Arlene and JeffChapter 230
- 3 years ago
- 25
- 0
Ship’s Training Mission for the Miadax Crew
...”Helm,” the First Officer called out, “continue on our last heading. One-quarter impulse. “Let us see what that wormhole looks like.”
When Helm repeated the command, the First Officer turned to Science. “Science, maintain passive scanning only but look for anything even slightly out of what you consider to be the ordinary. We do not know whether that destroyer went through the wormhole, or for some reason, remained nearby. Is their base on this side of the wormhole, or on the other side? There was an energy surge, so logically, something went through the wormhole in one direction, or the other. Was it the destroyer entering the wormhole or was it another ship exiting here? Even if the destroyer went through, there might be weapon systems guarding this side of the wormhole. I plan to stop short and observe for a while. I have never been in a position in combat where I had too much information about the enemy, and I am certainly not in that position now,” he finished with a grim face.
Fifteen minutes later, and at maximum magnification, there was the faint shimmer of a wormhole just as the First Officer happened to notice the Science Officer tense up, but before he could say anything...
“Science, shields to maximum,” the First bellowed. “Guns, all weapons on line,” First snapped out even as he reached to bring the shields up himself.
“Shields to maximum,” Science repeated as he too reached to activate them, even as the Weapons Officer brought his systems up, but the AI, tied into every system, had already recognized the blip and brought the shields up a quarter of a second before any of them could.
“Weapons on line,” Guns said. Then a second later, “There at our three-o’clock low,” he bellowed just before they rocked from two blasts from something similar to the Hunter’s heavy laser/particle beam weapons. “I just happened to see a movement as it crossed between us and the shimmer of the wormhole.”
Helm, “evasive maneuver 3-A. Don’t let it hit that sector again. Communications?” First ordered.
Helm acknowledged even as the First kept giving orders.
“I sent the standard warning the second we saw the blip, Sir,” Communications said.
“Excellent,” First returned, before immediately turning to Guns. “Weapons Officer, let them know we do not appreciate being fired upon.”
The First Officer had barely gotten the sentence out of his mouth when every laser/particle beam weapon on that side of the ship lit the attacking pod up with multiple bursts. The defensive pod’s shields must not have been designed for that much incoming concentrated energy. Its power plant went in a brilliant blue/white flash even as energy began pouring into the Hunter from three other pods, but the Hunter had already rolled, exposing a different area that still had full shields.
First opened his mouth to give more orders, but Guns, supplemented by Communications, Navigation and Science with Helm to make their ship a harder target, were already doing what they were trained to do — successfully pour energy into the enemy. Orders now would only slow them down. Another platform exploded, and Helm rolled the Hunter again to protect the sector that had just been hit, which would give the shields time to build back there. Rather than trying to give orders to people who didn’t need the distraction, First activated a projectile weapon pod and began firing a stream of hypervelocity armor-piercing rounds while trying to hit the same spot Guns was hitting with the laser/particle beams.
“Overall shields down to 80%,” the AI announced a quarter of an hour later.
Helm had managed to continue to maneuver them until only one and sometimes two of the pods could fire on them at any given time while Guns seemed to have a knack for finding an opponent’s weakness. Without anyone ordering it done, Science, Communications and Navigation followed their training and kept the other pods busy while Guns and First concentrated on one pod to kill it. Orders and comments snapped back and forth as the Bridge Crew fought as a team. Almost before the First realized it, the pods were either vaporized or drifting piles of rubble. Only then did he think to wipe the sweat from his forehead. When he saw the Weapons Officer relax and take a long swallow of water, First realized how parched he was too. Amazed, he realized that the battle had been going on a little more than twenty-two minutes and change. During that time, the Hunter’s overall shield capacity had never dipped below 70% in any section while the ship continued to maintain power to the laser/particle beams as they killed the eight weapon pods.
While it was generally agreed that the projectile weapons were outdated and practically useless in a space battle, First had just proven that to be untrue — at least against a relatively near opponent that didn’t have inertial dampers which would allow much faster maneuvering.
I suppose the builders of the defensive pods did not see the need for rapid maneuvering since they were defending a wormhole that would remain in one relative place.
Wow. I can hardly believe it. We tore those pods a new one, but ... it was almost too easy. My boards show that our shields did not allow even one pulse to get past to hit armor. Consequently, no personnel were injured, and we received no damage to the Hunter. With a smile, he looked around him. My Bridge crew is hyped up and still raring to go. Hmmm, Helm probably needs a commendation. He bounced this old frigate around as if she were a brand new hyper-skiff. He damn sure just proved how superb he is at his job, but then again, everyone on this bridge acted as if they were part of a perfectly functioning machine. I couldn’t have a better Bridge Crew, and my Engine Crew put me back in business after I abused the impulse engines. And damn it, they will promote me off this great ship and probably put my ass on some junker assigned to patrol the middle of nowhere. Of course, this is the middle of nowhere, too, but we got to show these scum what a Federation ship could do.
