Storiesonline.net ------- Tandra by John Wales Copyright© 2003 by John Wales ------- Description: Henry Buchanan is a professional engineer. He takes on some of the more difficult problems, for many large companies. An earthquake alters his life, when he finds he has long hidden neighbours. He must now use all his knowledge to save not only them, but all of humanity. Codes: MF Mf FF ff Mm Mult ScFi slow harem rom 1st cons lolita violent gay les het group oral anal toys preg ------- ------- Those people that graciously helped me with this story. Copyright 2003 by John Wales. All rights reserved. Permission is granted for copying for personal use only. For any other use, please contact me. Any use for pay sites, is expressly forbidden. Do not repost this material. This is a work of fiction. As far as I know; this never happened. Any similarity with the people I know, is strictly accidental. I cannot attest to the fact, that my acquaintances, are not alien though. ------- Cast Characters and Terms Listed Sorted by Chapter Carl Shingle - fought with Henry in Viet Nam1c Charlie Shingle - son of Carl and Doris1c Dog - Shepard/wolf mix that belonged to Henry1c Duc Tran - father of Susan husband of Lam1c Henry Buchanan - 48 year old man living in North Bay1c John Buchanan - father of Henry who died in 19711c Lam Tran - mother of Susan wife of Duc1c Paul Santo - friend and lover of Charlie Shingle1c Rob Farley - mason that worked on Henry's house1c Samutz - race of carnivorous beings1t Tuyen - girl that Henry loved in Viet Nam1c Uncle Jake - died in 1964 before this story starts husband of Harriet1c Margaret Buchanan - mother of Henry and wife of John, she died with her husband in 19711c Doris Shingle - wife of Carl, mother of Charlie2c Secric - the bioligiocal being wholly manufactured by the Tug2c Sir John Michaelson Morley, a.k.a. Jack Michaels - friend of Henry and owner of pub in North Bay2c Susan Tran - fiancé of Henry2c Harriet - became Henry's only living relative after the death of his parents4c Blair Somerville - worked with Henry at Ontario Hydro, wife named Margret5c Chrysanthemum- (Chris) the Morris girl Henry found first7c Kitten - the Tandra girl found on the second trip mother of Hope, Faith and Charity8c Charity - one of the triplets10c Faith - one of the triplets10c Hope - one of the triplets10c Amethyst - (Amy) one of the 2 girls rescued on the stormy night11c Sandy - the other girl that was rescued11c Blue - next oldest one of the Tandra at the base, mother of Topaz15c Cloud - one of the Tandra at the base15c Kitty - one of the Tandra at the base15c Moth - youngest one of the Tandra at the base15c Nova - oldest one of the Tandra at the base15c Star - one of the Tandra at the base15c Topaz - one of the Tandra at the base, and a daughter to Blue15c General Givens - Canadian general Lt. Smithers commanding officer19c Sofaas - the Tandra name for the Sun19t Sofaas III - the Tandra name for the Earth19t Wandue - a race of beings similar to the band members in the first Star Wars movie19t Bolis - leader of a small group of Tandra at the base that opposed Henry19c General MacDonald - American general Lt. Fowlers commanding officer21c Abe - one of Yuri Mecholov's men that was trying to catch Ingrid and her kids23c BeBop - drug dealer23c Fixer - drug dealer23c Ingrid - mother of Jorge and Judith that Henry rescued from Mecholov's men23c Jack - one of Yuri Mecholov's men that was trying to catch Ingrid and her kids23c Jerome - boy that Henry tried to steer straight23c Jorge - Ingrid's son23c Judith - Ingrid's daughter23c Lois - the girl that Susan seduced in the dress shop23c Monica - girl who worked in the dress shop23c Yuri Mecholov - man that ran a slavery and torture ring23c Clem - one of Yuri Mecholov's men24c Joe - one of Yuri Mecholov's men24c Patty - rescued by Henry's family24c Samantha Phelps - a part time prostitute, from Little Rock rescued by Henry's family24c Samuel - Yuri Mecholov's butler24c Tom - rescued by Henry's family24c Justine - wife of Yuri Mecholov25c Monique - maid of Yuri Mecholov25c Jeremy - son of Justine26c Matthew - son of Justine26c Sofia - daughter of Justine26c Charlton - Ship that Henry found at the Moon Base29c Roger - a Mordis child rescued from the moon base29c Mardaf Limit - distance of Jupiter from the sun31t Jake Tuska - Drug dealer in New York32c Juarez - leader of the Columbian group32c LaGrange points - A gravitational neutral point between earth and moon32t Clarice - one of the girls rescued from Jake Tuska33c Frank Turner - one of the men from Henry's old unit33c John Marks - one of the men from Henry's old unit33c Kimberly - one of the girls rescued from Jake Tuska33c Moesha - one of the girls rescued from Jake Tuska33c Susan - one of the girls rescued from Jake Tuska33c Epsilon Eridani planetary system where crystals were produced34t EE1 - Masis the innermost planet in the Epsilon Eridani system35t EE2 - second planet in the Epsilon Eridani system35t EE3 - Outer most planet in the Epsilon Eridani system35t Masis - the innermost planet in the Epsilon Eridani system also known as EE135t Nema - girl found by Henry on Masis35c Omicron -battleshipthree point four million tonnes35t Sandra - ship that Henry found in Base 19 on Masis35c Theta class dreadnaught large ship one of only 3 made35t Admiral, Shoojs' - Samutz36c Bibia or Bobby - boy raised by Sadda as a son36c King Sook's - Samutz groom of Samlay from a neighbouring empire36c King Tinsu -Samutz king of planetSamutzi36c Sadda - Tandra woman that Henry saved from the Samutz on Masis, mother of36c Samlay - King Sook's only daughter36c Martin Pirelli - one of the merc's picked up in Dallas Dave Piton - one of the men from Henry's old unit37c Frank Rocco - one of the men from Henry's old unit38c Goth - Recruited from Dallas38c Henrick Stansky - one of the men from Henry's old unit38c Jamal Brown - one of the men from Henry's old unit38c Jan Polanski - one of the men from Henry's old unit38c Meech - former Lt. recruitedfrom the Seattle group38c Paul Roderick - A former Captain recruited from Dallas38c Pinder - Recruited from Dallas38c Richard Wilcox - one of the men from Henry's old unit38c Sanchez - Recruited from Dallas38c Seth Branson - one of the men from Henry's old unit38c Chad - one of the Seattle men, had a heart attack the day before the pick up38c Matt Deeker - one of the Seattle men39c Bob Trent - took over Carl Shingle's company while he was away39c Claw - Samutz name of a very large battleship, five million tonnes40c Continental class carrier - large ship used like an aircraft carrier41t Sooda - male head of a all male family41t Funt - a male wife in a male only family41t Nautilus - Omicron class battleship captured in battle of Epsilon Eridani41t Softay -a marsupial race of intelligent beings41t Souts - the main city on Samutz occupied Masis41t T'aut's - lizard like being that walked on 2 legs41t Vauntu - tall (2 meters) thin untrustworthy beings41t Frieda - name given to the AI under Souts41t Sula - Tandra technician found on the Claw42t Cal - the new AI in the ship known as the Claw42c Alpha Ophiuchi or Guulas, thirteen planets orbiting a binary star system43c Dasul - planet of the Sardis system44t Keeren system - important Samutz system, two habitable planets Roldas &Vernt44t Lieutenant Quorsh - name used by Henry to provide tainted beer to the Samutz ships he was purser aboard Talon44t Morg - two metres tall, three hundred kilos, mean, not very bright used by Samutz as miners44c Roldas - desert planet in Keeren system44t Samutzi or Falm 6 - home to two billion Samutz44t Strangle - a Samutz dreadnaught44t Talon - one of the Samutz ships44t Vernt - water planet in Keeren system44t Kia-berry - dark green leaves on a plant almost two metres high with dark red berries slightly bigger than a golf ball44t Peng - Chinese gunnery officer45t Disembowel - a Samutz dreadnaught45c Dolson - beings that looked like humans and Tandras but with a tail46t Farnac - main city of Zindor46t Metsu - leader of a female family46t Nedue - Softay female that lost her child and mate, adopted into Henry's family46t Soma - baby given to Nedue to raise46c Suron - capital city of Samutzi46c Zindor - home of King Sook46t Aleksandrovich Ovshinsky -mercenary from Russia46t Danaos Fotinopoulos - mercenary from Greece47c Fossin - prosperous planet in King Tinsu's empire47c Hassan Youssoufi - mercenary from Morocco47c Niklas Schmitt - mercenary from Germany47c Pierre Devereux -mercenary from France47c Zhu Dedong - mercenary from China47c Admiral Woish - admiral of fleet protecting Samutzi47c Moda - the AI in Admiral Woish's ship48c Gozel 53 - Empress of Tandra48c Marks - set up by Henry as a Captain in the new Tandra Navy49c Pirelli - set up by Henry as a Captain in the new Tandra Navy49c Piton - set up by Henry as a Captain in the new Tandra Navy49c Runna - the AI on the ship that Henry left to go get help for Cal49c Turner - set up by Henry as a Captain in the new Tandra Navy49c Dulfa - Samutz king that killed Nedue and Soma49c Candasu - A female only family of Tandra the head of this family is called a Metsu and the submissive members Suna50c Coya - one of the sleepers that propelled Jamal51c Falm 6 or Samutzi - home to two billion Samutz51c Gorf - a T'aut tech working on Jamal51t Guyda - a small planetoid where many of the Samutz were placed in stasis51c Jamal - the new AI that took over the ship taken from Dulfa, this ship was renamed "New Hope"51t Scorso - moon in the Falm 6 or Samutzi system51c Suna - submissive member of a female Tandra family51t Thonas - historic enemy of the Tandra51t Volda - a Tandra tech working on Jamal51t Bintuu - an insect like being formed like a millipede, but with ten legs51c Defren System - 61 light years from the Fairchch System, capital of a small four system empire, with 20 plus planets Empress Bassinda - ruler of the Defren System, the Tandra name for this system was Krafa52t Fairchch system-a major ship building and repair centre, Saffra was the capital52t Guulas - also known as the Alpha Ophiuchi binary system52c Meemo - Empress Bassinda's boy toy52t New Hope - the ship taken from King Dulfa, AI is renamed Jamal52t Saffra - King Dulfa's ruling planet52c Secco - a Tandra Commander on Defren52t Captain Flussindg - captain of the Bintuu ship Henry captured52t Foonsa - the Bintuu imperial planet52c Fostingal - oldest of Ambassador Soundakre's sons53c Gylisnif - Ambassador Soundakre middle son53t Meslifzz - the Bintuu Empress53c Messingor Flangistimca Gossington - the greatest Bintuu warrior in the last thousand years53c Messy - name given to the AI on the Bintuu ship that Henry captured53c Moldeg - ant like creatures that forced the Bintuu from their home world53c Risnoff - youngest of Ambassador Soundakre's sons53c Soundakre - Bintuu Ambassador to Bassinda's Empire53t Tollinzz - one of the older Bintuu breeding planets,53c xocoktyylz - a race of beings from the centre of the galaxy once known as the Thonas with 12 eyes and 12 appendages53c Godough - dog-like creatures bred by the early Tandra as companions now gone wild on Masis also known as Donai54t Huang Yi - Chinese Captain serving under General Shingle on Masis54t Jonesey - the name that Jim Williams gave the AI in his "Bomber" named after his brother55t Jul - the leader of the tech crew that worked on Jim Williams new ship55c Raf Gordon - pilot serving under General Shingle55c Sgt. Jim Williams - one of the humans left on Masis; Sooda of Tom55c Tom Williams (Tandra) - funt of Jim Williams his Tandra name was Tomanda55c Umal Mountains - mountain range on Masis55c Bondue - A male only family of Tandra the head of this family is called a Sooda and the submissive members Funts55c Boko - young male Tandra Jim and Tom met after their fighter was shot down55t Fenna - female Tandra Jim and Tom met after their fighter was shot down55c Fonza - female Tandra Jim and Tom met after their fighter was shot down56c Mona - female Tandra Jim and Tom met after their fighter was shot down56c Champ - strong charismatic leader of Mass history56c Demmak - Tandra tech that came up with the idea of drugging the Samutz's drink56c Donai - dog-like creatures bred by the early Tandra as companions now gone wild on Masis also known as godough57t Maf - plant with the property of numbing the areas of the brain that allow the Tandra on Masis to mindspeak57c Terry - the man that delivered the drugs for the Samutz's drink57t Coona - small animal the size of a small antelope and weighted in at 12 to 20 kilos57t Mary - the mother of Rosie named after Mary Swisher a neighbour of Jim's57c Rosie - the Donai cub rescued from the Samutz cave by Jim and Tom58t Abigail - one of the 3 children Jim and Tom rescued from the waterfall group and named after his bother and sisters58c Dmitriy Baranov - one of the Russian recruits on Masis58c Losan - wife of Dmitriy Baranov, a Tandra from Earth59c Nikolai (Kolya) Petrov - one of the Russian recruits on Masis, he had 6 wives59c Nosa - wife of Dmitriy Baranov a Tandra from one of the ships that were taken away from the Samutz59c Robert - one of the 3 children Jim and Tom rescued from the waterfall group and named after his bother and sisters59c Sarah - one of the 3 children Jim and Tom rescued from the waterfall group and named after his bother and sisters59c Peli - one of Jul's sunas59c Jeremy Thornton - one of the British recruits on Masis59c Roku - one of Jul's sunas61c Sarine - the ship Jim and Tom found at the bottom of the ocean; 3,400,000 tonne Omicron Class battleship62c Selene - name given to the AI of Sarine by Jim Williams62c Sokolov - one of the officers on Masis62t Vasie - one of Jul's sunas62c Wu Liang - one of the officers on Masis62c Coltin - planet that the Tandra aboard Serine had fled from62c Dela -a medic from Coltin aboard Sarine appointed as Jim's assistant62c Dmitriy Baranov - the Russian recruit who led the attack on the hidden bombs on Masis63t Rick Semta - one of the recruits on Masis63c Tzora - a heavy destroyer assigned to Capt. Jim Williams family and the new home of Jonesey63c Uncle Henry - the Samutz light Destroyer that Henry and Carl captured named by its captain Charlie Shingle63c Lieutenant Somers - Canadian officer who tried to arrest Charlie and Paul when they returned home to North Bay63c Maca - small being teddy bear like in appearance with long black hair and four fingered hands and prehensile thumb64t Montgomery Moore - head of U. S. Army Intelligence65c Morris -Charlie Shingle's next door neighbour65t Mr. Coulter - CIA types sent to North Bay to information from Charlie and Paul65c Mr. Fistine - CIA types sent to North Bay to information from Charlie and Paul65c Mr. Jacobson -CIA types sent to North Bay to information from Charlie and Paul65c Mr. Jones - CIA types sent to North Bay to information from Charlie and Paul65c Gail - one of the girls from John A. MacDonald high school that Charlie took to Terra's Pride65c General Zhou - Chinese general who tried to fool Charlie65c Hans - the name of the AI in the carrier captained by Charlie Shingle66c Hans Kurtz - was Charlie Shingle's favourite teacher, and who he named the AI in the Carrier after66c Jennifer - one of the girls from John A. MacDonald high school that Charlie took to Terra's Pride66c Lian - son of General Zhou66t Melody - one of the girls from John A. MacDonald high school that Charlie took to Terra's Pride66c Mr. Phelps - the principle of John A. MacDonald high school where Charlie and Paul went to school66c Mrs. Lido - another of Charlie's teachers at John A. MacDonald66c Mrs. McNeill - teacher from John A. MacDonald high school that Charlie took to Terra's Pride66c Sam - one of the girls from John A. MacDonald high school that Charlie took to Terra's Pride66t Terra's Pride - the name of the carrier captained by Charlie Shingle66c Tran Thi Anh - Duc and Lam's relative that bought their store in North Bay, wife of Tran Van Bao66c Tran Van Bao - Duc and Lam's relative that bought their store in North Bay66t General Pham - old Vietnamese general who decided to go with Charlie and start over66c Glos - a Tandra male assigned to Private Kamata in hopes of increasing his dedication66c Jõao Silva - a recent recruit from Brazil assigned to a ship with Bolis67c Ly Tien - man trying to extort information from Duc67c Pasha - name Captain Meech gave his AI67c Private Hisako Kamata - 57 year old female assigned one of the Tandra trouble makers67c Glos Male Tandra very lazy but reformed by Hisako Kamata67c Tran Xuan Cong - Duc's nephew67c Bora - female Tandra assigned to Jõao Silva's crew67c Fitol - male Tandra assigned to Jõao Silva's crew68c Moss - female Tandra assigned to Hisako Kamata's crew68c Sef - male Tandra assigned to Hisako Kamata's crew68c Danh - Duc's uncle68c Jerome Bender - boy that Henry tried to steer straight brother of Jonathan Bender69c Jonathan Bender - nicknamed Shoes Jerome Bender's brother69c Judge Anthony Fellows - signed a legal document demanding Jonathan Bender release69c Mario - chef and owner of Mario's69c Mr. Jenkins - the bureaucrat that Moses Carver presented the papers to obtain Jonathan Bender's release69c Muriel Johnson - Mr. Jenkins secretary69c Private Mike Tuck - one of the cadets sent to get Jonathan Bender and his brother69c Private Moses Carver - one of the cadets sent to get Jonathan Bender and his brother69c Tomasso - the waiter at Mario's69c Toosm - William Meech's exec69c Debby - one of the children rescued from Kentucky69c Francine - one of the children rescued from Kentucky70c George - one of the children rescued from Kentucky70c Joshua - one of the children rescued from Kentucky70c Kevin - one of the children rescued from Kentucky70c Marcus - the new AI for the Lunar base70c Rajiv - one of Moses' 29 students70c Sergeant Bindle - head cop sent to the mall to arrest BeBop and Fixer and their gang70c Sirius - the little ship Mom uses when she goes visiting70c Dofer - member of Soduk's fleet70t John Mallard - the president and CEO of Fosta Pharmaceuticals, wants to steal Tandra technology71c Kronik - member of Soduk's fleet71c Monsieur Gereux - one of the industry heads plotting to steal Tandra technology71c Samuel Bennet - Reverend Doctor who is against any Tandra contact71c Soduk - Samutz Admiral in charge of attacking the Sol system71c Tsume - Tandra name for the forth in the Betelgeuse system71c Voosa - one of the sleepers onboard the New Hope72t Aunt Harriet - name of a ship designed by Henry72c Kadork - race of six legged intelligent beings74t Queen Serm - leader of a Kadork planet74t Margret - the AI of the ship later called Mom74c Axxel group - a family of three systems that had authority over the asteroid74c Captain Soot - a Kadork officer75t Dola -Trandra male rescued by Henry on the asteroid75c Queen Baffa - leader of a Kadork world75c Taluus - name of a minor Tandra figure from mythology also the name of the AI on the asteroid captured by the Samutz75c Zomma - another name for the Samutz75c Tamdoc - the largest Tandra group with nineteen systems75t Light Year - the distance that light travels in a year or 9.5 x 1012km76t Sullgr'h - Captain of a Samutz ship that tried to invade the Sol systemgeneralt Soanta - semi-intelligent and extremely ferocious beingProloguec I would like to thank Ron(cosmo56mars@yahoo.com) for taking much of his time in preparing this document for us. It reflects those characters that have come up to chapter 76.More will be added every few chapters. ------- Prologue Sullgr'h sat his 230 centimetre frame, uncomfortably, in the captain's chair. He wished again, that his people could gain the technical skill, even to make a device like this. A simple chair; some could, but most were as dumb as a Soanta. Only the captured races seemed to be able to do what he wanted. Sometimes the thoughts of how his people had to depend on others caused him to lash out, and kill a few of both groups. The large screen before him, showed a pitch-black background. Multitudes of glowing crystals of different hues and intensities, gave the only light. The side screens showed much the same. While the one to the far right, pictured the stern view, and the fiery wrath of Tau Ceti. Here, too, he was restless. The natives he just left, were almost as tall as he, but they only weighed a little over a hundred and fifty kilos. They were so meek and mild, now. It almost made a warrior gag, to see the way they acted. They were, at one time, very warlike. Within the last few centuries, as their numbers had diminished, they had gotten a form of humility. This was no way for a race to act! On occasion, he had had a chance to hunt a few. Some would fight back with a shadow of their old vigour. But, those times were few and far between. The natives of Tau Ceti were not good at fixing the systems on the ship, and were inedible too. Their worthless lives were only prolonged, so as to afford a little hunting. The desultory chance to see them grovel, or scream in pain when captured, afforded only minor amusements. Sullgr'h stopped his train of thought, for he had punctured the heavy covering on his chair arm, again. It always brought his blunt fingers back to worry at the hole, until it got much larger. It was not good for a Captain to show that he could not control himself, or others under his command. Especially with so trivial a thing. The orders in the computer were not so trivial, though. Many of the stellar systems within fifty or so light-years were now controlled; but quite a few still had good mine fields. These kept raiders, and the King's ships alike, completely shut out. The damnable mines were sentient, and would take on a flotilla of ships. A few systems were still arrogantly thumbing their noses at the King's ships, as well as at the raider's. It wasn't thirty years ago, that a flotilla had almost been destroyed, taking Barnard's Star. Now, they were trying a similar system, with lots of inhabitants that looked edible. One of the drones was fortunate enough to slip close, and was able to dispatch a report, before being destroyed. The system had ten planets, but only one had life. The satellite of the third planet, had an active defensive system. It took out any and all intruders. Now the ship and crew had to see if the new shields could withstand the mines and missiles that were sure to strike, as the distance lessened. After two weeks of travel, the destroyer captained by Sullgr'h, met up with two similarly armoured frigates. They would test the new system's defences. The three ships did not fly the typical course, closing perpendicularly to the elliptic. Their orders specifically stated that they were to break through the debris field that circled the system. In doing so, they were to find a hidden path, into the heart of the system. Once there, the moon of the third planet, and all the weapons could safely be destroyed, and the planet itself, harvested. The three ships paused at the edge of the Oort cloud, and contemplated the one light-year passage through the field. Most of the smaller rocks could be ignored, the shields would destroy them. The larger rocks would fall to the ship's small weapons, mounted for just this purpose. The energy discharges, though, would attract the missiles to their location. A confrontation that would happen much too soon. The local star was only another light-year past the cloud. Here the ships could travel quickly, and manoeuvre to their advantage. But they did not have the debris to hide behind, when the ever-present defences quested for prey. Sullgr'h was not the leader here. He had to take orders from someone much older than he, and much more cautious. It was amazing, in Sullgr'h's mind, that one so old, had been allowed to live. To lead a mission such as this, was preposterous. They stayed almost fourteen days, plotting courses through the field. The wait was so nerve wracking, that three of the techs had died. They were only Softays, so the loss was very minor to the ship's efficiency. The time finally came, and the orders were given to proceed. Happily, Sullgr'h was given the honour of leading. He had the stronger, and more powerful ship. A dog-legged course, took them through the more barren sections. The path was taking so long, that the crew were clamouring for the food held in stasis. Sullgr'h reluctantly allowed a few to run free, to be tracked down by the crew and eaten. There was little use for the energy weapons, because frequent stops were made for reconnaissance. It took almost two weeks, to travel only one light-year. They had allowed their speed to build up to 550 times the speed of light, when the first missile exploded off the trailing ship's stern. This happened to be the leaders ship, and Sullgr'h silently grinned. It didn't seem to matter where they entered the system, for the defenses seemed to be everywhere. The old fool's strategy was as useless as he was. The ships gathered more speed, and the barrage of missiles and explosions from the mines increased. The shields were holding much better than expected, and the old one took the lead this time, saying he would be the first to take meat from the far planet. With only a half of a light-year to go, the leaders ship burst into a ball of energy. A few thousand of his people were killed, and an insignificant number of lesser races. All the ships were firing at incoming missiles, but the loss of the one ship, drastically reduced their coverage. Both ships pressed on. If the King found they hadn't, then the death they would suffer would be even more excruciating. With barely a twelfth of the distance to go, the frigate blew up, like it's brother. Sullgr'h was now alone, and finally in charge. Fighting his way through the portions of the wrecked ship, he found that his own weapons now remained quiescent. The lack of firing was nerve wracking now. Was it possible that there were no inner defences? Could he conquer the planet by himself, with no opposition from his own people? He relaxed, and ordered more power to the engines. He flew as fast as he could, relying on his sensors to find all the visible weapons. The sensors came upon a small planet of almost 2400 kilometres in diameter, and he knew he was getting close. With a distance of only one light hour from the target planet, a massive barrage of missiles came at him. The only thing that saved his ship, was the fact that most of the missiles did not function, or were on a very reduced power setting. All the technology was old, but was it possible that it was now too old to work correctly? Sullgr'h pushed on. Just as he passed the outermost planet, a new swarm of missiles came from the frozen surface, and raced at his ship. The fusillade, if old, were negligible. If not, then the mission would be over. In the first few seconds, only one in three of the weapons functioned, and he felt safe. His sensors saw twelve times the number of missiles raising, and he decided to try to get away from the worst of the fire. But the weapons followed, and hit on his flank and stern. A concerted effort destroyed one of his engines, and then another. Sullgr'h's speed dropped by a third, and the number of missiles only increased. He looked at his crew, and knew the end was near, now. He looked for a few techs to kill, but they were wisely hidden, even if the end would entail them, too. The swarm was so thick now, that it was almost impossible to see the stars. Sullgr'h defiantly stood in front of his too small chair. He cast his eyes at the view from the furthest sensor, of a blue-green orb, as everything blazed white. ------- Meeting the Neighbours ------- Chapter 1 Henry Buchanan used a dirty red rag, to wipe the dust from his brow. He shook his head, to dislodge stone chips from his short black hair, that was slowly going to grey. His bronzed back and strong muscles were exposed to the morning sun. The day was already warm for this time of year. He released his hold on his four legged friend, Dog, to let him run, now that it was safe. The Shepard/wolf mix, walked around the large upthrust of granite, sniffing the air, and continued to the rented Bob Cat, with his master. Behind them the Hebica River flowed east, then south. It's path obstructed, by the mass of Beaver Mountain. He drove quickly and adeptly, picking up the rock that had recently been securely anchored to mother Earth. Five sticks of dynamite had enlarged the hole that would eventually form the basement of his new home. Only the heavy portion of solid rock in the back needed to be done, as his plans called for an almost level entrance into the lower section of his home. In a few minutes, the rubble was dumped into a crevice, this would increase the usable area of his front yard, and allow his float plane to be pulled up into a hangar, that was yet to be built. Three men in dusty coveralls and hard hats manoeuvred a drilling truck, and positioned the outriggers. They then proceeded to drill holes, for the final charges of this set. Their gloved hands used the hydraulic levers to set the truck bed into a level position. Henry parked the Bob Cat, stretched his back, and walked over to the cooler. He drank from his bottle of spring water. He had been working since dawn, getting ready for the concrete work that would support his future home. "I would have used another stick, Uncle Henry. But I see the hole would be too big if I did." I felt that my dream was finally coming true. Ever since I was a boy, I had been drawn to this beautiful piece of land. The smell of balsam and pine was heavy in the still air. The dark water relentlessly flowing past this spot, and made me think of the early explorers that had pushed the boundaries of human knowledge. The trees and the land itself seemed to call to me, as it did to the earliest inhabitants. Charlie Shingle was trying to say that he was wrong about the amount of charge to use in making this particular blast. He only did the blasting when his father was absent, as now. The tall thin lad of 25, stood about 180 centimetres. His light brown hair blew carelessly across his brow, just as it did on Carl, his father. "It's just that I'm a little tightfisted," I said. "I would have to pay for the stick, and for the concrete to fill the larger hole. Like I said at the start of the job, if we come in under budget, we split the savings." It was better for men to work towards a goal, rather than the next paycheck. A good beer bash, was as good as any other reason. North Bay may even have recovered since the last time. The river, only sixty metres away, formed a silver corridor between Beaver Mountain and the rising sun. The mountain was actually a very large hill covered with white and red pine that the local timber companies would love to get their hands on. The river itself wound its way towards Temagami in the west, and to the hydro dam in the east. Uncle Jake had died in a cave-in at the small mine on this piece of land, in 1964. The man had been working alone, and had not been found until the next day. I had loved the man dearly. His humour, thoughtfulness, and caring; had helped form my character. The things he taught me still help me, to this day. My father John, and my mother Margaret, had died in an automobile accident in 1971. That was a few years after I had joined the American Army, in Vietnam. I had come home with an early discharge on my second tour of duty, to bury my parents. The Distinguished Service Cross I had gained on my discharge was a very poor substitute. Aunt Harriet, was a vivacious woman. We had spent many enjoyable summers together, hiking and canoeing the many lakes and streams, in my youth. My parents would go on vacations, or take courses at the university, allowing me time with the only other members of my family. Uncle Jake had taught me how to hunt and clean his game, and eventually my own. Aunt Harriet had taught me to cook it to perfection. I remembered fondly Uncle Jake saying how I cooked even better than his wife. After my parents death, Aunt Harriet was my only living relative. I had been in university, financed by the GI Bill, when Harriet had to go into a nursing home in North Bay. She died a year later; leaving a little over three hundred hectares of land, a sizeable amount of cash, and a gaping hole in her only living relative's heart. The house I had grown to love in my youth, had fallen into disrepair during her absence. Sadly, it had to be torn down. My Vietnamese experience allowed me to vent my dual needs; for destruction, and rebuilding. I liked to fight, but only when the activity had a challenge to it. Vietnam had also taught me the love of it's people, and their culture. Duc and Lam Tran and their daughter Susan, in particular, kept this interest alive. Susan had just started a dojo, and taught karate. This was one of the reasons I was in as good shape as I was. Her love of karate, had given her local recognition, and a fair income from her school. I came out of my reverie, when my name was called. I raised my hand in acknowledgment and went back to the cooler, hoping my inattention was not noticed. Eventually, I made my way over to the men. I inspected the last few holes, and used a straight stick to measure their depths. "Good, Charlie. Just put the new holes in here, and here," I said, as I made chalk marks on the solid rock that I wanted broken up. The final holes were drilled. The caps and charges were cautiously planted, as I had been taught in Nam. Then, carefully pulling the wires to a safe position, I looked around. I confirmed Dog was far away, and all the others were safe, behind me. The handle was twisted. Moments later, the cloud of dust and small stones descended on us, even though we were protected by a rock overhang. Far out in the river, stone splashed in a wide arc. The reverberations returned to our strained ears, from the surrounding hills. I stepped around the debris and dusted my hair again, before inspecting the work. There was the regular shape of the basement, now. All the rest of the finishing would be done with the jackhammers. Dog came back, and barked his displeasure at the loud noise, dust and the smell of the explosive. The floor and the catch basin were finished before quitting time. Tomorrow would see the first of the cement forms put up, and soon after, the first of the cement walls. We all washed up in the primitive conditions, and started the communal meal. The smell of chili accompanied the sound of beer cans being opened. I ate little, because even with the daily exercises, I was beginning to put on a little weight around my waist. A small fire kept the bugs away, but at the cost of swallowing a considerable amount of smoke. I could use the comfortable trailer parked behind Susan's brand new dojo in North Bay, but I made a point of sharing the conditions (such as they were) with the people I worked with. After thirty years, all the old things that kept a platoon together, still worked. I had to admit that I felt better in their company, than I would have in the clean air-conditioned trailer, by myself. The snoring, farting, and even the tossing and turning; reminded me of old bonds, with the men I'd fought beside. I asked about all the juicy tidbits in the crew's lives, or lives they only wished they'd had. Each man had a chance to tell his story, and be the centre of attention. The most beautiful woman imaginable would be after their bodies. Of course, they would be able to 'rise to the occasion' many times, throughout the night in their dreams. The men usually tried to get me to tell of my exploits, but I censored most of my history. I did relent with one story. "Once, our platoon entered a village in the delta called Binh Minh," I said. "We asked the usual questions, and because the head man and I spoke French, we got along even better than expected. I complemented him on the strength of his sons, and the beauty of his daughters. This was the usual chit chat, but in this case, it happened to be true. We switched to Vietnamese, and this made the old man even more hospitable. I shared a bottle of local brew with him. He told me, in a quiet voice, of what he'd heard in the market. He had picked up talk of an ambush, planned along the river. A convoy of barges came by once a week, and this would be the next night. "Well the ambush happened, alright. But twenty three Cong died, and more dead and wounded were carried off." "What did you do?" Asked one of the men. "There was only one good spot for the Cong to make the ambush. So another platoon joined ours, and we ambushed the ambushers. More troops were hidden on the barges, waiting for the fight to start." "Ok, but what did you do?" "I had to convince Command not to bomb the shit out of the area, and just let us do it, the right way. Binh Minh was close. A bomb, even a little off target, would kill a lot of innocent civilians. If the village evacuated, then the Cong would know of the trap." There was no sense in describing how I'd shot men that were trying very hard to kill me, first. Scenes came back to me, of how I had to drag our wounded back, before anything worse happened to them. "Charlie, your father did a lot of the planning in setting up that double ambush. It was partially his ideas, that made the operation the success that it was." The very idea of his father taking part in a great adventure, made Charlie feel even more proud of his father; and of the man across from him, who did a lot more than what he said. Paul, though not related, basked in the reflected glory directed at his adoptive father. I smiled, hiding the inner sadness that the memories brought. These men around this safe fire wouldn't have understood. They might even have thought me some sort of monster, for what happened next. And maybe I was, though that wasn't why I didn't share the rest of the story. It was too personal. Somehow, even after all the years, it was still much too recent. That night, after the wounded had been evacuated, I had returned to Binh Minh. I gave some lavish gifts to the head man for his help. In return, his daughter Tuyen, came up to my hootch outside the village. My men had almost shot her, before letting her pass. The girl could not have been older than twelve, with barely budding breasts, and an almost hairless body. She knew no French, but my Vietnamese was good enough. I stood, and slowly took the only piece of cloth from around her body. She neither hid nor shrank, from the foreign stranger she saw before her. She just knew that she wanted me. I brought her to orgasm many times, before she slowly lowered her body onto mine. She sank my cock into her now deflowered depths. I almost came again and again, but held off, till she had the greatest orgasm of her young life. We got about an hour's sleep, interspersed with more tender love, before she had to leave, just before dawn. I more or less adopted Binh Minh. I helped build a small school, and promoted better health. Tuyen, more or less in turn, became my wife openly. I discussed ways with her, about how I could get her back to Canada. I wanted her to be my wife, legally. She would smile, and tell me how many sons she would give me, if she were allowed. One day Tuyen came running to me, and jumped into my arms. With a smile on her face, she told me that she was going to have my child. My heart soared with the news. That night we celebrated in the usual way, with tender love making. My mind now worked overtime, trying to find a way for her to leave this war torn country, and be my wife in Canada. Six months after the river ambush, the Cong had gone into the village. They repeatedly raped Tuyen before her beaten father. They then killed her, and him, too before the villagers to teach them a lesson. My penchant for destruction grew, as the walls holding my madness fell. I would go out at night, with and/or without my men, and kill anyone I thought may have supported the attackers. By the time my parents had died, fifty three more Cong had died, atoning for my loss. I even considered re-enlisting for a third term, so I could kill even more. Other people's good sense kept me from doing just that. ------- Chapter 2 Charlie Shingle and Paul Santo stayed on the next day, to remove some of the smaller pieces of rock, with hammer and bar. Before noon a truck arrived, so we could start the footings. That Friday morning, I had been at the site for almost four weeks straight. I was getting a little more than stir crazy. I knew I needed my oil changed, get the laundry done, and buy more supplies. I wanted to visit the Trans', as they had invited me for a home cooked meal. It would be good to see the couple again, and hear about Susan's last bit of training, in Vancouver. Susan Tran had a devil-may-care attitude. A shear insolence that reminded me a little of myself. This drew me to her, even if her parents already hadn't already done so. I used my cell phone, and called Duc and Lam to let the Trans' know I was able to come. Susan, surprisingly happened to pick up the phone. I said, "Hello, Susan. I didn't know you were back." My plans for the night made a dramatic change, for some reason... No, it was because of Susan. I could picture her tall lithe body standing straight and proud, almost as if she were the queen of all the Earth. I wanted to be with her tonight, instead of continuing with my original plans of shopping, and laundry. "I'm coming into town, around six tonight, with the boys. Your parents invited this old hermit over, for a home cooked meal. Are you going to be eating with us?" "Oh, my hero. I would just love to. It has been a frustrating day, and I need to work off some of my aggression. Yes, I will be eating with you. But I have a date tonight, and don't like to go back on my word to him. I was going out dancing, and even bought some new clothes and shoes for the occasion." Her voice rose and fell, and I could tell that she would really rather join her parents and me. And to tell the truth, I felt a little irritated that she was going out with another guy. But what was an old man like me, going to offer a young woman like Susan. I was almost double her age of twenty five. Shrugging the matter aside, I saw that this was another of her good points. She was honest in her dealings, and thought of the other person. A thing I tried to do most of the time, myself. I had to pause for a while. I remembered, as if yesterday, a young girl of seven climbing into her favourite "uncle's" lap. She had told me of how much she loved me, and promised to marry me, when she got older. After the call, I asked the crew if they wanted to go into town, to blow off a little steam tonight. "I'll be at the 'George and Dragon', later tonight." I got calls of acceptance from all around me, and knew that we would have a good time. Most of the men had family, and usually took the weekend off to keep in touch. I offered the phone, and each made their own arrangements, if they could. Around four we had quit, and tidied up the site. We all sort of washed up, and drove back to town in the trucks and vans. There, we would get properly cleaned and dressed. Carl and his sons rode with me. It was on my way, to drop them off at their home. I left Dog to guard the site, with a lot of food. The river was right beside us, for his water supply. He ran beside my van for a while, before returning to 'his' territory. As we drove to town, we passed small lakes and rivers, some with a sandy margin. Carl said, "That beach reminds me of last summer, when we went to that party by the lake. Henry, you were with Megan at the time. I think it was the Michaels' party. His neighbour, I forget his name, with the 'wife beater' shirt, was doing just that." Carl's adopted son, Paul asked, in a very concerned voice. "What happened?" I quickly said, "We don't have to go into that, Carl," but of course, he continued anyway. "Well, your uncle goes up to this big guy, and asks him quietly to not beat his wife or girlfriend. The conversation was very quiet, but the guy explodes! Then the guy stands up. He was about thirty kilos heavier, and twenty years younger than your uncle, too. He slaps his girl for emphasis, in an off handed way. Before he can ask Henry what he is going to do about it, he is on the sand, writhing in pain from one little touch." "What did you do, Uncle Henry?" Paul asked. His eyes were wide, as I looked into the rear view mirror. "I poked him in the solar plexus with my fingers. You've got to learn to ignore that old goat beside you, or he will have you believe everything he says. He is even more full of shit than he used to be. He had so much beer in him at the time, that it is amazing he could even remember his own name." "I was not that drunk. And besides, I had the other people at the shindig tell me what happened, later. I ran into our host later in the week. He said he would like to have gotten the scene on video tape. He didn't like the guy, and only invited him because he was a neighbour. He also said the fight, if you want to call it that, was late in coming. The guy always got drunk, and took his aggression out on his wife. It's a good thing they had no children, because it was doubtful the marriage would last." I just kept my tongue, and glared at Carl in the mirror. I don't like standing out like that. But I hated even worse, a man beating someone that could not fight back. The trip was about half over. I just held the wheel, and looked as the scenery rolled by. I filtered out the conversations in the seats around me. The trees in the low lying areas were covered with water, and would die in a few years, while the tamarack would thrive. Rough stone walls lined portions of highway 11. Lichen and moss held tenaciously to the small places, while saplings grew from larger niches. Blueberry bushes could be seen on the upper margins, as the rock sloped down to the high walls above the roadway. In the distance, a hawk coasted on a thermal. It was looking for its dinner, as we drove by. The birches were green and white. The wind turned the leaves, exposing their lighter undersides, in waves. The spruce, pine, and balsam, seemed to be preparing for the coming warmer weather. The water looked silver in the sunlight. Occasionally, a duck or loon could be seen disturbing the perfect surface, as they too looked for their supper. Duc and Lam had promised me a meal, just for the tree of us. They were now celebrating their daughter's return to the Bay as well. She had recently come from a sabbatical in Vancouver. It would be nice to get a home cooked, authentic, Vietnamese meal. Renewing our bond of friendship would be good, as we caught up on what happened to their family. Susan was growing to be a very beautiful woman. She was 25, now. I remembered again, how she climbed onto my lap when I visited, and held me tight. I was her favourite 'uncle', it seemed. I knew that she was my favourite, and only, 'niece'. Even though we were not really related. All her real uncles were still in Nam, and did not have the money or perhaps inclination, to visit. I knew Lam and Duc would like to go back and see all their relatives, but their small business and financial concerns precluded this. When Susan entered puberty, I had to keep my feelings in check. She reminded me a lot of Tuyen, and the love that had been ripped from me. Susan was much too young for me, and was the daughter of my friends. 'But if she were older, ' I'd thought, 'then the possibilities would be endless!' The cutoff came, and I turned the van through the streets, to get Carl and the boys to their home. They got out of the van, and thanked me for the ride. The back door was opened, and bags of dirty laundry extracted. Carl's wife, Doris opened their front door, walked out on the veranda to wave at me, and greet her family with hugs. Doris was still a good-looking woman. I almost felt jealous of the way their marriage had stood the test of time. You could almost see the love that flowed from each of them. This extended to her natural son, and her adopted one, too. Carl kissed his wife fiercely, taking her breath away. He spoke to her for a few seconds. Calling to me he said, "Doris and I will see you at the pub tonight, if you have a chance to make it." I stuck my thumb into the air, to let them know I understood, and would try to be there. I pulled away, and headed downtown to Duc's home and business. Two doors down, Susan's dojo stood. It looked much like any other business on the street from the back side. Except for the small sign, written in both Vietnamese and Japanese characters, stating the name of the dojo. I parked in back of the dojo, walked over to my small trailer, and threw the laundry in. The shower beckoned me, even though I'd just had a quick one. I wanted to change into better clothes, also. The only reason I could come up with, was that Susan would be at home, too. I walked up the alley after a better cleaning, to knock on the side door of the store. This was the entry leading up to the living quarters, above. Padded footsteps came from behind the door, and an older but still very beautiful woman opened the door for me. "Oh, Mister Buchanan, please come in," she said, in Vietnamese. I adjusted my voice, and replied in kind saying, "Thank you Lam, it is always nice to visit here," I said, as I bowed. Then, leaving Vietnamese customs behind; I came forward, and hugged the petite woman to me, and kissed her. "You are getting more beautiful, every time I see you." The women's dark haired was sprinkled with white. She took my hand after we parted, pulled me in, and closed the door. "What will the neighbours think, when they see you holding me like that? Duc would be angry, and come after you with a stick." This was the way our usual greetings went. I remembered the way I was drawn to this woman, when I was in Nam. If she had not been married, I would have married her, myself. This was about four months before I met Tuyen. She smiled and said, "Duc is busy at the moment, and will be back soon. The store is closed, and the meal is almost ready. Why don't you go upstairs now? Susan is helping me, before going out on her date." The phone conversation came back to me. I still wondered about how my little girl was going on a date. It felt that not only that I was getting old, but my little niece that I loved so much, was growing up and leaving me. I took off my shoes, and laid them to one side before we walked up the steps. I could smell the food already. The fish and spices were entirely different than anything I had run across, outside of the Far East. Coming into the kitchen, I spied Susan over a pot. She seemed to have matured somehow, but I couldn't put my finger on how. She ran to me, and gave me a hug and a kiss. They seemed a lot different than anything I had gotten from her, before. She was thin and muscular. Her long straight black hair, hung down to her thin waist. Her breasts, though small, looked perfectly proportioned on her. Her face was even more beautiful than before, if that was possible. The wide smile told me I was really welcome. "Hello, my hero," she whispered in my ear. "It has been quite a few months, since we have seen one another. You are always working or building your home. When am I going to get a chance to see it? We hardly ever talk." Immediately, I was flooded with the same feeling I knew Carl and Doris had. It was hard to let this young woman go. "It is far from done, now. I brought the plans over once, to show your parents. But you were off to school at that time." I found my arms still around her, and reluctantly released her. "We do use email, now," I added. "I seem to be writing to you at least a few times a week. How is your training going? Last I heard, you were having some trouble with boys." "Just fine. I will be graduating next semester, with an honour's bachelor's degree in Sociology. And, as you know, my minor is in physical education. The training in Vancouver will give me an extra credit, as part of my course. Soon, I will be able run my dojo myself, instead of relying on others to do everything. It is a good thing, because I have to educate the heathen Canadians into the finer aspects of a civilized society. The 'boys', on the other hand, are not a problem. More of an annoyance. The one, that I sent to the clinic, is recovering nicely. The rest seem to have finally gotten the message." Lam asked in her own language, even though she understood English well enough to get along with local customers, "What did you do?" "Mom, it was only a boy that would not take 'no' for an answer. He just got too persistent, and I had to get his attention in a different way. There was little damage done, and the pain was mostly to his pride." I too felt pride in my girl. For her scholastic abilities, and her physical ones, as well. She had other degrees. Sociology was just the latest. I did not feel badly for the boy, in any case. Susan asked, "Are you going to be around, tomorrow? There are a lot of things we have to catch up on. I will be leaving in a while, on my date. I'll not be back till late." "Yes, I will. I'll be sacking-out in the trailer, tonight. I'll do my shopping and laundry, tomorrow. I can call, around 11 tomorrow, if you want to talk," I said hopefully. "Oh, fine." The phone rang, and Susan ran to it. Lam was unexpectedly quiet as we listened to Susan's side of the conversation. A moment later she came out. I could see she was trying to control herself, as tears flowed down her cheeks. I asked, "What happened, Susan?" "My date cancelled at the last moment. I wanted to go dancing, tonight. Now I have nobody to take me," she said, with a voice that caught, because of the raw emotions running through her. Lam who had always called me mister, and had always deferred to me now spoke in a way I had never heard before. "Why don't you take Susan dancing. She really wanted to go. She bought a new dress and shoes, and was bothering me all day about it." I could see that Susan was now looking expectantly at me, as well as her mother. To tell the truth, I would enjoy a night of dancing. "Well, my fair young lady. Will you grace my arm, if we go dancing tonight?" She was only a metre from me, but she jumped into my arms. I quickly held her tight, as her feet came off the floor. "Oh! Thank you, my hero." "I think it is me that should be thanking you. How many old men like me, get to be taking out such a beautiful young girl, as you?" "Don't say things like that. You are only as old as you think you are. I know you are younger than most of the guys at school." I reluctantly put her down, and turned to see Lam smiling at us in our joy. She pushed us out of the kitchen. "You two, go talk," she said, "while I finish in here." We went into the living room, and talked about her now ex-boyfriend, and what her plans were for tonight. Susan sat close. Her hand reached out, and held mine in hers, on her lap. Moments later, Duc came in, and walked over to us. I stood up, and shook his hand after the obligatory bow. Duc seemed to think something was humorous, because he had a big smile on his face when he started talking. "Good day, Mister Buchanan. I am sorry I was late, but I had a job to do." His eyes dropped, and his voice trailed off, and I wondered what this was all about. Lam finally got the meal on the table, and we all went in to eat. I savoured the food, for it happened to be one of my favourite dishes. It took a long time to prepare correctly. The discussion around the table centred around how the dojo was doing, and the possibilities of making it an even better business venture. At the end of the meal, Lam shooed Susan off to get dressed for our outing. Lam hurried the cleanup, and went into the back room to help her daughter prepare. Duc and I discussed things about his family back home, and their troubles. He and Lam regularly sent money to Binh Minh, to help. It invariably meant that the rest of the village would talk about their problems, in hopes of getting a similar hand out. I did my own bit, by assisting the 'Foster Parents Plan for Vietnam'. I had three boys and a girl in one of the villages. I did my own arm twisting, to have the village, be the one that Duc and Lam grew up in. It was the one that I did so much fighting around. Again, Binh Minh was close to my heart. All of the children were related, in one way or another, to either Lam or Duc. Their pictures in my wallet rested beside those of Susan, as she grew up. Duc had received some mail a week ago, and told me of recent additions to the family, and the death of an aged aunt. I could see that he was sorry that he could not attend either the births, or the funeral. His eyes closed, as he saw all the people he grew up with, passing on. He enjoyed a wealthy life, for a Vietnamese villager. But only a poor one, for a Canadian small businessman. Family was important to him and Lam, so most surplus cash went to the village. A door down the hall opened. Voices became much louder, as Susan and her mother came to the living room. Shocked, was the best word I could use to describe my feelings. Susan was dressed in a dark red, brocade and silk dress. A collar with intricate detail covered her throat. The dress shimmered, and seemed to change colours as it flowed down her body, to just below her knees. A slit ran up each side, to almost her hips. This was one, very provocative dress, to inflict upon any poor male. Red matching shoes adorned her feet. A long gold necklace, with a locket, graced her neck. Her long, dark, lustrous hair, was done up it a bun. It was held in place by old ivory combs. With downcast eyes, she asked in a quiet voice, "Do you like the way I look?" Forgetting both Lam and Duc, I said, "You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen," I paused to think. "A man would be out of his mind, to stand you up." Her eyes raised just a little, as if trying to find out if I spoke the truth. She must have been reassured, for a small smile came to her face. We drove to the 'George and Dragon', which was some way out of town. "You don't look dressed for dancing," I said, "or eating, for that matter." Susan pouted. "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed? You liked it at home." "It's a little... um... tight? I don't know how you can move in it, let alone dance or eat." "You may not have noticed, my hero, that it has a slit right up the side. That takes care of the dancing. And us youngsters, don't bulge, when we've eaten." "Point taken. But I'm usually glad of a little slack in my waistband, if I'm going out to eat." "So, where are you taking me?" Asked Susan. "An authentic English pub. At least, the landlord tells me it is." "With food and dancing?" "Oh, yes. The dancing isn't typical 'old country', John tells me, but everything else is." "Who's this John? The landlord?" "Perhaps I should warn you about him... No, on second thought, I'll leave you to make up your own mind. We're here." We swung into a fairly crowded parking lot. In front of us was what looked like an ancient stone-built house, with ivy climbing over the walls. Light flooded out of the many small, leaded windows. A wooden inn-sign swung overhead, creaking in the wind. "Wow!", exclaimed Susan. "This place must have cost a fortune. Was it transported in pieces, from England?" "If John tells you it was, and he might, he's lying. I helped him with the design work for it, five years ago. It's amazing what you can do with native stone, and textured plywood!" We were hit by a solid wall of noise and heat, as we entered. The lighting was dim, apart from the brightly lit bar. Susan examined the floor. Again, it seemed to be stone. There were a couple of comfortable looking armchairs by the open fire. Apart from these, the furniture was hard wooden tables and chairs. All looked bruised. There were ring-marks, and cigarette burns, on the tables. The walls were covered with team photographs, mainly of Cricket and Rugby Football. "Henry, dear heart! Where have you been?" Boomed a voice from back in the crowd. A large portly man in formal dress, detached himself from the shadows, and waddled up to us. "John, you old crook! I've been busy earning a living. Some of us have to, so that you can live in unearned luxury. Speaking of which; when are you going to buy a decent suit, and throw away that terrible old tuxedo?" I said, as I shook his hand. "This, is a dinner jacket, my colonial friend. Not, a tuxedo. It was given to me personally, by the Prince of Wales, as you well know," he looked inquiringly at Susan. "And who is this lovely young lady?" "This is my date for the evening, Miss Susan Tran. And before you start getting wicked ideas, I've known her since she was born. I'm her honorary uncle. Susan, this old reprobate is Sir John Michaelson Morley, a.k.a. Jack Michaels. Probably a lot of other aliases too. He's the biggest crook, outside of Parliament; in the whole of Canada." "I'm wounded," said John. "And please don't use my title. It's so vulgar." "I forgot," whispering to Susan I said, "a knighthood might be checked up on." Then louder, "He was 'Sir John' when I met him, in Chicago. Very convincing, but not quite convincing enough. I lent him the hundred dollars he was short, then followed him." "Not the act of a gentleman," protested John, in a voice low enough not to be overheard. "I'm not used to my word being doubted." Susan laughed. "You two make a good double's act. But Henry, if you knew he was a fake, why did you give him the money?" "Well, I was flush that day, and 'Sir John' gave me the best evening's entertainment I'd had for a long time. Boy, can he talk!" John shuddered, "Raconteur, please! Or bon vivant. Not, 'boy, can he talk'. Ugh!" "And how did you end up here, 'Sir' John?", asked Susan, emphasizing the title. "My good friend Henry suggested I come and stay for a while. I saw a business opportunity. A little beneath my station in life, perhaps. But I saw it as a chance to bring a touch of civilization, to the outer fringes of the Empire." "In other words", I said, "the United States got a little too hot for him. A slightly odious company prospectus, wasn't it?" "Not at all!", he boomed. "Just a temporary misunderstanding. The general tenor of events was against me, true, but I had a full defence to all charges. Unlike you, my hot-headed young friend. If my memory serves me, it was you that had to run that night." I decided to change the subject, rapidly. "Enough of the ancient history, John. You're boring my guest. And you have us standing by the door, while my throat remains parched." The old rogue's eyes twinkled, "At least you appreciate good ale. Not the 'maiden's water' that passes under the name in this country. Let me show to your table." Our table was near the blazing open fire. The night wasn't particularly cool, but the setting seemed to be just right. I nodded my head to the people I knew, and I actually felt like a teenager taking out a real girl, for the first time. I tried to search my mind to find out the reason for this unaccustomed behaviour. Too many years had passed, since my adolescence. John returned with a frothing tankard of dark-brown ale for me, and a ladylike cocktail for Susan. "What on Earth is that?", Susan asked, pointing to my glass. "It's a 'real ale', called 'Theakston's Old Peculiar'. I tried it once, just because of the name, and it kind of grew on me." Susan reached across the table, and lifted the tankard. She took a swallow, and considered it. Then she sank half of it, in a single mighty draught. She smacked her lips. "Nice!", she said. "I'll have this, you can have that." She pointed to the cocktail with contempt. I waved at John to bring me another, and take away the offending cocktail. "So, what would you prefer? Eat first, or dance?" "Let's have a couple of these, and talk. It's been so long since I had my uncle to myself." "Good idea. But drink slowly. After two of these you won't want to eat. You might not even be able to stand up. What would you like to talk about?" "Well, for a start, I'd love to know why you had to leave the United States so suddenly? Or was that another of Sir John's tall stories?" "Um... no. It happened, I'm afraid. I'd been doing some business in a small midwestern town. I was walking back to my hotel. There was a group of teenagers blocking the sidewalk. Five drunken boys, and a couple of girls. It looked as if the girls were having a hard time. So, I asked them if they needed any help. Before they could answer, one of the youths took a swing at me with a beer bottle. I put him down, then the rest of them too. No big deal, and the girls went away happy." "So, why the trouble?" "Turned out that the ringleader was the mayor's son. From what the cops said, when they were going to charge me, it didn't look like it would be a fair trial. So, I got out of the country. It was pure chance that John was looking for a fast exit, as well." "Does that mean you're still wanted over the border?" I laughed. "Do you mean are you on a date, with some desperate outlaw? Sorry, no. I hired lawyers to sort it all out. Witness statements, all the rest. The boys got off scot-free, of course. But I hear that two of them have done time since, so I guess Daddy couldn't keep covering up." We looked around at the crowded bar. There were service men from the NORAD base; some wore Canadian uniforms from the 22nd Air Wing, while some from the 722nd Support Squadron, wore American. The boys were young, and definitely interested in a beautiful girl like Susan. It made me proud to be escorting her, tonight. She drank in all the attention, but tried not to show it. She looked at everything but the servicemen. A pair of dart boards in the far corner had two couples, occasionally arguing good-naturedly, over the general noise. The ceiling had dark beams, supporting the plank flooring of the rooms above. The bar a had long porcelain handles for dispensing draught beer. Above the hunting scene, of men in red coats riding horses chasing after some dogs, hung long lines of large glasses. They were suspended by their bases, from a wooden rack. A row of glass tankards hung by their handles. "This is a marvellous place, Henry," she said. "And judging by the crowd, I'm not the only one who thinks so. Your friend must be making a fortune." "He's not doing badly. Most of the money goes in paying off the creditors." From an open doorway in the back, came the sound of musicians idly tuning their instruments, in preparation for the next part of their performance. Susan said, "Are you going to ask me to dance, Henry?" I noticed her choice of words. Instead of 'Uncle Henry', or the term 'My hero', it was simply Henry. It was as if she wanted to put us on the same level. "Of course. Susan, would you make this awestruck male exceedingly happy, by dancing with him?" She had one of her small coy smiles, before simply standing up, and offering me her hand. Walking through the room, I spotted Carl and Doris coming in. Carl was dressed in a blazer, and expensive slacks. Doris had a long green dress, that exposed lots of her chest. I knew it would make most men take a second look. I changed our course, and introduced Susan again. Susan had met the Shingles' about three years ago, when she and her parents had found enough time to make it to the same party I was at. Carl ordered two drinks at the bar. All of us now continued our journey, and left the pub proper. We walked down the adjoining hall. There was large room, with a live quartette in the centre. Small tables and chairs were around the periphery. We searched, found a table for us, and staked it out. Carl placed the drinks on the table, so others would know it was taken. We all headed out to the dance floor just as the music started. The tune was 'swing'. A wide, and I might say wicked smile crossed Susan's face, at the first few notes. Susan was a very athletic person. I had not let myself go to seed, so I was able to keep up with her. After a while the band started to play faster music, to let us do our stuff. Many of the older crowd my age and older, simply rested and watched us dance. Many of the younger crowd decided to take us on, and danced as energetically as we did. Susan got another evil grin on her face. Keeping in tempo, she got even more energetic. After a few more dances, I was ready to stop for a rest, but Susan was not. Carl and Doris seemed to be having the time of their lives. I could see Carl huffing and puffing a bit. He did not go to the gym nearly enough to keep in shape. The servicemen came to the dance floor, to see what all the commotion was about. They saw a very beautiful young woman, with poise balance and athletic prowess, dancing with an older man. I was hardly able to keep up, after all the dancing we had done. After a few more dances, the other couples gave up the floor to us. Susan really cut loose now. Even the band members must have been amazed at her acrobatics. This was simply too much for a guy my age. I asked to sit out a few, to recover my breath. Susan magnanimously said, "Sure, Henry, if you want to rest a while." I was sure she wanted a rest as much as I did, but she wanted to prove some type of point. Carl and Doris took a breather, too, and came over. Doris said, "I'm going to fix my hair after dancing like that. Do you want to come, Susan?" Susan just smiled, picked up her purse, and walked through the throng of people. Until they disappeared, I watched Susan's gait, as she made her way through the crowd. Carl asked, "It's none of my business, but you and Susan seem to do a lot of staring at one another. Are you in love?" I recovered fast from his statement, and thought before I spoke. "I have loved her since she was a baby. But even now, she is much too young for me. I'm just taking her dancing, because her boyfriend stood her up at the last moment." In the washroom Doris asked, "Susan? Are you and Henry 'an item'?" Susan was very flustered, this time. She had to think for a while. It was not about the question, but who she was talking to. She decided to tell some. "No, we're not. But I have always loved him. I want to have him recognize me as something more than a child." "Whew, you are setting your sites high. He has dated a few women, and all would drop everything in a moment, to get him. He is witty, intelligent, caring, and loyal. If I were not already married to the best man in the world, I would chase him, too." Then looking at Susan she said, "Well, that dress sure caught his eye. And the eyes of all the other men, too. I'll bet you remind him of Tuyen. It has been a long time, and I hope you don't break his heart." Susan did not know what to say, but fixed her own hair, and left to push through the crowd back to their table. Part way back, they were intercepted by a pair of tall good looking soldiers, in different uniforms. The one in the American uniform said, "Good evening, Ladies. I am a poor foreigner on your hospitable shores, and find I would like to meet some of the natives. Would you young ladies take pity on us, and grant us a dance?" The other, in a Canadian pilot's uniform said, "It is true, ladies. This poor man is suffering from an acute form of loneliness, and if you don't dance with him, I am sure I will have to take him to medical." A smile came to Doris' face and she told them, "Give us a moment, please." The soldiers nodded their heads, and Doris said, "Susan, if you want Henry to notice you, you'd better dance with one of those boys. Henry and Carl always cut in, and it is no big deal to dance with another man. Nothing makes a man notice something, as when he thinks it might be taken away." "I... I'll give it a try, if you think it is right." "Good girl. You take the fly boy, and I'll get the Yank." The next dance started, and Carl and I waited for the girls to come back. Carl sipped his beer, then nearly choked when he looked into the room full of dancers. I handed him a napkin and asked, "What is wrong Carl? Is the beer to strong for you? Do you want a bib?" "No, you ass hole. Look at the dancers. I see a green dress and a red one, each draped over a uniform." I looked quickly, and saw Doris. A few seconds later, I saw Susan. Carl was right, they were dancing up a storm, and seemed to be having the time of their lives, out there. I knew Doris loved Carl, and we'd all changed partners on the dance floor. But I felt as if an intangible something, was slipping through my fingers. The gentlemen continued after their first dance, and the next started right after. He did give a fair showing, but showed signs of slowing, while Susan continued strong. She would smile at him, and occasionally look in my direction. I smiled back encouraging her to have a good time, but inwardly felling ill. Was I jealous? What grounds did I have? Susan was an adult, but young and could choose her friends any way she wanted. Carl excused himself, and went for a new round of drinks. For some reason, the next dance was slow. Susan appeared to want to come back to me. A few words from her new friend, and she put her arm around his shoulder. They danced, along with many other couples, that had come onto the floor. For moments at a time, she was hidden from view. They came out of the crowd, and the pilot was dancing very close to her. By the end of the dance, Susan said a few words to him, and tried to return to me. With a few more words said by each, her hand streaked out, and connected with his cheek. The noise reached my ears over the sound of the band. I was already on my feet, and approaching. Susan had turned from the man, and with a scowl, started walking to me. The man overcame his shock, reached out, and grabbed her upper arm before she got more than one step. His grip must have been painful for I saw the expression change on her face. She came, as if willingly, into his arms. She used a one knuckle fist to his abdomen, a forearm slash to his jaw, and thrust with the heal of her hand to his diaphragm. It left him dazed. The moves were so fast, that I was not sure anybody saw what she had done. The next dance was a techno. The lights went out, and strobes began to flash from the ceiling. The soldier, no longer seemed to care about holding her. As I approached, he sort of swivelled at the ankles, and collapsed upon himself. The soldier's buddies evidently, were watching. They came running onto the dance floor, to help their mate. One big American said, "What did you do that for, gook?" I saw the ribbons, and knew one was a paratrooper, and the other had a ribbon for unarmed combat. This had to be done correctly. Nobody talks to Susan that way. Before I took him on, Susan stepped in, and delivered spear hand to his larynx. The light's flashing, disoriented the men. Before the other reacted, I stepped in, and did much the same to the man's partner. I did not pull my strikes, and did my best to put them out of commission, as soon as possible. Just as my adversary dropped, I gave a chop to Susan's opponent, allowing her to take him out. I doubt if it was necessary, for he was dazed with her first attack. The music continued, and the men fell at our feet. The Canadian Air Force joined in, and Susan and I took on two each, fighting back to back. Susan kicked off her shoes, and used her stockinged feet to fight. The red, long healed shoes, would be lethal weapons. I knew the song, and had the benefit of knowing when the dark periods would be. I fought accordingly. The insignia of a maple leaf topped by a parachute, and all set over wings, made me worried. I worked as if out lives depended on the outcome. Our opposition finally staggered and fell. The rest just stayed away, as we made our strategic withdrawal through the pulsating light. Most of the people that did notice, just stared at us with open mouths. I clutched Susan's hand, and pulled her along. The men would soon be looking for us, and I didn't want to be anywhere near. We ran across the parking lot. Susan was bare footed, and had some hot words for me. "Why did you step in? I was doing just fine by myself." "Hurry, get in the car, and I will tell you." The car started. We made it out of the parking lot, and down the street, before the police got there. Susan's eyes watched the scene, as the red and blue flashing lights rushed by. "If you could read the ribbons on the chest of the first two, you would know that they are very competent killers. The only way to take them, was to do it quick, and put all your effort into it." "You're wrong. They were as easy as the Air Force guys." "Susan, the Americans wear ribbons that tell of their accomplishments. The Canadians don't, usually. But one Canadian did. He was a paratrooper. If they were not drinking, and had not been taken by surprise; it would be us laying on the floor, not them. And I don't know what I would have done, if that had happened." "Maybe he was, but I could have taken them, easily," she said with contempt. Susan was in for a rude surprise, one day. All I could think of, was to show her how wrong she was. "I would like to see how a young lady, fresh from training, can take on an old man. An old man that learned the right way, in the military. One who is not drunk, or taken by surprise." "Fine," she said in a huffy voice. She now reminded me of a petulant child, who knew she was right. She folded her arms over her chest. ------- Chapter 3 I drove to the dojo, and parked beside the trailer. Susan used her keys, opened the back door, and shut off the alarm. Without a word, she threw me a 'gi', and left to change. I put it on, and did my warm ups. From a far doorway, Susan came forward, walking on the mats. "You don't need to do this, Henry," the words were there, but the tone told me differently. "I am afraid I do. Prepare yourself for a different type of training." She bowed her head and I did too, and I rushed in. There was no hope for me if the fight took a long time. I had to expend all of my energy quickly to defeat her, or I would be the one on the mat. I kicked her hard in the abdomen, and moved in. She rolled and got to her feet, and went into some lightning fast strikes to my face, as she prepared for a kick of her own. My fist went out, and I had to pull it. I could not hurt her, no matter what happened to me. My hand turned and grabbed her hair, and was able to slap her face hard, instead of the chop to the neck. She bent over, and I tried to kick her, but my foot was captured and thrown aside, as she moved in and pounded my abdomen and chest. This time it was me, that rolled away, and came up ready for her next move. The fight continued for five minutes, and I was becoming tired. I gave her an opening which she took. The kick arrived, but my block threw her off balance, instead. She tried to fall and move away, at the same time, but I was on her now. My greater strength and weight told, as I pinned her down, and forced her arms painfully behind her. Her movements had allowed her obi to come undone and her gi to open. She struggled to get away and this only exposed more of her naked flesh beneath. I don't know how it happened, but rational thought left me as I saw a partially naked and wreathing female beneath me. My mouth slowly descended to a now unprotected nipple, and sucked it into my mouth in a forceful manner. Her back arched at this new attack, and I continued my assault. My lips travelled across her wet almond skinned body, tasting of salt and sweat to the other nipple. Her breasts were small-sized, with small dark areolas and very tiny nipples. Her struggles had stopped, and I had a moment to recover my sanity. I looked into her eyes and said, "I am sorry Susan. I don't know what came over me." She pulled one arm free from my relaxed grip. It went to my head and grasped my hair, before pushing my lips back to her breast. I shifted my weight, and released her other arm, but continued to do as she demanded. My lips travelled over to her other nipple, and her grip on my hair was relinquished. I released her completely and she lay back on the mat, her gi now fully open. In a swift move she grabbed the elastic waist of her pants, and whipped them down and off of her. A flat belly attested to her passion for her sport. Her muscular thighs joined at a small triangle of dark pubic hair; her arousal was obvious from the erect clitoris that peeked out from her open vaginal lips. "Oh God, Susan! What are you doing to me?" "What I wanted to do, since I was five. Take me, my hero, or I will get up and take you." Moving my legs between hers, I kissed the woman's chest and abdomen. Her rapid breathing from the fight, made her body heave, trying to get enough air into her oxygen starved lungs. When in position, I used my nose to gently stroke her clit. Gasps came from my little girl, and vanquished opponent. Looking up across her flat belly, I said, "Are you sure, sweetheart?" Susan nodded her head wildly in the positive, the last thing on her mind right then, was to stop. Lowering my head, my tongue entered her wide-open mons, pushing aside the inner lips to plunge into her unprotected vagina. Her lubrication seeped out, only to be captured by my relentless tongue. As I sucked, I undid the obi at my own waist, and lowered my own pants. Susan's breathing changed to short quick gasps that kept time with the oral attack. When I had her moaning almost constantly, and her feminine essence all but flowing out of her, I rose up, and knelt between her legs. Holding onto her legs by the ankles, I pulled them up to her body, and them then out to the sides. Her thighs spread in invitation. Looking between them, I saw the blossom of her womanly flower. Her thin, straight, delicate labia; were parted and glistening with her feminine oils, and my saliva. She raised her head, and her eyes watched my penis sway between her parted thighs, positioning my erect member against the opening of her vagina. I could see her very small erect nipples harden even more, as I toyed at her opening. She lifted her pelvis, trying to capture the intruder. I was not ready for penetration, yet. I stroked my length across her clit, coating the underside of my shaft. She let out a long low moan. I pulled back across, and then slipped it down to coat the topside. This had the effect of running down the length of her crack, rubbing against her rosebud. She whimpered, she was too proud to beg, but that was as close as I'd heard, in any woman, in a long time. I was as ready as she was. My first thrust got just the head of my cock into her. She was very tight. This was accompanied by her exhaled sigh of pleasure. Withdrawing a bit, I pressed in again, striking an obstruction. I was amazed. Susan was 25, and still a virgin. "Susan? Honey, are you sure I am the man to do this?" "Yes, you. I have waited for you all my life." She was very wet, and I moved in short strokes, until I knew she was ready. Then I pushed forcefully into her. She froze for a moment, with a grimace on her face. I stopped to allow her to adjust to me. Her expression eventually changed, and she gave a thrust of her pelvis to let me know she was ready. My strokes lengthened, as I watched her face for any sign of undue pain. She looked back into my eyes with more love than I think I had ever seen before. When nearly two thirds of my manhood was into her small tight hole, I backed out again. A final arching of my hips, buried my length into her. Susan gave a deep groaning moan of satisfaction. Her arms flew wide, and I just layed down onto her. I lifted myself, to nurse at her breasts. I continued to give her short strokes, to keep her aroused, and allow me to last the longest possible time. Leaning forward on my elbows, I took her breasts in my hands, feeling her hard nipples pressing into my palms. I gently squeezed her breasts. Susan put her hands on top of mine, then squeezed, letting me know I could apply much more pressure. I took one of her tiny pebble-like nipples into my mouth, feeling the bud slide along the surface of my tongue. I slowly slid myself out of her. I paused a moment. She groaned in want, then moved trying to capture me once again. After that small torture, I filled her again in a single long, slow thrust of my pelvis. I continued to nurse her breasts. From one to the next, for the next couple of minutes, as I repeated my slow-motion lovemaking with her. With each penetration into her tight channel, I could feel her getting hotter and wetter. She panted. Her steadily increasing arousal was consuming her, and she groaned in her frustration at my slow pace. As I could hardly take it any more, and knowing she was close to her orgasm, I raised my body. Again, I started increasing the pace at which I was pistoning in and out of her. She tilted her pelvis and altered the angle in which I was entering her. I knew that each time I slid into her, it was applying a slight pressure to the upper portion of her mons. That, added stimulus of her clitoris as I penetrated her, resulted in her vagina briefly clenching. The effect was that not only was she incredibly hot and wet inside, but that she felt like a tight massaging glove around me, too. After a couple of minutes, I felt the point that I was after. It wasn't going to be much longer before I unloaded into her. Still determined to bring her as much pleasure as she was bringing me, I started thrusting into her faster and harder. I was bumping her clitoris with my pubic bone, even as my entry into her was applying a different pressure on it. Susan's head immediately started twisting from side to side, as my actions brought her even more stimulation, and moved her even closer to her inevitable orgasm. As much as I tried to hold out, it was only another minute, before I felt myself tighten up. I reached my peak. When she felt the first hot jet of my semen erupt, Susan fell into the throws of her own release. I felt her tighten around my length, before the rings of her internal muscles started a rhythmic spasm. They ran the length of my penis, milking it. We continued like that, in almost perfect counterpoint to each other. The feeling of Susan's hot vagina tightening around me, triggered another eruption from me. This seemed to trigger Susan, into another round of her release. Back and forth we went, the intensity and duration of our climaxes prolonged and intensified, as a result. Still, our human limitations finally kicked in. The power of our mutual release began to taper off, leaving us both nearly exhausted. I fell over to the side, not wanting to crush her, but unable to keep myself up. My muscles were weak from the exertion they had just gone through. My penis pulled free of Susan, and our mixed juices and her blood, started leaking out of her. Pulling me close to her, she held tight, as if to a life preserver in a stormy sea. She said, "I never knew it would be so good. I am so happy it was with you." The feeling I got from Susan, was the same as I imagined Carl and Doris shared. Was this love again, after all these years? "Susan, I don't know what to say. One day you are a beautiful young lady, that I love deeply. Now, you are a beautiful young lady, that I want to share my life with. Do you know what I mean?" Susan thought for a minute or so, and said, "I think I do. I have been waiting for you almost all my life, and I will not let you go now." I pulled her close and said, "I doubt if you will be able to. I will never release you." That night we made love many more times. Eventually, we had a shower and left for my trailer and a short nap, until we were doing it again. I woke up around nine, and just put my arm under my head. I looked at the woman I now loved much differently than I ever imagined. Her dark hair was in disarray on the pillow. She was making a delicate snoring sound, as her breath made her chest raise and fall. Her eyes made swift movements under her eyelids, as her body made small movements in her dreams. My waking dreams were different, I thought. I had found the woman I wanted to spend eternity with. I wondered if she would accept an older man, that would dote on her as no other could. I needed to piss, and rolled out of bed. I walked as quietly as I could to the washroom. I didn't flush, but decided to wash up, and make breakfast. The trailer was as tidy as I liked it. But now, with new eyes, I saw many imperfections. I did as best I could, and set up the small table. I cleaned everything I could see that needed it. I remember Susan's love for pancakes. So I got a bowl, and mixed up a big batch, and started cooking them on the propane gas stove. The fan must have awoken her, for I heard, "I think I may have to keep you, if you make me breakfast, too." "Good morning, my love," I said, in my most sincere voice. "You may have to, for I am ruined for any other." She got up, and walked naked to me, and held me tightly. She gave me a kiss that told me I was hers. My hands went around her bum, and pulled her off her feet, and onto me. She spread her legs as my cock slid between them. "Oh, I like it here. Are you going to make love to me again?" "If you are not too sore, I would be happy to. But we'd better eat, and recover our strength first." I gave her a final kiss, and lowered her down. "You'd better go to the washroom, while I flip the pancakes." I watched her bum wiggle as she walked away and closed the door. I heard, "Oh, you pig! You didn't flush." "If I'd flushed, you would have awoken sooner. Just feel lucky that I won't have you doing chores, for your meal." She started the shower, and a record five minutes later, she finished. Later we sat naked, and ate the cakes with maple syrup. Our choice of beverages was some breakfast tea, because of her tastes. I looked across the table at the woman I loved. "Susan? Have you any regrets?" She looked at me, "As I said last night, I have wanted you forever. I am very happy I was able to finally get you." As Susan ate a drop of syrup dropped from her lips and fell to her right breast. She was about to clean it when I said, "Please, leave it. I'll clean it up, when you are done." A smile came to her face, and somehow more drops fell on her other breast, as she looked out the window. When she was done, I got up, and knelt beside her. I used my tongue to clean all the affected spots, and some others that might be. Her back arched at my first touch, and her hands came around, to keep my head in place. I coaxed her legs and placed them on my shoulders, as I worked between them. Susan was only supported by a small bench, at best, built for two children. She held the table and the back of her seat, to keep still, as I licked up and down the slot of her newly deflowered vagina. Her mouth gave voice to her emotions, that would carry far beyond the trailer we were in. The crunch of gravel, told me somebody in a car was coming. Carl's too loud voice, told me he had company with him. Susan's exclamations did not stop, and I knew that they must have heard. I pulled away, and kissed Susan, transferring lots of the juices. "Carl is coming, and is with somebody else. We'd better get dressed, because they know we are here." Susan got up groggily from where her mind was, and did not understand my words. I just picked her up, walked sideways down the narrow aisle, and placed her on the bed. I covered her up with a sheet. I dressed in clean clothes, and just got my pants on, as a knock came from the door. "Just a minute! Be right there!" ------- Chapter 4 A pullover, and some slip-ons proved enough. I combed my hair with my fingers, before closing the door to the bedroom. I opened the outside door to Carl and Doris. The latter was a metre back with a very pretty pair of red high heal shoes in her hand. "Hello, Doris, Carl. What brings you here so early in the morning?" Carl answered, "Well, it is getting on to about noon, and your girl dropped her shoes last night. And just like the king's men, I am looking for the new princess they belong to." "Funny. Come on in," I said. I picked up the dirty dishes and put them in the sink, and quickly wiped the syrup off the table. "Would you like some tea?" I asked. Carl came in, looked around, and sat at the table. Doris sat across from him, and placed the shoes on the floor at her feet. "Since when did you drink tea in the morning?" She asked. Carl sniffed the air, lowered his eyes and said quietly to me, "Sorry." Doris ignored her husband and asked, "Did Susan get home alright, last night?" Carl hung his head, put his elbows on the table, and covered his cheeks with his large hands. She continued, "The police came, and Carl had just enough time to tell the people that knew you, to have amnesia. The soldiers said nothing, either. I think they would never admit to be beaten by the two of you. What brought all of that about?" Doris as usual just loved to talk. I said, "I don't know about the slap, but later the pilot put bruises on Susan's arm, and she took exception to it. The next two called her a gook, and before I could take them on, she had one and I had the other. Both had unarmed combat ribbons. The 22nd came in to help their American buddies, and were either too drunk, or not used to fighting. We got away, just a few seconds ahead of the cops." "What happened to Susan? You know she loves you. The poor girl. I think you make quite a pair," she droned on. I thought for a while, and knew that I loved Susan, just as much as she loved me. And as for a pair, I thought Doris was right, even if she didn't know when to shut up. "She will... ," Doris began. The door to the back bedroom slid open a bit, and Susan came out, dressed only in one of my old flannelette shirts. It hung half way to her knees. Her long black hair cascaded down her back. I had never seen such a beautiful sight. Her eyes were bright, and still seemed full of mischief. Doris finished with a simple, "Oh," and finally shut up. Susan came forward and Carl relinquished his seat, after taking a good look at a most beautiful woman. "Thank you, Carl." She looked at Doris and said, "Henry protected me. Then he explained, in the only way he could get through to me, that I was wrong about taking those boys on. I will have a few bruises to remember it by, and last of all, you were right about what you said last night." Doris blushed, because of all the things she did say. Both Carl and I wondered about what Doris had told her. "Ah... We ahh... brought your shoes. They are under the table." She bent over to pick up the shoes, and inadvertently looked up Susan's legs. She saw that Susan wasn't wearing anything underneath the shirt, and quickly handed the shoes to their owner, with averted eyes. "Thanks. They are hard to fight in." Carl said from his standing position, "I think we'd better be going. We've put our feet in our mouths enough, for one day." As the car left the lot, Susan turned to me. In a serious voice, she asked, "Who is Tuyen?" I staggered back till I hit the stove. In a moment, I said, "How did you know this? It is a story about long ago." "Tell me about it, Henry. I know it is important." She had a right to know, and I just hoped that she would not take offence to what she found out. "Ah... It started in Dong Ban An, a small hamlet that use to be close to where your parents were born. It is gone now, and has been since 71. " My mind went back."Carl, and the rest of our unit, entered the village. I luckily got the village head man to talk to me. We were informed of an ambush planned by the Cong, and NVA regulars. Our team and some reinforcements, killed many of the enemy, instead. The mission was a resounding success. I was given lots of things to give to the village, for helping us. They were very happy with the gifts. One of the head man's daughters sneaked out, and came to me that night. She was only 12, but I fell in love with her. I did my best for the hamlet and later Tuyen told me that she was carrying my child. I had such great plans for us. We were going to come here, and raise a family, and be happy ever after." I stopped to collect my thoughts, and felt the familiar burning in my nose that told me I would cry if I were alone. I could see, the long dead girl, her happy face while she sewed my clothes, prepared my meals, and especially when we made love. "Well, the Cong have long memories. They came to the village and... did things... Then they executed Tuyen," I breathed deeply a few times. "Then they killed her father. I sort of went crazy. I took risks that should never have been taken, and killed very many Cong. Mostly with my hands or with a knife, but especially with my hands," I said, as I looked down at my open hands, as if in amazement. I breathed again, and thought of my next pain. "Mom and Dad died soon after, and I was given an early discharge to go home and bury them. I was subtly told not to try to re-enlist a third time. "I came home a beaten man, and it took a long time to pull myself together. I went back to school, courtesy of the U.S. government. I drowned myself in studies till I graduated. Then Aunt Harriet, my last living relative, died while I was at school. This drove me back into study, and away from people." I looked up at her, and saw the tears in her eyes. "Well, that was a little more than you asked for," I said. "I'm sorry if it's a sad story, but I have to tell you that I don't know if I will ever get over her." Susan hugged me tight, and actually pulled me into the bedroom for some solace. Not sex... my story had killed the mood for that. She simply held me, and otherwise left me in peace. The old memories tumbled through my head. Eventually I managed to pull myself together, and we dressed properly to take her home. At least, I did. Susan refused to put the red dress back on. "It's evening wear, Henry. If I walk in the door wearing it, all the neighbours will know I've been out all night. My parents deserve better than that." She rummaged through my closets, and came up with an old T-shirt and shorts. Both looked ridiculous. The shirt fitted her chest pretty well, but draped comically at the shoulders. The waistband of the shorts looked as if it could go round her twice. When she put them on, though; they looked right, somehow. On her feet she wore a pair of trainers she'd put on at the dojo. They looked right, too. To complete the disguise, she put an old jacket of mine over the top. I took her home to face the music. I wasn't sure I wanted to go in with her. We might be hiding our crime from the neighbours, but Susan's mother and father would know how long she'd been out. They would also know how she had been dressed when she went out. They would know. I wasn't sure I could face them. "Come on," Susan insisted. "You have medals to prove you're not a coward. Now show me how you earned them!" I gave up, and went in without further protest, but hung in the doorway of their apartment, looking and feeling shamefaced. To my surprise, Duc and Lam seemed to be in 'party mood'. They pulled me inside, and sat me down in the living room. Susan disappeared in the direction of her room. No doubt, to put on some more suitable clothing. Soon afterward, her mother followed her. Duc looked at me with a twinkle in his eye. "So, Henry. I think the plan worked, yes?" "Uh... Plan?" "Susan has wanted you for a very long time now. She has cried on my shoulder many times, but I could not help. You have always seemed to be a sensible young man, yet you could not see what was right under your nose! So, she and her mother decided to force you to take her out on a date." "Force me?" "That's right. There was no boyfriend last night. That was me, telephoning from the store. She is a good actress, my little girl. And now you have made her very happy. "He looked past me to the closed door, and chuckled, "And now she is telling her mother all about it, I expect." I sat, thunderstruck. I'd been hooked, and reeled in, just like that! My jaw must have dropped open. Duc laughed loudly at the expression on my face. I smiled, ruefully, then started to laugh as well. Pretty soon, we were both completely cracked up. Eventually, we sobered up. "So," said Duc, "when are you going to have that nice big new house finished; so that Susan can move into it with you, and give us lots of grandchildren? Or would you like to move in here with us, for now? There is a spare bedroom." "No thanks, old friend. I'm still a crusty old bachelor at heart. Susan made some changes to that last night, but it'll take time for the medicine to take all the way. But are you sure it's me, she wants? I wondered last night. I'm old for her. I love her, but..." Duc interrupted my stammering. "When she was five years old, she told me she would marry you one day. She has never changed her mind, and I am sure she never will." My heart leapt. It hadn't been sentiment on Susan's part last night, or this morning. The girl loved me, after all. I felt like racing to her room to take her into my arms. But something held me back. She'd tricked me! We had often played tricks on each other over the years, but this one topped the lot. I couldn't let it go without a little gentle revenge. "Please, Duc," I said, "will you keep this conversation a secret, for a few hours?" "Yes, sure, but why?" "I'd like to play a little trick on Susan, to pay her back for the one she played on me. You don't mind? She didn't tell me what she had done. I want a bit of payback." He grinned broadly. "Not at all. It is not good for the women to have the upper hand all the time. They have it, for too much of the time, as it is." "Well," I said, "here's what I'd like you to do..." A few minutes later, Susan and her mother came from the back room, giggling with each other. "Well, folks," I said, "I have to be going now. I have a lot of errands to do in town. Thanks for the date last night, Susan. That was a lot of fun!" I got up to leave. Susan and her mother looked thunderstruck. "But... but..." Susan began. "Can I come with you?" "Well, some of it's going to be boring for you, and one item's kinda personal..." "It doesn't matter. I want to be with you," she replied firmly. "Well, all right. You might be some help, anyway." We left. Susan's mother still looked puzzled, trying to work out what had gone wrong. I took Susan on a round of supplies shops, ordering things for pickup later. Sure enough, she was bored, and showed it. She tried several times to steer the conversation around to the previous night, but I managed to fend her off. Finally, I took her into a shopping mall. "This is where you can really help me, Susan," I said, "if you don't mind, that is." "Anything you want, my hero," she replied, nervously. She was back to 'my hero'. She wasn't sure of her Henry any more. Good. My plan was working. I walked her into a jeweller's store. "Well," I said, "it's like this. There's a girl I've been sweet on for a while, and I thought it was about time I bought her a ring." She searched my face, waiting for me to crack a smile. I managed to resist. "You don't mind helping me?" I asked. "I don't really know what girls like." Her face paled slightly. She nodded, and swallowed hard. I went to the counter. "I'm looking for an engagement ring. My friend here has offered to help me choose." "Well, sir," said the assistant, "if you'd like to look at the displays..." "Have you got anything better? Something around... Oh, I don't know, four or five thousand dollars?" He broke into a smile, and suddenly became very co-operative. We found ourselves seated in a private viewing room, while the owner went to fetch a case of what he called 'special stones for the discerning buyer'. In other words, he saw an easy mark, and went for it. Well, it wasn't the first time I'd spent big money to bring off a good joke, and it probably wouldn't be the last. I had to admit, the rings looked good. The stones were BIG, and they sparkled beautifully. Special lighting, I guess. "Well, Susan," I said, "if it were for you, which one would you choose?" "Uh... That one, I guess," she said, in a small voice. The ring she pointed at was my favourite, too. Not the biggest stone, but it seemed to outshine the rest with its blue-white glory. It was seated in a cluster of emeralds, any one of which would have looked good on their own. Together, the whole group looked stunning. It turned out to be quite a long way over my budget, at just under ten thousand. But I managed to haggle the guy down to eight, before I agreed to the sale. I knew the markups on this kind of merchandise, and the jeweller knew that there were other stores in town, or Toronto. I paid cash. That had been part of the deal, and I doubted that the transaction would get into his books. I'd discovered during the building work, that cash made a big difference to the price. I always carried a lot of it around, when I was buying supplies. "When will the lady be coming in for a fitting?" he asked. "That might be a little difficult," I said. "It's supposed to be a surprise. Tell you what... Why don't we try it on this little lady, here. Her fingers look to be the same size. And if it's wrong, we can always get it altered later." Susan looked bleak, but offered her hand for measuring. The jeweller took the ring into the back room for adjustment, and I looked at her. Bowed head, unsmiling. Good! A few minutes of grim silence later, he returned. "Come on then," I said, cheerfully. "Let's see if it fits." She turned her head away, but obediently held out her hand. I slipped on the ring. "Go on then," I said. "Take a look. It's wonderful. Let's go in the front, and see how it looks without the spot lights overhead. Thank you, Susan, for helping me choose it." She kept her head turned resolutely away, and remained silent. "Well," I said, "I told you it was supposed to be a surprise. Guess it was. Surprise, Susan!" Susan swung her head around, to see my broad smile. She burst into tears, and flung herself into my arms. Suddenly, the room was full. Duc had been as good as his word. He brought not just himself and Lam, but everyone else he could think of. Carl, Doris, their boys, and the rest of the home building gang. Plus various friends and neighbours of Susan's. The two of us left the store, arms clasped tightly around one and another. We were followed by the whole noisy, excited rabble. Much to the relief of the jeweller, I thought. We all drove to the 'George and Dragon', and I ended up spending all my cash. I had to borrow from the owner, this time. Susan had to show off her ring. She told the story of how I'd tricked it on to her finger, over and over again. It was a wonderful engagement party, and she sparkled nearly as much as her ring. She whispered in my ear that she'd pay me back when we were alone. I wasn't sure whether to expect a kiss or a kick. I decided to keep my guard up, and be ready for either. Up until the snows came, we worked on the house. The walls were up, and a good slate roof had been installed. The house was indeed liveable, but not quite complete. The steel girders after being primed were erected, waiting for the heavy loads of stone, that would be applied in the coming spring. ------- Chapter 5 I threw a big party the next year, in my newly completed home. Caterers scurried about, serving the guests. Carl Shingle, his son Charlie and Paul, Charlie's lover and mate, and the crew; wandered about the house, thinking of what their work had born. Other tradesmen, that helped in the construction, were present as well. They were with their wives, girlfriends, and family. Most had passed up other more lucrative jobs, to come into the sticks. They had forgone their friends and family, for sometimes weeks on end. This was no accident, they all wanted to work alongside me. This made it even more important to work with them. After a while, we were all almost 'family'. From across the parking lot, I admired the curved stone ramp, with a thick high stone railing, protecting it. It reminded me of pictures I had seen of the Great Wall of China. I was grateful I would not have to repel the Mongol hordes. The house proper, was surrounded by a wide cedar deck, and had an even wider overhang of roof. I still wondered at the reasons I'd put over two million dollars into a house that would probably never hear the voices of children. Though it had many furnished bedrooms, I was still single, and planned to stay that way for a while yet. Rob Farley, the thin grey haired man, took particular pride in his skills as a mason. Under his direction, thirteen masons from as far away as Montréal and Toronto worked long hours. They made the walls and the long ramp leading to the front deck, all of local stone. A one metre wide barrier ran alongside the wide ramp. It ascended more than three metres in places. The walls of the house proper were clad with almost a metre of rock, even to the third story. He was incredulous at first, when he tried to make a quote for all this work. The massive steel girders, and equally large foundation, told him that the stone would be adequately supported. Well over three hundred tonnes of stone were used on the actual house and ramp. Workmen guided their ladies throughout the house, pointing out all the points of interest. Especially the parts they had a hand in fabricating. The ladies marvelled at the large modern kitchen, with its double door commercial refrigerator, the six burner restaurant stove and hood. Plants of various kinds sprouted in profusion, in most of the unused spots. Off of the kitchen, was a large pantry, stocked with some non-perishables. The large airy bedrooms looking ready for immediate occupancy. Some even took advantage of the situation, and 'broke in' the beds. The party seemed to be going well, but I suddenly felt the need to be by myself, away from the babble. Stealthily, I went upstairs, into one of the small bedrooms. I was prepared to eject any interlopers, but the room was empty. I locked the door, and turned off the light. I lay on the bed, looking out of the open window at the bright stars in the moonless, and cloudless sky. I didn't plan to be away from the party for long. Just a half-hour or so, to recharge my batteries. I'd lived alone for a long time now. Somehow, I sensed that this phase of my life was about to end. This big house was a statement about my future plans. I'd made it big, and I'd wanted it filled with people. But now, I wanted just a few more minutes of peace and quiet. I didn't get it. From below, outside the bedroom window, I heard voices. Carl, I thought, with a couple of the other guys who had helped me build the place. "Hey, Carl? What is it with Henry? You know him better than most." "Not sure what you mean, Rob." "I've spent a year out in the middle of nowhere, building this place. Sure, I got paid for it, but I could've earned as much working somewhere comfortable. My family's really pissed with me. But somehow, I had to take the job. And once I took it, I had to keep going. And when it was finally done, something went out of my life. It's weird!" "No, Rob," said Carl. "It's Henry Buchanan." "Yeah, I'd sort'a figured that much out. But what is it about him?" "I'll tell you a story. You know Henry and I were in Vietnam together? Well, that's when we first saw it. Henry could go into a village full of frightened people. Half an hour later, he had a hundred new friends. He had a few words of the language, but that's not it. He puts out some sort of signal. 