Crisis at IshtarChapter 28 The Peace Ends
- 2 years ago
- 16
- 0
I woke back up slowly. Around me I could hear the gentle breathing of my sister concubines. I peeked around to find them slumbering with me in the bed. Rising further, I was disturbed that James was not sharing the bed. Immediately I started to climb over Tina, who was lying by the edge of the bed.
My left foot was about to touch the floor when Tina suddenly rose up and grabbed me around the waist. I sucked in my breath to scream only to find a hand slapped over my mouth. "Don't," Tina whispered in my ear. "I'm not trying to hurt you, I just had to ask. What did you do to James last night?"
She pulled the hand away, lowering it to my shoulder gently. "Nothing," I whispered. "I did nothing to him."
Tina leaned forward and bit my left ear teasingly. "No man walks out of a room looking like he did over nothing. It wasn't even an hour after you entered and yet he seemed completely shocked. What did you do?"
I could feel blood rushing to may face and looked down for a moment. "I gave him all of me," I whispered. "And pretty much demanded that he take it all."
Tina stopped stroking me for a moment. "That almost makes sense," she whispered back. "Now, James decided to sleep out with the babies. I believe he planned on feeding them during the night so we could all sleep together. Shall we go check on him?"
"Yes," I whispered. Tina let go of me and rolled out of bed. She jumped to her feet as I put my own feet on the floor and stood up. She reached out and grabbed my hand.
"Let's go," she whispered as she dragged me towards the door.
We left the bedroom and found James lying on the couch. He was holding Kristi and Jamie on his stomach. The two babies appeared to be falling asleep. He noticed us and swept the babies up in his arms as he sat up.
"Meiko, Tina! Come see your latest nieces," he called out.
We giggled as we dashed over to James. I claimed one of the two babies and took a closer look. The little girl had ginger hair and I immediately realized that I was holding Jamie.
"Jamie," I whispered. "May you always be a reminder to your mother of how much she is loved."
I glanced up to see James with a forlorn expression on his face. "I wasn't there for her," he muttered. "Worse, I nearly threw it all away."
I switched Jamie so that I was holding her against my right hip. Then I reached out with my left hand to put it on James' shoulder. "James, I don't know why, but that man was clearly trying to make you lose your temper. It was as if he needed you to attack him."
James nodded. "And I didn't because you were there to stop me. I owe you everything."
I shrugged as I carried Jamie back to the cribs. I set her down. Immediately she curled up and closed her eyes. Tina giggled as I paused to look. Then she placed Kristi down next to Jamie. The two babies clearly were ready to sleep.
From across the room I could hear Madoka waking up, so I walked over to her. I had not dressed yet, but realized that I needed to clean up a bit. Picking her up, I carried her over to James and placed her in his arms. "Hold her while I clean up," I commanded.
Tina laughed loudly as I disappeared into our bathroom. I rinsed my body quickly and then walked back into the living area. James had sat back down and was bouncing Madoka on his knee as Tina sat in a recliner and fed Tolwin.
I sat down next to James and reached out for Madoka. As I did, Tina looked at James. "So what is the plan for today? I mean, it sounds like you are going to try to avoid our visitors."
James handed Madoka to me and smiled. "We have all of the male concubines agreeing to man the command post, although we'll have concubines in our old command post doing most of the work. The work in the old colony center will be mainly to impress Colonel Johanes and his scientists."
"Won't that major and his marines figure it out?" I asked.
James started to laugh. "That's just it. I don't think any of them have that kind of training. On most planets the work we do is given to the navy rather than the marines. I'm sure they could take the time to learn it, but for now, it's unlikely they have any idea what we are doing."
"So the idea is to keep them away while we do the real work over here. That sounds way too much like what we had to do with Ruth and Manuel," Tina said. "I thought we were past that."
"Ruth and Manuel never had official approval," James said. "Everything Admiral Himmel has told us indicates that someone very high up at Central Command is willing to issue orders that Colonel Johanes is to be offered all possible help."
"And what does that mean?" I asked. "It seems like Colonel Johanes is willing to demand time with other citizen's concubines."
I heard Tina gasp as she switched Tolwin from one breast to the other. "Is that what happened yesterday?"
James nodded. "He did, and tried to claim that he could issue that order simply because he is the governor of Ishtar. But we were interrupted at that point when Captain Werfel showed up. And before he could send them away, one of his scientists discovered something."