Then again, once we meet up with that new destroyer, I might not have to worry about being stuck as Captain of some scow somewhere. They’ll probably give me that promotion to Captain posthumously. Damn it, the Federation is going to waste this great ship by forcing her to fight something way above her class, but my crew will make sure that destroyer has battle scars — lots of battle scars.
With the defensive pods destroyed, the First actually had time to focus on the wormhole. He had only seen two in his life, and he had used one of them a half dozen times when he had been stationed in the Daumiersen sector on a much smaller ship. When I put in for a transfer to the Hunter, I never thought I would get it. How many years has it been now? Hmmm. Eight already. Time flies, I suppose. Now they want to promote me and probably put me on some piece of crap destined to patrol the backside of nowhere, and probably with a crew that does not know their asses from a hole in the deck.
Since that wormhole was only a day away from Command at warp 8, it provided a very needed reduction in travel time between the Daumiersen sector and Command, saving ten days — each way. Most of the wormholes we know about are two-way, but several are not. The probes that were sent through, what turned out to be one-way wormholes did not come back, although they were equipped with warp drives and should have been able to return. Either something destroyed the probes, or else the breakout point was so far away they ran out of energy before they could return.
The First sat staring at the images of the wrecked weapon pods. What is on the other end of this wormhole? When the Federation first started finding wormholes, no one knew whether they might break out into the middle of a star, another galaxy, or perhaps just another star system farther out on the rim? They sent out probes. Some came back through the wormhole, some came back under warp drive, and others did not come back at all. With the latter, the Federation put out warning buoys surrounding the wormhole to warn everyone to stay clear.
Wormholes are nearly instantaneous, but they vary in how they seem to operate. Some have a smooth transition. You enter one end, and within a few seconds, as far as the traveler is concerned, he/she comes out the other end. Although it seemed to the traveler to last a finite amount of time — a few seconds to a few minutes — scientists insist that no time elapsed while in transit. Another oddity about the wormholes is that the two-way wormholes can be used both ways simultaneously. You do not see, feel or hear any other vehicle as it passes you while in transit, nor do any instruments tried so far record the other ship. Maybe we are transmitted at different frequencies or something. Since there are a half dozen theories on how wormholes work, and none of them can be proven, one idea seems as good as the next.
No one knows how they were made, who made them or even if they might be a natural occurrence, but most scientists think they were built by the Master Race that we keep finding traces of — objects whose purposes we cannot even fathom, let alone make to operate. They have defied any test the human race has so far been able to devise. They just are — period, and they appear to be indestructible. The wormholes are the only thing from — presumably — the Master Race that we have been able to activate. But we know little about the wormholes other than they present themselves as giant shimmering disks in space, and there are several conflicting stories about how the first one was found — what ship found it and even which wormhole it was, but they have been around for a long time. So far, no instrument devised by man has given any reading from them at all, except for an enormous energy burst when they are activated. Their activation is triggered when anything moves into the shimmering that is the wormhole itself. There is an energy release, and whatever is inside the wormhole is transported. Then, the wormhole is ready to go again. The recharging, if there is any, must be instantaneous.
“AI. Ship Wide,” the First Officer said. After the sirens’ alert, “Attention all hands. In a short while, we are likely to go into combat with a fairly new destroyer with thicker armor and more weapon systems than we have, but it does not mount the crew I have, and I think that makes all the difference. I want every Department Head to have his or her people double-check every system under their command. Check and double-check. We do not want to go into combat with a system that is ready to fail.
“My boards show everything functioning other than the starboard laser array that is still down and will be until we return to base. But, I do not want to depend on the boards, so please double-check all your systems to make certain we are ready for combat — possibly the most critical combat of our careers. Thanks to our Chief Engineer and his team, we now have a much more capable missile — twelve of them. Twelve enhanced DELTAs, and each pair of them should, theoretically, be capable of penetrating the destroyer’s armor to let in our version of hell. With the effort of all of us operating as a team — as we always do — we will end the pirate menace to the Union of the Axis once and for all. If any of you should find any system not functioning at optimum, please let your supervisor know ASAP so he or she can get the system repaired and brought back to one hundred percent efficiency. That is all.”
