Chapter 1. The Acquisition.

A hush settled over the congregated members of the Council of Sharazeem as the Grand Master entered the room. "Welcome everyone" he said. " As you will all be aware, we are in a difficult situation regarding our equine stock. It seems that the outbreak of equus equinia that swept through our herd has created a strange anomaly, namely that, although the stallions are unaffected, the mares are unable to produce fillies. The situation of finding fillies to replace our dwindling stocks of racing and show ponies, though desperate, is not yet critical. But I don’t need to tell you the effect it will have on the industry with the loss of jobs involved if a solution is not found. So I fervently hope that a council member has arrived at a way forward."

There was murmuring from around the table, everyone had their own opinion but nobody wanted to actually voice theirs. The situation was too serious for any error and the subsequent loss of face that failure would entail.

"I think I may have a solution Grand Master" said a rather timid voice. Everyone looked at who had spoken, Mistress Granja Vargan, the newest member of the ruling body, a look of expectancy on their faces. "Go on" said the Grand Master eagerly.

"I have been scouring the galaxy and have come across a very minor planet called earth," she paused, and then quickly resumed as she sensed that she held her audience captive. "I have scanned this earth and have found that it is almost identical in every way to Sharazeem, although it is way behind us in technology." "Continue Mistress Vargan" said the Grand Master.

"My suggestion is that we transport one or two of their females to see whether they are capable of being trained for our purposes and if so whether there are breeding possibilities". She hesitated slightly, "I didn’t want to bring this to the Council’s attention without further research, so I have taken the liberty of presenting a report of all my research into life on earth." The document was some 500 pages long and contained almost every conceivable piece of information required in order to determine whether transportation of earth females was warranted. It even included a section that stated that some earthlings practised the art of human equines, although this activity was thought to be perverse by many. The consensus of opinion was that it was worth the risk, but that they would transport just one earth female in the first instance.

* * *

Madam Begana Ligren, owner of the Ligren Stables, was deciding which of her charges she should enter into which race at the forthcoming meeting at Ouric when the call came through; The Grand Master of the ruling council along with another council member would be visiting her establishment later that day. Madam Ligren was not one to panic, she had had spot checks on her stables by a number of organisations, the Animal Welfare Service of Sharezeem (AWSS), the Horse Racing Board (HRB), the Equine Breeding Association (EBA) and the Department of Veterinary Medicine (DVM). No one from any of the organisations had ever found anything untoward, but the Ruling Council was another matter. She thought back over the last few months, had anything gone wrong? Had she upset anyone? As she was unable to think of anything she waited patiently for the arrival of the Grand Master and the other member of the Council.

At around 11 am the entourage arrived at her gates, she hurried to meet them. "This is an honour Grand Master, you are all most welcome." The Grand Master shook her hand and said "may I introduce Mistress Granja Vargan from the Council?" After the formal introductions were complete, the Grand Master explained the purpose of their visit. "We may have come across a solution to our equine problem, namely we are going to introduce a filly from another planet and your stables have been highly recommended to carry out the training of the new animal." He turned to Mistress Vargan, "anything you wish to add?" "No Grand Master."

Madam Ligren suggested that perhaps they might like a tour round the stables. This suggestion was taken up with pleasure. They first visited the kitchens where it was explained that not only was the food for the staff prepared there but also the food for the horses, such was the care taken with their welfare. The hospital was next on the tour; here they saw a stallion having a broken leg mended. Then they moved on to the stalls and met with the ponies themselves. There were just three fillies in the stalls as the rest were being exercised. They spent a few minutes with each, petting and stroking and being nuzzled in return.

Finally they went across to the stallions’ quarters, where there was only one in the stalls. Mistress Vargan went over to pet him and when she saw the size of his flaccid member went quite weak at the knees. She moved away quickly before anyone saw how flustered she was. With Madam Ligren’s assurances ringing in their ears the Ruling Council members went back highly satisfied that all was in place to receive their new addition.

* * *

Jill Meadows was enjoying a nice country walk. She entered the woods looking at the various plants and trees, listening to the birds singing overhead and generally ambling along in a relaxed way. She was so engrossed in all that was going on around her, that she wasn’t looking where she was going and tripped over a raised tree root.

She had the sensation of falling for a very long way. At the end of the fall she landed on the ground with a resounding thump. Picking herself up and dusting herself down she looked around, everything seemed the same, same trees and plants, same birdsong, yet there seemed to be something different, she wasn’t sure what.