"Have we heard more about that?" I asked.
"Only that one of the devices we found moves if a certain raised circle is pressed in," James said. "I guess there are two of these buttons. One caused a tube to flip out from the center of the device. The other returned the tube to inside the structure. The tube was made from an alloy that was mostly lead with some heavier metals."
"Lead?" Tina asked. "Why would anyone use lead in something? I seem to remember reading that it's poisonous. It was in one of the texts Bethany had me read."
James nodded. "Yes, lead is poisonous to us. However, some of the radioactive metals, like Uranium, will actually turn into lead over time. One of the scientists believes he might be able to determine how long ago the civilization died."
I thought about that for a moment and then smiled. "So he's thinking that the tube was one made of uranium and has been decaying?"
James nodded. "That's what Terrence reported. Chief Scientist Johanes hasn't agreed with that assessment. It seems he is sure that the device has to be more exotic than that."
"Well, at least we know it's old," Tina said. "Now, what are you going to be doing?"
James smiled and looked at the ceiling. "AI, is Yvette awake and available?"
There was a pause and then I heard Carol's voice. "James? I'm afraid that Yvette is still wrapped around Esther and sound asleep. Is it important?"
I watched as my master shrugged. 'Not too important. How about once she wakes up you have her contact me? I'm going to take a couple of my concubines to the laser center."
"Isn't that the laser room?" Carol asked.
"It was," James said enigmatically. He stood up and helped me to my feet. "Finish feeding your babies and grab something simple to eat," he said. "We have a new task to undertake."
"Will it involve you kissing me all over?" Tina asked. "Or perhaps you want me bent over the couch. You definitely have to give me the same treatment you have Meiko last night. It's been a long time since I passed out during sex."
I giggled. Madoka released from my breast. At first, I believed she was going to protest the movement, but instead of grabbing at my breast she started to push against me. I lifted her up so she could look me in the eye.
My daughter smiled as my arms rose. I kissed her forehead and then moved to set her in her crib. I was worried about needing to change her and was about to check when Bethany staggered out of the bedroom.
"Wow," she said. "Meiko, I'm not sure how you can move this morning. James left you completely wiped out last night. However, he's in the bedroom getting clothing for Tina and you. I can take care of Madoka if you want."
"She just finished nursing," I said. I was going to change and burp her."
Bethany laughed. "I can do that for you."
"But..." I began.
"No buts, Little One," I heard James say as the door to the bedroom slid silently closed. "I want you with me, so no refusing Bethany if she offers to watch your daughter."
"I don't spend enough time with her," I said worriedly.
Tina giggled as she set her son down in his own crib. "Madoka knows you," she told me. "Next time everyone is leaning over the crib, watch her eyes. She tends to look right at you. And if you aren't there, she doesn't smile."
I sighed. Out of the corner of my eye I could see James smirking as he walked toward me. He had some cloth in his hand. As he passed me, he draped the cloth over my shoulder.
He was continuing to walk towards Tina as I reached up to claim the items he had put on my shoulder. It proved to be a halter top and skirt. As this seemed to be his preferred outfit for me I was not surprised, but I did notice that the skirt was similar to one worn by the schoolgirls in some of the anime James loved to watch. The comparison became more obvious when I noticed the halter top matched the skirt for color. Only the fact that the top stopped just below my breasts prevented it from appearing traditional.
"Well, we know James is a pervert, but not that he could get this kinky," Tina said as I slipped the halter top over my head. It took me a few moments to get my head through the opening. Once the top was on, I turned to look at Tina.
Tina was still standing there naked. She had the top in her hands and was slowly turning it around. I could see a small frown on her face.
"What?" I asked her as I looked around for some panties. I found that James had dropped a pair of white boy short panties on the couch next to me. I grabbed them and put them on.
Tina had been silent for several minutes and then sighed as I stood up and wiggled the panties into place. "It's just that I'll never look as good in these as you do."
"And I don't have enough on top to make the French maid outfit that James loves to dress you in look right," I said as I began to step into my skirt. "You are perfect just as you are."
I fastened the snap that held the skirt to my hips and then turned. Tina had stopped looking at the outfit and had already pulled the top on. James was standing by the doorway so I headed over to him. We met with a loving kiss and then turned to wait for Tina to finish.