While the First worried about the wormhole and the Destroyer somewhere on the other side of it, the crew checked and double-checked everything they were responsible for, some showing their worry while others joked and pretended they weren’t concerned about the coming confrontation. An hour later, after some minor glitches had been taken care of, the Bridge was quiet as Department after Department flashed green on the Science Officer’s detailed boards as well as the First Officer’s.
“I wish that laser/particle beam array was functioning,” the Science Officer quietly said.
The First Officer sighed. “Yeah, me too, but we have twelve DELTAs, thanks to the genius we have for a Chief Engineer, and I fully expect them to go through that destroyer’s armor as if it were not even there.”
The Science Officer turned to the First officer. “Sir, the last department has reported in. All systems are at maximum efficiency, with the exception of that one laser array. The ship is as ready as she can be under the circumstances.”
“Very well.”
“Sir?” the young Weapons Officer said.
“What do you have, Guns?”
“Sir, as ordered, I have gone over the diagram of that Elois Class destroyer. Every description of the ship that I could find mentions that she is well built, and her designers had tried to correct every inadequacy of earlier models. Unfortunately for us, they seemed to have done an excellent job of correcting those previous weaknesses because I cannot find any. However, there is a possibility — however slight — and it is the same reason we lost our starboard laser/particle beam array during the battle with the pirates, although I think it was just a coincidence. Anyway, Sir, when the weapon pod containing the energy array moves past the Hunter’s main armor, the pod’s armor extends and covers as much of the array as possible — as you are undoubtedly aware. When the laser/particle beam fires, the small area at the business end of the projector is vulnerable for a brief time, but that is a very short period of time, indeed. Once the array is no longer in use or its energy banks are exhausted, it is brought back inside the hull where it is better protected. To make a long story short, there is a very short period of time when an energy pulse could get past the armor and the shields as the projector moves inside. A very narrow period of time, but our luck ran out on our starboard array, and a pulse got inside the hull just as the array dropped its firing armor and moved back inside.
“We frequently target an enemy’s energy arrays, but the intention is to damage or destroy the array, not try to get a pulse inside the ship, since chances of that happening are small, indeed. Usually, it is just not possible because the timing and accuracy of the shot have to be so precise, and with both ships moving and all that is going on, there are easier ways to do damage to the other ship. However, the destroyer’s extra armor and additional arrays outgun us. It is a desperate attempt, and one not likely to work, but I think it is the only way to get a pulse inside that thing’s armor, if our enhanced DELTAs do not work.”
The Weapons Officer stopped for a second to gauge his superior’s response. “Sir, to give our enhanced DELTAs a better chance, I think you should aim for a weapon pod. You just might hit at the right instant, and even if you do not, with the enhanced missiles, you are bound to take out the array, at least.”
This story illustrates a risk of sex under hypnosis. It could be called rape. This story builds on ‘Arlene Gets Hypnotized,’ my previous story. * * * * * I was sitting in my office at the University when Arlene walked into my open office. ‘Professor, are you busy?’ I probably was, but Arlene was a delight to look at and to have around. Especially to a 58 year old psychology professor who was pretty much reduced to dreaming about what had been and might have been. ‘Well, I was deep in...
At eight on the dot, he carried a laughing Jennie into an instantly quiet kitchen. Still in his arms, Jennie kissed him. Turning to the other wives, she gave the proclamation, "I'm full of come," then followed with, "but ... I'm broken." That started the usual scramble, but they had the pussy cream in the kitchen this time, and Jeff insisted that he carry her to the hot tub. He kissed her tenderly, then was shooed away by Diana, who kissed him and whispered. "That glow on her face...
The Retreat Arlene and Ann finally managed to get Jeff reasonably alone for a couple of minutes. After kissing him passionately, Arlene transferred Little One to the Prime’s shoulder, where she made her way under his collar to her usual resting place spread across his back. As soon as she had settled in, he told her how much he loved and missed her before giving her a brief account of the trip. Little One told him how much she missed him and shared the happenings in Germany. All of this was...
THE RETREAT: LATE THURSDAY NIGHT Arlene and Selina sat on Selina's bed, their backs propped against pillows as they played with Billy. Arlene slid her hand back and forth under the sheet as Billy pretended to stalk a terribly dangerous prey. He held his body and his head very close to the bed, occasionally lifting his head slightly to peek at his target, the tip of his tail twitching continuously. Then, he would jump as high as he could, coming down on Arlene's hand, tussling with it...