'Charisma' comes close, but that's not all of it. A sort of 'psychic likability'. You see him, and you just know you can trust him." "Yes, that's what I've been getting," said Rob. "He's sort of caring, gentle..." "Caring, yes. Gentle, not necessarily! I've seen him turn into something primeval, a killing machine. Blind and deaf to reason, wanting blood, and more blood." "No! I can't believe that. He might be the best man I've ever met. He'd never do anything evil!" "You're right, he wouldn't. But he reacts to evil when he sees it. Some very bad men tortured and killed a friend of his. He got mad, then he got even. Over fifty of them. But to this day, I don't think he reckons the scales are balanced. He'd rather have taken out five hundred, a thousand. He keeps it hidden, but the anger is still there. "The bad men were Gooks, I take it. He wouldn't have got all those medals if he'd done it to his own side." "They were Vietnamese, yes. But so was his friend. Henry doesn't see 'sides' the way most of us do. He just sees Right and Wrong. A couple of times I saw him stand up to the top brass, when they wanted us to 'pacify' a village, with flamethrowers. He drew his gun on a Colonel once. And he was right. He went into that village, made friends, and came out with information about the enemy. And some damned good beer. The information saved a lot of good men. But I'll have to say that we were more grateful for the beer!" What right did they have to talk about me that way? I kept my thoughts and words to myself, and wished others would do the same. I was not too angry at Carl, for he meant well. But I didn't like my life laid bare before others, even if they were friends. I was not relaxed. But I felt I had to get back to the party now, or end up brooding here, by myself. Perhaps it was for the best because I would hear more that I did not want to remember. Coming down the steps, I looked over the banister, and saw some of my friends that had helped to build my home. I had to get used to them wearing suits. It was quite a change from coveralls, or jeans. Walking by an open door, I spied Paul and Charlie holding hands, and admiring the craftsmanship that went into the structure. Looking at Paul, I thought back to when I first met the lad. Six years ago, I had been in Barrie, on business. I planned to drop in at my friend Carl's home, the next day. That day though, I stopped at a neighbourhood pub, close to my motel. It was around six o'clock. I stepped up to the bar, and ordered a beer. I made some idle chatter with the bartender, a short heavyset man of my own age. The other patrons comprised solitary drinkers, and older men, talking quietly. Off in a dark corner, two young men talked. Across the room, the slightly older men argued around a pool table. A muted television was showing some sports event. About an hour, and four bottles of beer later, I heard a commotion in the washroom. Turning, I was just in time to see the two young men being thrown through the doorway, and falling to the floor. Both had blood all over their faces, and one had his shirt almost torn off of his thin frame. Seven men, from the rowdy group, came out of the bathroom. They started to kick the fallen young men. The ones on the floor curled into a foetal position, to protect what they could. Getting up, I wandered over to the obvious leader. "Why are you kicking the boys?" "They are a pair of fags, and were sucking cock in there. What the fuck is it to you, anyway?" "Just looks like you boys have punished them enough. Why don't you let them go? I'll even buy a round, to refresh you from your workout." "Fuck you! I like beating fag boys," he said, as pulled his foot back to deliver another kick. My high kick came from out of nowhere, and pulped the attacker's nose, spraying blood on those near him. The rest jumped in to avenge their leader. I diverted a punch with my left arm. I delivered a punch to an attacker's rib cage, then another to his throat. I danced around the mob. They couldn't seem to touch me, in any way. I mostly used my feet, and worried that my hands would be damaged, if I struck bone. Their movements told me that they were very drunk, and this helped me, immensely. Two were down with blows to the throat, and another two with sore nuts. The leader, mad with rage, stepped in. He got another foot to the face, that drove him back, and into unconsciousness. I even managed to snag one attacker, and use him as a shield, as the last tried to punch me. I just substituted his face for mine, then let the man fall to the floor. "Well," I said to the last pugilist. "It looks like it's just you and me. All seven of you have never even hit me. Six are on the floor. Do you think you can take me? Or do you want to call it a draw, and take your friends home?" The man about thirty or so, he slowly lowered his fists. Keeping an eye on me, he dragged his friends out the front door. Looking down at the two boys, I turned them over. I was treating them like battlefield casualties. The one without a shirt, had long lacerations that ran the entire length of his arm. Blood flowed from his wounds, and puddled beside him. Both had blood shot eyes and bleeding faces. The other youth looked familiar, though I had not seen him for over a year. The bartender came close and I said, "Will you get some damp clean cloths, to clean these boys up?" "Why do you want to help these fags?" I visibly controlled my temper at his uncaring words. "If you were being beaten by those thugs, would you want my help?" I questioned. "Yes." "Well then; consider me a good Samaritan, and get me the cloths, please." The barkeep shook his head, and went behind the bar for the requested items. Looking at the familiar boy, I whispered, "Charles, what have you got yourself into? It is not healthy to flaunt your lifestyle in a place as small as this town." The boy looked uncomprehendingly into my eyes. The boys were cleaned and assessed. Both had no life threatening injuries, just the mangled faces that would not require medical attention. The barkeep came over with a first aid kit, and I put gauze plugs into their nostrils, and deemed them fit to travel. "I guess I'll be a good Samaritan, too. The first man you hit, has some very nasty brothers. I think you should leave with your friends, before they arrive." It looked like the advice was good, for all the others patrons had left as well, leaving the bar with only the four of us. "My thanks for the warning. I think we will use it." So saying, I got the boys up and helped them toward the front door. Passing the window, I saw some of the attackers with fresh troops, coming down the heavily travelled street. A gust of wind moved a shirt, to show a gun in the waist of one of the men. I put the boys down in a booth to hide them temporarily. The bartender was using a dirty mop and pail to clean up the blood on the floor. "I think it is too late for a strategic withdrawal. I think you should go and do some inventory. Turn out the lights, behind you." The man raced for the door to the store room in the back, turning off the lights as he went. I took the sturdy mop, and broke off the head. It made a short, but thick, staff. I had just enough time to place myself behind the door, before it was flung open, to strike the toe of my shoe. Five men entered, and the door automatically closed behind them. "You better get the fuck out here, Asshole, or it will go even worse for you," the tall heavyset man in the front shouted. At least two had guns, I saw. This was no time for the Marquis de Queensbury rules. This very well could be a life and death situation. I rushed between the men, who were unaware of my position. I brought the mop handle down on the wrist of the man in the front. A satisfying crunch reached my ears. Continuing the stroke, and on the upswing, the handle struck across the face of the other man. It pulped his nose in the process. The last newcomer pulled up his hand, and with a flick, a long blade came into view. This time I made a feint, and followed it with a kick to his nuts. While the man gasped, the staff struck his throat with force, but not quite enough to kill. The other two stared with their mouths open, incredulous, that one man had again beaten them. This time, they had come in ready for the 'old man in a suit'. They even brought guns and knives. Now, only the men on the floor had the weapons. And here I was again, and the two still standing had no weapons to protect them. I did not give them too much time to ponder this. The handle struck, and struck again, driving them to the floor. Standing up, I walked to the first man that was starting to get to his feet with the gun in his left hand this time. "Some people never learn," I said. The staff quickly broke the other wrist as well. I kicked the weapon metres away, and stomped on the other man's hand who had brought a gun with him. Again the sounds of broken bones reached my ears, along with another scream of pain. The bartender came out with an aluminum baseball bat. "I called the cops. They should be here soon. You'd better leave, now." "Thanks again for the warning. You might call for some ambulances to remove this carrion." I opened my wallet and placed some large bills on a nearby table. Bending over, I slapped the least damaged of the men. "You boys have met me twice, and both times you ended up on the floor in pain. Fighting with your fists or even feet is fine. Usually people coming at me with guns, die. I doubt that you realize how close you all came to inhabiting body bags." Quiet, merciful hands, moved them into unconsciousness. The bartender watched the men fade away, as if it was not particular trick to do. He asked in a quiet voice, "Is that true?" Thinking about my reply I said, "I have killed more than I like to count. If this had happened in an alley, without witnesses, they would never have walked out." The shaken bartender held the door open, as I helped the two boys to the truck. We left, just as the police rounded the corner. No doubt they would find the men, their weapons, and a shaken barkeep. Carl was not happy to have his son's life style confirmed. It was better to have him home and safe, though. I mediated the confrontation. Two weeks later, Paul Santo, the other boy was welcomed into the Shingle's house, after being kicked out of his own. In an off hand way, Carl was happy. He had gotten another son. He could see that both boys actually did love one another. Recalling my mind to the party, I walked downstairs, and put a can of Export in Rob's hand. The party goers had not missed me. "You have done a fine job here, Rob. You should be pleased with your work, and especially in the way you did the fireplace. I showed the women your artistic touches. I think you will be working for a long time, when everybody finds out." Rob looked over at the heroic column of stone. A tree could burn in the fireplace, without endangering the house. The hidden heat exchangers did their job well, keeping the house warm, without burning a lot of wood. "I would have never taken on a job like this, if I had known how much mental work it would be. I work with my hands, not my head. But I wouldn't have missed this job for anything, after accepting it. This house is a thing of beauty, and I am glad I had a hand in making it that way." Susan Tran slid quietly up into position, beside me. The attractive young woman, with lustrous black hair, slipped her arm through mine. She smiled up at me. She wore another traditional Vietnamese red silk dress, outlining her slim frame. It looked to be a more mature version of the one she once wore for me. Any man in the room would be happy to keep her company, but not to anger her in any way. She now had a reputation of taking out men who tried to coerce her. But they all knew we were a couple. She said, "The house looks more beautiful than it did a few weeks ago. I don't know what you are going to do with the dining room, or this size of a house. Do you plan on having company, or a few of your old friends drop by for a meal, or house guests? There are five large bedrooms, and another three rooms that could be." "No, I was hoping to have enough room for all my children, plus some friends. Would you help me fill some of the empty spaces?" Susan's smile said she was ready to start, now. Everyone here, knew we were engaged, but the date for the wedding was put off, for various reasons. "If you asked, I would be more than happy to fill some of them." Leaving unsaid, which of the spots she meant. Now it was my turn to watch my step. I had given her the ring. But things were not quite ready yet, for the date to be set. "Perhaps I will have to get it settled, soon. I wanted a big Christmas party, here." "That is one of the things I like about you. You plan ahead... This is only Labour Day. Which bedroom is mine?" She said, trying to be coy with our guests present. "The one in the far corner with the big bed. I was going to put the name of every woman here into a hat, for the traditional christening. Are you volunteering for this odious task? I know the women will thank you for saving them." "I guess I will have to sacrifice myself. Most of the single girls would get writers cramp, filling in extra slips. I will be polite, and not mention the married ladies." I stooped my large frame, and picked up one of her hands. I brought it to my lips. "You should consider the contest, closed. I think you would make the night the most memorable, anyway," I said. Susan blushed. Especially as it was right in front of Rob. She was very shy and even an engagement ring did not mean a marriage yet. It was her own fault, for starting this line of questioning. She had wanted this relationship with me, ever since she was old enough even to contemplate a mate. She had gone out with others, but had not given herself to any of them. Two Cadillacs, covered with dust and stirring up even more, drove in from the stone topped access road. They stopped behind the rows of other cars. Three well-dressed men and their wives emerged. I waved to them from the large cedar deck, that surrounded my home. Blair Somerville, and two of the men I had worked with at Ontario Hydro, slowly walked up the wide path. They ascended the majestic stone ramp. They seemed impressed by the five hundred and eighty square metre house. Though I thought in metric, it was hard to not say in this case that my house was six thousand square feet, instead. All this, and it had been built far out in the bush, and equally far from any neighbours. They walked up, and were greeted. I kept my arm around Susan. She was apt to disappear, when people showed up, whom she thought were above her social level. Introductions were made, and questions answered about the large home. Susan took the women around, and showed them all the nice things the house had to offer. She had her own input as to what should be here. This was a major reason for the decor being the way it was. "Glad you could make it, Blair. I wanted to show you the house. It is completely self sufficient." I pointed to the large wind machine, and generator, about half a kilometre away on a high rock point. Beside it, large frames supported a solar collector, as we looked on. It did its job, but was really only helping. Blair had seen the large transformers on the pole at the end of the driveway, and knew that he was being put on. "It is nice to see you putting your mind to something practical. But I thought, with all the hot air that you generate, the power source of choice would be different." The guests within ear shot chuckled or laughed at the barb, knowing that I could take it, as well as dish it out. The party lasted late. The men perhaps thinking that they would just step into the trailers, as they had done for the last few months. Usually, wives had to drive their husbands home. The caterers had cleaned up, and left. When only Susan remained, I turned on the bathroom light. I used the facilities, and turned the bedding down. I picked up the sleepy, and somewhat drunken woman, and carried her like a Ming vase into the bedroom. I undid her clothes, and placed her in the king sized bed. Then I turned out the bedroom lights, and got into the bed, myself. As I moved closer, Susan snuggled onto my chest. Perhaps the official christening would have to wait for morning. ------- Chapter 6 In the next two weeks, I got all the small details of the house finished. The large pantry, and walk-in freezer, were replenished. The wine cellar gave me a particular pleasure, but beer still hit the spot. There was enough corded wood, cut and stacked, to almost last the winter by itself. The emergency generator, and its fuel were checked. The hangar/boathouse for my Viking Turbo Beaver amphibian, the two boats and the canoe, was completed. The large tank of propane insured my comfort. A good sized 'reverse osmosis' water system, saw to all the purified water needs. A lucrative contract had come in from a pipeline firm. I had completed it ahead of schedule, and had gotten a hefty bonus. Hydro was still after me, but I did not like the long term stuff. The money was fine, but not close to what I could make, when companies were in an emergency situation. I wondered if I should perhaps take the job in Pickering, with their reactors. This way I could get Hydro to do some more work on their right of way, that I used. And perhaps, I could get them to do a little more on the two kilometre driveway, to the house, as part of the deal. ------- Saturday Sept 15 My eyes gazed out over the river from the deck. I saw its perfection in the early morning mists. The haze, a metre thick, covered the still water. The only movement, was a fish, that decided to catch its breakfast on the surface. The smell in the air of the trees and the water, brought a contentment to me. I was still sweating from the long run, and the workout. It was time to rest, before going for a shower. My hand brought up a mug of coffee to my lips, when I was suddenly tossed about. The mug fell, to break on the deck, as my hands clutched the railing. I could hear things breaking in the house. I held firmly onto the railing, and could see waves on the river. Trees seemed to wave, as the land was put to motion as well. It had been years, since I had felt a quake. I had never felt one like this. Never one this strong, especially here, in the north. I rushed into the house, and found only some minor damage. I cleaned up the mess. Then I turned on the radio, to hear of any news reports. Pushing buttons, I sent the sound to the outside deck, and the rest of the house. Another coffee was poured into a new mug. I listened, while standing on the deck. A bulletin eventually came in. It mentioned, that the centre of the quake, was a few kilometres east of me. There was only minor damage reported, so far. As I listened, I walked around the deck. A splotch of white caught my eye on Beaver Mountain. It was just across the bay, and to the west. Setting down the new coffee on the railing, I got the binoculars from the house. On closer examination, I could see the place where a minor rock fall, had dislodged some trees, and exposed a seam of white quartz. This was interesting, because gold was sometimes found in this type of rock formation. Uncle Jake's mine was around there, some place. Perhaps it would be worth the effort to see what had happened. The ringing of the phone caught my attention. It was Susan. "Are you all right? I heard the quake was strong near you," she said, with real concern in her voice. "Just fine. A few pictures, and the vase you gave me, were broken. The rubber gaskets around the windows prevented their breakage, at least." "I am glad to hear that. When are you coming down? You may need a more thorough physical." "You know I don't back down from a fight, but I may need medical attention, after seeing you. I am sorry, but I am committed to some business in Sudbury. I can meet you next Saturday morning. Is that alright with you, honey?" I had other business plans, but heard the worry in her voice, and knew I had to see her. Besides, I knew, that Susan got even more demanding, when she entered her fertile period. "Yes, come early. I'll give you something to eat, then you can have breakfast." The double beep on the phone, told me that I had another call. "I have another caller. I'll look forward to the meal. Goodbye, Sweetheart." "Bye, my hero." I was always put out about being called a 'hero'. I should be used to it, because she'd called me that for the last twenty years. The next caller was Rob Farley. He was concerned if anything had happened to 'his' house. "No, Rob. I looked around, and everything looks fine. This area doesn't get many tremblers, and never any this strong," I said, needing to calm the man. You would have thought that his only child was in danger. "I will do a thorough inspection, later this week, to make sure. Is that enough for you?" "Well, I should check myself." "If you want, Rob. You are the best judge. Come by any time, but I can't guarantee that I will be here. The nickel company, and Hydro, have been after me. You know where the key is." I had to hurry, after the phone calls. I showered and packed some things. Then I grabbed my lap top. I did the pre-flight on the plane, then I made a last stop at the large kennel, and put out food and water for Dog. He was anxious for another run. Sudbury turned out to be a simple matter for me. I came home that night, twelve thousand dollars richer. Dog jumped up and barked as he heard the plane. I could see him clawing the chain link fencing, as I made my 'final'. After landing, the first thing I did, was to let him out. I started a microwaved supper, wishing I had somebody to make me home cooked meals. But that would intrude on my privacy. I had never married, and that was one of the reasons. I felt a pang of loss, for having no children. At forty eight, it might be a little too late to consider it. Partially from my view, and partially from the point of view of any child, that would have only a part-time father. My job, though satisfying, kept me away from home much more than I liked to think about. When the dishes were put away, I stepped out onto the deck. I sipped the coffee, and watched Dog do his patrols around the property. The trees had to be watered just so, or they would never grow right. The sun was down behind the hill, and the entire land seemed to be getting ready for a refreshing sleep. I remembered the rock fall and looked in that direction. There was a small glow in that area. The sun had set on the other side of the hill, and I could think of no reason for the light to be there. It was too faint to be a fire, and would probably not be noticeable, if the moon were out. Perhaps it was a good reason to get some exercise. After a change of clothes and shoes, I got the high powered flashlight. As an after-thought, I took my sheath knife, and my Bo. Dog came along, happy at the unexpected excursion. Night had fully fallen, and we would have to make it all the way, with just the flashlight. The old overgrown road went around the bend in the river, and up to the hill. We had to jump areas that were washed out, and work over fallen logs. We made our way around trees, that had sprouted since I'd last cleared the road. The road led right to the source of the light. The path up, the last sixty metres or so, was rough from all the rock that had become dislodged in the last thirty six years. Carefully, I worked my way up the incline. I paused to see the broken white quartz, littering the area. The thoughts of gold were actually secondary, to my curiosity about the light. If this was Uncles Jake's old mine, it did not go far into the mountain. The white stone filled the opening, and the strange light came from behind it. I propped the flashlight, and threw some of the smaller rocks out. There was no way I would get it cleared this night, and I was strangely reluctant to bring any others into this discovery. When I, and the batteries were tired, we left for home, being careful about the jagged rock. The mystery was almost too great for me to leave. That night, soaking in the tub, I wondered again. I tried to find a logical reason for the ghostly light. My night was restless. Early the next morning found me back at the old mine, with what tools I thought were needed. ------- Tuesday Sept 18 The job went a lot quicker and safer, in the daylight. By noon I found about four metres inside the new opening, a low spot was filled with water. The light came from beneath it's surface. This would require heavier tools, now. I went back home for a quick meal, and the old pickup. For the next few hours I used a chain saw to cut up the fallen trees. I cut the new growth, before dragging them off the old trail. In one place, I had to get some old culvert. I laid it in a washout, before filling it with rubble. I had to, or even the four by four would never make it across. Five phone calls from friends on the cellular, and an equal number of hours later; I was able to get the generator and electric sump pump, to remove the water, from the low spot. I didn't have a long section of PVC pipe. I had to make do, with scrounged fittings, and short sections of plastic, to get the job done. As the water receded, I stood in awe at the glowing wall that slowly emerged from the depths of the pool. It was milky, and gave off only a faint glow now that there was lots of light. My hands caressed the smooth surface, as my feet sunk into the mud at the bottom of the pit. There was no imperfection, that I could find. Who could have made this? For surely, it was not natural, even without the odd light. I reluctantly stepped back, and picked up a piece of quartz. It was very hard, but it slid easily across the surface, without leaving a mark. I saw that the glowing wall had no boundaries, that I could find. The sledge hammer proved that the wall went upwards, almost to the old limits of the mine. I used a heavy bar, to strike and pry loose any rock, that I could get at. The wall now went over the lip of the depression I was in. If this continued, I could work on the wall, on level ground. ------- Wednesday Sept 19 Over the next two days, I placed another piece of culvert vertically in the hole, before I filled around it. This was to house the submersible pump, and keep the floor fairly dry. The generator allowed me to use all sorts of drill bits. But even an expensive one, that I was forced to get delivered at a high cost, did not so much as scratch the wall. The acetylene cutting torch did not mar the surface, and as a matter of fact, did not even warm it over the temperature of the air. I considered blasting, but that was not powerful enough unless it was confined. I couldn't drill the hole to confine it, anyway. The roof would probably cave in, even if I could. I wracked my mind for any new way to get beyond the wall. I was getting disappointed. The large bar I had been using to clear some more rock away, fell from its position on the wall, and onto the cord leading to the submersible pump. The cord was severed, and I cursed loudly. I hoisted the pump out of the hole. It would have to go back to the house to be worked on. As the galvanized fitting on the PVC came from the pump I threw it away in disgust. It struck the glowing wall without sound, and slowly fell to the floor. If I had not been looking in that direction I would never have seen it. I ran over to the fitting, and found I could push it into the wall about six centimetres, till it struck the first part of the plastic pipe. It required some force. But it depended more on a slow rate, than on force, to drive it in. If this were right, I had a piece of galvanized water pipe from Aunt Harriet's old home. The dump I used was just inside the tree line. It produced just the piece I wanted. A two and a half metre length of three quarter pipe, with a coupling on one end. The two minute trip back, took an eternity. I stumbled once in my haste, and then I made myself take my time. It almost felt like the conclusion of a multimillion dollar job. I was going to push the button, to see if it all worked. I held my breath and slowly pushed the pipe in, or tried to. It just started and stopped dead. I looked at the end of the pipe and saw the rust. Zinc does not rust, but the steel under it, did. So I walked out of the mine and reversed the pipe. I apprehensively pushed the pipe against the smooth surface. It slowly sank into the wall. A great feeling of accomplishment flowed through me. I supported the pipe one handedly, and watched as it started to fall at the far end, as if it were not supported well. A hiss came from the end in my hand, as if the air was trying to equalize in pressure. I stooped to look through the pipe but found it blocked, or it was dark on the other side. A feeling of awe overcame me. How was all this possible? It was getting dark, and I remembered the glow that originally brought me to the mine site. Others could see and would come to investigate. I trudged to the pickup and drove back for an old tarp that was big enough to hide the opening and the light behind it. A few old 2 by 4 studs courtesy of the dump, and I had a frame. The hole and light were effectively hidden. It was dark as I drove the truck back home. My word was important to me, but so was the enigma in the mine. What decided it most was my utter fatigue. After good nights sleep; a match with Susan, both in bed and out, would probably still kill me. ------- Secric had assumed the power of the base years ago. The previous authority had committed suicide, rather than wait any longer for rescue. The boredom had been so great, that others had done the same thing. She instructed the automatic weapons to swing into position. The lock would now stay, no matter how I moved. The decision to kill me now, and end the threat at least temporarily, or to follow the other option weighed heavily in her mind. There was danger to her personally, and to all those who relied on her judgment. 'With the computation this close, it is only prudent to wait for further data, before doing anything rash, ' she thought. The sights remained on me, but now only to view what would happen next. Very important decisions would rest on the my actions, for both of our races. Secric had been watching me for some time. In fact, since the house was being constructed. She was amazed that the base's defences had been so easily defeated. And by a simple uneducated barbarian, no less. In the four million year history of the technology, that built the shield and its accomplishments, no other race or group had been able to breach the shield this way, without destroying all that the shield contained. Granted the shield was on the lowest power level, but she did not know if her own people knew of this fault. What other marvels could this Human perform? It would not be long, before the Human gained entry. She would have liked to frustrate the Human, and then force him in, and not on his own terms. ------- Saturday Sept 22 Saturday morning found me up and dressed, ready to leave. I taxied the Beaver out onto the river, and flew the short distance to North Bay. A cab let me off in front of the dojo. I tipped well, and went to the side door. I rang the bell to the new apartment upstairs. A vision of liveliness, greeted me at the door. Susan had her hair done up. A silk kimono covered my dark haired beauty. I bowed in respect, and asked in Vietnamese, if this were heaven. An arm shot out, and dragged me in, before she wrapped her arms around my neck in a lusty kiss, that took both of our breaths away. I think my assumption was correct. I remembered her promise, and stooped quickly to carry the small woman back up the stairs. Her arms came around my neck, and her lips kissed my throat gently. I stopped beside the bed, and slowly stood the woman up. The room, like the woman, was immaculate. She must have been up many hours to do all the work. I got to my knees and gently undid the belt around her small waist. Carefully parting the cloth, I thought of my much younger self opening a present on Christmas. Almond skin and a thin covering dark hair, covered the juncture of her legs. Perfume was used moderately but I could still smell her arousal. I took one finger and traced upwards from her knees toward the source of the aroma. Her legs parted, and my finger found the flow. I looked up and into her eyes, as my moist finger pulled out. Her eyes closed at the contact with her clit. I went slow, and as she opened her eyes, she saw the finger go into my mouth, and taste her essence. This made both of us eager for the next step. I moved closer and kissed the flat abdomen in a most reverent way. Standing up, I grasped the front of the robe, and carefully pulled it off this most beautiful woman. It fell to the floor behind her, as I wrapped an arm around her chest, and another behind her head, to bring her forward to my lips. She seemed to melt against me, as I felt her heat through my shirt. Stepping back, I removed my clothing, and placed them on the chair beside the bed. Her robe was picked up and carefully placed across the back of the chair. Susan just stood there, waiting my pleasure. Coming forward, I guided her back toward the bed. As her legs touched the bed, she naturally sat. Her body continued moving in one fluid movement, till her back rested on the rich red comforter, and her feet hung over the bed towards the floor. Her face showed want, contentment, and happiness, that she was found pleasing to her man. I regained my position on the hardwood floor, and picked up a leg, admiring its perfection. Strong firm muscles graced this most lovely of creatures. Taking her right leg in my hands, I brought the ankle up and kissed it. I moved in small steps to her centre of being. The kisses made her muscles jump at each occurrence. Coming to the source of the ambrosia, I could wait no longer. Holding both ankles, I brought my tongue in to sample a taste. Susan could take this methodical approach no more. She grasped my hair on both sides of my head, and pulled me in, to quickly finish the task, I had set out to do. I was happy that I could please her so much, and started to suck on the bud, hidden within the folds of her flower. Her breathing increased, and gasps could be heard. The first words she said to me was, "Oh! I have waited so long for you. Suck there. Yes! Harder!" I did as she asked, and slipped a finger into her bowels, once it was lubricated. This was enough to set her off for the first time. I held on tightly, as she unconsciously pulled my hair and screamed her joy. My head hurt, but I would not stop until she finished. Later, she relaxed, and her grip loosened. Seeing the pleasure on her face was almost enough, but the other brain demanded attention. Standing up, I picked up her legs again, and placed them above her head as my 'third eye' unerringly found her hot tight vagina. Just as she was recovering from the first orgasm, the second one started. Placing her legs on my shoulders, and my hands on the bed, I made long sensuous strokes. Moving my body, I was able to rub her clit, then move to her G spot. Before long she said, "I am coming! Oh, gooodddd!" Her muscles contracted, making her vagina squeeze me tight. Her eyes opened wide then closed tight, as she concentrated on the feelings shooting through her. This was enough for my already tired body, and I shot spurt after spurt, into her womb. We rested for a while, and even got a little more sleep. We woke in time to make a gentle type of love, and later go out to a nice restaurant. Over the meal, I told Susan how much I loved her. We had purchased an engagement ring. We were just waiting for the appropriate time to set the date. Now, did not seem the right time to get this matter settled. The mountain and its enigma had too many unknowns, to allow me to ask her right then. ------- Chapter 7 Sunday September 23 Late Sunday morning, I was once again ready to take on the wall. And, I hoped, what was behind it. I had only one more piece of culvert. It was an old piece, that was now rusty in places. It had been replaced with a larger diameter culvert, in my improved driveway. The long drive had at least five streams running under it. All necessitated an easy path for the water to pass underneath, or the road would be washed out on a continuous basis. Dog got into the back of the pickup, after I loaded the culvert, and secured it to one side. I drove as close to the old mine opening as possible. It took over an hour to get the pipe into position, because it always managed to slide or roll back down the steep incline. The large rocks in the way, made the path, even more torturous. The moment of truth had come, again. I slid the better end of the culvert forward, till it straddled the old piece of water pipe, still in the wall. I pushed slowly. I found the need for the pry bar, and some two by fours, to slowly lever the culvert into the wall. Centimetre by centimetre it slid in, until it was in, about a metre, or the diameter of the tube. Then it went easier. Two metres remained, and one and half were in. Looking in at the end of the tube, I could still see a faint glow. I took a stone and tossed it through the tube. It bounced off the far end. With a little more work, the end of the tube was much clearer. A new stone now flew completely through, to make a dull thud a second later. There was no sound of displaced air. The water pipe had allowed the two sides to equalize. Dog came in, as always, to see what was happening. He found the hole of no particular interest, other than to piss on the outside of the tube, thus marking it as part of his territory. I was just glad he did not spray any on the inside the tube! I got the flashlight, and crawled through. I stopped half way, to try to see without the flashlight. As my eyes adjusted, I saw the glow from the entire inside of the wall. It was amazing. It seemed to go on for well over a kilometre, at least. There was not enough light to see anything clearly. I moved slowly forward, and stopped dead. The culvert was tipping inward. I retreated quickly, and the horizontal level slowly returned. When my heart and breathing got back to normal, I turned on the light. I saw nothing more, except a wide flat expanse littered with odd shapes, placed seemingly at random. I did not know how far down it was, to the next level. There was nothing to be learned like this. I backed out, and started placing rocks around the outside end of the tube, so it would support me later, when I got to the other end. Another hour allowed many rocks to be used as a counterbalance. This time the tube did not flex or move. To my relief, the three quarter pipe, was less than a metre below me. A rope was my next thought, and then some supplies, to go on a hike. Perhaps Dog would like to go. With a rope around my waist, and the other end wrapped around a snatch block, I lowered myself down to the dark surface. The precautions were unnecessary, as the area was firm as stone. I picked up the pipe nearby, and struck the floor with the end. The sound that came back, was like no stone I ever knew. There was some illumination, but mainly it was too dark to see adequately. The air smelt fresh, but did not have the natural smells I was use to. The air was warm though, and reminded me of a dry hot summer day. Dog was at the end of the culvert looking off into the distance, before lowering his gaze to me, asking permission to come. The pack was just below his chin. This was a good time to put the leash on his collar. There was no need to have Dog wander off, and get lost. I strapped the pack on my back. Dog was not happy with the leash idea, and tried to pull, till I was forced to let him know who was boss. After that, the travel was easier. There was no dust of any kind. The surface we walked upon, was seamless and flat. The obstructions looked like the same material as the floor, and appeared to be some kind of art work, placed in a random manner. Every once in a while, I looked back, to keep my bearings. Sometimes the large figures got in the way, and I had to manoeuvre to see the opening. The brighter circle in the glowing wall was usually found. There was absolute quiet, except for the noise we ourselves, produced. The feeling was eerie in the extreme. Four hundred metres inside the large room, I came to an edge, that dropped straight down, about twelve metres. In the distance, there were only ghostly outlines, till the beam from the flashlight illuminated them. Then they were too far away, to know what they were. I still had the rope, but decided to look for a better place to get down, if possible. Five minutes later, we came to some steps. They looked odd somehow. As I walked down a few of them, I knew why. The treads were wide, but only eighteen centimetres deep and about fourteen centimetres high. This was smaller, than what it should be. If people used these steps, they must have shorter legs, than I did. I walked down the steps with the leash and flashlight in one hand, hearing Dog breathing hard, as he still strained to go forward. The pipe struck the steps making a hollow thud. The resulting echoes came back from many directions, and at different times. The room must be immense. Possibly, it took up the entire inside of the mountain, and perhaps descended to its very roots. About a third of the way down the stairs, we came upon a very wide deck, that travelled off in both directions. The floor went as far as the light beam would travel. Regular openings could be seen going off of the landing, much like the businesses, in a multi story mall. The ceiling seemed as close, or as far, as it was at the top of the steps. It must be very high indeed. The far side, with similar steps, must be over a kilometre away. I turned to the left, as if drawn for some reason. Openings appeared at regular intervals, leading down long hallways in turn. The size of the installation was just immense. All this room, and nothing in it. Ahead, the room constricted to a mere three to four hundred metres across. Dog, was not very interested in anything, which seemed a bit odd. He would usually be off after a rabbit, chipmunk or whatever left a scent for him to trace. Another landing was passed on the steps, before the floor came into view again. Steps went down under the floor, to God know where. This level had no obstructions, but lines and strange symbols crossed at random intervals. This material, like the rest, showed no wear. It was as if the makers had just completed the job, and left. The high sloping wall came into view, with nothing apparently to the left of it. The right side extended across the floor, to an elliptical shape, that rose to the ceiling. It was half again wider, than it was high. On more consideration, I thought it to be about fifty metres, by seventy metres wide. The beam of light was reflected back like a distorted mirror. This would be hard to look at, in broad day light. The beam travelled to its supports and found none. The end was in the far distance, and I could not even hazard a guess as to its length. As we got closer, it became apparent how big this object really was. The huge shape soundlessly floated at least two metres off the floor, unless there were hidden wires, above. Dog yawned and sat, then laid on the floor. He was getting sleepy, and decided to rest. I had been excited all the time, but needed a rest myself, for some reason. I lowered the leash and the flashlight, that were both in the same hand. The metal staff made a noisy landing, as it fell to the floor, then the pack was placed beside it. Perhaps a nap would be a good idea. With the flashlight now off, the far walls came clearer, as my eyes adjusted. I lay on my back, and looked up at the marvel, just over my head. ------- Secric looked down at the figures on the floor. The culmination of a million years of waiting, was now possibly at an end. She went methodically through all of the memories, sorting them for relevancy, and weighting the results. Ethics was a double edged sword, here. The Human was an intelligent creature, and should be able to follow his own course. The people under her care, also needed a chance to return to their real home. In the end, she only inserted a small transponder, and hoped, that the males natural instincts would carry him down the path, that would be beneficial for both races. His type, were here before, and had made many contributions to the base. Perhaps this one, could do the same. ------- A few minutes later, I got up, much refreshed. I found my shoulders, head, and ass, sore, as if I had not moved for a long time. Dog got up, and I could hear him yawn. I turned the flashlight on, and killed what night sight I had. It was time to go back, anyway, I felt. A large generator, and equally large, klieg lights were needed. A laser would help in laying out this room, or whatever it was. The laptop would help, but a simple pad of paper, would do the job, just as easily. Since I knew roughly where the steps were, I cut across the floor. A few metres from the steps, I looked at the 'shops' on the lower and two upper decks. I did not know what was inside them, but they could wait for my return with better equipment. It did not occur to me at the time, why I was leaving this marvellous discovery, and just going home. The opening through the wall was hard to find, because the sun had moved, and the culvert did not stick out from the wall very far. With this in mind, I released Dog, to backtrack our path. He ran a little and returned, because there was nothing to run for, and he was probably tired. He put his nose to the floor occasionally, and within minutes, the culvert came into view. A few hundred metres short of the culvert, Dog stopped dead. He turned around, facing the way we had just came. His hackles rose, as he rushed back. What could possibly do this? Even deer or other game did not do this to him. Another dog had, once, but only once. I had been too late to separate them, and the opponent had died quickly. He dashed off, before I was able to leash him. I could hear growling, snarling, and grunting. As I got closer, I could also hear yelps. Some noises, sounded like they were coming from Dog. I ran back, could not believe what I was seeing. A large heavy dark spider, with a Human looking head, was squared off against him. It probably weighted more than Dog. The beast scuttled to the side, and jumped two metres into the air. This creature was very strong. Dog apparently was used to this tactic, and he moved into a position behind the spider, when it landed. Dog latched onto a foot, but was struck with another foot, and then struck again till he let go. Its speed was amazing. The spider flipped, and knocked Dog over. Before he could get up the spider struck Dog with its foot. Dog yelped in fright, as he struggled to get away. A strike to Dog's throat almost incapacitated him. I was close, and luckily behind the spider. I put the flashlight down pointing it at the struggle. I had used the Bo when practising with Susan, and the two and a half metre pipe I held, was very similar. I swung, what I hoped might knock out the beast, but the struggle shifted. The pipe struck the body of the spider, before hitting the side of the head. The spider stopped struggling, and I prepared to strike again. The spider fell onto Dog. Neither were moving, Dog probably couldn't even get out from under the creature. The fight had moved out of the beam from the flashlight, and the dome only gave a little illumination. I was leery of stepping forward into its grasp. Dog was my friend and needed help. I got behind the spiders crumpled body, and pulled Dog until he cleared his foe. Dog looked at me, and in his way, thanked me. He was too groggy even to get up by himself. The spider lay as it fell, with all its legs under it. It looked nothing like a real spider now. The dark body had a long torso, covered in long, but thinly spaced hair. The dark skin below, showed very clearly. It must have had an odd bone structure, to use six limbs. I knew it was no real spider. It just had that posture, when it was fighting Dog. I check over Dog, and saw that he was not as hurt as I originally thought. I rubbed his head, and talked to him, giving him what comfort I could. He recovered a little and started to get up, probably to have another go at his enemy. I talked to Dog, trying to calm him down, and discourage him form attacking the beast when my back was turned. Both were dangerous. Dog was half wolf, and nothing got between him and his opponent, without some risk. He disregarded me and moved in for the kill. I yelled at Dog when he jumped in, and tentatively tried to bite the spider on the leg, to see what it would do. I was forced to hit him with the same pipe. Dog yelped, and I pushed him away from the bloody beast. If he turned on me, I would have a tough time. The off centre light from the flashlight showed the beast was still breathing, and was bleeding profusely from its wounds. With one eye on Dog, and the other on the spider, I approached the strange creature. The back of the neck was lacerated, but it was very muscular. Perhaps the veins and arteries were, well enough protected. Two hairy legs, resembling a close friend of mine, were bleeding. A small pool of blood extended under the body. The gladiator had not moved. I remembered on an animal show, how dangerous animals were captured with a pole, with a noose attached to the end. I had the necessary parts with me now. The pipe was laid down, and a length of rope over three times longer, was cut. Both ends were pushed easily through the pipe. At the other end, one was tied into a knot larger than the hole in the pipe. The loop at the other end was placed around the neck of the Human like head. Once done, the slack was taken up, and a similar knot put in the slack end. It felt odd to be putting this around an apparent Human head, but I had done this before, and knew of its psychological necessity. The eyes were a little larger, and the ears small and less convoluted. Medium black hair, about ten centimetres long, was in the same place as a Human's and extended down the back. Except for a lack of facial hair, the rest of the face was well within Human standards. Looking again, I would consider the overall effect of its black face, to be beautiful. Appearing part Human or not, the rope was adjusted, and the spider could not get at the rope itself. Nor could it get to me, when I was at the other end of the pipe, providing I did not let it go. Another piece of rope was cut to hobble the centre pair of legs. If it was going to run or fight now, it would be very much slower. The centre set of legs resembled Human arms to an astonishing degree. With this done, I called Dog over and gave him some water from my full bottle. He licked it gratefully from the cup. Just about when he had finished, the spider started to move. I had to hold Dog back by the collar, before he charged in again. This time, to kill it. I pulled him away, and then used both hands to hold the pipe firmly. The spider was whimpering in its pain, sounding almost human. Dog kept up a steady growl, telling it that he was ready to take up the battle, at any time. The beast finally raised its head, and looked at both of us. A front foot came up and felt the rope and pipe, before returning to the floor. I had not noticed the front set of legs in the shadow. These looked like Human hands, with long fingers, somewhat like a monkey's. The arms were like mine as well, even to the amount of hair. The whimpers sounded almost like the crying of a child, one of my many soft spots. Since the beast did not struggle, I filled the recently used cup with water. With one hand, I grasped the pipe closest to its neck. The nose twitched a few times, before a tongue came out to get the water. Most did not make it because of the angle it was laying at. I pulled the empty cup away, and filled it, one handed. The beast followed my movements with interest. I urged the spider up to a crouch, this is when it found it was further bound. The crying started again, until I set the cup before it. An amazing thing happened. The spider shifted its balance and picked up the cup with a hand, just as I would. Its head came back as it drank. Visions of Human prisoners trussed up, back in Nam, came to my mind. Irregardless of its looks, it must be questioned to find out about this place. Without relinquishing my grip, I reached into the pack, and brought out the plastic bag of dry dog food. Dog momentarily stopped his growling to investigate the food. A handful was put in front of Dog's nose. He cleaned up the food, and my hand as well. Since there was enough, I gave Dog two more handfuls, before placing some on the floor in front of the spider. The spider picked a piece up in its long fingers and sniffed. It did nothing else, because it was keeping its eyes on the threat. I had a few larger pieces of other food in the bag. I started to talk to Dog, as I threw pieces for him to catch. This seemed to work, as the spider took a tentative bite, and then quickly cleaned the pile. I added the rest of the bag to the floor, and it to was disposed of as well. Dog got some more water, but was hesitant to drink from the cup with the spiders scent still on it. But after a moment, he complied. Much the same happened with the spider after it recovered, as well. I had some sausage, cheese, and Italian bread for myself. Dog liked my food as well as I did. I gave him some, then offered pieces to the spider. After a sniff, it was cautiously placed a piece into its mouth. The cheese was carefully chewed as if trying to assess the strange flavour. This was repeated for the bread, and then the meat, as well. A small piece of sausage was left. The spider threw it to Dog, who immediately snapped it up, as he would do if I threw it. The spider had to be intelligent to do this. Should I leave this place, and release the spider? Or try to find out more about the beast, or on second thought, being? With the decision reluctantly made, I pulled the spider carefully along, seeing if it could travel with the way it was tied. Keeping my eye on the spider, I one handedly, put all the things back into the pack. It took many faltering steps, before it got the hang of using only four of its legs. Apart from some blood and hair, there was little evidence of our being here. Dog still wanted to jump in and take a bite out of the spider. There was not much I could do, other than order Dog away with a stern voice. At the entrance, I raised the pipe with two arms so the spider would go into the culvert. What decided it to move, was that Dog got in, and gave the spider a nip. It jumped into the pipe to get away from its tormentor. I pushed the spider along, before climbing in myself. The flashlight beam showed the spider's hind end. It looked surprisingly like a Human female. Dog, without a problem, jumped in and followed right behind me. Everything looked different in the daylight, as I pulled back the tarp covering the mine entrance. We had gone in around noon and now it appeared to be around seven o'clock in the afternoon. What happened to all the time? We were only in the room for a few hours, and about a half hour sleep. I checked my wristwatch to confirm the time, seven forty five. It should be around three. It just came to me that we slept while the spider was patrolling. If it found us then the outcome would definitely be different. Come to think of it, where were all the others of its kind? Was the inside of the mountain a home for spider's kind? Turning to the spider I saw that the blood had stopped flowing, but a lot was still caked to the thinly covered body hair. I saw even less of a similarity to a real spider other than the six appendages, and not eight. With the same intuitiveness I used to name Dog, I christened the beast, or being, 'Spider'. "Spider, we are going to have to get you cleaned up. I don't know what I am going to do with you, but you will not be hurt." Spider turned its head, much as dog would when he was trying to understand me. In the light, the spider looked more and more human. Spider did not want to leave the mine, for the outside world. If its whole world was that large room, then this must be a frightening experience. No amount of pushing could get it to move. It started to whimper and cry again. Remembering horses, I removed my pack and shirt. The shirt was carefully wrapped around its head and eyes. Its teeth and quick hands uppermost in my mind. Its nose twitched as it smelled the balsam and probably my dirty shirt. The progression down the hill was done with care. Spider had no problem jumping into the back of the truck at my urging. It was tied securely with another piece of the rope to the hole for stakes. Dog rode up front to keep them separated. Back at the house we all entered the lower level and the communal shower room. The short piece of rope held Spider to an external water pipe, as I removed my clothes and washed Dog, looking for anything that may require medical attention. Nothing was serious enough to warrant a trip to the vet. Spider was watching this, and became alarmed when I pushed it into the room. I reached for a nearby tumbler, rinsed it and filed it from the portable shower head attached to the hose. The full container was placed on the floor, before urging Spider to come over and investigate it. Again I was surprised as Spider picked the glass up and sniffed before drinking, just as I would. It felt odd seeing human head, arms, and hands on an body with four more appendages crouched on the floor. Bracing the pipe into a corner, I ran warm water on the area furthest from its head. It jumped from the unusual occurrence. I worked my way up slowly so as to cause it the least alarm. Soap did not remove any dirt, as I had expected. The inside of the mountain and Spider were almost perfectly clean. When I got to the neck and side I went even slower as the water turned red. Spider seemed to know I meant no harm and stood still for my inspection. The neck and back had many wounds but none very deep or in need of stitches. The lump on the head looked dark but did not break the skin. My hands gently cleaned under Spider. It shook as if cold, and I stopped. I ran my hands down one of its back legs trying to find more damage from the fight. What I did find was an artificial covering over the foot, in fact all four hind legs had them. There were no laces, zipper, or Velcro, how could they stay on? Another mystery to follow up on. I got another clean towel and dried it as best I could, then used another to finish the job. Now, how to secure a fifty kilo being with six legs, two of them doubling as arms and a piece of pipe attached to its neck. The best choice on short notice was to put the end of the pipe in the six inch vice mounted to the work bench. Since the bench was bolted to the floor the pipe should not move either. After the vice was tightened securely on the pipe, I carefully removed the ropes hobbling the legs. The pair of feet at the back seemed much larger than the front two pair. A blanket on the floor was all I could think of at the moment. Dog was pushed outside to run for a while. He would still rather do battle than go out. My own shower and change took little time. I heard Spider crying, so I turned the radio on a soft music station, and ducted the sound to where it was. Perhaps the music would help it to adjust to its new surroundings. Upstairs I grilled two steaks and set some vegetables to cook. The meal was split up into two portions with Spiders already cut into small pieces, and brought down stairs. Sitting on the floor just out of its reach, I pushed the plate of food toward it while I ate mine and watched it. Spider inspected each different kind of food carefully before placing it into its mouth. Slow gentle chewing made me feel it was cataloguing all the different flavours and textures. I used a paper napkin to wipe my lips before passing one over. The spider mimicked me perfectly. Its eyes drooped and I knew it needed a rest after what happened. After my meal, I went upstairs and sat in the easy chair on the main floor. I needed a minute to think over my 'guest' downstairs and the contents of the mountain, but promptly fell asleep, instead. An gentle old man was asking me questions about my past. And writing it down in his book. Everything from my first thoughts, to what I was going to do with Spider now. Dog kept pushing on my leg, and distracting me. I said goodbye to the man, and walked out with Dog. I woke up to Dog's tongue, licking traces of fat from the steak, from my hand, but Dog was outside. My eyes flashed open. Spider was sitting on the floor with its legs under it. The head was on my lap, and a long slightly pointed tongue was gently cleaning the inside of my right hand. It must have sensed something, for it opened its eyes wide and retracted the tongue, otherwise it did not move. The first impulse was to jump up, but I was reclining on a chair with my feet up. If Spider was going to fight me, it would have done so by now. Some instinct told me that this was not a dangerous situation. My right hand slowly rose and petted the head, much as I would have done to Dog or a child. This was done without much thinking. After a minute the eyes closed on the attractive black face and Spider manoeuvred into a more comfortable position with its cheek on my thigh. My heart started to slow as I realized the being enjoyed my company. The sudden ringing of the phone started my heart again, and brought Spider's head off my lap. Was it a good idea to get up? I would have to sometime, and did so very slowly. Again, slowly, I picked up the phone. "Hello?" "Hello, Henry. This is Blair. We have a problem at number four generating station..." The give and take of the conversation lasted about twenty minutes. I explained what to do, and if it worked out, I would be richer by five thousand dollars. Also, the hydro road from Temagami would be graded, with gravel put in where needed. In addition the length of my driveway would also receive this treatment. After the call ended, I remembered Spider. How could I forget such a potentially dangerous creature at my back? I turned to find it sleeping peacefully by my chair, with my sweaty shirt clutched in its hands. I had no idea how it had gotten loose, and went downstairs to find out. The pipe was still in the vice but it was now bent double. The knots were undone, not chewed or cut, but undone. What's more the rope was coiled on the workbench as I might leave it. It was obvious that Spider was not from Earth, nor was the giant room inside the mountain manmade. Could it be possible that Spider, or more of its kind built the room, and for what reason? The mountain and the land around it had remained unchanged since the white men came into this area, apart for some logging. The early Indians had considered this area a sacred place but everything else about this area was not unusual. Was the installation new, or older than the local residents? I removed the pipe, and did a little more clean up. Habits of a single man are hard to break. Spider was undoubtedly very intelligent. If our places were reversed, what would I want? I guess I would have to educate my guest now. I made noise going upstairs, it would not be nice to startle it. Speaking of it; did it have a gender? And if so what was it? I now worked on the premise that intelligent people would not fight one another. Not necessarily true with humans, but then again I did not conclude that all humans were intelligent. Hopefully it would be true with my guest. Spider was awake and standing on its six legs as I came up the stairs. I used the way I would, to beckon a person. For some odd reason, it worked. It walked hesitantly, I assume wondering if I was going to attack it. I opened and closed the doors, pointing out the hinge, for which direction the door would open. Then I stepped back for it to try. The idea was not clear I guess, and I did it again. This time I took a bigger chance and put my hand on the body and gave a gentle push. The feeling was no different than when I put my hand on a friend's warm shoulder. The creature flinched, but its hand came up. The long thin fingers wrapped around the knob and opened the door, then closed it, just as I had done. "That was good. Now we need to try the bathroom." I led the way to the washroom, where I raised the seat, and proceeded to piss into the bowl. This took quite a while to accomplish even with my experience in the military. As the yellow stream eventually fell into the water, the creatures eyes followed it from source to destination. When done, I flushed and lowered the seat, before washing my hands. "That is how I take a piss. You can try if you want." I held out my hand and again surprisingly it gave me its hand. I put it on the handle and pushed it down. An unexpected expression came on its face. It looked like it was angry or in pain, but the feeling I got was the opposite. Though just fed, I still felt hungry. So the next stop was the refrigerator, and the small choices of food I had in it. Small pieces of fruit were cut up. I ate a piece of each and left the skin, seeds, core or rind as the case may be. It ate everything very slowly, and appeared to like them all. Potato salad and an older portion of steak followed, in a similar manner. Glasses were produced, and water poured into them. We even made a toast. "May we always be friends." I hoped fervently, that this was what would develop. Not the fear and animosity, that was the usual case, with humans. The radio had been playing all this time. I shut it off, then showed Spider how to turn it on, off, and adjust the volume. Then the same thing with the television. For some reason, the pictures and scenes didn't seem to interest it very much. Next was an anatomy lesson. I stepped out of my clothes, showing my toes and how they worked. I put Spider's hands on them and winced as it twisted a little too hard. It showed particular interest in my dick. Thankfully, I didn't become aroused. A half hour later, I was as thoroughly inspected as any side of Grade 'A' beef ever was. As I said, Spider was bright. It bent to its back feet, and removed the boots I had not been able to remove earlier. Spider showed me how to close and open the fastener, but no matter what I did, I could not repeat it. Skipping the shoes, the feet were next. They looked similar to mine, but had longer toes that could flex much more than mine or a chimps, with even longer toes. One even looked like a thumb. It looked like Spider could use its hind feet for hands, when it needed to. They could curl and flex more than my fingers could, because they had four joints to my three. The hands were like a humans, except there was an extra joint in each digit, making them slightly longer. The legs were very strong, and larger around than my arm. And considering that I exercise almost every day, my arms are not shabby. The back pair were even stronger, and the feet larger. I took particular notice of its arms. They were covered in a fine hair, and resembled a humans in every way. The next part would settle the sex question, I hoped. Spider's legs were spread as it stood and I reached underneath to feel with my hands. The anus was exposed, then the urethra. This was very prominent and I thought it was a 'him', until, another opening was found. As I carefully explored Spider newest opening with my fingers, 'she' froze. Her arms were quivering in obvious excitement. Perhaps this is why she shivered before. Since it was a she or possibly a hermaphrodite, I reached further underneath from the side, and now found two small breasts that felt very human. Even to the absence of hair in the immediate vicinity. With the absence of testicles, I had to think of her, as a 'she'. I thought a moment about what almost happened. She was obviously in some sort of need, but was I ready to provide it? She was a beautiful creature, but not quite enough like a Human for me to cross that invisible boundary, for she walked on all of her legs. It would be easy to love her, and do so without me needing sex to reinforce it. Unthinking, I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a hug, letting my feelings flow. Her front arms came around me at the same time, forming a sort of bond. Moments later a wet tongue started cleaning my face. I laughed out loud, and said, "Let's have another shower, Spider, after rolling around on the floor." I got up and walked downstairs to the large shower. I washed her very carefully and inspected her wounds. "I am sorry for hitting you, and for doing it so hard," then upon thinking further, "and I am sorry for kidnapping you. I hope you will forgive me. I will take you back tomorrow, if you want." She looked for a long time into my eyes, and I think some of my feelings must have passed to her. After a quick wash, I dried Spider. She surprised me, by getting a towel and drying me as well. I had to crouch so she could finish. Back upstairs I considered putting my housecoat on. Spider was naked, and I wanted to follow the best course. The house was warm, so I remained naked, as my guest was. The pantry had some microwave popcorn. I showed Spider all the things necessary to get the corn popped. "Just push this button here," I said, as I took her hand. I gently opened her hand, and used one of her fingers to push the preset button. Her face showed all the concern that a doctor might have, when making a life threatening decision. Moments later we opened the bag, being careful of the steam, still inside. I took one piece out, and got Spider to open her mouth. I tossed it in. Her face again took on that contemplative look, then the other one, where I knew she was happy, but appeared the opposite. I opened my mouth and she threw one towards my mouth. It hit my cheek, and I caught it before it hit the floor. The game continued, until the bag was empty. Spider's score rose steadily, as she got in the necessary practice. I took a clean cloth, and wiped her mouth of all the butter. Then I gave her a hug, before showing her a spare bedroom and the ensuite bathroom, for her use. With an overcoat and shoes, I fed Dog, and locked him in the kennel for the night. I was careful to stay down wind of him whenever possible, to keep him from getting stirred up again with any smell of Spider, that might linger on me. A few hours after midnight, I awoke to find a shivering Spider on the other side of the bed from me. It was quite warm for this time in September, and it was warm in the house. Where she came from, this would probably be termed cold, so I pulled the comforter over her. She now looked comfortable, curled into a ball like a cat. Two hours later I was awakened by the need to go to the can, and heard the sound of a struggle in the bathroom. Spider was trying to support herself with four feet on the toilet, and pee. She kept falling off because of the small size of the bowl, and short distance to the tank. She was startled when I came in, and tried to get down. I came forward to hold her steady. Her front arms went around my shoulders as she continued to try to piss. When it came, it shot forward and hit me in the leg. She immediately stopped. I was not embarrassed, but reached underneath, and found the aiming apparatus. The urethra was almost eight centimetres long now. I adjusted the aim, as I talked. "It is ok to pee, now. I can hold you, and aim at the same time. Just take your time, and go when you can." I had no idea if she understood anything I said, but the tone was important, I thought. Soon a stream descended into the bowl and a pungent smell came up. Not bad, just different. It was stronger than the smell I was used to. Her plumbing was released when I continued, "Do you have to do some more, or something else?" I could almost sense the answer. Since she was done, I flushed for her, and went to the bidet, and got the water warm. She did as I wanted, and I washed her with my hand, being as gentle as I could. The shivering started again. I was sorry I had gotten her stirred up, and could give her no relief. Perhaps toilet paper would have to be explained to her, as well. After drying, I led her to her own bed, and covered her to keep her warm. My dirty shirt was on the bed by the pillow. I went back to the bathroom and washed my hands and leg, but found I really did not have to use the facilities. This was odd. This had not happened to me in years. Monday September 24 The morning found a large six legged female, with a comforter wrapped around her body. My shirt was clutched in her hand, as she lay on the floor, at the foot of the bed. "Good morning, Miss Spider," I yawned. "What would you like for breakfast? Eggs, toast, sausage, pancakes or some hot cereal? Let's try them all. You seem to be a growing girl." I got one of those smiles, as I got out of bed. She followed me to the bathroom, where I had my shit, and a shave. Since I had seen her, I could hardly exclude her now. Thinking of her troubles on the toilet early this morning, I cut up a small thick plank, and nailed the pieces together to make a short stool. It was similar to that which small children used, when getting onto the toilet. Spider came in as I placed it in front of the ceramic bowl. She happily got up, and sat on the seat. I smiled at her, as I left her to finish her job in private. Later, I looked in on her, and saw her arms wide gesturing to me. I warmed up the bidet, and helped her over to it, taking the stool with me. She quivered as I cleaned her. I found myself getting an erotic thrill, and quickly put a stop to it. The table was too high for her to eat from, and a chair was not made for a four legged being. I brought in the coffee table. I cooked the sausage and then prepared the eggs and toast for both of us. She smelt each type of food before licking it. I took her hand, and showed her how to hold a fork. She watched me intently, as I took a bite of my own food, from the other end of the table. She got the hang of it after only a few tries. The knife took a little longer. Orange juice and coffee were both tried. For the first time, she declined something: the coffee. "Are you still hungry? I would like you to try some other things." Again, I could sense the 'yes'. I looked at her face to see what the things were, that clued me into this feeling. I could see nothing different. Three small bowls of different cereal and some scratch pancakes with maple syrup, all proved to be to her liking. The sweet things I felt, she was not used to. Why I felt this way, I did not know. After the meal, I wet a clean cloth and wiped the syrup from her face, as I would a child. She looked into my eyes as I cleaned. I could see that she liked me, just as I did her. I wanted to see more of the inside of the mountain today. Many things had to be prepared, and Dog had to go for a run. I knew one of Dog's soft spots, and was less worried about his attitude towards Spider, after thinking of it. I packed the bones, and cut up some meat from a roast I had a few days ago. It was a little bit of a problem getting Spider outside, into the bright sun. She wanted to take the old shirt with her. Her arms wrapped around her torso to keep in some of the heat. I knew she was cold, but the coming activity should warm her up. To keep it off the ground, I tied it around her neck. She seemed quite happy about it. As expected, Dog was ready to do battle at the first sight of Spider. I held Spider's shoulder, and had her pick up a piece of meat, then throw it over the chain link fence, around the kennel. Dog ignored it for a while, until his appetite got the better of him. He sniffed, then ate the food. This was repeated, till the growling stopped, and the meat was gone. The bone was thrown under the gate, and disappeared in moments. The next part of my plan was in the shed with the dry dog food. I came out with a dirty white Frisbee, that had been slightly chewed around the edges. It took but a few minutes to give Spider the idea. Her throws were getting better, but her catching was great. Back and forth we went, close to the cage. Dog and I were the usual players, and he felt left out. I opened his cage, and held the collar tight. He looked at Spider and the Frisbee, and back again. "Do you want it? Do you want it?" I asked him. I threw it to Spider, and she immediately sent it back. Dog hesitated a moment, and then to my relief, chased after the toy, instead of Spider. In the next half hour Dog was tired, and happy to have gotten the toy. I was happy that he seamed to have accepted Spider. Spider, now panting, tried different methods of throwing the Frisbee. She was delighted when she found that if thrown up in a certain fashion, it would return to her. I left the two to play, as I gathered the two wheeled dolly, and a car battery from the wind turbine. It was hooked up to the two lights from the snowplough. Other flashlight batteries went into the pack I'd used yesterday, along with the six volt lantern I had in the garage. As beacons, I took two large candles, that I was saving in case of a power outage. By noon, the light rig was set up, and the pack filled with food, water, rope, and a first aid kit. A belt knife, note pad, and the Bo would go with me. The thought of shooting and killing another being like Spider, kept me from bringing the gun, or even the Shyirusaja sword, on my wall. It was a relic I had picked up in the east, and because of my love of karate, I kept it with me. The pack held more water and food than last time. Plus, I added a bowl for Dog, and plastic tumblers and plates, for Spider and me. It was time to eat, so I pulled the dog whistle from around my neck, and blew a silent call. From two directions, Spider and Dog both came. Somehow or other, she must have heard the same sound as Dog did. We all ate in the house, before setting off. This time Dog sat at one side of the coffee table for his meal. He was definitely not as dainty or fastidious as the rest of us. Spider did not want to take her boots, as her feet would only come into rough rock on the sixty metres or so, just beneath the mine entrance. I wore my shorts and new running shoes, considering the good floor, I would be walking on. We drove to the mine with all the passengers and equipment in the back of the pick up. I found that Spider was a little hesitant about entering her home, and wondered what the reason might be. Once inside the mountain, I looked around. It seemed a little brighter than I remembered from before. A large candle was lit, and put it a few metres from the culvert, on top of one of the statues or whatever they were. This would be a good, low tech, method of finding the exit. I led the way we had gone before, and started down the first flight of stairs. This time the right side was explored. The first room I entered had a chair, much like the one in my front room, but only the frame was still intact. A pile of dust surrounded the frame, about two to three centimetres deep. Odd lumps were part of the frame, especially the area where a head would be placed. I picked a portion of the frame up, and found it very light, probably made of a ceramic, by the look and feel of it. Spider waited outside the room, as if the contents were of no particular interest to her. Dog sat at her side, making two nice bookends. They seemed to have made friends very quickly. I turned around quickly, as the entire wall started to light up in a meaningless jumble. It was not very bright, and had some dark areas in the centre and one corner. I turned off my lights on the cart to see the pattern better. The effect was almost hypnotic, as I looked onto this alien artefact. The rest of the room had nothing in it. As I left, the light went out. A quick step back in, brought the light on, a lot quicker. The pack was too heavy to just carry around. I left it beside Spider, but carried the Bo for comfort. The temperature was much warmer than outside. I removed my shirt from my sweating back, and put it into the pack. Returning to the dolly, I pushed it into the room and through the other doorway. This looked like an open-concept apartment. A frame made out of four centimetre ceramic was formed into a rectangle on the floor. I stepped into the three by four metre frame, and tried to deduce its purpose, to no avail. There were no closets or kitchen, but I did find a small room, that reminded me of an oriental bathroom. The entire front row of rooms varied in size and placement. In some, I could see some faded pieces of cloth, used probably as upholstery. Some of the light panels worked better than that first one, and some did not function at all. There were many pieces of strange furniture, and panels were on almost all the walls. In a few rooms, the entire room was one panel, that went from one wall to the next. Some of the floors had more low frameworks, some only two metres by three. I still had no idea what they were for. If the upholstery around the chair frames was reacting as I thought, then it must be very old. If the materials came from an advanced race, they may have stood up well to the test of time. Then the dust under the chairs would certainly be much older. Every thirty metres or so, major corridors branched off to other rooms. They led further under the deck, we had walked on, when getting here. For some reason, the large oval shape in the distance, with its reflection of any light striking it, kept my attention. The lowest steps were negotiated, as the ones above, and our party walked across the large open area, as we had before. As we approached the ovoid, I caught a glance of Spider out of the corner of my eye. Her head was cocked, and then she started walking to her right. She was acting as she had recently, when I called on the whistle. I pulled the small metal whistle from around my neck, and blew a silent blast. She stopped and turned around, then headed to the right again. The whistle gave another blast as I caught up to her. I reached over and pulled her to my leg, letting her know, that I was with her, and focussed the light in the direction she was heading. I was shocked to see a child soundlessly summoning Spider. When the child saw me, he or she stood straighter, and brought up an object, that looked much like a sword from this distance. I didn't want Dog or Spider hurt, if that was the intention. I got Spider to remain with Dog, by the use of pantomime. She was very reluctant, but did as I wished. Remembering the reflective ovoid close by, I directed one of the cart lights on it. I found that the entire area was given enough light to see by, without focussing it on any particular part, the other light I pointed at the child. I left the light cart and pack, and advanced with only the Bo. I stopped about twenty metres short of the child, and saw what looked like a naked fifteen or sixteen year old girl, barring my way. Short brown hair, and the small ears hugged her skull. Her eyes were a little larger than normal, and were slanted like an Asian. Her frame was larger as well, with a well developed musculature. Small breasts and the absence of pubic hair made her look even younger. I could see a sheen over her white skin. Her body had a slight golden colour. It appeared to be a light coating of fine body hair. A small white box hung from her slightly podgy waist. Leaning on the Bo, as an old man would lean on a cane, and wanting not to make any threatening gestures, I gathered my thoughts. ------- Chapter 8 "My name is Henry. I found her yesterday," I said, indicating Spider. "I think she is a very nice person. You aren't going to hurt her, or us, I hope?" I smiled, but did not show my teeth. I was an avid reader of science fiction, in my youth. I remembered about a first meeting with an alien race, and their perception of a human. The sight of teeth, could be viewed as a prelude to an attack, in some stories. She did not move, or reply in any way. I could understand about not knowing any Human languages. She eventually seemed to come to a conclusion, and took a decisive step forward. She brought her weapon into an attack position. A small blue light was discernable at the hilt. "I hope we can be friends, and not fight. I have no intentions of hurting you, or your people. Can we talk about this, before anything serious happens?" Apparently, she did not want to talk. I watched her, as she purposefully came forward. I thought her face very well proportioned, and even beautiful, in an exotic way. The face even looked familiar, in the dim light. The girl and her weapon were almost upon me, when I moved back, and blocked a blow with the Bo. She was fast, and tried to get around my defences. This would have to be settled with a fight, now. I took up the Bo in two hands, and used each end, to counter her strikes. I thought that the weapon was much more dangerous than it appeared, for why else, would she try to strike me with this obviously blunt instrument. The girl came on very strong, but seemed to slow after only five minutes. I had given way, and had retreated to only a few metres from the cart. I had stayed on the defensive only, and not tried to harm her at all. Sweat poured out of my body, and from under my arms, in this warm place. If I had worn the shirt, it would have been soaked. I looked into her dark eyes. I felt a great tiredness, and a determination to get rid of an intruder. Why I felt this, I did not know. A few minutes later, the weapon did not hit as hard, or as fast, as it had at the start of the match. The girl's nose twitched, sucking in air, trying to pick out a particular scent. Her eyes did not seem to focus as they had before. It was as if she were sick, or on drugs. Now was the time to end this. One end of the Bo went out and back, very quickly. It was a disarming manoeuvre. It knocked the sword out of her hand, to land behind me. The other end of the Bo went behind her ankle, for a trip. As she lost her balance she reached for a box on her waist. I flung the Bo out, to strike it ahead of her fingers. Her stung fingers came away, as if burned. The double contact caused a bubble to form around her, then falter, and disappear. The Bo had probably stopped it. This defence, if that was what it was, might be very dangerous for me. I jumped on her prone body, and held her wrists in my hands. The air was knocked out of her lungs. She fought very strongly to dislodge me. Soon, she was face down, beneath me. Her struggles slowed, as she tired. I could hear her laboured breathing as she seemed to give up. She was supporting most of my weight. I was very surprised at her strength, and felt that even with her small body, she was as strong as me. "I told you before, that I did not want to hurt you. I still don't. Can't we be friends? If I let you up, will you stop fighting?" There was no way of telling if she understood my words. Her smell, and the feeling of her light hair, felt delightful on my sweaty chest. I felt aroused, holding her this way, but different, somehow. I wanted to be fucked? How was this? I would want to be the fucker, not the fuckee. She started rubbing her ass into my groin, further inflaming me. The conviction that she was also stimulated, was very strong. Was this the way she capitulated a fight, or a trick, to get me to lower my guard? The erection bulged out my shorts, and making its presence known to both of us. The girl shifted her thrusts to rub herself better. An enticing aroma came from her, that I hoped was due to her own desires. My hands left hers, and pushed down on the floor, to take some of the weight off of her back. The freedom she gained, allowed her to thrust more insistently at my erection. My knees got between hers, as I arose. I caressed the fine hair on her sides, and the long strip down her back. The feel of her fine hair, was luxurious. My right hand went to her ass, and I sought out her cunt. Or, in this case, any place to give relief. I found two choices, and could sense her pleasure at either one. The tight one I left, for now, and fingered the other. I could actually feel her pleasure at the intrusion. Six lumps circled the hole. One lump being much larger than the others. Almost like a young boy's erect cock. This got me to thinking. Was this a hermaphrodite, or a female with a large clit? The feeling of a total female, felt right. As my fingers continued their manipulation, it brought forth actual sounds of contentment from her. I was riding on her pleasure, as well as my own. I did not understand it, but it was accepted now, in the heat of the moment. Spider was acting oddly. She was crouched with her head on the floor and her hind end up, the same as the girl was now doing. I thought for a second, that I'd had an orgasm. It was so intense. No, it was the girl. She shook, as in a windstorm, from the intensity. My fingers were squeezed rhythmically, in time with her rapid breathing, as I slowed my stroking. Her head went down onto her folded arms, and her opening tried to draw me in further. My caresses brought forth no lubricant, as would happen in a human. I got up, startling the girl. I got the backpack, and opened the first aid pack. A small bottle of baby oil, I used for sunburn, was extracted. Her eyes followed me, but her ass stayed in the receptive position. My shorts and underwear now lay under my knees, as I assumed my previous position. This girl I accepted as Human, somehow. I felt her great need for me. My now lubricated hands stroked her hole and small lumps. My other hand went around the front and started jacking her little cock, in time with the other strokes. No intelligible words came out of her mouth. Grunts, groans, moans, and eventually a scream, did. With a few hard spasms, she quieted. I heard the reverberations of her call, echo from the far walls. She didn't move; but lay on the floor, where her contortions flung her. I'd had no relief yet, and would probably pop if I touched her hole with my cock. Instead, I retrieved my shirt. I cleaned my body of sweat, and then cleaned my oily hand. I sat on the floor, close to the backpack, and pulled the small woman or child onto my lap. My cock slowly deflated, as I wiped the excess oil from her crotch. She awoke. I held her tightly for a second, then only lightly. She soon found that she could move as she wished. "Well, Miss. I enjoyed giving you some pleasure. As I said before, my name is Henry. I am very glad to make your acquaintance." Saying this, I slowly brought her unresisting hand up to my mouth. I kissed her palm. I had never done this before. It seemed the right thing to do, when meeting a beautiful female of a different world. I felt fulfilled and hungry, at the same time, though I had eaten just a while ago. I removed one hand, and pulled the pack closer. If feeding Spider had help make friends, then the same might work here. Back in Nam, many soldiers got all the sex they wanted, simply by feeding the women or children, that presented themselves. Her large eyes followed all of my actions. Water was poured in all the containers. Dog came over, and hesitantly lapped up his. This was another oddity. She must smell differently, than anything he had smelt before. His distrust was legendary. Why, then, was he accepting this girl? And even more peculiarly, why was she so blasé about a half wolf, right beside her? Spider got out of her kneeling position. She came over, and sat beside us. She wrapped an arm around Dog, and got him to lay down. She picked up one of the tumblers, and drank some of the water, before offering the only other one to the girl. The girl looked around at us, before using her two small hands, to take sips from the glass. I eventually took the empty glass from her, and set it on the floor. Going back into the pack, I brought out an assortment of sandwiches. Spider, I knew, was not choosey. There were peanut butter, honey, jam, beef, and cold cut sandwiches. I gave half of one sandwich to Spider, before offering the other half, to the beautiful girl on my lap. Four sandwiches later, Dog wanted in on the eating. I poured some dry food into his bowl, before continuing to feed my other guests. I drank from the girl's glass, before refilling it again, and handing it to her. Would she object to my lips being on the glass before she drank from the container? She didn't, and drank heartily. Some overflowed down her face, and onto her bare chest. I picked up my shirt, and used a clean portion of it, to catch all the loose water I could find. Her hands came up and held the shirt, to get the corners of her mouth. She buried her nose into the mass of the shirt, and drew deep draughts into her lungs. When her eyes returned to mine, I felt the need to be fucked, again. My cock arose beneath her. As she felt it, she snuggled onto my chest, with the shirt tightly wrapped in one of her hands. Her butt started to caress the repository of my 'second' brain. The 'upper' brain was barely in charge of the situation. If I were going to make love, it would be in a comfortable place. Besides, it would be better to see her in the daylight. Reluctantly, I looked into her eyes. "Miss? I would like to continue this, but the hard stone floor is not my idea of comfort. Would you consider leaving this place, temporarily, to see my home? You would get an idea of how some others live. My home is just a few minutes away." I could feel a hesitant 'yes'. I helped her up, and stuffed all my things back into the pack. I then dressed, and went over to her sword. I carefully held it by the grip, and presented it to her. She looked at it, and the blue light went out. Then she took it by the blade, as if there were no danger. The sword looked very interesting, so I used hand gestures to get it strapped to the back of my pack. On the way back, she did not release my arm, or let go of the dirty shirt. At the end of the second set of steps, I had an idea. I led all of our party into the first room, I had visited. I pointed to the screen that had just lit, and the lounger. The young girl seemed to understand my actions. She sat carefully on the bare frame, and then reclined. Her eyes closed. Immediately, the screen turned into the best viewing screen, I had ever seen. The view was a thousand metres over Beaver Mountain and our current position. "Sweetie can you hover over here?" As I put my finger over the area on the screen where my house was. The view suddenly got much larger. My stomach flipped, thinking for a moment that I was flying, and then going into a dive. After recovering a little, the house came into view. The point of view shifted from the top, to the sides. It made a complete circuit, before coming to the point nearest the mountain. This was a fabulous device. I thought of Susan and tried to get a view of North Bay to the south, but the screen started getting darker and darker, as if the batteries were giving out. There were other screens, but I would like to think about their capabilities, before killing all of them as well. My hand was offered, and the girl accepted my help in getting up. We continued the interrupted trip, and found the candle still burning. I snuffed it with my fingers. I helped Spider, and then the girl, into the culvert. I stepped out of the tube, to find the girl cowering to one side. Spider and Dog were beside her. She probably had the same problem that Spider had yesterday. The shirt was difficult to get from her grasp. I carefully wrapped it around her eyes, talking to her as I did so. Her hold on my arm was almost painful as the naked girl walked out of the mine. Her feet, though similar to Spider's, were in no condition to walk on the sharp rocks. I quickly picked her up into my arms. She felt very good in this position, but I was having difficulty breathing, because of her stranglehold on my neck. She must have sensed my discomfort, for she released her hold significantly. It was difficult to open the truck door, but Spider understood, and opened it for me. The girl was placed on the seat. A lot of soothing talk was required, before I could get her door closed. The pack and power kit, were put into the back. Spider and Dog jumped in, as well. The standard transmission was difficult, when operated one handedly. The trip home was taken very slowly. I parked at the side closest to the downstairs shower. When the motor stopped, I saw her peek under a corner of the shirt and look at the house. "We are home, now. I hope you will enjoy your visit with us." I got out, and went around to the girl's door. I picked her up, as before. I kicked the truck door closed. As I walked into the house, I thought of a groom carrying his bride over the threshold. It seemed quite appropriate. I looked back, to see Spider easily shouldering the pack. She rushed on all six feet, to open the door for me. The old shirt around her neck. What was it, with alien females wanting my dirty old shirts? "Put the pack over there, please." She understood my words, or considering the odd things that happened, she read my thoughts. "Did you read my thoughts, Spider? If you did, make your head go up and down." The head did as I asked. I almost dropped the beautiful girl I was holding. This explained a lot: no vocal language, my unexplained understanding, things that turned on and off, without lifting a finger. We all went to the shower area, where I set the girl down. I started taking off my shoes. Spider and the girl both took particular interest in my flaccid cock. So much so, that it no longer remained in that state. I could feel my full bladder, but somehow it was not quite mine. Then it dawned on me, as to what had happened last night. Someone needed to pee. I turned on the water, startling the girl. She must have read my reassurance, for her hand came out to catch some, and take it to her nose. When it was warm enough, I stood over the drain. I waited for my erection to go down, and pissed into the grating over the hole. "It's somebody else's turn now. One of you needs to pee, bad. Come over here. I will help you, if you need it." Spider and the girl looked at one another, before Spider came over. I am sure there was some unspoken conversation going on. Spider stood directly over the hole, squatting a little like a female dog. A dark yellow stream splashed on the tiles, before changing direction, and running back and into the drain. I squatted in front of her. "That wasn't so bad was it? You saw me, and I saw you. And since I still feel that I have to pee, it must be the other beautiful girl standing behind you. Do you think she is just shy? I would never hurt you. I would never hurt her, either. Do you think I should turn my back, so she can pee in private?" The girl heard, as I had assumed she would. She came forward, and took the place Spider just vacated. She stood as I did, and a yellow stream flew from the little penis above her vagina. As I looked carefully, the stream stopped abruptly. Perhaps I was making her nervous. "Do you want me not to look, Sweetie?" A look of determination came on her face, before the stream returned. The urethra actually got erect to keep the urine away from her body, it stood out about eight centimetres, and as big around as my index finger. Her mons was just as a human girl would have, other than the much longer urethra. I felt waves of relief wash over me as the flow dwindled. Since Spider was more used to the water, I washed her first. The wet hair on her head and back, was carefully washed with shampoo. The bar of soap was used alone. It was much more gratifying to use my bare hand. When I came to the neck, back, and leg; I was very careful, and inspected the bites she'd received yesterday. They were healing surprisingly quickly. The lower orifices were last on the agenda. I got behind her, running my hands only one way on her hair. My hands found the same arrangement as the girl had. Spider quivered, waiting for my next touch. A decision had to be made now. Spider and the girl were aliens to Earth. Both were nice people, in my mind, just different shapes and colours. They were attracted to me, as I was to them. Was it any different wanting to make love to an alien that looked like a beautiful young girl, or one that looked more like an animal? If the latter inhabited a human form, would I have any resistance to making love with her? The truth was clear to me, now. My hands found the small bumps, and slowly stroked the little nubs. She felt the same as the other girl in this area. The urethra stretched, to get its own attention. One of my hands stroked it, as my other hand delicately inserted a finger into her vagina. She shook, and shook. Mewing sounds came from her normally quiet throat. My own arousal felt odd. I wanted to be fucked, and it came in two different flavours. I turned, and saw the girl making her own sounds. She was in the doggie position she held in the mountain. Her head was in her arms on the floor. Her ass made small movements, instinctively, to attract a mate. Her sex was aimed at me, but just outside the range of the falling water. Her mons spread, to show me her large clit and small hole. Spider started to shake, and then collapse. I continued my actions, but went slower, until she was on the floor. I could no longer move my hands. I felt a great sense of relief coming from her. The girl still needed me, but remembering Spider's intolerance for the cold, I coaxed her up and dried her. She squatted in the corner, with a dry towel around her. The girl had moved, but only to keep her sex aimed in my direction. As if, I would forget about her! I wanted sex with her, very badly, but was determined to do it in the master bedroom. I got the very reluctant girl to stand, as I got her wet. The maelstrom surrounding my need to fuck abated, when she was startled. "I want to have a shower first, and give you a shower too. May I do this, Honey?" I felt the 'yes' this time. My hands put shampoo on her damp hair, and massaged the soap into her scalp. This was the first time I could actually study her features. Her eyes were large, and almond shaped, giving her Asian features. The nose was small, and turned up. Her mouth just a little larger than average. The ears were smaller, and close to the skull. They did not have all the folds and convolutions a Human had. She had no eyebrows or lashes. Her hair, on top of her skull, flowed down her back, to the end of the spine. It was about twenty centimetres wide. It was dark brown, and about ten centimetres long. Very fine golden hair covered all of her body. Again, no different than any Human of this apparent age. A sudden flash came to my mind. This girl's face was almost the same as Spider's, except in the colour of their skin. If their heads were transposed, I would have another very beautiful girl. Looking over to the corner, I saw for the first time, a beautiful head. But on a body, that was further from the Human norm. The girl's features could pass for a Human, provided some hair was hidden, or added, as the case may be. She was definitely beautiful. She had a beautiful face, with white skin. Spider was just as beautiful, with dark brown, almost black features. The bar of soap was gently rubbed into the skin of her chest. Her tiny nipples stood proudly, as my hands caressed them. Her breasts were a little higher on her chest, a bit closer together than on a Human, and slightly smaller than what a Human girl of her apparent age would have. As I kneeled, I got a better view of her abdomen, and legs. The outer folds of her sex were much more prominent, as if they had more to hold. A very erect urethra stood out prominently from the folds, to resemble a young boy's cock. The end even had an enlarged head, that at the moment, turned red in arousal. She turned, and got into the doggie position again, as I felt the surge in my groin. Apparently this was very erotic for her, but I had a job to do. "Try to stand up, Honey. I can feel that it is difficult for you, but try." I helped her up, and got her legs spread. The over all arrangement was no different than Human's; except for the five small, and one very large lumps, surrounding the vagina. Small lips surrounded each of the smaller knobs. The large urethra had not shrunk, as I thought it would. Perhaps, if I could ever catch her when not aroused, I would find out how small it got. Her shaking made the examination hard to do. I was also worried that she might fall, and hurt herself. I got her to lean against the wall, as if she were being frisked. Her anal opening had the six lumps, again. Did she get enjoyment from going for a dump, or was it an alternate attraction for the male, to avoid the chance of pregnancy? It was a bit further back and under her shorter tail bone. My finger started to slip into her hole, and pushed her little cock aside. She almost collapsed. It would be better to continue this in bed, after the cleaning. I quickly ran some soap over the rest of her body, and under the strange little box, trying hard to keep my attention on the job. I got a large fluffy towel, and carefully dried her. Again, I had to support her, when she wanted to assume the position on the floor. Was this the preferred mating position? With the girl dry, and wrapped in another towel, I had a quick shower of my own. When I stroked my erect cock with soap, they both got on the floor, ready for my attention. The feed back loop was very strong. When they got horny, they got me the same way. Then, it looked like my stronger arousal, turned them on even more. This got me further aroused. If this went on too much, I would erupt, by just thinking of them. Getting back to the shower, I quickly finished, before anything else happened. Dog sat on the rug, completely unconcerned about all the goings on, in the shower. I stooped, and carried the girl upstairs. It made me feel good, to be supporting her. Spider ran up to her, and handed her the shirt I'd worn today, while she kept the one from the day before. Both noses began to sniff the scent from the cloth. They must have been communicating, but I noticed nothing. She was put on the bed, on her back. She immediately turned over, and presented me with her butt. She wanted action, but I knew that a little foreplay, would make the final act more satisfying. Instead of mounting her as she wanted, I slid on my back, between her legs, to nurse on her little penis. As my lips slid around the hard little nub, I felt and heard in my head a scream of utter delight. My hands came up, and wrapped around her, as best I could, to keep her quaking body still. After a few seconds, one of my hands started caressing the little buds around her hole. Another loud scream, and I was being smothered by a body that had collapsed on top of me. I pushed hard, trying to dislodge her. Finally, I pushed on one side, causing her to fall onto the bed. I was able to get a lung full of air. With her in a delirious state, I easily turned her onto her back. The legs were parted. I saw the 'little girl' pussy, much like that of Tuyen, back in Nam. The large outer lips, resembling a teenager's; protected the little pink lumps, and a very erect clit. There was very little difference, other than the obviously missing inner lips. It was almost like a Human girl would have. They appeared dry, even after a climax. The smell was similar to, but not the same. It was more refined, in some way. Her anus was human-like too. Except, again, for the small six bumps and slightly different position. They now stood out, waiting for attention. She was starting to come around. If I wanted her to stay put, I had better get started. I sucked the clit deep, and laved it with my tongue. I rolled my tongue around the head, as was done to me, on the occasion a woman gave me some oral gratification. I felt her legs wrap around my head, trapping me in place. A scream that hurt my ears erupted. I didn't know if any of it was audible or not. Her legs parted, as she once again went for a little nap. I caught sight of Spider, at the side of the bed. She was looking at what exactly, I was doing. No doubt, wanting the same treatment for herself. I turned back to my research, and stroked each of the small buds in turn, with my tongue tip. The taste was intoxicating. But then again, it was always that way, when I was eating a girl. I sucked the buds now, as I would a Human sized clit. My tongue again stroked the tip, when it protruded, under the vacuum I made with my mouth. In a way, this was better. There were more things to suck, to keep my woman happy. I stabbed her vagina with my oral digit. She came to again, only to find her body thrusting to get more of me inside of her. My right hand moved, and a finger penetrated where my tongue had been, as I ran my lips around the five minor clits. Again, there was the clamping, shaking, headache causing scream. This time I knew she'd had enough, and would not recover for quite a while. There was no sense in fucking an unconscious woman, and wasting my load, without giving her another orgasm. I reluctantly got up, and pulled back the comforter and sheet, and tucked in my new lover. I felt rock hard still, and my excitement climbed instead of abating. Maybe I should rethink my previous decision, and slip under the covers to find some relief. Beside the bed, and on the floor, was Spider. Her short back legs were extended, and her front was on the floor. It was a fair imitation of the girl on the bed. The need was coming mostly from her. I could feel all the loneliness, and tension balled up in her, too. She was actually in more need, than the girl was. I climbed down behind her, and stroked her vagina and little cock, as I had in the shower room. Her thoughts were coming clearer, in her extreme want. So much so, that I knew that she wanted children from me. This wouldn't be possible, but now knew how much I mattered to her. Just before she was ready to pop again, I sat on my heels, with my cock pointing up and forward. My hands pulled her backwards, to her ultimate impalement. Slow cautious moves brought her back. I held her back, and guided her down, gently. A little wiggling on my part, and the connection was assured. The tight opening stretched around my cock, bringing a little pain, because there was no lubrication. "Stay here. I am going to get something that will help." With that, I shuffled back, and got a tube of KY from the drawer beside the bed. Returning, I did the same as I had done to the girl, when we were under the mountain. My fingers found her hole. I was able to slip only two fingers in, while the other hand caressed her many clits. While stroking the largest, she screamed, this time both audibly and otherwise. She crumpled, and most of my own need abated, but not all. This time I was going to get some relief of my own. I pulled her backside up, and shimmied forward. I found the hole with my third eye, and slipped the head in. She was still as tight as any virgin. When over five centimetres were in, I moved her backside up and down. Hard ridges lined the inside of her cunt, limiting the angle that I could use. I could actually feel myself getting fucked, from her point of view. This was her first time mating, and the event was intoxicating to her; and both directly, and indirectly, to me. There were new sensations, as I went deeper and deeper, from small bumps lining the inside of her vagina. They each fired impulses, as would a clit being rubbed. She started to get more confident, and moved herself up and down, in a manner that gave herself the maximum pleasure. With two free hands now, I used my fingers to their best advantage. Some of her clits, and the little cock, were stroked. I felt her passion rising. Into my head, I made a picture of her squatting on the floor. She had two Human babies in her arms, each calling her mother. This was enough for her, as she moved even frantically, milking my cock. I had been denied too long, and blasted my load many times into her cunt. I pictured sperm racing up to her egg and entering, then the egg glowing like the sun. This surprisingly brought a flood of contentment, more that I had ever known before. I don't think all of it came from Spider, but from my own desires, as well. ------- Chapter 9 I got up a moment later to get some tissue to clean up the mess, before it made stains all over the floor. With a few pieces of tissue, I reached under Spider to plug up any leak. The opening was almost gone. I cleaned up what I could, and it came to me, that she was holding all the sperm in, so they would go about their futile job. "Get up, Sweetheart. I want to get you into bed," I said mentally and verbally. She got up, unsteadily. I pulled down the covers on one side of the girl, helped Spider in, then covered her up. I left her to sleep as I went to the bath, and used the shower head to clean my groin, then returned to get dressed. This was a special occasion. I got some frozen Italian bread, and the deli sausage out of the freezer. I added some homemade, spaghetti sauce that had been canned by a friend. A few bottles of a nice red wine accompanied me, as I made my way upstairs. The wine was chilled, the meat was nuked, and the sauce put on to simmer. Spices were added, and then the sausage was cut into small pieces. It was put into the large pot of sauce, to lend it more flavour. A trip to the pantry brought out a can of ripe olives. The fridge yielded some Asiago cheese, and some grated Romano cheese. I had a little over an hour to spare, before the meal preparation needed my presence. I walked down to the gym and started doing some warm up stretches, before hitting the cross-trainer. Twelve minutes later, I started reps on the weight machine. Almost an hour later, I cleaned up in the shower, before heading back upstairs. About seven o'clock I turned the oven on. I put the thawed out bread in, to heat up. A large pot of water was set to boil, while I set the dining room table. Thinking on how to seat Spider, I came up with the easy chair. She could squat on it, and be about the right height to eat comfortably from the table. Time to get my princesses up. "Wake up, Girls," I said in my mind and with my voice. "You are now invited to 'Chez Henri', for a most memorable meal." This did not have the desired effect, for they stayed deep in sleep. Well, with two sleeping princesses, there was only one thing to do. 