The watching members of the Council of Sharazeem held their breath, although nobody outside the room could possibly have heard them. They waited to see how Jill Meadows would react to the situation. She had been carefully chosen to be the first guinea pig and if successful there would be further earth females following her. They had been extremely careful in their selection when choosing Jill. She was young, single, and, having been brought up in an orphanage, had no family. She also had very few friends to go looking for her.

At that moment, Jill became aware that she was being challenged, as two men appeared. "Hey! You there, girl, what are you doing?" She looked up and striding towards her were two men in uniform, a uniform that she didn’t recognise. "Are you Jill Meadows?" The first man continued. "Well, yes, but who are you and how do you know who I am?" Neither man replied to that. "You are to come with us, you have been expected" and with that they grabbed Jill by the arms and marched her along to a hut just beyond the trees. After consulting with their superior, she was placed in a motorised buggy and driven to a large complex. She noticed that it was a police headquarters. It was then that she started feeling that everything was not as it should be - she had lived in the area for about a year and had never seen buildings like these before.

Once inside, she was put into a room 6 feet wide by 8 feet long with very high ceilings and no windows. There was a desk with three chairs. Also, impossibly, there was no sign of a door. The room was well lit, yet Jill could see no light fittings or switches.

While Jill was being transferred to the interrogation complex the Grand Master and Mistress Vargan came down from the Council Chamber in the state building, in order to carry out the induction of Jill Meadows into her new life. The Council had discussed this at length and had decided that the matter was too important to leave to minor officials. Mistress Vargan although seemingly at ease with everything, was in fact, quivering with fear and trepidation in case anything was to go wrong. If all went well she would be held in great esteem, but if her plan should fail then her position on the Council would be seriously undermined. She figuratively squared her shoulders and entered the room with the Grand Master.

The Grand Master asked Jill to say whether or not her name was Jill Meadows, that she lived at 13 Richmond Gardens and that she was 18 years old, all of which she confirmed. They had to be absolutely sure that she was the right person. She asked again who they were and why was she here. "This is the planet Sharezeem, I am the Grand Master and this lady is Mistress Vargan, a member of the Sharezeem Council." He paused to let this sink in and continued. "As you will have seen in your short time here, it is extremely similar to your own planet earth. Although we are many light years from each other, we did recreate the wood you were walking in so that you would believe you had just tripped and fallen."

Jill was stunned, how could this be, she had just tripped and fallen and by the time she had picked herself up only a few seconds could have passed. "I don’t believe you" she said, although a little uncertainly. She remembered that a police headquarters had appeared where none had been before. The men who took her there were also in uniforms that she had never seen before. No, she was dreaming, she would wake up in a moment and all would be back to normal. She pinched herself. She was awake. "What do you want with me?" Once again she asked the question. This time, unfortunately, she would get an answer.

"We will explain everything to you in human terms", said the Grand Master. "We have a species of animal on this planet known as Sharezeem equines, you would call them human equines. Now, our stallions are well preserved and going from strength to strength, it is the fillies that are in danger of becoming extinct." He paused and studied Jill intently; he could see the look of disbelief on her face. "You intend me to become one of your horses?" She spat the words out. "No way! Not in a million years." "I’m afraid that no is not a word that you will be allowed to use anymore," the Grand Master said sharply, "as of now you will do exactly, as you are told." He went on a little more kindly, "we haven’t taken this decision lightly, but we cannot let our equine species die out. You are not our last hope but you are definitely one of our last hopes".

"We will be taking you from here to your new home, the stables of Ligren, our premier training establishment." Jill made one final, futile attempt to escape even though she hadn’t any idea what she would do if she had succeeded. She darted around the desk only to be stopped short as though she had run into a brick wall. Mistress Vargan was holding a small box in her hand and was pointing it at Jill. This box, which all Sharezeemians carried, was capable of dealing with any situation, as Jill was about to find out. "Please sit down while we continue. If you misbehave again it will be very painful for you." Jill was still recovering her breath after running into the invisible brick wall. As she had no wish for further pain she sat looking fearfully at her captors.

"Now where were we," the Grand Master murmured, "ah, yes the stables of Ligren." Mistress Vargan continued with the information. "As you are very important to us, we will be escorting you personally to the stables and seeing you installed in your quarters. You will be receiving the very best training that is available and The Grand Master, myself or another member of the ruling Council will monitor your progress on a daily basis." She paused, then added "just one more thing, you will not speak while you are an equine." So saying, she produced the small box she had used earlier and touched Jill’s throat. Jill mouthed a number of suggestions of an obscene nature regarding what they could do with the Sharazeem equines, but unfortunately the box that Mistress Vargan pointed at her throat had rendered Jill incapable of uttering anything except whinnies.