A shaking of Ann's shoulder accompanied a discordant buzz from her watch. "Plebe, you have thirty minutes to shower, dress and get to your first class. You don't have time for breakfast today, so ask the AI for a couple of energy bars." Ann, bleary-eyed, shut her alarm off and swung her legs out of her bed as the Class Lieutenant, already immaculately clad in her uniform, stepped back to give the smaller girl room to stand. "Thanks, Arlene," Ann mumbled as she came to her feet and...
The Mission Hours later, Arlene and Ann, tired, eased to the edge of a high rock bluff overlooking the massive power station in the distance. “Well, they sure don’t bother to conserve energy, at least with their lights,” Arlene sarcastically remarked as they stared at the brilliantly lit station. Worried that they might be discovered, both young women had employed their sensors over the edge to gather information before proceeding with their mission. “Just how are we supposed to get from...
The women had pushed the two kitchen tables together. Frank Wainwright stood looking at them as Jeff, Kayla, and Diana came in. "We either need to get a bigger table in here, or start eating in the dining room." "Bigger table," Jeff and Diana said at almost the same time. "The dining room is too formal," Diana continued. "We want to be a family, and with all of us for three meals a day, it's a lot easier to serve in here than taking the food into the dining room. The kitchen is...
Ship ...”We were still here all the time?” Kathy got out with amazement. “Ann told me that Ship’s training was very realistic, but this is beyond...” she finished as her voice trailed off. Bill automatically put an arm about his wife as he cast a look around the room. “Arlene and Ann had something they needed to do, but they will meet you in the lounge,” Ship told them. Bill, Kathy, Arlene Ann and the two crews that had flown the training mission with them were all sitting around a big...
During breakfast in the dining room, Diana stood and tapped a spoon on her orange juice glass. When the room quieted, "Most of you already know, but for the ones who don't, Frank, Margaret, Tina, Bill, Kathy and Jill will be back from the island this morning. Margaret called me late yesterday from their hotel suite in Los Angeles. She said they were anxious to get home and would leave really early for the last leg of their trip back. I would appreciate it if all of those of us who will be...
The Retreat ... The Sheriff and his family had left. Jeff and Joe Martin were sitting in the living room talking while the women had gone somewhere, probably to the bathroom. “So, how’s the honeymoon going?” Jeff, at a loss for a topic, asked uncomfortably, not wanting to get into the subject that he thought Arlene should take care of. “Great. I’m still amazed that she actually married me. Sir, the woman brought some polish along and polished her wedding ring – a brand-new wedding ring. I...
... Ann raised a foot from the muck to shake off something that wiggled and flopped about as it tried to use its teeth and suckers on the near-impervious suit. But the skin suit sluffed off the creature’s actions without much notice, and she stomped it into the muck. A few minutes later, they were out of the water and on a long peninsula of muddy land that extended partway through the swamp. Tired, the two stopped for a breather. Turning, Ann started to make a comment, but instead screamed...
... Ann looked at the screen in front of her. “See that?” “Yeah,” Arlene said with a sigh. “Continental shelf. Our world is going shallow. We’re almost there.” “Chances are that very shortly we’re going to be brain dead for real,” Ann quietly said as she began yet another check of their systems. A few minutes later, they came to a halt in water no more than fifty feet deep. “I don’t see any signs of our intruder on my screen. How about yours?” Ann shook her head, then realized that...
Jeff had gotten a bid from the dealer on the Internet and there wasn't a salesman involved. The sales manager handled the business. "How long to prep the black one?" The manager grinned. "After I talked with you on the phone, I went ahead and prepped it, just in case. All I have to do is gas it up and it will be ready." "Fine. Do it, and we'll get the paperwork out of the way." A little later, the paperwork was done, and Jeff swiped his debit card. The sales manager seemed to...
Diana came back with a washcloth and helped her mother put it between her legs, and also helped her get her panties and shorts back on. Susan was still mostly out of it, her motions and actions slow and somewhat uncoordinated. "You really blew her away," Diana said to her husband as she sat and pulled her mother into her arms. "She really blew me away, too," Jeff said as he touched Susan's cheek. "I was aware enough to support most of my weight on my forearms, but all I wanted to do...
In the hallway, Susan threw a load of wet towels on the cart, then a moment later came back out of the suite with the vacuum cleaner she had been using. Muttering to herself, her face red, she hung the vacuum on the side of the cart and started for the next suite. "What's wrong, Meemi?" Arlene asked as she caught up to her grandmother. "Two people. Two people in there and they used up all the towels we left for them, plus extras that they demanded last night at 9:00 o'clock, then they...