Tina noticed that we were waiting and started running toward us as she fought with the buttons on the skirt. James swept her into his arms and held her until she had secured the skirt and was able to put her arms around his neck.
"That's better," James said as he kissed Tina. "Now, stop worrying. The Little One is right, I think you are perfect. And you are very sexy in that outfit."
Tina let go. "But I'm wearing panties. I thought you would want us open for you."
"For me," James said with a growl as he turned to nibble on my neck. He led us out of the pod and down the hallway. "But never for anyone else."
Tina and I giggled at this. I was going to say more when the speakers above us hissed. "Private Rabb, can I have a moment if your time?"
James stopped and looked around. "What can I do for you Major?" James asked.
"I want to look at the laser setup you have," Major Bonham replied. "There is some question on if we want to start training to use the system."
"The lasers were both ruined by the Sa'arm attack," James said. "But I guess I can show you the setup. Do you know the pressure door you have four marines guarding?"
"The one that leads outside," Major Bonham replied.
"Outside?" James asked. "Who told you that? Right now the only openings in the colony that go outside are the ones the lasers used to enter the atmosphere. Why would you think it led outside?"
"I walked the colony when we first arrived," Major Bonham said. "That was the only door I could not figure out. By the way, where are your people living? I haven't seen them since the first day."
James laughed. "Major, has anyone explained about the schism we had on the way here?"
"Only that you arrived on Ishtar with one hundred citizens and now have less than a quarter of your original number. That's wasteful and has been reported to Central Command. Someone needs to pay for throwing away so many good troops," the major replied.
"If you can find anyone who actually commanded them, go for it," James said. "We ended up with four factions before we had even landed. Some of our citizens were extremely aggressive towards concubines and threatened anyone they encountered, even the marines we had riding with us. In the end, twenty of us requested that we end up separated from the others when we were dropped. That door is one that guards our homes from the rest of the colony."
"So you are on the other side of this door," Major Bonham growled. "I don't like that. You should be living with the rest of the marines so you can receive training."
James waved at the ceiling. "End this call," he muttered. "The communication has ended," the AI replied. "Please note that Major Bonham is looking for ways to conduct surveillance of this side of the colony. Do you wish to block his attempts?" "I should," James replied with a snarl. "But if he only sees rooms and not the hallways it shouldn't matter too much. Just make sure he doesn't find out about our little hold out tunnel. I'm beginning to fear we might have to use it...
Once we passed through the airlock, Tyson put his arms around Cleo and pulled her to him. "Run along, girls," he said. "I think it's time I got this lovely lady pregnant again." Mickey and I giggled and then ran off down the hallway. Behind us, we could hear Cleo's cheerful squeal as she twisted around to kiss Tyson. "She sounds happy with the idea," Mickey said as we make our way through the passages. "I think she is truly happy about it," I replied quietly. "Tyson loves his...
"Go ahead," I said, putting my left hand up next to my ear. "Meiko," Maggie's voice said. "We have a teleport unit near Morrigan, but we are going to have a problem. The gunner is barely conscious and won't be able to get out of the pod without help." "Can someone from Morrigan do it?" I asked. "No," Maggie said. "I already asked. The grid is charged so anyone setting foot on it would be killed." I considered the situation. "We've done that kind of teleport before, but...
Majorette 2: Night of Fire By Lynn LeFey Steven Andrews lay on his back, under his covers. In his mind, he was making love to a luscious, graceful majorette. Her blonde hair blew in an unseen wind, and she moaned with pleasure. They lay in each other's arms. He reached up to remove the crimson mask, but her hands stopped him. Who was she? His real-life encounter with this fantasy image last night seemed to be bordering on fascination. He got up, crossed to the computer desk,...
Majorette: Reborn This is the continuation of the stories 'Majorette' (parts 1-3), and 'Marshals: Iris'. Foreword notes: I apologize most profusely for the myriad of character names in advance. Also, if it seems that characters of a given code name die, only to show up later, it's because other folks have taken up that name. Most notably, a secondary character 'Stellar'. Please note that I have marked chapters with flashback with bolded dates. Any chapter not starting with a date...
