Rex Harrison sat in the back of the bar. He always sat with his back to the wall so he could watch the door. Rex didn't like surprises. Whenever the bar door slid open, Rex glared over the top of his beer, watching for opportunity or threat. When the four women entered the bar, Rex identified opportunity.

All four appeared to be in their young twenties. Two of them were mildly attractive, one with blond hair, one a brunette. They were wearing nearly-identical spacer uniforms of a style Rex hadn't seen before. He guessed they were from the new ship at station, the one no one seemed to know anything about.

But women are women, and Rex was used to easily learning exactly what he liked to know about women: whether they liked it rough or gentle. Nothing else mattered to him.

Rex waited for the women to get settled at a table and order their drinks. He noticed they appeared alert, watching the bar's other patrons, but not making eye contact with anyone. He decided they were shy, but curious, exactly what he would expect from a group of girls out for their first adventure away from their home world. So many sights, so little time. This should be easier than usual, he decided.

He got up and brushed past their table on the way to the jukebox. On the way past, he glanced at the women, making brief eye contact with one of them. He smiled as he slipped past them.

Rex took his time picking out several songs on the jukebox. He ignored the table of women, but felt eyes looking his way. Rex knew he had that effect on women, and he was good at using it to his advantage. Rex made enough selections to keep the music going for quite a while, then wandered back towards his corner booth, passing the women's table again.

As he came abreast of their table, he stopped. He hadn't been looking at them, so the sudden stop immediately drew the attention of the four women at the table. He backed up a step, then turned to look at them, leaning gentle on their table. He smiled.

"Excuse me," he said. "I had forgotten how much I like this song. Would one of you care to dance?" He smiled his award-winning smile, showing off his chin to good effect.

The four women looked at him with shocked expressions. The attractive blond actually glared at him. The four looked at him, then looked at each other, then back at him and began laughing.

This was not the sort of reaction Rex was used to. Swooning, yes, sighing, yes, but not laughing.

"Oh. Well, I guess that's a 'no'."

Shot down, he thought, backing away from his table and turning towards the back of the bar. Well, can't win them all, other fish in the sea . . .

"Hey," he heard from behind him. Rex stopped. "What's your name?"

Hmm. Maybe not shot down after all. Maybe they're just even more inexperienced than he thought. Rex turned to see all four were looking at him.

"Rex," he said with a small smile. "Rex Harrison." Rex paused, deciding whether to offer to shake hands. Some women liked the offer, some didn't know what to do about it. What the heck. He held out his hand.

The four women looked at him. Rex had just decided he had made another mistake when one of the women -- not one of the attractive ones -- reached across the table and took his hand. Rex squeezed gently, just strongly enough. From long practice, he knew how to get his message across: I'm a real man, but I know how to be gentle with a woman. He felt his hand squeezed in return, equally firmly.

Well, surprise, surprise, Rex thought.

"You can call me Ms. Wilkins, Mr. Harrison. I'll dance with you."

Rex smiled. They all look alike in the dark, he decided. The woman got up from the table. Without looking back to see if Rex was following, she turned to the dance floor. Rex caught up with her just as she stepped onto the wooden floor.

Before they could set a bad precedent of dancing without touching, Rex reached out and pulled the woman into his arms. He felt her resist at first, then she laughed and allowed Rex to wrap his arms around her. They started moving.

Rex was not a stupid man. He had his passions, and he had learned how to satisfy them. There were things women liked, and Rex knew how to deliver, at least long enough to get what he wanted. So he had learned to dance without stepping on their toes. And he had learned just the right pitch in his voice: low, but not too low. While they danced, he talked into the woman's ear.

"Please," he told her. "Call me Rex. 'Mr. Harrison' seems so formal."

The woman laughed again. Rex didn't really like gigglers, but admitted she had a nice laugh. "Mr. Harrison," she told him. "We're formal on Dawson's Star. Maybe later I'll tell you my name, but not yet."

"You're from the ship no one seems to know anything about, then? From Dawson's Star? I don't know if I've even heard of that world before."

"I'm not surprised," she said after a moment. "We've pretty much kept to ourselves."

"But now you're here," Rex purred. Women like a man who can purr, he knew.

He felt the smile in her voice. "Yes, now we're here, looking for trade."

Rex paused before answering, then noticed Ms. Wilkins was trying to lead. He ignored her attempts and pulled her with him across the dance floor.