... Jeff had also heard the door close, and shoved Helen into Diana's arms, causing Diana to stagger, Laura grabbing Helen to help. He pulled his .45 from his waistband and started down the hall, but even as he did so, he saw Arlene at the intersection of the hallways and knew he was too late. Jeff figured one of the mercenaries had to be in the hallway, and was probably doing the same thing Arlene was. (Slicing the pie at the intersection.) He also knew he would never make the...
The Retreat Diana frowned prettily. “That reminds me. We need to go back to 2214 to see if Jasmine and her sister-wives have caught up with their canning yet. We should do that tomorrow.” “Yep. And they need to get back into training as soon as possible too, but we can’t leave to visit them until the Sergeant and his crew have completed their investigation.” “So, how long will that take?” “As long as it takes,” Jeff responded to her frustration. “Look, Sergeant Higgins is in charge of the...
Diana parked in front of the art supply store. Hope, sitting in the second seat with Ann, started to open her door, but Ann put out a restraining hand. "Let Security do their thing first." "Are we really in that much danger?" Diana spoke up from the driver's seat. "We didn't go into details when we told you about the attack, and no, we don't expect it to happen again, but we didn't expect that attack, either. And, yeah, it's an irritant having to have Security everywhere we go,...
When they parked in the back, the door of the Retreat opened and all Jeff's younger wives, who had stayed home, came hurrying out accompanied by Selina. As Hope and Arlene exited the SUV with the puppies snuggled under their coats, Arlene pointed to an area just past the pavement near the side of the Retreat. "Mrs. Kimbrel said we should walk them as soon as we got home," Arlene told the others as she and Hope opened their coats enough to give everyone a peek at the baby...
The Retreat ... The young wives looked at each other before Arlene turned to her husband. “As per your orders, I’m continuing to schedule crews for patrol missions. Of course...” “But that’s not where you just came from,” Jeff interrupted to say. The two young women exchanged a look. “We might as well tell him and get it over with,” Ann said. Arlene stared at her partner, then with a sigh, agreed, but as she opened her mouth, Ann began to speak. “We know that the General has made every...
Hope held one of the outfits up as she repressed a giggle. "Dogs can see color, can't they?" Arlene grabbed Spike, who had apparently figured things out and was sneaking off. "Oh, no you don't, Big Boy. You get to try on your new snowsuit." Then answering Hope's question, "They can see colors, but I've read that the colors they see probably aren't as intense to dogs as they are to humans. They have fewer cones in their eyes, and humans have several different types of cones that...
... Arlene motioned to their forward screen and the rippling, wavering, blurry image there. “I can’t see worth a shit because of the burning atmosphere, and the sensors have packed up from the heat. But I think I’ll go to full shields right about...” A geyser shot hundreds of feet into the air as the craft hit the water with a sound that could be heard many, many miles away. Even at full shields, some of the shock bled through and, had it not been for the gravity field of their seats,...
Hi, To all Iss reader this is my first story hope U all would like it a complete fiction.my self raj i live in Mumbai this story is about my aunty nandita,let me describe her she is in her 30s,lives with her husband and daughter.She is born beauty with an awesome fig of 36.28.40 ..her assets are her huge melons of 36 d and her ass that will give a hard on to any guy who looks at it So now my story starts this was like 5 years ago when I was appearing for my 12 th HSC examination at that time my...
Laura woke him the usual way, and she almost went too far. When Jeff grunted and his cock started to swell, she jerked her mouth off. It was a near thing for a few seconds. "I guess I almost went off while I was still asleep," he groaned. "Wow, I'm really horny." "Sorry, Jeff. You usually go forever. I wouldn't mess it up for Diana for the world." "It wasn't your fault," he said, finally regaining control. "It's just the stress of the day. Of course, I've had two of those damn...
In their bedroom, dressed in pajamas, the girls flopped into bed. Terry grabbed the remote and dialed the lights down, then turned to her sister. "Arlene said that we wouldn't have any more periods until Little One turns them on for us again. Boy, I can sure live with that." Alice got a look on her face and responded, "Well, as you know, I've only had one, but it sure was icky – not to say anything about worrying if I were bleeding to death. If that's what it takes to be a woman, I...
Jeff and his women had showered and were in bed only moments when Ship announced that Arlene's scout was minutes away. Since the family was still using their suite on the Ship, they were quickly dressed – well partially anyway – and waiting for Arlene as she maneuvered her scout through the outer bay door and onto the flight deck. She didn't go all the way to the scout's bay though, but stopped in front of her family. An instant after the scout came to a halt, its belly hatch opened and...