Majorette By Lynn LeFey Majorette: Day One Glen Camdon walked the halls of Marshal High, toward his fourth period class. His books were held in his left arm, resting on his hip, in a rather feminine fashion. His steps were small but hurried. His dark hair was wavy, and matted from the perspiration of the quick walk all the way across campus. His hazel eyes watched several school football players with dread as they approached. He resigned himself to the inevitable...
Majorette 3: No More Masks By Lynn LeFey Gloria stood on a hillside of a cemetery, in the bleak gray of late autumn. Around her were her friends, gathered to say farewell to her brother. Wind blew and the air smelled of rain. She could hear the rumbling of far off thunder. The new stone at the head of the grave read 'Glen Camdon, loving son'. In the distance, lightning struck. ... Laura ran beside the stretcher holding the body of her best friend. The EMTs loaded the young...
Scotland 1953As the months past. and the summer holidays drew near, Stella and Dawn often talked about what sort of thing happened at WEBLEY HALLTrust me Stella, you are going to be the biggest hit there.Dawn would tell her.Well what sort of things go on there then,Stella asked a few times.Each time Dawn would say.Well all sorts of things really,Mike and the Major.Discussed throughly, what people wanted to do when they could go to a place with no sexual boundaries.And you would be surprised at...
NORFOLK 1953After breakfast Stella & Dawn went back to their room.Where they discussed what they were going to be doing whilst they were in Norfolk. Well I've always wanted to visit a little place, oh what was it called now? Said Stella. Pot, poter, ryme, no, that's not right, I believe you can hire a boat for a day there. It'll come to me, its not far from Great Yarmouth. Can you steer a boat then Stella? Asked Dawn. Yeah sure my brother and I hired one once, from there. Just wish I could...
Both the count and Baptistin had told the truth when they announced to Morcerf the proposed visit of the major, which had served Monte Cristo as a pretext for declining Albert's invitation. Seven o'clock had just struck, and M. Bertuccio, according to the command which had been given him, had two hours before left for Auteuil, when a cab stopped at the door, and after depositing its occupant at the gate, immediately hurried away, as if ashamed of its employment. The visitor was about...
I first met the major about ten or so years ago when I used to do a lot of commuting to work. On my way home I liked to stop for a quick pint in a village near to ours to unwind after work. I only used this pub because you could sit and relax without being disturbed by friends wanting to know what was going on all of the time. One tea time I was having my usual pint when an elderly gentleman,well I say elderly, he was probably 20 years older than me, came across and asked if the van in the car...
Her father was the Major of Four Courts, a small town on an Island far, far away. He was a man of might and great wealth, a respected citizen and a powerful man. They were only two, Scarlet and her father -Major Whitlock. Scarlets mother died during childbirth, and was never able to see her little daughter grow up. The Major raised her all by himself, and watched over her like a hawk every minute of every time. He even had the servants put bars in front of Scarlets bedroom windows, and the...
"So...?" Megan looked Tray over as he dried his hair. They were sitting on the end of their bed, Tray had a towel about his torso and one on his shoulders as he absent mindly brushed his long blond hair out, slowly. "There are a couple methods- people that have been body swapped that have gotten righted. Right now what I need most is to get some allies together so that we don't lose our bodies if we get pulled from our bodies by a person that wants to keep them-" Megan knelt...
"Ahh- shit," Tray hated waking up after a fight, it meant he lost and usually that he was laying in some trash-ridden alley near a favorite piss spot for some homeless guy. He felt horrible, and sick. Slowly he pushed himself to his side. Aside from how bad he felt, and how weak he felt he noticed his vision was odd- there was a text screen, and a blinking light on a visor he did not normally wear. There was hair across his face-? Blonde like his own, but much longer- "what the...
This is my first posted story and all feedback is welcome. Though rated G, it deals with situations outside the normal rubric of our society, and I ask all who are under 21 years of age to move on. This story is dedicated to my master, X, for bringing further out my girly side. This tale should be considered as copyrighted 1999. I can be reached at [email protected] -------------------------------------- Nothing Major by Bridgette The major frowned, staring at his...
Fraternity Brother to Sorority Sister Chapter Ten-Beth Visits Her Old Fraternity. During the fall of Beth's junior there were two events that happen that made an impact on her and she would end up calling Thomas for guidance. With Brad out of the way Beth had one more thing that she wanted to take care of, her major. Beth felt that she was wasting her time in Psychology. She felt it was time to move to Business. It meant it would take an additional year of college, but it would be...