"What do you think of Microsoft Station," he asked her. "Is this your first visit?"

"Yes. It's very . . . different from what we're used to," she replied after a moment. She leaned away from him for a moment so she could look at him. Rex looked into her brown eyes and decided maybe they were kind of pretty. But Rex wasn't an eyes guy. He was interested in parts further south. "The men here are different from the men back home. You're certainly different."

Rex smiled before pulling her back into place where he could whisper into her ear again. "I'm unique, Ms. Wilkins."

The two continued in this fashion through another song before Rex decided it was time for the next stage. When the second song ended, he took her hand. "Let's go talk," he said, pulling her from the floor.

Again, he felt resistance from her, but she caught up quickly and grabbed his arm. They arrived at her table, three pairs of eyes watching their every moment. Ms. Wilkins reached across the table with her free hand and grabbed her drink, then pulled Rex towards his own table in the back.

You little minx, he thought as she gave him a gentle push towards the nearest chair while she took the place he had occupied. Rex's back was to the room, which made him uncomfortable.

"You're in my chair," he told her.

"I know," she told him, sliding the drink across the table. "Now you have to pay attention to me instead of everyone else in the bar." She paused. "Or did I misunderstand? Was it one of my cousins you really wanted to talk to?"

"No, no," he told her quickly. "Tell me about yourself."

Rex did his best to look attentive as the woman spoke. He smiled at all the right places, and remembered just enough details so he could convince her he had hung on every word. In the meantime, he decided on his next course of action -- how to impress her.

From long experience, Rex knew women were willing to talk about him, but they did so only to impress him with how interested they were in him. With most women, his dark looks and hours in the gym were enough to lure them to his bed. Rex decided this woman was maybe a bit different, so he knew he would have to be careful. He could talk about himself, but only a little, as if he were modest. The trick was to pick the right story, tell it briefly, then act embarrassed at any questions and turn the conversation to something philosophical.

" . . . everyone seemed to make a big deal of it," Rex said modestly. "But I figure I was just in the right place, if you know what I mean." The woman nodded. "If you think about it, that's what life is, being in the right place at the right time. What do you think?"

The conversation continued. Whenever Ms. Wilkins tried to turn the conversation over to Rex, he said something philosophical, then got her talking again. The strong, silent type always works, he knew.

Finally, she paused before speaking. "Rex, I like you," she said. "I hope you'll call me Karen."

Rex smiled. "I would like that, Karen. That's a pretty name."

"Thank you," she replied. "Look, life's short." Rex nodded. "Would you like to go back to my ship with me? We can be alone. Or maybe you have somewhere else you would like to go."

Oh yeah, Rex thought. Score! He paused, then widened his smile. "I would love to accompany you to your ship," he said. That way, I can leave right afterwards and don't have to find some way to kick her out of my place. That can get so ugly.

Karen rose from her seat. Rex reached for the bill, left behind by the waitress earlier, but Karen took it away from him. "No, no, Rex. This is mine." Rex tried to take it away from her. "Mine," she repeated. Karen left several bills on the table, then took Rex's hand and pulled them from the bar. On the way, he noticed Karen's cousins had already left.

Karen led Rex through the space station and to the mystery ship. She nodded to the two crew members guarding the ramp. Rex noticed they leered at him as she pulled him past, but no words were exchanged.

"Welcome to Linda's Lair," Karen told him as they entered the ship. "Based out of Dawson's Star." She paused. "I'm the navigator," she added. "My cabin is this way."

If Rex was pleased at her forward behavior on the station, he became downright surprised at the escalation of her attitude the moment they stepped foot on the ship. She grabbed his arm and pulled him to her cabin. She opened the door, pulled him inside, then closed the door and marked it for privacy. Before Alex could move, she grabbed him again, pushed him up against the wall, then pulled his head down for a kiss.

It was very thorough, and Alex felt his temperature rise immediately.

But Rex liked doing this his way, regardless of the forward nature of the women he might be with. Rex wrapped his arms underneath Karen's arms with his palms resting on her shoulder blades. He pulled her to him, then turned around, pressing her back into the wall next to the door. His right hand moved to her hip while his left traversed up to cup the back of her head. Rex turned Karen's face up to him and gave her a firm kiss of his own.

He broke the kiss and began nibbling her left ear.

"Rex," Karen said. "I like where we're going, and I let you lead when we were dancing, but we're going to do this my way."