The Waterfall Campsite ... Dessie straightened up and stared at Ann. “I have eaten pheasant, fish and rabbit until they’re practically coming out my ears. I’ve had MREs while backpacking and wasn’t in love with them all that much, but I think I would love some now, no matter what the meal consists of.” “We have an assortment. I noticed a Brisket Entreé, Chicken something or other, and a Beef Stew, with whatever goes with them, and several more besides. We just grabbed some at random in...
JUST OUTSIDE A SMALL NORTHWESTERN TOWN Once again Nichols sat worrying in front of his boss' elegant desk. Rich, wealthy, words don't describe the extreme category the older man fit into. Nor can you describe how evil this man is either, Nichols thought, his face devoid of expression as he waited for Mr. Moreau to end his phone call. Nichols dreaded that. When the call ended, Moreau would ask questions that Nichols didn't have acceptable answers to. The town council members think Moreau...
Jeff, Diana, Dave and Evie sat in the living room, waiting. When the phone rang, Diana checked the caller ID and answered. "Glad you guys are back." "Diana, I..." The voice chopped off, then Carla cleared her throat and tried again. "Diana, our dreams..." Carla's voice stopped again, to be replaced by quiet sobs of joy. "I can't..." "You just did," Diana said softly. "You're on speaker, so all of us can hear you. Jeff, Dave and Evie are here with me and listening. And, you're...
...”See that tree that has the broken limb hanging down?” “Yes,” Aiko gasped out. “We’ll jog to it, then we will walk for a hundred steps.” “I don’t know...” “Yes, you do. You know you can. I’ll bet it’s even less than a hundred steps. Let’s count them,” she finished as she began counting their steps aloud while they slow-jogged. Soon Aiko added her voice. “Ninety-two. Told you it was less than a hundred. Now we’ll walk for a hundred steps, and rested or not, we will jog starting at...
The Retreat As Charlotte and Diana sat at the bar in the kitchen watching the other women, Selina stopped by. "Want to help?" the little genius asked the young woman. Worried, Charlotte answered, "Everything is happening so fast that I barely know what's going on." "Oh, you will get used to that," Selina said as she reached for Charlotte's hand. "Well, I'll be glad to help if I can." Charlotte glanced at Diana, who nodded with a smile. "No better way than to just dive...
They were high up and soon over the ocean, having left the continent behind. They passed the terminator and continued into night, still headed west, the myriad lights of the cities twinkling as the Earth seemed to slowly spin below. But before the view could become boring – if it ever could -- the horizon seemed to shift downward on the big screen as the Ship gradually pointed her nose away from the planet, the full moon drifting down toward the center of the viewscreen. There was a...
Jeff met with Kei, Edi and Alesha on the updated design that they were working on for the new ski lodge, then stopped off in the living room to watch the late news before eventually winding up in his suite. After a shower where he "played" with Jennie and Melissa, he walked into a strangely quiet bedroom. Looking around, he began to wonder. "What?" he asked, then suddenly it hit him, "Where's Ann?" Arlene caught his eye. "We've looked for her, and she's not anywhere in the Retreat....
The Castle ...”Certainly,” Arlene responded, “but please don’t either of you touch it. The AI can become quite persnickety, and he has the means to back up his displeasure.” “You have a functioning artificial intelligence?” Karl asked. “Please don’t mention it around him. I think he is trying to find a way to become a citizen,” Arlene returned with a chuckle. “Uh, I won’t,” Karl responded, not quite sure if Arlene were kidding or not. Both Karl and Fischer thanked Arlene and hurried off...
Jeff had stopped by his office to pick up a few pieces of printer paper. Alone in the living room a couple of minutes later, he wadded up a sheet of the paper into a loose ball. If I screw up with this paper ball, air resistance, if nothing else, should keep its flight slow enough to prevent me from tearing up things. With Arlene's encouragement while on the Ship's range, he had gained a small measure of expertise as he mentally moved a steel ball around and caused it to spin, but he still...
The Mission ... Both were tempted to use their suits’ drive units, but they knew that would alert the Throme if anything would. Scrambling down, they were soon in the water. A hundred meters out, they saw a glint of movement coming toward them just under the surface. “Let’s go home,” Arlene said to her partner. As soon as the hatch closed and even before they were out of the airlock, the AI had them moving away from land. “Oh, I so want to get out of this suit,” Arlene grumped a few...
The Retreat Shortly after lunch, Arlene went out to the Ship expecting to sit in one of the command couches and be swept away by the simulator to another very realistic space battle, but she froze as soon as she passed through the hatch. Jeff had called Kayla and Art to his office, intending to ask them to begin training in the Ship's simulator. Before he could begin, the AI turned the TV on to show Arlene jogging back from the Ship. The AI didn't say anything, but apparently thought...