'Prince Charming' was going to kiss them. Spider woke up, startled, until she saw who it was. I bent down, and kissed her again, to let her know what it was all about. She did not respond physically, probably because this was an Earth custom. But mentally, she was positioning herself to be mated again. "Later, Sweetheart. My other girl needs to get up, too. I am making dinner. I hope that you both will enjoy it." Going around the bed, I leaned over the young girl. Slowly, I brought my lips to hers. She woke up, even more startled. She tried to strike me with her arms. Luckily, they were under the covers, and I was able to retreat in good order. "There is an old story, where a young man wakes up a beautiful girl. They fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after. The man is not usually beaten off, so fiercely." I could feel the sorrow for her actions. I gently returned, and gave her a similar kiss. This time she held me, as she took part in this unaccustomed act. Teaching her some of the other acts, would be very stimulating on my part. She turned over, and saw Spider in the bed beside her. A feeling of animosity came out of her, and shame from Spider. I did not know the cause, yet, but would find out. The thoughts of two guests showing hostility in my house, went against my ethics. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. If you two will get up, dinner will be served." They both got out of bed, picked up the dirty shirts, and walked toward me. "For this meal, we will go formal. I would like both of you to wear some clothing. But both of you look very beautiful without any clothes, as well." With that, I led them over to my closet. I placed a clean flannel work shirt on the girl, and did up the buttons. The shirt looked sexy on her, knowing that there was nothing on underneath. After arranging it, I bent down and held her head tenderly, and gave her another kiss on the lips. This time, she pushed to get more contact. It would be fun teaching her the finer points of this art form. Spider's shirt I put on her, but only did up only the top button. I stooped and kissed her as well. I felt her feelings for me grow, as her self-esteem did as well. Daggers were being shot at her by the girl. I walked out, and turned to see the girl bend over, and pick up the dirty shirt that she dropped in front of Spider, to don the clean new one. She sniffed the air, and with a mental scream, she stood. She swung her open palm, and hit Spider's face. I could read all the raw emotions easily. The smell of dried sperm was on Spider, while she'd had none, yet. This put them at odds for my attention. I rushed forward, and got between them. "This is my house! I will have no fighting here! If this continues, you will have to leave. Spider is my guest, as much as you are." I said this to them both, but spoke mostly to the girl. "Let's go and eat, like ladies and gentlemen." I left, hoping they would follow. The situation would have to wait until later, to be resolved. I pulled out the chair for the girl and sent, "Will you sit here, please?" She understood what a chair was for, and sat like a fine lady. I walked around to the other side of the table and said, "Spider? The chair is too heavy for me to move it, well. Would you sit here, please?" Instead of sitting, she stood up on her hind legs for the first time. She seemed to do this hesitantly, as if she were doing something, she was not supposed to do. She looked at me and pointed to a chair much like the one the girl sat upon. I now saw that Spider was just as much Human, as the other girl. You need, only disregard the extra set of arms, and the shorter hind legs. The extra hair and skin colour, were well within Human variation. She stood just a little shorter than the girl. The hair on her body was only a little darker than the girl's, and her breasts were in the same place. Only the two extra arms, basically, set her apart. "You keep amazing me," I said. I removed the heavy chair, and brought the chair she indicated over. She would sit the same as we would. I felt ashamed of my previous attitudes toward Spider. I had thought of her as being less than Human. She only walked around on her hands and feet. This reminded me of the way an animal walked. Here was a girl, just as beautiful as the other, and just as in need of love as the other. To get away from my shameful thoughts, I showed them the antipasto. I ate a little myself, to show them how it was done. Glasses of wine were poured for all. "This is wine. It is sipped in moderation, or you will get drunk. If you like it, just sip it once in a while. If you don't like it, just leave it alone, and I will get you something else to drink." The timer went off for the spaghettini, and I drained it quickly, lest it over cook. I filled the girls' plates a little more than mine. I still had to watch my weight. Lots of sauce and sausage topped it, then the Romano and Asiago cheeses were added. After placing the plates before my guests, I took out the cloth napkins, and placed them on the girls' laps. Standing by my seat, I presented a toast. "At some meals, it is a custom to make a statement. A statement that all of us can agree to, as being correct, and meaningful. Yesterday, I met a new friend. She is intelligent, charming, and graceful. Today, I met another. I would like all of us to get along. I have already made mistakes and regret them most fervently. I hope to keep future gaffs to a minimum." I paused for a moment then continued, "This is not just a meeting, of what I hope will be friends, but of races. What we do here, may affect your world, but will surely affect mine very much. Let us drink to friendship, and trust. And on my part, much more understanding." With that, I raised my glass, and had a sip. Both girls sniffed the wine, and took a small taste. It was as if they were wondering about the friendship part, and not wanting to be too hasty about accepting it. Upon sitting, I slowly took the fork and twirled some pasta around it. I brought it to my mouth and chewed slowly. I watched as Spider did hers first, and with only a little sniff put some in her mouth. She quickly spit it out. "Hot!" Was easily understood. "I am sorry. Usually we Humans find food tastes better, if it is very warm. If it is too hot, just push a little to the side of the plate, and allow it to cool." I felt a chuckle from the girl, and some anger from across the table. My other guest took her first forkful of only warm pasta, and promptly dropped it in her lap. Chuckles and anger again, but this time from opposite sides of the table. Somehow, this was more subdued, as if it should not be thought. "Just take one of the white pieces of paper, beside you, and pick it up with that. Then put it into the small empty plate, on the other side of you." The meal progressed quietly. Both to my ears, and other senses. Each was trying to concentrate on the correct method of getting the food from plate, to mouth, without being the brunt of the other's ridicule. "Would you girls like a little more pasta? There is a lot, and it tastes much better, the first time it's heated." I got two sets of affirmation. I took the dirty plates, and returned with two new ones, heaped with pasta again. My other hand held glasses of orange juice, because I saw they did not like the wine. I ate slowly, savouring the wine and sauce. The warm bread made everything taste that much better. When this course was done; fresh pineapple, oranges, and pears were presented. I nibbled a little, and poured myself more wine. The girls had not had much. They favoured the orange juice much more. After the meal, I turned the radio on, found some soft music, and kept the sound low. The girls were seated on the couch, but kept to opposite ends. I thought that a fire would be a good thing, to get my guests to be more sociable. Four sticks of white birch were put in the cast iron grate. Small shavings were piled underneath. As I struck a match, I heard a gasp from behind me. The girls had gotten up, to see what I was doing. Apparently fire was new to them. Once the tinder was ignited, I turned on the propane gas through a special timer. A blue fire travelled around the ring, and started to char the white bark above. In a few minutes the gas would shut off automatically. Once seated in the centre of the couch, I could admire the backsides of my guests, as they stayed to stare at the fire. Nothing was really visible, but the thoughts of all that super charged femininity below, intrigued me no end. They stared in wonder at the multiple colours, as the flames danced about. Their noses twitched, smelling the smoke before the chimney began to draw it up. The old shirts were still clutched in their hands. My guests' fascination begged to be indulged. The master bedroom provided four thick, soft, blankets. I was able to spread two, one on top of the another. I covered the floor, before they became aware of my presence. "Please sit beside me, and we can get warm together." They sat down, and I covered each with a soft blanket. Once snuggled in the blankets and against me, I asked, "I seem to be able to speak to you, but I can only get strong emotions, or thoughts directed at me. I have no idea how this happens. However, I would like to be able to have you speak to me, also." Conflicting voices came at me. I was able to get the idea that it was learned in their youth, and could improve with use. "Well, that takes care of that, for the moment. I have another question. I know neither of your names. I find the name Spider to be offensive, now that I know that a beautiful intelligent girl is beside me. Would you both try to give me your names? I will see if I can understand them?" From Spider, I found a picture forming in my mind, of a globular flower with curled petals, almost like a chrysanthemum. "That looks like a beautiful flower we know as a chrysanthemum. May I call you that, or Chris, for short?" I got a nod of her head, and the usual facial expression, that I took to be a smile. Her cheek muscles stretched her lips even further over her very white teeth, but did not expose her teeth, to view. This resembled a grimace, that any Human in extreme pain, might be proud to exhibit. Turning to the other side, I got the picture of a furry little six legged animal, jumping and playing. The image most resembled a kitten. "I get the image of an animal we call a cat. The young are called kittens. Do you like Kitten or Kit?" I felt 'Kitten' to be the preferred name. "Well! I am very happy to meet you, Chris and Kitten. I don't know where each of you originally came from, but you are welcome in my home. Is there anything I can do for each of you?" I got conflicting pictures of each of them with me behind them giving them great pleasure. Each looked up to me expectantly. Kitten brought up the dirty shirt, and breathed deep through her nose. Their arousal stimulated mine, and I began to grow. "I think that I can help you with that matter. But first, I would like to make the setting a little more romantic." The lights were turned off. More wood was thrown on the fire, making embers fly out, and land on the tile flooring. As I removed my clothing, they shed theirs, and assumed the doggie position again. I remembered their dry states, and returned to the bedroom. I got some towels, and the KY jelly. As I walked back, I could sense a rivalry about who should be first, or only. Kitten looked down on Chris, for some reason. It was almost the way Humans looked on people of another race. I did not know the reason for the bias, but I could understand the jealousy, when competing for a mate. I would have to take the lead here, and see if I could guide them into a better understanding of each other. I positioned Kitten at one end of the blanket, the dirty shirt hugged to her face. She expected me to just slide right in, from the images I got. Chris felt left out, or only a second choice. "I would like to prolong your pleasure, as well as my own. A quick orgasm, is not as satisfying as taking the long road to the finale." With that I slid on my back under Kitten and licked her bulging lips till the clit stuck out. She was shocked by my attitude, but pleased by my actions. Apparently, the males she knew only thought of their own pleasure. They did their duty to the race, and had no thought for their mates. This was one of the reasons the girls climaxed so easily. Either do it quickly, or not at all. I hugged her legs to keep her still, and thought of the images that came into my mind. I used my teeth, to give very gentle bites to the end of her large clit. The taste reminded me of the girls in Nam. I would do better than any of their men. My hands left Kitten's thighs, and opened the KY. My fingers were generously coated, as I thought to Chris. "Chris, move closer, so I can feel you." She did so. I slid my hands between Chris's legs, and found her cunt and clits. My thumb went into her cunt, as my fingers traced around her hole, stimulating her bumps. Her passage massaged my thumb, trying to suck it in further. Kitten was learning. She flexed her pelvis, trying to fuck my mouth with her little cock. Moans came from both girls. I could feel that both were on the edge of another gigantic orgasm. It amazed me that they could come so quickly, and so furiously. It was as if, they were starved for affection. To prolong their torment and heighten their final releases, I switched to the minor clits, with my fingers and lips. It was astonishing what I could do now. I had such obvious clues to my lovers' emotions, and could prolong their release more than I ever dreamed. My tongue entered Kitten's cunt from time to time, but never lingered, because a few seconds longer would drive her over the precipice. Likewise my thumb kept up only a slow pace, lest Chris succumb as well. Soon, they would orgasm no matter what I did. I visualized Chris riding me as I pushed her over my legs. The idea was completely new to her, but she easily adapted. She carefully aimed herself, and she slowly enveloped me. She was able to get deeper than last time, and more of the small bumps were stimulated. With no way to control her now, she pistoned up and down at a furious rate, until an audible scream passed her lips. Kitten was close too, and the sound and mental radiation from Chris, was all it took. I latched on to her major clit, and sucked for all I was worth. The second scream formed a beautiful duet in my mind. I had to support Kitten again, to get out from under her. Chris's legs had completely given out, and her body pressed down on mine. To forestall Kitten getting back in the only position she knew, I got out from under the stunned Chris, and flipped Kitten over on her back. My cock was ready to thrust into her, but I went in slowly, instead. There were just as many bumps within her vagina as was in Chris' and the bands were just as constrictive. A few easy strokes got me seated, but came to an obstruction keeping me from making full strokes. I made only small movements till Kitten regained her senses. Kitten eyes opened wide seeing me in this position and her cunt filled at the same time. "Hello, Darling. This is one of the ways, we make love on Earth. I will go easy. I want you try to enjoy this while on your back, instead of on your knees." She felt odd in this new position, and something else I could not understand. My back straightened and my pelvis bent, making short strokes into her tight vagina. My lips came down and sucked on her tiny nipples, pulling them into my mouth as I continued my slow pace. Her arms came up and held my head still, as I stimulated one nipple. I had to force my head over to the other, before she got the idea that I would not stop. I don't think her males would suck on her breasts at all, from the way she acted. I pulled out, and her hands came up to prevent me from leaving. I picked up her legs and placed her knees on her chest. My cock found the tight hole all by itself. Remembering the obstruction, I only made short strokes. She looked up. I looked into her eyes pouring all my feelings through them. Affection, trust, lust, and my willingness to protect her, all flowed out. Her eyes widened, and she pulled me closer. Her cunt grabbed my cock in a vice like grip. I could now see the effects of her orgasm. Between contractions, I continued stroking until, I released my seed into this child from another world. My cock was still firm but was expelled as her cunt tightened up. I slid to one side of her, and lay down. My lips went to her nipple, to nurse a little. Her hands came over and held my head, as if I were a baby. A contented sigh escaped her lips as her eyes closed. My fingers sought her vagina, and found it as tight as Chris's after she was filled with my seed. Yet another difference between our races. Yet when compared to the similarities, it was minuscule. Both girls looked to be asleep now. I got up, and covered each with a blanket, while I went to clean up the remnants of our meal. Ten minutes later, the dishwasher was loaded, and the pots were cleaned and put away. Chris came in on her hind legs, wrapped in the blanket. It was amazing how my attitude changed by such a small point. She would look no different than Kitten, if Kitten came in wrapped the same way. I turned the dishwasher on, and the sound momentarily startled Chris. I thought in pictures about what was happening inside, until I thought she knew what was happening. The usual grimace crossed her face so I knew she understood. While I was at it, I explained all the appliances, and how they operated, but on a simple level. The girls had little to drink except some orange juice. I showed Chris how to make a pitcher of frozen orange juice, that I knew she liked. We filled three glasses and went back to the fire to drink them with Kitten. To be more comfortable, I put the drinks down, and got Chris to sit on the couch. Her blanket, and after a second the dirty shirt, I fetched for her. I picked up the sleepy Kitten, and put her on the other side of me. She dragged the blanket, and the ever-present shirt with her. They gratefully drank the juice, as I held them to me. When the last of the glasses were put down, I eased them onto their sides. They could see the fire, and rest their heads on my bare thighs. I felt quite content, almost fulfilled, except that one part was missing. I thought of the girls resting on me, and then thought guiltily of Susan. She, in her time, had never had other men. For the last few years, I had settled into a monogamous lifestyle. Why would I throw all that away? I knew I loved her more than any other woman, and planned for her to be my wife. The only idea I came up with, was that like reading minds, the girls with me could project their emotions. Visions of my feelings when inside the mountain, and on top of Kitten, solidified this idea. I could not place all the guilt on the girls, though. It was as if I was destined to love them, too. Susan would make my life whole, now. Was this what I was waiting for? Three girls that would fill my different needs? I didn't even know how or where Kitten and Chris would fit in, but I instinctively knew, that the four of us made a complete whole. Each of my hands idly caressed a small breast, but stayed away from the sensitive nipples. Moans came from the girls, as they contracted the pelvic muscles. I could almost see invisible strings going out from each of the girls, being tied to mine. Already Susan was tied to me by many cords. I hoped in time, some would be tied crosswise between all the girls, making us 'stronger than the sum of our parts'. I sat watching the fire, and holding my girls. I thought of our future, and what might happen when the rest of the planet, found out about my discovery. The prospects did not look good, in anyway I planned. In every case, the girls would be separated, and the mountain invaded. How many more people like Chris or Kitten were in there? Did they have enough defences to stop the combined might of all the nations on Earth? Once the mountain was pillaged, war would break out to keep the secrets. This was a lose-lose proposition, if I ever saw one. The fire was dying out. My hands were sore, from caressing their short hair, and rubbing their sides and back. It was time for bed, and I knew I had to pee for three, now. "Wake up girls, it's time for bed." They sleepily got up, as any Earth girls would. They clung to my arms, as I guided them into the washroom. I knew that Chris was in more discomfort, so I positioned her on the toilet first, this time. I got in front of her, to keep her straight, while the stool supported her feet. My right hand reached underneath her, and aimed her plumbing. A contented sigh went out of her as a rush of urine entered the bowl. When finished, I knew that her bowels were full as well. "Finish up, Chris. I will stand here to hold you steady." She looked into my eyes, saw compassion; and, I hope, trust. She grunted, and in a minute or so, finished her job. "This is how we usually do the cleaning, here." With that, I ripped off a piece of toilet paper. I wiped her front as carefully as I could, before tossing it into the bowl. Another piece was used to clean her bum. As I cleaned around all her bumps, I could feel her getting excited, again. I helped her up, and over to the bidet. "This is another way of cleaning, when it is important to be very clean. Like when your lover is going to put his lips down there, and lick you both till you orgasm." Their emotions almost pushed me over the edge, and my dick stuck out. I adjusted the water until it was warm, and seated her onto the flow. I was sure their eyes didn't leave my cock, as it swayed as I walked. My hand cleaned her orifices after she sat, with the resulting surge in her arousal. I picked up the towel, and dried her carefully. She moved off to the side, with 'lover's eyes' on me. Kitten sat as well, and waited for my help. "Your legs allow you to do this yourself, but I enjoy helping." I said this with a smile, and all the reassurance I could muster. She sat carefully, and spread her legs for my hand. She was hard, but was still able to pee easily. Waves of emotion came from her, as she watched my face. I wondered why she didn't need to shit, but got the piece of toilet paper, and wiped her carefully. The bidet gave her a small start, as she sat down. My hands now cleaned both holes carefully, bringing up the sexual temperature in the room considerably. Her vagina was still tight, hoarding its treasure within. I did what was needed for myself, and walked out to the master bedroom. We would all sleep in the same bed, I hoped. "There is a bed for each of you. But if you want, you can sleep with me." They now pulled me into the master bedroom, and got out of the shirts they had worn most of the night. Chris got in one side, and invited me into the centre. "Just push the button on the wall, down, and the lights will go off," I sent to Kitten. She got in the bed, and I helped cover my girls up. They snuggled close. Kitten picked up my arm and put her nose under my arm to smell me better, then stuck her tongue out and licked me. I involuntarily flinched. Her tongue tickled. "I don't know about how my smell does things to you, but I am happy it does. It makes me ticklish, though." We eventually went to sleep. I had this dream, where the girls got along with one another, and especially with me. I woke up around two, to find the girls on their backs, and very close to me. My hands were holding their little cunts, and their hands were keeping mine from moving. Each was shaking, as they did in orgasm. However, I was sure they were still asleep. I closed my eyes and eventually got back to sleep, even though the bed was quivering from the two girls' involuntary exertions. ------- Chapter 10 Tuesday September 25 A little after five, I awoke to someone violently shaking my shoulder. Opening my eyes, I could just make out the shape of Chris. It was odd, but I could 'feel' her presence, too. There was something wrong, and I didn't know what. The bed was wet on Kitten's side. Did she pee the bed? I urged Chris out of the bed and got out myself, then turned on the bedside light. Kitten had a grimace on her beautiful face. This time, I knew it was not a smile. Something was definitely wrong. I pulled back the covers, and found the bed wet between her legs. There was no smell of urine though. An image of a baby was placed in my mind. I had no idea she was even pregnant, she did not even appear that way, now that I knew the fact. A little pudgy perhaps, but not pregnant. If she was this small, the baby was probably a preemie. I could only think of rushing her to the hospital, almost an hour away. I had to stop a second and think. That would put her whole race in jeopardy. What doctor could I get that would keep the secret? None. The only one I could think of for help, would be Susan. I asked Kitten as I held her hand in mine, "Are you in pain? Is there anything I can do to help?" I got back the idea that it came and went. "How long till the baby arrives?" I tried to get across. We had no common time units, but I felt as if it were more than an hour. "I am going to call a friend of mine to help. I trust her with my life, and I think you can trust her, too." She squeezed my fingers, as a spasm went through her. My nervous fingers pushed the speed dial button, and I waited a long time. "Hello," Susan said with a yawn. "Hello, Darling. I need your help, as soon as possible." "Hello, my hero," she yawned again, and continued, "What is the matter?" "There is a young lady here, that is going to have a baby. Would you come over and see what you can do to help?" "It would be quicker, and safer too; if you took her to the hospital, or the clinic," she said as she became more awake. "You're right. But she can't go to either of them. We need someone we can trust. Not even a doctor will do." "What is all this about? I only helped delivering a baby once." "If you trust me, come and help. We have no other choice." "Ok. I'll get dressed and be on my way. The roads are clear. I should be there in a little over an hour." "Thanks, love, but be careful. I don't want you in an accident." "Yes, I will. Bye." She hung up, and was probably getting dressed, right now. "She will be coming soon. Do you want me go and get some help from your home? Do you want me to get the father?" As I said it, I felt a stab to my heart. I had never even considered a husband. My caveman emotions were coming out. No doubt, it had served my ancestors well, but it was not appropriate to relations between worlds. I must have been broadcasting, because both girls did their odd smile, and Kitten shook her head, to a double 'no'. Good relations or not, I felt relief, but tried to hide it. I do not know how successful I was, but had my hopes anyway. "When Susan comes, Chris, I would like you to go downstairs." I held both of her hands as I looked down into her eyes, thinking how much I wanted all this to work out. "She will have problems facing one issue at a time. I will call you, when I think it is the right time to come up." Then I turned to Kitten and asked, "Is there something I can do to help out? I can get some hot water, and make some diapers out of a sheet. Can I help you to the bathroom, or get you something to eat or drink?" She extended her hand, and I helped her to the toilet. She peed, but could not do anything else. I washed her in the bidet, and dried her carefully. This time she was not turned on by my cleaning. I tried to think of the best place for the birth, and the master bed was the best I could think of. With Kitten sitting in a bedside chair, I stripped the bed, and put clean sheets on it. I then went for more towels, a sheet of plastic, and pillows to prop Kitten up. I helped her back into bed, with a plastic sheet and some towels under her butt, and pulled the clean covers over her. The thermostat was turned high, as she liked it. Then I got a housecoat, and brought it back for Chris to wear, now that she was standing on her back two legs. Her arms were wrapped around her body, to keep warm in the chilly morning air. The dirty sheets were put into the wash. A clean flannel sheet was ripped up, to make some diapers. Another was torn for bandages, if needed. Water was not needed because we had the hot water tank, and I doubted that sterilization was needed. Then I remembered the scissors in the first aid kit, and the small needles and thread, I'd found so useful in Nam for sewing up friends. Then I brought some cord, to tie up the umbilical cord after it was severed. Maybe the boiling water was needed. My constant running around seemed humorous to the girls. When all the things were assembled, I sat down in a chair beside the bed. I was out of breath, and feeling helpless. I held one of Kitten's hands, and tried to send what reassurance I could her way. The vision of an expectant father popped into my mind. I did not think any one else put it there. In a way, all those scenes from movies where the father was fumbling around, and more than just anxious, had been comical, but not now. When in Nam, I had seen childbirth in backward hamlets, but had never participated. More and more, worry started creeping into my thinking. It could not all be mine. A civilization like Kitten's and Chris's must have very good obstetrics. Why didn't she want help from her home? Or, for that matter, why did she not seem to care if the father was here or not? A car pulled up in front of the house. I tied the housecoat around Chris, before directing her downstairs. "I will be a few minutes preparing Susan for this meeting. Just relax as best you can. I will take care of everything." This last I said, was more wish, than fact. The bedroom door closed behind me. I opened the front door to Susan, who came in with her purse, and a bag of things, she thought she might need. "Hello, my hero. Where is the happy mother-to-be?" "Hi, Darling," as I held her tightly, and gave her a kiss. "Thank you for coming. There is something I have to say to you, first." She could feel my concern, and perhaps my worry, too. "What is it?" She said in a questioning voice. A forced smile came to her face, as she saw the expression on mine. "The girl is not originally from around here. I met Kitten yesterday, and invited her over. The pregnancy may be premature, because she showed very little signs of it. We have to keep the birth secret. You can't even mention seeing the girl, or her friend, Chris." "What is so important that she has to hide? And what is this about a friend?" "The friend is another girl I met, the day before. As to why this has to be kept secret, you will soon find out. Her kind doesn't originate on Earth." "That's a good one. Let's see the girl." She probably wondered why I was trying to make a joke of the situation. "Susan, I love you. I have been truthful in everything that really mattered. Believe me, when I say, I am not bending the facts in this matter." She looked at me very strangely now. Perhaps she started to believe the possibility of my statements. I took the large bag from her hand and put it down, before hanging her coat up in the closet. The bag went with me, as we opened the bedroom door. Susan was behind me. She took a look at Kitten, no doubt looking for antennae or tentacles. What she saw was a Human looking girl, with perhaps larger eyes that normal, and an odd hair style. Kitten's hands were wrapped around an extra pillow, holding on, as if to a life preserver. Susan walked around me, and stood by the bed. "Hi, Kitten. My name is Susan." She crouched down, and put her hand on Kitten's bare shoulder. "I will try to help you, if I can. Can you tell me how far apart your contractions are?" Susan waited for the answer. "Honey, you can talk to me. I will not hurt you. Are you afraid?" She slowly got up, then sat in the chair that I had just vacated. Susan's hand travelled down Kitten's arm, to her hand. Susan's hand gently rubbed Kitten's, as she waited for the reply. A quizzical look came over her face, as her eyes fell to the hand she was holding. Five fingers, but in place of the pinkie was another thumb, almost as large as the one on the other side of the hand. On closer examination she noticed the extra knuckle on each digit. Susan was empathetic enough not to drop the hand, as she turned to me. "How can this be?" "Well, I think her boyfriend must have got lucky." "You know what I mean." "Yes, I do. I do not have many answers, only a lot of questions, myself. I am keeping it a secret, because if this gets out, her home will be invaded, or worse. If you want to find out, I am afraid you will have to work with me to get the answers. By the way, as far as I know, she does not speak. She can communicate by means of telepathy, but I am not too good with it, yet. I can make myself understood, but it is difficult to get complex thoughts." "That's good. I thought I was going crazy with the images in my mind, when I asked her questions." "I am glad you can communicate, too," I breathed in of relief. It would be much easier, getting answers, with two people able to speak. "You will find her a little different, around the area you will be working on." Susan gave me a look that spelled serious trouble. She pulled the blanket back slowly, got Kitten's knees up, and inspected her mons and vagina. Kitten flinched as Susan's fingers delicately inspected her opening. The now dormant urethra hung down three centimetres, and was partially in front of the opening. Five pinker buds surrounded the opening, with fleshy skin protecting each. No inner lips were in evidence. A glance at her feet showed that they were different, too. Her toes were longer, coming close to being hands. "Well, you certainly are different, Honey. But not that much. Is there anything you want to tell me? I can relax and try to do the receiving." Susan covered Kitten, and sat back in the chair with a look of deep concentration on her face. A few seconds later, her face changed to that of wonder. Her mouth opened, and her eyes opened wide. Eventually her face turned to me in an expression of awe, and then turned back to Kitten. I could tell that an inaudible conversation of sorts was taking place. They seemed to be able to communicate better than I could. I watched for over ten minutes, as the silent communication took place, punctuated by occasional contractions. This ended with a moan of pain, from both. Susan looked at me and said, "She seems to like me. If I didn't know better, I'd believe she loves you, and only after one day." "I only met her yesterday afternoon. The ability to read minds, must make things work much faster than it does with us." Susan rearranged some of the pillows on the bed, to make Kitten more comfortable. Susan's hand came out, and gently caressed the short fine body hair, on the mother-to-be's arm and face. The face had no coarse hair, but did have a slightly thicker coat of fuzz than humans had. Kitten's hand moved to hold Susan's other hand tightly, as pains shot through her body. Their eyes were locked on one another. A lot of silent conversation was going on. The serious and even frightened expression on Susan's face, slowly dwindled. As if in a trance, Susan leaned down and kissed Kitten on the lips. Their arms wrapped around each other, as only lovers would do. Susan slowly pulled back from Kitten's hands, and cupped her face, before returning for another embrace. Kitten's tongue came out and traced Susan's lips. I could feel an erotic surge at both the sight, and the images in my mind. This time Susan pulled all the way back. She remembered me, and turned to see what I thought. I could only smile, and give her encouragement, for the lovely girl had captured my heart as well. More pains came to Kitten, and both Susan and I could feel them, as if we were having the baby. The frequency was increasing, and I 'knew' that the time had come. Susan crawled onto the bed between Kitten's legs, and inspected her pelvis. Kitten's knees were coaxed up to help. Again I 'knew' that the knees had to go higher to help Kitten deliver, but I knew she would have difficulty holding them up. I moved beside the bed, and held them as Susan tried to work. This was difficult to do, and gave Susan little room to work. "Susan do you want another person to hold Kitten's other leg in position?" "Yes, but where are we going to find them?" "Call, in your head, for Chris to come up and help. She is a little different, but a very nice person." Susan closed her eyes to do the call, and I heard the noise of someone coming up the steps. When she walked into the room, she looked no different from Kitten except the skin colouration. I saw Susan release a pent up breath. Perhaps she was wondering about how Chris was different, after seeing nothing apparent. "Hello, Chris. My name is Susan. Thanks for your help." Chris did her smile and moved into position, supporting one of Kitten's legs. Susan reached beside the bed to the floor, and brought up the bag and placed it on the bed, but not in her way. She opened it and got out some gauze to wipe up some leakage. "Henry, give me some of those towels beside you." I gave her what she wanted and said, "I have some things too. There are more towels lying on the dresser. Some medical instruments are beside them. I had no idea if you would need them or not." She said, "I stopped at a pharmacy on the way over for some supplies. I hope I brought all the things I need." I tried reassuring Kitten in a silent conversation, and her hand came up to hold mine. She looked into my eyes as she gave a grunt, and I knew something was happening. Susan was talking, but I don't think Kitten or I really heard her. Susan moved differently, between Kitten legs, talking to herself, I think. More minutes passed, with me still looking deep into Kitten's eyes, and her's into mine. I could feel a baby leaving my own body. More groans and grunts occurred, interspersed with a moment of calm. Then a small cry, which was barely heard. A radiant smile came to Kitten's face. I felt as proud as if I were the real father or mother. Moments later, I heard a duet start singing. This was amazing! She barely had enough room for one. Then I heard another. Where did she get them all? I took my eyes from Kitten, and looked at the tiny children. They were so small and wrinkled. They looked the usual blue to purple, and were perfectly formed, from what I saw. These must be preemies. I tried to shield my mind as I thought of their chances of living. Many preemies died, even in a well-staffed paediatric ward. What chances did they have, here? Plans for making incubators and ways of feeding them entered my head. How do we keep them as disease free as possible? Susan sat up, after placing the individually wrapped babies in their mother's arms. She covered them with a soft cloth, then a small blanket. Kitten was so happy, that she almost glowed. Moments latter, the three placentas were expelled, one after the other. Susan kept her head down, and I knew she was as upset as I was. She used more gauze to clean Kitten, plus a squeeze bottle of water. When she was dry, Susan removed all the damp towels and dropped them into a plastic pail beside the bed. She put a pad into a pair of clean panties and slipped them onto Kitten. We lowered Kitten's legs, turned her to a better position on the bed. Susan covered her, to keep all of them warm. Susan took my hand, walked to the other side of the bed, and held me tightly. She sobbed into my chest. Tears came to my own eyes, as I tried to comfort her. Young life, brought into this world, and destined to die soon. Unless they could be saved by doctors, that were over an hour away. We listened to the crying children, as we thought of the chances of the babies living more than a week or so. They looked to be only five hundred grams, if that, the same weight as a four sticks of butter at the grocery store. Their small weak cries, made the point even clearer. Chris was looking at us, with her head tilted in a questioning posture. She walked over, hugged us individually, and then gave a communal hug. She took our hands, and walked us around the bed to see the proud mother again. Kitten gave one of her smiles, and seemed to come to a decision. Looking at her babies, she picked up her first-born and offered it to Susan, to hold. Then after some more serious thinking, she gave the second born to Chris. Both girls hugged the children, as if they were their own, each hoping that their strength might protect the babies from their uncertain future. Susan eyes were now full of tears, as she envisioned the child in her arms dying. I looked over Susan's shoulder at the child then at the others. "They certainly are beautiful, just like their mother." I tried to hide my emotions, as my hand came out to touch the crying child's cheek. Instantly, the newborns quieted. All the women turned their head to me. What had I done? Moments later, a rich and very feminine voice came into my mind. Gone was the symbols and feelings. Here was both the voice and feelings, that made all previous conversations I'd had with the girls, seem simple in comparison. "They are yours. I have only heard of this happening a few times. Our males don't care enough for the children, until they are old enough to breed. You have the gift of empathy, it is very strong. It is rare or not very strong in our males. Will you take the Tandra into your heart? For we are lost." I had no idea what this commitment was all about, but I did know, that I had to comply. There was no compulsion, but the code that I lived by, demanded it. "I don't know what to say, except that I did not do this intentionally. I want only what is right for all of you. There seems to be something pulling me to all of you, and I don't understand it. I can only describe it as love." Susan continued my line of thought. "I feel the same way. It is if we are a family now." I jumped on that idea. "Yes! That sums up the situation best." I have loved Susan since the day I first saw her picture. With Chris and Kitten, I knew something was happening the moment that I met each of them. I have fallen in love with whole villages in Nam, but never like this. What type of family would we have? Physical love, caring and support, had to be only part of this equation. All the adults released their pent up breath, and looked at me expectantly. "Did you hear what I was thinking, Susan?" "I don't know what to make of it, but I heard everything that you thought. This is different. When I talked before, it was only in, a sort of sign language. Will you be staying with Kitten and Chris now that you accepted them?" Her eyes showed a little fright again. I could feel the tension in the asking of the question, and the effects my answer would bring. I dreaded this question. Ever since last night, I knew it would come. I loved Susan more than life itself, but now I had others to look after, too. I had made a commitment to her, when I gave her the ring, and I did not want to go back on it. The love I felt for the other two was not much different, than that which I felt for Susan. "I don't know what to say," I said as I fumbled for words. "I have loved you since the day I received your first baby picture. And that has never changed. You wear my ring. But after meeting these girls; I knew that my life would not be full without you, and them, at my side. Kitten and Chris could fill other parts, but I don't know what they are yet. It is a very odd feeling, to be so sure of something, that I have to take it on faith." "I want to be with you, even if I must share," she sobbed a little. Then other thoughts came to her mind; and I, for the first time, was able to read hers. She too, was attracted to the other girls, and saw them the same way I did. As if she were their guardian. Thinking of the decision I had to make, I said, "I felt like a mother, that must run into a burning building, and rescue only one of her two children. Now, I feel strong enough now to beat anything the world can throw at us. I can think of thousands of things that can derail this, but I will try my best to see if it can work." I held her hands, then pulled her to me, being careful of the young life in her arms. "Speaking of us, I get the feeling that these very small children are in no real danger. How is that?" "The children are normal, in every way. I am the one that is not functioning correctly," came the clear mental voice from Kitten. I knew, in some way, that it was still Kitten talking. "How is that? Are you in some difficulty?" "No. I am not producing any milk yet. My children will not have anything to eat. There is usually a discharge, before the children are born." Then from Susan, "I brought two bottles, and some formula. That is enough to start them, but I see another problem. Their small size means their mouths are not big enough to accept the nipples on the bottles. They make smaller nipples, but I don't think I could find them outside the paediatric ward at the hospital in North Bay." The two-hour trip, and then a long time finding someone to give Susan the necessary supplies, was unacceptable. Dealing with a hospital staff not set up to sell these articles, was another concern. I was not an engineer for nothing. There was a way, and I had it here in the house. A turkey-baster was too large at the end; the solder sucker was used and thus unacceptable. Then I had it. "Susan, make up a batch of formula please, and I will get a dispenser." The children started crying again as soon as I left the room. Susan reluctantly surrendered her baby, and went to the kitchen. I went into the pantry and got out some heavy plastic pouches that milk had come in. They were usually saved, and used when I went hiking. The electronics toolbox contained two rolls of heat shrink plastic tubing, and a small roll of duct tape. I took these to the kitchen. I reached to a top shelf, and brought down the thermal sealer, for the plastic bags. The pointed end of a meat probe from the microwave, made a small hole when pushed through one corner of the milk bag. Fifty centimetres of tubing was almost completely pushed through the hole. Two patches of duct tape held the tube in place and prevented any leaks. With rubber gloves, I washed the feeder in warm water, and a few drops of bleach. Then, again, clean water. Susan had completed the formula, and she poured some into the bag. I let some run out before pinching the tube. The bag was closed at the sealer. "Susan, take off your dress and bra." "What?" "Take off your dress and bra, then wash your breasts. The children are hungry. Every moment you waste, will be the longer they stay that way." I knew she was not used to baring herself in public, but she wouldn't be alone, soon. She reluctantly did as I asked, and placed her clothing on a stool. A moment later, she came back with red teats from her scrubbing in the master bath. "Sit in the chair, Honey, while I hang this bag from your neck." The small tube was held in place by the smallest piece of duct tape that would work. The tube led right to her small nipple. I remembered the first time I made love to Susan. At that time I noticed how small and delicate her nipples were. She, on the other hand, was ashamed of their small size, thinking I would find them odd. They were different, but they were only one of the things that I loved about her. Chris brought over 'Susan's' baby. With reliable instinct, the child started to suck. Susan sucked in air, at the sensation of the tiny mouth worrying her equally tiny nipple. I released the pinched tube and a trickle of warm milk disappeared into the hungry little mouth. "How do you feel? Is the baby having any trouble?" "I'm ok. It's just strange to be doing this." I could see that Susan was going to have some trouble, because the baby was too small to make handling easy. "Well, I have two other babies to feed now. Will you come and help me, Chris?" Then thinking of what was under the housecoat, I added, "Susan, remember when I said that Chris was different?" "Yes, but she doesn't look any different than Kitten, other than the shade of her skin." "Chris can make a great babysitter, because she has an extra set of arms." "Are you trying to fool me?" "No, I am not, Honey. I am telling you the truth." After a moment of contemplation on Susan's part, and an apprehensive moment for Chris, Susan said, "Will you show me, Chris?" Chris seemed very reluctant to show herself, especially since she and Kitten walked about inside the mountain naked. Eventually, she slowly handed back 'her baby' to Kitten, and untied the strap around her waist. She shrugged and the housecoat fell to the floor. The hidden arms were wrapped tightly around her torso. They reluctantly unclasped, and hung lifelessly at her sides. A look of almost shame could be felt coming from her, and her eyes were on the floor. She wanted to get back on all six feet when she felt this way. "You are beautiful, Chris," Susan said. "Why do you act that way? If you can look into my mind, see how I really feel. You have no reason to hide." Chris looked at her, not quite believing what she was hearing. She looked into Susan's eyes, and gave a big smile. Her self-esteem shot up as she found another person that accepted her. This was very different from the way she was treated in the mountain. Susan saw that the girl had shorter legs and a longer trunk than average. The long nimble fingers she saw at the start on Kitten, then on Chris. The feet were a combination of foot and hand, and again with long digits. The small breasts, though not quite in the same place, were a match for Susan's own. Even to the small nipples. The absence of any pubic hair only enhanced her features. The body hair was longer than on a Human, and in some way made up for the absence of coarse facial and pubic hair. Chris was perfectly formed, but just not the same way as a human. Chris walked to Susan, bent, and wrapped her four arms around her and the babies. Then she gave her a small lick on the cheek. Susan, and the rest of us, could feel the relief and love pouring from her. The unfed babies made their wants known, and I took Chris's hand, and pulled her into the kitchen. I showed her how to make up another feeder, and put it under her pretty neck, placing the string over her head. She pinched the soft tube, to keep the milk from being wasted. The nipple was a little too interesting for me and I sucked on it just as a child would. The nipple was even smaller than Susan's, and was the size of my own. My cock grew, as my tongue worked on the little bud. I felt others being influenced, and the feedback influencing me. It was better to stop now, before my thinking switched to the other brain. A clean damp cloth washed Chris's breasts. She seemed reluctant to allow me to leave. The bag was positioned, and the tube was taped to the upper portion of the breast just above the nipple. I led her back into the bedroom. "What was going on in the kitchen, Henry?" Frostily came from Susan. "Just doing a good job, so the babies would have the cleanest nipples possible. Do you need me to help you with your other nipple?" Before Susan could answer, Kitten sent, "I would like that. Our men do not do that for us. Women will do that for one another. It gets the milk flowing, when there is a problem, such as I have. Often it is done simply for enjoyment." The thoughts were much clearer now. Did this mean that women were more prone to engage in sex with each other? This was an erotic thought, ever since viewing such acts in Saigon, Laos, and Thailand. Well, the babies came first, anyway. I picked up the child and looked at her features. She was as beautiful as her mother was. I reluctantly put her into Kitten's arms. A trickle of milk traced the contour of Chris's breast, before it was sucked into the baby's mouth. A contented look crossed Chris's face as she closed her eyes. There was enough formula for another feeder, and I prepared one for Kitten. I returned with another clean damp cloth. I took the last child from her mother's arms and gave it to Chris. I slowly got onto the bed and sucked on the small nipple, myself. I heard Susan gasp at my action. "What are you doing Henry? I never saw you acting this way before. She just had three babies for God's sakes." "Tell her again please, Kitten," I said in my mind, without the use of my vocal cords. "I want this," Kitten sent. "My muscles tighten up, and I know I am wanted. The children like to know that their father is still interested in me. In addition, he is doing just as I asked before. I cannot keep feeding the children artificially." I pulled off, after having a weird thought. "I am not the father, am I?" "No, but you are taking his place. Thusly, you are their father, now. Continue for a few more minutes, and then give me the milk for the young one. I would like you to give them their names." This was a shocker. I more or less accepted them now, as mine. I had a steep learning curve ahead of me, since acquiring three wives and as many children. Susan asked, "What about their real father? Won't he object?" "Susan, our men only serve biologically. They do very little to help the rest of us." The last statement really threw me. If what she said were true, then my life had made a sudden and dramatic change. I settled down to think on the matter, and nurse on Kitten's breast. I was forty-eight now. In twenty years, I would be almost seventy. I would not be a very good father at that time. Even now, I thought I was too old to have children. The babies all started crying. Kitten and Chris appeared shocked, that I would even think that way. "The time is soon, that you will have to bind with the young ones, as a parent. It is a spiritual, as well as a mental binding. Usually, it is only females that do this." I saw some of the ramifications about being a parent, and said aloud, "I will do as you ask, but I will not be able to do all the things a father could, or should, for his children." The crying now stopped, as quickly as it had started. How intelligent were the young children anyway? I got up, still thinking on the new situation. This time, being careful of what I thought. I cleaned all the slobber off Kitten's breasts, with a clean cloth, and got the milk dispenser working. I walked over to Chris, and carefully took the life I had entrusted to her, and put the infant on her mother's breast. Like a circuit being completed, I felt at peace. I saw it in the faces of the adults. The three identical girls seemed to make a great change in all our lives. "Henry, the rest of your family is hungry. You must feed them." "I will get on it, right now. What would you girls like to eat? There are a few frozen pizzas that I can warm up," I smiled. "Henry, I am referring to the rest of your family, still in the base. They have been hungry for a long time." "More people? Why didn't you tell me sooner? How many are there?" ------- Chapter 11 "I came to see if you were trustworthy, with all our lives. There are nine adults, and five children. You must take them food, for they grow weak. They have been awake a long time without anything to eat. Chris is more able to work a long time between meals, because of the way she was altered. I was only awakened recently, because they need my help to get the base working again." "I will go bring them here," I said. "They might not come, right away. They need to find out about you, themselves, first." "Ok. I'll take some food now, and think about a more permanent plan. You should have told me, sooner." People without food for a while, needed liquids, or they would just puke it back out. A large pot was put on the stove, and many cans of soup were dumped in. My camping equipment yielded some plastic and stainless steel mugs. The soup was not hot yet; but I turned off the gas under it, and put on the cover. On the way out, I grabbed a bag of candy, and took it with me. The sugar would stop the hunger pains for a while. The pack with the cups was beside the door. The sky was getting dark, and I knew that a storm was coming. The air was getting chilly, too. This time of year there could be snow just as easily as rain, even if we were going through an unaccustomed warm spell. The babies were quiet, and the first two were even sleeping. It was kind of special, knowing with my mind as well as my eyes. "Susan? Will you watch the children and Kitten, while Chris and I go into the mountain to feed these people?" "Yes, but what do you mean into the mountain?" "As Kitten said; it's a base of some sort, that takes up all of Beaver Mountain. I've only been in there twice, and it is big! Later, we can all go and investigate. I have to leave now, for a while." Chris placed her sleeping charge on the bed, beside the baby's mother. She took off the milk dispenser and said, "Is there a way of removing the fine hair here, so the tape will not hurt when it comes off?" Susan and I looked at her. This was the first time she had actually spoken to us. Her voice was different, and more vibrant than Kitten's. She looked at us wondering why we had thought that, for all of her people could speak this way. Susan tried her own mental communication, "Henry has a razor, and I will be happy to help you. I think I may have to do the same thing, myself." I heard both sides of the conversation, and was happy that I could both send and receive, with another Human. Chris followed me, to get dressed. "I know you are not used to clothes, but it is getting cooler, and you have to wear this." I handed her Susan's snowmobile suit. It was there, from last winter. I helped her into the suit, and gave her the boots she had used to come here. The weather was too warm for me to wear similar clothing, but Chris was used to a much warmer environment. Chris helped me carry the soup to the truck. I put it in the back, where she crawled in to steady it. Dog clambered for his run, but I didn't want him around new people. They might be afraid of him. Even worse, he might consider them an enemy. The trip was slow, to keep Chris and the soup from falling. I think she found the uncomfortable clothing appropriate now. The pot was difficult to get through the corrugated tube. Chris and I had to push and pull, together. The flashlight from the truck provided enough illumination to see. We descended to the main level, and put the pot down. "Chris, you had better talk to them. Tell them to only eat half of a cup of soup, but do it every two hours or so. Do you understand?" She nodded her head. "Do they have enough to drink, here?" Again, I got an affirmative nod. "I think I'd better leave. They may look on me now, as a danger. You can tell them that I wouldn't hurt them for the world." She looked at me as if giving a reply, but I 'heard' nothing. "What's wrong? I can't hear you." Chris tried again, but much harder. I got the feeling that the children formed a bridge, allowing me to hear well. "You still have to talk to them. Do you want me to go outside, or home?" I got another nod from her. "How long will you be? I can wait by the tube, or go home. What do you want?" I got the feeling to go home. That she would return when she could. I stepped forward, and hugged her tightly, then kissed her lips. She returned it tentatively. She was learning. I was reluctant to leave, but remembered that she'd lived here long before I came along. With a final farewell, I returned home. Distant flashes told me that rain was coming. Thankfully, there would be no snow, yet. Susan, dressed only in her panties, met me at the door. She asked how it went. "I had to let Chris do it alone. I could not hear her very well. Apparently, the children do something that makes the telepathy work better. Probably, the same is true for you. How are Kitten and the children doing?" "They're fine. They're just sleeping, now. Where are we going to put the nursery?" I had not thought anything of it, yet. Trust a woman to bring up the practical points. Security was my major concern. Guests could find a nursery, or for that matter the children, and then they would start asking questions. The door could be locked. But the sound of a crying child, would start the fall of this tower of cards. What's more, the heavy food consumption would get tongues wagging as well. "The den is the closest room that we can use for a nursery. It will be locked, if somebody comes over. The rec room, downstairs, has heavy curtains. It will make a good bedroom. The top bedroom isn't furnished yet. Will you pick out what you want? I'll rent a truck to bring it here. I do not want anyone getting nosey. I hope Chris hurries, because a storm is coming. I don't know if it will hit us or not." "I hope so, too. Maybe we should wait until the others get here, before ordering anything. They may need winter coats, before this is over. Is this why you made this house so big?" "I knew nothing of the base, before a week ago. I always wanted this house filled with family, but I didn't know how that was going to happen. I had been thinking hard on a date for our wedding, but both of us have been putting it off, for one reason or another." "Oh, Henry. I know you are right. I wanted the house done, first." "Aren't you forgetting the other girls, now?" "No, I know I will have to share. Already Kitten wants her next children to be yours." This shocked me. I really did not know what to say to that. "That's nice, but I don't think that can ever happen. Susan said, "Her people are called Tandra. They came from a different world, a very long time ago. The men went out, and altered Earth primate's genetic make-up. Some of their own genetic material was added to the primate's to increase many different things. The result being large bright Tandra/Human offspring popping up. After a while, they took over the Earth. Eventually, one found his way back into their base." "You mean we are all part Tandra?" "That's what I said. Even Chris is Tandra. She underwent a procedure so that she could work on space equipment, strengthening her employment prospects. Kitten says, she will breed as a biped, like any other Tandra or us, for that matter. Are you going to ask me?" "Are we going to set a date then, darling?" "I think I will leave that to you. Any time will do. Susan, would you still consider marrying this old man. I have loved you forever, and will continue to do so. My life was once my own to give, but now I have taken on other commitments. Will you still accept me?" "Oh, Henry! Why are you saying that?" "I was just giving you another chance to back out. I want you more than life itself. But I don't want to hold you to an old agreement, when all our world is 'turned on its ear'." "I still want you. Perhaps even more, now." "Does that mean you will still marry me?" "Oh, yes! A thousand times yes!" "That is what I wanted to hear. Now let's go fuck." "You pig!" She looked at the ring still firmly attached to her finger, and then at me. "I may make love with you, though." I stood up, and carried her to the living room. I slowly removed the only clothing she was wearing, her panties. The four blankets were in disarray beside the fireplace. They had been thrown there last night. All four were laid out, doubled, on the floor. I laid my woman on the blankets and kissed her lips. She held me tight as she returned the kiss, with uncommon fervour. My mouth was being invaded by a dainty tongue. I pulled back, to get my breath. I started kissing her neck, and under her ear. That was one of her favourite places. My hand travelled across her chest, and cupped a delicate breast. My thumb and first finger gently pinched the nipple, that moments before had been in a child's mouth. Her back arched, and I moved my lips lower and captured the other breast. This time her pelvis came into the air, as if trying to capture a phantom cock. She was very excited. As with Kitten and Chris, I could tell how she felt. One or more of the children must be awake. I scooted down, and threw her knees to her chest. She held them tightly, as I looked at the delicate lips that I had grown to love. To tease her a little, I kissed the inside of one leg, and then the other. Eventually, I worked my way to where I wanted to be all the time. A heady aroma came from her now soaked lips. I breathed deeply, before getting a taste. "Oh, yes! There!" I sucked one of the inner lips into my mouth, and ran my tongue along it, before going after its twin. She was as delicious as she smelt. I felt a surge in my libido, now. Kitten must be aware of our activities. Susan was unused to the added input, and clawed me to get what she wanted. I kissed her belly, and worked my way up. She was having none of this, and pulled me into position. She was frantic to get me into her. Before entering I said, "Susan, I love you," then I plunged in, with one stroke. Her scream as she climaxed, rivalled that of Kitten and Chris. I continued to stroke into her, giving her as much pleasure I could. She had never had an orgasm so soon, before. I looked up and saw Kitten in the doorway, smiling at us. I looked her in the eye as I started thrusting more forcefully into Susan. I could almost see the waves coming off both women. Susan built up to another peak, and both she and Kitten quaked at the intensity. Kitten had to hold onto the doorjamb, to keep from falling. I was concerned, because she had just had triplets, and was already up and walking about. It was a good feeling to know now that I could please my lovers much better, with considerably less work. But in time, I imagined that three or four orgasms to one of mine, might climb to double that. With two more women to take care of, I would have to go south, to one of the tire plants. I would need to get a retread vulcanized onto my pecker, to take care of all the abrasion. Susan started coming around. This time she was even more insistent in getting her loving. Or was it now a primal desire to become pregnant? "Yes, more... more." She was becoming incoherent, just the way I liked her. The door opened, and Chris came running up the steps. The mental input of two Tandra women, increased our excitement even more. We were getting so high I could barely contain myself. I stroked more forcefully. I actually pushed Susan across the floor. I looked into her wide eyes, and saw only an animal in want of its mate. She screamed and screamed. She raked my arms and back with her nails, trying to pull me into her. I could take it no more and grunted as I released my seed many times into her, and then collapsed onto her. A portion of my mind knew to take some of the weight. I tiredly rolled off, and Susan hugged me to her in a contented embrace, as she fell asleep. Looking up I noticed Kitten and a now naked Chris, in the mating position, both waiting for me to mount them. Everyone actually needs me, without any ulterior motives. An insight into their race came to me. They were driven by a very strong instinct. Chris and Kitten were seduced by my scent, and maybe other factors. Susan somehow followed their example. The scent of our union did-in their inhibitions. The sight and mental activities of Susan and I, did the same thing to others. Human beings were not much different, as I thought further on the matter, and were driven just as hard. I got to my knees and scooped up Susan and a blanket, then deposited her on the couch. Bending down, I kissed her face and pulled up the soft blanket. Though the house was very warm, I covered her to avoid as much embarrassment as possible. I put my pants back on before walking over to the other two. I gently picked up Chris, and after a kiss, I looked into her eyes and asked, "Did you meet anyone?" "They will stay and think it over, while they eat the food we brought. Others are insistent that you just leave them alone." "That's the best we can hope for, I guess. We will have to get things ready for 'when or if' they do decide to come. How many of the 'others' are there?" "Seven older women." 'This, ' I thought, 'would require a lot of diplomacy, as well as all my other efforts'. I stooped and picked up Kitten, and held her close. Her arms went around me as if she would hold me there, always. Supper was prepared for my new family. Remembering Kitten and Chris's fascination with the fire, we ate before the fireplace. It was a picnic. A large jug of orange juice, along with hot soup, and sandwiches. Ice cream was saved in the freezer, for afters. Shaking Susan's shoulder I thought, "Time to wake up, Honey." She yawned, then said using her voice, "Oh, that was nice. When will we do that again? I just can't wait. Are you up to another round in the ring, my hero?" "I am, my love. But it would be impolite, with Kitten and Chris wanting their share, too." She stopped to think and said, "I did say I was going to share, but I think it will be hard to do, sometimes." Rain and thunder started to lash the house, making the fire even more cosy. "Time to eat. Throw the blankets on the floor, and we will have a picnic in front of the fireplace." Susan got up with the blanket around her. Looking around, she came to a decision. She lowered the blanket picked out her spot. "Where is my soup, Henry?" She sat, Indian fashion, then remembered her leaking cunt. Kitten and Chris just came in, and sat just as nakedly, facing her. Susan had to stay, because she didn't want to make a big deal out of it. The girls were envious of what Susan held inside her. Their eyes lowered to view the flow being absorbed by the blanket. I ladled out the soup, then the orange juice. Another trip to the kitchen brought out a loaf of oven warmed bread, which was distributed. The Tandra girls sniffed the food, and started eating. Thunder rattled the windows. And the girls were frightened of the noise. They found our indifference reassuring though. The sky was getting quite dark, and a rain had started falling more forcefully. I looked at the pot of soup, and thought of the hungry people in the mountain. With all the mental gymnastics I had been doing recently, I felt very odd. The girls did not seem to be worried now, but I felt that I was needed in the mountain to help for some reason. "Susan? Dog and I are going for a walk. We will see if I can convince our neighbours to come to the picnic. I just have a feeling that I have to do this. Please continue the meal. See if ice-cream is acceptable for desert," I said, while looking at the array of food before us. "Chris? Would you like to go for a walk with me, to see what we can do?" They were wondering why I would do such a thing, and why I would want Chris to accompany me. Chris got up to help, not knowing what she was getting into. My bedroom had some sweaters to change into, and some warmer pants for me. Chris would still wear Susan's snowmobile suit. It was water resistant, at least. The hall closet had an assortment of rain gear. I dressed as best I could, then placed an additional slicker over Chris. Her boots were still on from her last trip. Outside the house, and under the large overhang I thought to Chris, "We are trying to see if we can convince the others to come down, after the storm leaves. I feel odd about staying in the house. I believe that I am needed at your base." The weather was actually warm for the end of September. But still too cold for the heat loving Tandra. Dog poked his nose out of his large shed, trying to stay dry, and yet find out who his visitors were. This time I used a leash, so I could control him on our trip. He licked my hand, then jumped up on Chris and licked her in the face. If I were not so concerned, I would have found it comical. We jogged, because it seemed right to do so. The ground was treacherous with the fallen wet leaves. Just inside the entrance to the old mine, I thought, "I still don't know why I am here. Will you go in and see if everything is all right? Then come out, and tell me right away if you want me to come in, or just go home like last time. I feel that I am needed here, somehow." Chris scampered through the small culvert on two feet and two hands this time, the middle pair tucked into the suit. A minute later she came out. I got the picture of two children that had left to find us. Worried friends were wondering how they made out. They were not on the trail we came on, so I knew I would have to follow all the other trails, to find them. "Stay here, Chris. Bring get them inside if they show up. I will look for them on one of the other trails." The first trail led down to the small pebble beach. The path was very slippery with moss, leaves, and flat smooth rocks. Dog had his nose down sniffing, and could pick up nothing, whether it was the girls or some game. Backtracking up our path gave us no clues to their whereabouts. A second path took a more gentle approach to the river, and a path from there to the house. Again there was no sign. I continued to the house and searched around for wet footprints on the portion of the decking that was still dry. The last possibility was the most dangerous yet. Lightning illuminated our way, as we raced up the original trail. We continued past the base entrance, and followed the curve of the mountain to a large shelf of rock overlooking the river. We continued to the very edge, and saw the river about thirty metres below. Nothing was there as well. Turning back we raced back to the base, hoping Chris had better luck. Part way across the clearing, Dog stopped and went to the left. My steps were precarious, and I fell on the slippery surface. My hand protected my head from serious injury, but suffered a deep laceration on the palm. Blood oozed out, and I squeezed it, to wash out any rock or contamination. This was difficult, because Dog was pulling hard on my other hand, which was holding the leash. After getting up, and seeing that nothing was broken except the skin on my palm, I followed Dog, as he led me to another portion of the rock ledge. I looked below, and saw nothing. A flash of lightning, down the river, showed a small naked wet figure about four metres below me. I lay down on a small ledge, and looked over. He or she had not seen us yet, and I didn't want to frighten the person. The figure, by its size, looked about the size of an eight year old. But the Tandra's growth rate was completely unknown to me. "Hello, can you hear me? My name is Henry. I came out here to find you." There was no answer. I took a pebble and tossed it. The person turned quickly to me, and I repeated my last statement. I felt fear and then hope, almost at the same time. What was wrong? Off to the right, the way down was much easier. When I reached the frightened and naked person, I felt that 'she' would be the appropriate gender. She stood up, and I could see her shivering from the rain. I took off my slicker and sweater, and dressed her in them. She was almost hidden in the folds. Her jaw and knees were quivering due to the cold. "There you are. You should start warming up soon. Where is the other child?" She used her long finger to point over the edge. Hanging from a dead sapling, was an even smaller figure. I sensed that this was a girl too. By my estimation she was about the size of a five or six year old Human. I needed no intuition to tell she was scared out of her wits. Twenty metres below her, a large rock rose from the river. It was a favourite spot of mine for pickerel, as the water around it was deep. A fall now could kill or cripple her, easily. The rock wall was very steep, and I didn't see a safe way of reaching her. "Don't worry little one. I will get you out of there, and into a nice warm house with lots of food. Can you hear me, Sweetie?" "Yes, are you a Henry?" "Yes, Sweetie, I am Henry. I came out to get both of you, so you don't miss the picnic." I thought this, as I worked my way down the side of the lichen covered rock, cutting my other hand on a sharp fractured rock. "What is a picnic?" She asked. I was climbing down an almost vertical drop, over a large rock in a cold river. What struck me as odd, was the little girl not knowing what a picnic was. The rock was slippery with the cold rain, and the blood leaking from both of my damaged hands. The larger wound on one hand and the smaller one on the other caused only a small discomfort, as my mind was focussed on the girl's safety. The runners that I put back on, were not meant for this slick surface, either. With only a short way to go, I perched myself precariously. One hand and a foot, supported my weight. I was almost a metre above the child's head. "It's ok now, Sweetie. Just give me your hand, and you can hold on around my neck. I will give you a ride home to your friends." "I am afraid. I am going to fall." "No, you won't. I am here to protect you. Nothing can happen. Just give me your hand, and I will slowly pull you up, and then we can go for a ride. Would you like that?" "No! I am going to fall. I know it." "If I get closer to you, then you won't have to reach as far. Then you can get a nice ride." I moved closer still, and put one foot at the base of the dead sapling she was resting on. It moved, as the wet root started come out of the crack in the rock. "I'm falling," she yelled frantically in my mind. I reached forward as far as I could, and grasped her arm. She quickly let go of the tree and clambered up my arm to hold onto my neck. The footing under my runners gave way, too. I felt a wave of vertigo, as we fell towards the rock below. My right hand with the deeper gash was the only one that found purchase. My feet tried to get some contact, as I fell onto my back with the petrified child on my chest. My other hand went around her, to keep her from falling. I was in a very awkward position, and not very sure I could correct it, with her weight on my chest. "Sweetie? Why don't you climb on me, and go up the slope. I can even give you a push. Then I can come up, right behind you." As I said this, I tried to hide the fact that I was slipping. I knew that the push would be about the last thing that I could give, before falling to the rock below. "Come on, Sweetie. Just reach over my head, and start climbing. The girl on top will give you a hand. Just hurry, so I can get to the party too." If we fell, I would try to keep her on top so she would not be as hurt. I thought of how we might fall, and what I would have to do to lessen her chance of getting hurt. "No. I want you to take me up." I could not see her face because of the dark and the rain, but I could feel the terror emanating from her. "If you don't go up, you will fall onto the big rock below, then into the cold water. Do you know how to swim?" "No." "Then go up now, right now." The frightened girl released one hand, and carefully stepped up and over me. My free hand was just behind her butt to give her a push if she needed one. She made it up the rock face very quickly. Now it was my turn. If I could flip over, I would be able to use two hands but not in such an awkward position as I was in now. Half way was as far as I could turn over. I thought that if I pushed off hard, I might miss the rock, and just swim to shore. Not likely but possible. Something struck my face. It was the loop from the leash around Dog's neck. "Is somebody holding the other end of the leash?" "Yes," came a double thought. "Pull it up some, and wrap it around something, because I have to pull on it. I may have to pull hard." "We are ready now." "Here I come," I thought, as I let go my only hold and clutched for the loop. I pulled only as hard as I thought I needed, to stabilise myself. I had no idea how they had tied it off. The leash started to give, and my other hand frantically searched for any handhold. Both of my feet hung over the edge, useless to me. The leash started to pull harder, so when my arm was extended, I could pull slowly with both arms. Clumps of dirt and lichen came down and fell into my eyes and face, from the effort of those above me. Though I was unable to see, my free hand found a small hold, where I could work my way to the ledge. With a final heave, I was able to make it over the edge to relative safety. A lightning flash revealed Dog with his feet dug in, and the two girls in front of him, pulling with all their might on the leash. I just lay where I was, after gaining the safety of the ledge. Letting the cold rain wash my back of dirt. A chill reminded me that I had on only my pants and shoes. The little girl must be freezing from her small body mass, and lack of any clothes. I searched for handholds, and was able to get to the same level as the girls. "Thank you, girls. I don't know what I would have done. You saved my life." I could not see their faces, but I knew they felt proud, just as they should. "Let's walk up this small slope, and see what we can do to get warm." Once on the large rock ledge I thought, "The raincoat is big, and the two of you will fit inside it. When you do, I can give both of you a ride. Won't that be nice?" There was a lot of misunderstanding, so I gently moved the girls together, and put the little one's back on the older one's chest. Both girls were showing signs of hypothermia, especially the smaller. Gathering my strength, I picked them both up. They must weigh a total of sixty kilos, but they felt like a hundred, in my condition. They squirmed to find better positions, as I used Dog to guide us back. Three times I almost fell from things I could not make out in the dark. The rain was getting heavier, and the wind picked up. My arms were ready to fall off, as we came to the bottom of the slope before the entrance to the base. This would have to do for a rest, or I would collapse with the girls in my arms. The incline almost undid me, and I vowed to get back into the regular exercise program I had been doing, before finding the girl's home. In the protection of the old mine, I unwrapped the girls. The small one looked very unhealthy, and I saw the effects of hypothermia. This was only because of the illumination from the lightning. The girls, I could tell, were petrified of the sound and bright flashes. To the bigger one I thought, "Take off the sweater, and go through the pipe to your home. It is warm there. I will run much faster with only one to carry. In a few moments, I will be back with clothes for you. Then you will come to my house." ------- Chapter 12 I ran now, with the smaller bundle in my arms. The girls must have known I was coming, for they were at the door waiting for my arrival. "Susan, run a bath of warm water for this little girl. I have to go back for the other." "Henry Buchanan. You will do that, and I will get the other girl. Where is she?" Her logic was faultless. "Just down the old road. You have to climb a small slope, and then go inside the old mine. There, you have to crawl through a piece of culvert. Dress very warm, and bring Chris back with you. You will need warm clothing for the other girl, too." I said this as I got out of my own wet clothes. Picking up the little girl in my arms, I walked into the shower and turned it on to as warm a temperature as she could take. "Have you ever had a shower with water before, Sweetheart?" She listlessly shook her head, as her teeth chattered. Gradually, I increased the temperature. Eventually, the water started to cool. Dog followed us downstairs. I had no heart to send him out on a night like this, especially in my present condition. He curled on a blanket, and looked at me from between his paws with those sad brown eyes of his. Fluffy towels dried us both. I picked up the first aid kit as I passed its storage place, then we walked naked to the fire that was still burning. I threw four logs in. Then I sat on a cushion, with the girl facing me. Her legs were around my waist. A large blanket wrapped around us both, and kept us warm. Only a small hole allowed air to come in for the girl. Her arms wrapped as best they could around my chest, and mine around her. The heat from the fire radiated outwards, and warmed the blanket and her back. Kitten was standing watching us, with a concerned look on her face. Kitten bent down, and peeked into the blanket. She lovingly placed her hand under the girls chin, and smiled. I could feel the love between them. The girl looked a sorry sight, but cheered up at the touch. "I don't always have pretty girls sitting on my lap, and not know their names. What is yours, Sweetie?" A got picture of an imposing woman, that I would respect if I knew her. Then came purple hexagonal mineral fingers. I had a piece of this mineral in the den. I had picked it up when in Thunder Bay. "We call that stone 'amethyst'. May I call you Amy? That is a girl's name, from where we are, now." I had to look down into the folds, to see the girl. The top of her head only came to my chin. Her smiling face looked into mine, then she lay her cheek against my chest for warmth and comfort. Shivers periodically racked her body. Some of my own added to her tremors. I ran my hands over her back, to spread the heat from the warm blanket. I felt her feet looking for any damage that may have happened on her hike getting here. No major damage was found, so I put gauze and adhesive tape on my own palms. I heard the door open and then Susan's voice. The shower ran for a few minutes, and three girls came in, wrapped in large towels. Seeing how I was situated, they came forward to get warm themselves. "Spread out the blankets, and lay down. Sandwich the girl between you, to get her warm." Chris got the blankets straightened out, and quickly lay down. The girl looked at me, and I could feel that she wanted to be with me, instead. "Stay with them, Honey. We can get you over here with me, later." She reluctantly lay down beside Chris, then Susan lay behind her. Kitten placed a blanket over them. I could sense a lot of communication going on. I was not very interested even if I could make it out, considering the state I was in. The little girl wiggled closer if that were possible. The triplets started to make a small cries from the bedroom, but we all could hear the call in our minds. Susan got up and positioned Chris, and the new girl, closer to the fire. She wrapped another blanket around them, before going to the kitchen. I don't know where her towel went. I couldn't talk, though. The only thing I was wearing was a little naked girl, and a blanket over both of us. Hot chocolate came into my mind as the perfect food for this situation. Amy was getting warm and wanted the blanket opened, so she could get some air. "I am going to get up for a while and make something warm to drink, Amy. I would like you to slide over, sit with the other girls, and get warm." "No, I want to be with you." Short of strapping her on in the fashion of a papoose, I could find no way of accommodating her. "I would like to do that, but I can't very well. Sit with your friends. I'll be back, soon." The warm air felt chilly after being under the blanket with a girl to keep me warm. I quickly moved her over, and wrapped all three of them up. They felt so dejected, that I bent over and gave each a kiss. As usual, they did not know what to make of it. Though everybody in the room was naked, they watched me carefully as I walked into the kitchen. Susan was startled as I slid up behind her, and caressed her ass. She had cut the top off the bags I made earlier, and washed them again. The bags were made for one and a third litres, so they could be used many times, before they became too small. She turned around and pulled me tight to her. I could feel diamonds pressing into my chest. When we broke I said, "Are they just glad to see me, or what?" "You wouldn't believe the girl's customs," Susan said. "The older girl has a name something like 'desert sand', so Sandy is used for short. She was very upset at seeing the other girl almost die. Chris, of all people, used her hand to frig Sandy till an orgasm soothed her enough to relax her. This appears to be a very common practice." "It is, in many places in the world," I said. "Mothers will lick or suck their young children to get them to rest, when hunger pains are making it difficult to sleep. I saw it in Nam, and heard of it in India, Pakistan, China, Africa, and other places. Especially where famine is common." "The other thing is that they know, is that Kitten is not producing milk," Susan said. "The two girls wanted to get her on the floor, and suck on her teats for a few minutes. When they found out that Chris and I were feeding the triplets, they wanted to work on me, too. For some reason, they shun Chris, and were hesitant about wanting to do it to her. I felt bad for Chris, and tried to help." "What did you do?" Susan just hung her head. "With all the thoughts travelling around, I got wrapped up in their way of thinking and I..." "You told them you would suck on Chris if it would produce some milk." I said, as I heated some water for the chocolate. "Yes. After saying it, I knew it was the right thing to do. They treat her as a second class citizen. When the babies are awake, I know she loves them as much as their mother. Why do people have to treat others that way?" "Humans are no better. In fact, I would think that we are even quicker to find fault with people of other races. Our Native Canadian population's treatment, is proof of that. In America, it's even worse. I must admit, to my shame, that I thought less of her because she walked on all her feet. Her longer and darker hair, and her dark skin, reminded me that she was not Human. Now that she has fought back, she stands on her feet, and this makes her seem much more Human. I am glad you and I have no qualms about her, now." "Speaking of babies, we need to get the formula ready." Chris was on the floor, holding Sandy and Amy tightly to keep them warm. Susan finished her job first. I helped her strap a feeder on, but not before putting her up on the counter, and sucking one of the nipples that the girls planned to be working on. She held me tight as I ran my tongue around the turgid little lump, making her squeeze her legs tight. When I had done enough to get her horny, I stopped. I used a clean cloth to clean the affected breast. "When is the last time I called you a son of a bitch?" "Ohh, not for at least a few weeks. That's what you get for flashing those delectable treats around me." Turning around, I found the doorway occupied by Kitten. Susan blushed, and turned red all over. "Are you going to strap another one on?" She wanted to allow Chris to continue her job. "I think it would be better for all to see that she feeds the children, alongside of their mother and you," I said. "You're probably right. Will you get Kitten ready?" I walked over to get Kitten and looked to see the new children. I saw Amy on her back, her knees up to her little chest. Chris was nonchalantly licking her little clits, trying to get her relaxed. Beside her lay Sandy, with a contented look on her face. She must have just had her own orgasm. My dick grew at the sight, and all the girls stopped what they were doing to watch me. I must have broadcast my arousal at the sight. Turning back to Chris, "Will you come into the kitchen when you are finished, so we can get you fitted with a feeder? The babies are hungry." Then to Sandy, "We will get somebody to keep you warm, as they feed the babies. I am making you all some chocolate, I think you will like it." Chris pulled away from Amy, as Amy had a satisfying orgasm. She came into the kitchen for the feeders. "I find it necessary to make sure the nipples are clean, so I have to inspect them," I sent to her. I picked her up, and sat her in the same place Susan had just vacated. As my lips slowly came down to her tiny breast, four arms held me in place, till the inspection was completed. My lips travelled up, and licked the juices from her mouth. Trying to provide a lesson for the girls, my hand moved between Chris's legs and fondled her large clit, then pushed a finger into her tight hole. Her pelvis thrust forward and back on the digit. If her emotions did not bring the two new girls, her heals striking the lower cupboard doors did. They came as fast as they could, wrapped in their blankets. Kitten, and now Susan with a very small bundle in her arms, followed. I made a production out of taking my finger out of her and licking it. Now let the others see that she was accepted with no bias. "You pass the test, are you ready to feed 'my' children." Chris caught my words and what Kitten had said this morning. I washed her breast as carefully as I did Susan's, before strapping on the feeder. I helped her down, and gave her a quick kiss. "Where is the mother of my children?" I asked, playing the game further. Kitten came into the kitchen expecting the same treatment. I did not want to disappoint her, so I carefully picked her up. "You said this morning that your children were mine as well. Is that still true." "Yes. Why do you ask?" Kitten replied. "I just wanted to have you say that in front of your people, and for them to hear my reply. I accept the responsibility of raising the children as my own." Kitten gave me a radiant smile and hugged me to her. "How do you feel now?" I asked. "I feel fine. Why do you ask?" "Human mothers are ripped or stretched when a child is born. I saw no blood or great discomfort either, this morning." "Our babies are much smaller than Humans, Susan tells me. We are ready to breed again almost right away, if we want to." Trying to stay away from the subject of producing more children, I sent, "As you saw, I take the feeding of my children seriously. The breasts must be perfectly clean. This process takes a lot of energy on the part of the mothers. If you felt pain during the testing, I would not do it." She looked past my shoulder at the doorway and replied, "You should clean me quickly, before other volunteers come forward for the job." I used two hands to hold her face, and kissed her very gently. I then moved to her ears