Rex ignored her, but his right hand moved up to cup her breast for a moment. Then both his hands moved to her shoulders to help her shrug her jacket off.

"Hey," Karen said. "I said 'my way'."

Rex leaned back into her and began to deliver another kiss.

"No!" Karen said, pushing against him. "You're being very forward."

Karen was a strong woman, but Rex prided himself on the time he spent in the gym. Karen's ineffective struggles did not have their intended effect.

"Hey, baby," Rex told her. "This is what you wanted. Don't worry, you won't have any complaints." He leaned further, lifting her chin with a free hand, and gave her the kiss she had interrupted, sparing nothing.

Karen gathered herself and surprised Rex with her strength. She was able to push him away from her, then began to lever herself away from the wall. Rex didn't give her a chance, but grabbed her arms and thrust her against the wall again. "Oh," he purred. "You like to fight a little." He let go of her left arm and reached up to begin unbuttoning Karen's blouse.

"Stop!" Karen told him. "I'm sorry, but this was a mistake. You're leaving right now."

"Don't tease, baby. Let's just get these clothes off you, and I can make you feel real good." He reached for the next button, but Karen pushed his hands away.

"Touch me again, and you'll regret it," she told him.

Rex was tired of the games. They had both come here for something, and he didn't intend to take 'no' for an answer at this stage. He grabbed both her wrists, then pulled them above her head and clamped them with his left hand. His right reached down for the next button.

Suddenly, Rex felt a searing pain beginning in his hands and quickly engulfing both arms. With a scream, he pulled away from Karen, and the pain slowly died away. Karen glared at him, but didn't say a word.

"You bitch!" he yelled. "What did you do?"

"Touch me again, and it'll be a lot worse," she warned him. "Get out."

Rex glared back. "Fine," he said after a moment, stepping towards the door. Karen hadn't moved away. Without warning, Rex backhanded her across the jaw. Stunned, she began to slump to the floor, but Rex caught her and quickly threw her across the bed.

Karen was too stunned to move, but Rex heard her mutter, "Help me."

"I'll help you, baby," he crooned. "We'll just finish what we started. If you'll just relax, you can enjoy it." Rex began to slowly unbutton his shirt as Karen watched through dazed eyes. Rex got his shirt off just as someone tried the door.

"Karen?" he heard a muffled voice say.

Rex moved quickly to clamp a hand over Karen's mouth. She mumbled something into his hand.

"They can't hear you, Karen," he hissed in her ear. "They'll go away in a minute."

Instead, they began to pound on the door.

"Shit," said Rex, glancing between the door and the woman on the bed. "Well, in for a penny, in for a pound." He began to unbutton his pants.

The door slid open. Surprised, Rex turned to face the new intruders. He saw two women in the doorway. One of them gestured, and Rex's entire body burst into pain. Gasping, he slumped to the floor. After a few more seconds, he passed out.

Rex heard distant voices talking quietly. He could tell they were talking about him, and something about a missing person report. He knew what they were saying must be important, and he struggled to understand.

"We should just space him," he heard one voice.

"We're still docked to the station, and he was seen leaving the bar with Karen. His entrance shows up on our logs. We have to give him back." Rex recognized a voice of authority, and he decided this voice belonged to the ship's captain.

"In one piece?" he heard Karen ask.

"Physical damage might be a bad idea," replied the captain.

"I wasn't thinking about physical damage," said Karen. There was a pause, then several chuckles.

"I think," began the captain's voice, "that we could do that."

Rex sat at the rear of the bar, his back to the wall, and watched the traffic drift in and out. Finally, his eyes recognized opportunity.

He waited for the two women to find a place at a table. It was his lucky night. He knew these women, knew he had pleased both of them in the past, knew they would be an easy conquest. Maybe he could bring them both back to his place. He waited for them to order their drinks, then got up and walked past them, smiling as he passed their table. He made his song selections, then walked back to their table.

Rex leaned against the table, smiled, then spoke. "I'm a rapist," he told them. "Would either of you like to dance?"

The two women looked at him in shock. "What did you say, Rex?" one of them asked.

"I like to beat up my dates. How about a dance?"

The women both looked at him. "I don't feel like dancing tonight," one of them said while the other nodded agreement. "Leave us alone."

Bewildered, Rex wandered back to his table. He wasn't sure what had happened to him lately, but he was having the worst string of bad luck with women. None of his old lines seemed to work anymore.