The Retreat After breakfast, Arlene, Ann and Selina gathered enough food to last them the rest of the day. “Should this not be the correct castle and we continue the search, we will need something to drink with our lunch,” Selina said as she opened a refrigerator. “There is water available at each station on the interceptor. As for soft drinks, please bring only what you are sure you will drink. Storage space is at a premium,” Arlene told the seven-year-old. “Bathroom?” Selina asked as...
Jeff had just dialed his next door neighbor who lived a mile down the road. "Steve Sperman here." "Hi Mr. Sperman. This is Jeff. How's it going?" "Hmmm. Didn't we have a discussion about that Mr. thing?" Jeff chuckled. "Yeah, I guess we did, Steve. How's Marcie doing?" There was a hesitation. "You know, that's a funny thing, like I mentioned before. Seems like after the night we spent at your place, ol' Uncle Arthur (arthritis) suddenly got much better. Odd that both of us...
The Prison Planet Ship had received permission from her Prime to go back to Earth long enough to pick up Arlene, Ann and the other aviators, then take the Wing to orbit for its launch. The trip to Earth and back would only take a few minutes. Giving the interceptors a ride to orbit and their launch would take only a few minutes more. The interceptors normally remained in their bays on Ship’s flight deck, so she would have to go back anyway. Also, she would have to return to Earth again when...
Deep Space "Question is, are they going to notice us?" Ann asked as she watched as one of the alien vessels came from behind a large chunk of moon and headed straight for them. Ann knew she could not warp out without her drive trying to take some of the debris field with them, which would probably result in the destruction of her warp drive, and/or her ship. In addition, she strongly suspected that the aliens would pick up her inertialess drive's signature, should she use that with them...
“Despite our AIs actually doing the flying, I want every pilot to have his or her hands on the controls at all times when we do this for real, and when we practice as well. Ann and I have put together a rough outline. Everything seems to work in the simulation, but we haven’t done it for real yet. There could very well be glaring errors that only show up when actually flying the patterns. Bottom line: be careful and think about what the next step is. Does the current process make sense with...
When they left the suite a few minutes later, they saw Melissa at the far end of the hall. She seemed to do a double-take, then turned and rushed around the corner, probably heading for the kitchen. A little later, when they walked through the door, she was already setting out two more plates. Jeff pulled Ann tighter against him, and they stopped just inside the kitchen. I know Ann is blushing. Damn, I thought I was too old to blush, but my face feels like it’s on fire. Everyone was seated...
EARLIER IN THE MORNING AT QUINTON TATE'S HOME After his morning shower, Quinton, dressed in his uniform and still buckling on his gun belt, walked into the kitchen. Before he could sit down, the phone rang. "Quinton," he said, putting the instrument to his ear as he finished securing the belt with the keepers. "Well, good morning. Are you planning to go somewhere on your little impromptu vacation?" his Captain asked, cheerily – a little too cheerily. "What vacation?" Quinton joked...
"We still have a problem," Diana said. "I doubt if Billy has ever used a litter box. So how are we going to train him to use it and not pee on the carpet? Since there aren't any pet stores in Winter Park, I guess we can order a kennel on the Internet and have it overnighted, but as late as it is, it will still be day after tomorrow before it gets here..." "Yeah, we were lucky the grocery store even had litter boxes. But we're ahead of you about the kennel," Jeff said. "Arlene had an...
The Retreat ... Charlotte and Ada sat for a moment as Diana's words sank in. Both mother and daughter were clearly skeptical as they furtively glanced at the other three women. Diana let out a chuckle. "You can say it; we won't get mad." Ada hesitated. "This is no joke? You're actually telling us that Susan is your mother and Arlene is your daughter?" "Got it in one," Diana said with a grin. "But..." Ada began. Then, after studying Susan's and Arlene's faces some more, she...
Jeff sat in his usual place at the head of the table. Frank Wainwright sat to Jeff's right as the family (minus four who were eating with Margaret and Tina in their suite) ate lunch. All the Alphas ate a lot, and Jeff usually ate more than most of them, but today, he was hungrier than usual. He had gone through his first plate and was already started on his second one. "Looks like you're a bit hungry today," Frank tactfully said. "I didn't see you after breakfast. What did you do to...
Joyce, Caitlin, Jennie, Melissa and Ann came in with the latter two pushing serving carts. Soon, the table was set and food arrayed in front of Arlene, Diana, Susan and Jeff. The wives' efficiency was not lost on Susan, but she refused to acknowledge it due to her sour mood. Each time she had talked to her daughter or granddaughter on the phone lately, her suspicions that something was going on had increased. Then the introductions in the living room were almost more than she could...