and neck, kissing as I went. Her hands came around me, pulling me very close to her. I felt her need to get to the floor and present me with her ass. After a few minutes; I worked my way down to her breast, and sucked in the small nipple. Her moans told me of her need. Getting up, I looked at the reflection in the window and saw the two girls on the floor, presenting their lovely asses to me. Giving the breast a final kiss I cleaned it and strapped on the feeder. We walked toward the bedroom, and stopped at the blocked doorway. "Get up girls, a mother has to get by, and feed her baby." We walked into the master bedroom, which now looked to be a nursery and saw Chris and Susan in chairs, feeding 'their' babies. Both looked content but I felt their need to make a further statement concerning Chris's treatment. I fluffed up some pillows, and got Kitten to lay back. The covers made sure she was warm before getting the last child. I held the child gently and looked into her deep dark eyes, and thought how much she and her sisters had changed my life for the better. Sandy and Amy followed us in, and watched as Kitten settled into feeding her child. Remembering two previous conversations, I picked up the startled little Amy and held her tightly, before putting her under to covers at Kitten's side to keep her warm. I took Sandy's hand and brought her over to a very curious Susan. I placed the blanket that Amy had been using around Susan and got Sandy to kneel beside her, under the blanket. I stepped beside Chris, and started to stimulate her milk production in the oldest way possible. The sexual temperature shot up. It seemed as if the babies helped fuel the fire, as my lips sought out the unoccupied nipple. I tried to picture in my mind a big baby looking like me, getting fed beside the little baby doing the same. One of Chris's hands came around my head, holding me close. For some reason Chris accepted this as a way of starting her lactation. But still, a high proportion of her feelings were erotic. Beside me, a startled Susan was getting the same treatment from under the blanket. I could actually feel the sensations that passed through Kitten, as two little girls suckled Susan. A few minutes later the mood was broken, as Susan's baby needed to be burped, and brought back to see if she needed any more food. Eventually, Chris and Kitten needed to do the same. We all got up and walked into the kitchen, once the babies were satisfied. The cooled water was reheated, and the mixture of cocoa put in with lots of sugar. Susan had me sit down with her child in my arms, while she dispensed the chocolate. Hot for us, and only warm for the others. The baby was looking into my eyes, and I could think of no more beautiful a sight, unless it was her two sisters. A small hand came up, and I lowered my face so she could touch it. Tiny fingers jerked with uncontrolled muscles, as she felt my eyes, nose, and mouth. As the fingers came by I captured them in my lips, and licked them carefully. The startled fingers pulled back, before once again venturing forward for more attention. All the Tandra girls were staring at me as if I was doing an unheard of thing. I felt a warm trickle come from my hands, down my abdomen and between my legs. I had just been christened. "Susan would you get me a paper towel? I seem to have sprung a leak." She laughed as she cleaned me up, then the chair. The other women laughed, or in this case smiled, until their charges did the same to them. It seemed as if the babies formed a conspiracy, and did everything as a group. The house was warm, and all of us were naked. But the babies needed to have some diapers on, to keep most of them dry while they slept. The flannelette sheets I had cut up were too big; but if cut again, they just might do. Susan got her bag and the cloths at my request. After cleaning up the babies, cream and powder were put on them. The newly cut diapers were just the right size. Susan even had enough safety pins to do all three up. "I want to wrap the babies up, but feel that the skin to skin contact is important," I told Kitten. "That is the way it happens with our race. The children need their mother very much, for everything. The father does almost nothing to help. The mother and child bond is thus, very strong. If you take care of the babies too, then you will develop the same senses and abilities we have. It is good that Chris and Susan are here, for multiple births are very uncommon. My sisters would have to tend all but the one I do. Even though this place is strange, it is starting to feel like home." I thought, then sent, "What are some of the things you can do that Humans can not do?" "I know you cannot shift psychotropic particles, or control the simple machines in the base. You can send us messages; but we must try very hard to listen, and then work hard again, to send thoughts to you. The babies bonding with you, will bring unused portions of your brain into play. There are many more mechanisms, but you have little or no reference to understand them." Susan asked, "What are psychotropic particles, and what machines?" "Chris's shoes are opened and closed by small particles that line up, or become disorganized. They effect the matter they are attached to allowing small movements. You might think of them as a magnetic field will line up iron atoms, if it is close and strong enough. As for the machines, there are many. One that Henry wanted me to test, folds space, and distant places can be viewed. The further away something is, the more power is needed to fold the larger volume. That is what happened when Henry wanted to see where you were, when we were in the base. The accumulators were almost empty. It has been very many millennia since they were charged." I immediately asked, "Millennia? How many millennia?" Kitten seemed to be doing some mental arithmetic in her head. "I think almost two and a half million years have passed, since the base was shut down. Sometimes it has awakened to protect itself from glaciers that tried to push the base to its destruction, or when warning signals reached it from sensors around the system." Kitten's 'voice' seemed to drop a few mental decibels. The babies were starting to fall asleep again. "Kitten, the babies are starting to sleep. Is there anything we can do to keep the conversation going? It's frustrating that just when you get started, we have to go back to what I 'feel' that you mean." "You could try bonding with the two young ones, here. One is old enough for a second stage bonding. Soon the opportunity will pass, and there are few Tandra for her to choose from." "What must I do? I know nothing of this 'bonding'." "The way you treated me when you first brought me to your home. You should be gentle, for it is an adult's place to soothe the fears of the children. That is why Chris helped the girls, a few moments ago." I asked incredulously, "Do you mean that I have to lick them 'till they have an orgasm?" "That is not necessary, but you have to show that you love them. Girls or boys for that matter of this age, need all the reassurance that you can give them. Your need for a better way of communicating will come of its own accord. The girls will see you as their mate, and the binding will stretch portions of your mind into the right shape." Kitten looked at me as I ran the ramifications of this through my mind. After a moment she continued. "I see in your mind that this is viewed as immoral. This is the opposite to the way we see it. Adults have a responsibility to help the children learn. We lick as you 'kiss'. In our civilization, we mesh with each other on many levels. This requires many different kinds of bonding. Without this, our people would have not been able to build and strengthen our civilization. I can almost see an invisible web of links, from one individual to another. It has lasted millions of years before the base on Earth was even built. How can you think that it is wrong?" "Not wrong, I just don't want to harm them. We have found that there is psychological damage, and the child grows up twisted from the way they normally would." "That may or may not be true for Humans. Tandra need this bonding. It is the cornerstone of our race, for without it we would be partially blind as you and Susan are, now." She continued, "Tandra by themselves soon go mad. Children that do not have an adult to bond with, go mad as well, and loose their ability to communicate as we do now." "You see only two young girls that look very Human. I see future Tandra females that are in need of an adult to allow them to grow. Adult females can only help them so far. It is the job of a rare male, that can make them really blossom. Usually they only become mediocre citizens." Looking at the girls, I saw their beauty, grace and anxiety. Their eyes boring into me, hoping that I would accept them. Their feelings for themselves were as only being partially complete, otherwise. From the feelings that I got from Kitten, I knew she was speaking the truth. It was just the cultural shock of doing what is wrong for one race, and absolutely essential for another. Speaking of my race Susan had the same problems I had. "What of Susan? She needs to understand your race, as much as you need to understand ours. The things I know as a male, are not complete without her knowledge as a female. Eventually, we will have to go among others of your and our kind. This is not something that can be easily taught. Is there a way for Susan to bond as well?" "Susan has already been partially bonded, as you have." This brought an amazed expression to Susan's face. "How can this be?" "You fed the children. In a few days, you will not have the problem of speaking that you now have. The babies are only a start. Adult females need to bond with all children too, to get the full benefit to each. You must do as Henry would have to do to acquire your full sight." Looking at Susan, I needed her input, so I spoke aloud. "Susan? How do you feel about me sharing my love with these two girls? You said you would share already, but how far will you allow this to go? I don't want you getting upset. If you say no, then I will just have to work as I have, and hope for the best." Susan spoke aloud too as if we were discussing this by ourselves. "I think it is important to find out as much as possible in the shortest time. I know you love me. I also see your love for Kitten and Chris as well as the babies. The number doesn't matter, it is the knowledge that you will come home to me when you can. I also know that you would never hurt the girls. So do what you must to help them, and yourself." She hung her head a moment and said, "I find that I have less to worry about, because I am now accepted by Kitten and, I hope, by Chris." This was reassuring to me. I was not 16 any more, and could use all the help I could get to keep my girls happy and content. "What of your binding with the girls?" "That is harder for me to grasp. It is much like lesbian love to do this. I have had feelings for other girls when I was young, but never acted on it after becoming an adult. The situation now, has brought all those feelings back to me. I can only try to share myself the way you have. I don't know if the new girls even like me." Sandy and Amy rushed around the table, and hugged her. Their eyes looked up into her's, imploring her to accept them. Amy held her hand and sent, "There are many things that you can teach me. I see that you are a beautiful person, inside, but you are far away. If you hold me, you will come closer. Will you love me, Susan?" Before Susan could answer Sandy broke in, "I, too, think you are a beautiful woman. I would love to find out about the people on this world. Would you teach me?" Susan didn't know what to say. She saw the sincerity in their eyes, and her heart melted. "I don't know what is expected of me, but I think I already love each of you," she sent this as she stooped down, and wrapped her hands around the girls. They started to pull her toward the fire place. "No, no," she laughed. "We have our chocolate to drink, and I still have some thinking to do." They reluctantly released Susan, allowing her to get the drinks. The girls from the mountain were hesitant about the warm drink. They looked at Susan as she drank hers hot, before tentatively sipping their own. Large Tandra smiles crossed their faces as they quickly finished theirs. Amy began, "May we have more?" I looked at them and said, "You may, but there is a chance you will wet the bed tonight." Their eyes showed that they didn't understand. "You haven't learned how to use the bathroom here, yet. After your drink, I think you should get a lesson and then go to bed. Both of you girls had an exciting day." Kitten commented, "The girls tell me you saved Amy's life and could have died yourself in the attempt." "No, I just helped her. They and Dog saved my life, by pulling me up the slope." "I think you are too modest. I could see the images that both Amy and Sandy sent me. You were prepared to die to save them. That is what makes you a superior male and mate, for us." I was caught, and didn't know how to get out of it. "It was not that dangerous. The rock was not that far down, and I could swim." Susan asked, "What are they talking about?" In reply, she heard in her mind from both girls, what I had done. Most of it was not meant for me, and I could not 'hear' it well. They looked at the bandages on my hands from time to time, before their silent conversation was finished. Susan left the girls she was holding, and came over and hugged me. "I don't know what would we do without you! I know it was important, but you have to be more careful. Now go to bed. Two little girls need you." "I will try, but I don't know exactly what to do," I said, as I got up. "Will you clean up? I have to show the girls the bathroom, and get another bed pulled into the master bedroom. I want others present, to ensure that I'm not doing anything wrong." "I have to call Mom and Dad, to tell them I am staying over for a few days." ------- Chapter 13 I just smiled, knowing she would do what was right, and I kissed them all before leading the girls into the bathroom. Since we were all naked, I picked up the seat and pissed into the john. The girls' eyes got large, and Sandy's hand came out to touch me. As the flow ended my cock grew to about half mast, bringing more stares from the girls. After flushing and washing my hands, I sat Amy on the lowered seat to do her business. She pulled up her feet as if squatting like the Orientals do. She looked into my eyes searching for trust. I think I conveyed enough for a flow of urine hit the water and eventually ended. "There are two ways to clean yourself. The first is to use the toilet paper." I ripped of a small amount and cleaned her delicate little cunt. Then a larger piece to wipe her behind, as I pushed her body forward. "The second is the bidet." I showed her how to flush the toilet and then adjust the water temperature in the bidet. "Sit here darling. I am going to use my hand to clean you." She did as I asked, trusting me with the unusual device. My hand carefully caressed her little bumps around each orifice. The larger clit stood up trying to get as much attention as possible. Her arms hugged mine and her eyes closed as her little body came close to an orgasm. This was not the time or place for her first with me. I stopped and could almost hear her cry to be completed. "Later darling. I want the first time to be special." Her eyes fell, but I could feel that this was acceptable. Amy was carefully dried and watched as Sandy was placed on the toilet. She was much quicker. I think to get the same treatment as her younger friend. I could almost see the hearts coming from her eyes, that I saw on cartoons in my youth. One hand held her steady, as I cleaned her cunt and then her anus. She wanted the treatment on the bidet. This time I had to be quicker for I knew how close she was to her climax. I saw the lust in her eyes, then the need so thick, that I was almost overwhelmed. I stood up to see Amy bent over in the position the older girls took when they wanted sex. Sandy's hand came up and touched the tip of my cock as if unbelieving her other senses. She was dried with as much care as her younger friend. "Let's grab another bed and take it into the bedroom. We can be much more comfortable." The queen sized mattress with the bedding was dragged into the larger bedroom. The older girls came in too, and placed their babies into a large blanket lined box, saved from when I moved my things into the house. Dog, fire, and the dishes were all attended to. After they went to the bathroom, they settled on the larger bed to watch. My arousal did not subside. I think all the females were working on my brain to keep me interested, as if that were needed. The lights were turned out, and the room was well lit by the flickering light from the fireplace in the other room. The best chance I had was to ignore the spectators. The covers were pulled back, and I found myself sandwiched between two young girls. I picked Amy first, because of her age and the certainty that she would succumb quickly to my attentions. She would also go to sleep sooner because she looked the most worn out. I had been talking out loud for a while now. This felt like a better way when the babies were asleep. "Amy would you like to go first? I don't know exactly what to do so if you or the older girls see anything wrong just pipe up and say it." Her smiling face made me happy. It didn't take me long to change my interpretation of their looks to represent happiness. Instead of just jumping in as Chris must have done, when she went through two girls in only a few minutes, I planned on taking my time. She lay on her side facing me, as I took her small hand and slowly kissed each of her fingers. When finished, I sucked each into my mouth, running my tongue along the length. When the fingers were done, I started on the rest of the hand, and after a few minutes made my way to her neck. I kissed and licked using the smallest possible strokes. Her ears when kissed, almost broke the spell, for she was ticklish there. I looked on the bed and saw Susan looking at me in wonder. Kitten, Chris, and when I glanced behind me, Sandy, were all on their knees, waiting for me to mount them, if I wanted. Returning to Amy, I started to work my way down her small chest. Her tiny nipples could hardly be found. Her breathing was starting to peak, and I knew she was ready to have an orgasm. It was amazing how little it took to bring a Tandra female to her climax. Probably the number of aroused females had a direct bearing on how hard, and how quickly they came. I had only been slightly attracted to young girls after turning 30 or so. My experiences in Nam brought out what I did have. The last few years I only had relations with younger women, but all were well within the legal limits, and I was happy with that decision. Amy and the rest of the Tandra seemed to want to drag me back to my old ways. I knew it was wrong to do this to the child. My rational mind knew the law, but I knew in my bones, that what Kitten said was true. I could feel the need coming from Amy and all the women in the room. I was a captive to their will. Amy wanted my mouth to suck her clits badly. This was not just an intellectual idea, but their will actually compelled me to do this. I could have probably overridden their will's effect, but my own conscious was also divided on the issue. There was no way I could win, with so little will power. There was just enough determination to fight for the way I would proceed. Instead of doing what she and they wanted, I stayed on her upper body. Light kisses were methodically placed on her neck and ears, never travelling too fast. Teeth gently nibbled her small ears, as my fingers found her very small nipples. I used the lightest of touches as I pinched one then the other. Amy though groaning and thrashing around, fought another battle. She worked her way further and further into my mind. In a way, my mental hymen was being stretched again and again, as she sought to reach further into my depths. I could see into her mind too. Adults and only females had always given her pleasure, but she never once returned any. It was against custom for a child to give, like they received. Other children would suck and use their fingers on one another. If there was a boy, he would casually fuck anything that would stay still long enough. He would even fuck the older females as a learning experience. The females for their part, treated it as they would a hungry baby, in need of a breast feeding. This insight made me feel much better, and I endeavoured to do the best job possible. I opened my mouth wider and sucked in an area of skin below her pretty ear. My tongue twirled around the sensitive area repeatedly till I moved to the same spot on the other side. Amy was not getting what she usually got, that is immediate gratification. I was controlling the pace, and she was fighting me. Images in her past, where others had sucked her to completion, entered my mind. This was a very difficult decision. The girl was trying to attack me through my glands. My cock was harder now than it had ever been before. I only gave a little and moved down her chest and sucked the area around her left nipple. The little nub was lashed by my tongue as I pinched her other nipple. This was too much for the little girl, she thrashed and pulled me to her. Her mental efforts ruptured an insubstantial barrier in my mind, and I barely managed to keep from shooting on the girl's leg. Resting for a moment, I found that I understood a lot more about the Tandra. Apparently children do this to adults all the time. If this were not to happen, telepathy would fade from the race. Her link was so strong with me, and my link with the other girls, caused them all to orgasm. Susan only had a partial link, but she too succumbed. Kitten and Chris were curled up on the bed, quaking because of the intensity of the experience. Rather than follow the dictates of the child, I picked her ankles and wrists in my hands, and dove my lips down to her tiny flower. She struggled momentarily to get away and have me on her terms. This time she was only of half a mind, whether to let me do this my way or hers. By controlling her physically, I hoped to dominate her mentally as well. I stabbed her tiny hole and found it larger that I thought for a girl of her age. My nose stroked her large clit as I continued my attack. I felt her give up the battle, and let me have my way. Relinquishing my grip, I moved my right hand to her little hole. With all the saliva I generated, the pointer finger slid in easily. The thumb and middle finger stroked the little clits as I sucked on the large one. I tried pushing out and into her mind as she did me. I followed a thin tendril back and wormed my way in, pushing the walls of her mind wider, as I went. There was very little resistance of any kind, as I searched for anything I could find that would help me understand the Tandra. I saw visions of the base and an intelligence that inhabited it. Pushing to see more became difficult. All of a sudden I found Kitten before me in Amy's mind. She was having difficulty communicating, because she was so aroused. "Do not go further. If you do, the child will be helplessly attached to you, much more than she is now. Give her release for you have already bonded with her." Backing up from this area, I felt her reaction to my tongue and fingers. She was very close. Her will was like a straw in a windstorm. I picked up the pace thrusting my finger into the child, as I sucked even harder on her clits. She seemed to disassociate from her body in the flood of sensations coming from her. It was no longer necessary to keep moving. The feelings continued as though I hadn't stopped. She floated as if in a dream, her eyes closed and a Tandra smile on her lips. Her brain was awash in sensations. Never before had she felt this strongly. Making an image of myself, I placed it beside hers, and held her tight as I did in body. The image felt secure and at peace with the world, for she had found the father of all her future children. Keeping the image as best I could, I picked up the child and placed her on the bed with the women. I noticed again that they had all swooned in sympathy with little Amy. Susan was on her back in her own little world as well. If she was going to bond with this child as well, she should do it now that Amy's defences were down. I doubt if I would allow anyone else to bond with Amy, now that she was mine. Laying Amy on top of Susan, and spreading her legs over Susan's mouth was the first thing I did. A pillow went under Susan head, bringing her lips into the girls little cunt. The last thing I did was bring Susan arms up and around my new girl. "Stick out your tongue Susan, and lick Amy. She needs you now. Lick her." She obeyed quickly as if compelled. Amy had too much, but this was better, to be finished quickly for both of them. Turning around now, I saw Sandy curled on the mattress, like the girls on the bed, completely out of it. Realizing that she was older than Amy and probably had a stronger mind, it was good to start now, that her defences were down. Taking the KY from the bedside table, I put a small dab on my finger. Trying to keep the lubricant off her, I use my hands to get her onto her back and her legs over my shoulders. This pussy was the same as Amy's. No hair, even the size was about the same. The large clit stood proud as I dove onto it, sucking it into my mouth with strong suction. Sandy bucked at the suddenness of my assault. She was hardly aware of what I was doing to her. The taste was the same. Little girl taste. There are no words to adequately describe it. As she recovered somewhat, I slipped my lubricated finger into her tight hole. She like Amy had no hymen, and her opening was not extremely tight, others had used a finger in her before, I knew. The finger stroked back and forth as I tried entering her mind. I found an image of her with her ass in the air beckoning me to enter her. Her cunt was the preferred target, for she wanted my baby badly. A girls' anus was used for fun, her vagina was used for making children. Tandra females could release an egg at any time to begin a pregnancy, her mind told me. Earth women could not do this because they were locked into the lunar cycle and their menses. Using only an image of myself, I mounted her image and stroked into her, keeping pace with the tempo of my finger. When she was close, I had my image shoot millions upon millions of sperm cells into her. I zoomed in with my graphic image to show them entering her egg and making her pregnant with my child. Her scream was both mental and physical. She thrashed about as she squeezed my finger for all the sperm she hoped to get from my cock. I needed relief desperately and sat up and placed my cock at her small opening. Wiggling it around, I got it to the hole. Sandy spread as wide as she could get to allow me entrance. I felt someone trying to get my attention. I turned in my mind to find the rational part of me talking to my lust crazed self. "She is a child. You were supposed to bond with her not actually penetrate her." That was true but I still needed relief. Even if children did not give any pleasure to adults, Sandy would. Taking more KY jelly, I liberally covered my cock. Picking up her legs, I placed my lubed cock over her small cunt and closed her legs. I gently stroked forward rubbing against her big and small clits. Six thrusts were all it took to send her over the edge again. I was so aroused, that I shot as well. Sperm shot out and covered her chest. I had not shot so far, since I was fourteen. My cock continued sawing as I slowly recovered. I now stood with an image of little babies being born to Sandy, just as Kitten did this morning. Groans and grunts around me told me that the others were playing voyeur, and had orgasmed as well. I felt well pleased with myself for gratifying two girls and three women. Coming back to my senses I stood to see what I had wrought. Sandy on the floor with her legs spread wide, glistening from her crotch, and droplets of white sperm covering her chest. Her body giving involuntary twitches as she tried to recover. Kitten and Chris holding one another on the foot of the bed, while Susan cuddled Amy at the head. Again Amy twitched as well from the massive overload to her system. I could now look into each of my women now. Sorting through their thoughts and emotions, I found that they truly loved me with all their hearts. Other than Susan, I had barely knew any of them. My scent was a strong aphrodisiac to their sensitive systems. Since I had not found a way to block my very strong mental transmissions, they knew my feelings about them and their race. Apparently Tandra males basically just fucked and did their own thing. I, on the other hand, wanted and needed a family, where I was loved in return. The feelings I had held deep in me and till now, and thought well buried were actually visible to all. The last thing that I saw in Kitten, was a reflection of what she saw in me, a driving force to lead her people and create a stable environment for our family. Chris had the same things in her mind, but the leadership qualities intrigued her the most. The Tandra needed guidance and support in getting back to the rest of their race. A few hundred Tandra were still in stasis awaiting the opportunity to help this venture along. The intelligence that occupied the base had steadfastly refused to do any preparations to return in the past. Even though I was a male, I was looked on as a dominant female in this case. Looking over at Susan, I saw that she too was totally concerned with my welfare. Deep in her mind, I saw that she would gladly die to save me if needed. This was too much for me and I pulled out of their minds. In the corner, I found the babies, their minds even though they were just forming, had made strands linking them to all the rest within the room. Following one of them I found myself in Kitten's mind. Another found myself in my own mind. In a way, the babies were just extensions of ourselves. If the Tandra babies were separated from us, they would be just the same as Human babies. Turning around, I took a few faltering steps trying to recover myself. Once in the washroom, I washed my cock in the bathroom then returned with both a damp hand towel and a dry one, to clean Sandy. On returning, I found Amy sticking her finger into one of the puddles of sperm. She and Sandy had discovered the taste and were cleaning up all of them. Leaving them to their task, I kneeled on the mattress on the floor and gently cleaned the KY off Sandy. Sandy for her part, stopped with a finger in her mouth, as she revelled in the new sensations I was causing to her crotch. Much too soon, I patted dry her small cunt. Amy's eyes almost glistened as she followed the whole proceedings. Kitten looked at me with the same eyes as Amy. "You have done very well in bonding with the young ones. You have brought Amy from her old level all the way up and past Sandy's old one. She is now physically able to breed. I saw in Sandy's and Amy's minds, the command to release an egg. Sandy was almost ready, and I felt very happy for her now that she is past this major hurdle. I do not know all the things you did, but no male of our species has ever done this before." "May I look into your mind to understand this?" I marvelled not only at my newfound ability to look into the mind of another person, but to what Kitten was actually talking about. Amy had just needed someone to bond with, that would give her the security she needed and the will to move up to the next stage in her levels of puberty. I had inadvertently moved her up a full two stages, making her, as Kitten said, ready to breed as a woman. This process would normally take over two years to accomplish for a girl her age. I knew now that she was actually 12 and Sandy was 18 even though they looked much younger. It just showed the differences in races for Human girls could some times breed very young and Sandy at 18 could not do so yet. Tandra girls never had a hymen, and would get fucked by boys or sucked by girls their age as soon as they were able to crawl. Part of this, if not all, was their ability to feel and experience the emotions of the adults around them. Using their copies of the emotions, they would engage in a wide range sexual practices. Adult females were compelled at a very deep level to satisfy all children, and respond to their needs. This was one of the reasons that held the race so tightly together. Sandy before tonight, was almost ready to breed. The last major step was the one that opened her way officially into womanhood. Some girls had taken many years to get past this difficult stage. They both were now women, even though they had never been fucked other than by fingers. The women had, had enough, and wanted rest from all the passions they experienced. I tucked in my older ladies into bed, placing Kitten in the centre. Kissing each was like kissing all of them, for I could feel the connections between them. "Good night my ladies. I love each of you very much." I got between the younger girls as they lay upon the mattress on the floor. They snuggled up to me much as Kitten and Chris had last night. My hands held them close as they drifted off to sleep. My own mind had flashes of each of the women in the room. The invisible cords binding me to them and among themselves had gotten much stronger. I awoke a few hours later to find Susan sucking on Kitten's breast, and urging Chris to help her out. This normally was not very erotic to the Tandra, but Susan's own feelings were bleeding into the mix. Kitten and Chris were confused by the sensations. Women may suck children or as they were now to stimulate milk production, but it was rare for them to become very aroused by the procedure, for it was intended as therapy. Sex on the other hand was the norm in a female gathering, and they were able to differentiate between the two. Looking further, I saw the way women in a family, treated each other. The women loved one another physically as well as emotionally, and only moving to men, when there was a need for fresh sperm. I chuckled to myself as I found the aroused Tandra women wanting to be mounted by a dominant Susan, that appeared in their mind with a short firm cock. They were so occupied, that they did not even notice my presence. After a minor orgasm much like they had as children, all of them drifted off to sleep again. Dreaming I saw all the Tandra building a great ship, so they could leave and find their people. I was crying, for they had left me in the empty base, as they followed their quest. ------- Chapter 14 Wednesday September 26 I woke up the next morning, to the image in my mind of Susan riding my cock. Her tight hole squeezed with unaccustomed strength. The feeling was so stimulating, that I didn't even open my eyes. The image was even better than the real thing. Moving my hands to cup her small breasts, I found very small substitutes instead. Opening my eyes in alarm, I saw in the dim light, Sandy. Her eyes were closed, and she was in her own world. I slipped into her mind as easily as I could. I found her trying to milk me of my sperm, and for her to release an egg at the appropriate time. The need to fulfill the image I had implanted in her mind last night, was phenomenal in its strength. I was in no danger yet of giving her what she wanted most. She made short strokes, and squirmed when I was most in her. This allowed even more contact with the external nerve endings in her clits. Her little cock was rubbing into my pubic hair, and driving her crazy. I could feel on my cock, the hard little lumps that gave her so much pleasure. I stepped into her viewpoint, and could feel a cock going into my cunt, giving me twice the pleasure. My hand dropped to the juncture of our bodies, and I stroked her little cock with two fingers and a thumb. It was time to pull out of her mind now, or face the consequences. She had not been riding me long, when she was overcome with her orgasm, and fell on me. Her breathing and heart rate were very high. Looking beside me; I saw that Amy was bent over, hoping for me to enter her, too. Pushing Sandy up, so she could use her hands on my chest, I turned to little Amy. I picked her up into the air, and lowered her little cunt to my waiting mouth. The girls held one another, as I completed Amy's first orgasm of the day. The girl was so wrapped up in Sandy's previous orgasm, that her own orgasm sent both girls off again. Turning sideways, the girls fell to the bed in each others arms. Pulling out of Sandy, I covered both of them up, as I stood and stretched. Amy half pleaded with me to make her pregnant, for she was now able to have a child. The clock said it was about six thirty. A faint light was beginning to enter the window from the morning sun. On the bed, cuddled into one pile was Kitten. Susan's leg was over one of hers and Chris's leg over the other. Kitten's arm held Chris hand to her breast while Susan's hand held Kitten's cunt. This was more than just erotic to me. My erection had not gone down, and I was looking for some relief. With all my girls asleep I would have a difficult time accomplishing anything. Closing my eyes for better concentration, I found that not all my girls were asleep. Walking over to the corner, I peeked into the large box my three smallest girls were laying in. One was awake, and her uncoordinated eyes tried to follow me. Bending down, I picked the precious bundle up, and walked into the bathroom. Getting the fluffiest towel, in case of accidents, I wrapped her up. We went to the kitchen to make some coffee. The bundle was so small, it would be easy to loose the girl in the folds. She had large dark blue eyes. Small pimples had appeared on one cheek, and her hands were still wrinkly. Her long nails needed to be trimmed, before she hurt her self. My junk drawer held lots of my small odds and ends, including the nail trimmers. Being very careful, I placed her in the hollow between my legs, and used two hands to trim the nails just right. Once done, I picked her up, and then the towel. I brought her to my chest. It had actually been a long time since I had held such a young child, and I found I enjoyed the feeling. I used my finger to stroke her small scalp. I felt the short very fine hair that, like her mother's, went down to her little bum. All three babies looked remarkably alike. Thinking of what I read in Kitten's and Chris's mind on the subject, I found that the race was old. Very little variation ever occurred now. Kitten's comments about Earth people being part Tandra, was solely due to the males of the species following some plan of their own, and making Humans the way they wanted them. Perhaps, as the race produced such beautiful creatures, as the one in my hands, everything was all right. I carefully looked into this little one's mind. I found hunger, and a bladder ready to release. Quickly repositioning the towel, I absorbed the pent up fluids. I could feel the relief emanating from her. Speaking of 'her', they had no names as yet. It was my job to give them theirs. The first names to come to my mind, were my mother's and my aunt's. They were fine but the first children needed something more to do with our problems and challenges. Then I remembered 'Faith, Hope, and Charity', from scriptures, I had heard when in the military. Though I was agnostic, I still felt that religion played an important part in man's social and moral development. I turned to the doorway, and saw Kitten with a child in her arms. I could tell she was laughing at me, for some reason. I just smiled, and pulled out a chair for her to sit beside me. "Good morning, Sweetheart. How was your night?" "I slept well, when I wasn't attacked by two women in my bed. I have not felt that loved, since I was a little girl. It seems that I missed a lot, when I had no wives, or males for my mates." "I hope that you will not think that way with your present mate, or mates," I smiled at the thought. "You don't have just girls, you have people that love you. I see a great distinction between the two. Susan, to my knowledge, never did much, after becoming a woman." I continued, "The day before yesterday; I thought that my life would be complete if I could have you, Chris, and Susan, as my mates. I don't like the friction between you and Chris. If this will tie each of you together, I am all for it." Looking into the mind of the baby in her arms, I quickly gave her the damp towel. A few deft moves, and the towel was even more damp than it was before. She put the towel on the table, and clutched the child to her chest, just as I was doing. She considered for a moment before saying, "I had not considered my feelings for Chris very closely. Her kind, the Mordis, are menials. They perform what the machines can't do. Their body is changed, to provide assistance for their new duties. There is nothing really wrong in the way she is treated." "I saw and heard the way you, Sandy, and Amy, shun her. This looks like a clear case of prejudice, to me." Kitten considered my words for a moment. "To be honest, there is something in what you say. But what can I do about it?" "I want all of us to get along. Your entire race consists of just a little over two hundred individuals, here. I have been getting these uncharacteristic urges to father children. It is probably due to the way all of you, and possibly Susan, think. If I father children, they will eventually be watered down by all the Humans, in a century or so. There will be little or no difference, than those now inhabiting the Earth. That is why each member of your race is so important. Also, I happen to love Chris, very much." Kitten sat and thought for a few moments. She did not see the Mordis the same way I did. She did become distracted. It seemed to please her that I continued to examine, and then play, with the child in my arms. The baby's grip on my finger was very strong for one, only a day old. "I see what you mean, and I will try to treat her the way she deserves. I know she loves my children, the same as I do. For that matter, Susan loves them just as much. Sisters, would be the only ones closer." "Give them time and I am sure they will be even closer than sisters, with you." Then, to change the subject. "Let's make the last of the formula, while the house is quiet." We both stood up. Kitten held both babies, as she watched me prepare the formula, and the feeding apparatus. Someone was going to have to go for more formula, and food for the others in the mountain. I had only a little canned soup left, and would either have to take a long time making a home made variety, or simply buy something almost as good. The babies in her arms were good, for they waited for the food to be prepared for them. Apparently, the prospect of food was a little too hard for them to take for long, so they started to cry. The one in the bedroom started, the same second as the two in the kitchen. Susan and Chris sleepily came out to see what was happening in the kitchen. Susan had the other baby in her arms. Chris, I could tell, was anxious for the whereabouts of 'her' child. Sandy and Amy came out, to see me sucking Kitten's nipples, before washing them and putting on the feeders. Sandy was happy to take Susan's baby, while I processed Susan, too. Chris's baby was given to Amy as she sat on the floor, at my insistence. I did not want the baby to fall, but also didn't want to deprive Amy of her chance to hold the child. I was willing to bet a lot of things were going on in Susan's head, as I took my time with Chris's preparations. There was no time like the present, to show Sandy and Amy that I would treat Chris right. With the three babies now being nursed, I set out to see what I could prepare for the people still in the mountain. "What did you girls think of the food Chris and I brought you yesterday?" More images than I could manage flooded into my mind. Apparently, the Tandra ate a variety of pastes, or fairly bland biscuits. They were happy with the old way. They would like to get the machine working, that made the right kind of food. I made what soup I had, and added a few loaves of bread, to fill them up. It would be nice to have the girls help me delivering the food, but I had no clothing for them at the moment. Kitten had just had her babies. Susan would be able to take care of the unexpected, if anything happened. So it was either all of us, or just Chris to help me. I nuked the bread, and picked out the only pack of arrowroot biscuits I had. The morning was bright and sunny, but the day was much colder than any of the girls were used to. During breakfast, I talked to Susan about some things she may not have considered. "Susan? Have you thought of what our life will now be like? Considering our new neighbours, friends; and now, family? We have a wedding to plan. You own the dojo, but we need you here. I may have to leave, to make enough money to feed our new family. I don't know what will be needed in the base, to get it running the way it should. And the entire family needs warm clothes, with the coming winter." I was right, and Susan had to think before continuing. "I can get Mom and Dad to fill in for me, in a pinch. The dojo's staff can continue their duties, and maybe help my parents in filling in for me too. Either I will sell it, or just get somebody else to run it. I only rent the building, so all I would have for sale is the equipment." The rest of the girls listened closely to the conversation, trying to make the most sense out of our words. Chris and Kitten held Susan's hands, conveying some of their sorrow for what their appearance had caused her. I said, "The situation here, may eventually become known. It may be better to have all your assets in a form, you can readily use. Eventually, the base will be self sufficient, and hopefully able to protect itself better. I don't even know the capabilities of that wall I worked my way through. Also; I don't think your mom and dad would sympathize with a son-in-law, who is married to other beautiful women, too." "There is no way they will accept that, without a lot of preparation," she said emphatically. "At least, not right away." "Would you go back to town? Get some formula, and baby food. Get some warm clothing, and food for our new family, too. Maybe we should make a list." "Yes, it is better that I go to get some things for them, and for myself. The ride may help clear my mind, and allow me to think better." Soon, Chris and I took the food to our neighbours. The inhabitants were nowhere to be seen. I returned with the dirty pots, from the previous day. I was in time to see Susan, as she left on her mission in my van. I spent my time teaching all of them the properties of the devices in the house. Popcorn worked well, again, with everyone. After some serious fighting, I was able to recover my dirty shirts, and start the wash. Sandy and Amy had a lot of fun, filling the dishwasher and turning it on. The vacuuming I was going to leave for after the babies woke up. The radio and television did not seem to interest them at all. For a while, an old novelty of mine, nine hard steel balls, supported by two strands of thread on a frame held their attention. The internet was useless to them, unless they knew written English, or any other written Earth language. Dog was let out for his breakfast, and a run. The brisk air almost called to me to run. Instead I went to my gym. The girls followed me downstairs, watched me run on the treadmill for twelve minutes, and then start my weight regimen. Stopping for a moment, I showed the girls how to use the treadmill to get their heart rate up. While using the nautilus, I saw Sandy go over to the free weights, and easily pick up sixty pounds. It was easily her own weight. Amy got into the action too, and picked up two hand weights of thirty pounds each. These girls were certainly very much stronger than they looked. Talking aloud was easier for me, so I said, "Sandy, you are very strong for a girl your age. Are all Tandra, strong like you?" Sandy hung her head at the unaccustomed complement, and sent, "I am not strong. You should see Kitten, or better yet, Chris. They are very strong." I looked at Kitten, sitting on a bench in the corner. How had I beaten her with my Bo when she was strong enough to almost knock it from my grasp? She must have been reading my mind, for the next thing she sent was, "I was very hungry and weak, at the time. We had been working a long time, trying to get the base operational enough to feed ourselves. The main computer functions, but the guiding intelligence is gone. Food production was directly tied into its control. You also used two other unfair weapons: your scent, and the power of your mind." "Is there anything I can do to help your base, other than provide food?" "If you can fix the food synthesizers, it would help us immensely." "If you were in the base, I imagine you would be working on the problem, as well." Turning to Chris I asked, "What would you be doing, if I had not kidnapped you, Chris?" She gave me one of her smiles and sent, "The others were finding the defective parts. I was running a small fabricator, making new parts. Others would replace the units I made. There are many more modules still left to be made." "I asked Susan to look for warm clothes for all of you. When she brings them back, we can go into the base, and try to help. Would the others object to Susan and I helping?" Chris said, "I know most will not object. They were only waiting for our assessment of you. The base is much more comfortable, when it is running properly. At the moment, it is better to eat and sleep here. The beds we use, are all contra-gravity. But I must sleep on the hard floor there, or in the stasis pods, because they no longer function. Both places I find objectionable. Your bed is better, especially if you are in it with me." I pictured the rectangular forms on the floor in the rooms I visited. Her image had much more light to see by. The present dim state in the facility could not be the norm. This was very exciting, and my pulse increased. "Chris will you show me, in your mind, what you do when you are using the fabricating machine?" I closed my eyes, and saw Chris trying to stay comfortable on one of the chair frames, that occupied one of the rooms. But I felt that any room or frame would do. Two images; one on the wall, and one in her mind, showed a close-up of two similar parts. There was no scale to judge their size. The one on the right was being constructed by an automated process. Parts, that I felt that were the size of molecules, were being guided into position. It was much the same way a brick wall was formed, around doors and windows, but at an amazing speed. When that level was done, tests were made, and a new layer was started. Chris opened her eyes and looked at me, wondering if that was enough. "Thanks Chris. Nobody on Earth has the technology to move those molecules, and fabricate them onto a substrate material." "They were subatomic particles, placed into a matrix. A molecule is much larger. There is no substrate, because of our gravitational and presser controls." I squirmed on the bench. I had been thinking that I was getting a handle on the situation, when in reality they were trying to teach a caveman, the rudiments of solid state electronics. Not to leave the younger ones out of the conversation, I asked, "What do you girls do, to help?" From two sources, I saw both girls standing in a three dimensional hologram. They were using their hands and feet; to pluck, twist, push, and rearrange, different things that hung around them. The things were examined, and put back where they belonged. With a special thought, the things disappeared, and new things automatically found their way back. I felt certain that they could do much more, but I would not be able to understand what it was. Only part of it, was their ability to grasp concepts that entertained more than three dimensions. I felt humbled again. I was at the top of the heap, here on Earth. Companies came to my door, begging for my help, and offering a lot of money to get it. The girls must have been monitoring my thoughts, for they crowded around to hold me, and give me what comfort they could. It felt good to be loved by so many. It was just a shame, that I knew so little of how much the Tandra already took for granted, and my help would have to be very minor. Chris sent to me, "Do not feel so sad. I cannot do things as well as the others, but I have a place within our group. Perhaps you can learn how our machines operate, and help us in more important matters." That was true. I had never backed down from a fight, nor even from a real challenge. If I could learn, I could make their base safe from greedy Humans. And on that subject, was I not wanting to learn for my own ends as well? Finding a fault in a manufacturing plant in seconds, when a team could not find it after weeks of work, fascinated me. I hung my head, feeling shame for my thoughts. "You should not feel bad, for all of us have our own plans for improving ourselves. I see in your mind, that you would not spread Tandra technology to your people, just as you would not give weapons to a child. Your people need to move forward, for they are slowly poisoning the only world they have. I think you should learn as much as you can, to help them. Just do not give them the means to kill themselves more efficiently, than they already have." Reflecting on my past, I remembered having a lot of fun learning at University. Education was a life long occupation. I was forty eight now, and didn't see the point in trying to learn too much, for there was no way I could learn everything necessary. Another image came to me, I think from Kitten. I reclined on a padded couch, probably one of the frames, again. In the course of a short period of time, I picked up all I needed to know, about any particular subject. This was great news, but I would have to sit for much longer. For I had no grounding at all, in anything the Tandra did. Turning to Kitten I said, "Thank you, that was very encouraging. If the intelligence is not working, can I still get an education?" This time she just smiled, and nodded her head. The rest of my exercises were forgotten, and I soon showered. I did a lot of thinking as I cuddled with Sandy and Amy on my legs, as I sat in the large wooden rocker. It would be nice to flaunt my new abilities to my peers; but that would bring attention, where it was not wanted. Perhaps, I could get people already at the top in their field, to invent a new device. I might be able to put the idea in their mind, first. Statistically, someone might see this pattern, but Earth needed this help as soon as possible. Besides, there was no way to trace it back to me, or the Tandra. A vehicle drove into the driveway, making noise as it crunched the gravel. Moving the young girls quickly, I got up to see. It might not be Susan. I went to the bedroom, and donned some pants. I looked out the window, and saw that the van had returned. We all ran downstairs, to see what she had brought. I stepped out the door, in my jacket and sandals, to help her with the packages. Box after box came in, filled with groceries. Then came warm winter clothes that looked clean, but used. These were followed by boxes from a woman's boutique, just northeast of North Bay. The back seat had been folded down, and laid on the middle seat. A folded crib and mattress, plus three boxes I knew contained baby clothes, rested there. The girls were all happy to see what was brought. I took out the crib, and set it up on the main floor. Thereafter, I just stood back and watched the interplay among the girls. This was much more rewarding than I would have ever thought possible. The mattress was felt, to see if it was soft enough. Then, all of the baby clothes were similarly inspected. The groceries were left, as they all ran to the bedroom, with the entire allotment of clothes. The articles were put in front of the babies while the choices were discussed. I slipped off my sandals and hung up my jacket. The groceries just stayed on the floor. I guess it was up to the male to take care of it. The food was either put into the refrigerator, or the pantry, leaving the formula and soup on the counter. I sat down at the table, and played with Chris's shoes, that I could not open or close before. The dryer was started, with the clothes I had washed, inside. Then the washer was started again, with all the used clothing. Peeking with my mind, I saw Susan washing the baby clothes by hand, with a special soap. She was taking special care of 'our' children. Getting back to the shoes on the table; I tried everything I could think of, to get them open, as Chris had so casually done before. Even when I contorted my facial muscles, squinted my eyes, and snarled; the shoes would not work, no matter what I did. The sword, that Kitten fought me with, was on the mantle beside my own. I got it, and sat down again. The girls came running back into the room, looking for something. They looked at me in passing, only as they took the new clothes, and ran off into the master bedroom. At least they were happy, trying on all the clothes. My ears heard Susan's laughter, and my mind heard the others. I studied the sword carefully. Though it was far from sharp, I did not touch the blade. I knew it was dangerous when the light was on, and I had no idea when it was going to do that. I even thought of Ali Baba, as I tried to get the light to work. Trying the command 'open' in various ways did something though. The sword suddenly came apart in nine distinct pieces right before my eyes. That was extraordinary in itself, but the blade disappeared, leaving a thin rod no bigger than a pencil lead. I was so shocked, that the girls raced into the room, to see what had happened. Susan, seeing my face, laughed in genuine humour. The others, though quiet, laughed as well. "Laugh if you will. But I did get it to do something!" I said verbally. It did no good, when Kitten mentioned that young children could open the device quicker. They returned to their clothes, and the lesson Susan was giving on the subject. The babies decided to make their presence known a few minutes later. With five females in the same room, I doubted that they would cry more than a second. I got up, and started the washing of the now smaller feeder bags. Before too long, Chris came out to help prepare the formula beside me. She must have really paid attention when we did it before. Since she was the closest, I picked her up, and started to suck on her nipples in earnest. I was travelling from one to another. Her four strong arms held me tight, as I worked. She had been given the most attention, the last time. I decided to even out the score a little with the rest. At my mental suggestion, I pulled away, and strapped a feeder onto her neck and chest. Kitten was right behind me, ready for her treatment, as I slipped Chris to her feet on the floor. I used a cloth, to clean the saliva off her nipples. This time, Kitten got more of the special treatment. I took my time doing each of her tiny nipples. I moved to her ears and neck, then to her lips. The kiss I got was as good as any I had ever received before. Making small kisses and nibbles, I worked back to her nipples. I sucked as much of her breast into my mouth as I could, before flailing her small nipples with my tongue. Her body was moving all over the counter, and her hands pushed and pulled without any real guidance. A silent scream filled my head, as she froze into her last position. I continued my assault, but slowed considerably. She recovered, and I felt her need to get on the floor and get fucked. I saw Susan, in my mind, restraining the others from doing just that. "Thank you. With the Tandra males, I would have to orgasm quickly. Now I try to prolong the pleasure, but I cannot, when I know it is you." "You must know how much pleasure I get, when I see the effect my loving has on you." Two of the babies started to tell us to hurry. "I think you are cleaned enough for the cloth, now." The clean damp cloth cleansed both of her breasts, before the feeder was strapped on her. I could feel the anxious babies waiting to be fed. She left, on unsteady feet, to sit at the table. She was given one of the girls to feed. "Are you coming over here, to be fitted with the genuine 'Buchanan feeder'?" I asked Susan. She was probably a little shy about doing this in front of others, but I could see that it didn't bother her as much as it might have, earlier. Before she got to me, I had moved the feeder and formula to the other side of the sink. The large expanse of counter top was clear of any obstructions. Susan wore a top and slacks, from her shopping trip. I slowly removed both them, and her lingerie, spreading them on the bare counter. Picking her light body up, and placing it in the same place Kitten just vacated, sent a thrill through me. Holding her face in both my hands, I gave her a gentle kiss. Her arms came up and around my neck, to hold me close. Eventually I spread my arms, and pushed hers away. Her earlobe caught my attention, and I removed her long black hair, as I sucked the tender flesh into my mouth. My teeth nibbled her lobe, as my tongue bathed one of her erogenous zones. She shivered in my hands as she asked, "What are you doing? My nipples are on my chest." I laid her down on her own clothes, and picking up her legs to rest in the sink. I slowly worked down, and around to her small breasts. Going from one to another, but never touching the nipples, must have frustrated her immensely. Using my new ability to look into her mind, I found her much the same as the Tandra girls. This, I assumed, would only be possible if she wanted to conform to the rest. More likely, the other girls were influencing her, to a very high extent. Or, possibly, she was being influenced by all the witnesses. My lips finally found the target she wanted, and her back arched to give me as much of her breast as I could take. My hand held her other nipple, and gave her little pinches. By looking into her mind, I could see how close she actually was to her orgasm. I felt it was necessary to cut back on some of my stimulation. Susan groaned, as the precipice receded. Moving to her other nipple I sucked the hard little nub into my mouth. Guessing that a few minutes of activity on each was enough, I used one hand to twist her other nipple. My other hand travelled down her chest and abdomen, and stopped to burrow into her mons. A small touch to her erect clit was all it took to send her body into wild contortions. Contortions that would have thrown her off the counter, if I had not held her. I slowed my pace, and eventually stood up. My damp finger went into my mouth, as I watched her eyes. This sent more quivers through her sensitive body. Using the clean cloth, I tenderly washed her breasts, and then used it to wipe away the perspiration, that had formed all over her body. Standing her up on her unsteady legs, I put the last feeder on her, and helped her to a chair. After she was given her baby, Amy walked in front of me. She raised her hands, for her treatment, as well. I picked the small girl up, and brought her to my naked chest for a kiss. Her short strong hands wrapped around my neck, and pulled me closer to her. Her knees came up, and her legs straddled my waist. Her abdominal muscles flexed, to get some stimulation on her erect clit, that pushed onto me. Her face turned, and her nose sniffed my chest by my armpit. She shivered as she took the scent in. I pulled away. Using my right hand under her butt, I elevated her, so that her tiny nipples could enter my mouth. I sucked carefully, as my fingers under her butt caressed her small mons. She pushed into my mind, opening it further, as she presented herself to me. She must have been very aroused from watching me with the older girls. She quivered in my grasp, and squeezed my head as an orgasm rushed through her little body. I saw and felt her slowly retreat from my mind, and from the heady experience she had enjoyed. My perception of the others was much better. It was now much easier to see within their minds. Amy's mind showed me that she loved me, and the glowing edges let me know that it was something she really wanted. I lowered her down to my waist again, and gave her a small tender kiss and a hug, as we both basked in the after glow of her orgasm. After only a few moments, Sandy wanted her turn. Carefully, I lowered Amy into a chair beside Susan, who immediately pulled her close in a hug of her own. Amy looked in front of her eyes, saw the unoccupied nipple, and started to suckle on it. I could 'hear' and 'feel' the feelings that went through Susan's body. I think Amy was feeding off Susan's emotions, and was enjoying every second of it. Sandy stood in her chair, and we were able to kiss and hold one another. She, too, entered my mind. She told me to continue with what I had planned. I did the same to her, as I had done with Amy. I brought her legs around my waist. But this time, my hand caressed her little anus. Spasms travelled through her. I felt my mind getting ripped, as she flung herself about, both physically and mentally. Sitting quickly with her in my lap, I tried to recover from the onslaught that had run through me. I could hear many voices wondering how I was managing. Especially Sandy, who was concerned that she had hurt me. "It's ok, Honey. I just need to catch my breath. You girls take your toll on one poor man." I smiled, to let them know that I was happy with the trade. Not only was there the satisfaction of knowing that I brought pleasure to a lovely little lady, but she had helped me open my mind much further than my genes would ever allow. My erection was painfully pushing out the front of my pants. It gradually subsided, as I gazed in wonder at the clearer and fuller view, the girls had given me. I held Sandy close. Her knees were at my armpits, and her bum nested into my crotch. My hand caressed the short hair, that ran from her head, all the way to my leg. I felt love for this girl, and for all who were around the table. Sex was part of the equation. But compassion for these beautiful, giving people, far outweighed the former. Anything that I could possibly do to make their life better, I would strive to accomplish. Looking across the table at the rest of my family I said, "I want to go into the base, and take all of you with me. The babies can be kept warm, and all of you have warm clothing now, yourselves. I think I have been too greedy in keeping you here, when we are all needed in getting the base functional again." Susan said, "I think you are right, Henry. And I want to see the inside, again. I was much too quick, the last time we were there. Chris said that there are teaching machines, there. I would just love to find out about the Tandra's past." When the last child was fed and burped, the girls went back into the bedroom. They dressed themselves, and the babies. Taking out some plastic containers, I filled them with all of the things that could be of use, from the fridge. Other things were prepared and packaged. There was no use in just showing up, without a meal they so desperately needed. After dressing, I quickly got the battery cart and lights ready. ------- Chapter 15 Kitten, the babies, and I, rode in the front. Everybody else rode in the back, with the battery cart. Dog came along too, as Kitten assured us that he would not harm any of the other inhabitants. Both Susan and I would wear our backpacks, which were filled with food for us, and the others. Kitten and Chris pushed a covered box through the culvert, and I brought up the rear with the cart. I lit the candle, and we started our trek. Susan asked, "What are all these things, we are walking around?" The answer came from Chris. "The Tandra play games with weapons. They run and hide, as they try to score points for themselves. Usually the children, and the males, do this. The adult females are usually too busy for such games." I could almost hear my mother or aunt, saying the same thing. It is amazing how things can be so different; yet, so much the same. It was starting to get very warm. I stopped and hung up my clothes, on one of the obstacles. I kept only my pants and shoes. The others followed suit, but all wanted to keep their undergarments. Susan, for modesty's sake. The Tandra, to show off their 'alien' finery. I asked, "What do Susan and I do first, to get started learning?" Kitten this time sent, "I have never heard of anything like this before. I will have to ask the computer. This is much more difficult than what it was like, before." "How is that?" Susan asked. "The computer housed the intelligence, that did much of the work. Most times it could guess what you wanted, and give it to you, before you even asked. Now, I must sit in one of the chairs, and think very clearly. I have to tell it all, that it must know." We went down the steps, and entered one of the rooms at random. Kitten slowly sat in the frame of a chair, and began to relax. Many minutes passed before the large screen even came to life. Susan was frightened, and held my left arm, with two of hers. Eventually, two images much larger than life size appeared. One was of Susan, naked as the day she was born. The other was of me, the same way. They rotated to expose each side and feature. The images started to get sliced, and I saw very thin layers of myself, and Susan. Susan was usually quite strong. But now she buried her head in my shoulder, and refused to look. Many small spots were highlighted on my image. Three were marked in red. Susan had less spots, and no red ones. Characters came beside each of the pictures, tabulating information about each of us. The data scrolled for a moment or two, and stopped. The pictures stayed on the screen, as Kitten opened her eyes. I moved closer, taking Susan with me, as I helped Kitten up. "Thank you, my husband." I was a little shocked by the term. I had just asked Susan to marry me, and I did not know how to take Kitten's statement, even though I had referred to her as 'wife'. I looked at Susan, and she just smiled at me. I had the feeling that they had been waiting to spring this on me for a while. "You are welcome, wife. I do hope you have talked to Susan about this, for it entails a lifetime commitment. I won't accept anything less." She just smiled, and I knew that she agreed to the condition. This time Chris stated, "Husband, we need to go to the medical section first, to get you registered. We will get some abnormal growths removed from you." "What is this about growths being removed?" I also noted the appellation. "There is no danger. The procedure should only take a few minutes, and there is no pain." The clinic as I thought of it was across the flat floor, and into the area I had never been in. Just as was 99.99 percent of the base. The room was a pastel blue, and looked comfortable. As we entered, a chair came out of the wall. This one looked new, as if it had just been made. Perhaps it had, for all I knew. Chris got me to sit, and the chair reclined a little. Susan looked fearful. I was worried, inside, as well. A small sphere, about the size of a baseball, came out of the back of the chair. It orbited me at different heights and angles. I sat deathly still, as I waited for it to start. It was joined by another, slightly larger sphere. Both orbs sported a dimple on one side, that always faced me. They went to the spots, that had glowed red, on the diagram of me, in the other room. I heard a small buzzing, once in a while. They travelled as a pair, around me. After about two minutes, and thirty or so buzzes later, they returned to their hiding place. Kitten came and put her hand on a particular spot, on the chair. Her eyes closed. A moment later she sent, "You are done now, the machine has completed its job." "Done? I didn't know that it started anything, other than an inspection." "Yes, you are done. There were some atypical growths. They would have affected you health, in the next few years. It is now Susan's turn. She has an aberrant condition in her reproductive system, that would keep her from easily bearing children." I got up, warily, thinking there might be some discomfort. I then helped Susan into the chair I had just left. "Susan, I felt no pain at all. Their science is older than our race. I think we can trust it." Kitten again placed her hand on the chair, and the spheres came out as before. They did their preliminary work. They buzzed twenty three times, by my count. When it was all done, Susan got happily out of the chair, and kissed each of us. After the procedure started, I relaxed and started to enjoy the show. I couldn't feel anything different from the way I was before. "Thank you, one and all, for what you have done." The girls went into a group hug again, before Kitten sent, "I have put each of you into the system. When you go to any particular machine, just look for the place where I put my hand. When the system was working properly, even that was unnecessary." Kitten got into the chair as I had done, and she asked for one of the babies. She held the baby to her chest, as the spheres orbited both of them. Moments later the procedure was repeated. Then again, until all the babies had been scanned. It made me feel childish to be afraid of the device, when Kitten entrusted her babies to it. Kitten felt relieved to know that there was nothing wrong with her, or the children. As we walked, following Kitten and Chris's lead, I asked, "Is there a way to increase the amount of light in here? All of you, and even Dog, can see better than I can. Susan and I need a little more light." Chris, this time, went to a nearby wall. She walked along it for a few metres. She put her hand onto a slightly discoloured section, a little more than a metre off the floor. From all over the room, the light increased in its intensity. When I felt that there was enough, I silently informed Chris. She walked back to us, with a smile on her face, because of our expressions. "The lights have been either off, or very low, for a long time. It feels odd to me, to have the light this bright. We have all been asleep for a long time, and the base has always been darkened. None of us here, were around, when the base was operational." This threw Susan and me. I never considered that the girls could be centuries, or more, old. They were all younger than Susan, as I saw them in my mind. This was the first time I had actually been able to see well. We walked out to the large open area, to see that the lights were much brighter here, too. I was sure that there was no place on Earth that could even compare with this, in size. The precisely placed doorways, on the three levels, probably went back all the way to the shield. This represented a very large area. The unknown levels below that, spread out over the distances we had walked. The fact, that there were two symmetrical sides, meant that this base could house a fair sized city. There were no rich colours though. Most things were various shades of gray or pastel. Even the floor only had faint colours in it. This was not surprising, now that I knew the age of the base. I abandoned the cart, after turning the lights off. It would be picked up on our return. We walked toward a distant opening. A small naked child, even younger than Amy, came out of a doorway. It took her quite a while to notice us. When she did, she turned smartly, and retraced her steps. No doubt she was warning the others of our arrival. We all looked at one another, and smiled at the child's consternation. Moments later, all our group stopped. They received and transmitted greetings to the unseen group. About a hundred metres before our objective, two girls about Kitten's apparent age and size, came out. Behind them, followed children of various ages. One looked older than Amy. The rest looked either the same, or younger. They hid behind the two oldest, with their hands wrapped tightly around the adults' legs. All were without clothing, as I had originally found Kitten and Chris. Behind this group, I saw seven other adults. They seemed to give off a hostile aura. Their arms were folded on their chests, as if daring me to so much as speak to them. They were all so nervous, that I paused, to give them a chance to see us. Sandy and Amy ran to the first group, followed by Dog. It was too late to call Dog back now, but I was still concerned about how he would treat the Tandra. Dog had never liked children. But, amazingly, he stayed; allowing the younger ones, to run their hands through his coat. The older ones ignored Dog, and looked at the four of us. Kitten and Chris walked forward and joined this group, to help them feel less threatened. "Come, my husband, and my sister-wife." As we slowly approached, I noticed that all of the Tandra looked remarkably similar. A race as old as the Tandra, would have blended into homogeneity, long ago. This did not mean that they were not beautiful. They were. Very much so. Apart from their size, and apparent age, they almost reminded me of identical twins. Small differences, such as tattoos and hair styles, gave just enough hints to keep them apart in my mind. Only one seemed very different. She turned her head. She had a much lighter coloured hair. "Husband, and sister-wife, this is..." Kitten continued with a visualization of a star exploding. I looked at the one with the near blond hair. She appeared a little older than Kitten's sixteen apparent years. I made her out, to be about nineteen. All these girls were to be my wives, I somehow sensed. There was not too much I felt I had to say in the matter. Also, I feared there was no way that I would be physically capable of carrying out the duties involved. Perhaps love and respect would fill the gap, until they found something, or someone, better. I carefully moved forward, to give her a kiss. Instead of a kiss, the woman held my arms. She licked my face, once on each cheek. She was not a passive woman. She wanted to kiss me on her terms. "Hello. The picture that Kitten just sent me, we know as a nova. May I call you Nova?" I received, "I like the sound of that name. I would be happy to have it. I know you do not know our language, and we must bypass that section of your brain, to allow us to communicate this way." I was a little shocked, for I thought we communicated very well this way. If I learned the language, I wondered at what level of understanding we would have. I pulled Nova close. She had thought that the greetings were finished. "A kiss, were I come from, especially among family, is done like this." Leaning down to her height, and taking her face into my hands, I gave her a tender kiss. She did not respond right away, but I felt communication between her and Kitten. Nova's arms went around my waist, and pulled me close. Tentatively, she returned the kiss. Her experiment lasted over a minute, and we both came out breathless. "You sure do learn fast," I sent. I took a big breath before I continued. "I would like to introduce Susan, to you. She has agreed, recently, to marry me. She has also agreed to share me with Kitten and Chris." "I have heard all about your meeting with the ones you call Kitten and Chris. They have told me that you had a previous mate. Did she not say that all of us are to be your wives, as well?" "Ah... She didn't say that, exactly. And I am still not sure about how this will work." I explained the conversation I'd had last night, about our laws that protect children, from being abused by adults. "You are not subject to Earth laws, here. We have been here since your people scampered around in the grass, and climbed trees when danger approached. If it wasn't for our males, your people would no doubt be doing the same thing, that your ancestors did. If you want to take the term 'legal' into the equation, we were here first, for none of your old species live today. The only ones living, now, are their offspring. And they are a combination of both our races. The Tandra, even in their present weakened state, are strong enough to enforce our own laws over this planet. No matter what your people have to say." She continued, "We have no mature males here, now. And we need your help. Both as mate, and for what you can do to get the base operational again. The children need adult help, and guidance. But, it is much different than what Humans are used to. I believe Kitten made this clear to you. Will you not help us get the base running again, and allow the children to become healthy adults?" "I have already talked about the subject, but some of these children are even younger. There is no way that I will knowingly do anything to hurt them. And that is even if your customs say otherwise. In all other things, I will do what I can to help all of you." Susan, seeing that I had made my point, stepped in. She gave the 'Tandra kiss' to Nova, licking her cheeks. "Henry is such a wuss. As long as I have known him, he would never hurt an innocent person. I am glad to meet you, Nova. Kitten has not said much about you to Henry, because you would probably frighten him. She and Chris have talked enough about each of you, though, that it almost seems that I know you." Looking at all of them, I could readily agree. I had never been invited to their girl-talk. Nova looked at me, and said, "I have looked into your mind, and find you think the children are very young. Their size suggests their age to you. But, in reality, they are older than a human child of the same size." The rest were introduced. Blue, the next oldest, worked in Chris's old job: making components with the fabricator. Nova worked finding faults on the food replicators. Sandy along with Amy, did much of the running around and fetching, for Blue. 'Star' was a girl almost the same age as Sandy, around eight was my guess. Topaz looked Amy's age, at six, and was Blue's child. There was a second 'Kitten', but the image was one of a different colour. She was named 'Kitty'. Next, was little Cloud. She appeared a year younger than Kitty, at four. Last, but not least, was Moth. That was the only thing that her name brought to mind, and she seemed to weighed in at only three years. Their ages, I knew, were far different from my estimation. But I did not know how they aged, nor what features to look for. All I could do, is compare them with Humans. Later, I would get a true figure on each of them. Looking to the side, I saw the other group of women. Their expressions almost dared me to get close to them. They looked no different than Nova, except for their colour of hair. But I knew their basic thinking was very hostile to Susan and I, as well as the Tandra that had welcomed us. "Nova, what of these others? They look like they would as soon fight me, as greet me." "I would introduce you, but they refuse to use your words for their names. They believe you should never have been allowed into the base, and the idea was even passed around that you should be destroyed. The computer vetoed their request, hoping for your help instead." "That's good to know. I will not hurt anyone here. I will try to help all of you, to the best of my abilities." This was said to all, but I aimed it at the older women, in the hopes of thawing them out a little. All of the Tandra looked drawn, and thin. They were almost haggard from their constant work. They looked into the cardboard box, and gazed upon Kitten's babies. Susan was concerned with the rift, too, and sent, "We have brought some food. Is there a nice place to sit down and eat?" The welcome news got all the young ones over to her. With a few words from the older ones, we walked for a few minutes. We came to a very large room that could seat a thousand or more. Comfortable chairs, made of a flexible ceramic, stood in groups. All could swivel so that one might talk to any other, while sitting in them. There were no tables in sight. Sandy walked over to the wall, and touched a panel. She closed her eyes in concentration. A table grew out of the floor, just as the clinic's chair before it, had came out of the wall. The other group came with us, and sat at a similar table, off to one side. Apparently, at what they considered a safe distance. We all sat down, and I took out the contents of our packs. There were plastic plates, and tumblers. Taking out a large jug, I pointed out a level to Sandy, and asked her to fill it to that mark with water. She hurried off. A large Tupperware container of tuna salad, and another of fruit salad were next. Sandwiches, that I knew everybody liked, had been cut into four. They were being placed on the table, by Susan. Sandy came running back, and I added a partially thawed can of orange juice to the water she had brought. Stirring it with a large spoon I had remembered to bring, I soon had a jug of orange juice. The food was placed on plates, and divided out. Blue took the bowls, some sandwiches, and plates and forks; to the other table. She ladled out their portions, as well. The food was smelt. I think only their extreme hunger drove them to eat it. Susan and I were watched, as we used the forks. They wanted to eat their own portions of tuna salad without incident. All of the new people dropped food on occasion, until they mastered the technique. Moth and Cloud, the two youngest, sat beside me. They were a little apprehensive at first, but warmed as I helped them eat their food. The sandwiches were sorted by our guests, and small nibbles taken by one, then the rest tried the same kind. Dog got his bowl of dry food and ate quickly, so he could beg for our food, if he could get any. The conversation centred around what we could do for the full blood Tandra. Everybody said there was very little we could do, until we'd had time with the teaching machines. The more organized a mind was, the quicker it could learn. Both Susan and I had reservations about how much we could actually help. All of the Tandra at our table turned to the other table, as they listened to a silent conversation taking place. Kitten turned to us, and sent, "The others do not want you getting any of our technology. They have been temporarily overridden by the computer, but I think they will still try to chase you out." This was an untenable situation, but one I was used to handling, when in Nam. Here, all I needed was some time to learn their customs. The malcontents, after eating, just left their mess. They departed, to discuss their findings in private. When we finished eating, the now empty containers were put back into our backpacks. We all trotted away to small rooms, with a chair much like the one we had sat in, while in the clinic. I watched, as Susan hesitantly sat down, and Kitten communicated through the patch on the chair. "I am just registering you into the system, Susan. This time, you must use this kind of chair to initiate the process. You can think about what you want, and after the computer assesses your capacity to learn. It will start the training to suit your needs, and abilities. Are you ready?" "Yes. Will someone stay here with me?" Amy jumped up first, "Can I say here with you?" Susan was pleased with the girls enthusiasm, and said, "Yes, you may, Dear. Just go get somebody, if I fall or something." I sat in an identical chair, in the next room. Kitten didn't have to repeat herself, this time. Moth wanted to wait with me, as I was taught. I lifted her into my arms as I closed my eyes, and concentrated on my wants. What seemed moments later, I woke up with a sleeping child in my arms. Her head was on my chest, and I could actually see the dream she was having. She was bigger or I was smaller, and we walked through the base, hand in hand. Her happy little thoughts brightened my day, as I hugged her closer to me. Moving my head, I kissed the top of her small head. For some reason, the problem I'd had with the reactor at Pickering came into my mind, unbidden. The prints were crystal clear. Even the ones I had just glanced at, in passing. The logic controlling the reactor came next, and the patches I had put in to correct the fault. Thousands of lines of code were as clear to me, as if they were right in front of me. Safety procedures were highlighted. Then new code, in black text, over wrote much of it. Comparing the two, I saw that the new code was much more efficient. New sections were overwritten as well, until all the safety portion was redone. My understanding of the fission process was so great, that I could produce a simpler and more efficient reactor, now. New materials would have to be used that Humans were not yet aware of, and at a much lower risk level. Mathematics that I found fairly easy in my work, now seemed like child's play. Going back to the Pickering reactor in my mind, I saw better ways of handling most of the equipment, even with current technology. The 'ladder logic' came into my mind again, and I re-wrote the entire program. It took minutes. A team had taken weeks to prepare it. It was almost nineteen percent faster, and the shut down sequences were almost double the speed what they were, previously. Looking at the top of the sleeping child's head, I thought of the Tandra. Immediately; a brief history of them, and a fuller one of this base, was accessible. The Tandra were an old race, that had had a single minded fixation on their matter transmitter. Their ships were very fast, but 'a few thousand light-year trip, lasting a few days', was unacceptable. So ships went out, and built more matter transmitters, that would pass on all the signals that got to them. Travelling from one side of the galaxy, to the other, would only take little more than an hour. But here, it was not done yet. Over a third of this arm remained to be done. The ships would travel to a new system, and take hundreds of years to assemble the massive array that was needed. A truly heroic power station was needed, to drive the system. Perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic, and out near the same distance as Saturn, hung a mighty torus, the size of the Earth's moon. It was completely hidden, in a pocket situated in other dimensions. I could see the massive structure as it was taking shape, over the long years required to build it. Large arrays, more than doubled the volume that the torus proper, occupied. The testing had taken decades. Eventually, the crews were rotated home, or to new matter transmitters. Tandra men, when they first came here, went out and found small ape-like hominids. For some unknown reason, the men worked very hard on combining the DNA of both races. The effort was so great, that even male Tandra from the home world 'Tandra' made suggestions. Nothing like this effort, had ever been seen before. Their medical science was able to produce hybrid children, that grew quick and strong. They could work on all the various projects the Tandra found, that needed to be done. The new race bred true, and all children produced were assessed. If the child proved worthy, then he or she was encouraged to breed, later. Over time, the population in this enclave were intelligent enough to be taught newer and more complicated skills, necessary for the Tandra community. The male Tandra I found to be self-centred, and egotistical. Not much different to many Human males now, in fact. Through some odd quirk, they never hurt the new race. They even watched out for them, more than they did their own children. The decedents of man grew to be an important segment of the Tandra community, in this system. I saw the fast ellipsoid shaped ships, leaving the Sol system. They were returning home, in an attempt to save their race from a much more warlike aggressor, the Thonas. The matter transmitter was no longer reliable, since the signals were being purposefully scrambled by the enemy. The garrison took with them, most of the Tandra. They left only enough to watch over their assets, in this system. ------- Chapter 16 I stretched, to get more comfortable. Moth's hip was pressing down on my bladder. Holding her tightly, I got out of the chair to find out where the rest of my group was. Moth's small body repositioned to the new situation. She remained asleep now, with visions of pretty babies of her own, in the arms of her dream self. The father worked hard at a machine, trying to keep the base working. The man was forty eight years old, going gray, and just starting to get a paunch. I found Sandy walking back to get us. Susan had completed her training an hour sooner, and was waiting in a large room. In her lap, sat Cloud, who was not quite asleep yet. Chairs were all over the place. A pitiful few were occupied by our group, except for the two youngest. "Henry, wasn't that fabulous? I learned about their ESP powers, their social customs, and the way their bodies work. Did you know that the Tandra could easily break us in two. They can think better than the best computers we have on Earth. They are more like supermen, than any Human could hope to be. What did you learn?" I added, "The Tandra came to this system, to further their network of matter transmitters. The machine told me about the males producing a mixed race of intelligent workers, that were capable of continuing the transmitter system. It left unsaid why this was done. Apparently they put a lot of effort into this project." "I found out that the males are ruled more by their instincts. They can sense a high ESP potential and want to mate to improve the race. Smell has the same effect on them." "I came to the same conclusions about the females, because of the way Chris and Kitten act around me." Susan continued, "Another thing I found out, is that the males have their own families, called 'bondue'. They have sex among themselves. This is for security, the same way as females do. The males have sex as often as they can, but are done in seconds. The males look so much like the females, that I can see why the unions last. Female births outnumber males by 10 to 1. This is probably the reason this small sample of the Tandra population, are all female. And it is no wonder that the girls like you so much." I just smiled at her complement. "It always depends on how inspiring my partner is. With you, I always try my absolute best," I said I glanced at the girls working, and gathered my thoughts before continuing. "If the males are so quick, it is no wonder that the girls orgasm so fast. If they don't get their gratification almost immediately, they will not get it later. I have been thinking, that you seem to get your happy feelings much sooner, when the girls are around. This leads me to believe, that some feed back between the girls, is affecting you, too." Susan paused for a few seconds considering on my words. "I think you are right. I thought at the time, that I was just very pleased to be with you. The feelings I felt, were so much stronger than usual, and lasted much longer. Do you think it is right, what they are doing?" "The girls are just following their instincts, and are dragging you with them. I think if you asked them to, they would try to exclude you. But then we would not be as tightly knit as this family should be. The sight of them affects me, as it would any male. Their arousal is transmitted to me, and increases my own level. The feedback is tremendous. This is one of the cases where the total effect, is greater than the sum of the parts. The females have their own families, too. They are called 'candasu'. It looks like you will be invited to join a new one, now." Moments later, a tired looking Nova stood, and stretched. She walked over to where we were standing. I could feel her incredulous thoughts, as she watched me holding the sleeping child in my arms. Apparently, even this small role, was beyond what a Tandra male would do. "It is nice to see a caring male. In all the years I have lived, I have never seen one as kind and considerate as you." "Thank you for the complement, but that is the way most Human males are. There are those that care nothing for anyone else's welfare. But they, thankfully, are in the minority." Susan asked Nova about some of the things she had just found out. "Is it true that the Tandra are all very strong, can control others with their minds, and can compute faster than our quickest computers here on Earth?" "Those are a lot of things to talk about," she thought, and had a smile on her lips. "We are only a little stronger than normal Humans, but the Tandra that are crew members on a ship, or in the military, are as strong as I see your mind envisioning. The same is true about the other two topics. Only the military and crew members would be able to do those things. Some crew members are only partially enhanced, because their duties do not demand all those traits." "That is encouraging; because Henry was just pointing out how I react much more quickly now, to his touch." She looked at me and sent, "I have been communicating with the ones that you invited into your home. I see that they are very taken with both of you. They have responded to Susan, very quickly. I am amazed at how attached they have become, in so short a time. The same is true of the others here." Nova's mental volume dropped at the end, and she even dropped her eyes, when she included herself. "Nova, if I did not have my hands full at the moment, I would give you a big hug and kiss. I find all of the people around me to be the most lovable family I could ever imagine. I had many visions in my mind about proper behaviour. Your teaching machines put most of them to rest. If Susan is willing to share a little more, I will be happy to have all of you join our family." This time Nova held my face. As I bent down, she kissed me gently on the lips. Nova made me feel the same way as Susan. Both were very intelligent, sophisticated, and just plain classy. The others were just as good, but seemed to extrude a very youthful vigour. I said, "I thank you my dear, but I think you have caused me certain problems." Both woman stepped in front of me. After a silent communication, they looked at my trousers. A large bulge seemed to have formed. Susan was being very brazen, considering her usual conservative self. "I could take you over to the corner, and relieve the pressure." Before I could answer her, Nova asked Susan, "Would you actually put his penis into your mouth, and suck on it?" "Why, yes. I have done so, many times. Henry has also returned the favour. Why is this odd? I saw Chris licking both Sandy and Amy, didn't I?" "We always think of the children first, and give them their little joys. Women usually lick other women, and men never lick women at all. Children, as you have already been told, can have any type of fun together. They can also receive solace from an adult," she paused a bit. "Women never suck on a man." Susan replied, "Your men are more different than ours, than you might guess. I just learned that your men have a very hard penis made of cartilage. It has almost no nerve endings. Only the clusters of nerves in the little cusps, give them any gratification. Henry has a large sensitive penis, that is even more sensitive at the end and underside, much like your urethra." It felt odd to be discussed like a prize bull at a cattle auction. My erection went down, as I continued to listen to the conversation. "Henry also has a much longer penis than Tandra males. It can reach further into a Tandra woman, to stimulate the nerve clusters closer to her womb. Because his penis is not very hard; it can flex, and move around all the clusters, without hurting them. This, on the other hand, will give the woman the maximum stimulation." "That may be so. But it is necessary that I find out for myself. May I see how you accomplish the job you mentioned earlier?" I was so stunned by the way the conversation was going, that I said nothing. Susan undid my pants, and pulled them down with my underwear. My erection had come back, full force. Susan had previously lowered Cloud to the floor, and both watched as Susan swallowed my cock after only a few strokes. I could not move with the burden I was carrying. After a second or two, had no wish to. My legs felt weak, but I held as firm as I could. My eyes closed as I savoured the beautiful sensations coming to me, from Susan's mouth. She held my legs to keep me steady, while she lovingly licked the head and underside with her tongue. She continued her licking, and now sent, "Look into his mind and see how much he enjoys this. Now that I have met the Tandra, I get much more aroused when they are around," she moved to a better position, and continued. "I am almost ready to cum now, by feeling what he feels. Are you not feeling the same thing?" Nova did not have to think hard, for I could feel the waves coming off her and rebounding even more strongly from me. "Yes, it is true. I have never felt this aroused, when one of my sisters was having an orgasm." She could hardly get the thought out of her mind, for the state she was in. "May I try? I have never even seen this done before," Nova sent. I opened my eyes, to see her taking Susan's place. She placed the head in front of her mouth and licked me, just as she kissed, in her fashion. The intimacy that I had felt before, grew to almost a painful level. I was very close to firing when Nova stopped, overcome with her own orgasm from the feedback she was getting. Susan held her closely, as she recovered a little. The stunned woman, after a moment, was helped into a nearby chair. Susan gave her a kiss, and came back to me. "Now it's time to finish the job," Susan said, as she resumed her position. All work had stopped, as the women and girls watched her suck on my throbbing cock. She worked quickly to finish me off. I wanted to put Moth down to hold Susan's face, to make the agony last. But this was not to be, as I roared vocally. This stunned the girls, for they got on their knees facing away from me, and I felt their arousal heightening my own. I shot volley after volley into Susan's mouth. She only missed some of the first, as I pulled too far out, and that ran down her cheek. Susan continued to nurse my member, as it slowly deflated. I wanted to desperately put the now awake Moth down, and have a seat. I needed to recover from the unbelievable sensations, that still ran through my body. Susan gave me a chance to rest. I could see that she'd had her own orgasm, along with her sisters. She recovered though, and went over to Nova, and kissed her Human style. The shocked woman did not know what was happening, when Susan's tongue pushed some of my essence into her mouth. Looking into Nova's turmoil ridden mind, I saw her taste the offering, and go for more. Susan was happy to share with her. They hugged and caressed each other, as Humans would do. I came to a new understanding of what I saw. The girls affected both Susan's and my level of sexual energy. The reverse was also the case. We had infected them, with a very strong dose of Earth eroticism. Moments later, Cloud pushed between the adults. They parted, as they always did with a child's wants. Cloud saw the discolouration on Susan cheek, and knew it for what Nova was after. Cloud stuck out her tongue, and cleaned Susan cheek. Then she tried an Earth type kiss, which Susan returned as carefully as she could, to the four year old looking child. Cloud's mind was riding piggy back on the minds of the others in the room. She was highly aroused, as they all were. Looking down to the now squirming little girl in my arms, I saw her look up at me, with the same look all the others had. I bent forward, to put the child on her feet. But she reached up, and wrapped her hands around my neck, holding tight. "You are going to have to let go, Honey. My pants are around my ankles. I can't move, and I might fall on you." "Let me pick them up for you." I put her on the floor, she picked up my underwear. Before I knew what was to happen, her small hand wrapped around my flaccid cock. She sucked the tip into her tiny mouth, getting a small taste. I was shocked, and was about to explain how little girls were not supposed to do such things. Then I remembered the things I learned from the machine. Children were given everything they wanted, but never became spoiled. The second thing was; that everything sexual was acceptable, if the child initiated it. However, children had never done this to an adult, before. "Thank you, Sweetie. But I think that is very clean, already." Moth stopped her licking, removed her hand, and continued pulling my underwear the rest of the way up. She returned for my pants. She watched intently, as she saw how my pants were closed, and the fly raised. I picked her back up, because I felt her insecurity at possibly doing something wrong. It was obvious that she was able to read some of my original thoughts. Beside me, I saw Susan and Nova remain still, as Cloud continued showering Tandra kisses. There was now much more intense erotic feelings, than there would have been only a day ago. In a way, I felt like the snake in the garden of Eden. It definitely was a two way street, as the two cultures merged. Moth squirmed, and I read that she needed to pee. "Ok, Sweetie. Where is the bathroom?" I was guided by the images in her mind, until we came to a room far from the rest. Just as I entered, I knew something was wrong. Small piles of shit were all in one corner, and the air was heavy with the smell. It never occurred to me that the sanitary system would be down, as well. I had no inclination to add to the mess already there. I would have to get a chemical toilet, if the problem could not be fixed soon. "Sweetie, can you hold on for a while longer? I would like to take you home with me. I could show you how we live." The discomfort was not that great. Most of the discomfort, was in the way I held her. Returning to the group, I took more notice of the walls and floors, as we retraced our steps. Symbols on the floors and walls were faded, but still legible. But they were not understandable to me, as yet. Coming back into the large room, I saw the girls all clustered around Susan and Nova. I could feel the love coming from the group, as I could