Anyone looking for easier reading of this chapter can message me at [email protected] for the raw file using Microsoft Notepad. Majorette Mirage 2 The next morning I awoke to Talitha's gentle nudges. "Jamie Lynn, it's time to rise sweetie." I rolled over on my side wanting to sleep more but she pulled the covers off of me and cracked my pantied ass. Crack! "Come on Jamie Lynn get up we have to get breakfast and then go over the routine." I...
The recovery time was pretty quick. Colin, Gavin and I had all unloaded. "Lets go back into the cottage" Colin said. He picked up Julies dress and passed it to her."You will only need this for now my dear"Julie slipped on the dress and we went inside for a drink.Gavin remained in the outhouse.Colin made us some more drinks and we chatted for a while. Julie called him major on a couple of occassions but he told her that was not required in these situations. He asked how she had found the whole...
Later, Zulam took us for a cold shower and gave us a disposable toothbrush and a comb and afterwards we lay alongside each other on the bed. Both of turned our heads away from the sight of Sumala's back. He still groaned with pain and I wondered if the nurse would give him another injection before we went to sleep. Roger tried to make a whispered conversation but it was all speculation as to what would happen to us and why were we chosen and by whom etc. It wearied me so much that I curtly...
Monday – The MajorWhen she was in college, Gayle had a roommate named Jasmine. It wasn’t long before Gayle realized that “Jazz” was bisexual, and eventually and often Gayle discovered how much she could enjoy sex with another girl. After graduation, Gayle became a sex therapist but over time lost track of Jasmine.Gayle considered Mondays her “casual” night to relive the thrill of finding a stranger for sex. She frequented her favorite bar and usually sat in a secluded area so she could check...
FetishI nodded, and Jones stepped against her ass. He guided himself into her still open, slimy asshole and sank inside her in a single stroke. I watched with some interest, taking in the look of humiliation on Amanda's face as well as the look of pure, dumb pleasure on his. It was too good a scene to miss; I got the VCR recorder out of my bag of toys and began filming. The boys were too wrapped up in Amanda to object. The scene was even better on the small screen of the viewfinder. Particularly...
Three days later I was sending two companies out in a fan to the north of the base. It was routine patrols looking for enemy or signs that they were in the area. The huge supply of ammo was inventoried and the men were allowed to look through the weapons and take one. We got another batch of fifty men to fill holes in the companies. When the Field Marshal arrived on the base I was preparing an award ceremony. All the companies were back and it had been just over a week since we returned from...
I glanced over at her for the fiftieth time. Two rows ahead of me, two machines to the left. I quickly forced myself to look back at the row of TVs hanging from the ceiling, not wanting her to catch me looking at her again. Not that she had any idea I was even alive, mind you, maybe I was more afraid of being embarrassed by someone else catching me ogling the ultra-fit redhead with the ponytail effortless gliding away on the elliptical machine. So instead I kept sneaking peeks every 30 seconds....
The next morning James woke us up for the final time. Madoka had fussed during the night when she was hungry, but each time I managed to fall back to sleep. Beside me, I could hear Kitty and Brittany complain mildly about the movement. James, however, would not be denied. "Sorry my loves, but the AI just said that Bethany is awake, and I thought I'd collect her. Janice, I'm sorry I couldn't come and collect you when you woke," he said as he left the room at a near run. "Hey, I woke up...
The brief baby boom ended eight days later and the population of our colony had increased by forty-eight children. Every one of the original thirty-seven female concubines gave birth although only Madison, one of Linus Van Stern's concubines, gave birth to twins. She was thrilled to have her third and fourth children and was soon offering to set up a day care and baby-raising clinic for any concubines needing a break. Her master simply glowed that he now had two sons and a new daughter to go...
Whitney was still hugging Tamara when a man entered the command post from the teleport room's passageway. "Hey! It's the unattached slut! Are you giving it out now! You refused me on the ship! You're unattached and can't do that!" The man reached out to grab Whitney. His hand had barely touched her when James burst from his chair and in a flying tackle slammed the man against the wall of the room. "Tamara, get her out of here. Xavier! Get me whoever is in charge of the Tintagel...
