their hair for a while before he said anything.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm thinking just as hard about what to do. You should definitely keep looking into it. More ideas is always better."

Reema looked up at him, worried.

"If you say so, but I don't want to displease you."

He kissed her forehead.

"Nothing you do could displease me. Trust me on this. I want your input. I'm just stressed and probably being an inconsiderate jerk. I apologize if I seemed rude."

Seema looked shocked.

"We would never think that!"

Meela nodded her head vigorously against his shoulder.

"Never," she said. "Just tell us what you need and we'll try to make you feel happier. Maybe we're not very good at it, but we will try."

He sighed.

"Oh my god, girls. You're about the only thing that does make me happy these days. Really really."

Their purring ramped up even louder.

He spent a while enjoying their warmth, then finally told them to go wait for him in bed.

Seema giggled and jumped up instantly, and was followed down the hallway by the other two. They threw their clothes off and tossed them randomly into the air as they went.

He watched after them for a bit, feeling his cock stirring.

First things first, he thought.

He'd grabbed the key from Reema two days ago, and it was already plugged in any waiting on his phone. He stared at the display, considering how to phrase his request - his order - to the "allies" who had found them repeatedly now.

NEED A GOOD FAITH DEMONSTRATION PROVIDE ME WITH THE OWNERS KEY AND COUNTERKEYS WHICH WILL ALLOW A FULL DOWNLOAD OF THEIR AI NETS

He sent the message, and then dropped the phone on the sofa. It would be an impossible request depending on who they really were. DynCorp could do it in theory but he doubted they would be willing to just hand those over. They would probably play dumb. Random Corps or foreign governments were very unlikely to have them.

But somebody on the inside - somebody who had enough production access to sabotage a shipment with a plan to seize the equipment for themselves - someone like that might be placed to get the information he wanted. Which didn't rule out a foreign power of course, but they would be handing him the keys to the most valuable items on all three of the girls. He could at least get a read on them by how they responded.

But just maybe, someone who actually wanted to help might be willing to take a chance. It was worth rolling the dice for that. He wasn't seeing a lot of realistic alternatives in any case, and they were running out of time.

One way or another he was tired of thinking about it. He picked up the phone again, turned it off, and went down the hall to the bedroom.