feel the sun on a warm day. "If all of you can take a break, let's leave here and go to the house. We will have another meal, and get some rest. I think all of you need that. We will find some place more comfortable to sleep, too." Nova, seeming to be the group spokesperson, sent, "That would be nice. The images of Kitten's cozy accommodations, make me envious. It has been a very long time since I was last out of the base. The others have never left its safety. Could you take us as you did Kitten, so we do not see all the open space?" "That I can do. It is cool outside. Is there something to wear that will keep you warm?" I felt an eager assent. We travelled as a group to another area, filled with all sorts of equipment. "What is all this equipment for?" Blue, who had not talked too much before, answered, "The base was originally set up to support the mining operation. That, in turn, helped to build the matter transmitter. The machines here, went throughout the system, and brought back the necessary ores. Other machines here, burrowed into the planet, to extract what was available in the planet's crust. It is part of my job description, to service them. All of them have been idle for a long time, and I have never had to do any repairs yet. Most are useless now, since time has destroyed some of their delicate components, and there is no longer any mining occurring." "Do you mean to tell me, that some of these machines can travel into space?" "Yes. Most are only computer controlled. But some are made for personnel, and others can accommodate them, along with their other duties." I felt like a boy, who was just released into the largest, and most spectacular toy shop he had ever seen. Walking over to the machines, my hands caressed the perfect surfaces that greeted me. These machines had flown thousands if not millions of kilometres from Earth, or maybe kilometres into the Earth. All in search of elusive treasures, to build the matter transmitter, and further their race's obsession. I was still in awe, as I walked around the machines, trying to determine their functions and capabilities. It must have been more than ten minutes later, that I saw all the girls looking at me strangely. I could only smile at my own preoccupation, and walk over to join them. All of the Tandra now wore copies of the small box that Kitten wore, when I first saw her. It was actually Susan that answered my unspoken question. "The boxes can make a shield around each of them. It can be used as a space suit, or for any hazardous environment. If they wear an additional box under it, the matter transmitter can replenish all the food, air, and water, that they need. But the base matter transmitter is not working, yet." I called up the pictures I saw of the space suits, Humans now used. Since my mind now worked much better after the session in the educator, probable plans for the Earth designs popped into my head, but none came for the small box. "I was given a very extensive course in physics, less than an hour ago. Why is it that I could not think of how the machines or the boxes work?" I could hear some soundless chuckles directed at me. "What's so funny? I am trying to help you, and you just laugh at my attempts?" Kitten recovered very quickly, and said, "I am sorry to make fun of your statement. The tutor mainly adjusted your thinking processes, to work more efficiently. The education you received, was what a young child would get. There is much more to learn, for you to understand the Tandra, and our physics." This once again put me firmly back on Earth. Being good here, was not necessarily the same as being good in the base. "I am sorry I got angry. I just thought I was getting a handle on how things worked." "That is true. I noticed that you remained in the chair for a long time. It is usually the case for the machine, only to feed you what you can assimilate. Looking into your mind, I see that you have accomplished very much. Your mind is now much more orderly. It will not be long until you know all that we know." "Thank you for the understanding, and the encouragement. I want to learn as much as I can, and start work on the base. Then I want to work on these vehicles. You have no notion, of how much, the idea of space travel holds my imagination." She held my arm, as we all started walking back the way we had come. "I see in your mind, that you are very fascinated by these machines. Why don't you look at the tug we have. It is slow, but has made many trips out to the Oort Cloud, and back." "You have a ship here?" I was dumbfounded. "Does it still work? What power source does it use? How big is it? Where is it?" The procession stopped again. They felt my excitement, and wanted to see what had caused it. Blue came back, and held my other arm, to get me moving. She sent, "I have never been out of the atmosphere, or out of this base, for that matter. But I am nominally in charge of all the mining equipment. We have many things in the archives that show space travel, and the operation of the equipment. I am sure that the teaching machines will give you all the information you could ever ask for. I had hopes of one day going to the lunar base, and maybe even using the matter transmitter." I felt a little sorry for Blue, because I had been all over the Earth. When I was her age, I was being shot at in Nam. She had a lot of authority, for such a young age. Yet no chance, previously, of using any of it. She must have been reading my mind because she said, "You are under a misapprehension. I am almost two hundred and thirty of your years old. I was born over a million of your years ago. Only Nova, as you call her, is older. She actually saw the original base in operation, before the great exodus." I looked at Blue, and then at Nova, who had turned to listen to our conversation. They both looked about seventeen, or possibly nineteen, but not older. "Nova how old are you?" "I am about three hundred and thirty of your years old I am not sure, but I could go into the records, and be more accurate. As Blue said, I saw the base disband, and close down. I remember seeing my mother leave, to do what she could, to save those on our home world." She paused, thinking about her past, and her lost mother. It could be seen that she would cry if given half a chance, but she pulled herself together, and continued. "We worked on various projects. I was ordered to shut down many of the smaller bases, scattered across your planet, and throughout the system. I either piloted, or was flown, in many of those devices we just left. Over the years, I was awoken as needed, to do my duty. One of which, was to have children. I have lost many over the years. Some of my children were born at the time your people helped us, in building the matter transmitter, almost two and a half million years ago. I have not seen any of my children, since they grew old enough to leave me. We have always been separated by the stasis pods, and time." It was my turn again to feel bad, dredging up all this sorrow. I had no idea about all the problems time displacement could have on a family. Perhaps if I got the base up and running, all of the sleepers could be awoken to a fully functional base. Nova hugged me, as I felt her sob. "Thank you for that thought, but I do not think any of that is possible." "You can never tell. If the base needed all the personnel to be awake and contributing, then you could meet your children. Or in this case, your descendants. I will do my best to get the base that way." Then, looking at the young looking woman who appeared nineteen at the most, and in a definite need of cheering up, I said, "I have never made love with a great grandmother yet." "There are two here. Blue or I would be very happy to teach you anything you need to know." I knew that the Tandra women were usually unassertive, unless they were the head of the family. Hiding this thought, I said, "I am only forty eight. Perhaps later, you could teach me some of what you know." She giggled like a little girl, which pleased me immensely. When we got to the culvert, we got dressed again. I helped Chris through first, then passed her the battery cart. I helped each person through, and came through last, followed only by Dog. I wondered about the conservative group of women we left, and I could feel them wanting to cause as much mischief as they could, in our absence. Dog rushed over to a nearby rock and lifted his leg. For a half wolf mix, he was starting to become very domesticated. ------- Chapter 17 Before pulling back the tarp covering the mine entrance, I heard the unmistakable sound of an outboard motor. I pulled the covering came back slowly and very carefully. I saw not only a boat, but three canoes, paddling up the river. These were hunters. For the good weather had ended, and moose season had just started. "There are some people on the river. It may be better to wait. They may see some beautiful nude ladies leaving the mine, and come to investigate." A moment of silent communication ensued, to which I was not privy. All the newcomers joined hands with Chris. Then they disappeared from sight. I stared in amazement, and felt Susan's astonishment too. It did not take me long to recover. I was beginning to take this sort of thing in stride, no matter how weird things got. I carried the box containing the babies, and Susan helped Kitten down the incline. I didn't know for sure if she really needed the help, even if she had just had triplets. The boat went around the bend, and the canoeists were paddling away from us. Taking small careful steps, I walked down the slope. Kitten and Susan were just behind me. Chris was taking small steps, and stopping until everybody behind her had completed their own steps. Kitten said to me, "They have shut off all light entering their suits. They are essentially blind, and must feel their way." When Chris got onto the level section, I asked all of the girls to become visible again, because we were below the tops of the trees and could not be seen by any on the river. Most of the newcomers cringed at the wide-open space, and immediately closed their eyes, or made their suits impenetrable to light and thus blind. "Just keep your eyes closed or your suits opaque, and I will help you into the back of the truck." Once all but Kitten and the babies were in the back, I did up the tailgate, and loaded the front seat with the precious box, and Kitten. Dog ran behind the truck because he had no room to get in. He didn't seem to understand, there appeared to be a lot of vacant space in the back. I heard in my mind, Susan talking to the rest. She was discussing the experience we were going to have, in driving the truck on the road back to the house. Once back, Susan went into the house first. She shut all the blinds she could, to help the new people adjust to the new surroundings. Kitten started to prepare the feeders. Chris took the youngsters to the washroom to explain its use. Susan took Nova and Blue around the house, explaining everything, for all was strange to them. After the youngsters were finished using the toilet, and the bidet, they found the other adults, and continued with the tour. I had time to actually open a beer, and sit in my chair, watching the now dying coals, in the fire place. Eventually, Moth and Cloud came over to see what I was doing. "Why are you wearing these?" Moth asked. I saw that the question was completely innocent of guile. Kitten and Chris had removed all their own clothes, soon after entering, except for their new lingerie. Susan was back to bare skin. I gave a little groan. I got up, entered the bedroom, removed my clothes, and put them away. The young girls had entered with me. The others clustered around the doorway, trying to see what they could. I straightened up the room, planning where to put the mattresses tonight. It was very fortunate that the room was so large. All the girls were fascinated with certain portions of my anatomy, that were different from theirs. I caught small thoughts of height, hair, eyes, muscle structure, and of course my genitals. After seeing my cock in the base, they were trying to deduce the purpose of my scrotum, and all the surrounding hair. When I passed them, my scent sent them off. I could almost see the reaction spread like wild fire. One girl was feeding the next, and getting the amplified signal coming back, to be re-amplified. This reminded me of a microphone being put too close to an output speaker. This had its effect on me to. It was difficult to push their thoughts out of my mind, and try to put a barrier up. My mind was effective enough to use the old ways to keep me from having an erection at an embarrassing time, but only just. The room was warm, but still not up to the Tandra standard. I reached into a wicker basket, and removed some thin strips of dry wood. The tinder was put on the old coals, and then larger pieces of white birch on those. The chair, and my beer still beckoned me. The chair felt much different on bare skin, because I never had sat on it without clothes before. Moth and Cloud scrambled over, and invited themselves up into my lap. I moved them to a leg each, and they could almost sit beside me. The girls' attention was on me, until the kindling lit, and crackled. Tiny flames worked their way up the white birth logs. They turned their heads in awe, to see the small flames, and the long streamers of white smoke rise. The characteristic aroma of the smoke filled the room. As others looked at the strange sight, I could see how they were becoming mesmerized by its beauty. I had visions of my ancestors, crouching around just such a fire. It seemed to radiate safety and peace, as well as warmth. Kitty, the third youngest, was about to touch the fire, to see how real it was. "Kitty, Honey, the fire will hurt you, if you touch it. If you stay close, sometimes hot sparks pop out, and would hurt you too. We all used to rely on fire. Many houses still only have wood to heat their homes. Why don't you come over here, and sit on my lap and watch?" The little girl climbed onto my lap and got comfortable as she lay back onto my chest. I was not much of a story teller, so I visualized my earliest ruminations of ever coming to this area as a child. My aunt showing me all the trails, and all the sign to look for. Fawns appeared in the spring, and deer could always be found. She was always telling me about the birds, and how to distinguish them apart. Sitting in the boat fishing with my uncle. The unexpected tugs on the line, that got my young heart beating strongly. Late at night over an open fire, cooking the trout to perfection, with only a little salt. The love we shared, as Uncle Jake taught me all his secret places to fish, the techniques he used. As if passing down his legacy. Then how Aunt Harriet would tuck me in on a cold night after a meal she had prepared, that was impossible to taste any better. The cast iron stove in the corner, making the house warm enough, but sending out the scent of burning white birch bark. The roof hammering, as large drops of rain struck it and the windows. The coal oil lamps that only stayed on a while, as they read or talked. Soon they would go out, too. The feeling of belonging was still strong within my breast, even after all these years. When school started I was heart broken to leave the lakes, rivers, trails, and the people I had grown to love so much. I remember leaving, with tears in all our eyes, and an ache in my chest. On the bus home, I would think of all the things I learned and felt, during that first magical summer. Stepping off the bus, to be picked up and swung around by my dad as he hugged me. His beard was scratchy on my cheek. This lasted only long enough till mom would take me from his arms, and swing me too. The soft touch of her skin, and the smell of her perfume, made me feel home once again. She told me how much both of them had missed me. I was very lucky to be loved by so many people, that I cried with the intense feeling of youth, getting my blazer wet, and my sleeve covered with snot. Dad was a mechanic. He was never too busy to show me what he was doing, and how the machine worked. I remember when I took apart the lawn mower engine. I sent the block out to be bored, ordered a new piston and rings, before reassembling it. His pride made me so happy. He told all his friends what I had done, with only a little help from him. Mom was unlike most of the mothers of her day. Instead of staying home, and looking after her only child, she was an RN at a hospital, in Toronto. Though her schedule was hectic, Dad and I worked around it as best we could. We would go out to parks and play ball. Sometimes, we would have a picnic after, on the grass. There was never a time I felt I was not loved by both. I remembered our old neighbourhood. Tall old trees, with large brick homes lining the streets. Children my own age, and even older, followed my lead no matter what it was. Mom would get me to clean up all the paper, and refuse on the streets. Even when it was under the bushes. She would treat us to cookies and lemonade, if she were home. Other times the gang would come over at my house for a meal, and a sleep over. We made our neighbourhood a community. Even the parents would band together, some times, to help our group. Once a fire partially damaged a home. The rest of us put up the family, until the house was rebuilt. There was never any problem about the parents and children being separated, for they knew they were close, and well cared for. We all played hockey, baseball and soccer, I became fascinated with karate as well. Usually we formed our own teams, and took on all comers. I visualized my days at school, and how I got along with almost everybody. My joy was studying, and getting the top marks in every class I attended. Some friends in my class needed help, and I tried as diplomatically as possible to get them to understand the lesson. Then the day when a much older bully was attacking Terry, my best friend. He was a small and very shy boy, of six. The bully demanding his ball, and hitting him, when he didn't get it fast enough. I didn't remember much about my actions, but the bully was on the ground, bleeding and cowering from the other six year old boy, above him. From that day on; bullies seemed to instinctively avoid me, the same way all the shy boys seemed to gather around. The girls my age came around as well, trying to make friends with the leader of our motley band. Chiku was a dark skinned Nigerian girl. She was the daughter of a doctor who was studying, before returning to his homeland. She taught me how to run like the wind, and especially how to kiss. I was heartbroken, when she had to leave, after only a year on our street. Other girls later took her place, and I became quite well known for my kissing ability. When I was eight or so, I seemed to loose interest in girls. We were still friends, but a boy my own age seemed to draw me to him. Before I knew what was happening, we were experimenting in sex, or as much as eight year olds could. Sammy would love to suck on my little prick, and I would enjoy the attention, too. At that age, we never had a real orgasm, but the stimulation was enough. After hearing some of the rowdier boys talk about what they heard about anal sex, I was eager to try it. Sammy was even more willing to bend over, and allow me to finger him, then push my short little pecker into his ass after we started. When I was thirteen, Uncle Jake died. I watched as the casket was lowered into the frozen ground. Mom and Aunt Harriet held onto one another, and managed the best they could. Aunt Harriet, outright refused to stay with us in Toronto, preferring the property, that had passed down through our family's hands, from way back. Sammy drifted off to older boys, able to make him happier. Sports kept me occupied in his absence, until I recovered my interest in girls. Mother, was astute enough to see all the girls wanting to be with me. She got dad to give me 'a talk about the birds and the bees'. I think he secretly envied me, and my prowess. Many girls lost their virginity to me. I never pushed, and gave them as much enjoyment, as they gave me, treating each with as much love as dad treated mom. There were so many that came over, but never did they make a fuss, about being my only girlfriend. I had let them know in advance, that I loved them all, and would not play favourites. I seemed to go out with a girl for a week, and then go to the next. After five or so weeks, I would go back with the first again, and repeat the sequence. This was only broken for their birthdays, and special occasions. The girls eventually banded together, to work out for themselves, where I would go next. Some girls I found, needed help, and my girls gave it willingly. Sometimes their abusive boyfriends needed to have an attitude adjustment. It didn't matter how old or how big they were, they eventually fell before me. Mother was used to patching up the cuts, bruises and other forms of trauma on me. In her official capacity as a nurse for my opponents, she said virtually nothing. Again the boys learned that the girls I favoured, were safe, and I was prepared to make it that way, no matter what happened to me. All this happened before I was even able to produce sperm. After that fact, dad would secretly give me condoms. This was against all rules, in those days. It was assumed, that if we had no protection, we would not do anything. Mom eventually got wind of the arrangement, and only asked questions about the amount, that was necessary for my needs. She once said, "Perhaps we should buy them by the case, and save a little money." Other members of our band, started to find girls of their own, and the time dedicated to sports, dropped dramatically. My girls were reluctant to leave me, for a boy of their own, knowing that I loved each of them. They also knew that I left other girls alone, so that I could spend time with the six in my little harem. Some of their parents moved away for different work, and I only had four left, when I finished high school in grade thirteen. I had skipped a few grades, but that never seemed to matter much. It was me leaving for university, that put the most strain on our relationship. I was a year and a bit into university, when I felt the call to join the American effort in Viet Nam. It was the end of 1968, when it became too much for me, and I had just turned eighteen. Mom and Dad were against me going, as all parents would be. I explained how I wanted to help, and learn, at the same time. They reluctantly agreed to my arguments, even though they were deathly afraid something was going to happen to me. During training, and after, I made friends, and watched some of my new friends die. I was promoted quickly, and found myself in charge of men, while in the field. I could see some of the good times, and bad, and not all were in the country side. There were occasions, when I had to pull my own men out of fights, in the bars or brothels. I could see in my mind's eye, some of the girls in the brothels. They wore next to nothing, to lure the soldiers into the bar, to buy them watered down drinks. And, a chance to relieve their tension, as well as their wallets. I preferred the villages, where the girls were cleaner, and the booze was native, but at least honest. Many girls came to me for money or food. After knowing me, they stayed, because they liked the way I treated them. One village had a boy that reminded me of Sammy, and did the same services for me. Until he stepped on a mine, a few months later. I cried with his parents, as the body was placed into the ground. My own men would sympathize with me, then laugh, as I got all the 'Dear John' letters from my old girlfriends. We stuck together as a well-versed team, especially after my instinct for traps, saved our lives, many times. I could see now the young faces of the men, not much older that me, coolly and proficiently killed, the Cong. Looking at the dead or captured enemy, I did not see much difference at all. My parents were proud of my accomplishments. They displayed my awards, citations, and medals to all their friends, and to my old gang. After re-enlisting, I was given even more men to lead, and have killed. Part of the old platoon re-enlisted to stay with me, even though they could go home to friends and family. I was a father figure, that was sometimes younger, than the son. In times of trouble, I would do my best to work things out with their family, or the ever present military. In one village, I met a pair of bright young newlyweds. Their friends and immediate family were mostly dead or scattered, and it looked that they would be next. The woman was very beautiful. If she had not been married, I would have courted her myself. Instead, I got my parents help, and had them accepted into Canada as immigrants. Later when I returned home, they sent me a picture of their daughter. It still sits in my wallet, as one of my prize possessions. In another village close by, I fell in love with Tuyen. After her death, I went crazy with my grief. The men under my command, made a very impressive body count, but I was not satisfied. I would go out, on my own time, and kill all those, I thought might be responsible. The only thing, that saved my life, was that the end of my second hitch coming up. That, and the death of my parents. It was difficult to leave my friends, the land that I had come to love, and come back to Canada. The military discharged me a little sooner than scheduled, so I could attend the funeral. I knew better than to try re-enlisting again. I left with more useless awards, and memorabilia, to start a new life for myself. My parents' funeral filled the church to capacity, with all their friends, and mine. I held Aunt Harriet, trying to comfort her, at her loss of a sister, and brother-in-law. She had not been doing well, and I could see the effects on her. Again; she refused to stay in Toronto with me, preferring the north, which we both loved. I moved to the states, and went back to university. It was easy and dull, after being shot at for a living. I made up for it, by being the student to graduate with the highest marks in engineering that the school had that year. My accomplishments in karate, earned me many titles as well. I met and helped a few women. They stayed on. They took the place of the ones I left in high school, and at my pre-Nam university. Before my final year, Aunt Harriet had fallen ill. I had to help the frail, prematurely old, woman into a health care facility. Months later she died. I had no family left, now. Tears came to my eyes, as I saw the frail woman languish away, because of her refusal to leave the land she loved. I made frequent trips to Montréal, after graduating, to see Tran Van Duc, his beautiful wife Le Thi Lam, and their even more beautiful baby: Susan. They seemed to become my family, even though I was only a year older than the parents. I set up my own business in the north to be near where I thought I should be. I think the only reason they moved to North Bay, was to be near me, in the land I'd talked about so much. I saw Susan as much as I could, guiding her to become a success, at anything she wanted. My love for her was boundless. I stopped my wool gathering, to see all the faces turned to me. I had not meant to think of all the things, I had kept hidden for so long. The young girls were either on the floor, or my lap. The older ones were standing, looking at me with something like awe in their faces. I had no idea what brought this about, and I felt uncomfortable, under their scrutiny. Susan, now seeing that I had come out of my recollections, ran to me, and hugged me from behind the chair. I could hear her sobs, as she relived the past with me, and all the trials I had gone through. I had previously only told her only a sanitized version of my past. It was good, that I had really just skimmed over the really gory parts, or not gone into them at all. She said, "Why didn't you tell me all of this, before?" "It is not my way to lay my burden on anyone else's shoulders. I could hardly tell you that I loved your mother, before you were born. I did tell you once, how I killed men, that had murdered a girl I loved, before you." To be truthful I did not know why I felt compelled to unburden myself at this time. The girls all looked at us, no doubt weighting my sins, and judging me. "Do not concern yourself with us judging you, for we already know you, for what you are. We would have no other male, before you," Nova said with real conviction. She must have sent something to the others, for they all came over to the chair to hold, or at least touch, me. They all tried to reassure me, as best they could. The closeness made me feel better. But the three little girls in my lap, could get hurt if someone stumbled and fell on them. "Thank you for your encouragement. I didn't mean to bring out my dirty laundry, to show to you. But it is better being out in the open, now. Besides, it would be hard to hide it from a community that can read my thoughts. Let's get up, and make dinner. I am getting hungry." Susan and I made dinner, keeping in mind their preference for bland food. Sandy, and the other girl roughly her age, Star; did most of the work. Susan acted as 'mother', teaching her daughters how to prepare a meal. The meal was definitely unexceptional, but we praised the girls for their work, anyway. The phone rang, just as we were finishing. The answering machine had been handling all the calls up to this time, and I had not even looked to see who had called. "Hello." "Hello, yourself, Henry. I have been calling you for over three days now. Are you all right?" "Yes I am, Blair. Just doing some research on the reactors. I found that I may have to go back to school for a course or two." "That's great, because we are having a recurring problem in number two reactor. Why do you want to go back to school? I know of no other person that can handle the jobs we give you, in the time taken. Didn't the University of Waterloo want you to teach some of the things you have found?" "The courses I was thinking of taking, would be in nuclear physics, and math. And yes, they did offer me a job. I am not ready to start teaching that sort of stuff, yet. By the way I found the problem with the reactor, and completely re-wrote the control sequence. It is almost twenty percent faster, and the shutdown can be speeded up by almost the same amount." "That is fantastic! How did you do it? We bought the present program, and it cost a bundle. NuTech had ten people working over three months, developing it. They took another three, testing it." "Hang on a little," I laughed, thinking of his consternation. "I can get the program over to you in a few days. You can go over it, with the rest of the department. Why don't you hire NuTech, to see if they can find any flaws?" "That's great. What can you do for us now? We are losing millions." I brought up the logic in my mind. I saw the seven simple patches, that would be required to get them safely through the present emergency. If I flew there now, I could be there and back, in four hours. A few minutes to input the data, and a few hours to hold their hands, while they found out the patches were working correctly. "Well, Blair. I can fly down, if you have the strip at the station cleared. I will institute the changes, and stay till all the engineers are up to speed with it." Thinking of the patches, I saw that they would not give much improvement, other than correcting the coolant problem. "The problem will be fixed, that I guarantee you. However the fix will only improve efficiencies a few percent." "Shit! All I wanted, was to keep the reactor from shutting down every few days. You are going to make the programming more efficient, too? I can't believe it." "I can be there at nine o'clock, tonight. Would you get the engineers prepared for when I alter the main program." "Oh, they will be there. Or they will be looking for another job! What is this going to cost us?" "I could hold you to a ransom of over a million. But, if you buy the program I have devised, I will make it only a hundred thousand now. Plus having the plane refuelled, of course. "One hundred thousand!" Blair exclaimed. The bargaining went on for ten minutes. This was an old game with us. At the end, I got fifty thousand. Which was the figure I really wanted, in the first place. When the conversation was over. I turned to my new family. "I will be gone till tomorrow afternoon. I will be doing some shopping in the morning. It will be sent up by truck, if there is too much to carry. You can take the Sears catalogue, and look for things you would like. I will phone tomorrow, and you can tell me what you want." Susan was excited at the prospect of shopping for her new family. Her excitement seemed to carry over to the others. They opened the book, and Susan went through each of the pages, describing what the articles were for. A few times, I heard Nova or Blue thinking that the product was silly. I silently agreed, with most of their comments. I got ready myself, in the meantime. I phoned North Bay Airport, because we were too low for direct radio contact. Permission was easily granted for the flight. All the girls were lined up at the door, waiting for me to leave. In a way, it reminded me of a gauntlet that I would be forced to run, or forfeit my life. The looks on their respective faces, told me otherwise. I started kissing. Moth, then Cloud, Kitty, Topaz, Amy, Star, Sandy, Chris, Blue, Nova, were held and kissed, and last of all, Susan. "Be good tonight girls. I will be counting on you to give me the shopping lists, tomorrow, at eight o'clock. I love you all." I was thinking to myself, very clearly, that I did love them all. Even the ones I'd had hardly any contact with. I was wished a safe trip, too. All were crying, as if I was never going to come back. Some good things were subject to the feedback, and some of the not so nice things, as well. The trip was almost two hours, even in the Turbo Beaver. The six vacant seats behind me, plus the co-pilot's seat, reminded me that I was alone for the first time in days. I radioed ahead to Pickering, just a bit east of Toronto. They turned on the lights at their small private strip. Joe Mancuso met me at the door of the plane and escorted me through security for the usual red tape, and dosimeter. We entered a boardroom with a large projector unit, hooked to a computer. We all sat in comfortable chairs, as I told them in words, what I was trying to accomplish. After finding that nothing new had been added on the hardware side, I went through the logic on the large screen. I pointed out a minor change, that should have been documented and approved, in advance. In a simulated mode, I changed the code in the seven points that needed it. "There you are. Take a look at it, and tell me what you think. There are a few tricks here, that I don't think anyone has tried before." Joe asked, with wonder in his voice, "How the fuck did you do that? You breezed through the logic as if you were a computer, and found a small discrepancy. Then, to write from memory, all those lines of code." I looked at him, and since I hated to lie, I said, "I have been working on this program for a while, now. I know it better than most, so that is why I saw the alteration so easily. Another program is on the way in a few days, with a faster response time in everything. Especially in the shut-down sequences." "Did you make that too?" "Yes, I did. That, and another important event, have been keeping me busy." "What was that?" "I am going to be made into an honest man pretty soon. I need to do some shopping for the family, now. I just can't wait around, like I did before." "She must be some woman, to do that to you." "That is for sure," I said. Then, trying to steer the conversation away from me, I said, "While the other guys go over the changes, you can tell me about Margaret, and the kids." I usually remembered the people I worked with, and their families. This time, I found I could look into Joe's mind. With some difficulty, I could see that his oldest boy was accepted into a good road team. He would play hockey with the better players, in many cities. I smiled as he told me the latest, saving the point that was dearest to his heart, for the last. I congratulated him and his son, on the fine effort he must have put out, to get onto the team. The program was put through a simulator without any problems at all. I spent the next four hours, going through the points that I thought should be covered. I pointed out my innovations, and how they worked. When an engineer did not understand something, I stayed on that point, till everybody had cleared that particular hurdle. This was easier, when I could see into the thought processes of those I was talking to. Most of them would not like to admit to not understanding, and wanted to brazen it out, instead. After the meeting ended, I retired to a room with a cot, that I had used many times before. They actually left me alone, until seven the next morning, when the next shift of engineers started arriving. Blair had called a few times during the night, and had gotten running updates on the improvements. Everyone seemed to be happy at the outcome. There was, of course, another meeting. There, I explained again, my improvements. The engineers had been already briefed, so the time taken was short. I was able to make the eight o'clock phone call, only ten minutes late. Thursday September 27 "Hello, Darling. How is everybody?" "Just tired. You would not believe all the work we did, finding all the things we need." "There is a fax next to me here. Why don't you use the other line? You can send me the lists you made." While Susan recorded the number, and sent the fax, she continued speaking on the phone. "You started a precedent, when you cleaned the girls' bottoms. I had to clean all of them. Twice, in fact. Even the older ones liked the treatment, when I did it for them. The young girls worked on us in the night, too." I used my mind and tried to read hers, from almost three hundred and fifty kilometres away. I could see the girls sucking on her breasts, to try to get milk to flow. She got turned on. This was not a bad thing, but the feeling spread to the others. Before she knew it, everybody wanted to have sex. The children were used to getting an adult to please them, or to do it among themselves. This time the adults did it, and were aroused themselves. Blue was embarrassed that she let herself go, that way. It had never happened before, to the adults. When the children were satisfied, the adults turned on each other. This was normal. Hours later, the adults eventually slumped into sleep. Their orgasms were the strongest and longest they'd had, to date. Susan continued, saying, "Then things got out of hand. I don't know what you are going to think of me, but I was bad." I interrupted her, and said, "Susan, honey? Stretch out your mind, and try to find me if you can." After a moment, she said, "Oh, you already know," then a pause, "and you approve. You don't know how relieved I feel, now. I was afraid you would be angry at me." "I have loved you since you were born. How could I ever not want you? Last night, you found out about some of my past. Do you think all of those feelings have gone?" To put this conversation in perspective, "I am glad to find someone else, to help me keep the rest of us happy. Think of it from my point of view. I am getting older, and need some help with the rest of our family. I could not think of a more caring person than you, to do that." "I feel happy you said that. I had a very bad time with my conscience." "You have nothing to fear. Give my love to all, and I will be home when I have finished the shopping," I said with my voice. I didn't want people to see me just holding a phone. Finishing work, I borrowed a company car. I drove around, trying to fill Susan's requests, and some of my own. I made quite a sight, going through the girl's departments. I picked out pajamas and slippers, for all of my girls. The list had underwear. I was going to have to just guess at the sizes, and hope the ones made for human anatomy would fit. The inflatable pads, for the loungers, were easier. An outfitter had good self inflating mattresses, that could be attached to the chair frames, with duct tape. A specialty baby store in Toronto, sold me all the diapers for preemies, that I wanted. They were even more helpful, when I said that they were for my triplets. Other things in the store caught my eye. I had to get them, too. A bassinette; plastic chairs that held the babies, and reclined on the table. Then; all the bowls, cups, spoons, and the rest of the things needed, for babies of that size and age. A grocery store caught my eye. I stopped in to find some treats, and some staples, to feed my much larger family. I also got various items to feed the other girls in the base, that were not ready to accept me, yet. The last thing that caught my attention on the fax, was the movie "E.T.". I did not even own a DVD player. This I picked up, along with some previously viewed movies, from Block Buster. I was quite lucky that all of this would still fit in the plane, after I bought more food. Everybody who had warm clothing, met me at the dock. They wanted to help unload, and see what I had bought, even Dog. I was hugged by each, and given a kiss of welcome. Dog thankfully was last in line to give me his kiss, too. I kept two boxes sealed, as I walked to the house. In the house, the clothes were thrown off, and the new pajamas and underwear were tried on. I felt more like a father, than a husband. I saw the youngest ones parade around in their new attire. Susan had them put their clothes away, in their own places. This was good, or things would get out of hand, very quickly. The meal was almost ready. Kitten could tell where I was, with her mind, and had placed me on a map with her finger. We used the large dining room table, this time. Sandy and Star were the oldest of the youngsters. They served us our meal, as part of their training. We were all pleased with their efforts. They, themselves, were the most pleased of all of us. I thought back to when I had nobody living with me. There was a great deal of freedom, and a great amount of loneliness, to go with it. Trading in a portion of my freedom, I now saw, was one of the best deals I had ever made in my life. I looked up at the cessation of noise, and saw everybody staring at me. I guess I had been broadcasting again. Nova seemed a little choked up, at my thoughts. "Susan was describing where you were going, and what you were doing. When she told us of the aeroplane you were travelling in, Blue and I became concerned. That machine can drop out of the air at any moment. You went to a place with radiation, and very little shielding. What would we do without you?" "Thank you for your concern, but the Beaver is one of the most airworthy planes around, and Pickering is very safe." "It may be good, but only by the standards of your planet. I want you to allow us to put some safety features in the plane, when the present emergency is over. Also, there is a suit that you can wear under your clothes, that will block the harmful rays." "I think that is acceptable. I would be a fool to turn down offers like that." After the meal, Susan told me that she was going to the base, to get her next lesson. Blue, Chris, and Sandy, would go with her. They wanted to help. The 'old' grannies had to be fed. They filled a box, to take to them. When they had left, I pulled out a book I had purchased, and led the rest of my family into the office. I had a large white board on the wall. The lesson went quickly. I was concerned that they were reading my mind, and not recognizing the sounds or the shapes of the letters. This was when Kitten showed me a better way of shielding my thoughts. In science fiction, the hero always forms a spherical shield around his thoughts. That was still very true; but all I had to do, was throw a mental switch that would stop me from transmitting, and ask them not to look. When Kitten's turn came to use the marker on the white board, her pajamas rode up, revealing her pretty butt. Even with my transmitter off, the girls caught my reaction. From then on, all the girls endeavoured to give me little flashes of their asses, when their turn came. The classes ended, when the babies woke up. After reading the instructions; I showed everybody, including their mothers', how to use the disposable diapers. The babies quieted right down, as I cleaned their bottoms, and put on some cream. They encouraged me to rub their little bumps, just like their mother would. I looked into Kitten's mind, and saw how the baby's mind was a form of symbiont. The unformed mind, would latch onto an adult's, and mimic the responses that the adult would have. This was a much better way of teaching children. There were no lies or deceit. The child had a much higher intelligence factor, as long as the adult that they had bonded with, was nearby. With the babies dressed in their diapers, I laid out a comforter on the floor, and placed them on it. I helped Kitten lay down, too, before getting on the other side of the babies. As I lay on my back; I picked up the first born, and lay her on my chest. There was no real way to know one from another. But, somehow, I did know. Kitten put another baby on me, before snuggling closer with the last. We stayed that way, with the babies squirming around, until Susan and the rest returned. Nova told the others to be quiet, as they peeked into the room to see the babies asleep again, on top of us. The side door opened, and I knew Susan was back. She was a little miffed at something. Of course, the old women. I saw that they had given her and Chris a hard time, when she tried to get her training. She came upstairs, and I caught images of how the women were very rude to her. This seemed to upset her a lot. Susan and Chris picked up two babies, and I held the last. Kitten was finally able to gain her feet. It made Susan feel a lot better to hold the child to her, and just relax. "What happened when you went into the base?" "I am just so angry. Those women remind me of all the domineering women I have ever met. The only word I can think of, is: 'harridans'. I just don't want to think about it, now." I made the formula, while showing Nova and Blue the procedure. Later, they were able to support one another, as I sucked on Chris's breasts. With the exception of Susan, all the rest were on the floor, presenting their backsides to me. I did Susan, and then started on Kitten. I kissed her lips and neck, doing as good a job as I did on the rest. But when I got to her nipple, I tasted something different. Pulling back for a moment, I looked at her other nipple. I had not touched it, yet I saw a watery substance on the very tip of her small nipple. The others noticed that my mind had stopped the flow of erotic thoughts. They came over, to see for themselves, the reason. After giving them a chance, I swooped down and sucked the nipple dry. A moment later, I started to wash and dry both nipples, before placing the feeder on her. Kitten face could only be described as 'glowing', with the accomplishment she had made. The baby sucked away, as if nothing had changed. "Oh, thank you. Thank you. I was so worried that I would never have any milk for them." I kissed her lips and said, "You are quite welcome. But I should tell you, that it also was a lot of fun for me." This pleased her immensely, knowing that I still had the children in mind, while enjoying myself. Susan's baby was done. She even burped. Susan supported the little one's head, as she attached the little mouth to the unoccupied nipple. When all the babies were fed, I asked Nova if she would go with me, so I could get another lesson. She agreed. Moth said, "May I go to? You need me to help." "Yes, I know that. Just go to the bathroom, first, Dear." It would be advantageous to take Moth, to make me appear less threatening. "Would you go, too, and help me?" Moth asked. I could see how Susan got roped into the scene last night. "Yes, Sweetheart. You will be helping me, later; and I will help you, now," I said. Moth held my hand, and then pulled me into the bathroom. She took off her pajamas and white panties, because she had not yet learned to use the toilet with them on. She used the small platform I had made for Chris, and sat down. She grunted and made faces, in her attempt to hurry to the good parts. She jumped off the toilet, sprinkling pee down her leg, in her attempt to get to the bidet. When she turned on the water it sent a cold jolt, right into her little pussy. She was so shocked, that she didn't know what to do. I pulled her off of the bidet, and held her to me. My hand was giving her support, and trying to warm her little mons. I knelt down, and got the water to just right temperature. Then I allowed her to sit herself back into place. She was reluctant, for more than one reason, to leave my arms. She had a dreamy look as she took her place, and my fingers left her mons. I pulled her head to me for support, as my hand went under her, to do the cleaning. She jumped a little at my touch, then pushed deeper into the bowl to get more contact. My finger traced the tiny bumps around her vagina, and her larger urethra. She gasped, as I traced around a few times, before gently working the tip of my finger into her hole a few millimetres. She started to move her lower body, to get me into her, but I carefully stayed out. My thumb started to make circles around her anus, and even mimicked the other digit. I could feel her getting close. In only the few seconds, as I caressed her, she was about to have her little orgasm. I pushed my thumb a centimetre through her anus. I felt as if my head were exploding, as all the women in the house orgasmed together. I turned my head, and saw Nova slump to the floor. Though it was slightly painful, I scanned the house, and I could not sense an intelligible thought. Holding the stupefied child to me, I whispered how much I loved her. Her arms came around my neck, and pulled me tightly to her. I stood up, to restore the circulation to my lower legs. Little Moth hung on tenaciously, fearing that I would leave her. "It's ok. I will not leave you, Sweetheart." With this, she hugged me even tighter, as her little body continued to tremble. I stepped over Nova, and pried Moth's hands from me. "I have to look after the others, Honey." I went around, and made sure everyone was unhurt and safe. Most had known what was coming, and had prepared themselves for the onslaught that had flown through their bodies. Susan was on the bed, with a hand at her mons. She looked peacefully asleep, except for her still rapid breathing. The last was Nova. I placed her on the toilet, to recover. I stayed at her feet, to make sure she did not fall. More than a minute later, I heard noise of people recovering. Then Nova started to move, and look around her. I held the sides of her face and gave her a gentle kiss, to let her know that I was worried about her. "What did you do? I have never heard of this happening before. A group that is linked, has some feelings transferred, but never to this degree." "I think that I bounced the effect back, a lot stronger than it was directed at me. You girls seem to amplify most of your passion between yourselves, though. I take it that you did not believe what the others said, when we made love before?" "To use a Human term: we do not 'lie'. It is impossible to do so, when others can read your mind. I thought they might be exaggerating, or their bodies might not be back to normal, after the long time we spent in the stasis pods." "I only know that, the more women that are around me when we make love, the stronger the effect is. My mind is being opened by the children. The machine, filling me with knowledge, might also have played a role. All of you seem to find my scent stimulating. Susan said the Tandra can sense the qualities in a prospective mate's mind. The instinct to breed becomes very strong. Do you think any, or all of these factors, apply here?" "All of that sounds logical, in an odd way. But I have never heard of this ever happening in this way, before. What you say is true for each point. But all together, I would say that normally, it would be impossible." "Will you pee now? I will clean you, and we can get on our way to the base? I would like to get my lessons. Tonight, I would like you to sleep with me. Is that all right with you?" She was very much in agreement. Nova finished her ablutions. I did a quick professional job cleaning her, so that she would not have to go through another round of orgasms. I dressed Nova for the trip to the base in Earth clothes. It almost seemed as if I were dressing a teen-aged daughter, when I looked at her fresh young features. There was very little difference in appearance from the others, except for her lighter coloured hair. On the way out, I grabbed the plastic cooler. I had loaded it with bread, cheese, preserved meat; and both fresh, and dried, fruit. ------- Chapter 18 Moth wanted to go. I thought she would be greatly disappointed, if we left without her, and just because she was sleepy. Dog joined us on our trip to the base. He ran ahead, sniffing the ground. He was just happy to go for a walk. I had been giving serious consideration to what I should learn next. I wanted to learn the layout of the base, with all the important points, and a way to defend it against attack. An assessment of what was wrong, and how to fix it, was my next priority. If the machine felt my mind was capable of more education, I wanted additional physics and math. Thinking about what Kitten said about the various levels, I might just get to 'grade one' level, soon. Nova led us up the incline carrying some of the food and eventually down the first flight of steps. She took me into the room that Kitten had first shown us the base, from high up. Things looked so much better now that there was more illumination. There was no sign of the other group. I had looked over my shoulder and cast about trying to find them. If they took on Susan and the girls with her then I felt I would be next. "If you look on the frame you will see two dark spots. A contact is made if your body touches one of them. The machine will automatically recognize you, and all you have to do is ask for the information you want. I will stay and assist if you need me." "Thank you, Nova. But the frame looks very uncomfortable, and too small. I would like to use the one I did before, with the arms. It is safer for Moth. She won't fall off. I cannot see the spots you are talking about very well." I felt someone enter my mind, and I relaxed. "I looked through your eyes, and find that you do not see things the same way we do. Look at the area at the head of the lounger, and I will understand how it would look to you." I did as I was asked and Nova sent, "The spots are only slightly different, but you should be able to feel the texture of the spots, as they are slightly smoother." She was right. There was a slight difference. The light striking from a particular angle, gave me a slightly better view of the area. I walked, holding Nova's hand, and held the groceries in my other hand. Moth led, this time. I could see no difference in her bouncing happy movements, than in any young Human girl. The large medical section looked much less intimidating, after the previous visit, and the increase in light. We paused at one spot on a wall, for Nova to send her commands ahead. The large reclining chair flowed from the wall, as if it were pushed up through a pool of water, as soon as we entered the room. Before we got started, the group of seven older women finally showed up. They were without clothing, while each of us were dressed. Silent communication went between them and Nova. I just stayed back, and didn't interfere. I imagine I could have looked into Moth's or Nova's mind; but this might be important, so I didn't want anybody upset. Moth came over to me, and held me tightly, as if she would be taken away. I bent over, picked the child up, and held her in one arm. I continued looking at the people conversing. I did not have to be able to read minds, to know that an argument was taking place. This went on for almost five minutes. One of the women came over, picked up the cooler, and took it back to the ensemble. With a few parting thoughts, they left us in peace. "What was all that about? I got the feeling that they were arguing about me. Was it any different for Susan?" "They were saying that barbarians were not allowed in the base. It seems you are not Tandra, or at least not full Tandra, and your assistance was not needed." "Why would they say that? They were very quick to accept the food Susan brought, and then ours. All I am getting is a simple education, by their standards. I don't know what I can do, but you may need somebody to help you, if it becomes necessary to let the Earth know of your existence." "I know that, but I think they want to have full control of everything within this base. You are 'just a male', in their eyes. An unknown factor that they haven't found a way to manipulate, yet. I think you should get your training, now, or they might find a way to forestall this happening." "Thanks for trying to help, Nova. Perhaps you are right. Let's get started." She gestured for me to be seated and sent, "This unit will allow you to access all the information you want. I would like to correct your various deficiencies in sight. It will not hurt, and you will be better able to understand the details in the base." "That is a good idea. I have been using reading glasses for a few years, now. It would be nice to leave them behind. I hope I haven't caused any of you problems, by coming here." I sat in the chair. Moth moved around so she was more comfortable. Nova stopped her, and mind-spoke to her, in their own language. That would be another thing to learn. My wives had to make a conscious effort to work around my impediment. I knew that my brain was able to take the ideas; and translate them into English, or even French, but many terms were not understood. The sphere came out after I got comfortable, in a roughly horizontal position. Nova placed her hand on the chair giving it the necessary instructions, then backed up for the process to begin. I closed my eyes, and tried to relax. There was no noise as the ball did its assessment and I drifted off to sleep. I awoke later, feeling great. In fact, greater than I could ever remember feeling, before. My nose detected Nova's and Moth's scent, and my ears picked up the sound of air entering their nasal passages. I opened my eyes, and found the light very bright. I had to shade them with my hand, until they'd had a chance to adjust. My mind quickly came to the conclusion that much more had been done, than what Nova had first said. I issued a command to the chair, and it put me in a more upright position. I had not previously known I could even do this. "What did you do, Nova?" She acted as if she had done something wrong. Then she looked at me, and straightened her shoulders, much more sure of herself. Her thoughts were closed to me, as if an impenetrable wall was between us. "You are my husband, now. I want to protect you, as best as I can. There are too many ways for you to be hurt or killed. I just gave you some small improvements. If I'd waited longer, then the 'other group' would have found a way to halt it." I stopped to assimilate and assess, all the data coming into my mind. Normally, the amount of information I was receiving, would have confused me. But I could assess and understand all of it, now, easily. Smell, hearing, sight. My eyes could now distinguish minor imperfections on the wall, almost fifteen metres away. My hand could feel with much better clarity, the surface of the chair. Even my sense of taste had been improved. Nova continued, "Other than your old five senses, I improved your strength, endurance; and the others senses, you call ESP. If you hate me, I will understand. But you are just too important, to loose." She said the last with a lowered head. I tried looking into her mind. Again, I saw only her surface thoughts. Turning to Moth, I found my ability to read her mind had improved immensely. I went back to Nova, and deduced that she was trying to keep me away from something important. I pushed at her block, and she finally gave up her resistance. She apparently had committed a crime, in giving me all these abilities, without getting it authorized, in advance. She could have her higher mental functions downgraded, changed into a Mordis, like Chris. At the very least, she would be banned from the important computer functions. She was fully ready to accept any judgements, if it would guarantee my safety. The third punishment had summarily been handed down, she was now prohibited from working within the computer network. This was entirely due to the interference of the seven women calling the computer to this infringement. I got up much quicker than I would have believed possible, even with Moth in my arms. I could see Nova's breathing and mental processes slow down. I stopped, just in time. I realized that it was I, that had sped up. I was about to hold her, with a force that would probably hurt her. Instead I relaxed, and her mental processes started to recover their old speed. I held the three hundred plus year old girl, that looked nineteen, in one arm. I still had Moth in the other. Nova sobbed, thinking of all the things she had lost. She even thought of the possibly, that I would be angry at her. All of her life, she had relied on the computer, and now she felt as if she were cast adrift. "Nova? Honey? Look into my mind, and see what I think. You have given me a great gift, and I will stand beside you in anything that happens, because of it. The women that brought charges against you for helping me, have just made an enemy. I will try to reason with the computer, and the women too, to get you reinstated." The distraught Nova had to think for a while, before answering, "There is nobody with that authority, that is awake or in stasis. And it is very difficult to reason with a machine, that has already made a decision. We would have to awaken everyone, and perhaps the others will find more supporters." After saying this, her face darkened considerably, thinking of all the repercussions her actions had caused. "There is no problem. If you think there may be, in the future, I will try to get this enhancement justified. It will be officially put into the records. I may need everything you have given me, to get the base rebuilt. If I find that I cannot help get the base back up and running, I will forfeit the changes you made in me. Anybody, that has a problem with my wife, has a problem with me." "The crime has been committed, and it would not matter if you were to give up your new abilities. If you are going to help, you must get an education first. Lie back down, and start your lessons. You can fight for me later, after you know more." I turned around, and saw the areas on the chair, where instructions were given. I asked for the appropriate module, including a way to get Nova reinstated in the community. I reclined. The last thing I read from Nova, was her continued anguish at what she had done to me, and for me. I awoke some time later thinking of the subatomic interaction of Lithium, and its antiparticle. I thought further of their power ratios, with different modulators. I felt a weight on my chest, and the delightful feeling on my cock, of tongue and hands. I slowly opened my eyes to see Moth's bare ass pointing in my direction, about eight centimetres from my face. Her little hands, I felt holding my cock, while her tiny mouth tried to swallow the head. I sampled her thoughts, and found that she was so engrossed in her activities, that she did not even know that I was awake. I could not sense Nova nearby, but a possible solution to her dilemma had come to me. I had never backed down from a good fight, especially one this important. I would try to keep the details hidden, until I had a better grasp of the situation. Moth occupied my time at the moment, for she needed some love and attention, too. Her struggle to engulf me, made her move back and forth, opening and closing her little mons. One of my arms was already around her, to keep her safe, even as I was sleeping. Her thoughts were of a second hand view of Susan, when Susan had sucked on me, last night. The girl was only trying to keep up with the competition. She felt she would not attract me, as much as Susan would. She remembered how to open my pants, from her close view the previous night. Apparently my scent had been too much for her, and she had to find more. I brought my head up, and was able to run my tongue up her dainty slit, to her back hole. Knowing that I was now awake, she stopped, wondering how I would react to her taking advantage of me. The best reassurance I could give, was my hands holding her hips, and pulling her closer to my mouth. I sucked her two centimetre urethra into my mouth, savouring the texture and taste, with my heightened senses. She squirmed and pushed, to get more of herself, into my mouth. After only a half a minute or so, I knew she was very close, so I eased off on my attack. My rolled up tongue pushed into her tiny vagina only a centimetre or so; but this, too, almost sent her over. Pausing for a few seconds, I then licked her anus, and my left index finger slipped easily into her. There was no holding back her climax now, no matter what I did. So I started sucking her urethra again, and held her tight. I could feel her small hands grasping my cock. It was the only safe anchor that she knew. Her body pushed forward and back, in rapid movements. I held her gently and firmly, while letting her recover slowly. Slowly, in this case, was almost four minutes. Moth was starting to sleep now, so I picked her up and turned her around on my chest. She held me tightly, still overcome with her emotions, with just a tinge of guilt for what she had done. "Thank you for waking me up so nicely," I said as I gave her an extra squeeze. She seemed happy enough for her performance, and wondered where on the pecking order she was, for my attention. I immediately tried to hide, with some of my new found skill, the answer to her question. I consciously commanded the chair to allow us to sit up. From my last lesson, I was able to access the computer, and find out where Nova was. This was possible, because there was a node very close to the head of the chair, that lead directly to the main computer. I put Moth down, and dressed. Moth insisted on walking, au naturel. She probably knew that naked flesh tantalised me more than the clothed variety. She changed her mind, when I said that she looked very cute with the pajamas on. She peeked at me, as she bent over to put on the clothing that she had recently shed. My enhanced body had energy to burn; so I picked up Moth into my arms, and ran a course that would eventually lead to the garage that we had been to before. Once out in the open, I put Moth on my neck, and I ran with her hands tightly wrapped in my hair. "Do you like your 'horsey ride'?" "Yes, faster... over there... faster... that way..." This amount of exercise, would have tired me out, even when I was in top shape at the age of 19. But now, I was simply cruising. The speed I was running at, surprised me, how would my karate skills be improved? I found my appetite for sex had been increased, either accidentally or by design. Nova was going to have to satisfy me, now. "Call Nova, and show her your 'horsey'," I sent. The child did, and I heard Nova start, as she saw the unexpected view through Moth's eyes of the rapidly passing panorama. We were almost to the garage anyway, and this was a good way of knocking. Nova was standing on her tip toes, on a platform. She was bent at the hips, inside one of the vehicles. Her clothes were neatly folded in a pile, on the floor. Since everything was as clean as a hospital, I think she was avoiding getting them torn. Looking through her eyes, she was just finishing ripping out a unit that could be used in my Turbo Beaver, to make it safer. Her thoughts were still morose at the prospects of being excluded from all the important things in the community. This made her in need of a good cheering up, I felt. She stood on a small platform and her ass was level with my face. Just as she lowered the parts and tools, I moved behind her, and started to caress her legs and ass. Her back came up only a little, because an obstruction was just above her shoulders. Next she tried to back up, but I was having none of that. I pushed in, just as hard as she tried to get out. "What are you doing? I can't get out." "I know that. As to why I am doing this? It is repayment, in part. A repayment to a lady who would put her life and freedom in the community, in jeopardy. All for a husband she hardly knows." I placed my hands on her cheeks, and parted them to find two holes that begged to be eaten. Her legs instinctively came together, but I was ready. I held them apart, until she saw the futility of fighting. I licked and sucked all the little nubs I could get at, pausing every half minute or so, to allow her to pull back from the edge. She was not in any pain from her position, just restrained from moving. My spit dampened fingers found their way into her vagina and anus. This made me stop for over a minute, because she came too close to her orgasm. When the fingers started moving again, in short strokes, she almost swooned from the sexual temperature. I could feel the big one coming, and slowed my fingers to keep it away as long as possible. I had great difficulty reading her mind, for it was lost in the haze of lust. This was another first for her. Never had a male taken more than thirty seconds with her, or with any other female that she knew of. I would have liked to climb the platform, and give her what she needed. But I also knew that she, as all the other Tandra, were dry. Even with the saliva that I had used. The best I could do, is use my imagination. I had Nova see images of me fucking her, with long slow strokes. The image I projected to her, walked up behind the image of Nova, as she worked on a machine. The fictitious me, caressed her butt, then slowly started stroking into her, in time with my fingers. As the image moved faster, so did my fingers, until I knew that there was no returning. I buried my face into her, and licked and sucked what nerve clusters I could reach. This time I felt a tidal wave wash over me, as all the pent up emotions and worries flooded out, over both of us. Her body quaked and thrashed in the narrow confines of the little ship. I had to lift her out of the machine, and found her flushed and breathing erratically. I held her to me. I let her sit on my lap, as I sat on the platform. My left hand idly played with her big clit, as she came back to me. Because of my efforts on her big clit, she had another orgasm, as soon as she realized what I was doing. This time, it was a much gentler one, that allowed her time to recover. "Why did you do that to me, that way? I would have got on the floor, and you could have done it right." "'Doing it right', means that you get as much enjoyment as you can handle. As to why here, and now? You are a beautiful woman, and I like to be kinky, sometimes." "What is 'kinky'?" She asked, without looking into my mind. "'Kinky' is doing things that the other people would only think of doing. Humans have a nudity taboo. Exposing part or all of yourself in public, is exciting. Look into my mind at all the different things, that I think of that are 'kinky'." Nova searched my mind, and her breathing started to get irregular again, her hand even went between her legs to play with her clits. When she finished looking, she pulled her mind out of mine, to find her hand still busy. She quickly stopped, embarrassed at being caught. Adult Tandra women did not do that, often. And never in public. Her sisters/wives would do that for her. Moth came around, when things had quieted. She wanted to sit in Nova's lap making us three tiers high. My cock was still hard, but I knew I would soon be satisfied at home. "What were you digging for, before I rudely interrupted you?" She seemed to shiver for a second, while trying to remember. "It is a power supply, and a control unit, for the safety devices." "It has to be fairly light, because I sometimes have to carry lots of passengers and luggage." She concentrated on the problem for a while, and decided to talk to Blue about doing the job. At least this way, she could use Blue's computer access, for any information she needed. We saw no trace of the others, as we headed back. I held both of my girls' hands, thinking how much my fortunes had changed in just a few days. Coming to the house, I could detect that everyone had been worried about my late arrival. They now knew, since we had left the shield around the base, that we were safe. All of them were lined up by the door, to greet us. I opened the door for Nova and Moth, before entering myself. All the others just stared at me, as if I had grown another head. "What's wrong?" They did not even answer, but continued staring at me. I looked into their minds, and saw a new me. One that radiated intelligence, assurance, strength, compassion, vitality, and sex appeal. At least, that was how the women viewed me. The situation was rapidly getting out of hand, when Nova's situation needed to be considered above all. "We have a problem. I need all of your help," I said to get their minds, and not their hormones, working. "Nova has sacrificed her place in the base, to make me safer. We need to think of a way to get her back into the system. The 'others' seem to be doing their best to stop any outside help from happening." Susan recovered first and asked, in general, "What can we do about it?" The consensus was that someone should argue on Nova's behalf, and try to convince the computer to get her back on line. There was no way to convince the women, and even if I could, the crime was already reported. "There is another way that will not preclude the first idea. The base has no commanding officer, and the system has no governor. Perhaps Kitten or Blue could get appointed to one of those jobs, and get Nova back where she belongs, by simply ordering it." My idea found immediate favour, until they remembered the seven women would be able to out vote us, in any case. We worked well into the night, discussing possible avenues that we could take. The children drifted off, and we put them to bed, while the older ones continued the important discussions. I found that women held all of the important jobs in Tandra society; because of their intelligence, compassion, and dedication. Tandra women did not suffer from menses, or it's effects of mood swings and discomfort. Males did not usually try to get the responsible jobs, because their time was spent in sex, or the Tandra equivalent of a 'men only club'. It was an exceptional male, to ever reach into the 'officer levels'. Knowing the place in the Tandra community the male held, I asked, "If the males are not thought of very highly in society in general, and in a family unit in particular, how is it that you seem to favour me so much?" This comment got them deep into girl talk, a place where I felt I was not welcome to go. Blue talked for the group. "When you walked in the door, you looked into our minds to see how we perceived you. You were surprised by the change. Your assumption is not entirely true, for we already saw you that way. Only, your characteristics are much more dominant than they were before. We want you to lead this family, even though that is usually a female position. You have all the traits of a very superior woman." "That is a great complement, I think." Susan giggled, and then the rest followed her lead. Blue continued, on a more sober note. "The Tandra, here, have been discussing our new situation. About how our family is organized. Candasu always have a female leader, or Metsu. But this time, we want to try something different. We want you to guide us. Susan says that this is the way it is done, here. She has said that it works, as long as the male listens to all his wives." When in the army, I never considered myself a person that did not listen to his men. So this was not much different. These girls knew a lot more than I did. "Do you think many Earth men would be the same as me?" I directed this towards Susan, mostly. The private girl talk continued. Susan answered this time. "I am the only one to know about other men. I think that it is very rare, and only some others may come close. The members of this family do not want to change what we already have." I could sense that this was something that the entire group felt to be true. Susan seemed to be taking an odd approach. The way her words came to me, it was as if she were completely submerged in a Tandra psyche. "I was trying to find firm ground for my arguments to the computer. It is possible that, because of my gender, I may not be viewed very seriously." The girls agreed with this possibility. I felt that the Tandra gave in too much to the computer's judgement. In many cases, this would be acceptable. In this instance; I felt an adversarial approach, with a person not willing to follow the passive ways of the Tandra, was better. Later, when the family meeting broke up, Susan said, "Nova is still pretty down. Will you sleep with her, tonight? I know the others think it is a good idea." I acceded. After washing up, Nova and I crawled into bed. She was nervous and hesitant, because of the high emotional strain the time in the base had put upon her. I used some KY on her vagina, causing only one small orgasm. This seemed to please her immensely. I put her in an un-natural, to her, position. When I put her on her back, she felt out of sorts. For the last three hundred and thirty years, she had done it doggie style, with good results. As I kissed her neck, ears, lips, and breasts; she relaxed, until I started to insert my cock. The nubs inside her channel stimulated both of us. I could feel all the women riding the currents of Nova's mind. This would be one of the times, when all of them would have an orgasm, together. I kept my strokes extremely slow and shallow, to prevent Nova from orgasming before I was ready. Because of the enhancements that Nova had gotten for me, I was able to put up a better barrier to the women's hold on my emotions. I gave them over half an hour of small orgasms, before giving her the coup de grâce. I hammered her relentlessly, with long forceful strokes. Her strong arms came around me, to hold me tight. Seven massive spurts from my cock were pumped into her vagina. She, and the rest, orgasmed in time to each. They were still quaking, minutes after I stopped. I held Nova, while she was still in the throws of her orgasm. I held her closely, until she drifted off, into a natural sleep. Then I got up, and cleaned her unresponsive body of my fluids. There was very little, as I expected. Her mons had closed up, to hold all of its catch. I was still not sleepy, and walked around, making sure my family was covered up and safe. The young girls had awoken at the start of the love making, and after enjoying their orgasms, had fallen back asleep. The only ones awake, were the babies. They squirmed in their box, and wanted to be picked up. I took them into the living room, and spread them out on a blanket. I laid on my stomach, to better see them. Where their umbilical cord once was, was black. The umbilical remains would not fall off for another few days or so. They remained quiet, and reached up their small arms, to hold or touch me. I still thought my names for the children were appropriate, even though I had not voiced them to the others, yet. I did not want to play favourites, even though Hope wanted me, much more than Faith or Charity did. I ran my fingers over their delicate features. My enhanced touch could almost count all the small hairs that crossed my finger tips. As part of my mind stayed with the children, the predominant portion continued to work on the problem with the base computer, and the unpleasant women I had to face. Friday September 28 The next morning, Kitten found me on the floor. The babies were around me. They were wrapped in their little blankets. I had slept three hours, and felt that I had slept enough. She asked, "Do fathers on Earth play on the floor with their children?" She said this jokingly, thinking of Tandra 'fathers', but I answered seriously. "I think most do. It might surprise you that most Earth fathers love their children. Though sometimes, as the children get older, the fathers would like to choke them." I got up quietly, and hugged and kissed Kitten. She returned the kiss with all the feeling I could ever hope for. I cleaned her breasts up, and started to get my own breakfast. It was much better for the children to get it. I helped her put a child to each breast, while I held the other. Kitten's face fairly glowed as the babies got some of her milk. All too soon the milk stopped, with Faith not getting any. I made the formula again and put it into clean bags. By the time one bag was affixed, Susan came sleepily out of the bedroom. Just in time for me to start on her breasts. She tried to push me off, till she was awake. After only a few sucks, she held me tightly, so I could not get away. When I got to the second breast, I tasted something different, just like yesterday, with Kitten. I washed the surprised woman's breasts and brought her, 'her' baby. Faith sucked and sucked till Susan could feel the flow herself. "Oh, that feels wonderful. I never thought I would be able to feed her like this." I helped her up, and got her to sit on the couch. I then got Kitten to sit beside her. "Let's see if Chris has anything for Hope." I walked into the bedroom, and around all the girls on the floor. Chris was on her back, her arm over her head, and two over her waist while the fourth lay beside her. Both breasts were exposed. Getting on my knees I started to lick and then suck the small breasts. She tossed about and brought her arm over me, and still she had not woken up. Moving to her other breast, brought her awake very quickly. Her eyes opened, and I could see hunger in her eyes. Now was not the time, though. "Get up, Honey. I want to see if you are ready." Rather than have the sleepy girl walk, and possibly trip over the other sleepers, I stooped and picked her up easily into my arms. She instinctively held on tightly, as I walked into the kitchen. Putting her on the counter I started sucking again, and as luck would have it, a faint taste came to my mouth. Stopping and looking into her eyes I said, "You are starting to produce milk, just like Kitten and Susan." The news of Susan's and her starting to produce milk, made her happy, as only a woman would know. With clean breasts and a feeder, she sat beside Kitten on the couch, and fed the last child. Susan asked mentally, "What is this about 'Hope'?" "I have been doing some thinking, and have come up with 'Faith', 'Hope', and 'Charity', as the names for my girls. What do you think?" The girls talked among them selves and Susan said, "We like the names. Which is which?" "You have the first born, Faith. Chris has the second, Hope; and Kitten has Charity. This time it is exactly as Kitten originally gave them to you." "How can you tell who is who?" Susan asked. "As they were born I could almost 'taste' the difference. I really don't know how, something like the way we can speak to one another with our minds. I just don't know how it is done. I think if I were to hold their frozen placentas, I would know one from the other." "That is amazing. I do not even know in which order they were born. Let me look into your mind, and see how you do it." I felt a gentle touch, that lasted for longer than a minute. "I can see, now. I know the way you do it. This does happen, but only to a very few mothers. It is no wonder that we are so attracted to you." I really did not know what to say to this claim. Being a concerned parent, I might be guilty of. Being able to tell the difference between identical triplets, was only a chance make up of my genes. The phone rang, to save me from further embarrassment. Blair wanted to thank me for the job I had done. "Hell, Henry. The program is running just like you said. The simulator ran it at faster speeds, and it still worked faultlessly." "Good enough for the hundred thousand I originally asked for?" Blair paused a moment, "Yes, it is. But you are only getting what we agreed to. When will the replacement program be ready?" "I think a day or so might do it." I hedged a little because I had not started writing the program yet, at all. The entire set of instructions were in my head. "The price will be steep, but much less than what NuTech charged for the old one. Did you get in contact with somebody, to run more extensive simulations on the program?" "I took your advice, and got NuTech to do the work. They are doing it cheap, after getting a look at the last piece of work you did. I wouldn't be surprised if their other software reflects your improvements. If you want, I could get somebody else?" "Did you give them a choice of taking your lowball offer, or they would not see the program? Irregardless, I think you should keep them, mainly because they know the old program well. The improvements could be used throughout the industry. I don't like the idea of another 'Chernobyl', no matter in who's back yard it is." "Well I did make the comment about your program being our property now, and they were anxious," Blair paused, to say the next part right. "There are many that would rather get whatever money they could, and fuck the rest of the world." "Yes, I think you are right. I have an idea. Why don't we make a deal to sell the program that you will be getting? Hydro would be in the right place, and could actually make a goodly profit from their cut." "I will run that by the board. But I will leave that thought out, when I do some talking with NuTech. I just can't see them being sympathetic to the cause." After I hung up, Kitten came up to me and hugged me as I sat. "That was a good thing to do. Your world is a dangerous place." "It was not all generosity. If the program doesn't cost a lot, people will not want it. There will be a lot of money coming to me, too. I think Hydro and the American's Atomic Energy Commission will try to screw me anyway, and give it away with all the Candu reactors it will sell. But it doesn't matter too much, because I want to see these improvements get out there, where they will do some good." Kitten was pleased that the plan to make the world a safer place had already begun. "I like that idea. Is it true what your friend said, about others restricting the sale, so they could make money?" "Yes, that is true. I am not without greed myself. The money will be useful to keep my growing family fed and clothed. Also, people will not respect a low price on a product, especially one of this type." I started to worry more about Nova's access to the computer. "I have been thinking more about Nova. From the small glimpses I saw in everyone's mind, Nova is a highly competent person. She will be needed, to get the base back up and running. Have you got any new ideas on how we can approach the solution?" Kitten answered. "The only thing, that I could think of, is a plebiscite. Our law does not recognize those in stasis, as part of the active population. If we awaken enough of the people that will support our cause, then the computer would have to recognize the outcome. The computer is not subject to our vote, but would only take it into consideration." Susan added, "Can we get the computer to acknowledge that the base is in danger? Can it see it will need Nova's help, along with our own, like I said last night?" Before any could answer Chris asked, "I know that the base is getting low on fuel to support the shield, and the other necessary infrastructure." "Do any of you know of an instance when adults join their minds to work out a problem?" I asked. Chris said, "It happens all the time. Ships that travel faster than light, or through higher dimensions, have to have a crew that can work as one being. But the computer is a necessary part of the group." Kitten added, "That is true. In addition, the higher levels of the military and the government, are supposed to be composed of those groups working, in conjunction with the computer. Others have been able to pass laws to get around this requirement, because it does not allow them to do favours for their friends." "That is no different than here. Are you also trying to say that a Tandra group has more integrity, than the Tandra, that are not in such a group?" "That is true. But there have been times, when the whole group has been less than perfect, but not enough to get them thrown out." "Do you think we can do it ourselves, without a computer? And do you think there is any danger?" "There have been rare instances were this has happened. If they are able to join with a computer later, they make a much more formidable group," Kitten sent. "Some of us have known one another for a long time. Others, like the girls, we hardly know. If they had not been awoken by the accident, we might never have known them at all. Then there is you, and Susan. Both of you have not grown up in a telepathic society, and may not know how to handle problems that may arise," Kitten sent, with a small amount of reluctance. "Why do you seem worried about trying?" "What you are asking, has happened before. In a small number of them, the people have become lost." "Lost? How?" asked Susan. "They were lost within each other. They could function, after a fashion, but most of their minds were wrapped up in each other. If one died, the loss was almost insurmountable. This did not happen all the time, though. Our scientists studied other groups to find the method of their success. The groups that did work, invariably found their way into the highest reaches of the government and military," Kitten sent. "What did the ones that succeeded do? And how many failed?" I asked. "If I remember correctly, there was a lot of stress in the group, and a great need to succeed. Also, they had to love each other for the bonding to work." Susan asked, "Doesn't that apply to us?" "Yes, it does. But there is the question of, how much love did they need to accomplish the bonding, and under how much stress did they operate." I stated, "We should get the input from the girls, to see what they can add to this. I will make breakfast, while the others get the sleep they need." As I prepared a 'farmer's breakfast' for the underfed people, Chris came into the kitchen, and asked to help. "The first thing you have to do, is to put on an apron, to prevent hot fat from hitting your skin," I said. Once attired as I was, we made short work of a large breakfast. Before we finished, small and large noses poked their way into the kitchen. We were almost done, except for the toast and the pancakes, so there was no point in getting them to help. They sat around the table, and the babies lay in their new chairs, which were made to sit on the table. Susan showed everyone how to eat the various items, as they became available. Chris stayed with me, buttering toast. She stood in awe, as I flipped the pancakes and eggs, with just a flick of the wrist the way my aunt taught me. I wanted my coffee, but Susan liked her tea, so I made do with it. The others tried sips, and wanted their own cups. Soon, everybody had a cup of warm tea from a new pot. The children, and even the adults, experimented with the tea. Black, milk, white sugar, demerara sugar, honey... Moth even tried maple syrup from her pancakes. They all enjoyed the experiment, even though they needed to go to the bathroom, soon afterwards. After they had washed up, I opened a box that I had kept sealed until now. Each of the young girls was presented with a doll, even Star and Sandy. I had just found out that the older girls were 23 and 24 years old, respectively. They looked only about eight. 24 was too old, in Human terms, for girls to want a doll. But they found them just as comforting as a young Human girl would. Susan was very happy with the gifts given the younger girls. She said they were appropriate, as Amy was twelve, even though I first thought she was much younger. Topaz was a year younger at eleven, and a year older than Kitty, who was ten. Cloud was eight. Moth, the baby, was actually six. The older girls were presented with the movies, and the DVD player. This gift was readily accepted by the youngest, as well. "I would have bought some more clothes. But I felt it would be better having Susan with me, or her doing it herself." After the DVD was hooked up, the children raptly started watching the movies. I had bought 'Johnnie 5', 'E.T.', 'Lost in Space' and some of the Star Wars and Star Trek movies. 