Tina and I made our way to the doorway and headed out. It was clear that the conversation had turned to technical matters regarding the repairs and James would be tied up for some time. He waved as we left but was quickly pulled back to one of the panels to start reviewing the damage and suggested repairs to Tintagel Castle. In the hallway we found Alexis walking with a couple of the concubines from Tintagel. Both were wearing splints and bandages obviously created by tearing up a shift. She...
The next week it seemed I spent much of my time finding excuses to hide in the household pod or the Concubine's refuge. James had locked William in an otherwise unused habitat pod near the original command center, but the crew of Tintagel Castle proved to include nine more men who refused to keep their hands to themselves. Most of the concubines figured that out the first night when these men spent much of the welcome party drunkenly calling for Lindsay, Bonnie and Cleo to perform lap...
Life settled down again once Tintagel Castle left for home. As expected, Brent's retest scored him as a five nine and James quickly ordered him thrown in a recycler. After that, the citizens appeared to be concentrating on the slow expansion of the colony and setting up the new living area for visiting crews. The musical practice was now all about perfecting the dances and singing. As we could all see it coming together there was a contagious enthusiasm creeping into the concubines. Anytime...
Just then the AI started to sound an alert. "We have ship entry jump points forming." "One or two," James shouted as he stood up, carefully lifting me up and setting me down as he did. "Three," the AI stated. "One is along the vector leading to Borneo. The other two ships jumped from within Sa'arm controlled space." My master barely paused. "Tyson, Linus, to the gun controls. I'll take laser one, gunners, get to the laser chambers and suit up. Tam, Tif, get to the command center...
James shook his head and looked up. "Terrence, start bringing all the injured from Freya over. Coordinate with their staff and bring the hurt ones over when gurneys are available. Let's get them medical attention quickly." "We're already on it," Donna said. "David, Elle and Robert are standing by with gurneys. Lindsay and Ed have headed to our multi-use room and are going to set up to treat the non-critical cases there. Craig and Tom are setting things up there." "Maggie has the...
"Bit of a walk isn't it?" Tanya said with a smile. "It's outside the citizen zone," I admitted. "But you had wounded so we teleported you in at our command post. I'm not sure we have a teleport near here yet. This is new." "Will all my crew be here?" Tanya asked. "Probably not," I said. "The walking wounded you had were directed to one of the rooms we have near our medical center. If there are free pods they'll rotate the people through." Tanya nodded. "On that note, how...
Bethany had my daughter on a changing table when I walked in. She smiled at me. "Don't worry, I don't mind changing babies. Especially when it's the child of my sister." She lifted Madoka up and carried her over to me. With a gentle touch she laid Madoka in my arms. I looked down at the child I had brought into the world. She was now just over two months old and still spent the majority of her time sleeping, but right then she was awake and reached out her tiny hands to grab at my...
The departure of Freya brought peace to Ishtar. Janice continued to lead rehearsals of the musical. We now had a complete show that lasted just over seventy minutes. It was almost ready, and we were becoming increasingly worried that the secret would be revealed. Janice insisted that conversations about our work be kept to the Concubine's Refuge to prevent accidentally revealing our plans. The citizens seemed rather distracted though. James and Yvette seemed to spend hours in the command...
My master appeared to shake himself awake. "Damn, we don't need more trouble here. Michelle try to contact Borneo, we need to see if Admiral Himmel knows anything about this Chief Scientist." "Is that even a rank?" Tiffany asked. "Who knows," Yvette responded while massaging her temples. "But from the attitude on that man, he believes it means quite a bit." Janice looked around. "Are these alien artifacts really that important." I heard a snort. I turned to see where it came...
For the next three days, the colony was bustling with activity. Under the direction of Marina, who proved to have been a hotel maid back on Earth before becoming Shawna's concubine, thirty pods were organized, cleaned and prepared for occupation. Most were set up so they had multiple dwellings each set up like a hotel suite with a central meeting and relaxation room and two separate sleeping areas. Others were organized more like barracks with enough beds to handle one of the squads the vice...
Nightmares caused Janice to toss and turn most of the night. I held her close and tried to kiss the dreams away, but her mumbled words made it clear she was worried about the musical. During the first part of the night she woke me four times, before finally settling down sometime during Devil hour. After the dreams faded she was sleeping so peacefully that when Joy woke up hungry early in the morning I fed her myself rather than wake my friend. I ended up having to go downstairs to wake...