Everyone except Matt and Courtney was waiting in the living room. The new SAC and his wife had borrowed an Escalade and driven down to Winter Park. "HELICOPTER APPROACHING FROM THE NORTH. SECURITY HAS CLEARED IT TO LAND ON OUR PAD." Margaret had called earlier to say that everything had gone without a hitch and they were on the way home, but Angel had been beaten and was in need of medical attention. "Let's go," Jeff said as he started out the door of the living room with Little One...
Aboard Ship, Arlene, Ann and Selina are teaching the Morales family how to field strip, clean and reassemble a pulse rifle. ...”Very good, Mr. Morales. That’s a whole lot better than I did the first time,” Arlene blatantly lied. “Okay, Jasmine, do you know what’s next?” “Well, I did until you scrambled the parts,” Jasmine said with a chuckle, “but I think it’s that thing over there — a modulator, I believe you called it.” And the process went on. The next time they field stripped the...
The Prison Planet As the group neared the second area that was obstructed by boulders, Jeff said with a sigh, “Sorry, Ladies, but I still have a headache from moving the last bunch. No way am I going to play bulldozer just now.” “It’s getting colder in here,” Tosha said as she zipped her jacket, took her gloves out of a pocket and pulled them on. “Is it just me, or is the path sloping downward more?” Kei asked as she and the others followed suit – other than Jeff, who only zipped his light...
Kayla very briefly told everyone what had happened. Just as she was finishing up, Sheriff Tate, who had been eating with the team, walked into the hallway to chat with the others. "I helped the guys move the bodies out. We found a roll of black plastic in the basement and covered the pile of them." "That piece of plastic over there on the floor," Jill said, motioning down the hallway near the theater door, "is that where one of them..." "Yeah," Kayla said. "General Whitworth has a...
As everyone walked down the hall toward the theater, Selina hung back. When Diana turned and caught her eye, Selina, with purpose, walked on past, turned the corner and went on to her suite. If I do not ask, then the answer cannot be no, she thought. Waiting four minutes by her internal clock, she walked back out of her suite, down the hall and peeked around the corner in the direction of the theater. There was no one in the hallway. Shortly, she slowly opened the theater door the tiniest...
With the Alphas at Security headquarters studying the pulse rifle and the women apparently all in the basement, Jeff wandered through the Retreat at a loss as to what he should be doing. Deciding he would work in his lab to pass the time, he returned to the basement. Poking his head in one of the rooms, he got a smile from Kayla who was leading an exercise class – push-ups for the moment. His position allowed him a view of erect nipples on several of his wives, and a couple of the other...
Characters that appear in this chapter. Matt – Alpha. New Denver SAC for the FBI. Courtney – Matt's wife who thinks the Matthews may be aliens. Jeff – The Prime. Diana – Jeff's wife and Clan Queen. Arlene – Queen, wife. Diana and Jeff's daughter. Helen – Genius wife and teacher. Susan – Wife and Diana's mother, who is also a Queen. Kayla – Jeff's wife who first worked for the FBI, but then went to work for the General, and now she is Jeff's last line of defense. Art – Alpha....
Arlene grabbed Jeff's hand. "Come on, Daddy. Let's go back to our suite. Mom and Selina will be back ... uh sometime." Jeff frowned as he turned back to the others, "Yeah, that's what I'm worried about – the sometime. It's not like Diana to run off like that." Laura put her arm around his waist to get him started toward their suite. "Well, you were the one who kept pushing Diana to go through the academy. I have been through only the first six months there, but all that discipline...
Bobby put her hands on her face and took a breath trying to stifle a giggle. "We're acting like whores," she said, while desperately trying not to reach for Art's cock. Sandra hissed in a breath. "Art, I don't know what's happened to us. Honest, we don't act like this. We've each had one guy — once, and that was just to get rid of our cherries. But it's like we've been given an aphrodisiac. I want you so bad that it's hard to breathe," she finished, not knowing that Art was...
The Colonel’s Office Aboard Ship ...”And Worthington. Hear this! If something happens to my wife, I’ll kill you without a second thought. Now get out of my face before I change my mind and do what I know should be done.” Without saluting, Worthington spun on his heel and stomped out. Jeff sat thinking. Should I tell his Commander why I’m sending him back? After a moment, he shrugged. On second thought, I asked for his best aviators to give them a chance in my unit. No one, other than us,...