'Alien' I would leave for when the adults were around. "Susan?" I said, "I am going into the lion's den, to get a little more education. Ever since Nova helped me, I have found that I can process data better. It would be good to have one of those units and the screens over here." "Ok. I will wait for you to come back, before I have my turn. What are you going to do, if those women come after you?" "Try to avoid them, and later have a talk with the computer. If it allowed me to help, it will have to allow me to do a little more." All the girls wanted to come with me, until I explained that they should stay here and rest. Even Kitten, I asked to stay, to mind the babies. The weather was turning cool, and I asked the ones going, to wear their environmental suits as a backup. Chris, Nova, and Blue, could wear some of Susan's clothes, over their suits. Once inside the base, I went to my classes, while the girls did what they could. My choices today were Tandra law, and the orders pertaining to the base's AI, when the Tandra pulled out and headed home. I also wanted to understand cybernetics, as it related to the base computer, hoping for a chink in its armour. After awakening, I cast my mind out. I found the others in the garage, arguing with the malcontents. At present, the malcontents still considered me a second rate person, because of my gender. I was therefore, luckily, ignored. The girls had been in the garage, scrounging more parts. They were preoccupied with their work, and now with the arguments presented to them by the other women. From the knowledge that had been given to me, I knew where the computer was. I had to climb down to another level, that I had not been on before, and found a small vacant room. "Computer, can you hear me?" I asked in a questioning thought. Out from the wall, came a chair. It was much like the one in the medical section. I took my place on the chair and formed my thoughts. Knowing that the machine only dealt in facts I sent, "What must be done to get Nova reinstated into the system?" "Nothing can currently be done. An infraction of section fifty three, subsection forty four, paragraph ninety three; states that the suspect be removed from the system, until higher authority can assess the case." The voice in my head had the full inflection of the Tandra but somehow lacked a certain something that made it alive. "There is no representative of the administration presently in the system. I propose to have Nova reinstated, till a suitable representative returns," I sent. "That is not possible. The law states that the suspect be terminated from the system, until such time as the legal authorities can judge the case." "Would a plebiscite, signed by majority of all adult Tandra in the base, form a ruling body?" "Such a ruling requires a minimum number of signatures. There is not that many Tandra within the base, either awake, or in stasis." "The final orders directed this base, to facilitate its shutdown, and keep operational all necessary equipment. The unexpected revival of eighteen Tandra, without adequate means of sustaining such life, is in contravention of those orders. Furthermore, the suspect was endeavouring to increase the number of trained personnel, to achieve this goal, and save lives," I sent. "That may be, but the law states that she must be removed from the system." Just at that time the seven women followed by Chris, Nova, and Blue burst into the room. The leader, Bolis, yelled, "Stop. You are not allowed to use that equipment. It is for Tandra alone, and not for barbarians." I felt I had one, and only one shot at this, and sent, "Computer. Section fifty three, subsection forty four, paragraph ninety three states that the suspect must be enhancing non-Tandra personnel, for there to be a crime. I would like to point out that I am a direct decedent of personnel, that were trained on this base. If you will look in your records, you will find my DNA to be derived from those people that worked here. Therefore, I am claiming all Tandra rights and privileges, pursuant to those findings." "Working!" Bolis jumped in and said, "His arguments are flawed, and should not be considered. He is an uneducated male barbarian, that we can do without." A few seconds later we heard, "You are correct," from the machine. This was the last straw for these women, who were apparently getting nowhere. Bolis came with one of her cronies and yanked me out of the chair. Their strength and speed were phenomenal. I went flying almost three metres to fall on the floor. The other five ran to get me. Only the timely intervention of Blue and Nova, gave me time to regain my feet. Blue was struck with stiffened fingers to the abdomen, and I saw her double-up in pain. Their speed and execution were fantastic. I had never seen anything like it before. One got through my protective gauntlet and came at me. Long fingers came at my throat and I moved my head and deflected the arm. My aversion for hurting women evaporated, as I saw Nova receive the heal of one hand to her face, and her head snap back. Things slowed. The room became quiet, as my fists, feet, and arms went to work. This only allowed me to fight at the same speed as the opposition. I was struck in the shoulder, and kicked with the blade of a foot. But I was able to turn enough, so that it did not break my leg. One of my punches splattered a nose, while another hit a throat. Bolis herself came in with a complicated kick and I was able to grab one of her friends attacking Blue to absorb the blows. Both fell to the floor. I took on the next two, as I squatted, and my leg spun around. This tripped the two, because they were too close. I was held from behind. Because of my height, I was able to raise my feet. I kicked one more attacker, before coming down on the instep of the one behind me. I managed to turn just enough to avoid a hammer fist, that grazed my face. My head was flung back, and I could see the others jumping in for the kill. I fell to the floor. An antagonist held me in a head lock, trying to cut off my flow of blood, and hold me still at the same time. My arms were held, and the only thing open was my teeth. I reached forward, and bit with all my might, the pectoral muscle before me. I felt the tissue rip, and blood come. I was sure there was going to be some serious damage. I released my hold with an explosive breath, as my unprotected abdomen was struck. I started to black out, but felt the weight being removed from me. I tried to hold onto the one that was holding me, for protection, but my arms were just too weak. Looking up, I saw my way to get free. Stumbling to the chair, I used it to stand erect. All around me, women were on the floor. The smell of vomit was heavy in the air. Blue and Chris were the only ones able to move. Chris was bent over, trying to get Nova revived, while Blue stood ready to take on any of the opponents that decided to continue the action. I could see blood all over the place, but no pools. I had not seen anything like this, since being in Barrie, in my last big fight. I staggered over to Nova, and looked to see how much she was hurt. Her eye was puffed up, and closed. Blood trickled from her nostrils, but she smiled at me now. I smiled back, tasting blood on my own lips, and looked to Chris. She was breathing rapidly, and her skin was red with scratches and blood. Bare sections attested to her loss of hair in the action. Blue stood on arched feet ready to attack. Her hair, though short, stood in disarray. I could see bruising on many parts of her body. "Nova, are you all right?" "Yes, husband. I have not been in a good fight in a long time." She tried to get up, and I helped her. She was able to stand without help, and looked at the beaten women. "Well the fight couldn't have happened in a better place." "Why?" She looked at the awakening Bolis and said, "They can go back into stasis now. We won't have to put up with them again, till the base is back on its feet." A look of horror went over Bolis's features, "No, you can't!" "Computer, I want to report a crime. We were attacked without provocation, and I would like the perpetrators placed in stasis until a body exists, that will adjudicate the matter," Nova said. "Your request is granted," came from the computer. "No, don't. We will not bother you again." More of the women regained their faculties and all of them pleaded for mercy. I disregarded them, and through puffed up lips I spoke. "Computer. If you agreed with me, then Nova's actions were legal, and all penalties against her should be lifted." "They have been removed." Nova smiled through broken lips, and hugged me tight. Her hand came up and pulled my lips down to hers, for a lingering kiss. I could read the joy in each of my girls, and nothing from the others, as they were still concerned with their fate. The computer spoke to the beaten girls, asking if they would walk unassisted, or wished to be restrained. Some took on a martyred stance, while others cried. But they got up, and walked out of the room. Blue was still not sure, and stood ready to spring onto them. She followed right behind them, as they left. I didn't know why the women were so adamant about remaining awake. When they next woke up, there would be far fewer problems with old machinery or food, if we were successful. "Should we go with them, Nova?" "No. Blue just wants to be thorough." It was not often, that two grandmothers and Chris, saved me in a fight, with seven other grandmothers. "Chris, Nova? I would like to thank you for stepping in and helping. Yesterday, I thought I was in great shape, with the things that were done to me. Now I see, that compared to a Tandra, I am still only average. How did the four of us win?" Nova sent, "You fought dirty, and the others were not prepared for that. Chris was left alone at first, because of the way the Mordis usually act. When she saw you getting hurt, and then us, she jumped in as if her life depended on it." I looked at Chris, and she only dropped her eyes instead of acknowledging our words. Nova continued, "She is very strong, and used all four hands to fight the others off. If the fight had not ended so soon, she would have seriously injured more than one, and perhaps killed some. I don't understand how this happened, because her kind are never like that." I looked at Nova, "Nova, she is my wife, the same as you. Please don't say 'her kind' again." Nova looked into my mind and saw the way I felt. "I will try to do as you say, my husband. But you have to know that it is difficult to overcome so many years of inertia." "I know you will try, and this is one of the reasons I love you," I said, as I held her tight and kissed her. I opened one arm, and beckoned Chris over. I did the same to her. When Blue got back, I thanked her, too. Then, I said to all of them, "I would back any of you, against Earth's best. I can see each of you making a lot of money on the wrestling circuit, or in karate or ju-jitsu, in Japan." My mind made images of these petite women, throwing the largest men in Sumo wrestling, and defeating the best on the mat. ------- Chapter 19 Getting back to the original problem, I sent to the computer, "I will now help, but I have a condition that has to be met, first." The computer mind spoke, "That is contradictory. For I see, in your mind, that you would do anything to help." "Irregardless, I want unlimited access to the base tug." "That cannot be granted. The intelligence in the ship has to accept you, independently." "Will you recommend me to the ship?" "That is acceptable. It is done. The ship has accepted you." That was quick. I looked at the women around me. "Is there any danger to the base and people, that is not being addressed properly?" "The fuel stockpiles of Lithium are low. The requisition sent to the main lunar base, has not been processed." "I can work on that," I sent. "What is the minimum amount that is needed?" "Eight and five twelfths kilograms would suffice." "A training station, like the one that gave me my education, is required outside the base. It must have a secure access to this base's computer. Can this be done?" "I see that you want the unit in the place you now inhabit with the base personnel. We do not have the resources to provide access, or the training centre, now. The unit itself, may be moved. I will make the necessary alterations to the system. However, it cannot function, without more extensive work being done." "That's fine. I will begin work as soon as possible." It was difficult to negotiate with a machine, when it knew everything that I was thinking. The thoughts of a computer, that bordered on intelligence, with a high order program aborting itself and committing suicide, was even more difficult to understand. We left, and walked in the direction of the tug. I wanted to get a new look at it. From my days in an American university; I knew this small tug was both one and a half times the length and the width of a football field, and almost twenty stories high. If this was a small, slow ship, I could not visualize one that was large. I was sore, and needed to walk some of the pain from my limbs. It had been a long time since I lost a fight like this, and I expected it to feel humiliating. The contrary was actually true. My team had won, and this made all the difference. I needed more effort to exercise my muscles. I walked around the perimeter of the entire main floor. It was almost twenty two hundred metres long, by about six hundred wide. Even the softest sound was returned, but much later than I would have expected. I had to talk, to overcome the feeling of being so much in the open. This had never happened when outside, and only occurred now, knowing that this base was so large. "What will happen to those women after they get out of the stasis pods?" Blue replied first, "The base commander will have to judge them. I think that their candasu will be broken up, and each will be given solitary jobs. Sometimes, harsher sentences are handed down; but that, I heard, is rare. I can only talk from my studying, because this has never happened, during my lifetime." I thought for a while on this and then about their previous actions. "I find that all of you are less demanding than you should be. If you want something from a machine, demand it. Do not just ask. You girls are just a little bit too nice." "I will try to remember that, Husband," came from Chris. I had to laugh at the comeback, when remembering how hard she fought. Nova steered us over to the medical section. Each of us were treated for minor abrasions, contusions, and sore muscles and ligaments. After all of us were done, Nova said, "Let's get the job we came here for, done. I want to go home." After she said it, a smile came to her face at the truth of her statement. As we came into the garage, all of the girls went to what they were doing before they were interrupted by the malcontents. The girls spread out, and started working in the vehicles, much like Nova had been doing the night before. They would bend over, or climb underneath, exposing themselves to my eyes. I began to let my mind wander. The urge was strong to get behind each, thrust into their tight holes, and make them and myself cum. Again, I must have been broadcasting; for they twitched, as they too visualized the encounter. "Sorry," was all I could say. They made unmistakable movements of their hips, much like an Earth girl would when she sees her man. I guess the old statement about turnabout being fair play was true, if uncomfortable. I closed my eyes to help me concentrate, but it was difficult. Blue's comment on base commander did need a little clarification. "By the way, how is a leader chosen?" "The same way that is in your mind. People are nominated, and a vote of eligible adults is taken," came from Blue. "Will you help me carry these over to the far wall, so I can run tests on them?" We all carried various devices, and followed Blue. Two benches came out of the wall and another out of the floor as we approached. Our burdens were placed down and all of them hooked up to devices on the bench. The area around the benches darkened and a diagnostic program started on each. Details in Tandra script attested to its serial number, total hours of employment, and the estimated mean time before the next failure. Chris and Nova had to go back to find other units, to replace some of those that they thought were not up to specifications. All I could do is watch and read their minds, for I could not read any of the script yet. "Is there a machine, that will bore through rock, to our house, so that we don't have to go out when it is snowing or cold?" "How big of a tunnel did you want? If it is not too big, the small machine in the far corner with the long arm, will make a tunnel easily. If there were any energy to spare." "Is there also a way to furnish the tunnel with lights and power? I got permission to move a teaching chair and a screen, over to the house." Blue paused for a minute or so. I was ready to say something more, when she started, "There is a unit that will attach to the end of that unit. It can spray a finish, to keep the tunnel waterproof. It will be strong enough to keep it from caving in. An energy conduit might be laid at the same time. How are you going to get the lithium, to power up the base?" "I have a program to write and deliver. If I phone ahead, I can find someone to sell me the metal. If I am lucky, I can do both at the same time. How long will it be, till you are done here?" "If these two units prove suitable, then we can go soon. Will you help us carry these?" Blue asked. Then as a joke I asked, "Don't you have any anti-gravity units, to transport them?" "Yes, we do. But they would need to get powered up, first." That served me right, for assuming that they would not have them. On the way back, I saw a flight of three military copters flying to the north, about ten kilometres away. I would not have noticed them, except the surrounding hills funnelled the sound directly to me. When we got back to the house, it was three thirty, and possibly too late to put in an order. I was in luck. Ralston Metals, in Toronto; had ten kilogram units of metallic lithium, for ten thousand dollars each. They would be open Monday, and I asked if they would have the shipment at their docks. Patterson Chemicals would pay then. I had felt a little odd about using my name, and made up the fictitious one on the spot, and another one for the company. Once the phone call was over, Nova told everyone how I had confronted the computer, and wrung out a concession from it. Then Blue started to tell about the fight, downplaying all of our parts. It was like a bomb going off. From all around, questions were thrown at us. I left the answers to the girls, as we were scanned for any injuries. When it became my turn, I said verbally, "Well, I have to tell you that I had the meanest two grandmothers anyone ever heard about. I am happy they and Chris were around, to save my ass." The girls crowded around both of us. I felt very happy to have helped, even though it was to my benefit that the original problem had started. They also heard about my plans for getting the lithium fuel. Susan went with Kitten, Sandy, and Star; to get Susan, her time in the tutor. This time, knowing that they would not be harassed. I retreated to my office, and started writing the program I had promised Blair. Half way done, I felt the girls hunger, and left the computer to start supper. As I got to the kitchen, I smelled something good. A large roast was just being put into the oven, from the microwave. Chris and Nova were pealing potatoes and carrots. Blue was guiding the young girls in how to set the table. Out the window, the first white flakes of snow were just starting to cover the ground. Looking across the landscape, I saw a pickup winding its way through the trees, to the back of the house. I felt the girls in the truck were upset, and even frightened. Taking my jacket, I went outside, and waited for their arrival. The truck pulled up, and started to slip on the freshly fallen snow. Susan got out, and hugged me tight. "What's wrong?" She was so upset that it was hard to tell what the matter was. "A bear tried to climb into the culvert as we were leaving. We were so afraid. It ran off into the bushes. I think it will be back, looking for a place to den up for the winter. Kitten added, "Susan ran, and yelled at the bear, to scare it away. She even threw rocks at it. I don't know what we would have done, if the bear looked at us as food." "That was very brave of you Susan. The bear could have killed or hurt any and all of you. I could go and shoot it, but I am trying to get a tunnel dug to the house. That will make going outside unnecessary. Then we won't have to kill the bear." Sandy and Star held Susan's hands, and looked up at their heroine. As I had told Susan before: 'there is nobody else that I would trust with our family.' We all walked into the house. We found the rest of the family, eagerly awaiting the details of this adventure, so soon after the last. I went downstairs into my workroom. I made a twelve-volt circuit, to put a pulsating voltage to an automotive coil, from a riding lawn mower. With some bare, and insulated wire, I headed out to the culvert. I placed the wire in front of the opening. The car battery from the lights beside the pipe and one switch, were close to the entrance to the mine. Another was inside the far end of the conduit. I could do better. But it would be easier on the bear, and us, if this went up first. If the conduit had to stay, then I would have to go to a co-op, and get insulators and do the job right. I drove slowly, and with the windows down. A small nagging worry made me roll the window down. Very faintly, and coming from the south, was another flight of military choppers. The sound had been very reassuring in Nam, but did not feel so now, for some reason. When I got back, I pictured exactly what I had done, so the others would not get shocked by the high voltage. "Remember to not only shut it off, but the last person has to turn it back on." The girls continued to discuss their adventure, not quite over the shock of seeing the predator, eye to eye. I had almost finished the program, when I was called to eat. I got up and stretched, before heading to the dining room. I found the fireplace well stocked with wood, and all the lights were off. The rooms were lit by the fire, and the candles in the middle of the dining room table. The food and everything were set, and each girl stood behind her chair waiting for me to sit. It felt too odd for me to do it this way, so I went around the table, and sat each of my girls. As I sat; I remembered not too long ago, when only Chris and Kitten sat at the table. And they were ready to fight one another. "Thank you, Ladies, for all your hard work in making this a beautiful meal. And thanks to those others that did all the work, to make the house look, and feel like a home." All the ladies chatted mentally, as we ate the meal. The food seemed better than usual, probably something to do with my heightened senses. The food was so good, that I think I overate a little. When the conversation lagged, I asked, "Have you ladies given much thought to which one of you is to be the new commander of the base? I think you should decide quickly, because I would like to get a lot more food in. I want to start awakening the people we need, to get the base up and running. By the time I am trained, too much time will have passed." Susan said, "We were thinking the same thing. There is a list of people, and their skills. However, some of the top people are very conservative, and may not like the thought of 'savages', running around the base. We thought to let those continue sleeping. There are a lot of tech people, like Blue, that could be a great help if they co-operated. A little over two hundred people, would give us some selection, at least." As the dishes were washed, and everything was put away, I finished the program. I ran it through my mind, like a computer, and found no mistakes or inconsistencies. After burning two copies onto CD's, I headed out to see what the rest of the family was doing. The worry had returned. I felt no threat yet, but something was not right. Perhaps a prisoner had escaped from custody, or the military was conducting some manoeuvres. The 'Sand People' were just being chased away from Luke Skywalker, by an old Jedi Knight, on the television. Blue was laughing. She had seen the same thing, in an old entertainment package; that had been sent to the base, when it was being built. After the movie finished they discussed the weapons, and the aliens. The ray guns were much too slow and weak. The 'light sabre' was similar to one of their tools. But one beam did not deflect the other, nor make any noise. The blade length of the Tandra tool was at least twice as long. The 'Death Star' was actually smaller than the Tandra matter transmitter, that they had built, and in a different shape entirely. The large imperial ships though were similar to what the Tandra used. Blue sent, "And did you see those Wandue, playing the musical instruments, in the bar. They were not only the wrong colour, but they could not play, if their life depended on it." I asked, "How many civilized races have the Tandra ran across?" Nova answered because she knew more on the subject. "There are too many, the computer may know. Some have died off, and others have advanced to a higher level, since the base was built. As a rule of thumb; one in every seventy-three Star systems, like Sofaas, has a habitable planet. Of those, about four in twelve have a race that is considered intelligent. About three in twelve of those, will be advanced enough for space travel." "Nova, what is Sofaas?" "Your star of course. This planet is Sofaas III." "Of the number of races that can fly between the stars, how many are aggressive, towards planets they run across?" "I think about two in twelve, for the ones that have this ability. About half, for those that cannot reach space." "Why is it that we have not met any of those races? By your math, one in five thousand stars in this galaxy, would have a warlike race capable of finding us." "I worked in 'system security'. The records show the computer has repelled many twelve's of incursions into this system. Some may have been simply traders, but others surely were not. Nothing was too serious, or the defences would not have been able to protect this world." This shocked Susan and me. Susan asked, "What did you do, to chase them away?" "There are buoys, which warn all approaching ships, that they are approaching a Tandra controlled area. If they do not veer off, then weapons are fired at them. Lately (that is, in the last hundred thousand years; the reports say that we have had to use many more than usual, because they have misfired because of their age. Making new weapons should be done, as soon as the present crisis is over." "What type of weapons do we have to defend the system?" I mindspoke now. "There are the simple thermal rays, that will destroy meteors, or just cut them up for the refinery. Mines are scattered throughout the system, but stay in another set of dimensions until something comes close. The mines then enter these dimensions, form a globular field, and send parts of the trapped ship, back to the dimensions they just came from. Then we have a type of missile, that does the same thing as the mines." "Are there any other kinds?" "Oh, yes. Their technique, range, and power, all vary." "Can the tug be used for any offensive action?" "Not likely; considering it's slow speed, and lack of weapons." "How fast can it go? I am sure that we could strap on a platform that carries missiles, or tow them behind." "I think it was only capable of a little over four hundred gravities, without a tow; and about a hundred, when pulling about twelve to the eleventh power in kilograms. When it makes a transition, empty, it can only make about two hundred times the speed of light. You should either ask the tug, or the computer, to be sure." "Do you mean to tell me that, there is a ship in the base that can travel about two hundred times the speed of light, and you consider it slow?" I said. The very words were magic to my ears. "That would only be eight days to the next system." "Yes, and you would meet a nasty group of beings, there. That is one of the reasons we picked this system, instead. Since they have not conquered this system; it means that they have killed one another off, somebody else has done that for them, or they have been repelled by our defences. They were intelligent enough develop space travel, in only a few thousand years from when we last surveyed their system." "That was when you first came here. Perhaps your defensive measures have kept them away. I think I should go and talk to the computer, and find out a little more about a possible threat to Earth." Amy quickly asked, "May I go, too?" "I think it would be boring for you, and probably the rest of you, too." Then I spoke to everybody. "Since getting Nova's gift, I find that I need a lot less sleep. I will be back, later." Susan said, "Don't be long." I carried the Bo, and started toward the truck. I had a premonition of danger as soon as I touched the truck door. Considering how I recently knew that Sandy and Amy were in danger, I was not about to disregard the feeling. I had no idea who it could be, that threatened us. I ran back to the house, making sure, from the outside, that all the drapes were pulled. I opened the door, and called Susan over to me. "What's wrong I thought you were going to the base?" "Something's not right. I feel like a trap is about to close, and I don't know, why or who. Get the girls downstairs and hidden, if possible. Remove all traces of them, if you can. Use their environmental suits for them to hide in, if necessary. I had this feeling in Nam, when we were about to walk into an ambush. I am going outside, to wait for a while." Susan broadcast the message, and the worried girls picked up all of the things, that would say that there were a lot of people here. Kitten went downstairs, with the bedding, and the babies. A large empty room in the back of the house, which had no windows, easily hid them all. I stationed myself across from the driveway, and about five metres into the tree line. I could hear Susan in my mind, getting each of the girls into the bathroom, in preparation for a long wait. She opened a bottle of ammonia, and started washing the tile floors that, coincidentally, smothered any lingering scent. I waited, and thought furiously. The only threat that I knew of, was to the base, and the girls. If it was the base, then something must have got some important people stirred up. The NORAD base, in North Bay, only had some old Sea Kings. The machines I had heard, could only be American. North Bay was a combined effort base, with both Canadian and American soldiers, protecting us from the old 'Cold War' enemy, just over the pole. There were other 'copters coming and going in the fall, when the marijuana harvest was beginning. They had delicate infra-red detectors. They could look into a house, and tell how many people there were, and roughly what they were doing. I knew that boys would be boys, and they would not have any particular scruples about someone's rights being infringed a little, as long as they had a good laugh. Wait! The base was very warm and there was a pipe a metre in diameter puncturing the shield. There could be a massive amount of heat leaving the base. If those 'copters had the equipment, and were using it, then the entrance would stand out like a beacon in the cool air. I had to go and remove the breach in their defences. The feeling of danger increased, all of a sudden. I could hear a car turn into the drive way. The crunching of stone told me they would be here in only a minute. I raced back into the house. "Susan there are people coming. Tell the girls to be quiet." I had forgotten that I could very well give the same instructions, without using my voice. I saw nothing amiss in the house, as I turned on the lights to the approaching vehicle. A new Hummer pulled up under the light, and stopped. Two people got out. They stopped to admire the house, and find out some information, if it were possible. A tall man in a suit consulted a clipboard, before starting on his way. "Susan they know that a very powerful computer was accessing the net. Even with the best software and programmers, they could not keep the intrusion out for long. Something that powerful has not been made on Earth, they think." "I did not see that as clearly as you. One thinks this is all a waste of time, and wants to go back to his family. Both of the others admire the house, and the one in a suit, is jealous." "Yes, the first is the driver. The other two are considerably more professional, but have their own problems." The door bell rang. I was psyched up enough, to be ready for most anything. One thing I did do, was try to dampen the effect, I had on others. I opened the door, and saw two young men. One was dressed in military fatigues, and the other in a suit. Both were very formidable opponents, I felt. "Hello, Gentleman, what can I do for you two soldiers?" I was not interested in placing myself in an inferior position, at the start of this meeting. Soldiers were used to taking orders, as well as giving them. I just planned to be on the giving side. "Hello. My name is Lieutenant Smithers, and this is Mr. Fowler. Would it be possible to have a few moments of your time?" I could feel their estimation of me. Smithers was polite even in his mind while 'Captain' Fowler took me as a challenge to be bested, a poor way to start. I stuck out my hand and demanded identification. "ID's, please." A flustered Smithers pulled out his wallet, and showed me his military identification, with his picture on it. "Thank you, Lieutenant," then looking at Fowler, I awaited his response, "and you must be Captain Fowler. Does the American military issue you any identification, or do you expect people to just take your word?" "I am travelling under the lieutenant's auspices, and do not need to show you any identification." "Then you can turn around, and keep the driver company, while I have a polite chat with the lieutenant." "I am sorry sir, but what Captain Fowler said about travelling under my auspices, is correct. We are supposed to ask questions as a unit. How did you know Captain Fowler's rank and nationality?" "Your transportation has the large letters 'USA' on the side of an obviously American military vehicle. When you look at it, you will see that it is quite new. You would not be driving such a vehicle without an American military presence. So the rank would have to be a captain or above, especially if you are a lieutenant." The lieutenant turned to Fowler and said, "I think you should show your ID. There is no reason, now, not to." I could feel the animosity building in Fowler, but he was not about to risk his career, with a fight among witnesses. I looked carefully at the document, and noticed the old date, but the pristine condition of the card. "Well, come in then. My name is Henry Buchanan, and this beautiful young lady is my fiancée, Miss Susan Tran." I backed up to give them room. "What does the Canadian military and an American Intelligence officer want with me?" "What makes you think that I am in Intelligence?" Came the quick response. "'Elementary, my dear Watson'. I have been able to spot them since I got to Nam, and who else would go out on a beautiful night like this, to ask questions of foreign nationals, on their own soil?" I paused for him to consider his options, before hitting him with the other punch. "Your documents look very good. But the date is old, and the card looks like it was printed only a short time ago. This leads me to wonder how much of the card is really the truth. Now what do you boys want?" Smithers looked at Fowler, and began himself to wonder who he was travelling with. "May we sit down?" After they had taken their seats Susan asked, "We were just going to have some tea. Would either of you like to have some with us?" "No thank you, Ma'am," came from the lieutenant while the captain completely ignored the question. I could feel the animosity still radiating from the captain, and now from Susan. "Sir, what kind of computers do you have here, or own?" I chose to answer and learn as much as I could from their responses to my replies. "I have two IBM clones, with a Pentium one point three chip. The other has an AMD fifteen hundred. The lap top has only a one gig Pentium chip. None of them is exceptional in any way." "Do you have a dish?" Fowler asked, hoping for something to jump on. "I do. The same as almost all of the homes in the north. Are the American broadcasters sending in the military of two governments, to track down pirate television viewers? I happen to have a bill on my desk saying that I paid last month's invoice." Smithers chuckled, while Fowler fumed. "No sir. There has been unauthorized hacking, into both of our governments computers." "That sounds more like a job for the Mounties, with the FBI riding shotgun. What else have the hackers done, that would bring in the military instead?" Fowler was not about to give me too much information. He only knew that the intrusions were so powerful, that the only way to keep the information confidential, was to disconnect the important machines from the net entirely. They had traced the requests for information to a satellite that could service this area. The kicker was that this satellite only had internet customers in the United States. "That is confidential sir. Do you know of anyone with a possible motive, or a means, of attacking the computers? Your replies will be kept confidential." "I am sorry Lieutenant. I know of nobody with either of those attributes. I would like to show you my machines so you can attest to their capabilities." "Thank you, Sir. That would shorten our stay, and allow us to see a few other homes, before we call it a night." We got up, and I led them through the house, to the office. Fowler stopped along the way, to look at the memorabilia I had accumulated while in Viet Nam. He found the pictures of the men I served with, had equal placement with the others of generals, and even one of 'Tricky Dick', pinning one of the medals on me. The medals and citations themselves, lay behind glass. Smithers came back to see what had delayed Fowler, and saw my trophies as well. Susan checked the room with the girls, and knew that everyone was invisible. So she opened the door, and left it that way. We eventually booted up all the machines. They looked for themselves, at the capabilities of the machines, and the programmes I used. Some of the specialized ones, that I used for my work, were recorded in a small notebook by Fowler. Fowler asked, "What are these?" As he held the two CDs with the words 'Pickering Reactor' in felt tip marker. "Those are my latest contribution to reactor safety and efficiency. Ontario Hydro will get the program, tomorrow. Does the word reactor ring little bells in your brain? Canada only has slow breeders, so there is no weapons grade material produced." My response was ignored, and they drifted off to the other sections of the house. They were not doing a search; but they were not not doing one, either. Fowler and Smithers glanced into the back room, and found nothing of interest. Eventually, the trophy room drew them back. On the mantle beside the Shyirusaja sword, lay the Tandra weapon. Fowler walked over and admired the weapons. It was the shiny blade of the Japanese product that took most of his attention. Fowler asked, "May I use your washroom?" "Yes. Just down the hall, and beside the office." I knew he was up to something, even before he said it. The CDs and their software were too much for his curiosity. The toilet flushed, and Fowler walked back, his suit pocket holding one of the CD's. Smithers said, "Thank you for your indulgence in our search, and if you think of something here is my card." "You are quite welcome, Lieutenant. May I also have your commanding officers name and phone number, and that of Captain Fowler's too?" The lieutenant took his card back and wrote what information he knew. "I am sorry, Sir, but I do not know the phone number of Captain Fowlers superior." I asked Fowler for the information. "Why do you want the information? General Givens is a very busy man." "I just wanted to phone your superiors, and ask them about the penalties for officers under their command committing theft, from the civilian population of an allied country." Fowler's face flushed at being caught. Smithers said, "What was stolen, Sir?" "Fowler here, has seen fit to take one of my CD's. The software is worth a considerable amount of money, from the right people. If I get the disk back now, and an apology, it need go no further." "I don't have your disk." He was not sure of himself, but he knew that there was nobody in this house that could take it away from him. "Not only a thief, but a liar, as well. Back in Nam, an officer would just ask for the information, and it would be loaned or given to him. Is honesty too far from your ethics, for you to go that route?" "I took nothing. Let's go, Lieutenant," he said as he tried to leave the room. I stepped in front of him. He reacted quickly, and tried to punch my face. My new reflexes made the block. My next moves were almost child's play. I was behind him in an instant, and had one hand pulling his arm behind his back and my hand around his neck, pinching off the flow of blood to his brain. His foot came down, trying to crush my foot, but I always knew where and what he was going to do, until his efforts started to slowly stop. Susan was beside Smithers immediately, and was prepared to take on the other opponent if necessary. Smithers tried to go to Fowler's assistance, but Susan said, "Think before you do something foolish. I will not be as gentle as Henry is." Smithers face went back and forth trying to understand all that had happened. He moved and Susan got into a stance to do him some serious damage. His own training, told him that Susan was a competent, if not a very dangerous opponent. I said, "Lieutenant, I will not hurt Fowler, in a few seconds you will be able to reach into his pocket, and remove my property. Just wait for him to go unconscious, for my words to be proven." Fowler stopped and sagged pretending with the last of his strength to fool me. Ten more seconds, and he did not have to pretend, and I moved my hands to support the man. "Susan allow the lieutenant to search the thief." Then to Smithers, "Look now," I ordered. The lieutenant's hand carefully went out and patted Fowler's pockets, until he found the stolen disk. "Take the gun under his arm, and the other one strapped to his right leg. I would not like to hurt him further, when he wakes up and decides to seek a little revenge. I doubt if Fowler is all that sane." The guns were now in Smithers possession, and I laid Fowler down onto the floor, to recover. "Lieutenant, Fowler has committed a crime. If you arrest him, and get him kicked out of the country, I will forget all of this happened." He looked relieved to be given an easy way out. He did not like the idea of testifying at another soldier's court-martial. "Thank you, Sir. This would be a great embarrassment to each of our countries." "I will type up a report, and even allow you to borrow the CD as evidence, to determine that it does not break into computers." It was easy to form the letter in my mind. I had it completely ready, when the computer finished booting up again. Smithers watched in amazement as my fingers flew over the keyboard, hammering out the text of the document. One was addressed to each of the commanding officers, and were only slightly different. I signed all four copies, so that each officer knew what the other had been given. The Hummer pulled out with Fowler still unconscious in the back and his arms secured courtesy of my tie wraps. "I feel safer, now," I said. "I think that I will have to go to the base, and get the entrance closed. There is probably enough hot air escaping, to be read by a copter, or even a satellite. "Do you think it was wise to confront that foolish bigot?" "Perhaps not. But now I can talk to their bosses, and get a reading of what they have found out, and what they plan on doing next. It would be best for all of you all to go into the base, but I don't know if it is safe to travel." I took up the Bo again, in case I ran into the bear. The truck was left behind, because it had a much higher thermal signature. Besides, it felt good to just run the short distance. It felt eerie, without Dog, and knowing that there was nobody but the sleepers in the base. I ran through the base, and up to the ship. I just stopped and looked at its gleaming shape. "Hello? Is anyone there?" ------- Chapter 20 From inside my head, came a voice. It made me think of Kitten, or maybe Blue, because it sounded so alive and feminine. "Hello, Henry. It has taken you a long time for you to come and see me." "You sound like a living person, and not the least like a machine," I said vocally. "I am living being, and my name is Secric. I am associated with what you would call a machine intelligence, something completely different than what you saw with the base computer. The AI responses are much better than that computer. You only are exposed to the basic programming by the base computer." A hole appeared above my head, and a feeling of weightlessness overcame me. I shot up at a blur and stopped abruptly, never feeling any acceleration to my body or senses. Only my eyes told me that this happened. The room had one couch, much like the medical seat I had preferred to sit in. The walls were a bright white, but faded as Secric deduced my preferences. The colour rapidly changed to beige. Behind me I heard steps and turned. I saw a beautiful Tandra woman. She was taller than the others, with just as delicate features. Her naked breasts were fuller, than I had seen before, except on Kitten and Chris who were now breast feeding. Her face was even more beautiful than any Earth or Tandra woman I had ever seen before. Almost more perfect than perfect. My mind, now accustomed to mental communication, flew out and found all the richness and colour, that I would find in any of the women now at my house. But there was much greater depth and subtlety here. The portion of a woman's mind that is normally hidden, was wide open to me. I could easily see and experience the profound love she had for me. There was no apparent reason for this infatuation. I had just met the woman. She gave me an Earth type smile. She raised her hands over her head, and turned around. Her ass was fuller, and the hair running down her back was longer in length but only went to her shoulder blades. "I see that my shape pleases you. We have only had to make a few modifications to make me as you see me now," she said using her vocal cords. Her dainty mouth looked perfect for the chore of talking to me. "Secric, you certainly are very beautiful. You seem to have all the finest traits of any woman I have ever seen. Even your smile is beautiful. I was just getting used to the way the Tandra do it. I thought I was able to look into your mind, but are you a hologram?" She gave a Human smile, and swayed with a grace I had never seen before, till she was just in front of me. Her hands came up, and I could feel their warm presence on my cheeks. Her face came closer, and she kissed me better than I think I had ever been kissed before. I was enveloped in a cloud of emotions, that made me feel loved and wanted, above all else. She slowly pulled her face back from the kiss. I could feel the delicate textures of her skin, and hair. Her nipples poked my chest. I could smell the delicate aroma of a woman in heat. "Does that answer your question?" "I think that demonstration was more than I had ever expected." My cock was uncomfortable in my pants. "But how is it that a living computer can kiss me?" "The part you see is only linked to the intelligence in this ship, not exactly part of it. I have been constructed by the machine from Tandra genetic material. My purpose has been to gather sensory data, that the ship is not able to do as well." "Are you able to separate from the machine if need be?" She gave me a delightful chuckle, and said, "Yes, Henry. I'm just a Tandra female. But more closely linked to the intelligence here, than is usually found." "I am glad to hear that. It seems odd to have a biological body hooked up to a machine." "I can see your worries in your mind. The ship and I are very close, almost like mother and daughter. She allows me to learn faster than others, while I share the data I am able to collect." I felt better, but this is not what I came to talk about. "We have a problem, that needs to be corrected immediately. Somebody is accessing the internet, and doing it so well that the military now wants to find out who is doing it. I think that it could only be either you, or the base computer." "How is this possible? We only accessed a few files, to find out your planet's capabilities." "You happen to be so good, that they could not keep you out. This was a serious security breach, and the governments of Canada and the United States, cannot think of anything terrestrial that could do what you have done," I paused for breath and continued. "I know that they are now looking for you, and might find you, since there is a hole in the wall of your shield. There are helicopters around that may have infra-red imaging. The tarp and white stone from the recent earthquake may bring the curious around. I saw a few flights of helicopters recently looking for you." "What should we do?" "What kinds of information have you asked for? Have you asked for a lot of information about this particular geographical spot? And last of all, have you asked about Susan or me?" "I asked for information on your planet's defensive and offensive capabilities. There are many more Tandra bases on your planet, and I have acquired information on most of the areas around them. From what I could gather, your people have not even found any of the bases. I have not begun to ask for personal information yet." "The satellite you must be using, can only broadcast over its entire area. To find you, they either would, or have changed the broadcast area. If they find that you need to ask for the packets to be sent again, they will know that you are now in the shadow. It is important that they do not think that you are aware of their activities. Do you have something that can receive the satellite data, and send it to you, without Earth technology detecting it?" "Yes, we do." "Can you get it into a position, where they will think we are situated?" "It is a simple matter." "That will give us some time, but I don't know how much. Is there a way to block the heat from leaving the base, and a way to repair the hole in the mountain?" "I can simply get the base computer to strengthen the shield. This will shear the tube. I can project an image, that will look like the rest of the mountain and disguise the hole." "That will have to do for now. The next thing the military will do, is use a ground penetrating radar. The image they see, will be far too regular in shape. There is too much area, for them to quickly cover, but they may pick some places that pique their interest. Do you have a counter for this?" "With a source of power, one of the mining machines could fill in the hole. If I send out probes, I can see what the radar would see, and manufacture a suitable response." "Then do that. I will get ten kilograms of lithium tomorrow, and bring it here. I would feel safer with the girls inside this base, but do not want them being caught in the open, as we travel. If you can monitor the area around and above the base, we can get them all back here safely." "I can do that. If you sit in the chair, I can have you fitted with a communicator." Two similar sphere came out and circled me. After a series of buzzes, I found that my 'hearing' had been improved even more than before, and the clarity was amazing. I could pick up small nuances that had escaped me before. There was no physical sensation, when the change was made. "Would you give a demonstration of what this is capable of?" I saw the mountain from overhead just as I did the first day I met Kitten, but it was night now. The light changed, and I could see in another part of the spectrum. The trees and water were not exactly the right colour. My wish must have been the ship's command, for the scene altered again and it looked almost indistinguishable from the daytime scene. My view now changed to one, of almost one hundred kilometres up, and then down to the flight of three choppers. I could actually see the people, and read the numbers off the side of the fuselage. I tried to manoeuvre the perspective, and found I could see the house and a blurry image of Susan inside. My memories were used in place of the blurry image and everything stood out very clearly. An odd distortion in the back room was the only evidence of the others. "Now that, is very impressive. Can you monitor the area, and give me warning, if anybody is likely to see us?" "Yes I can, Henry. Is there anything else?" "I would like to get the girls in here, to safety, but I do not want to be locked out myself. Is there another entrance I can use?" "There are many entrances, but all of them require the matter transmitter, to be functional. The matter transmitter I use here, is too small, and only intended for shipboard use. There are other more primitive entrances, but I am afraid that they are blocked by water or debris from all the time they have remained unused. What I can do, is block the flow of warm air, coming out of the tube. When you come back tomorrow, we can power up the system and use the matter transmitter for your needs." "That sounds workable. Can I listen and project my thoughts through the shield with this communicator and your help?" "The shield uses all five dimensions, not even our enemies could compromise it, without destroying it. Communicators use these five dimensions and a quark flux. Since the shield is now pierced, communication can occur without an antenna. Once the breach is closed only special communicators can transmit through it, when it stops, every few trillionths of a second. You have such a communicator." "Thank you for the better model, I need to get back now. I think we can talk as I travel," I said with a smile. I did not really want to leave Secric now that I had found her. This did not place her higher than the others at my home, just at the same level. I would now protect her, as I would the others that I loved. Secric gave me a squeeze and another kiss. "Since there will be fuel soon, I have made transportation available." A fog seemed to enshroud me. I found myself beneath the ship, and beside a vehicle that floated a few centimetres above the floor. The shape appeared very aerodynamic. It was made for only one or two passengers. "You seemed to be concerned about your safety, when I brought you in last time, so I removed the visual cues, that would cause you discomfort." When I walked over to the side of the grey machine she said, "I would open the transporter, but you should try. Just tell the door to open, and then direct its course. It is much more responsive than anything you are used to. It has safety overrides, so you will not get hurt." "Thank you. I will give it a try." Using my mind I said, "Open." The car flowed apart, to give me the maximum amount of room to enter. Something like the liquid metal in the last 'Terminator' movie was the only thing that I could think of. I put the Bo in first and was able to fit in very easily. The chair automatically adjusted to support my weight very comfortably. "This is nice. Even as a piece of furniture this would be very valuable. 'Close.'" The sides flowed back together, and the vehicle effectively disappeared. There were no blind spots, for when my mind wanted to see behind me, an image of the appeared as if I had turned around. I had to see through the image that was in front of me to distinguish the pattern behind. This was much better than the heads-up display that was in many military aircraft and some expensive cars. I knew I was not really leaving Secric, so I did not even say 'goodbye'. "Forward." The car moved forward slowly and I looked toward where I wanted to go, and it followed my line of sight. In no time I was at the boundaries of the main floor. I decided to do a lap or two around the perimeter to get a better feel for the vehicle. The car raised at my urging and I flew two metres off the floor. The speed increased, and I found that anything I thought of was very quickly converted into action. Absolutely no wind noise came to my ears, even though they were now much more sensitive. Coming into a turn, I felt no centrifugal force. This was almost like a computer game. "Secric, can I get some feedback?" "Yes, Henry. I will do it this time, and show you how, when you are not actually driving." The next turn came up, and I felt my weight increase, and some sound of the wind over the invisible canopy. The Bo moved to the side from the forces involved. I went straight up and made a turn just short of the top of the shield, did a loop and headed for the entrance. An abrupt stop made me feel a force holding me back. I imagined that if there were no feedback, I could drive right into the mountain, and feel nothing. The little ship became visible around me, as it stopped. "This makes the Beaver look very bad, and it is such a beautiful plane. Thank you for the loan, Secric." "You are very welcome. There is nobody within many kilometres. A bear happens to be between you and your home though. A military satellite is currently scanning this area. You should take a protective suit from the small storage locker, so that you will not be seen." Reaching forward and to my right I found the equivalent of a glove compartment, and took three suits. When I got out, I placed one on my waist and it immediately wrapped itself around me. I felt a small depression and a smaller button, this I knew from the girls, was a manual override. Trying the mental commands I sent, "protect." A slight tingling was felt all over my body. "How do I get it to make me invisible to light and heat and allow me to see?" "Just think those thoughts. The commands can be saved to a key word that you can give to the computer. There is no danger of the word being used inadvertently, because it will know when you really mean it." I turned off my electrical fence and climbed through. "If you have a plug on the culvert, do I need the fence to keep the bear out?" The bear will not enter now. I have regulated the suit to allow more oxygen and carbon dioxide to permeate the shield. You use significantly more energy now." I ran home, and passed within a metre of the bear. Its ears had detected the sound of my feet, and her nose was twitching to get my scent, but her eyes found nothing to see. In any case my muscles allowed me to run faster than the bear. "Girls, I am coming. Everything looks all right now. I will be there in a few seconds," I sent, to keep the girls from worrying. Susan could sense me, but did not see anybody as the door opened and closed behind me. I pictured in my mind the suit going dormant, and it did just as I wanted. I walked up to her and gave her a big hug and a kiss for I knew that she and the rest were concerned about the recent events. "I found Secric, she seems to be an employee, to the entity that runs the ship," I said to everybody. "She is definitely female. I have a special communicator, so I can talk to her at any time." I took Susan's hand and walked down to the room so I could be with the rest of my new family. "Secric and the ship's AI did not know about all the ramifications of their actions, and the amount of paranoia in the Human animal. The electric fence is deactivated, and the end of the culvert plugged, so that no heat can escape to give the base away. A drone was sent, to lead the search away from this area. I hope this idea was not too late. I brought two more suits, so that Chris and Susan can travel, without being seen by the military satellite that was diverted to fly overhead." "What are we going to do?" asked Kitten, slightly worried. "I would like all of you to go back into the base. I will bring some fuel. Your own tools can be used to get the base running." The phone started to ring. Usually I would let the answering machine answer but I thought I knew who it might be. "Hello." "Hello. Is this Mr. Henry Buchanan?" "It sure is. What can I do for you General MacDonald?" "How did you know who is speaking to you?" "The timing, and the knowledge that generals were the commanding officers of both Smithers and Fowler. Your voice came across as someone used to giving orders, not a secretary. You have a slight accent, of someone that came from Cape Breton, a long time ago. Does that answer your question?" "Well, I can see why Lieutenant Smithers was so taken with you. Captain Fowler had to be sedated, he seemed to have taken the opposite stance. I see from your docket, from the American military, that you were a very competent soldier yourself." "Thank you, General, but that was a long time ago. You can see by your paperwork; that I am forty eight now, trying to watch my weight, and in need of reading glasses." "Smithers tells me that you moved faster that anyone he has ever seen. He was even afraid to cross Miss. Susan Tran, in your house." "Susan owns and runs the dojo in North Bay. I spar with her all the time. It does have some rewards when I win." I felt an elbow in my side, "oophf!" "I can tell that she is present. Do not say anything that will get you hospitalized, on my account. Anyway, I called to find out if you had anything more to say about the confrontation." "I believe that Captain Fowler has a problem with authority. I happen to be one of the old type of people, that consider my property to be my castle. He did not seem to warm to me, when I demanded identification. When I deduced his rank and probable service, he was further incensed, probably thinking he was perfectly incognito. When he saw a sample of my programming skill, he decided to procure a copy, because of the words on the label. I sent the same disk with the Lieutenant, to show you that it was not an attempt to sabotage our own reactors. I trust that the information on the disk will not be spread about, for it represents a considerable amount of money and effort." "The disk is safe. But its contents have been sent to American intelligence for verification. Would you consider coming down, and talking to General Givens, tomorrow?" "I can do that, but under a few conditions." "Yes. What are they?" "I am flying to Pickering, tomorrow, to get the program approved by Hydro. I hope all of the Candu reactors will be converted. I want to land at the airstrip on the base, and see General Givens within a reasonable amount of time. If those conditions are acceptable, then I could be there around oh eight hundred hours." "Those conditions are fine. Perhaps you would like to have breakfast with us?" Thinking of my improved appetite, I said, "That would be great. I will be happy to meet you in the flesh, tomorrow." "And I you. Good night, Mr. Buchanan, and please convey my apologies to Miss Tran, for disturbing both of you, at so late an hour." "Good night General, and think nothing of it." After I placed the phone in the cradle. Susan asked, "Are you in trouble, Henry?" "Not in the least, but I think the military may be." Then, thinking to everybody. I sent, "Secric, is there anything that I should take that would give us any more information?" "No, Henry. You have all of the necessary equipment inside you now." I introduced each of the girls to Secric. I could hear awe in all of their 'voices' when they made their replies. It was not often that they were introduced to an actual crew member. I wondered if I acted any differently when I first met her. The girls chuckled among them selves, so I knew that I was no different. When the introductions, and the chit chat was over, I said, "Let's get some food ready for transport, and get all of you back to the base. I will feel a lot safer, knowing you are behind the shield." We made the trip back on foot, and in the dark. The young girls stayed in the base, and took care of the food and the babies, while the adults returned for more food. The Tandra sword, shoes, and all the clothes and toys, were also carted to the base. The pantry was now almost empty, and only the refrigerator and freezer held an appreciable amount of food. I said a tearful goodbye to each of the girls. It did not seem odd that the joys of bonding were intensified, along with the anguish. At least they had the camping mattresses to sleep on till the utilities were re-established. Susan and I held hands as we walked back to the house. "It seems as if I have lost my sisters now that we are apart. Up to a little while ago, I only wished for enough time to be alone with you. Now I want my sisters to share the joys with me," she paused for a while, then continued. "At one time, I would have been very jealous of the girls, but now I hurt to be away from them." "I think that is the way it should be. Perhaps there is hope for Humans and Tandra to work together, without Humans wanting to take over. I find that I already have too much say in how things happen. I am afraid of corrupting a very gentle race." "They are not that gentle. Don't forget that they fought many wars, and won them all." "I know that. I still see that they were always lenient. I know what Humans would be like in the same situation, and I don't want that to happen." I pictured troops entering a village and killing everybody that came at them even with a knife. Afterwards many of the young women and children would wish that they had joined their parents in death. This was true some times in Viet Nam. It was also true, in every other battle, down through time. Susan must have seen my visions, for she remained quiet till we returned home. "Love me tonight, Henry. I feel so lonely," she asked. We showered and got ready for bed. "Secric, can you get the intelligence on the ship to transmit our feelings and emotions to the rest of my family?" "I have not tried this before, but I think we can." "Thank you. It would mean a lot to each of us." Susan smiled, as we both felt the presence of the others. They were laying down, so they would not fall when overcome. I pictured each of their faces. Nova, the most serene, held the rest together. Kitten, Chris, and Sandy, held the children, and felt thankful to be allowed to join in. The young girls had the enthusiasm of youth. Blue was shy, and did not know if she had a real place in our group. Over all of this, I could feel Secric doing her best to make this happen. "Blue, I want you and Secric to know that I have accepted all of you as my wives, as Kitten said. I may not want more, but I want each of you to join us. Susan and I have found that we do not like to be alone, any longer." I felt the connection become even stronger as the last two joined more fully. Holding Susan, I gently kissed her lips then her cheek, ear, and then her neck. There was a lot of feedback from the girls, as I resisted the urging to plunge into Susan's cunt. This was almost as hard as when I first kissed Sandy and Amy. All of them wanted me to continue at a much quicker pace just as they were used to. Susan was not the girl of only a week ago. She was completely submerged into the Tandra psyche, when making love. I kissed down her chest, making her squirm. She offered her nipples to my mouth. I sucked leisurely at the small nipples, tasting the milk that had just started to flow. I sucked longer than necessary, because she had no child to unburden to, later. I could feel Kitten and Chris leaking milk. I felt them take the children, and put them to a breast to not waste the milk. I could feel the group temperature go up. I knew that if I were not careful, it would overflow soon, if not regulated. As I lay on my side, I kissed Susan's abdomen and navel. My tongue entered momentarily, knowing that she was sensitive in this spot, and by transference the rest of the girls would be ticklish too. Susan's hands were pushing me toward her clit. I could feel all the others controlling her hands, to help her do as they all wished. Little Moth, knowing the joys of my tongue first-hand was pushing the hardest. My cock was so hard it was likely to spew, if I could not control my own drives better. The tremendous flood of emotions carried me along, and it required all of my strength to remain still, and let the flow wash over, and around me. Getting up, I pulled away from Susan's grasping hands, and got into a position between her wide spread legs. In a kneeling position, I clutched her ankles, and pulled them up. One foot went to my mouth. She could see my cock in front of her, but could not reach it well. I kissed and licked the in insides of her calves, being slow and methodical in my light touches. I moved away from her, to give me more room. I rested on my chest. Susan ankles were still in my hands, but now her legs were bent at the knees. Her small feet outlined her small and almost hairless cunt. Instead of diving in, as they all wanted, I kissed as close to Susan's knee as I could get, and gave little nibbles toward my goal. With a small lick on her mons, I followed the same path on the other leg. The bed was bucking just like a canoe shooting the rapids. Susan twisted one way, then another. I think she was thrown that way, by her sisters who tried in vain to help her get what they all wanted. I held her as still as possible, and gently blew across the fine hair that guarded her treasure. Her hips bucked to catch the flow of air if possible, and get it inside her. I could hear her moans and entreaties as well as those of the others. They all wanted me to finish her off. She stopped moving as soon as my tongue touched her outer lips. I acted the part of an animal, about to fall into a trap. My small licks got her to open her mons as wide as possible, as I stayed away from the nerves around her vagina and clit. I moved to the other lip, and stroked it as I had the first. All of my women were about to fall off the precipice, if I were not careful and bring them back slightly. I blew into Susan's vagina, and I could feel what was happening to her from her perspective. I did it again and again. Her hands came to me again, to pull me to my goal. "Do not pull. It will be better my way. All of you relax, and we will see how good it can get." Her hands retreated, and grasped the sheet on both sides of her hips with so much strength, that I thought she might tear the material. The pause helped, and I sucked in one of the inner lips, and ran my tongue along the captive, tasting her flow. My nose gently rubbed her clit, as my tongue did its job. I felt Cloud and Moth, the two youngest, fall by the wayside with screams and oblivion. This was good news, for I knew that if I could do just the right amount, I could only have the most persistent stay with me. Taking the clit that just begged to be sucked between my lips, I gently stroked it, as I pictured little Kitty in my mind. Her shy looks and pleasant smile and mannerisms stayed with me, as I stroked the clit, and tried to mesh more fully with her. It was all too much for the child. She pulled herself into a foetal curve, and had the greatest orgasm of her short life. Next youngest were Topaz, Blue's child, and then Amy. I tried to get into both minds at once, and found want and desire, that far surpassed their tender years and experience. I let them think that I was attacking their clits as I bathed Susan's. I stopped momentarily, and speared Susan's cunt with my tongue. I then brought it back to her clit, which I sucked on much more vigorously. Topaz and Amy were actually together and held one another. Their orgasms threw each of them into a stupor, just the three younger members. Star was my next goal, and she shivered at the expectation. I pictured her face in my mind, and as with Cloud and Topaz, I had never touched her intimately before. She had curls in her hair, unlike the others wavy hair. She was almost the same age as Sandy, but had not gotten past the last hurdle of adolescence. She had not yet dropped an egg, to meet the sperm that she hoped would enter her body. I got back onto my knees and prepared to enter Susan. I pictured her face as I slowly and carefully worked my way into Susan's body. The feeling of my pubic hair touching Susan's clit, set Star off. She thrashed about and pushed Moth that was sleeping beside her. Seeing this happen I was concerned for the babies. "Put the babies in a safe place for a moment, I do not want them hurt." As the girls pulled out of their trance, I noticed a great reduction in the force of the current around me. The six young girls had a fierce sexual drive but it did not stand-up as well as the older ones. As I pumped slowly into Susan, I felt the others reintegrate themselves into the group. Moments later the flow was pushing me to complete the act again. My slow strokes were not quite enough to send them over the edge. Susan did not have anywhere near the amount of nerve endings, that the Tandra did inside or outside their vagina. I pictured Sandy riding my cock as I woke up, trying desperately to get my seed within her. She stroked hard and fast grinding herself into my pubic hair and bone. Sandy could take no more as shudders ran through her young body. Chris was next and I pictured her in the shower. Her need was very strong and she did not know what to do. Instinct told her to get me to mount her and the conditions under which she was raised kept her away because of fear of rejection and ridicule. I remember slipping up behind her and slowly sinking my lubricated cock into her tight and unused hole. The hard edges inside and the long thick urethra outside stimulated her to the point she convulsed on me, her strong vaginal muscles milking me of everything I had. Kitten and Chris succumbed to this vision mainly because Kitten was on the bed when this scene happened, and the emotions and the sensory stimulation had been plucked from Chris's consciousness. I had taken out most of the opposition, and the feelings of eminent eruption were pushed back. Blue would be my next adversary. I had never done much more that hug and kiss Blue. She had a strong inner core, that would protect the family through any adversity. She was a good mother as I had seen her with her own child Topaz. I put her face over that of Susan, and started to plunge into her with long forceful strokes. As I pinched Susan small nipples, Blue succumbed to the inevitable, and I could feel both her and Susan quake at the forces that travelled through their bodies. I now thought of Nova and how I had sneaked up behind her and licked her sensitive spots, and forcing my fingers into her, as I implanted a picture of my cock doing the same thing till she orgasmed mightily. Nova did the same thing now as she remembered the incident. Her legs crossed and squeezing her cunt and clits tightly. "There is only you left Secric, and I mean to have you too." I could feel her incredulousness. "Why are you doing this to me?" "For the same reason you joined this group in the first place. I could see into your mind, the way you and the intelligence on the ship intended. There was too much loneliness and need, for you to carry on alone. I am going to fuck you and pinch your nipples and suck on your clits, till you orgasm." This time I pictured Secric on the chair in the ship and me pounding into her body. Her breasts moving with the thrusts, I gave her. Her breathing was even governed by my powerful strokes. I saw an egg come from her ovaries and start down the fallopian tube. My testicles churning out sperm and with a great grunt, I expelled millions of sperm on their way to meet the egg. Mine travelled very fast and attacked the egg in mass, till one wiggled its way in. This happened, as I actually did release my little invaders. Later Secric was in the same chair nursing our child, and a beatific smile on her face. Susan convulsed as Secric had her first ever orgasm. Susan's abdomen contracted, and her torso came up to hold me tightly. Her grip was phenomenally strong. Her vagina clamped down and stayed in that position. Even her breathing stopped, as her heart raced faster than it had ever done before. Her hands raked my back to pull more of me into her. I was beginning to worry for none of the women had ever had a cum like this before. I searched in my own mind and disconnected the connection to Secric. Immediately Susan started breathing and her muscles relaxed. I carefully laid the now unconscious woman down. I could tell from her jumbled thoughts, that she had been severely overloaded with emotions and sensations. Our love making usually took much longer, and also much more athletic. This time the mind was the strongest erotic centre. I went to the bathroom and brought back a damp cloth and a soft towel. I cleaned her unresponsive body as best I could, and patted her dry after. I climbed into bed and held the comatose woman to me till I joined her in sleep. ------- Chapter 21 Saturday September 30 At six o'clock I woke up horny with a very attractive woman draped over me. Taking the tube of KY I slipped into her and heard the same sounds of appreciation that I heard last night. I held her tightly and flipped over onto my back, and let Susan wake up with my hard cock inside her. My hands pulled up her knees so that she squatted over me. I cheated a bit and projected erotic scenes into her unconscious mind. Her vaginal muscles contracted in time with the images thrusts. "What oh... oh" came from her lovely lips as her mind came back to her. "oh oh yes." I pushed her up and her pelvis started to work her clit onto my pelvic bone. Within moments she let out a groan and collapsed on top of me. My hard cock was still in her and I flexed it. "Oh, you didn't cum yet." She got back up and did her best to please me, but she was just still too bushed from last night. "Get on your knees Honey, at the side of the bed." She gratefully complied and I stood on the floor behind her and slipped into her juicy snatch, and began to pump away. This was just us, so I had to work like I used to do, to get her to cum again. I varied my stroke and depth till I knew she was there. Just as she was finishing, I pounded much harder setting her off again, as I released my seed into her. I picked up the dry towel beside the bed and cleaned both of us. She lay on the folded towel as the juices flowed out of her tight vagina. "I love you Henry Buchanan." "And I love you too Mrs. Buchanan." I knew that a ceremony would not be what really joined us together. "What happened last night? I think I must have came about ten times and a lot of little ones." "Did you notice that I was communicating with of each of the girls, as I was making love to you?" "Yes." "Well you had a small orgasm when each of them had theirs. Then you had a big one with Nova and even before you could recover, I thought of Secric and I think she had her very first orgasm. Since she is so powerful, when linked to the computer, she sort of overloaded you." "I could see her when we were making love. She was very lonely and sad. I hope you made her feel better." "Let's ask. Secric are you there?" "Yes Henry. Thank you for last night. I have never had an experience like that before. I have only heard of one computer intelligence having an orgasm through a surrogate. Something like that has only happened when the surrogate was very strong and the computer controlled an important planet. It was fantastic for both of us. We don't know what to say." She now talked to Susan. "I am sorry for what I did last night. If Henry had not been able to pull away, you might have been hurt." "That is alright Secric. I want you in our group, and for you to join in next time. Henry can always stop it if it happens again. Maybe you can even have something monitoring us and automatically disconnect if things get too intense." "I can do that easily, but are you sure you want me? I am linked to a machine." "My body is a machine made of blood, calcium, and water. The machine portion is just made of other things. You bring an entirely new outlook on the way our group works. I know I would love you, just like I do the other members of our family, if I am given a chance." "Thank you, both of you," she sobbed. "I have never been accepted like this before, even with my own people." I was listening to the conversation closely, and could hear the thoughts of two people thanking us. The lonely computer, and an even more lonely girl, that worked through the computer. "I agree with Susan, most of the lovemaking is cerebral in nature and I would like to welcome you into our family, and speaking of crew," I paused, "The girls are sleeping on the hard floor, or the couches with the pads on them. The sanitary facilities are non-existent in the base. Are the crew facilities functional aboard the ship, and would you take them in, till the base gets back on its feet?" "They are, and I would gladly do that. I will even try to find a way to prepare and serve the food you brought for the others. It has been a very long time since a crew has been in the ship. Would you like to offer them the accommodations now?" "I think, as one of our group now, you should make the offer. I have to get ready for the flight to the military base in North Bay. If you are able to monitor the events with the ship intelligence, through me, then we can do a better job." "Thank you for letting me make the offer, and I would be happy to help too." I could hear the conversations with the others, and found that they were very happy to accept the new home. Apparently 'the crew' were high in the base chain of command." I picked up Susan and took her downstairs for a shower and only a little play. After breakfast, I did the preliminaries on the plane, and bid farewell to them all through my link. The others were still worried about the airworthiness of the primitive plane, built on Earth. After getting clearance, I landed, then taxied next to some cargo and troop planes. The little Beaver could even be tucked in under their wings. A jeep met me, and we travelled to the administration building, and I was led through security, to General MacDonald's office. He was a trim man, about my height and weight, and starting to grey, just as I was. The general got up and gave me his hand. "Glad to meet you Mr. Buchanan. How was your flight?" "I am glad to meet you too, General. The flight was fine, but my baby looks out of place besides it's big brothers." He laughed, "I know what you mean. I am a small plane pilot too. Would you join me for breakfast. I am sure you would like to see more military food." "Thank you General. Base food was a lot different, than the rations we had in the field." We walked down a long hall as I tried to scan all of the people I passed. When you are not familiar with the person it is difficult to get more than surface feelings. It would take a long time to get past MacDonald's surface thoughts. MacDonald himself looked on me favourably. It was good that I still kept my new persona toned down. "Secric, are you doing any better?" "We can only see a little better than you, but I can see more people at once. I suggest that you just concentrate on the two Generals." "That sounds fine with me." The officers gave their selections to the orderlies. I ordered a regular breakfast because I did not want to raise eyebrows with my new appetite. Just as we finished the food, a large well-built man, wearing a American general's uniform approached our table. I could see that he took care of himself, and expected his men to do the same. His feelings to me were not too favourable, because he was still taking the side of his Captain. I felt drawn to him, because I would do the same thing, with one of my men. I now felt a test coming on. We stood for the introductions, and as General Givens shook my hand. He started to squeeze as I did the same. Our smiles remained fixed as the contest went on. When he reached his limit we parted, him to flex his hand under the table, and me to do the same thing, so he would not think me either a wimp or superior to him. He deduced that I was his equal in this matter. I could also see that he had been in Nam the same as me, but he was in the Marines, the same as now. He had to put-up with REMF's and assholes in his unit, and had proven himself in the field. He was a good soldier in my opinion. His brother John had died in the last days of the war and had even fought beside me a year before his death. "General Givens, I am glad to meet you. I remember meeting someone with your last name. It was June 1969 and a skinny red haired rifleman, with a big nose, by the name of John. He saved my ass in the central highlands around Ben Het, Kontum Province. Is he any relation?" The look on his face was astonishing. I saw now that he looked up to his brother, even though he was in the army. "My brother was in an interdiction team that was protecting the villages. How did you meet him?" "Well, my squad was returning from visiting the local NVA. After the socializing, we departed the party quickly. They were insistent that we stay and enjoy ourselves. We had three wounded and the NVA was closing up fast. Your brother, who by the way, was much more fit than you. Anyway, he was in the process of setting up an ambush. We joined forces and killed nineteen or more. You can never tell the way they carry off their dead and wounded. He told me later that he had a worthless brother by the name of Brian, who was trying to hide with the Marines, in a safe place." The General was about to explode at the slur on him and his service, when he came to the conclusion that I was putting him on. "I looked at your record," he said as he settled back in his seat. "and I saw no reference to you or your pansies fighting anywhere near there," he tried to needle me back. "Our group of malcontents were sent to many of the more scenic spots. I imagine our orders came from state-side and forgotten. If your clearance was a little higher, you might have found out more about the laggards, I baby-sat. I am sure your guys did much the same thing," I said as a way of placating him. Both generals paused to think this over. Neither had guessed that my packet was largely fictional, and left entirely too much unsaid. "Well, I didn't ask for a very detailed report on you. Were you there when his ass was plastered?" "Was I there? I am the one who tackled him, when I saw the cord leading to the claymore. He caught five and I got two and grazed by seven more. I can pull my pants down now, to show you how I lost more skin than your brother." He smiled thinking of the army catching some metal. John had only been out of action three weeks from his wounds. "No, no. That is all right. The army was always clumsy in those matters." He stopped to think, and I could see him trying to make the right questions to find out more about last night's action. "Would you tell me about Captain Fowler?" "The Captain in my opinion resents authority outside of his chain of command. He came with armed escorts, with the marking of a foreign power, at night, to an out-of-the-way house. When identification was demanded of him, he refused. I happen to know the rules of conduct, and he did not follow them. I put him on the spot when I deduced his rank and service. He did not like being caught that way, and resented me even more. As a concerned citizen I offered to show them my computer equipment. Notes were taken of the types of software I use, and in the process Captain Fowler found two CDs on the top of my desk. When we left the room, he returned and removed one of them. When I demanded it back, he denied taking it. I blocked his way and he attempted to strike me. When I subdued him, without striking him by the way, Lieutenant Smithers removed my CD and two concealed weapons, one I assume was not regulation." "The boy was always a bit head-strong. What would you recommend?" "I do not want to get involved in a court-martial. Send him home and make sure he gets some courses in how to deal with the public, and his own feelings." "That is very generous of you." "I have another reason for it. I want to know what is happening. If the military and not the police are after a hacker, then the situation is serious. I can only think of a terrorist cell operating around here, that has infiltrated very far into both Canadian and American government computers. I have listened to the news for the first time in a week or so, and found no disruption of public services. Is the cell so good that it cannot be kept out?" Again the generals were dumb struck. "How do you know all this?" Givens asked. "From the way you are asking, and the fact that I have seen three flights of copters flying over my property, when only once a month is the average." Givens replied, "I cannot make a reply to your assertion." I scanned their minds and saw that he was restricted because of security. They did not want the thought of snoopy aliens getting out to the general public. "Do you have any AWACs on their way? I could think of some joint training manoeuvres carried out on Crown Land, just might help track down your culprits." I could see by my words that this was already in the works. Also mobile crews were now out monitoring, for any lead to the base. The FBI and the Mounties were still looking for any lead they could get, along with all the security agencies on both sides of the border. United States Army Intelligence was heading all the searches, and held all of the information that was found so far. Now to stir up some shit. "Have you involved our allies, and done any snooping on China and Russia?" I could see that the pot had not boiled enough, and the secret was still closely kept. "All avenues are being considered in this matter," Givens said abruptly. "Is there anything else you would like to ask me before I leave?" "No, I think that will be all." This time we all shook hands without trying to see who could squeeze harder. Back in the air I asked Secric, "Did you get anything more out of them, than I did?" "Both Generals respect you and I doubt there will be any unannounced visits in the future from them. Montgomery Moore is the person leading the investigation. He is looked on as an ineffectual bureaucrat, that is nothing but a puppet of the present administration. They are just thinking now of moving the satellite antenna, as you said. A joint team of Canadian and American commandos are being formed, but the Americans plan to take over if any aliens are found." "Do they have any speculations, other than the obvious?" "The alien concept is still in the lead, but most will not accept that as the answer, no matter what the evidence." I gave a chuckle thinking of a red herring. "Let's see if we can find a way to slip in and have the Iraqis take some of the heat for a while. There is nothing better than some home grown intrigue, to make the old hands comfortable. Could you enter into some other satellites in the mid east and probe the Israeli computers, and have the probes come from Iraqi or Iranian machines?" "Yes, I can do that the same way I have done here, and just send a repeater to gather the information." I chuckled at the turn of events. There was enough distrust there now, to keep some of the opposition off our backs. Blair met me at the end of the runway and I was led through security and given a badge and dosimeter. After installing the program the simulator started working. When we talked about this program, I mentioned its advantages and how you may be able to sell it with your new units. "That is still true, but an American intelligence agency has a copy, and is running tests to see if it can break into their computers." "No. How did this happen?" "It seems that someone has broken into a lot of different government computers. The soldiers are out trying to track the culprits down. One of the areas included the area around my home. A military officer wanted to steal a copy of the program. I figured if they were so interested, they would not rest till they knew exactly what was on it." The tests of the program ran for several hours, during which I gave a lecture outlining all of the pertinent points. This time I had it video recorded, so I would not have to do it again. My students included some of upper management that knew nothing much about computers, but wanted to be here on this occasion. I had to cut the presentation short so I could get twenty thousand from the bank. Ten for the metal and the rest for food, delivery, and leaving some for any thing else I might need. A taxi brought me to Ralston Metals close to the lake, and waited while I signed under an anonymous name for a fictitious Paterson Chemicals. Since the transaction was in cash, they had little paperwork to fill out. I even changed taxis, in case I needed to purchase more of the metal, and the governments ever became concerned. The package looked heavy and was the size of an eighteen litre water bottle and was just half of that weight in water. All this was enough to power the base and get a race back to the stars. The second cab dropped me off at a busy food terminal north of highway 401, and just off Young Street. I carried the lithium as I entered the office. "Hello, I would like to place a large order, and have it delivered to North Bay tomorrow." The man behind the counter was dumfounded, for nobody ever came in and asked this of him before. "What do you want?" I presented him with a list of products. He went over to an old mechanical adding machine and his fingers punched the buttons and a handle was brought back to add to the total. Only occasionally did he have to check a chart for the prices. The total came to just over nine thousand dollars. I had to give him a fancy story about losing the tax number for the Ministry of Defence. All was good, because the man, Mario, had already processed an order two years ago and had the number handy to add to the form. "You better have some good documentation because it took almost three months to get the money last time." "It will be considerably shorter this time," as I pulled out my wallet and handed him nine one thousand dollar bills and a hundred. "What will the delivery charges be?" Mario's eyes bugged out, not at the amount of money, but at the sum being in cash. All of his business was to people and companies he knew, and they all paid by check or invoice. "When do you want it there?" This was a difficult thing to work with. I did not want the food delivered to the house because the odd location would be remembered. It would be better to deliver it to the city and pick it up later in my van or a small truck I could rent. The only place I could think of was Carl Shingle's business address, a man I had served with in Nam. There was no other choice and I had been going over the prospects for hours, and this was the only option on such short notice. Giving Mario the address and time, I waited for the additional charges. I read in his mind that the charges should be two hundred dollars less so I bargained to a rock bottom number, and then gave an extra two hundred for him and the driver to split if they were on time. Another cab brought me back to Hydro security, and I got a ride to the plane and deposited the load of lithium. Now the hard sell was coming I thought. Blair was still at work and ushered me into his normally clean and tidy office, to a desk full of scattered papers. "That program of yours is phenomenal. You have the most efficient code that anyone has ever seen. And the safety procedures run much faster than NuTech had ever envisioned. I am trying to make a preliminary report, but I have run out of superlatives. I doubt if I will have a hard time selling this to the board." We discussed some of the finer points, and Blair took notes to get everything straight. The return home made me feel good, for the Tandra and the possibilities for the Human race. I just hoped that there was no slip before this precious cargo could get into their reactor. I chatted with Susan as she went about some housework and a meal that would be ready when I got home. Secric asked, "Henry, would you like to have a Tandra type grid display to help you land?" "Yes, let's try it, but be prepared to remove it if I find it too distracting." Instantly I saw fine lines of different hues covering the terrain. They fluctuated, and I knew this was to indicate wind speed at various altitudes. When I closed my eyes the line were still there. I could probably land the plane blindfolded. I saw another line, that showed my projected approach and inclination. "Yes, you could land this way Henry. You have the simplest display now. Later I will show you overlays, that will represent many other variables." As the pontoons came close to the water I realized the lines were much better than the altimeter, and the line ahead of me waved and I knew there was a small gust to starboard, and I corrected at the proper moment and I made one of my best landings to date. "Henry there is a satellite overhead, that is taking an interest in your arrival. There is probably very little different for them to see, so they have chosen you as something unusual. Susan is almost finished preparing the food and cannot meet you now." "Can an environmental suit be used to cover the canister, and make it invisible?" "It can, but it takes special commands to accomplish this around an inanimate object." "I will stay around the plane for a moment, till Susan is done, then she can bring out one of the suits." Moments later I held and kissed my mate. Dog wagged his tail and tried to give me his kiss too. "I know that you did not miss me too much because we talked so much, on the way here. I almost feel like a teenager talking on the phone for hours after leaving the person they love," I said. "You are wrong, I missed you a lot. There is no substitute for having you in my arms," she said as she kissed me again. I took the control box and placed it on the canister, and knew that Secric had taken over the controls for the shipment disappeared from view. Susan took my briefcase, while I hugged her with one hand and carried the canister with the other. The house smelled great with the scent of home cooking. The meal was still in pots and the table not set, so I knew that we had a trip and a delivery to make. A phone call to Carl was the next order of business. "Hello Carl. It's Henry, how are you and the family?" "Hi Henry. We're doing fine. I phoned you a few days ago, and got only the answering machine. Were you out of town?" "Yes, I was also very busy writing a program. What I phoned to ask is; I would like to borrow your service garage for about one day or perhaps two at the most. I have a delivery to receive, and it would be easier on the shipment if it did not make it through the gravel roads here and back again the next day." "No problem. I can leave a set of keys and a piece of paper with the code to turn off the alarm, if it will get in late." I gave him the approximate time the shipment would arrive, and said our goodbyes. I fed Dog and got him back into his pen. He looked tired from running around all day. Moments later we donned our suits and added the food to the suit with the canister with Secric's help. I hoped that the satellite would not be looking too seriously at the house with infra-red, because it would find us gone. The rest of the family met us at the entrance to the base. I gave each a kiss trying to convey the amount I missed each when away. The girls returned the sentiments to such a degree, that I had difficulty walking because of the suddenly tight pants. The girls carried the food because it was hard to juggle inside the suit with the lithium. Susan had two loaves of bread in her suit and I had not seen it because of her invisibility. Instead of going to where we ate before, we headed directly to the ship. As we got close a hole appeared underneath, and one after another, we shot into the ship without any of the effects of inertia. A table was set up in a large room aboard. Large plates of a shimmering translucent material greeted us as well as a very beautiful Secric. I stepped to her, and I kissed her as I did the rest of the family. She hung on far longer, not quite sure if I was going to leave again without her. "You are one of my family now. I will never be far from you or the rest." She snuggled a little and then released me, much more assured now. We all sat down to eat, even Secric. She explained that she was actually looking forward to trying Earth food, and as a linked but separate entity from the ship, she would be able to allow the ship AI to taste the food. During the long years of loneliness the ship had made her life form and tried to get it as close to Tandra norms as possible. With over two million years and multiple tries, the effect was far from what anyone would call a mere mimic. Secric appeared to be both the name of the girl and the ship. The ship had a vast array of knowledge and input from the outside world, and Secric the woman had all the feelings and emotions, that a living woman would have. "The ship is alive too," she said, "her brain is self repairing and very similar to any Tandra, except it was far more complicated. She has had a long time to augment her own mind with spare parts, and that has allowed her to become much more capable than the designers had ever envisioned or allowed." "Secric how is it that you have some Human features?" She hung her head and I could actually see a blush come over her naked body. "The ship made some improvements in me, so I would become more pleasing to you." "The ship certainly has done a fine job. Are you capable of bearing children?" "Yes, Henry." "That is very good, because I know that all of you will give me very beautiful children." They had all stopped eating at those words. I felt that they wanted to get off their seats and start right away. Waves washed over me that were very difficult to resist. There must be a way to block out this onslaught. A very powerful new entity entered my mind, "Henry, follow my lead, and I will show you the controls." I followed the compelling voice into my mind, and found many tubes that had a light glowing part way up their length. One caught my eye and my hand was guided to it and I pulled back the outside and the light shortened inside. "This place will allow you to alter your own attributes and abilities. The others cannot do this. I showed you this place, because you will one day, you will need to make many adjustments." "Thank you. Who are you?" "I am the intelligence, that controls this ship. My name as you just heard, is Secric too, but I see that this will cause some confusion. The person you see as Secric has never had to distinguish between herself and me, so the name is common to both. Would you like to give me a name?" "This is very short notice, but I feel very safe and comfortable with you. We have only passed a few words and I feel that I have known you for a long time, but have forgotten most of our talks. The person you remind me of mostly is my mother, would it be all right to call you Margaret?" "I would love to have the name of your mother, and like your mother, I will look out for you, and your family." "Margaret, do you have any objection to me having Secric as my wife? I think she would be your daughter." "I had hoped, that this would happen. That is part of the reason I had some of the changes made in her. If you want, you can ask her for any of the things you would want, and I can stay in the background and fulfill your wishes, if it is possible. We are almost one person in many ways." "I could try that, but I think it is better to talk to each of you separately, if that is still all right." "That is fine." The interchange had dampened their sexual appetites for the moment. "It is all right. You do not have to let the food get cold." They resumed eating, and I could see their minds all in a turmoil, considering the new member of our family. For myself, I could look on her as 'mother, ' or 'mother-in-law', or even someone like Aunt Harriet. "Susan, the food is delicious. You must have spent a long time making it just right." I said to complement her and get the conversations going again. As I put a piece of potato into my mouth and chewed I said, "How much progress have the rest of you made?" It was fun to be able to chew and talk at the same time, the way the rest could, and not spit pieces of food across the table. They were still about three months away from completion, because entirely new circuits on new substrate, had to be manufactured. The sanitary system would take half of that. There was an automated manufacturing system, but it would take almost a year to get running. If that were working now, then the rest would take only hours. We needed more help, but any addition would also mean that there would be more to eat and eliminate. Then an idea hit me. "Secric, are you able to help the rest, get new circuits made?" "Both of us could help, but I have never been out of this ship." "I know what you mean, because I could feel the fright in the others, as they left the base. We will eventually have to travel, and it would be good to take some small steps now." "Where would we go?" "There are other installations that should have the necessary components. It is just a matter of finding ones that are suitable like the way Blue, Nova, and Chris have tried to salvage parts for your aircraft." Nova said, "Those installations have been shut down just as long and they did not have a stasis field, all over them to keep them from deteriorating." "Is there any place that has this stasis field intact, that could have what we need?" A moment passed and then Margaret said, "There are none in this system, but the lunar base is still operational, at some level. The last message drone was sent out only twelve to the fifth years ago, and was promptly shot down. My probes had not been able to gain access to the base, so I do not know anything that has happened since the exodus." I was very familiar with Tandra math now, and that meant that the lunar base had shot down the message pod about a quarter million years ago. "When we get the power up Blue, how long would it take to get a vehicle ready that could fly to the base, unobserved by anybody?" She replied, "There is nothing in our inventory that is capable of evading the automatic sensors, controlled by the lunar base. Most ships can evade your simple radar. What did you want to do?" "The best thing to do is get a large load of lithium, so this base is self sufficient, for a long time." "Margaret, how much lithium do we need to completely replenish our stockpile, and have enough to go back to Tandra to see what has happened?" There was almost a riot at the thought of going to the base, and getting the fuel from an unstable intelligence. Margaret's reply did come through though, "Only a few kilograms are necessary if we get the refinery working, then we can extract what we need. If it is done on the moon, then the people on Earth cannot interfere. There is one vehicle that can go to the moon, and not be seen till it is very close to the base." "Where is it?" "You are within it now." "How can this be? I thought only military ships had that type of shield we need." "Many years ago I wanted to leave this system. To do so, I was required to get past the lunar controlled weapons, so I found a way to alter my shield to military specifications. Instead of leaving, I stayed and followed a better plan." "Have you worked out a plan that would get me into the base, and get the things we need?" "Yes, I have. It requires you to be much better trained and conditioned." The plan required me to enter the base with the same method I used to infiltrate this one. Apparently this had been the stumbling block, for over a million years. There were some modules in stock, that would get the Earth base back to a real level of intelligence. The weapons control, had to be altered, so that the weapons could be commanded from Earth instead, but only after the Earth intelligence was operational. Finally there was the need for more fuel and now the salvaged components for the machines here. ------- Chapter 22 Training began right after the meal. I just had to go to the control room, and sit in the chair again. Hours later, I woke up to a headache. I had the longest session yet. I knew the layout of the lunar base, as it stood two and a half million years ago. I got the description and probable location of the spare AI modules, and the other supplies that we needed. Just like my specialized training, I found the way to reroute all of the commands to Earth, and finally the best way to sabotage the computer's offensive capabilities, long enough for the Earth base, to reset all the weapon batteries. I was told that there were many more sessions scheduled, to get me fully prepared for every eventuality. On my agenda, was small arms, a Tandra type of karate, machine maintenance, flight instruction, identification of specialized machinery and many more. Because there was no instructor for the karate, Secric and Susan would have to learn it first, and try to help me to be proficient. "Why do I have to learn to fight at all? There will only be a computer to deal with." "Did you say such things when you went in-country?" "You have a good point." "Why all the training in small craft repair and flight?" "For the same reason. There are potential casualties in any conflict, and I may be one of them." I began to see that the opposition was not as ineffectual, as I originally thought or hoped. During a rest period, we all went over the plan. Margaret made beautiful holograms that we walked through, to each of our destinations, and all possible alternate routes. Sunday October 01 Susan had gotten the phone piped into the base, and Margaret got the lithium into the base magazine, for use. The amount of fuel would give them quite a few additional years of energy. This, I knew would be only one of many things, I had to do to get the base back on its feet. All too soon, I had to leave to meet the delivery truck in North Bay. Margaret had found the location of the wholesalers in Toronto with her sensors, and followed each of the trucks. The most probable, would arrive at its destination, a half hour early. It was now six o'clock, and starting to get dark. It was decided to bring Susan to help unload the truck, because we had no fork lift. The roads were snow-covered, and slippery, but we made good time to Carl's house. He refused to let me work alone, and got his old son Charley, and his new one Paul, to assist. I did not want this, but could find no way around the impasse. The large cube van eventually pulled up, and we directed it to reverse through the compound, to the large back door. Once Carl found out the size of the shipment, he removed his drilling truck to give us more room. Susan was politely pushed out of the way, and the three of them threw the boxes to me. I read each box in flight, and set it in its place on the floor. The snow had started again, and Carl, Charlie and Paul were sweating, as they threw box after box, in my direction. When we were done about fifteen minutes later, the driver exclaimed how he had never seen the likes of this before. As the truck left, Carl asked, "I am not as young as I used to be, but I was never able to do what you had just done. For a while there, we were trying to find your limits, and we couldn't do it. What's happened?" "Well it is two things, the first is, I workout all the time, and sparing with Susan, is not an easy chore in itself." I looked at Susan, and asked her a silent question. "The second is a secret, that you will have to keep for a while. Do I have your word?" All of them nodded their head waiting for the momentous declaration. "That beautiful but blind, deluded woman, over there has consented to finally set the date. Could you think of a better way of stimulating me, to do my best?" They all agreed, and congratulated both of us, as they closed the door to the frigid temperatures outside. We had to field many questions, ranging from the date, to the honeymoon. I had already thought of a spot, but kept it deeply hidden from everybody. "What is all this food for, Uncle Henry?" Charlie asked. "There are some hungry people, that need this to get through the winter. They are a little down on their luck at the moment, and need a helping hand." Is there anything we can do Uncle Henry?" Paul asked. He was not my nephew and neither was Charley. Charlie started calling me that, ever since he was a baby. I actually did a lot of thinking, and then again, with Susan, till I said, "There may be something, but it will be later. I think they would be very happy to find that others would like to help as well." "How are you going to get this stuff delivered? There is a lot of snow forecasted for today and tomorrow. I could give you a hand, and I think my boys would help too." I could feel Paul bask in the praise. He had been thrown out of his parent's house, after they found he was a homosexual. And that same day, Carl and his wife had welcomed their son's lover into their house, as their new son. There was nothing Paul would not do for his 'dad' or 'mom'. "This is a lot of food, and it goes to a lot of people. I wanted to make smaller trips to each. There is no need to help with the small loads. I would like to borrow an extra set of keys for a night or two, if it is all right with you?" "Sure, when are you going to make your first delivery?" "I would like to back the van up, and load up for the first, now." The van was loaded, coincidently making it handle better in the snow. I pocketed the extra keys, after locking up, and thanking them profusely. The trip back was quiet, till Margaret started teaching Susan some of the moves she would need to learn. It was completely cerebral, but I was still cautious of Susan's feet and hands, if she got carried away. The weather worsened as we got closer to home. I felt lucky to finally pull up close to our side door. For the last few minutes, I thought the van was finding its own way. The boxes were placed just inside the door of the house, and then the environmental suits were put on. It felt odd to be so warm, and comfortable, when it was a blizzard, only a skin's thickness away. Part way to the entrance of the base, I had to have the navigational grid superimposed on the grey wall, in front of me. Susan was calm as she talked to the girls, she trusted me to find the way. She knew that I was confident, that we would arrive, even though both of us were now effectively blind. The course I was following was altered, and was asked to travel further east. Trees and large rocks were avoided, as much as possible, but heavy snow kept falling on us from the disturbed branches. Between two large rocks, we suddenly found ourselves in the base. I don't know who was more surprised, Susan or me. There was a large vehicle right in front of us, and all of the girls, even Secric were here. The girls came running, and I deactivated the shield, only to have snow fall down my neck. It was decided, that Susan, Secric, Blue and I, would go to the warehouse, and pick up half of the groceries. The rest, plus the driver, would unload for a return trip, that would include the ones in the warehouse. Secric would be the obvious driver, but she, like Blue, were still acrophobic. "Susan, you better drive." "Me! I don't know how to drive this thing." "It is easy. Let's try inside the base, so you can get a feel for it." We all got in, and watched Susan sit in a comfortable chair. The doors closed, and we all watched through the front screen, as Susan used her mind to make the craft slowly elevate. I vaguely knew, that we were being assisted, till Susan got the feeling for the craft. At first we went forward, then stopped abruptly, in front of the shield. There was no sense of acceleration, either positive or negative. Susan moved the craft sideways, and then did a few turns on our central axis. There was no vehicle that I knew of, other than a hovercraft, that could do this. On the fourth lap around the central floor of the base, Susan finally said, "This is good enough. Let's go get the groceries." This vehicle was indeed the most easy to manoeuvre, park or land as the case may be that we had ever been in. Before long, we let off the passengers, and were racing through the storm with the sensors, on the craft, projecting an image in front of us, as if it were a clear summer's day. We landed where the delivery truck had parked. While still invisible, I unlocked the door and added the security code. We loaded as much of the cargo as we could. Susan gave each of us a kiss as she made the return trip alone. She now seemed much more confident in her abilities, to guide the craft. "Remember to stay low. This vessel is only invisible to eyes. Radar can make it out easily." "I will be careful." I closed the door, and waited for her return. It was not good to waste a moment like this, so I said, "Secric is it possible to transmit, like a few nights ago, but keep Susan from getting too distracted?" I said, as I kept my thoughts tightly to myself. She gave me a very big Earth smile, as Blue wonderingly looked on. "Yes. That is easy." "Then start now, but remember about Susan's safety. Blue, take off your suit, please." She did as I asked without even knowing the reason why. I placed her on her back on the boxes, and got Secric to hold her arms steady. I picked up her calves, and quickly put them on my shoulders before diving in, and sucking her completely flaccid urethra. She tightened up, and a silent scream pierced my skull. I sucked for all I was worth, and slipped my spit dampened finger into her vagina. A few strokes was all it took. She almost threw me off her, in her contortions. They lasted longer than I thought possible. I had a difficult time holding on without biting or hurting her. A few moments later, I was shown how to activate Blue's shield over her unconscious body. "Come here, Secric," I ordered. "Me? I have never done this before. Couldn't you wait for Susan to return?" "Come here," I pointed to the spot, "and remove your shield, now." She looked like a trapped animal in some way, but I knew that she needed this, in a bad way. Like Blue, I got her on her back, but this time went slowly to my goal. She started to orgasm, even before I had a chance to fasten my lips to her large clit. I just held on, and sucked. Her hands unlike her Tandra sisters, fastened into my hair, and held me in place. Her screams were both audible and otherwise. I could feel everybody quaking, as an orgasm flew through them. Susan was lucky enough to be in the base, and safe, before Margaret gave her the full flow of our emotions and sensations. A few moments later, I heard, "You bastard. I almost crashed the truck." I replied, "Margaret would be ready to take over, in any case. She would not have opened the channel, unless you were safe. Did you enjoy yourself?" "No!" "Hurry back, liar, because