Madoka was hungry. Once I offered her a meal, she drank it down. Afterwards she fidgeted for only a moment before closing her eyes again. I was not completely surprised, as she had been awake for the last hour as I memorized the seating chart. Once she was slumbering in one of the cribs set up in the backstage nursery, I hurried back to the theater, prepared to lead the citizens to their seats. Janice met me at the curtain. She seemed a bit distracted, but held up a hand for me to pause. I...
James was bringing Tina's lips to his when a voice I did not recognize started shouting. "Oh God! Oh God! James! James! We have a visitor! We have a visitor!" James paused and looked over at Bethany. She mouthed a name and he nodded. "Give me a report," he called out. "We have a jump point opening," the voice cried nervously. "The instruments say it's on a direct line with the Ursus system. One of the notes said that the last ship to arrive from that system was Nassau." James set...
I slowly climbed back to consciousness. Fog seemed to cloud my head, clearing briefly as a loud hiss broke through my muddled thoughts. I tried to sit up, but a firm hand on my left shoulder kept me lying flat. "Don't move yet," Shawna's voice instructed me. "Open your eyes and look at me." Bright almost blinding light caused me to gasp, but I held them open and turned my head towards the voice. Shawna stood next to me. My position put me about her waist level. Glancing down I could...
James looked over at Janice and me. "Are you sure you can perform?" he asked. Janice giggled. "Why wouldn't we be able to perform? It should be easier the second time. We won't have as many first performance jitters." "And we won't worry about disappointing you," I whispered. "I missed so many notes while I was playing." Janice looked at me. "I thought the orchestra was struggling a bit. What was going on?" I shrugged. "Rather than using the sheet music, the AI was...
The next morning I woke slowly. Arms were draped over my body, pressing me into the mattress. Raising my head, I found that Kitty was snuggled in tight to my right side while Bethany was on my left side. My motion caused Kitty to shift in her sleep and I was able to crawl out of the intertwined limbs. The door to the bedroom was open and I could hear a baby stirring in our living room. Taking soft steps to avoid waking my family, I eased my way to the door. In the living room, I found all...
After we finished feeding our children, Mickey, Cleo and I took them back to the cribs before we each grabbed some lunch. During our meal we talked a bit about the music we were playing. "I knew music like this existed, but this is more fun than I ever imagined," Mickey said. "And last night was ... wow! I could feel the way the audience reacted." Cleo nodded. "It is powerful. We need to be feeding that by playing our best." I blew out a raspberry. "More practice." The others...
Mickey, Cleo and I were the last three to leave the theater. We exited the airlock to find our sister concubines waiting. I found myself showered with hugs and kisses. "That was so much fun!" Tina squealed. "We have to do that again." "It was definitely fun," Bethany said calmly. "And there is no question that James and the others liked watching it." "Totally" Kitty said. "You realize that every citizen snuck in to watch it a second time." "Every one?" I asked. "Who was in...
I left the teleport room and headed back to the command post. When I reached the doors we once used to keep Ruth and Manuel away from our homes, they were shut tight. Each set remained closed until I was no more than ten yards away and then opened, allowing me into the colony. Once I passed the third door, I ran to the command post. The tapestry had moved to conceal the door, and I had to lift it away from the wall in order to enter. Inside I found that Candi and Randi had relieved my...
"You need to get that fire out!" I heard Timothy shout. "It's too close to your missile magazine." "The magazine is empty!" a female voice called back. "We shot everything during our breakout from Ursus!" "I'm not worried about an explosion," Timothy called back. "The smoke from that fire will be poisonous if it reaches the loading tubes. Those tubes contain heavy metals that you really don't want to breathe." "Everyone here is in suits!" the voice cried back. "We...
I returned to our home hallways in time to catch James coming out of the command post. With Diana and Ingrid's help I cornered him in the hallway and ordered him to throw me over his shoulder and take me back to our home to ravish me. He did after telling the AI to order Bethany home. James did not really ravish me though. He jumped into the shower while Bethany and I fed our daughters and then pulled us into the hot tub for an hour of playful fun. Bethany held onto him at the end of that...
The next four weeks passed peacefully. We saw visits from several ships, but none were heavily damaged. The longest stay was the corvette Aspen, which arrived with a missile jammed in its starboard tube. Terrence and Louis spent four hours with the AI carefully manipulating the missile until they could pull it free from the launcher. My tapestry was completed, and now hanging near the first door separating the enclave from the visitors part of the colony. Janice had claimed the loom and was...
Kitty staggered one time when a powerful contraction wracked her body, but otherwise we were able to reach the medical bay without problems. The door slid opened as we approached and Shawna dashed out. "It's nice to have some good news," she cried as she gave Kitty a quick hug before taking my friend's right arm and offering support. "How bad are the contractions?" "I've only had one," Kitty moaned. "At least only one I felt. Ooooh." "Two," Brittany chirped with a...
We raced up the hallway. Ahead, I could see smoke and hear shouts. The shouts were filled with panic. The smoke quickly got thicker and I nearly ran into Patty when she stopped. "Patty!" I heard Reggie shout. "What happened to Craig and Robert?" "The AI reported that a section of the ceiling collapsed and trapped them," Patty said as she pushed the gurney against the wall. "Meiko and I brought gurneys though." Reggie nodded and seemed about to say more when the AI spoke....
It seemed to take forever to make our way to the passage that used to separate our home from the maniacs who had been dropped on Ishtar with us. When we arrived, the informal guard kiosk stood empty in front of a closed pressure door. We paused to wait for the doors to open when a young female cried out. "Wait!" We turned to find Lily, the ten year old daughter of Linus, pushing a double stroller. I tried to figure out what the issue was as she came to a stop in front of us. "Esther...
My master seemed exhausted as we left the command post and began to make our way through the passages. The halls were largely empty and I was going to ask why when the AI called out, "Devil hour has just begun." "More than half a day spent dealing with this," James said quietly. "I shouldn't be too surprised." "I just hope we can get some rest," I said. "That scientist seems..." I paused, trying to think of a good adjective to describe the man we had watched walk out. James said...
I wanted to speak up once we were past the marines, but before I could gather my courage James turned to Yvette. "It's clear that our friend the governor is out to cause trouble. We should not let him know about the fact that we have access to the three common rooms just yet. However, make sure that all citizens use the ice rink to move back and forth for now. I don't want us confronting his goon squad just yet." Yvette nodded. "In fact, I'd take that further and stop all transit...
The statement from Governor Johanes lowered the temperature in the room even as James shifted his weight. My master seemed ready to lunge forward across the table and I held him tighter, trying to keep him from getting in trouble. It seemed he was not going to calm down and I was starting to lose my grip. "Excuse me, James?" a feminine voice said. I had my eyes closed as I strained to keep James in his chair and had not seen anyone approach. James tensed one more time and then seemed to...
I held Brittany in my arms as the door to the skating rink opened. Esther and the male concubine Petey stepped into the hallway. Kitty immediately noticed the young man. "Oh, a loincloth. I like the look." Petey blushed and stepped a little away from Kitty, who immediately turned to Esther. "The AI suggested that Brit and I be here now. What's happening?" Esther sighed. "Let's just say that Governor Johanes offered us an extremely clear example of the kind of leadership he offers....
Janice and I arrived home to find Bethany, Tina and Kitty sitting around the table. Bethany looked up from the game they were playing and waved us over. "We'll deal you in next game," she told us. "James is right now giving Brittany..." "Four hours of bliss!" Kitty shouted. Bethany smiled at the interruption. Tina ignored the interplay and began moving cards on the table. The game they were playing was an elaborate card game where cards on the table were purchased with cards held in...
James jumped away from the laser and waved to Tina and me. "Head to the briefing room," he ordered us. Tina dashed off, but I waited among the hanging fabric panels that shielded the ready room from the spray designed to counteract the acid atmosphere as James walked toward the exit. "Who was that?" the major snapped as James approached the exit. I slipped a bit deeper but remained close enough to hear the conversation. "Sounded like Ulla," James said. "I've looked over the list of...
I ran from the command post. Behind me, I could hear that the conversations had definitely calmed down. Ahead, the hallways were silent. My progress to my home was uninterrupted as I rushed to Janice and Bethany. I arrived to find Janice laying Madoka on the couch. My sister concubine looked at me and laughed. "Great timing. I just changed Madoka and was going to bring her to you so you could feed her." "Where are Kitty, Brittany and Bethany?" I asked as I walked over to pick up my...