I have something for you." The truck was back just as Secric and Blue were recovering. Susan was still breathless, from all the work she did, in almost throwing the boxes out of the vehicle. Margaret had helped some, with her tractors, because Susan had parked close to the ship. "What do you have for me?" She asked, hoping that it was me. "After we load the rest of the groceries, Honey." I could feel that I was in trouble again with her. The truck was loaded with the rest of the groceries, before Susan asked, "And who is going to drive this thing?" I just laid her on the same boxes, and asked her to drop her shield. Her wet snatch readily accepted my hard cock, I needed no foreplay, because she was very hot to begin with. I knew that Margaret was handling the flight for us. I made long strokes, the way she liked, and watched her experience small orgasms. Blue and Secric were in sympathetic harmony, and orgasmed at the same time. I knew from Susan mind, that she was fascinated by the major Tandra clit. She had enjoyed sucking Amy's and others last night. For the Tandra females, they were becoming closer to the way Susan thought. "Blue, remove your shield, and stand over here." I ordered. Blue again did as I asked, and I used one hand to guide her cunt over Susan's mouth. I could feel the connection like a switch being thrown. Remembering Margaret's advice, I retreated to the spot in my mind, and turned up my defence against the onslaught that engulfed us. "Margaret, would you use the safety devices, and hold Blue from falling?" I stroked quicker into Susan, and I knew our time had come. I pumped long shots into Susan, and all of us came in sympathy. I pulled out of Susan, and helped Blue get her shield back up and running. Taking Secric by the hand, I brought her over to Susan, and said, "Drop your shield, and clean your sister." She eagerly did as I asked. No doubt getting the information, and the urge to do so, from Susan herself. I climbed over Susan, and offered her my still hard cock. She took it eagerly, as I felt Secric through her, suck her cunt dry of my spend. Moments later, the side flowed away, and all the girls were in various stages of ecstasy. None were capable of unloading the truck, or of even walking, for that matter. I pulled my cock out of Susan's mouth, and picked up each of the girls, and placed them in a 69 position, that would make the situation chaotic if I had not had my defence up. Margaret took them in pairs, to their new beds. The truck remained unloaded till the morning, as I left the girls to their pleasures. Again I was worried about our aggressive sexual attitude, corrupting the delicate Tandra. Margaret promised to gradually remove the amount of feedback, and allow them to get the rest they needed. Back in the chair, I got my next lesson, but I had to raise my internal shields, to keep my concentration on the course. It was amazing how dangerous a flux capacitor was, when even partially charged. Monday October 02 The next morning found me still with a headache, and a stiff neck. "I think your next lesson should be on repair and replacement, of body parts on Humans and Tandra." "Just because I ache a little?" "That is part of it, but you may be hurt, and without an autodoc handy, you could be seriously impaired." I followed Margaret's instructions, and I learned how to make breakfast, in her jury-rigged galley. The Tandra did not eat fresh food usually, and the tubes of paste, biscuits, or sausage like concoctions, were all that was used. "Is there a reason for eating the highly processed food, besides convenience?" "I am not supposed to know, but the Tandra are affected by the food they eat. A bland, but wholesome diet, will keep them happy with one another. A diet that you have been giving them, will make them more aggressive. The food is also treated, so as not to allow the Tandra to get fat." "Would they be more aggressive, than a Human?" "Only if they ate a lot of meat, and some other foods." "I kind of like my girls, to be more aggressive, but I doubt that I could get enough meat into them. Speaking of aggressive, have you noticed that the Tandra have acted a lot different, than what I first saw in Nova's mind?" "You have reason to worry about this occurrence. As you yourself have said, you want to always have company now. The Tandra adults usually enjoy sex with their own gender, but you and Susan, have carried it further than they have ever gone before. Also the younger Tandra, now seek to please the adults, when they receive their own pleasure." "What do you see as the ultimate outcome, of this phenomenon?" "This could very well destroy the Tandra race, if it were widely practised. This will not happen though, because it is your love and Susan's that bind you all into a whole. There are not enough Henry Buchanans and Susan Trans, to do that job. I find your group very strong, if not the strongest, I have ever seen. If there was to be a group that could rescue the Tandra race, if it still exists, it would be a group like yours." "Thank you Margaret, but I think you are mistaken." "How so?" "It is a group like 'ours', not 'yours'." "I understand, and I thank you too." Breakfast was on the table, as I got the others up. Each seemed to enjoy their bed mate's presence. The youngest three formed a triangle, where each was fastened head to crotch to the next. If it wasn't for the anti-grav now working on the ship, I knew that they would be sore by now. I could taste pussy on each of the girls I kissed, and hugged, each knowing that they had other playmates besides me, to keep them happy. Susan was the only one to wake up with a sore cunt, because of Secric's ardent efforts to clean her out properly. I kissed each and told Susan that she enjoyed every second of it, and to not bitch about it now. She didn't, and pulled an embarrassed Secric to her. She kissed her back with a lot of love, and a promise of something later. They were the last, and came to the table hand in hand, much like the rest. The conversation around the table left something to be desired, I felt. Susan got the rest to discuss about a man's place being over a hot stove, or in a bed. Susan and Secric went into the gym on the ship, to practice their moves on each other, before taking me on. I could feel the bruises and strains already. I went back to my studies, and woke up a few hours later with a new headache. I had the complete knowledge of a Human, and Tandra body. The only thing lacking, was a training in pharmacology, and that would be next. "You are now needed in the gym. Your opponents are tired, and you should easily defeat them." I was already sore from the chair, and there was no way I could beat Susan. Secric was an unknown in this contest. I just stepped into the gym, and I saw Secric sitting down, facing the doorway, and playing with her big clit. All she wore, was the smile on her face. My cock started to grow as I entered the room, and the next thing I knew, I was struck by a pair of feet to my back. Secric looked odd upside down, till I hit the floor, and rolled to a stop. I had just enough time to move out of the way of a knee, that was aimed at my neck. When clear, I felt a kick to my ribs, as Secric attacked from the other side. I went into attack mode, and found that I was much faster, than ever before. The girls came at me in slow motion. Their kicks and elbows were easily deflected. Sometimes, I would push one in front of the other, to see how they would handle the situation. Soon I found entirely different moves used on me. They were much more difficult to block or parry. Over time, my accelerated state, seemed to wane, and more of Susan blows landed, till I was hit hard by her. At the same time, Secric landed a kick to my abdomen. As I staggered, Susan came in for the kill, and with Secric, they almost did it. From the floor on my stomach, and my arms twisted behind my back, Susan said, "You let me defeat you. Secric did not even know any karate, a few hours ago. Is it because you are getting old and senile, Mr. Buchanan?" This was usually enough to get me going. The two had fought as equals, never mind the two hour bull shit. Secric must have copied all of Susan's knowledge of fighting. It was hard to beat one Susan. It would be impossible to beat two. Of course, they had an unfair advantage, as I would never strike any of them hard. New thoughts were entering my head, where I might strike both of them, but the time was definitely not now. "Uncle, uncle. Will you let me up now?" "No, not unless you make love to Secric. She was highly displeased, that you have not done right by her yet." "I have not," Secric thought angrily at Susan, then a pause to reconsider, "yes you have not treated me, as one of your wives. Susan tells me, that we can use ropes to tie you up, and get the satisfaction that we deserve. I saw in her mind, that you have inflicted this indignity on her, many times in the past." Knowing what might happen, I capitulated, "You win. I will do what a husband must do, for his domineering wives. Oomph! I mean, for my long-suffering wives, that deserve the best any man can give them." They got off me, and I had a difficult time standing. They did not assist me to stand. It looked like the universe was going to take out its wrath on me. "May I have a shower, fair maids? I smell abominably, and I would not like to offend your delicate noses." Susan dragged me to a small cubical with no door, and bid me enter. "Think for the machine to start, barbarian." I felt a tingling sensation, all over my body. My hair stood on end, but not from an electrostatic field. My sweat disappeared, and even the dirt under one nail left me. I could even breath better now. New sweat cooled my body, till it disappeared too. This was like being in a vacuum, and having everything sucked out of you. My hair felt perfectly clean and dry, and so did my skin. So this was why the girls had never had a shower before. This device was great, but would be better to have right after a regular shower. I stepped out, and found Secric to be very unsure of herself. I knew she had never consorted with people before, and gotten all of her knowledge second hand, through Margaret. Now she had to find new ground, when all she knew, was Tandra etiquette. "Margaret, is there any lubricant that I could use, without being harmful?" Instantly a small plastic like bag appeared. I grabbed it before it hit the floor, and looked at it. It reminded me of the small packets of scented oil, that I would rub on a woman's body, before entering her. "Is this oil edible, Margaret?" "Yes, Henry." "We need a bed," I looked at Susan, and thought of a possible answer. "Take Susan, and lay her on her back, about seventy centimetres off the floor." Susan heard what I said, and she shook her head no, but Margaret overruled her, and forced her into the position. "Take Secric, and lay her on top of Susan, with her faces at the Susan's crotch." I got an 'eek' this time, as Secric was put into position. "Spread their legs a far as possible, and still be comfortable." I walked over to the struggling girls, and barely resisted to test the rigidity of their musculus gluteus maximus. My teeth tore the small bag, and I ran some of the oil over Secric's ass, and slowly worked my fingers, into both of her holes. With the rest of the oil, I started at the other end, and coated Susan's crotch with the same oil, and worked my fingers into her as well. Now crouching over them, and using both hands, I plunged my fingers into four different holes. Soon Susan protests faded, as she latched onto Secric's long clit, and Secric did the same, but with more difficulty. Susan's legs were coaxed up, and remained pointing at the ceiling, while Secric ate her. Retreating from the fray momentarily, I cleaned my hands on Secric's pretty bum, and my thumbs slowly penetrated her anus. I worked one against the other. Shudders wracked her body, as her mouth moaned into Susan's genitals. Then standing between her legs, I moved forward, and slowly entered her channel, without relinquishing my hold on her anus. As I thought might happen, she orgasmed again and again. I savoured the uncontrolled gyrations as they flew over my cock. Her spasming vagina trying it's best to milk me of my seed. I removed my thumb, placed my hands on her hips, and slowly pulled her onto me. I picked up speed, and my testicles kept hitting Susan on her head. I got the thoughts from Secric, that she was preparing to drop an egg. This was not the time to discuss procreation, or the difficulties a child now, might bring. I pulled my cock out, and placed it at the entrance to her bowels. I slid in easily, not like the few Humans, both male and female, I had entered this way. The orgasm had not even ended, but continued, as I worked faster and faster in her. The small bundles of nerves guided me straight, and fired their message, to her already over-wrought mind. She clamped down on my member, trying to squeeze the juice from me. Knowing that she deserved my seed, I stroked hard, between contractions, and finally gave her, what she was so desperate to get. My bellow at the accomplishment, only served to heighten their own orgasm. I pulled out and found her anus close up like the other's vaginas hoarding their precious load of semen. "Margaret, could you float them to their bed, the way they are?" "Yes, Henry. You can guide them to their destination, and I will keep them safe." I got them into bed, and on their sides. Neither wanting to relinquish the prize in their mouths, but I stroked their bodies, and they settled down to sleep. I wondered, as I left their cabin, if me being here, was really a hindrance. The girls wanted to be loved, and when I did as good a job as I could, they all crashed. Nothing was done to get the base running. As I walked to the galley to get a drink, I found twitching bodies all over the place. Blue and Nova were in the 69 position, and Kitten lay beside Chris. Both had their fingers between their legs. The others were no different. All of them wanted to be with someone, when the erotic thoughts and activities took place. I checked the babies, and found them sleeping comfortably. I asked aloud, "Margaret, will you lighten their weight? If I take them back to their beds, it would be the same thing." "Yes, Henry. You almost treat them as your children." I noticed that Margaret's voice was changing in my mind. Not a lot, but in inflection. "I love them just as much, but I am troubled with the amount of work getting done. They want me so much, it is almost like a drug, and I am far from being immune to them. I do not know how any of us would function if something happened to any of us. I value the way we are so close, but wonder if we can even perform as individual units, any more." "There is very little I can do to help you. Perhaps if you were to do as you did yesterday, and take small groups with you. I would be able to filter the feedback, more vigorously. Sort of weaning them of their need to be gratified, when any of the girls are gratified." "We can try that, and see how it works. I can picture that there will be a lot of complaints." "I do, too." "When I was thinking of losing one of our number, I also thought of you. I could see, that you think the mission to the lunar base is very hazardous. Could you give me a rundown on all the threats again, and we can see how we can reduce them?" As I walked back to my chair, she told me all the threats, that factored in at more than six in twelve squared. When she was done, we discussed alternatives to each of the high risk areas. Margaret was thorough, and there was no way of reducing a risk, without raising others even more. "The only thing, that I can think of, that may help, is if I were able to repair you, if you are damaged. Another might be that since you are much more complicated, in some ways, you should leave a copy of yourself here. Do you have any objections to doing this?" I felt warm all over, as if I were cuddled in soft warm blankets. All worry fell from me, and I felt safer, than at any time in my life. I could see that Margaret loved me dearly, and wanted the best for me. "We can do, as you ask Henry. I am much more elaborate, than the small ships you were studying. This would set back, the time, till you are ready, by at least six more days." "I don't see how six days will hurt us a lot. And the gains, far outweigh the small effort." "I know that you will soon risk your life, but your place within your community, is in jeopardy if they find out of your involvement. Have you considered leaving something of yourself, so that your line could continue?" This could only mean that she wanted me to donate to a sperm bank. Did I want children of mine, growing up without a father, of any kind? Did I want my wives to go on, without anything from me? I know that they would not find solace, in a male Tandra, and I doubt if a male Human would be allowed to find out about the base. Even so, would he be good enough for not only my women, but the security of an entire race? Margaret had her point, just as I had, when I asked her to leave a copy of her personality. I hung my head, thinking of an alternative, but found none. "You win, Mom. I will leave something for the girls, but don't tell them how dangerous it is. I don't mind them concerned, but not frantic." "I will, Son." "Son?" I said verbally. "You have called me Mom." Again, I gave serious thought to my feelings. Mom felt even better, than Margaret. "I like Mom better, if that is ok with you." "That is fine by me, Henry." The warm fuzzy feeling returned, and I knew I had made the right choice. That night, after an exhausting session in the chair, the phone rang. Or more properly, the link to our phone signalled, that the phone was ringing. Carl wanted to talk to me. "You got those orders delivered a lot quicker than I thought possible. Did you have a lot of help?" "Henry, there is a device monitoring this conversation." I nodded my head, which was unnecessary, since she could read my thoughts. "Yes, I did get some help, just like that time, in the bar at Tay Ninh, when that USMC scout sniper, and his Captain helped out." Carl paused to think. It was thirty years ago, and the NSA had been bugging the phones, to find out about some of our extra curricular activities. Part of our activities involved other security services. The NSA was trying to find out how they used our talents. "Yes, I remember. He and his Captain were so drunk, that they puked over one another, as we pushed their car out of the ditch." This never happened, and Carl was now worried, that I might be in trouble somehow. "Is Susan planning anything special, about the wedding?" The conversation continued, but nothing was said again about the food. When we were about done, Carl asked if he could take Doris, his wife, up to see us. "Sure, how about tomorrow, around supper. Bring an appetite, and caution Doris not to say anything. You can tell her about the wedding, but we have not even said anything definite to Susan's parents yet about a firm date." "That is a wilco. See you then." What the hell was I going to tell him? He was much too smart to be fooled by some bullshit. I had saved his life enough times, that he would accept silence in this matter, but that was not the way to treat a friend. Susan had been following my thinking, and said, "At some time in the future, we will need more Humans, to help us. Who better than Carl, and his family?" Carl saved my ass a few times, as well. He would help in almost anything, I asked of him. His two boys would do the same, but they're young. Doris is the problem, she is a nice person, but cannot keep a secret, if her life depended on it." The matter was shelved till tomorrow in any case. Tuesday October 03 Part of my training, required me to prowl around inside the ship. There were few access doors. Mom would peal back the bulkhead, to reveal some of the devices, we were studying now. Eventually, I had to use a controller to do the same thing, because she may not be able to help. One of the things, that surprised me, was that there was little plumbing, or wiring. A matter transmitter sent things to the module that requested it. So the ship was filled with very many small receivers and transmitters. I ran into Blue and Secric all the time, as they were doing things to prepare for the trip too. They wore the protective coveralls, that looked very sexy, even if it did cover all of their form. The silver like material, formed around their waists and chests, and had pockets and loops in profusion, to help their duties. Special packages of sensors were sent to and from every point possible, to assure that everything worked correctly. Blue looked beautiful to me, when she crawled out of a tight space, with a failed component, her hair a mess, and sweat streaking down her body. Of course she did not think so, but I assured her, that I felt that way, even when she wore the silver coveralls. She spent a moment looking in my mind and left with a small smile and a wiggle. The ship used a ceramic conduit to transmit data. There was no electricity used, on the ship in any case. With the level of technology at their disposal, there were many better ways of doing things, they wanted done. Around noon, Mom let me into the most secure place in the ship. The room was in the exact centre. As I entered, I felt odd, and distorted. There was no gravity, but I doubted if the lack of weight made this feeling. I could see long rows of multicoloured crystals and when I turned a few centimetres. I saw rows going in another direction. Each twist of my head brought different views to me. Above and below were similar, but had different sights to see. A force, I knew as a tractor, pulled me along, and I felt that I was watching a slide show, with every fraction of a second a different scene would come before me. I was not frightened, because Mom would not bring me here otherwise. Nausea and disorientation did make their presence known. I was pulled somewhere to a room, and held in place. I could feel forces all around me, that gave some freedom, but did not allow me to disturb any of the glowing crystals. "This is what I look like. The path you have travelled, is actually much longer than you would think. It contains the matter transmitter, many important subsystems, like the shield and my brain. It is made of components, that occupy all five dimensions, just like the shield. The large crystal before you, contains my personality, and all the things that make me, what I am. The rest of the crystals you see, in this room represent the computer itself. Some govern repair, and maintenance, while others, allow the computer to alter itself. The crystals natural state cause the rift, that allows you to see into the other dimensions." "I can honestly say, that you are as beautiful inside as out, Mom." "Thank you, Son." "Look over here." She oriented my body to an array of smaller crystals. "My brain is similar to the one in the lunar base. To deactivate its control of all weapons, you have to remove or destroy these three modules. Take them out." "I could hurt you. Can't you remove them with your tractors?" "Yes, I could, but you must know how to do it. Try now, Son." My hand carefully came out and touched the surface. It felt soft like a plastic but did not yield much. "Put your feet on the crystals below, and a hand on a different crystal, for balance." I did as she said, and waited for the next command. "Pull straight along its axis, and use the other hand to push." I had to use all of my strength, but it came out. "Hold it in your lips, and do the same thing to the next." The second crystal came out, with the same difficulty. "Let the crystal go, and quickly remove the last one." The last came out, and I had to make a grab for the one, floating. "You will need a sack, when you do this for real. Let the crystals go, and I will put them back. Get close to where you got them, and put your feet on the base of the crystals. I will not help, so that you would learn." I was forced to use the crystals, for hand holds, to get into position. My legs were coiled beneath me as if squatting. "Close your eyes, and visualize the display you saw, when you landed your aircraft, last time." The display came on, and a line shot out as if projected along my spine. "I have activated a special transmitter, beside the opening where you came in. Aim your flight path to the blinking light, and push off easily, for you do not need to go fast, when in free fall." I pushed off and my shoulder grazed a crystal, close to my intended path. The light still blinked, I gave another small push, and soon found the light close. Walking hand-over-hand, holding parts of the computer, I fell out the opening. "Are you all right, Mom?" "Yes, son. How do you feel?" "I need a lot more training in zero gravity, and may need some help, in getting over the queasy feeling in my stomach." "Training is in order, but even experienced technicians feel the discomfort you experienced. You seem to have a natural tolerance for working within a five dimensional environment. The crystals themselves provide this glimpse into the other dimensions. They are at the heart of why this environment acts the way it does. They give all the Tandra a glimpse of what it truly is like to be subjected to all five dimensions. Hurry up now, because you have to meet Carl and Doris." "Are the crystals back in place?" "Yes." "Fine I will go and get cleaned." Susan and I walked to a transmitter station nearby, and thought of a location as close to the house as possible. A flash of grey, and we were standing in the snow, about four metres from the path we used to use, going into the base. Susan and I made new tracks in the deep fresh snow, while wearing our invisibility suits. The old tracks went to the house when Susan installed a device to transfer the calls into the base. Other tracks led to the kennel, and there were lots of Dog's tracks around the property. We made our own trip to Dog's pen, and let him out. He seemed to know we were here, even though he could not see or smell us. He raced around, as if a young pup, and revelled in the fresh snow. Once inside, we put on clothes for the first time in a few days, and started supper. Susan watered the plants, and did a thorough inspection of the house. I put away the cases of food beside the door, when I had time, and generally made my own inspection. With over an hour to go, I drove the pickup to the plough, and got it hooked up. The driveway and parking lot took only fifteen minutes to clean. A shovel did the walk. It felt good to work my muscles, but the light snow was not a real challenge. Susan was frightened when she heard Blue say, "Susan, are you close?" "Close, close to what?" "Close to me? I am in the new tunnel behind your house. Hold on." There was a pause of about a minute, and then, "There. Margaret gave me a correction, and I am about five metres behind the wall of your basement. Do you want me to dig a tunnel to you?" I answered this time, "You better not. I want to see if we can put in a matter transmitter, and the tunnel is necessary for the power to it. Then there will be no opening for people to find. Thanks for the quick job Blue." Blue left, happy to know that she was appreciated. A few minutes later, Mom said, "There is a car approaching with a man and a woman in it. It should be here in four minutes and thirty seven seconds." "Thanks, Mom." Susan ran to the bathroom, to check her hair, while I stirred the food. We shook hands at the door, and right after their arrival, Doris grabbed Susan. She tried to find out all of the details about the wedding, and get in her ideas, about what would make it perfect. Carl pulled me aside, and whispered, "What's the deal with the food, Henry?" "Let's go outside, and pull the plane into the hanger. I doubt if I will use it later in the year, unless I put skis on it." I used the plough to clear a path, and then opened the front and back doors, to the hanger. The truck slowly pulled the cleaned plane into its new home. Carl guided me, so that the plane would not get stuck or damaged. With the hanger doors closed, we sat in the warm truck outside. I looked into his mind, and saw a true friend. He would do most anything for me, and thinking of him, I guess, I was the same. "Carl, There are a lot of grunts around, looking for some very nice people, that sort of bungled their way into some government computers. I am trying to help them, without being pulled down too. They needed food, and some help getting home. Anything I say to you, has to remain with us, or I am in very deep shit. I don't think I can say any more, right now. I just wanted to thank you, for your help, and try to clear-up, some of the confusion." "Whew, looks like this could be deep shit you are playing with. If you don't want me to pry, I won't do it. I have come to trust your judgement, over the years." "Thanks Carl. If I can tell you more in the future, I will. Do you think we should get back in and rescue Susan?" Carl was a man of his word, and said nothing all night, and I hoped ever. They left later after the meal, happy to have kept our relationship, running smooth. I cleaned up with Susan's help, and looked at Dog while feeding him some of the scraps, and tried to read his mind. I could only get his crude emotions. There seemed to be no real thought process. Before going back to the base, I asked Mom another question. "Mom, Dog was never upset about meeting the girls. Were they able to communicate with him? I would like to take him back into the base, but I don't want him shitting all over the place." "Animals are difficult, but not impossible to understand. I can monitor him, and get him to a transmitter to do his business outside, if you want." "That is great. I don't want to leave a friend out in the cold, and only come once in a while to feed and run him." We donned our suits, and invisibly walked back to a pickup point, with Dog running beside us. Once in the base, he disappeared to find the younger girls, that were calling him. Susan commented, "Kind of a fickle friend, if you ask me." "The girls are much more interesting, than us." I mostly studied, practised, then had a short sleep. The girls were getting a little restless at my devotion to the cause. If truth would be told. I was worried again, and I did not know from what quarter it would come. ------- Susan's Birthday ------- Chapter 23 The last few weeks had been gruelling, and I felt I needed a short break from the constant training. The family had more or less settled into a routine. The youngest members were studying hard to be the best that they could. The systems were being rebuilt, but the pace was dreadfully slow, even with Mom and Secric's help. There was lots to eat and we were enjoying ourselves, doing all the things a family would do except freely go outside to play. Card games we found were not good for obvious reasons, while 'Monopoly' and especially 'Twister' proved to be a lot of fun. The girls would watch TV now, but found the shows usually juvenile and only the news and sports were watched. We searched the base and found some old 'Botsu' games, of which we were able to salvage some parts, and make into two good games. A chess board sized playing surface had four centimetre sides and a multitude of holes and colours surrounding them. The scoring related to the colour of both the shorts pins and the rings that were shook on the board. All this was further complicated by the colours on the board itself. Only Nova and Blue knew anything of the game, and had to teach the rest of us how it worked. Apparently it had a fanatical following, something like Bridge was to us. We did manage to fly half the family at a time in the Beaver around North Bay and Lake Nipissing. Trips in the van were the same, but I could never let them interact with my friends and neighbours. The girls were amazed at all the things they saw on these small trips, and in the vehicles used. It was as if the ships and machines in the base were just common everyday articles, while the Beaver and van were extra special. The best we could do to shop, was go into stores with Susan and make purchases for the others. They would look through our eyes, and marvel at our flashy goods. Nova and Blue were incredulous sometimes at how frivolous or inefficient various articles were. I had to pass on many job offers, but did my best to give what help I could for free, to keep them from being too angry with me. Susan's birthday was coming up and I needed a present for her. This time things were very different, for both of us. A year ago I had planned to inform her parents of our wedding date by this time. The house was basically finished and she would do the remaining rooms, as she saw fit, or so my old intentions dictated. But all that was before the others came into our lives. Now with our large family, our needs were very different. We needed bedroom space for all my family and especially the nursery. This room would see a lot use, I knew, in the years to come. My old ideas about children had made a dramatic turnabout. We used to do a fair amount of entertaining before, and most of our guests then wanted to see the house. I do not like deceit. This grated on my feelings when I had to hide things from my friends and guests. Nor did I want to make my wives and the children disappear, as if I were ashamed of them. The thoughts of the truth coming out would be catastrophic to all of us, and even encompass everybody else on Earth. Many people I feared would not be able to even comprehend this fact. In the end, we declined most of the social functions, and stayed in the base and learned. A few parties that were obligatory we went to but usually cut our visits short. I talked to the other girls and explained that I wanted Susan alone in the house that night, as a form of birthday present. They agreed with me, especially when I asked for their own birthdays. They were smart enough to spread them out if they did not know them for sure. My problem with a gift still bugged me. Mom came up with a possible answer. "Henry, do you think we can make a test flight to see that everything is working right?" "Sure Mom. What were you thinking of doing?" "Your wives are becoming used to the open areas now. We need a short flight to see if your systems are working correctly, and lastly, Susan has a birthday tomorrow. If we all have a little party in low orbit, then this would be something for her to remember." "That is a great idea. I know all of them will just love the trip." "What have you thought of buying for her?" "That is the problem. All I can come up with is that we fly somewhere for a few hours, and let her buy what she wants for her and the girls. She has never been that many places, and it will be fun to take her someplace new." I phoned my favourite bakery in North Bay and ordered a nice cake. I asked them to even put on the right number of candles. I would pick it up tomorrow morning. There was no use warning the girls, because Susan would find their minds blocked and figure something was up. Saturday October 06 The next morning I slipped out of bed and made breakfast. This time I put Susan's portion on a tray and slipped back into the bedroom. I set it down and gave her a morning kiss. "Good morning, birthday girl. What would you like to do, today?" Susan stretched, the comforter came off her chest, and her breasts were exposed. She read my mind and smiled the little smile she had. This time I read hers, and said, "Not now. I made you breakfast, and it will get cold if we wait." She gave one of her pouts and said, "Ok, but I want my present right after." An hour and a half later we climbed out of bed. The other girls in the base had joined our activities, and had not yet recovered from the effects. I explained to them more about the idea of a birthday, and what various groups of people did on these days, to help celebrate. I got a wicked smile in my mind from Secric, when I mentioned the spanking that was sometimes administered. After straightening up the house, we left invisibly for the base. Mom was ready, and had not said anything about our plans. All the girls came to the ship as I called them. I greeted each as I found them, and then checked on the babies. They were still asleep and I did not bother them. Rather than say anything about my plans, Mom just disappeared from view and then the base matter transmitter placed her just outside the mountain. The large view screen showed all of them where we were. This was the first time she had been out of the base in over a million years. We had flown before in the small ships, but they all stayed under the radar, but now we were aboard Mom, and everything was different. "Henry, what are you doing?" Susan's mind was quite flustered at what was happening. The rest of the girls were concerned, but not upset, at going out. It took a fair amount of work, and a lot of time, but the girls had got over the fear of open spaces. "Just getting my birthday girl, her cake," I said. My mind was locked tight so that she could not read any of my thoughts. The screen was changing as we flew toward North Bay. Thirty metres below we could see cars and trucks going about their way, as we made our leisurely way to our destination. Sunlight glittered of the light covering of freshly fallen snow, making the landscape almost magical. The lake in the distance, reflected light from its mirror surface, for it had not been cold enough to freeze yet. Our altitude allowed the radar waves to hit us, but this time, we were able to absorb them with Mom's military grade shield and projectors. "Mom, fly over the bus station. The bakery is just a few doors down." "Yes Henry, and happy birthday to you Susan." "Thanks Mom. How come Henry is taking us out?" "He mentioned about the need for a test flight, and a very important cake to be picked up." We stopped over the station and found Paul a few doors down. He was in the back of a group of businesses, ploughing all the drifts of snow to the side. Carl had the contract to do this job. The various merchants needed space for their customers, and the street was not enough this time of day. When Paul pushed the snow down a narrow corridor, Mom let me off with her tractor. My parka covered me, and I had the Tandra field generator, set to invisibility. When it was safe to do so, I shut off the generator and continued walking. Instead of going to the bakery, I headed for the Bank of Montréal, and purchased all of their American currency, almost $3,000, and got about $10,000 in Canadian funds from my account. "What are you going to do with all that money?" Vicky a teller, and a friend of mine, asked. "I have to buy Susan a birthday present, and some things for some other important people in my life." I could feel her emotions. I had dated her for a short time and I found her a very nice and vivacious girl, but not what I was looking for at the time. She still wanted to continue our relationship, even when she knew that I was going exclusively with Susan for over a year. She was a little heartbroken as I left the front door. I spotted the florist across the street, and headed over, dodging the cars on the slippery street. I bought three dozen pink roses and had them deliver them with three vases to the bank. Each had cards, saying they were from a secret admirer that had to remain that way. I knew Vicky and her coworkers would have a much better day, thinking on whom the man could possibly be. The bakery had made a beautiful cake and I tipped and thanked the baker for doing such a nice job for me. This is one of the reasons I always came to this establishment. The creation was boxed and I wandered back to the alley and activated my shield when Mom was ready. If anyone was to look, they would see a box float up and disappear about ten metres off the ground. I was mobbed by the girls, but they backed off quickly from my cold clothing on their bare skin. The girls were in fine spirits so I knew something had happened. I read their minds and looked at the screen. I saw Paul get out of his truck and inspect his wheels. The girls had got Mom to use her tractors to elevate the truck, just a little. When he tried to drive, she moved him the opposite way he wanted to go. Poor Paul was perplexed, how all of a sudden, everything seemed to be going wrong. The younger ones had giggled as the truck slipped sideways, and it was pushed a short ways into the snow bank. He just got in as the truck stopped moving. "You girls are cruel. Paul will have fits thinking about this later." Susan said, "It was just too good a chance to pass up. Where are we going to now, Henry?" "It's a surprise. Just watch," I said to Susan and all the rest, while to Mom I said, "Let's go to Tampa." "Yes Henry. Shopping again?" She said, only to me. We watched the screen as the blue sky got darker and darker, till we left the majority of the atmosphere behind. There was no feeling of acceleration, and the only thing noticeable was that the stars lost their twinkle and grew brighter by the second. After reaching the top of our flight path the next leg showed cloud cover over most of the east coast, but Florida looked clear and sunny. The trip from North Bay to Tampa by car would take about 32 hours of continuous driving, but Mom made it in that many minutes. Her shield even negated the sonic shock wave that plagued all other Earth craft. Susan wore some of the standard ship coveralls made for her. When I showed my appreciation of her form, the others put on similar garments too. The shiny silver metallic sheen on the form fitting one piece garments looked good on her. The insignia in Tandra script, denoted her name and rank appeared as a beautiful decal only. Small metallic looking articles hung from various places, and were tools for calibrating different equipment. They looked very good on the coveralls, and the girls decided to keep them there. When looked at as a whole, it had a very military look, but chic at the same time. I talked to the other girls, "Susan and I will go into the stores again and see what will look good. If you see anything that looks interesting, just tell us." Mom dropped us between two semis and we regained our visibility. The air was warm for this time of year, about 28. The lot was only partially full of cars, but the number was still quite large. The mall we entered was air-conditioned and had three levels of businesses. All about the mall was the usual sale signs, but now they were mall wide, promising great savings to lure the customers in. Young children ran around followed by tired parents. Teens drifted in groups making loud conversations. Seniors sat on some to the benches talking to their friends. Tired parents sat waiting for their children to come out of the stores. No matter what their gender or age they looked at us. I toned my aura down to avoid notice. This didn't help too much, because most people found they liked the looks of Susan, her utility coveralls, and boots, that matched her outfit beautifully. Her long black hair streamed down her back to her waist. Her cheery smile and upright posture, told everybody that she was a female and proud of being a member of the Human race. Men especially looked at her with lust in their eyes. I couldn't blame them, I thought at the time, for I too was under her spell. An elbow from Susan, that was reading my mind, got me back to my surroundings. I watched women admire Susan and her outfit, wondering if either they could see the contents, or a place to buy a similar garment. "Susan look at me. I have a red flannel shirt, faded blue jeans, and heavy black boots. You on the other hand, wear those clothes like a fashion model, and all the men and some of the women, want to get into them with you." "So." "There is not enough room in there for me too." Susan gave me one of her infectious smiles, and held my hand like teenagers. Five boys around 17 or so stood in our way. I was prepared to protect Susan when I remembered the time on the dance floor. It was not that they went out of their way, just stood stunned and their first look of her. The oldest a dark skinned boy with two shirts, the outer one open. His jeans hung far down his hips and would give him a bit of trouble doing anything more than a walk. After a little searching, we knew he was a good kid and trying to walk the straight and narrow, especially since his mother died about six months ago. I saw her final wish, that he make something of himself and follow his conscience. Susan and I looked further into his head and saw that he was almost mesmerized by Susan's beauty and grace, even in coveralls. "Hello Jerome," I said. "I bet you haven't seen a fox like this before, have you?" Susan smiled at both of us, and Jerome said, "No, not like her. She has something special about her." Then he suddenly looked at me, and said, "How'd ya know my name?" Jerome was sliding into trouble slowly, and I saw that he would go for the easy money in drugs, soon like so many of his friends. "Jerome, your mother wants you to be good and stay away from BeBop and Fixer. They will probably be arrested soon, and you will go down with them. She had very high hopes for you, and your little brother. Don't throw them away." Jerome was stunned, and since our point was made, we just walked around the group. As we got by the last boy, Susan reached out quickly and held the youth's shoulder and squeezed a nerve centre. "I am not, and I don't do it with boys like you. Watch what you are thinking or you will find yourself in a lot of trouble." She just released her hold with a final squeeze, and pulled me along, as if nothing happened. I commented on the boy. "Well he was crude, and I guess they have to put on a facade, even to themselves. I hope he learns to treat ladies right, for he is in a collision course with reality. The mall was very large, and we went all over the place with other inquisitive minds looking out through our eyes. Electronics, shoes and for the most part clothing stores were uninspiring to each of us. A store specializing in baby supplies did interest the girls for a while, but nothing was really exciting. A furniture store caught my eye when I thought of some needs in the rooms that were not furnished yet. An upscale dress shop caught Susan's eye, and we entered to find a young, and fairly attractive sales clerk ready and willing to help. It was obvious that she was very interested in Susan. She now only had eyes for Susan and she almost drooled at the sight, before her. Susan just ignored the few subtle hints for help, as she looked around trying for just the right garment. Minutes later she asked to try on a few dresses, when further back in the store. A shear cocktail dress caught her eye first. "I would like to try this on." "Yes dear. Would you like me to help?" The clerk asked. Susan looked around, and saw that they were completely isolated from view. "No thanks." Susan used the mental commands. The shoes came undone and the coveralls parted in three areas. It fell to the floor as if by magic with a few shrugs, revealing a strong beautiful naked body beneath. Her pelvic area was shaved just like her new sisters, and she almost burnt the clerk with her smouldering eyes. She just opened the dress and put it on. "Henry, do me up." "Yes milady," I said in my best British accent. "Would milady consider the black dress on the far wall?" Susan ignored me, and moved the dress about to hang correctly. She turned to the open mouthed clerk, and said, "I'll take this one." I could feel the girls back on the ship laughing at her antics as well as what the clerk was thinking. My own excitement had started to grow, when I saw her taunt the poor clerk. I picked up her shoes and coveralls and followed, like the good lackey I was. When Susan found the right size of the dress I liked, she told me, "Henry, undo the zipper and pull the dress off, Honey." She looked around and saw that it was still safe to do so. Behind a display of dresses I did as Susan asked, and pulled it up and off her beautiful frame. The new dress did not go on immediately. Susan with the urgings of the girls on the ship commanded, "I have an itch here," pointing to her bare mons. "Scratch it for me." The girl looked at me, and helplessly got in front of Susan and settled to her knees. She used her fingers then her tongue to relieve the itch. Susan lowered her arms and held the girl's face in place. A diversion was necessary. I placed Susan clothing on the rack, and moved to the front of the store and removed the bonds on my aura, as I appeared to be looking for something special. The last two clerks left a customer, to come to me. Even the older woman customer did the same. "I am looking for some sexy lingerie. Could any of you charming ladies make any suggestions?" I looked at the girls and saw that they were almost glassy eyed. The older customer just stared with her mouth open. The younger clerk, a dark skinned beauty, said, "I think these here will look nice. I even wear them." My hearing was very good. I knew that Susan and even the girl were close. "May I see them?" With only a little hesitation, she picked up the front of her dress, and I saw a red pair with lace around the edge, a match for the ones in her hand. I stepped closer and asked, "May I feel their texture, and see how tight they will be?" Again I got only her nod of agreement, and my hand traced over her covered abdomen. My fingers traced over her mons, and I heard her indrawn breath, as well as that of the other two at my actions. I pulled her close and her hands released the dress and wrapped around my neck. The front of the dress trapped against my chest. My fingers went around her waist feeling her narrow midriff, above the panties, before descending and feeling the fullness of her ass in the back. I pictured in my mind the girl's naked body against mine, as my fingers felt for her openings. This I projected as well as I could, and it must have worked for she suddenly pulled me closer to her. My finger followed around the front and went under the edge of her lingerie to trace a finger lightly over her wiry bush. I cast out to all three now, a small cock trying to gain entrance to the opening of the woman before me. My finger found her slit and as it went back and forth picked up moisture. I removed my hand and innocently said to her, "May I look some more? I am sure to find a treasure somewhere." The girl was not very talkative, usually a good trait, so I reached as high under her dress and slowly worked my hand into the tops of her panties. This time it was much easier to find her slot, and work on her clit. The girls must have been trying to mesh with her too, for she suddenly thrust her pelvis repeatedly forward and orgasmed. She moans muffled by my chest. I heard Susan cum too. The customer and the other clerk were holding onto each other. They had felt something too, but not as strong as the girl in my arms. Looking out the doorway of the shop I saw many women. Some with children, others either with female friends or male, but all stood and stared at us. There was nothing any of them could see, except a dress pulled tightly to the back of a woman's legs. "Susan, you better get that girl straightened up. They may start an orgy, and it would be no good for any of their reputations." "Oh, that was a good one Henry," she said about her orgasm. "I'll see what I can do here." "Girls I would like to see both of your panties too, but I think the people watching us would want to join in too." They all turned to the doorway, but Monica, the girl in my arms, did not really care. The currents still flowing through her. I didn't think she would mind if I picked her up, laid her on the pile of panties, and relieve my own mounting passion. Instead I just picked her up in my arms, and carried her to the counter and let her sit on the glass top. Susan came over and looked at the still content girl, and said aloud, "What did you do to her? She looks like she got very lucky." "Just a diversion so Lois, the girl you were with, did not get fired." "Didn't think of that. Sorry." "That's fine. Just run over to the red panties, and buy four extra sets for these girls, as a sort of memento." Susan looked at their probable sizes and got the four pairs and a few for the girls on the ship, who wanted a pair too. In this case it was all of them. Lois came from the back of the shop recovered somewhat from her labours. She tried to look as professional as possible. She was the only one that could ring in our order. I paid cash for our purchases, and kissed each of the women goodbye, placing into their hands one of the panties. I toned down the aura and left the store. The women in front were reluctant to move out of my way even now. I carried the bag as Susan pushed a way through the throng, and we left to continue shopping. Susan said, "My god. I can't believe I did that. One moment I am looking into a Lois's mind and seeing how nice she is. Then the girls get into the act, and I get so horny that I am forced to almost rape the poor thing. What do you think Henry?" "The girls did influence you, and part of the problem was me, because I too got worked up. The girl did welcome all of your advances though. If this happened in North Bay, then you would not be able to walk around with your head held so high. We are going to have to work on controlling ourselves better." "I don't know how I am going to manage that. I am glad I could share Lois with my sisters though, but I don't like being pushed to do things like that. In a Tandra society that would be acceptable, but I wouldn't like word to get back to my parents." I looked behind, and saw that some of the women were still following. I imagine the same as a man will follow a pretty woman for a moment, then only with his eyes. Five minutes later the crowd had thinned but would take a lot longer to leave. It would be good if we did first. The phone caught my attention and I found a takeou, t that had most of the girls favourites and I just had to ask their location by cross streets. Later we stopping by a ice-cream counter, I purchased a large tub of ice-cream and a box of graham cracker cones. As we stepped outside into the hot humid air, at least a dozen women followed. The old trick with the transport truck had to be used, but this time Mom was able to come low enough that nobody would see anything visible raising and disappearing inside her. "Mom will you put this someplace cold? I need to talk to the rest." "Yes Henry, I can do that." The girls were all in the control room, and my mind was locked as tight as I could make it. Upon entering they ran to Susan and said they were sorry. Though they meant it, I felt that they would do it again, if the circumstances were the same. "Girls," I said to get their attention. "I am disappointed in you. We are on Earth, not Tandra. The morals of the people here are a lot different than yours. We can't afford to have ourselves be in the spotlight. What would have happened if the police had come and wanted to question us?" They ran the scenario through their minds and then looked into my now opened mind and saw where all of this might come to. The younger ones that couldn't see this, were told by the older ones. This time they clustered around Susan and the apologies this time felt a lot more convincing. Mom rose to about 30 metres and we silently made our way to our destination across the city. We came close to towering apartment and office buildings and could see in some. The girls seemed to have a voyeuristic tendencies and looked for anything of interest. Some of the couples they saw had not yet begun to engage in sex. The girls wanted to see them, and wanted Mom to drop some probes then wait and see what developed. Just like Captain Bligh, I did not let that happen. Susan and I settled into the alley, and got quite a few bags of food from the restaurant. I didn't know for the life of me, where the girls put all their food. Mom cruised north at a relatively slow speed to see the scenery. The water sparkled whenever we looked and Mom's displays removed all of the glare. Long lines of cars travelled bumper to bumper heading even on a Saturday to their destinations. The only thing, that did break the view, was a police chase. A red Vette was weaving in and out of traffic trying to escape. "Mom can you use one of your tractors to gently stop the car, before they kill somebody?" Mom changed course and the car in a distance of only a hundred metres, came to a stop and then slid sideways to the side of the road. The two occupants tried to flee, but Mom held them tight until the police came with drawn guns. We hovered for a moment while the driver and passenger were cuffed. We continued our trip with the girls now looking for any more excitement that they could find. Other than speeders, there was nothing important. Eventually the terrain began to get more irregular as we approached the Appalachians. That with the cloud cover coming in from the Atlantic, caused us to head a lot further west to continued our trip north. At some of the cities we gained altitude to see things better. There was so much to see, that taking it at a low altitude, would not allow us enough time to see everything. I was sitting back thinking of my own life. I too needed to get back and view it from a distance to understand it. Other than Susan, I was the first Human to reach orbit with a Tandra vehicle, at least in millions of years. I was the first since that time, to offer my help, and possibly the first to fall in love with them. Susan in my mind now was almost fully integrated into the Tandra matriarchal system, and since learning the language, it was hard to tell them apart, other than by the looks. It was getting late, and I wanted to get back home. I had groceries to pick up in North Bay for the meal I planned to make tonight, with my own hands. "Mom, let's leave the scenic route, and get back. There is a lot of things I have to do yet." "Yes Henry." Secric and Blue got excited and then all the rest. I looked at the screen and saw an old pick-up truck running from a fairly new suv. We zoomed in, and saw the truck weaving as it tried to hold the road. Mom knew we were interested, and did not leave yet. A person with thin pale white arms, probably a woman, was being chased by two large men. The chase car repeatedly tried to bump the back of the truck to throw it out of control. The roadway looked seldom used, and had a steep side of rough rock and the other side was just a series of wooden poles strung with a single strand of wire rope. An accident here, would probably be fatal. A small truck coming around the curve was the only thing that made the suv back off. "Mom, let's get down there before somebody is killed or they run into somebody. Can anybody get a reading on those people?" I asked frantically, knowing how a chase like this, would end. "Henry, there are two young children in the truck too." Susan volunteered, "The woman being pursued, is thinking she will either get killed or raped and dragged back for more rape. Her children are in the same danger." "Shit, Mom slow down the suv and give the woman a chance to get away." The truck turned a corner, with the suv now three hundred metres behind as Mom slowed the vehicle's speed. The driver was pounding the steering wheel in an attempt to make it go faster. The next corner came up and we saw a deer heading along the road. The truck came around and the deer froze. The pickup swerved to miss it. Sand and dirt were flung into the air with the violent movements. The truck fishtailed as it tried to overcorrect, and this only made things worse. The edge here was very steep and the truck hit the barrier on the driver's side. The speed was such that almost seven rotting poles broke off and fell over the edge. The truck hung for a moment tilting as it pivoted on its undercarriage, and finally gently nosed over, and made its long descent. "Mom!" She knew what was important, and the tug positioned itself over the gorge and slowly brought the truck to a halt. It flew sideways almost a thousand metres, till a suitable flat area was found among some pines. The suv now freed, rushed forward and stopped at the broken section. The two men got out and one had a gun at his waist. They got as close as they could on foot and tried to look over. There was an overhang and the view would be impossible in their present position. I sent out probes at both the truck and the men. The driver said, "The boss is going to be mad at us now. Nobody could survive that height. Let's drive around and see if we can see the wreck. It went over slow so it would not have gone far out. Bring the camera." They got back in, after pointing up and down the road and set off in the direction they were originally travelling. "Susan, Secric, Blue, get ready, you are going down to see about the woman and kids." There was no arguing. They were transported outside the tug by the matter transmitters and lowered on the tractors, till they disappeared into the trees. I kept track of the men and tried to find a space that would allow them a view of the area under the broken barrier. "Henry, the woman is hurt bad. She is bleeding from the face and there are bruises all over her arms and face. We can't open the doors, and there is the smell of gas. The kids are alive, but very badly shaken. We need some medical help and a way of prying open the truck now." "Be right there. Get the kids out if you can, and get them away in case it starts to burn." "Mom, I will need one of those portable diagnostic units, a med unit, and a small tight focus disintegrator." Mom hung over the wreck, and I could see through the trees that it was on its wheels. I directed Mom's tractors, and I was set down beside the driver's side of the vehicle. The last child was being taken out by Blue. Susan was running as fast as she could to the cover of the trees with the other child in her arms. Secric and I tried to use muscle power to pull open the door, but all we could do is bend open a section at the top of the frame. Susan was right, the woman was severely beaten, and only a person could make the bruises the way they were. Her breathing was shallow and I think she must have a punctured lung, for pink froth came from her mouth. I raised my hand and a small weapon descended into it. The grip was wrong, but I was able to get my hand around it and gave a small, quick slicing motion, and the door post disappeared. I aimed at the lock and toward the back of the truck. The gas tank was close and I did not want to free the fuel. A section, almost six centimetre appeared in the door frame, and I heard a screech as some of the pressure was relieved. No sound, smoke or light were given off by the weapon. I pulled the door and it only came a little. Secric pushed to a position beside me. I placed my foot on the body and, "When I say three we pull. One, two three..." The door gave and the woman almost fell out. "Seatbelts were for children, not adults. Ask any good corpse, to find out for sure." "What was that Henry?" "Tell you later." I took the woman into my arms and slowly stood with the burden. "Energize your shield and get what you can from the wreck. It might blow at any time." I stepped over rocks, and eventually got behind the trees with Blue and Susan. I laid the woman down on a bed of pine needles, and the children tried to rush to her. The girls were prepared, and held them there, while I did my preliminary work. The doc module came out and went over the woman at a height of thirty centimetres, sending its data out to Mom, me and the med unit. The second module started to work and I got the reading that there was too much internal damage and loss of blood for a good prognosis here. "Mom, can you make this woman forget us, if she comes around?" "Yes Henry. It is an easy procedure." "Then we better get everybody aboard. This woman needs much better medical attention than I can do here. She looks like she was in a war zone." The girls held the children as they were hoisted to the hull and transported through with the matter transmitter. The woman this time was carried by Secric. She was placed on the medical chair, that levelled out to a bed. Larger probe units came out of the ceiling and descended to do what they could. I stopped to look at the woman as best I could. She was slightly taller than Susan, had very long platinum blond hair, the same as her twin children that were held in the girl's arms. She looked about 22 or so, and if the two children were hers then she must have had them young. The med unit went to work, and I saw that now she would survive. There was extensive internal damage to the lower bowel and vagina. Three separate infections warred in her body, and anyone would have killed her within a few weeks. In addition, her larynx was damaged. It looked like a sadist had worked on all of her orifices. A small med unit was working on the facial contusions and lacerations. After a moment under the medical attention, I knew that the woman was not just beautiful, but very beautiful. Strangely enough I found I could enjoy the sight of this woman without a strong urge to possess her. My own family was all I needed. Once I knew she was going to survive, I said to the girls. "Take the children and sit in another chair so they can get checked out. They had a very traumatic time so far." Then I said quietly, "They need to get cleaned. I know they soiled themselves." "Yes Henry. Their clothes are beyond salvage. May I give them ship's clothing?" "Fine. Where are the men that were chasing them?" The girls sat in different chairs and held the three year old twins. They ignored the doc units as they only looked at their mother. Their eyes, large as they watched their mother being worked on. "The men are driving up to a far point. From that position, and with binoculars they would be able to see the bottom of the cliff." "Raise the wreck and place it where you think it would have landed. You will have to break it apart to make it appear that it fell the entire distance." "Henry, there is a river close to the edge. Do you want the wreck to be at the edge? This way if there is a search, it would look like the bodies were carried away." "Mom you should write crime novels. Do that and anything else that will make it look good. I want to trace those men back and have a chat with their boss." I looked at the children and wondered what man could do to man, or in this case the weak and helpless. Kitten came over to Susan and looked down at the child in Susan's arms. Her long thin fingers gently traced their way through the long almost white hair. The child, Judith, looked at her with no fear. Silent communications had been established and to tell the truth I think she was beyond caring at this point. The rest followed suit and examined the children. They restrained themselves as Blue and Nova spearheaded the search for any answers to what had happened. Secric worked at the same with the unconscious woman. "Henry watch what I have done." A split screen formed; one of the wreck precariously balanced on a rock over the river, and the other, a probe's eye view of the men on the cliff. One man pointed to the location of the wreck. There was not much there now for wreckage was all over the place. The leader with the binoculars focussed in, as Mom ignited the gasoline and a ball of flame reached to the heavens. "Damn they are dead for sure. Take a few pictures Jack and let's get back. I have a football game tonight with the kids." A few pictures were taken and the other said, "I got some, but I hope it is enough. The boss was pretty mad when this cunt had the nerve to run. I think he was going to take the kids next, no matter what they agreed to." "That is scarey. I don't take my own kids around him very much. My wife gets the shivers when she sees him, and I never said anything to her." "Mom, let's follow them back with the probes. By that time we can have a good plan about what to do." "So Susan's birthday supper is on hold." "I guess. I'll ask to make sure." Then to Susan I said, "Susan, do you want to go home or follow these men?" "Henry, look here at what we found," she said instead. I saw that the woman and children had been spotted by Yuri Mecholov. The husband had died or been killed and Mecholov had taken them in. At first it was nice but the facade did not last long. He wanted to use her and the children for his enjoyment and in a private club that he owned. The woman was very subservient and would do anything the man wanted till it came to sex with her son and daughter. Earlier today she had gotten away in a farm truck with the children. She had no close relatives to turn to for help, and just ran to keep her children safe. Susan showed me how Ingrid would do anything at all and think nothing of it. She needed to be told to do things and anything that was said was good enough for her, or till her children were in danger of being raped. The woman could easily be a world class model. Underneath all the old bruising, a face appeared that any man would love to come home to. The sad part was, that she did not have the entire personality a Human needed to survive. Her intelligence and emotions were normal. She just needed somebody to take care of her, like her husband did in the bad old days. "Mom can anything be done to help this woman be normal?" "Yes there is, but think, before asking me to do this. I can build up her confidence by planting memories of her making decisions in the past. I can release some of her endorphins when she makes good decisions and even coach her subconscious. This method does not work for long. The next way is to implant a crystal to help her make decisions. Sometimes this would be like a robot, for the body would only follow the dictates of the crystal if the personality is not strong enough in the first place. "The only real way is to rebuild her DNA to the way it should be, and this means storing any salvageable portion of her personality and putting it into a new body. At this point she will be a child even to the size. What would you like me to do?" Shit, this is hard. No matter how it is done, her personality needs to be augmented. The option of doing nothing would be let loose the way she was before, and fall victim to the first person that tells her to do something. "I think we better wait a while for a decision like that. Either she is helped a little by your medical marvels and finds somebody to still watch out for her and the kids. Or just find somebody that will treat her like a valuable slave." "How can you say that Henry? She is a person, and deserves all the rights we have," said Kitten. "She does deserve them, and also the right to choose the way she should go through life. Kitten, she is a Human and as such, is very different from a Tandra. Here, I know that she will be taken advantage of, and the sad part is, she will go out and look for that person. Look into her mind and you tell me, if there is a way that was not discussed and would work for her and her children." Kitten did look, and I left her to find an answer, if she could. Chris came to me, and said, "Husband, I was thought of as deficient, and was taken care of, as if I needed it. The only thing wrong with me was that I could not use my mind as well as most of the others. Then I found you. Ingrid can do the same thing, if given a chance." "We just got finished with seven crazy women, and I don't think we should have to take care of them even before the base is back on its feet. I think she and her children should go into stasis, till the base is running right." Susan answered my earlier question, "Henry, I want you to find Mecholov. He has boasted to Ingrid of killing, raping and even using animals to rape his victims. They are mostly helpless young people and children." My anger was at the point where I might not be able to control it well enough, so I had to close my eyes and relax as best I could. "We will find him and see what we can do to get a little justice." The girls broke in on my words after seeing my plans, and objected strenuously to Ingrid and the children being put into stasis. They even volunteered to keep her and take care of all her needs. Mom did back me up, saying that the things needing to be done, had to be worked out and supplies made or gotten from the moon. Moth, the same size as the children, came forward and laid her hand on the boy, Jorge. The child looked at Moth and said, "Are you angels? Are we in heaven now?" Secric walked around Moth, and said aloud for their benefit, "No Jorge. We just found you as you tried to get away from the men in the car. We just picked your truck up and put it down easy, so none of you would be hurt. We were just talking about finding a safe place for you, so that you will not have to run again." Judith looked at me and asked, "Are you going to be our daddy now." I felt a stab to my stomach. The child really knew how to hurt me in the place I had so little protection. She did deserve an answer though. "I don't know yet. I have to go away for a while and may not be back for a very long time. What I think you can have, is a lot of mommies, beside your own, to look out for you and your brother. You have even made some friends already. This is Moth in front of you, and I think she wants to play. Let's get both of you cleaned, and then you can go have something to eat and then play." "I want to stay here with mommy," Jorge said. "Ok, one stay here, while the other gets cleaned up. Then you change places." This was not acceptable, but Susan stood up and took the girl into the cleanser. Susan removed her own clothing then the dirty clothing from the small girl. Judith stopped fighting when she felt the slight tingling all over her. She looked around at Susan and wondered what was happening. When they stepped out only a moment later she magically found a new pair of coveralls. They were just like, what Susan wore, and were ready for her. "How did you do that?" She asked. "Special machines sent the clothes to me." "How come the others looked different. Are you sure you aren't an angel?" Susan laughed, "No sweety, just a girl like your mommy. The other girls are my sisters and come from far away. Would you like something to eat? We have some ice-cream left for desert." The girl smiled for the first time, and wanted to be picked up. When they came back, Jorge saw his sister smiling and dressed in a new suit of clothes. Blue stood and with Moth went to get him cleaned. This time there was less of a fight, because he saw that his sister had come back. Jorge stood, as his dirty rags were removed, and Mom whisked them away. His eyes popped a little but he was beginning to be accustomed to all the inconsistencies that he had known from his previous life till now. "How come you have big eyes?" Jorge looked into Blue's eyes and didn't hear any sounds. A few seconds later he said, "Are you talking in my head?" "Yes, Jorge," but the reply was not very clear. She picked up the child now and stepped into the cleanser. Small and large particles fell from him, and did not last long enough to reach the floor. Blue turned him around to allow the entire mess to be removed. Jorge looked down in amazement as a clean skin became evident. "Are you going to be my mommy too, like the man said?" "I could be, if you wish. This girl here wants to play with you, after you get dressed." Blue pulled the boy close and gave him a little lick on the cheek as they stepped out of the enclosure. Like all boys, he used his forearm to wipe off any trace of saliva. "Do I g... ," he said, as a suit, perfectly tailored to him, appeared in Blue's hand. She guided him into the garment and did up the seams. He held out his arms and looked at the material then at the same clothing on Blue and Moth. Moth jumped in and held his hand. She wanted her time with the new arrival. Blue just smiled and walked behind them as they returned to the medical section. Moth trying her best to get into communication with the boy. The suv continued its way towards Bolson Kentucky. The city of 340,000, and lorded over by 'The Torch'. He had got the name by burning all the competition out and forcing the city within his thrall. The information Mom and I could glean, from the men in the car was very sparse. Their minds were not very well organized and did not know all the details of their boss' raise to infamy. I could see in their minds, a large house, just out of town, with a high wall and a few armed guards as servants. A few rooms upstairs for his special entertainments, and another building on the other side of the city, where even larger crowds could be accommodated to fulfill their warped lusts. Jack cringed internally, as he remembered how he had to take the body of a young man and bury it last week. It joined others in a field owned by Mecholov, in reality but under a flunky's name in the records. The whole set-up was condoned by some of the city fathers, either through threats, blackmail, or in some cases, membership in the exclusive club. Secric and Nova had been working on Ingrid for the last half hour, trying to establish communicating with her subconscious. Nova assured me that the process was working well. All of her clothing was removed and I saw dried blood and faecal matter. I read the computer summary of Ingrid's condition. She still had a long way to go in recovering a sound body. Her bowel and vocal cords were secondary, to her punctured lung and broken ribs, but this luckily was improving. The children stayed and looked at their Mom and around at us. They did not show any fear which was surprising. "Moth why don't you take Cloud, Topaz, Kitty and the new comers, to the gym and show them how to tumble. There will be nothing changing here for a while." I put as much reassurance as I could into my words. The Human children actually left with the girls. The car we were following, pulled up to a country store and Jack's partner, Abe, purchased some cigarettes. The trip resumed and I estimated it would take at least another half hour. Ingrid was regaining conscious, "Girls will you step back for a minute. I want her to see humans first." Ingrid was cleaned with the portable cleanser, Nova had turned her to get all the parts on her back and head. Ingrid tossed and turned her head in the after effects of her previous ordeal. Secric and Nova continued their calming thoughts from behind me. Mom, I knew was ready to do what was needed to keep her calm if we failed. "Alllaaa... ," was all that came out of her ruined mouth. Susan started right away by holding her hand and saying, "You are safe now Ingrid. Nobody will hurt you." Her mind did not come back very quickly, her eyes did not focus on anyone in particular. Susan continued, "Ingrid, your children are playing in the gym now, and they are perfectly safe too." This did bring her around faster as her eyes looked all around the room, but with her head still on the bed. "Waa wa," came next, and we could easily understand it with her mind to focus on. I called, "Girls, will you bring the children now. Their mother is awake." Less than a minute later the children raced in, but the Tandra children stayed out for the moment. Susan and I picked up a child each, so Ingrid could see them. The confusion in her mind cleared a little as she concentrated on them. I started now, "Hello Ingrid. I'm Henry and this is Susan. We happened to be in the right place to help you." The scene came back to her and she tried to curl up and hide. Susan said, "You are safe Ingrid. Nobody can hurt you." The ordeal was far from over, and I knew she would just need some healing rest. Mom sedated her and she went quietly asleep. "Well kids," I said, "let's see what we can find to eat, while your mother is sleeping." I shooed everybody out, as I tried to think of what was to be done with Ingrid and her children. The woman was obviously a basket case for the foreseeable future, but would come around with time and love. The trouble was that the moon flight was coming up soon, and we did not have time to spend it on her. The children too, would present a difficulty. Everybody was busy and babysitting was not something we could afford now. Kitten's children were different, because they slept most of the time and required little care. The outskirts of Bolson came into view, and I still did not have a plan to follow. The probes could provide all the surveillance we could wish for. I read a street sign and saw the suv pull up to a large gate and call inside. The gate opened, then closed behind the vehicle. A long interlock driveway led to an imposing house of wood with large ornate columns and windows that I knew were bulletproof. The car pulled around the house and stopped in the back, in a marked off spot. The probes entered the house with the two men. They were escorted down a long hallway of rich wood and marble. The double doors at the end were opened and the men entered. "That will be all Samuel," the tall burly man said from behind the desk. When the servant left, Yuri said as he tapped a pencil on the desk in front of him, "Well, where is she?" Jack said, "We caught up with her about sixty miles from town. She made a run for it through the hills, on the old Saunders' Road. She lost control of the truck and it went off the cliff taking a lot of posts with it. We saw the truck burst into flames and fall into the river. Nobody could have survived that fall." Yuri jumped up with a red face, and yelled at his underlings, "I told you to bring her back. She was going to be the star attraction tonight. I may have to use one of you to take her place. You incompetent fools." Abe and Jack turned white and stammered trying to apologise. Other thoughts ran through Yuri's mind as he ordered his men out the door in a loud menacing voice. The men were only too happy to leave. I stayed with Yuri as he sat and did a little thinking. He picked up the phone and speed dialled a number. After the hello, he said, "I need that new package, along with the three old ones. The one original planed, was destroyed by foolish subordinates." The voice on the other end said, "They will be there tonight. My boys even found another if you want it?" "Bring it along. Things have been going a little too quietly recently. I think we should spice it up a bit." "Anything you say boss." ------- Chapter 24 We hovered overhead waiting for the Yuri's party to begin. Around 8:00 local time, a small Beamer left a garage in the back of the property, followed by the SUV with four different men inside. Twenty three minutes later it pulled up to a large warehouse complex and was allowed through the gate by an armed guard. Other guards were posted around the perimeter to keep people out or possibly people in. The girls clustered around, as I sent two dozen probes into the building. In the centre of a wide area was a large flat expanse, with wooden structures. Leather belts were affixed to various places. Around this, was seating for almost a hundred people. Men and a few women were already present. A stream of people came from an underground tunnel, and started to chat with their friends. I sent the younger ones to their beds or study for the time being. Ingrid was still sedated and the doc modules were still trying to repair some of the more serious damage. Mom built a three dimensional representation of the buildings below, complete with all of the entrances. I saw the transformers, water pipes and lines for the propane to heat some areas. Little by little, more came visible as probes went to all of the areas that were hidden. One room in particular held our interest. A room that was formerly offices, and held five naked people and two dressed in black leather harnesses, reminiscent of a Hollywood production. The uniform was just for show, for the men were clearly erect and fully exposed. Two young men about sixteen and twenty, two young women one about seventeen and another a year older, lastly a woman about twenty five or so were all secured, within the room. They were all tied to eyebolts in the wall and wore a ball gag to keep them quiet. Their eyes wide, as they looked about futilely for escape. The two large men guarding the group of naked captives, were talking to each other as they fondled a few of their helpless charges. "Look here Joe. A little finger up his ass, and he gets a hard on. I think I am going to enjoy this one." The short man Clem, appeared to have less than normal intelligence and more than normal endowment in the phallic department. Joe meanwhile was twisting the nipple of one of the young girls. She cried at the excruciating pain and cried through the gag to please stop. "This one is more to my liking. I will see what she is like with pliers on her pretty little nipples and clit." "Susan, Secric. Do you want to help?" They were agonizing over the plight of the captives, but the thought of them assisting in the rescue was very far from their mind. "Aa, sure Henry. What would you like us to do?" Asked Susan. I pointed out a path through the maze of buildings and corridors. "I want you to take five extra shield generators, place them on the captives and lead them out. If they are like others I know of, they will just run. Keep them tied, and force them to follow you." I looked at them as they looked at one another. "Are you prepared to do as I say or do you want me to do it?" "What are you going to be doing here?" Asked Secric, in a vocal manner this time. "I plan on destroying the people that like to see this type of torture. If they did not have a sick need for this sort of thing, then people like Yuri Mecholov would not be making money from it." "Oh," was all I got in reply. "Mom, can you make an opening in the wall about here?" As I pointed to a section of wall. "I can, but my tractors may do a better job. Your law enforcement may find the cut area, and the edges gain a crystalline edge, that is not found in nature, if I use a weapon." I turned back to Secric and Susan, "Mom will make a hole in the wall over here," I pointed to a section. "Her tractors will hoist all of you to safety, and then the fireworks can go off. There is a good possibility that some you will run into people that will try to stop you. Are you prepared to kill or disable them? Those were the people that did all the damage to Ingrid." Again they looked at each other. Secric this time spoke, "I will do everything it takes to get those people out safely. If it means a few deaths of guards, then that is the way it has to be." Susan listened to the words and her mind agreed with the ideas. She had not had to deal with a serious threat to her life or others before. There was so much more for her to learn. I could see a guard threatening to kill a captive, unless they dropped their shields. Later, all of them would meet the same fate, because of a wrong sense of priority. "Nova, there may be some people on foot or in cars trying to escape. I don't want that to happen. Do you understand? Can you do that sort of thing?" I pictured in my mind some of the ways and surprisingly she agreed with me. It actually pleased me, that she was so bloodthirsty. It wasn't long ago, that these girls would never think of doing this. One more reason why I was a bad influence on them. Sometimes hard choices had to be made, and then you had to live with the consequences. "Kitten, when the captives come in, I want you to take them to medical and get them looked at." Turning to Blue, I said, "There is a main electrical disconnect for this area here," I said as I pointed at Mom's mockup. "Over here is the emergency lighting. Take the first and shut it down, then the second as quickly as possible. The second set will take a while to start, so you have an extra 15 seconds or so, as the ballasts and lights warm up." "Mom, you have lots to do. I want you to rip out the large canister of propane and pour the gas and liquid in it through a hole, that you are going to make in the roof, but only after all the girls are back. I would like as much gas as possible mixed with the air. When it reaches about 6 percent I want you to ignite it. The explosion should be large enough to level this entire complex." "I understand the principles, Henry. Do you want to kill everybody?" "Almost. I want to take Yuri Mecholov alive, and see what other things he has been up to. You said that you could remove his memory. Is there a way to make him confess to the police about his accomplices, that are not at this show tonight?" "That can be done, but he will be groggy while confessing. The effect won't last more than a few hours." "That sounds good enough for me." A phone on the wall below signalled the performances to begin. Joe put a leash around the older woman's neck, and then used a short piece of hickory behind her back, to keep her hands and arms from moving. "Chris, I saved the most difficult for you. I want you to provide security for Susan and Secric. If one of the captives are taken onto the stage you will have to go there and rescue them. You will be invisible and your eyes should be good enough for the amount of ambient light, after Blue cuts the power. Is there any questions?" She had none, but was really unsure of what was expected of her. They ran off to get their supplies, and Mom dropped us off at side doors. Two had to be ripped open by Mom. This did bring a little attention from two of the guards. At precisely 8:30 the woman of 25 or so, was led from the room by Joe, and dragged to the large open area. There, the collar around her neck was locked to a frame. Her wrists were tied in front of her and a pole was between her back and her elbows. Bright lights shone onto the area and left the audience invisible in the dark. There was very little the young woman could do to help herself. A plaintive cry was heard, wanting help from anybody. Blue was not in position, and I knew Chris was anxious to help as quickly as possible. "Mom, I want all the data feed from the probes, to be recorded, but not dispersed to any of the crew. Have some probes follow us so you will know what is happening." "Yes Henry. It is done," she said. Susan jumped at me with her mind. "Why are you doing this Henry? We all have a right to see what happens too." "What is going to happen is not what any of the others expect. I have lived through things like this before, and most times I was helpless to act. This time I am not. It eats you up inside, and I would not wish this on anyone." I pictured the entire event, with the timing and objectives, again to let everybody know what was going to happen and when. Things had changed minutely even in the last few seconds. Susan and Secric were sent on their way. I wanted desperately to go with them or do so myself, but I had to be elsewhere. I had taken a knife from the weapons locker. My own shield was set to invisibility, and a spare was all I needed for the moment. The plan I had, was sure to get a lot of attention in the news later, and take out all the present sickos that would come here to enjoy this sort of spectacle. The girl on stage was strapped further to one of the wooden frame, and a portion was bent and twisted into position. The black clad man, now with a very erect cock, picked up various phallic devices and inspected them with the intention of getting the audience worked up. The girl, after being strapped in and the mechanism rotated, placed her waist at a level, for all to see. Her legs spread painfully wide, as the man seemingly stroked the woman as a lover would. The man then picked up other devices, and traced them close to her lower orifices. A large black plastic dildo was finally chosen and he shoving it quickly into the woman's vagina. Her screams were heard echoing off the far walls before returning again and again. The crowd too screamed, but in an orgasmic frenzy. They wanted more pain and humiliation. I ran toward a door on the far side of the building, and Yuri Mecholov. This was the time a male donkey was brought onstage, and paraded in front of the crowd and the helpless victim. Its nose brought forward to smell the scent, and get worked up, before being pulled back and tied to a ring. Susan too ran up some steps to the suites of offices above the main floor level. She turned the knob and rushed in, to find a captive young man, impaled on Clem's large cock. Susan just ran forward and kicked upward into his nose. This drove the cartilage into his brain, and he fell to the floor twitching before voiding himself. Secric was just a bit further back, and closed the door behind her. She knew what had happened, but was none the less shocked to see the man dying on the floor, so soon after their entrance. They stepped around the corpse and took some of the rope that was laying around the room, and began to remove the captives one at a time, and secure them closely together. The captives for their part were cooperative. Nothing had ever happened to them before like what had happened recently. Kidnapping, rape and one had been teased, when told that the ultimate fate was death when they were too worn out to fight well enough. Now they saw ropes flying through the air, their own bonds removed by ghostly hands from the wall, and then tied together again. Before more than two were removed from the target wall, running steps were heard. Susan mind spoke, "It looks like the guards are coming as an automatic response to us opening the outside door. It looks like three or four from their minds. Drop your shield and get your knife, while I get these people onto the floor." Both girls dropped their shields. They saw the incredulous looks of the captives before the shields were reestablished. Secric got into position and the captives could only see a phantom knife raise to a metre behind the door and remain stationary. Susan quickly cut the last two captives loose and the last tried to run. Susan did not have time and merely grabbed her hair and hit her on the side of the neck. "The rest of you stay down, and you will get out of here alive. Run and they will kill you." The men burst into the room intent on moving the captives to a new location. They found Clem on the floor unmoving along with all the slaves. When all had entered the room, Susan and Secric came up behind their victims and reached around quickly and drew the blade across the throats of the last two. The blood spewing out and struck the backs of the ones in front. Blue had finally gotten into an enclosed area. Chain link fencing kept out people, while allowing air to cool the switching gear and distribution panels. The pad lock on the gate was still in place, but the two hinges had their pins in an upward position, and with a two by four, was successful in picking up the hinged side off the door enough to pull it off the pins. She grabbed the main disconnect and pulled with all her might. The lights went off and the motors for the air circulation units stopped. Voices of concern rose from the audience as things were just getting interesting. Chris was moving her weight from foot to foot, waiting her chance to jump into action. When she knew Blue had finally opened the gate, she could wait no longer. The woman on the stage was about to be raped by an even larger dildo in the gleeful man's hands. Her cries of pain had lessened as she pleaded to be spared. The man was quiet for a while as if contemplating the possibilities, the even larger dildo poised over her bleeding vagina. The crowd clamouring for the man to continue, and to ignore the woman's appeals. Chris had not taken training in martial arts, but did peek into Susan and Secric's minds on occasion, and decided to act now, before the woman was killed. She took three steps onto the stage before the lights went out. She got behind Joe, and when the lights finally stopped, she jumped on his back, grabbed his head, and in one mighty twist with both her upper arms, broke the man's neck. They were both carried to the floor and Chris had a difficult time getting her leg out from under the body. She kicked it off with her other foot and got up. This was what it was to take a life. Since she was a child she had been taught to respect life and do her best to nurture others. She looked down at her two hands. The dim light told her that they had committed one of the worse crimes. The cries of the audience did not get through to her, but the piteous wailing of the woman on the torture device somehow made it. Chris pulled herself together and pictured the woman as she last saw her. The arms, feet and waist were meticulously undone, but the collar was locked to the frame with a padlock. She felt gorge raising in her throat, knowing what she must do. Returning to the corpse and she used her hands to run over the corpse, till she was able to find the piece of leather. The key that was on a thong around its now broken neck. The smell of shit was strong in her nose. She held her breath and ripped the thong, making the supple neck follow her movement, and the head landed on her foot as the strap finally parted. I too waited the lights to go out. There would be lots of chances for Yuri to escape in the confusion, for I was sure he had more than one bolt hole. At the moment he was in a room with the remote controls to many cameras that were strung around the stage. The images would wind up on perverts entertainment centres, as they saw the snuff film to its conclusion. I had not been close enough to him to read his mind well. To tell the truth, I did not want that, for he was a cesspool of corruption that hell would graciously welcome when given the chance. I watched Nova in my mind, as she finally overcame her obstacle. The lights went out and I reached for the door handle and found it locked. Knowing the Torch as well as I did, and much more than I wanted to, I knew that the door was solid. The only thing I could do was drop my shield and recover my knife. Soon, someone would have to go through the door, and when they did, I would be able to enter. I felt pain inside, as Yuri hit a technician for allowing the power to fail him, after the show had begun. I heard the man fall to the floor and further grunts of pain as he was repeatedly kicked. Equipment fell and finally the door opened by Yuri's own hand. My sight was good enough to see as most would at dusk. As the man slammed the door shut behind him, I shifted the knife and hit him as hard as I could in the soft stomach with my fist. The sounds of gunshots were heard a split second later, and throughout the building. The emergency lights started to flicker as I gave a kick with the heal of my shoe, to the side of his head. A man this big needed to be incapacitated completely. If this were war or a serious enemy, I would just kill him, and not have to fear him attacking me or mine again. The original blackout gave Susan and Secric enough time to step forward and drive their knives home. The trouble started when Susan's man shifted because of the feel of the blood spurting on him. Susan had not received augmentation for sight, and completely missed her opponent. The man did not know what was happening, but did know something was wrong. He reached for his gun in the shoulder rig. "Who is there?" He demanded. "Talk, or I will start spraying the room with bullets. One is sure to get you." Their shields were up, and no harm could come to them, but the captives would not be so lucky. "Secric, it is too dark. I can't see him." "Move to the door and get his attention." Susan did as she was asked, but improvised for some time. "My name is Susan, and I came to free these people." "You won't get far. Sam go get her. If she moves I am going to shoot. Sam! Sam! Fred! Mike? Get up you lazy fucks. We need to get her." His mind trying to think of what might have happened, "What did you do to them? If they are hurt, I am going to enjoy make you pay for it." Secric moved around the bodies on the floor just as one of the captives decided to gain their freedom. The frightened man with the gun, turned and shot twice at the noise. Secric jumped in and lifted the gun with one hand, while driving in the knife into his ribcage with the other. Blue raced out of the cage as soon as the power quit. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the near black condition, and head for the emergency lighting panel. Apparently an alarm circuit was hooked up if the main power failed. Another transformer would supply light when this happened. Some of the lights just started to flicker, when she heard the shots. With a last few steps she heaved down hard on the handle, placing the building once again into darkness. Chris had just gotten the lock off the collar. The woman collapsed onto the floor of the stage. The lights flickered and shots rang out. She counted all her loved ones, and knew none of them were hurt. Chris clipped the shield onto the poor woman, and activated it externally to her command. A ripping sound could be heard by all, as the metal sheets on the top of the building was physically torn off. Though still dark, Chris could now see better with the starlight coming in through the roof. "Are you ready dear?" Came from Mom. Both were silently and invisibly guided around the girders and trusses, till they floated free. Mom brought them safely, and into the so recently used medical section. I reached down and placed the shield generator on the unconscious man. Once activated, I hoisted his hundred and thirty kilo weight to my shoulder and ran to the stage. My vision allowed me to shift my centre of gravity and plough into people to get them to move. They went flying in all directions. I could hear their cries of fear now, a delightful change from just moments ago. Gaining the stage, I went to the wooden frame and waited for Mom. I could see here and there individuals with guns in their hands, ready to shoot at an enemy if one could be found. Mom effortlessly hoisted us up through the large rent in the roof and into the ship. Secric ran over to the sacrificial actors. Her mind delving into each to see who was hurt. One, she could not reach. The younger girl had got shot twice. Turning her over she saw how a piece of her skull was blown out and there would be no rescuing her now. The boy that was being sodomized, was struck by a bullet. It struck behind the knee, after going through the body of the girl. A large pool of blood was starting to form, and the wound just spouted blood after hitting a major blood vessel. "Susan, come over here and hold this wound closed. I will drag the rest to the side and Mom can open an exit for us." Susan had to feel bodies to make her way over, and stood up well with all the adrenaline in her system. She felt blood and the heard the last twitches of the shooter, as she came to Secric's side. Secric saw Susan's hands and guided them with words, to the site of the puncture. Secric grabbed the living and the dead and took them aside as she formed her thoughts to Mom through the pain she felt. "You can use a tractor now. One of the captives is seriously wounded and another dead." "I know dear. Just put the shields on all the captives except the wounded one. I will pick Susan and him up together." Mom drove her tractors through the exterior steel metal wall and the thin plaster wall around the offices and pulled back a section about three metres by two. Susan and the young man floated through the air, but were not seen till the light from the street shone through the opening. Secric pulled over the closest captive and energized the shield. This was done till she stood over the dead woman. She was glad she would be removed from here. She deserved a better memorial, than what she would get at the hands of the local authorities. Mom moved her tractors with a probe on the end, and found the emergency power disconnect, through the hole in the roof. She threw the switch and within a half minute or so, the lights began to all reach their maximum brightness. Chris took the women in her care to the medical station and Mom immediately sedated her and began treatments. A minute later Susan came in covered in blood and Mom transporting a young man. Her tractors keeping the would closed enough to make it to the medical section. Seconds later the two other captives floated in and alit on similar chairs. Secric came running in later, and went over to her charges. They eyed her with fear but not as much as they had in the warehouse. Her hands went out to the sensor pad and read the information about each. The wounded man was her major concern, till she saw three doc units working on him and one each on the others. All that could be saved were. Since she was visible now, and her looks were the closest to Human but not close enough it seemed. She heard the captives thoughts. They were almost reluctant to be saved by somebody that was not of this Earth. She felt a little strung out from what she was forced to do. "If you want, I can take you all back," she said with her voice. "The Torch would just love to see you again. It was his standing orders to get you out of there if the police came; and failing that, to kill each of you." Susan rushed over to her side and said, "Secric they were in a life and death situation, and you can't expect them to be thinking right. Let them recover and after some time, sleep and food, they will not be as upset as now." "Do they know how helpless I felt, when the woman was killed? I could feel her pain of receiving a mortal wound. I never want to feel that sort of thing again." "Look at it this way. We got four out, if we hadn't tried, there would be five deaths eventually. We can see what Henry has planed for the Torch. There may even be more people in need of rescue." Mom held the large green propane tank, and released the gas, vapour and liquid, while her tractors ripped the upper portion of the building to one side. The vapour was heavier than air, and descended fairly quickly. The tank was moved to many locations so that the entire group of buildings could get a goodly amount of the fuel. Her tractors invisibly stirred the air, while the others had blocked the doors with automobiles or anything too heavy to be quickly moved. The lights returning kept lighters from being used for illumination. Most of the richly dressed men were clustered about, thinking of a way to escape. Their cell phones called for help, and since the chief of police was here, he would not have to worry about any unfavourable repercussions. Some of the women were worried about what might come of this. They had paid good money to watch this sort of entertainment, and had no intention of getting caught in this, if it could be avoided. Mom kept pouring the volatile liquid from the container into the building, and on the roof, till the district attorney decided he needed a cigar to calm his nerves. The explosion lit up the entire city, and the three metre tank was wrenched out of Mom's steely grip, and the resultant parts were hurled far into the air to fall kilometres away. All the girls turned to see the flash of colour on the screen. It all went so fast, that it seemed like only light was produced. The metal of the building fluttered as if tissue paper, before a hurricane. Even many of the main beams would have been thrown far enough to reach the residential district, Mom had interposed her hull to deflect the blast, to a safer area. The cars parked around the buildings and the ones hidden in a larger warehouse, were not as lucky, and were destroyed by the gas and resulting explosion. Their own fuel adding to the inferno. Mom cast about with her sensors and found life still existed, but all of them were rapidly fading from her screen. I was down in the morgue/stasis chamber area. The dead girl was placed in an area to keep her body safe, till it could be given back to her family. Yuri Mecholov was still unconscious, his shield was de-energized and he lay relatively undisturbed. I rummaged in his mind with Mom to get all the pertinent facts, without too much regard to his mind afterwards. He had quite an operation, one, the Romans would be proud of. Only two of his customers could afford to have their own torture chambers, and Yuri made a considerable amount of money, selling helpless victims and sometimes removing the bodies later. There was quite a few films he produced, where the actors did not make it out alive. These specialty films brought him a more than enough to run his empire. He had a network of agents that would kidnap runaways, young prostitutes of either sex, and the usual hitch hikers. He paid a high price through a middle man, but the profit was so high, that he could easily afford it. A hidden book at his home had a list of all his dealings, protected with many levels of security and hooked up to a large incendiary device in the safe itself. The list had some very well respected people, that would be happy to provide roadblocks in the way of any investigation, especially if they might be implicated. A case like this, would drag on for years, and if some people suddenly died, then the case might even be thrown out. Yuri was coming around and I didn't really want to talk to him. Mom's tractors picked him up and set him into a coffin shaped device, the same as what the unknown woman now occupied. The clear lid closed just as he turned to me, to ask what was happening to him. Susan was still in the medical section when I came in. The younger girls were still in bed, not knowing that a large explosion had just happened immediately outside the hull. Secric was talking to Nova about what should have been done to make things work better. She was still upset at the woman dying. Blue was talking to Chris but getting little response. A man had died, but this time at her hands. "Chris, there was nothing you could do. Either that wicked man died or the woman. I know we are supposed to take care of the males, but it was the male that was in the wrong. Have you looked into Henry's mind? He sees the opposite, and believes the women should be protected." Blue took the girl's face in her hands and pulled her face over to the table, where the woman was now being treated. "The woman was being tortured, and if you had done nothing, she would now be dead or worse." Blue saw me coming and turned Chris around to see me. I came close and hugged Chris tightly to me. "You did everything right. I am very proud of each of you. Without your help, these people and many more, would have died. Come over here; I want to meet the woman you saved." Chris again reverted to her old self and wanted to hide. Her fear of being rejected was uppermost in her mind. The woman was still groggy. Her pain had been removed and the repair to her genital area was proceeding very well. A small cleanser drone was going all over her body cleaning up blood, sweat and any other contamination from her skin. The bruising on her arms and legs had become less noticeable. Two fingers had been broken and the bones just joined, the joint was not strong yet, so Mom kept her muscles from being activated in her hand. Mom had retrieved some information from the unconscious mind and Samantha Phelps, 24, was a part time prostitute, from Little Rock. She had wanted to get away from her pimp and had been sold instead to another pimp, that eventually brought her into the clutches of the Torch. She still looked fairly pretty, considering all the abuse she had gone through. Her drug problem was what had started her slide into where she was now, and thankfully that could now be addressed. She had blond hair, but since she was naked on the table, I knew her natural colour was auburn. Tattoos were on her abdomen something like the Tandra women sported, but these were much larger and gaudy looking. Her frame I thought, needed a little more weight on it to be right. Looking deeper, I saw that she had been kept in a storage area with other people and none had been fed very much. "Hello Samantha. My name is Henry and this is Chris." I waited for the head to turn our way. She was able to talk, but was sedated and her present surroundings and company were not really important now. "Wa..." Some of her fright came back, but not nearly what it might have been. "Where am I?" "You are in a medical facility with some of your friends. You were taken away from Mr. Mecholov and his men. This here is the young lady that rescued you. Her name is Chris, but she cannot speak yet to you, but she will understand your words." Samantha was able to reach out her good hand, and I pushed Chris forward. Chris hand went onto the table for support just as Samantha's hand came down on hers. Samantha looked at Chris a little odd but this was also because she needed contacts which she now did not have. "Thank you, thank you, you don't know what it was like," she said with tears in her eyes. "If you had not gotten me out of there, I would be dead after that donkey got me." Chris could see that she was really needed and bent down to hug the girl and communicate on a level both needed very much. "Secric, did you hear what we said?" "Yes husband. I did." I left to see the rest now. The wounded young man was still sleeping. The slightly older one, Tom was fully awake and watching what was going on. The other woman Patty, was trying to sit up, so Secric commanded the bed to change into a chair for both of them. Their eyes again showed their amazement at the other worldly technology. "Hello, as you might have heard, my name is Henry." I put my hands on Secric and said, "This is Secric, she and Susan, the one looking so worriedly at your wounded friend, have rescued all of you." Tom asked, "What are you going to do with us?" I looked into his mind and all he could think of is alien abductions and experiments. I grinned and then chuckled, "I was born here, and so was all the rest. Susan and I, are as Human as you are. We don't need to experiment on any of you." I saw a weight leave their chests, and in fact they released their breaths. "What we will do, is get you fixed up, remove any memories of us and then release you. I would like to have you remember all of Mecholov's operations, so that you can tell the police. You just won't be able to remember us." "I come from Newton Illinois, and even there, I know how powerful Mecholov is." "At the moment he is not too powerful. He is locked downstairs. By the way, he was the only one of the spectators to get away alive." This did shock them. "Mom would you show the scene below for the guests. The police and fire crews should have gotten here by now." The entire wall broke into four parts, and each one was the view from probes at the height of a man or just above. Cars were continually streaming in, where the gate used to be. Fires burned out of control where the cars were parked. Here and there on the large paved area, pieces of bodies were strewn about. Some of the beams and trees sported macabre fruit, waiting for the coroner to pluck. ------- Chapter 25 "I saw in Samantha's mind, that there was a large pen that was used to house almost 27 of you. I think we will take a little trip and see what we can do about this. If you haven't guessed by now, I take exception to people hurting others for fun." "That is somewhere around Leitchfield I think," said Patty for the first time. "Thank you Patty. We should be there in a few minutes." "Mom can you piece the views each of them has of the area and other information to make a good guess as to where it is?" "It will be difficult because they were all taken in a truck. But I cannot even assume that it was the shortest route. The name given may be a diversion." "I agree. If we can't find it, I guess I will have to swim in the septic tank again, and fish the information out of our guest." In the end, I did have to awake our guest. This time, I took a doc unit to him and before he awoke, I put him under again and was able to access his mind. "Mom you better take over here and record all you can. I feel like puking." A fairly modern farming operation was found, with the guards living in the house, and the slaves in the barn. At present, they were mainly all in the house, so the guards could make use of any slaves, pleased their eye. Tom and Patty readily agreed that this was the place, and I saw many horrifying things, that they saw happening while there. They began to shake with all the memories and I thought of a way to help them recover. "Mom can you make some knockout gas to make this job easy"? I can, but it would be easier to just use one of my tools onboard to put them to sleep. It uses special frequencies and intensities of audible and inaudible sound. If the warehouses were not so large, we could have done that there to. We have had to deal with unruly animals before, and this was the most humane." "Will the suits protect us from the sound?" "Yes, Henry. The effect only lasts as long as I have the device trained on them. If you remove them, you will fall asleep too." "Well, give me two containers, that look like knockout gas." "Patty, Tom, would any of you like to put on a bulletproof suit, that will make you invisible. I would like to put some sleeping gas into the house, and then bring the cops over to find them." They stopped shaking a little, and I tried my best to get them to take my offer. Before the police came, I explained to them, we could get you to forget us. I hoped in this instance, to assist them in recovering from some of the ill effects, they had got since being captured. I used my aura shamelessly, to get them to help, even though Mom could place the canisters or beam the sound much easier than we could. Nova and Blue gave their shield generators, and I activated them. We were dropped a few hundred metres away because I wanted them to feel good about sneaking up and destroying this operation. Tom hid behind bushes and trees forgetting that he was invisible. Patty did the same. Only the small containers they carried were seen. What was I to ruin their game? So I just remained quiet and let them be commandoes. It was getting quite dark and they ran to the side of the house that the soft wind was blowing. "You stay here Tom. In exactly thirty seconds release the gas." "Ok Henry," he said with more pride than usual, and I could see the start of a smile in my mind. Patty and I ran to the barn and as I counted down to 30 she gleefully released the contents of the cannister. The air silently entered the open window. Mom overhead just turned on her sonic generators and all the inhabitants went to sleep. "We get everybody Mom?" "Yes we did. I have been doing some scanning of the surrounding property, and see what I believe, are graves." This stopped the game for me, but I tried to keep going for the sake of Patty and Tom. The barn contained individual cages for about thirty people. Eleven were now full. Mom's probes came in and inspected each of the captives. Physical and sexual abuse was the most common, but also the usual drug dependencies and venereal diseases were common. My plan called for all of them to remain sleeping, till the police came. This would force us to give only some of the help they desperately needed. Medical probes came next to do what they could, to make the rest of their lives less of an ordeal. All the older girls and even the two wounded captives came to see what was happening. Our young, less mobile gent, was in a grav chair pushed around by Samantha. Samantha was wide eyed so, her sight must have been repaired to. There were two guards here, one was sleeping, while another had been watching TV. Samantha walked over and then held back by Blue. "He is not worth it. He will get everything he deserves. Henry would not let it happen any other way." Samantha must have been getting the hang of mind speech for she let Blue lead her out the door to the house. The house was very big and looked very comfortable. It looked quite tidy for men, till I saw many naked children and young women chained to certain areas. The men, about seven, were in the large kitchen watching a football game and drinking when they went to sleep. One young boy was asleep in the crotch of a naked man, as he drank his beer. The girls went around the house and counted ten others. Many were beaten very badly, and one had sores that were festering. Usually when this happened antibiotics were given, and if the person did not recover fast enough, he or she was disposed of in the back field. I descended the steps to check the basement, and when others started to follow, I sent them to the top floor. The basement was made up like a Hollywood tortures chamber and had served the same purposes for I could smell burnt flesh and old blood all over. It would be better for me to check this place first. Turning a corner, I saw another room with an old time oak door with black iron on the hinges. Inside on one wall hung a boy of eleven or so. The door was unlocked and I rushed in. He was badly abused. "Mom! I need some medical help here now," I said almost as if I were yelling aloud. This time the girls did come down with the help required and just stood outside the room. I looked for keys and didn't remember seeing any. "Chris, you and Secric look for a large key. The rest of you go search upstairs. It may be in one of the men's pockets." Chris brought me a large ring of keys, and I had to keep trying till I found one that worked. The shackles around the boy's thin arms and legs finally parted. There was no way a young boy like this could put up a fight. What use would there be to do this? Getting the last manacle undone, I raced through the house and then outside with the boy in my arms. We were immediately hoisted into sick bay. Mom worked on him with all of her resources, while I paced back and forth. The boy was going to make it, but I was sure he would grow up, a warped individual. He had many small burns all over his body, reminiscent of cigarette burns inflicted on prisoners. There were no areas left untouched in their quest for pain at the boy's expense. Susan came in with Nova and looked at the child. "I am going to look some more. I know he won't wake up soon, but have someone stay here just in case." Susan said, "I will stay. You go and finish up." The room in the basement proved to have a cut out wall, that had hidden professional quality cameras behind them. I could see now how some sick pervert would buy this type of... I had no name for it. This was evidence and I did not want to disturb any of it. When I compared the house above to the foundation walls, I knew that there was no hidden rooms here. Upstairs I found nothing special, except the computer. "Mom will you see what you can do with this computer. It would be nice to see who they have been communicating with." Mom searched the minds of the sleeping men to get the passwords. It was a good thing, because explosives were hidden inside the machine to destroy it, if even one mistake was made. "I am done Henry. There are many leads to other groups that kidnap the people, and distribute the films and DVDs. A well encrypted file tells of people that will buy the children, if they are not too abused." "The printer is on now. Print all the instructions for the police to get at the data safely. How is the boy coming?" "His wounds will heal soon Henry." "The visible ones anyway. Mom is there something we can plant on all the captives so that we will know where they are all the times, without Earth technology finding them?" "There are many, some can transmit a lot of data, while some will only give location. What would you like?" "Use the ones with the most feedback. I think after we bring this ring down, we are going to have to rescue them again from Earth's best intentions." Taking the ring down did present a problem. The local law enforcement was paid not to visit, and anything found would be hushed up. I was in favour of just calling government officials and make all kinds of threats. It wouldn't take long till we had and army of different government law enforcement agencies here trying to take me into custody or shoot first and ask later. Susan's idea of calling TV news show hosts, and tell them about it, would get the ball rolling too, but seemed a little slow for the captives, and our schedule. With the trade-offs between each kind of response I could only see a mix that would work. "Mom will you use the computer to search the internet for the major networks news shows. I want to send pictures of what is happening here and mention kidnapping, so that the FBI will be forced to get involved. With pictures of the farm, it's location and the hidden graveyard, it would be hard for anybody to say they didn't know. If you can find personal telephone numbers, then the story will even be better." "I will try, but the connection is very slow." "I know Mom, but I don't want the military here looking for us too." "Why can't we just free these people?" Susan demanded. Mom stepped in and tried to help me, "Henry is trying to get the authorities to clean up this mess. Very few societies condone slavery and absolutely none of the civilized ones do." "Susan, we are treating them where they lay and though not the best, it is considerably better than what our hospitals can give them. When the police finally come, I just want it to be impossible to put a lid on this affair." None of the others really agreed with me, and I couldn't blame them in a way. I just went through the house trying to do the best job I could do, for the slaves on the floor. At least now, they were disease free and could start on the long process to healing. The wounds would have to leave, so they could heal naturally. I walked outside and after a five minute walk, Mom showed me the lonely graveyard. There were no markers and I would have to assume the diggers would not be too sure of the particulars. Only Mom's sensors would ever let me know they were here. In a way, it was a nice setting for a final resting place. The trees were old and majestic, and the grass was thick and rich, even now in October. The air was clean with only the scent of wood smoke. The place reminded me of life, and not the abrupt end it. There was just no place to morn, for the young individuals interred just within the edge of the wood lot. "The information was transferred Henry. Would you like the phone numbers now?" "No, I just need you to call those numbers, and if the responses are good tell them personally what is happening here. Tell them how some people will try to covered this up. The cellphones can be used for this and to inform the state police of kidnapping and murder. It shouldn't take more than a half hour to get their attention." Mom made the calls and they were treated as a joke till Mom told them to check with the Kentucky state police, and see if there was a call. I sadly helped Tom, Samantha, Patty and the wounded Michael into separate cages in the barn. All of us were a little heartbroken and having to abandon our friends, but this was the only way. This was best done quickly and before they could cry more. I deactivated their shields and they fell asleep. The probes entered the cage and manoeuvred around their heads for about two minutes, till Mom said, "It is done." The young boy, I picked up in my arms, and hugged him to me. It was hard to leave him to what was going to happen soon. I put him back in the room, but only placed the manacle intended for his ankle on his wrist. Only the scarring internally and externally were evident to me, but they were so very clear. The rest of the captives were re-chained in the basement. The air might not be too healthy, on the main floor soon. Three local and one state police cars came up the drive. Two officers in kevlar vests approached the house. Mom shut off her generators only seconds before. As they approached the open door, I fired a shot out an open window to give them cause to enter and search. The gang was just coming to their senses when they were tackled and cuffed. A search for the shooter, found the naked captives in the basement instead. I watched Lt. Mulford the highest ranking local cop present. His mind came clearer and clearer, he wanted to destroy the contents of the computer. He had been getting a monthly paycheck to keep this place safe. He had even come here on occasion to get his rocks off, and knew just what to do. This couldn't be allowed to happen. His Sargent, actually gave me the answer when he looked at the children that looked near death in some cases. "Mom will you make a hologram of a young girl, and accuse Mulford of being one of the bad guys. If he gets the computer to himself, it will disappear." "I have the projectors ready. Tell me how you like this performance." As the computer finished booting up a small dark haired girl with a bloodless complexion entered the room clad in a small torn cotton nightdress. She walked up to the lieutenant and asked, "Why are you trying to destroy the story of how all the children are killed?" The cop was a little upset at being caught but decided to brazen it out. "Mac, will you take this little girl away, and put her with the rest." "Sure." The man came forward to help his superior, while the man tried to trip the software into destroying the machine. The little girl yelled, "No!" Her hand came up, and Mom's tractor from the open window behind her. She shot the lieutenant through the room and out, into the hall, to crash into the far wall with a resounding crash. The cops stopped everything they were doing and looked at the cute ten year old girl. "He is a bad man, trying to make the computer explode. The other bad men here paid him to help. Protect the computer, and it will show you where we are all buried." She finished her monologue and walked toward the distant graveyard, and right through a chair and into the wall. I think most of them caught the word 'we' when she uttered it. This was done so well, that even I got the shivers. The state police ran over to the computer, and shut it down, before taking charge of the computer. Instructions were then given to lock the device up in the trunk of their car. A guard was even placed on it. The captives were being brought up from the basement, and given water for their dehydrated condition. Sheets, old clothes or anything that could be found, was used to wrap them up. Frantic calls went out for ambulances and more important people to handle the situation. The captives were all dazed and clustered around each other for protection. Mom called to say, "The two men in the barn were able to escape, and are now running toward the river, where they can ford it easily at a train bridge." "Just bring the little girl back, and have her tell the state cop about it." The girl appeared outside the room, so as to not frighten the already petrified young people. This time she slowly descended an invisible elevator and walked over to a stunned Sargent Driscoll. "There are two bad men running to the old train bridge. You should send somebody to catch them. They like hurting the people, while they were in the cages." At least four other cops saw and heard her before she simply disappeared like the ghost she portrayed. Sargent Driscoll and his partner ran outside to report the escape and probable destination. Being a devote Baptist, he knew the value of faith. Now was one of the times he called all of it to him, to try to cope with the little girl. She was as strong as a horse and could walk through walls and disappear. Mom decided to speed things up. The girl appeared between the two men and her tractors picked them up, as if a strong girl did the duty. They flew no more than one minute, and the men stopped before the train bridge. The sound of running feet made them forget their mode of transport, and they hid behind some large trees nearby. The men from the barn stopped dead, at seeing the spectral form of a little girl, and brought up their guns. The girl said, "Give me your guns," and Mom's tractors again wrenched them from their hands. The cops were right behind now, and the thugs gave up now, because their opposition was armed. A very strong ghost of a little girl factored in very prominently. The cops were uneasy about getting another ride, and the little girl just disappeared, frightening the two fugitives much more than the state police officers. I saw that the situation was well in hand now. In the distance, I saw a long line of cars approaching, with lights flashing and sirens screaming their urgency. "Susan, do you want to call it a day? I think most of you are sleepy now. Let's have the birthday supper tomorrow?" Susan had glassy eyes from all the excitement, in the last eleven hours. She had killed a few animals and did not seem too worried by the consequences. Secric was a little more subdued about her actions, but I felt would not loose much sleep over the incident. "Yes, I am a little bushed. When this is cleared up a little. Why go home? We can sleep here, whether we are parked in the base or not." I had just killed 83 employees of Mecholov and his patrons. There was no problems with my conscience at all. It was just like calling in an air strike on an enemy position. There would be a giant yellow, and white light from the napalm. The end result was the same. The cleansing fire did help my soul. Chris was the only one that was feeling bad still. She had recovered some by helping her new friends, but it felt bad to be leaving them after such a short time. Mom kept watch as we got ready for bed. In our large bedroom I made love to Chris first, for she was the one that needed the attention most. The rest of the girls, even those asleep, woke up to enjoy the feelings of love and continuation. After the tumultuous ending, Susan asked in her sultry and contented voice, "What do you plan on doing with Ingrid? I think you like her." I was a little angry, but hid it well. "She is a very beautiful person, and I think, that you and the other girls like her a lot more than me. She is person that is too used to doing as she is told. I will not ever put her in a position where she feels she must cooperate or leave." I looked as deep into Susan's mind as I could, and found that she would like to help the woman and the erotic feelings she had for the woman were very near the surface. I didn't begrudge her in the least for wanting the beautiful woman. Mecholov's house was north east of Lexington, and actually within the city of Bourbon. This house like most others in the vicinity, was of wood construction and represented old money. The colonial mansion was not as glamorous as its neighbours, but was not shabby with almost ten hectares of prime farmland. Unlike the other homes, there was a carefully planted hedge and wall surrounding the property that went up almost three metres. Its height and density suggested that it was intended to keep people coming at the house from anywhere but the front. We arrived a little before midnight and Mom brought us over one of the corrals as her sensors and small probes fanned out over the surrounding property. The barn had only a few horses and no slaves. A small separate building held eight farmhands. The house had seven adults and three children. Mecholov's memory told me that his wife and his three children were in residence. A butler, cook, and a maid completed the standard complement of help. The three security people were stationed in different parts of the house, to protect all of Mecholov's property. The farmhands were paid to help if necessary. The servants were, for the most part, on the first floor, but the maid was in with the children. I had tried to get only the barest minimum from Mecholov's mind, but some things slipped through, that I thought shouldn't. He regularly beat his wife, Justine, and even his three children. The maid, Monique, he would have sex with, in front of his wife and demand that she join in. He knew each of the girls liked one another, and did his best to make sure that it never grew very far. Monique was loaned among the security guarding the house. No amount of pleading by Justine, would get him to save the young French girl. "Mom, can your generators cover both the house, and the bunkhouse?" "Yes Henry, they are not very far apart this time. The special probes you wanted will be ready in a few minutes." I walked to the room with the younger members of my family. The triplets had been fed and held by their mother or the one that seemingly took their mother's spot. The two blond hired children were sleeping with Moth and Cloud, while the others formed a protective circle around them. The twins' mother was still sleeping in the same room. Her body was directed to make the repairs necessary by the doc modules, that came out once in a while to monitor her progress. With Chris, Kitten, and Susan now busy, I said, "Blue, Nova, would you two come with me? I want to get the explosives removed from the safes." Nova smiled quickly and said, "Yes, husband. I have been looking at the plans for the probe you wanted and think it will work very well here." Susan said, "Why can't I go?" "You have already had an eventful night, and so has Chris and Secric. So if the rest of you will just be content to watch, we can get this show on the road. There should be no danger, so you can critique our method if you want." I said the last, with a grin. I doubt if the girls would say anything bad about each other's methods. "Mom, will you start putting the people to sleep please." "Yes Henry." She paused a few seconds till the butler in the bathtub pulled the plug to release the water and then everyone was sleeping. We descended to the front door, and used the keys from Mecholov's pants to open the door. The code from his brain to turn off the alarm that protected this part of the house was used next. The keys were used again to open the private study. A complicated movement of a small statue and a mantle clock removed a failsafe destruct mechanism. The safe again required a special key and a combination. The large double doors opened. Inside were stacks and stacks of money, a thin steel plate, various ledger books, and back up CDs. I had to follow Mecholov's instructions exactly. The steel plate had to be slipped under the largest ledger and then the ledger removed. Then all was secure. The money and all the contents were placed on the floor. A false wall and bottom were exposed and then the contents removed. The back wall contained enough thermit to burn all of the contents to ash, before the investigators would be able to stop it. I was quite sure the rest of the house would go up with the initial fire. After disabling the incendiary device and its backup, I thought of our next objective. "Blue, fire up the computer for Mom. Nova open the other safe in the master bedroom," I said as I gave each the pertinent data they needed to get the job done. I opened the ledgers and one of Mom's probes photographed each and every page of the first book. Mom's special probe had a small tractor and in conjunction with another probe, recorded the rest of the documents. A few moments later, the probe stopped doing an older book and immediately went for a small leather bound note book. The pages were flipped quickly, till all were done then it went back to the older leger. "What is up, Mom?" "There is a request by a Mister Billingsly, on Vancouver Island, for three more units. Apparently the present ones will be leaving soon. I believe he is referring to Human life. At present there are three individuals on Mecholov's books, that are not accounted for." "Mom, send some email back, and ask him to hold off, because there may be some value, it the specimens are kept alive. Try to use his own words if possible." "I will try, but the message is already six hours old, and I doubt if he would even consider the offer." "Thanks Mom. That is all we can hope for." I heard Nova call, "Husband, will you come here please?" I hurried upstairs, even thought the call was not urgent. I went into the master bedroom and then into another off of it. I saw a very attractive woman in simple cotton pajamas. She had a long bruise on her exposed arm and a black eye gracing her light complexion. "Husband, I looked into her mind and see that she is regularly beaten. Even the children are abused this way." I knew this from before, but I did not want to delve too deeply into the animals's brain, to find out the particulars. Blue came up and started her own search and called me to the small room off to one side. Three children slept in a large bed with a very young woman I felt to be the maid. Everyone in the bed was traumatized, just as the woman in the far room was. The maid was beaten just like the mother. Though both of her eyes were black. The children, a girl of four, and two boys of nine and ten, showed many marks of their father's attention. The boy of ten drew me to him for some reason. Looking deeper, he had somehow accepted the violence against him and the others, as normal. "Mom, we are taking these people with us." "Why Henry? The police can be here in a moment if we want, and they will be taken care of by your Earth authorities." "If we don't take them with us and get them cured, then I think the older boy will develop, just like his dad. I don't want to turn this boy out on the world to kill and torture." A pregnant pause lasted long enough for Mom to come to the same conclusion. "You are right Henry, just open a window, and bring them close." I looked around and saw a problem. All of the windows had a decorative mesh of steel flat bars, outside the bulletproof glass. We all started to carry the family and maid downstairs and out the front door. Mom immediately placed them in the medical section. The other girls would have to look out for them if necessary. I saw tears in Blue's eyes as she passed me going for her second child. I carried the maid on the second trip, and saw that really she was not too much older than the children themselves. She looked about fifteen or so, and her mind was much older and filled with the horror she had to endure. When all the victims were onboard, I went back to the house with Blue and Nova to remove all of the other destruct mechanisms. The safe downstairs was put back, but I had second thoughts about all the cash. If the newest victims needed money to start again, then who better to finance this gesture, than Yuri himself. Mom had copies of the computer and the CDs as well as all the books. The upstairs safe had more money, jewellery, and some more CDs. These I took, because I did not know how if the people on Canada's west coast could be saved or not, and time might be critical. Everything was set back as we found it, except, I rapped the safe with a large hammer to bend the mechanism, so that only a locksmith would be able to open it now. One hopefully with a lot of cops looking over his shoulder. I did not have time to check on my newest guests, just learn as much as possible from Mom about Billingsly and his property. The trip was about 3,500 klicks and Mom did it in just a little over seven minutes. We travelled much quicker than we had going to Tampa. I spent most of the time preparing for what I had to do. Here too, was an influential person that would find somehow to flout the law. The family was heavily into politics and mining. They seemed to take a lot of joy in making others bend over backwards to do as they were asked. The large house came into view on a cliff overlooking a beautiful cove. If it were light enough, we would be able to see it with unaugmented eyes, but the sensors and automatic devices did even better. The home was very old and covered with English Ivy. Two turrets and a large door attested to the builder's dream of owning his own castle. A large five car garage sported an large asphalt surface on which eleven expensive cars were parked. It was close to one hour after midnight, but here it was only ten o'clock here. The whole house was still awake. The back section had lights, and in the basement, I could hear the mental wails of despair coming from more than one source. "Mom, knock them all out. Blue and Nova will be going with me to see what we can find." Again Susan was going to try to go when all she got was the look in my eye, she stopped her request and just decided to watch. Blue, Nova and I descended invisibly to the dark property below. The house looked so peaceful but I knew it harboured a malignancy on my soul. There were dogs free on the property, but they were safely sleeping like their masters' I hoped. The large double front doors were locked, and all the windows were barred. "Mom, will you push one of the doors in?" "Yes, Henry." The thick door groaned for a second and something snapped, causing the door to fly open till it was held by the tractor. No alarm went off, and I searched the main floor, while the girls searched the upstairs. I got from Blue, "There is nobody here, husband, only empty rooms." Nova concurred moments later. My own search found nobody either. There had been a large meal planned for the setting was already done for fifteen. Large pans were suspended over jellied fuel, so all was in readiness. The mental shrieks had come from the basement, and I looked to find the entrance. "Henry, go to your right and follow the hallway. The door at the end leads to the basement," came from Mom. The door to the basement was actually a double door so that people can walk down the very long stone lined steps two abreast. The smell coming up from the floor below smelt of blood, sweat and fear, all covered with a thick miasma of incense. Inscriptions in Latin and in alphabets I did not know, came at regular intervals. All were chiselled into granite stones slabs, sunk into the wall. Small, grotesque horned figures, held places in lighted niches, every few metres. Light came from gas flames, in a frosted glass chimneys. The light from the lower level flickered with a dull orange glow and a thin cloud of acrid smoke floated out of the room, and up the stairwell. The plume leaving by the high ceiling and some kind of air make up system. I heard Blue and Nova start their descent. Their minds not the usual no-nonsense attitude, but with a sense of foreboding, if not outright fear. Once at the bottom of the steps, only the stone wall greeting me, with another inscription incised into the granite block. I moved to the left, turning half way around and saw that the ceiling was almost three metres high and the walls were rough hewn from native rock. Moving around the base of the steps further, I saw a very large, though dimly lit room. The floor was cut even deeper to form an amphitheatre. Torches lit the area, and a large stone statue of a goat headed man was set into the back wall. The room could accommodate a hundred or more, but only the expected fifteen were present. A brazier glowed and gave off heat to a pair of tongs, and a foul reek. A wrought iron rack held all sorts of crude metal tools. Three people in robes had collapsed on the stone platform. An altar of the same material as the platform held a sacrifice. A cold sweat came over me as I approached that hidden place within me, that I tried to keep locked away. "Henry... Henry..." Mom called. I didn't know she was even talking to me as my vision stopped. "Henry, listen to me. You don't need to kill these people. Wouldn't it be better to bring this out in the open so others can be ferreted out?" I had moved forward just on my short glimpse of the layout and the sleeping bodies. I got close to the platform and the people on the surface. "Henry; There will be more of this, in places all over the Earth. Do you want the others to get away?" Visions came to me instead of death and destruction, the birth of the triplets. Next came the first two fair haired children asking if I would be their 'Daddy'. Then last of all, the visions I had made to show how it would be when my wives presented me with my children. I slowed my progress to the platform, and thought about the visions in my mind. Life was to be created and nurtured the anguish in me slowly faded as this fact became evident. My sight slowly returned. "Henry, there is too much information here to just throw it away. Let's check each of the people, and see what we can learn about any others." I reluctantly said, "Ok, you win Mom, but there will have to be some punishment for this happening." "Of course Henry, I was thinking of making each of these people suffer unimaginable pain, unless they were talking truthfully about their activities. The police will have no problem getting a conviction, and the Earth authorities will clean up their own mess." I refused to look on the alter, but I saw blood dripping into a gold chalice from grooves in the stone. A small, very pale hand, hung into my view with a red line running across the palm and ending at the tip of one small finger. I just turned my head in haste. The brazier was no better for I saw a small Human heart burning on one side, where a set of tongs had placed it. I searched the three people on the platform. I was surprised to find all of them were women. They did not have what I was looking for. "Mom, scan the house for a cell phone, then call the Port Alberni police. In this type of area, it should take them almost a half hour to get here." Behind the stage, bound hand and foot with leather thongs, were two little girls of thirteen of so, dressed in white wedding gowns. I stopped still, and closed my eyes, if only I had been sooner, I could have saved the other. Looking back I saw Kitten, Chris, Secric and Susan come running to join us. "Go back," I ordered, but they disregarded me entirely. Susan held me tight and I could not help it, I cried on her shoulder. Somehow or other, I found myself back on the ship watching the display of the girls interrogating the fifteen people. The alter was in none of the views, and I was very thankful for Mom's kindness. It must have been an hour later that I was purposely shown a flight of probes leave the ship that descend to the basement. Small crystals, the size of fleas, went to each one of the participants and burrowed in just above the joint of the jaw. A doc unit worked on each to get the small damage repaired. Kitten and Chris held the two young girls, as medical units did what they could to repair their wounds both physical and mental. Susan and Secric went to the computer, copied the data and removed the protection it had for encryption. Some small books in the safe were similarly copied and replaced. The Billingsly name was only fictitious, and the matriarch of the Martin family was the real leader. She used all her influence to try to bring the family, even more power. When all this was completed, almost two hours after we came, I saw the first of many police vehicles approaching. This time instead of the police rushing in, a large van pulled up and orange suited men with full environmental gear started to photograph everything they saw. Others in the same uniform, entered with guns drawn. An hour later an ambulance took the two girls away. It was almost two hours after that, that the first of the spectators of the gristly ritual came out. Each was still dressed in black robes and gold jewellery hung about their necks, most were simple pentagrams but others were more intricate. The most important I found was the steel ones around their wrists. Eventually a lone ambulance, that was standing by, took a small figure away in a dark plastic bag. Most of the investigators stopped what they were doing, and watched the silent gurney pass by, and into the back of the van. The body's passing did not lessen the weight I felt pressing on my mind. Much more would have to be done, before I felt any semblance of my former life. It was so odd. I had killed many people recently, and felt no guilt. Here I saw one small body and I fell apart. I had seen death many times, and even handed it out in wholesale lots, but one child affected me more than I felt possible. My only conscious reason, was that I had time to get here earlier, but I was forced to wait and clean up another mess first. Seeing the house festooned with yellow police tape, I decided to return home. The only strings were those that were within our hull, and those that had been forced to forget us. ------- Chapter 26 I walked through the medical section looking at the people that had come to depend on me. Mecholov's wife and three children, his maid on one side. A mother and her two children of a man Mecholov had to kill, so that he could acquire the family. How could one man be so evil, as to do this to his family, people that he was supposed to protect? It was almost 5 AM my time, and the girls would soon be waking. It would be good to be inside the base for some reason, but I knew being in the ship was just as good. I tried to sleep and Chris finally came to me. She held me tight as she worked her long fingers around me so that I would fit within her. I saw her own pain and my own, mirrored in her. She worked hard to get me to cooperate and even to keep me that way. Somehow or other, her emotional turmoil kept her from her goal till I was ready. I fiercely held her, as I drove myself into her, filling her the best that I could. We stayed together as we slept, the ghosts with me rested, while I did the same. Around 10 in the morning, I was jostled by Moth, Cloud, Jorge and Judith as they climbed into the ring around the anti-gravity bed, and onto me. Moth's small hands wrapped around my morning erection and moved it about. All the children giggled at the movement. I woke up enough to see that the Human children were used to seeing an erect male. They had come many time recently to their mother, and she in no way, was able to say no. The only time she would protest was when the children were threatened. The woman was so beautiful that the men would rather have her, than have to put up a fight even if they would win. "Are you having fun, little Moth?" "Yes I am, my husband." Jorge in a fit of understanding said, "He is your daddy, not a husband. You are too young." "I am not. He is my husband, and we are all his wives. We just don't do much yet." Judith said, "He is not. He is your daddy." Cloud added, "He is my husband, too. He kisses us and makes all of us feel good, right here," as she pointed to her small pussy. "He does not. He is going to be our daddy," added Judith defensively. It felt like a fight was going to occur, when I said, "Good morning. Moth will you let me go, please?" Her hand released me and I continued, "Thank-you sweetheart. Now to the answers," I turned to Jorge and Judith and said, "The girls are right, but they are too young to be full wives, but one day they will be just like my other wives." Jorge hung his head and Judith almost cried. "There is no reason to be sad. I can be a sort of daddy, but I think I will not be around much to do a good job of it. I am trying to think of a nice man that will watch out for both of you, and take care of your mommy too." Chris had woken up sometime during our talk and she was still in need. She used her hand to manipulate me where Moth had left off. Before she could straddle me, Ingrid came quickly into the large room. I saw in her mind the sight before her. A man with a large erection was talking with her children. She saw me as a danger and wanted to immediately remove her children from peril. She had never been able to use force, so she tried her usual diversion instead. First she tried to remove her one piece ship garment and could not do it. Failing that, she raced to me and pushed her children away, as she tried to get her lips around me. One of my arms was around Chris, while a now naked Cloud sat on the other, stroking her little pussy on my arm. Ingrid's lips descended and sucked me all the way in, before I knew what had happened. I felt a small pain from her, but she continued to try to get me to cum. "Ingrid; Ingrid, stop this now." Her head stopped moving and she froze in place. Her thoughts were to get me off, before I would take her children. She felt she had to obey an order given her. "Ingrid, Honey, Let go of me, and sit down. We have to talk." Her defence mechanism was still working, but so was her wish to do as she was told. Her head slowly left me, and her lips came off, but sucked as she pulled back. She was not aroused in the least, and just wanted her children safe. I moved a bit and got my arm from around Chris, and took Cloud who was tightly grasping my arm, and trying her best to get her cum. I just picked her up, and put her little cunt over Chris's face. In a few seconds the child was able to relax. Moth too, had been playing with herself and came at the same time. I read Ingrid, and knew she had been up for hours and had been given the details, about how she and the children had been rescued. "Ingrid, I think you remember me. When you came to us, I said you were safe. I am not going back on my word. By now you can read a little of our minds, your voice should be back, and most of your body is healed." I looked at her and she just lowered her eyes as if not worthy to look at me. "Ingrid, look at me." Her eyes came up frightened. "You, and your children are safe. I would do nothing to harm your children; ever." Her eyes fell again with the same reason as before. I reached through her long platinum hair and picked up her chin. Her head turned, so I was cupping her cheek. Her eyes only partially visible through the cascade of hair. "I have read your mind and know what has happened to you, and most of all, how you feel compelled to do as you are told. I have been working a little on how to help you, but I have been too busy so far. I will show you the truth." She did have some of the ability to read minds now. She fumbled her way as I coaxed her along. She was heartened when she saw how I thought her very beautiful and immensely desirable. Her children were viewed by me as very precious, and she knew that I had small unethical feelings for them, but well under control. My only concern for her now, was how she could be healed and allowed to lead her own life. As she read this last thought she just slumped and started to cry, not even wanting to disturb my hand holding her cheek. I just looked at the woman and saw all the pain again and all the pain she would have to go through finding someone to take care of her and her family. This was especially true when she found the one she wanted, for the first time in her life. The trouble was that she wanted me. She would give me anything, but she always gave the man in her life anything she had. Her mind grasped on my attraction to the beautiful children, and before she could get it out, I said, "Ingrid, I will try to get you healed. We can talk after that happens. Is that ok?" I could read the answer, but no words came out. Her head turned more and she kissed my palm before returning to its old position. She reminded me a lot of a dog, and this I had to hide. My feelings for her were changing. Any living male would want her. I knew she was too much of an enigma at the present to make a commitment about, and I also knew I had a lot of wives to discuss things with. I had the perfect family now, and did not want to ruin it, by being greedy. I also knew that Susan wanted her too. I could feel much more than the simple need to help within her. The rest of the girls got their cue from Susan, and also felt the same way. Ingrid twitched a little and I knew she had to go to the bathroom, but could not undo the seams. "Moth take Ingrid to the bathroom and get her clothes off. Then show her how to use the facilities. She has never done it this way before." Moth smiled, jumped up and said, "Yes husband. I will take good care of her." When they left the room I pushed a surprised Chris on her back, and got between her legs and pushed in. She was still moist from a few hours ago but Mom helped with a little lubricant. Thirty seconds later she came and came to my thrusts. I could see the beautiful girl beneath me and also the platinum haired one, as I plunged in again and again. Cloud, Jorge and Judith just watched our actions. Cloud pulled Judith's hand to her small cunt as she moved it. Judith did not even understand her hand was being used. The Human children understood some of the mechanics, but did not have any of the feelings, even though they had witnessed untold couplings with their mother. I pumped more as Chris came the last time, and I filled her again with my seed. As I recovered, I felt Moth in the bathroom getting her own orgasm. Getting up, I walked over and saw Moth holding Ingrid to her small pussy and ordering her to suck again and again as her orgasms slowly abated. Ingrid was naked, bent over the little body working the child for all she was worth. She felt no erotic feelings at all, and only did as she was told. Looking into Ingrid's mind, I amazingly found that she had never felt very aroused, and had never had a true orgasm of her own. Hiding my thoughts I knew that the woman needed a lot of work, before she could even function with us. When Moth was done I picked her up and took her back to Chris to recover. On my return, Ingrid got to her knees and spoke for the first time in a croaking voice, "Will you take me, master?" A small part of me wanted a sex slave that would do anything, but happily, the majority was appalled at the offer. I knew she needed to finish going to the bathroom, so I picked her up and guided her to the two raised areas for her feet and said, "Squat here and pee." She was only slightly reluctant but did as I asked. A large stream came from her and I felt her relief. She was going to get up, when I said, "The rest now." Again she wanted to not embarrass me, but did as she was told. I took the hand wand and cleaned her behind, before pulling her hand up so she could walk. With down turned eyes, she again asked, "Will you take me, Master?" The upper brain was working more than the lower, but just barely, and I said, "I will take you once you are healed, and not before." She didn't say anything to that, and I read the way she understood the statement to mean that I would take her eventually, she actually smiled again. There was lots of physical healing left for her to do. We walked back to the bedroom, and I said, "Lay down here with Chris, while you both sleep. Your throat and vocal cords are still not fully healed." Turning to the children I said, "And you, young ladies and gentlemen, I want something to eat, and you are hungry too. Let's go and get something." Ingrid was only slightly worried, as she laid back down with Chris. They hugged one another, and I felt Chris do her best to reassure the woman. Mom too helped and shut down portions of her mind to allow her to rest. "Henry, you better put these on. You have guests." I took the coveralls and quickly put them on, then said, "I have two naked little girls here too." The girls reached out quickly and got their own fresh garments. Judith and Jorge had shocked expressions as the clothes magically appeared before us. In the galley I found Mrs. Mecholov, her three children and the maid sitting together talking to Susan and Secric. Kitten, Blue and Nova were still sleeping in another room. All the rest of the girls were sitting around at the next table listening to the conversation, or watching the three sleeping little angels in the box. They had only simple medical problems and had not gotten any training in mindspeak yet. The mother still craved nicotine and would probably kill for a smoke. Our abductees stood up and backed away, as I came into the room. Fear was very evident in their minds and bodies. "Good morning. I seem to have slept in." I walked forward slowly and extended my hand to the new head of the family, and said, "My name is Henry. I see that you have met some of my family." The mother, Justine, a young wife had just enough courage to come forward and touch my hand with hers. She saw me with as much fear as she saw her husband, perhaps even more, now that I had been powerful enough to take them from not only their house, but her husband. I looked around to the rest and said, "And a good morning to the rest of you ladies and gentlemen. You are all quite safe here. I seem to be saying a lot of that recently." Susan said, "Good morning, husband. We have been just talking about how they will not be beaten anymore. Secric was explaining how we would give them a chance to catch their breath, and go out into the world again with a little nest egg." Jorge and Judith had kept close to me and even held my hands as I listened to Susan. I felt a tug on my right and I knew Judith wanted up to see what was happening. I bent over and picked the twins up and adjusted them to my hips. Looking at them I pulled each forward and kissed their foreheads. "Better how?" I got a nod from one and a hug from each that did not end. They felt very comfortable with me, and I figured they would be fine once they had a chance to have a normal family life. Or, I corrected myself, a normal Tandra family home life. I knew Mrs. Mecholov was very frightened, so I tried to act normal, or at least normal for humans. They had eaten very little yesterday, and could use some more now. They had just awoken, and had not got much information yet about their place here or what had happened to Mecholov or his property. Taking a few steps I walked over to the other table, and deposited the two children on Star and Sandy's laps. "You two sit here for a while and talk, I want to make something to eat too." I got two heads that nodded in unison as they looked expectantly at me. I started preparing our noon meal, instead of sitting. "Mom, will you place the plates and flatware, as if they were in a home. I want the kids to help and get over some of the shock." "Yes Henry. Would you like some fresh bread too?" "That is a great idea. Will you bring me two roasts? I may as well start with something simple, that they will understand." Mom kept food in stasis and all I had to do was peal and cut up potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, and a few other vegetables, while Mom made a protective field around two large roasts and pressure cooked it. I talked a little about my family, mainly to get our guests used to us. "What Susan said is correct. By now the authorities will have come looking for any information about what Mecholov was doing. I know for a fact that you know next to nothing, and all the publicity will just destroy your family. I thought it best to just give you a place to hide, and when you are ready, you can leave." Justine had a lot of difficulty believing my words. She was Mecholov's second wife and the mother of the youngest child, the girl Sofia. She had long black hair that she tried to cover her black eye. She did not know that Mom had worked on the capillaries, and the discolouration was almost all gone. She looked to be in her early twenties, and Mecholov must have married her young, to have a daughter of four already. At least he had good taste when picking out women. The cleaned vegetables were added without even reducing the pressure. The container was hidden, so the newcomers did not see the method the food was cooked. "Well, the stew will be ready in a few minutes." Looking at the older boy, I asked, "Jeremy, will you help Matthew get the plates? They are in the drawer behind you." They didn't want to leave their place, but at a nod from their mother, they did as I asked. Susan helped by telling Jeremy to count the number of people and to set that many places. Matthew was amazed at the colourful plates and carefully set one in front of each person. Susan suggested bowls too, so that we could have preserved fruit for desert. Sofia was coaxed down from her mother's lap to get the napkins and glasses for the drinks. She had fun taking the glasses to an indentation in the wall, and getting each of the containers filled with water. She took her time and did not spill a drop. With Amy and Topaz helping me, I filled each of the plates with stew and Mom brought forth a beautiful basket of iridescent hues for the bread. The two tables were joined so that we would not be separated by artificial boundaries. Jorge and Judith sat beside me as we ate. I helped each of them to eat their portion, and had little to say during the meal, because I was busy. Susan instructed our guests on how to use the new eating utensils, then did what she could to get a conversation going, but it was a lost cause. Matthew dropped a piece of meat on the table from the unfamiliar spoonknife, and instantly stopped, for he feared that he would be beaten for the mistake. Susan just wiped it up with a spare napkin and ruffled his hair with a smile. Mom was being sneaky and flavoured the food for the individual palates of our guests. Sofia wanted sweet food, and I vetoed the idea immediately. After our tea or coffee, the younger members wanted to leave. The newest guests were still afraid and wanted to stay in their group. I wanted the kids out of the way and knew that a computer game was the best way of doing so. "Mom, will you make up a hologram of a worksite on Earth, and have small machines move around? You will need a mechanical link like the kids on Earth use, because not all here can visualize the orders necessary." "I see in your mind, what you want. It is just a simulator, that you need. Four controllers are here, and I can make more easily." "Would you put them in a drawer, so I can get them? I want to have a more serious talk with the adults." "Well it seems the kids are getting a little restless. How about a game?" I got no response from the humans at all. I asked that the end table be cleared, and I went to a drawer, newly formed, and took out four small plastic hand controllers, that were very similar to ones found in many homes. Sandy and Star sat on one side and I gave them two controllers. Immediately a view of sand, stone, gravel, pipe, lumber, and steel beams came forth. On the side of the table stood various machines, that could work with some of the materials, but not all. Star grinned and pointed her controller at one, and started pushing leavers. The machine came forward and she drove it in a circle to get the feel of it. Sound came from the very air, to make the simulation as believable as possible. Sandy was not much behind her, as she did the same. The two older boys moved a little to see what was happening. They had never seen anything so clear and vivid. It was as if they were in a helicopter looking down at a real worksite. "Here you two, see if you can dig a big hole, and make a building." They looked at me and then at their mother then back at me. They wanted desperately to try a game like this. "Go on. Get on the other side of the girls, and help them out." They tentatively reached out their hands and took the small controllers. Their steps away suggested that they wanted to be able to jump back at the least provocation. Their tools were not appropriate, but they did get a hole dug. English words were flashed to them suggesting what to do next, but not taking all the fun out of it. Justine and Monique were still amazed at the quality of the game and the graphics. I said nothing for a while as the children tried to get the building erected. About ten minutes after starting, I knew the boys' building would fall soon, so I said, "Why don't you guys work on the floor and get some more help?" The boys remembered where they were, and laid their controller down on the table. The simulation ended because Mom made it happen. I positioned the girls again, but much further apart. The boys reluctantly did the same things and flinched when I handed back their controllers. The simulation started from scratch again, and things settled down. Amy, Topaz and Kitty settled with their own controllers, and I could hear the mindspeak as the girls laughingly ran into one another with their machines. "Moth, Cloud, why don't you show Sofia and these two around, while we talk?" To tell the truth that felt good to them, because they did not want to just play with those kind of toys. They jumped to their feet and pulled four year old Sofia with them. She and her mother did not put up too much of a fight. Jorge and Judith knew whom I was talking about, and I helped them down, so they could start to work off their excess energy. Justine spoke up for the first time, "Will they be all right?" Susan answered for us. "There is no safer place on the entire Earth." The reply made Justine think a little more. She knew that most of the people were not Human, but it was their old fears of Mecholov, that caused the most turmoil. "How did we come to be here?" She asked as she turned her head around to see who would answer her. Susan and Secric too, turned their heads to me, so that I would do the honours. "Well it turns out that it was Susan's birthday yesterday. I wanted to do something special before going on a... job I have to do. We flew to Tampa for some shopping, and on the way back we stopped a stolen car so the police could catch the thieves. After that, the girls got excited and looked all over the place as we flew back home to pick up the things for a nice birthday supper. "In Kentucky we found a woman and two children, being pursued by a pair of men in a new SUV. Why don't you look at a video of the pertinent parts of this happening, and then we can cut to where both of you come in." I got nods from both this time, but they did not understand in the least. Mom projected the pictures on the table top so as not to disturb the children. They saw the Vet in Tampa, slow to a halt and stop. The men inside could not even get out and run but struggled with the doors till the cops came. The next chase scene would be very traumatic for Ingrid if she were present, but I let all of it progress even to how we treated the survivors. They saw Ingrid being stripped and placed on the chair, as it reclined, and her wounds treated. Tractors invisibly moved her body as small spheres worked on the effected areas. Lastly she was cleaned and dressed in ship's clothes. They saw the children similarly treated, and dressed before going for a nap with their mother. Next came Mecholov's front door being entered and me punching the right codes. The data copied and the money taken. Lastly, the two women before me were lifted and placed in the same type of chair, before the children were placed in similar positions. Monique blushed as her clothing was removed and her every secret revealed, the same as Justine. Their bruising started to fade, and after a half hour they were placed in the standard garments of our ship. As before, they next saw how the children were treated. The care was perfect, but mechanical and only with the best interests of the patients. Lastly, they saw their sleeping forms awake and see that they were dressed differently, and not where they had gone to bed. "How can all this be? Why would aliens want to save us?" I chuckled, "All of us here were born on Earth. My parents and Susan's are Human. The others are Tandra. To tell you the truth, all Humans are part Tandra. As for why, I think it is because I can. I have always liked to bringing the bad guys down, and I think in the back of my mind, I want to get some sort of recognition for doing so. So far, it has got me great friends, beautiful wives, and a chance to learn, like I never have before. Is that honest enough for you?" Relief was what I felt in them. Not a complete cessation of worry, but enough to allow them to feel more normal than they had in years. I heard the loud laughter of the small Humans and the unmistakable patter of Dog, as he ran with them through the ship. They must have awoken him and started a game. He was always more than happy to assist. They came pouring into the room and ran through the construction site to the unspoken curses of the other Tandra players. Dog came up to me, and I hugged him to keep his tongue away from my face. Susan and Secric were not as lucky. He jumped around and sniffed Monica's crotch before licking her startled face. Justine was ready and only got a kiss. He turned and spotted the two boys and jumped on them, as they laughed and tried to fight him off. He was too quick and knew how to get around these types of defences. "This is Dog, he is a mixture of wolf and Shepard. Nobody hurts his pups, while he is around." For a change-of-pace I said, "Would you like a tour, like Sofia just got?" They smiled and got up. This time Susan grabbed Justine's hand before Monique could, then Secric held Monique's hand. I could feel a full bladder from Monique and said, "I will be along in a few minutes. You girls can talk. I want to show these guys here, how to build a house." The two women, were worried, but this time they knew it was unfounded. They left, and I knew Secric would show our guests the right way to do things aboard ship. The last squad to enter, left with them, to show what they had found. I got my own controller, and started my own house. The basement was dug much quicker with a large dozer and the footings poured. Matthew kept taking my wood and steel, so I bumped his machine as I got my load and started building. Before too long the place was more like a demolition derby than a construction site. They had abandoned all pretext of building, and were now out for domination. When the boys saw that I did not get angry at the girls for attacking me, they attacked too. The boys pinned me in, as Amy dropped a load of steel beams on my machine, and Topaz drove up the incline made, and stopped her machine on top of mine. I growled quickly and jumped on both girls, that were sitting together. With both arms I held them as I blew wet raspberries into their necks and tickled their arms. The rest howled as the fight progressed and both Star and Sandy jumped on top of me, to protect their sister wives. The boys were shocked at my unexpected attack, and then shocked again as I did not hurt the girls. The girls did not scream in pain, but in pleasure of the fight. The only one not fighting yet was Kitty. She got more excited as the fight progressed. She just opened the lower part of her uniform and sat on my face when it came into view. Now I had to fight off all the girls and satisfy one in particular. Air she felt I could get after I was done with her. I managed to free a hand to hold the girl as I drove my tongue around her little hole and start to suck on her urethra. My nose was able to get enough breath to keep me going. As she shook with her orgasm the rest of the girls stopped what they were doing, and started to remove their own clothes. "Girls, girls, stop. We have guests. Let's do this later, I don't want to shock them, this soon." The pile became untangled and the girls redid the seams of their clothing. I held Kitty to me, gave her an adult kiss and did up her uniform. "You, young lady, have made the boys uncomfortable." All the girls looked at Jeremy's crotch and saw a little bulge. The poor boy could only blush and put his hands in front of his uncooperative appendage. I stood on my knees and pulled the startled boys to me. "Don't let it bother you. They do the same thing to me, all the time. Let's go find your mother and see what she has found." Matthew said, "She isn't..." Jeremy just hit his brother in the arm to make him stop. "It is ok, both of you, but after all this time, don't you think she has done just as much as your real mother would have done, to protect you? I know for a fact, that when one or the other of you were being hit, she would do her best to get him to leave you alone. Sometimes this meant she would get hit for you." The boys were quiet, thinking of what I said. I continued, "She risked her life, for both of you many times. The man who hit you just made you think she was unworthy of your love. Even Monique took many beatings and other things, to get him to forget you and your sister. I would be very proud to have a mother that loved me, as much as she loves you." Jeremy broke down and cried. I held both of them tight and he said, "So many times we were being hit, and she did nothing. She just stood there." "Jeremy, look at me." He pulled back and wiped his nose with his sleeve. "She was less than half his weight. If he needed to, he would use chairs or weapons to fight, and even failing that, he would call in men to fight for him. He was very sick in the head, and he will have to answer for all his crimes. Nobody will hurt you as long as I am here." Dog pushed into the group hug and gave us all a kiss. "Well as long as Dog and I are here. Let's go find your mother; the one who loves you more than anything else." I picked the boys up and held them to me. They did their own holding as we walked through the ship, with the rest of the girls. Star this time held the triplets as we walked. I knew where the rest were, but just felt good to be holding both of these children in my arms. I knew they felt good to be held. The other group was in the main bedroom discussing the naked black girl intertwined with the equally garbed white girl in long beautiful platinum blond hair. Especially since they were in a field that supported them invisibly a half metre off the floor. Ingrid had pushed herself down and was sucking on Chris's full breasts while both slept. Chris just held her tight as if she were her child. In a way, this is the way she would be for quite a while. Justine asked Susan, "You mean all of you are lesbians?" "Not in the least. The Tandra are bisexual, and form male and female families. We are the unusual ones, because we have a male as the head of our family. Henry is a natural leader, and his instincts have been very good, so far." We eventually came to my alternate goal. The gym was large, almost a thirty metre cube but a little short, because of the construction of the ship. No equipment could be seen, for Mom kept it all hidden away. I set the boys down and said, "We are going to have some fun now. Your mother is busy at the moment, and we can do some things here. You know how the astronauts train in zero gravity, well here we will do the same thing." The girls rushed into the room and started taking off their clothing in preparation for any athletic event. The clothing disappeared as it was thrown into the air, and the girls started doing stretches and then warm ups. The boys' eyes bulged out. I had read their minds before, and knew they more than just saw naked females before, because they would be forced to watch their father take each of the women. After using the women, he would force them to eat one another till they orgasmed. Sometimes the women were also forced to perform on his children. I took off my own clothing and started my own warmups. The boys did not know what to do, but tried to follow my lead. Their own clothing remained on. Mom took most of the gravity away, allowing the girls to easily jump to the ceiling. Mom held the boys' feet slightly to the floor, till they were ready to jump. Jeremy's first attempt had him hung in the air, but only slowly falling. Bracing my feet, I warned him and jumped myself. I grabbed Jeremy around the waist and got him to a hanger on the ceiling. He did not want to release me, because he feared he would fall. I held onto the strap and said, "Jeremy, I would never allow you to get hurt. Hold on to this strap, and then give a little push. You will fly to the floor. Mom will catch you if you go too fast or not do it right." His hold on me was instinctive and he would not do as I asked now. "That is all right sweetheart. We can try a different game." I inverted us and got Jeremy to push with his feet. We slowly descended to the floor below, with very little impact. Once anchored to the floor, and my foot on a wall, I moved Jeremy around and gently pushed him parallel to the floor at about one metre high. His hands windmilled, trying to find something to grasp onto. The far wall came, and he grabbed frantically for the strap. He just held on, not even putting his feet to the surface. Sandy had been taking Matthew under her wing, and he was doing much better. He shot across the floor and pretended to be swimming. Once he held the strap at the far end, he easily reversed and shot back. He was going to collide with the floor and merely used a small push of his hand to deflect himself away. I called to Jeremy, "Come here. We will all watch out, that you do not get hurt." Now that everyone was watching him, he did put his feet on the wall and gave a weak push. Mom cheated again and guided him to where he aimed. As he flew into my arms, I hugged him tight and kissed the top of his head. "See, I told you, that you could do it." His face was all smiles now at his accomplishment. "Do you want to try it again?" The smile dropped a little, then he said, "Yes, let me try." With that he pushed off and nearly collided with his brother. He tried to spank his brother's butt in passing, and caused Matthew to hit the floor and tumble while Jeremy tumbled into a more vertical angle. I was ready to help either boy, but knew Mom could do much better than anyone else could. Besides, it was good to see the results of ones actions, and learn from them. In the far room I 'heard' Chris groans as Ingrid sucked on her large clit, and licked all the little buds around her vagina. The effect worked here too. All the girls stopped what they were doing, and stated sucking on each other, trying to get off. The boys just looked at one another and then at the sight before them again. I flew over to the boys and held them around the waist again. "The girls in the other room are having some fun, and it made the ones here, want to join in. Usually I join in too, but this time I have guests, and want to explain things to you." "Do you fuck them all?" Asked Matthew. "No honey. The smaller girls are too small, and I would never hurt them. The big girls are big enough, and we all have a lot of fun. When you get older you may be lucky enough to have someone to love, and that person will return the love you gave to them." I could feel the temperature in the other room increase as Susan guided Ingrid's head between her legs, while Secric busied herself at Ingrid's other end. I should tell them about Ingrid's problem with getting aroused, but hoped that they could find a way to circumvent it. The girls here switched around and went at it again. The air became filled with their scent and moans. Monique and Justine usually consoled one another, since they met a year ago. But had never brought it out in the open except to pretend it was forced on them, when Yuri demanded it. "Mom, see if you can get them a little more aroused, and want to join in. They still have major hangups to overcome." Mom did as she was asked and soon Monique started trying to release her seams on her garment. Mom opened both and they fell into each other's arms. The kisses got more frantic and the tractors working on their clits were driving them crazy with want. When Susan and Secric orgasmed, they released Ingrid. She looked around for guidance and Jorge, her three year old son walked up to her and presented his crotch to her. Mom released his and his sister's seams and the young boy held his mother to his tiny cock. Soon he shuddered and Judith took his place, but she lay on her back to get it done right. Through her fragile link to the rest of the girls, tiny Judith had her best feeling yet. The boys in my arms were aroused to at the sight, sound and smells within the gym. Their little protrusions acting as truthful indicators to their feelings. I turned them around and coasted to the boundary of the gravity field and pulled them across. Dog was there to greet them, and his wet tongue served to get them back to their usual selves. I picked up my box of babies, and walked back to the kitchen for a drink. I knew the boys were now hot in their suits from their activities and emotions. Matthew asked, "Can we go to our Mom now?" "We could, but at the moment she is recovering from some of the stress she has been under for the last four years. Let's give them a chance to enjoy themselves, before bringing responsibilities back to her. Let's get the other two kids and your sister, then we can go for a walk in the base." "Base. Are we in a real alien base?" "Matthew, you are now in a real alien space ship. If I do my job right, we could be under the light of another star, in a little under a week." "Wow." "By the way, I did not introduce you to my best friend, the one that looks out for me as much as anybody could, and the present commander of this base. May I introduce to you 'Mom'." The boys did not say anything, thinking I was joking. The voice came alive with a sound that said, "Hello Jeremy and Matthew. Henry calls me Mom, but you can call me anything you like. Do you want to go on the walk? I can tell you about the base, when it was originally built, almost two and half million years ago." This time I got a double wow from the boys. They were eager to go now. I took the boys to the bathroom and removed their coveralls to have a pee and then a time in the cleanser. New coveralls were issued, and I helped the boys into them. "Mom, transport the three children here, and Ingrid." The woman appeared with Sofia moaning under her tongue. Then her two children all of them were naked. Mom kept the conditions right till Sofia was finished and I bent over and helped both girls to their feet. The little girl was somewhat shocked, till I held her tight to me and said, "That looked like a good one. I was going to take your brothers and go for a walk. I know Jorge and Judith will want to go too. Let's use the bathroom and we can be off." Ingrid was only mildly shocked, and wanted to suck me right away. This was apparently what her men wanted from her most often. "Ingrid, go in the bathroom and show the children how you use these facilities." "Yes master." She squatted and pissed, and the boys and then Sofia bent over to watch her do both jobs. Jorge and Judith had to go next. Sofia had been shown at the start of the tour and didn't need to go again. I tuned into the girls and saw that Susan was just starting up again when I said, "Hello Honey. I am taking all the youngsters with me for a different kind of tour. When the babies get hungry, I will come back. You can keep the newcomers feeling welcome. I have taken Ingrid with me, because she was just doing what she thought everybody wanted." "I sort of got that too. I want to keep her, but not as a dog. I hope we can find some way to help." "Me too." We walked around the base till we came to the medical section. "Ingrid, sit up in this chair please." She smiled at me and did so without question. The familiar probes came out and did their scan. There was little difference to what Mom had found out. She was healing quite well, and I already knew that the children were all fine. Ingrid never complained about being naked, and neither did the little ones. I caught all of them looking at me once in a while, to see if I was getting aroused. It seemed to disappoint them that I could walk around like this and not be. All the men they saw were much different. I showed them the small ships, that I saw and dreamed about, not too long ago in the repair bay. We got into the small truck that carried our groceries recently and flew around the interior of the base. Before too long I knew that feeding time was close, so I set the ship down beside Mom and we were transported inside and directly to their feeding stations. Kitten had awoken with all the sex in the air as did the others. Everybody was in the bedroom now either sucking or being sucked or passed out with the mental effort of their emotions. I picked up Kitten after removing Monique from her pussy. The baby was put to her breast, and things returned to normal for her. I picked Monique up and placed her lips by Secric's nether lips, and she started sucking as if she never quit. Susan was being sucked by Sandy, and I just moved the girl around to Amy. Susan came to with a pout, till she was presented with her child. Chris was nestled into Moth's little cunt, licking the child to her completion. I waited a few seconds and removed Chris, and gave her the last child in the box. The two boys were trying to remove their clothing and try getting sucked. Monique on many occasions had been forced to do just that. Looking into Monique's mind I saw that she really liked it. Even when she was forced to do Sofia too. The prize came when I found that Justine wanted to be forced to do the same thing, but the situation had never come up. The adhesion to the boys uniform was removed, and I turned them loose. The boys could not produce sperm for years yet, and were just larger children to me, and to the Tandra. I left with Sofia, the two twins and their mother. All three children wanted Ingrid to make them feel good, but I told her, "Ingrid, I don't want you to do this unless I tell you to. Do you understand?" I knew she did, but also knew that the most recent order, was the one she would most likely obey. We went to the kitchen and started supper. The children were encouraged, as well as Ingrid to help, after all of us showered. With everything cooking I left the three small children and the one big one, with Mom, as I went to pick up the triplets. Their mothers had been sated and the party was actually running down. I felt a little jealous when Star was squatting over Matthew, trying for her next orgasm. I had to remember that the boy was still a baby in the eyes of the Tandra, and they got anything they wanted. There was no such thing as a virgin Tandra after they reached the age of one, and most even before that time. There was no hymen to rupture and thus no pain. Girls and boys had long thin fingers and Star had no doubt been having sex for a long time, but not with somebody that could plant real seed into her womb. I had to remind myself that she reserved that area, for me alone. I looked for Jeremy and found him laying on top of his mother. She had gotten her last three orgasms from her sons and felt good about it, at least now she did. Jeremy felt closer to Justine now than he had ever felt before. He seemed to want to protect her, as much as she had done for him. "Secric, supper will be ready in twenty minutes. See if you can get everybody cleaned up to eat by then." "I will try, husband. Do all Earth women suck like these last two?" "I do not know. I only found that some do much better than others." The table was set now for the entire complement, and the number of settings amazed me, even without the three places for the triplets. I got all of my group dressed, and explained how each was going to do some small jobs to help me. Justine was embarrassed, and had not wanted to come, but Secric more or less forced her to do so. She was starting to feel guilty about her longing for her stepsons, and what she had just done in the other room. The realization that she also liked women, or more importantly, that others knew that she liked women, made her feel ashamed. Monique felt more liberated by her actions. She sat with Matthew and beside Justine, but her main attraction was to the boy now. Justine felt cut off without the girl's total attention. She did not realize that Jeremy was now looking out for her interests, much stronger than he would have done for himself before. Sofia was just about the same, except she now had two Human friends almost her age, and more Tandra friends that looked about her age. Ingrid was on pins and needles. She was trying her best to please me by trying to be independent. I had helped by setting her children with the others, so that she would not have to do anything for them. After the meal was finally over, Susan asked Mom audibly, how our last mission had progressed. ------- Chapter 27 Mother replied the same way. "There was no mention in the news about the raid, and I think the Attorney General will keep a cap on it for a few days," she said. Monique and Justine were a little discomforted about the new voice coming to them from out of mid air. Mom continued, "The girls are being taken care of in a Victoria hospital, and have an around the clock guard on them. Each of the criminals have been segregated, and are doing a fine job of telling everything they know about anything, that the police want to find out. The house is being thoroughly searched, and some notables in the area have been picked up for questioning." I was thinking more of that night, and was wondering how the police did everything right, with none of their usual screw-ups. "Mom how did you orchestrate this police performance?" "I recorded the data about the girl on the altar, and made probes to visit the Chief of the British Columbia Provincial Police, the Attorney General and the local Crown Attorney. I did not have the power to throw them around while sporting the image of the girl, but I did shock them with my image, and the information I had. I did happen to threaten them with my return, if the investigation was not handled perfectly. I imagine the defence could make a big thing of it, if it were ever found out." The altar came back to me, the thin white arm hanging over the edge, and the hand curled up as if asking for succour. I had to pause and control myself better, the images were much too strong. It felt better now that I knew the guilty would be punished, but I also knew if they were ever let out of prison, I would have my own punishment waiting for them. Topaz who was sitting to my left, reached out and laid her small hand on mine, to let me know she cared. My hand curled and I held her hand now. It was so difficult thinking with all the emotional baggage, that I was carting around. The ties that bound me to the rest also extended to all the people that needed me. This only added to the difficulty. It was so easy, when I was young. A few good men to be my friends, and an enemy that did its best to kill us. The last piece of the puzzle was in our hold, and I just had to continue with Mom's ideas to make sure this fish stayed caught. We knew all his secrets, but his living presence would bring down many more. Susan continued her questioning, "What about the people on the farm, Mom?" "All of the captives are in a large ward, protected by police. They are responding slowly but steadily to treatment of their body and their minds. Three of the men in jail have been killed by inmates, when they found out what they were in for. The rest are now in protective custody awaiting trial. There is an all-points-bulletin out for their leader. Some think he died in the blast at the warehouse." I heard Justine breath deep, thinking on the possibility of her husband coming back and taking them away. I could feel Jeremy reach out the same as Topaz, and hold his mother's hand. She was just too worried to even notice its presence. Justine got up enough courage to ask, "Would you tell us what has been happening?" Mom answered when she found that the rest of us did not reply. "We found Ingrid and her children and helped them escape. This led us to a large warehouse with a spectacle reminiscent of ancient Rome. We gathered data and destroyed the place with every guilty party in it. Next we raided a farm that had quite a few captives. Information was gathered, then the police came to help get all of the mess straightened out. We went to your house, then to the west coast to stop another group. Here too, the police came to do what they could. All that remains is to tie up some small loose ends." "Are we some of those loose ends?" This time I answered, "You are people that needed a new start. Some of you need more help than others, and it's just a matter of time, before you are healthy enough to leave." Ingrid said nothing but she tensed up and her mind said, "No!" I amended my last statement, "Some of you may not wish to leave. They will be allowed to stay if they wish." Susan and Ingrid both felt better after this was said. I turned to Justine and Monique, "I believe Ingrid and her children would want to stay with us. I also think that your children would like the same. You two seem to sway one way, then another, about what you would like to do. There is no unreasonable time restraints, but I want you to consider the possibilities. If you choose to go, we will only take your memory of us away." The older boys wanted to stay and tried to convince their mother. Monique wanted the boys now, and to a lesser extent Justine, to stay with her, but she would go with them if they chose to go. "In the mean time, there is a lot of education for each of you to catch up on. I suggest you start immediately, and see what you can do." There certainly was a lot to do. The base was still not ready and already more refugees were here than we could reasonably expect to handle. The moon mission was supposed to be tomorrow, and I did not like having to leave potential disruption in the form of uneducated barbarians. I could certainly see the point of the old Tandra women, who did not want me around, even if they could not do much to help the situation. I did some of my own training, and went to the gym and worked my muscles as best I could. When I was almost through Jeremy and Matthew found me and started doing their own workout. "Boys you need to take off the coveralls and we can see what you can do." They shed their garments without too much hesitation, and I got Mom to work on the muscles that needed it most. When I was done, they were more than done and were sweating profusely. We had a time in the cleanser and got dressed. "You boys did all right. It takes a long time before you see the results, but the benefits come soon enough." I insured that all the children started a Tandra education, starting with history and sociology. Mom insured that each only got what they could assimilate. Most of the stations on the ship would be used, so my girls went to the base with the older three refugees, to get trained there. "Mom, what do you see coming from all these new people?" "I see some discord in the future. Ingrid is much too passive and all of the people here, will use her till they find out she is not complete. Already, Justine does not like her. She feels that she would have a better time at you, if Ingrid were not present. Jeremy will want to engage in sex with his stepmother, but soon will tire of it, and cause a large rift in their relationship. The five children all want you as their father. I see a problem with you coming to grips with your fascination of the children. You will push them away, because you would think that you would take advantage of them." "I would never hurt them, Mom!" "I know that Henry. The same is true of the young Tandra, but you will feel compelled to stay away from them, because you will worry what could happen." Mom continued, "Your mission was to start in a few weeks. The children and the women need you with them in the next few months as a constant source of stability. Do you want to postpone the mission?" "If what you say is true, there is an alternative." "I see in your mind what you could do. It might very well be the best course. You will get the added benefit of having more time to consider your actions, and your goals." "Thanks Mom. I might have a talk tonight with the girls, and see how they feel about it. I know they will be sad, but the Tandra are used to this situation, while only Susan has to be convinced." Susan's current studies would be done in a few minutes, and I decided to wait for her. Even though Mom was here, I did not want to leave the children alone. Susan came to me later and said, "What is wrong Henry? I can't read your mind and you look tense." "I had a talk with Mom about our guests. Ingrid will be used by everybody here, even her own children. The other children need a father, especially now, in their lives. Justine will cause a lot of problems, unless I am here to take a firm hand with her. And finally I need to go to the moon soon, and if I am there, I cannot be here. I want to put all of them in stasis till we have a better plan for Ingrid, and more time to sort out the others. Why don't you listen to Mom's points to get a clearer picture?" Susan did as I asked. She put forth her own arguments and they were shot down with irrefutable logic. Mom talked about Susan's fascination with the beautiful platinum blond woman, and my interest in the children. Almost a half hour later a distraught Susan said, "I agree with you now. When will it happen?" "Soon, it will only be for a short time, and I know it will be for the best. I just want to get rid of the garbage in our hold first." "Oh, him, I almost forgot he was there." "Mom can you use your probes to contact the Kentucky Attorney General, and ask him where and when he wants Mecholov delivered? You said he would only cooperate for a few hours after being released. We have a body to deliver too. Make sure she is treated with respect, and returned to her family if she has any." "I am phoning his private number now." A moment later she said, "I explained about the limited cooperation he would be getting, and he says he can have a team ready in a few hours. He seemed a little incredulous about this call, till I told him more about what has happened recently. He promises to do his best for the dead woman." It was now time to get an objectionable job done, so I roused all the Human children and went to find Ingrid. She was just getting up from a tutoring lesson, and smiled at both Susan and me. "Hello Ingrid. I have a partial solution to your problem, and want you to come with me." "Oh thank you. You don't know how I have tried to change, but it is so hard, master." We walked into the med section, and along the wall were large chairs with a clear canopy over them. Susan hugged Ingrid and I could see that a few tears would start to fall. Ingrid was starting to be concerned too, at the amount of emotion. I said, "Ingrid, I want you to sit in here with your two children. Later when I have the right equipment, and a better understanding, I will get you made whole, and you will be able to join our family." Her mind was frantic with worry, but she sat as I asked. I lowered Jorge to her far side and kissed his face. Next I picked up Judith, and did the same. Lastly I held her face in mine, and gave her the first and only kiss, I ever gave her. "Do not worry, the next thing you see will be us opening this cover, and your life will just be beginning." I wiped one of my own tears away, and lowered the canopy on the trusting woman and children. They instantly froze into position, and I knew for them time had stopped. I turned and hugged Susan to me. I did not know why doing this simple thing, was so hard. Jeremy, Matthew and Sofia just stared with their mouths open. I had no heart to do this again, so asked Mom to sedate them right away. She held their sleeping bodies erect. I kissed each of the children, as I placed each of them inside in a unit, then closed the doors. My rational mind knew they would be better off, but I felt as if a piece of me was being ripped out. Fifteen minutes later an unsuspecting Monique and Justine were led in. They were stunned, the same way before going in separate canisters. They were easier to do, because I did not have as much a chance to know them. For the next while, I just walked by myself through the strangely silent base. I still had some children, but the lose of those I had begun to love weighted heavily on my heart. Their cheery laughter and voices would stay with me, till I was able to open their canisters myself. "Henry, it is time to go." "I will be there soon," I said as I altered course, and walked to the ship. The only good thing now, was that I would be able to get rid of some putrid garbage, and see what the law could do about it. All the girls were onboard waiting. Mom had done all the work of prepping Mecholov, and we started for Frankfort Kentucky, the capital. Mom found the court house, and an amazing number of people hidden around the premisses, waiting to descend on Mecholov and us. "Mom find your contact's car, and we will put Mecholov in it, then you can call him again." "I like that idea. I will look through the motor vehicle records now." Susan and I dropped invisibly with Mecholov. She used one of Mom's tools, and the car silently opened. Mecholov was pushed into the back, and the doors relocked. "Phone him now, Mom," I said. Two minutes later a swat team descended on the car, and tried unsuccessfully to open it. They had to wait till an older man of almost 60, came out and did the honours. He didn't seem too pleased, at the way his guest was delivered. Mecholov was escorted into the building, and that was the last I ever wanted to hear of him again. Our last passenger needed a little more dignity. We came down to a busy hospital, and chose a vacant ambulance. With Susan and Secric help, we placed the woman's body on a gurney and pulled a clean sheet over her form. The medical examiner would think she had only died less than an hour ago, but there was nothing we could do about it now. The harassed district attorney picked up his cell phone for one more time tonight, and was told the situation with the dead woman, and where she could be found. All of our information about her was given, in hopes of finding her family. The money from Yuri's wallet would be more than enough to provide a proper burial, when the time came. He replied that he would take a personal interest in the matter, and do his best on our behalf. We just flew home, trying to still sort out all the things that had happened in only a few days. I mostly studied, practised then had a short sleep. The girls were getting a little restless at my devotion to the cause. If truth would be told. I was worried again and I did not know from what quarter it would come. Three weeks later Mom declared that I was ready, even though our first estimate had been for one day. Always something new came up that required more study, practice and training. Our plan was worked out by Mom and all her processing power. I could find no fault, even though I tried to find even the smallest one, but to no avail. I had taken the copy of Mom's memory and other important things. One was the original set of her memories from the earliest days of the colony. These would be of no use to her in the coming raid. Secric had used her hand and mouth to get a donation from me against future problems. She was the safest to do this, because of her very close tie with Mom. I took with me a controller similar to the one I used to peal away Mom's bulkhead. A short range gun that dissolved everything in front of it, and rode in a holster. At my suggestion the Bo was covered at both ends with a galvanized iron tip about fifteen centimetres long. It was tested and found it could to penetrate a standard environmental suit. My suit had been upgraded to a command model with a short range matter transmitter to supply me with all the necessities of life. Mom would be the one to do the sending. My communicator had been added to, so the girls could look through my eyes and even hear if necessary, but this was presently disabled because the enemy might find out too soon why it was having uninvited visitors. The girls had threatened mutiny if I did not bring a recording, to show them when I got back. The device was as large as a flea and was inserted under the skin between my shoulder blades. My own eyes and ears were the pickups. I had beaten both Susan and Secric together in karate, and they still said I was not ready yet. Blue and Nova were sure that the ship needed some more testing. Sandy and Star thought that they could proceed the way they were going, and just take more time. Amy wanted me to stay and give her a baby. Topaz, Kitty, Cloud, and Moth decided that they wanted the same as Amy, and wanted it now. Dog just licked my face, and waited for his run. I reclined in the chair I had originally sat in the first day, inside the ship. On the screen I could see everybody on the highest deck. The view allowed them to see all of the ship. One corner of my screen showed the view that the girls' had. There was no need of restraint of any kind, even the gravity was set to the same as Luna. No sound of motors or pumps, was heard, even the air moved quietly. I could feel the anguish the girls were going through, at not being able to go with me. Reaching inside my mind I hardened myself to their feelings. The screen showed the ship over a hundred and forty metres long suddenly turn invisible as the suits we wore. This was illegal, but Mom had flouted the law, and given herself a military grade shield long ago. The next second I saw the mountain from only a few metres away. The air we displaced had entered the base to take the place of our volume. For some reason this trip felt much more dangerous than the last. It was not just me I was worrying about, but the fate of two races. I looked around savouring what a crewmember must feel, when he went on a mission. The feeling was much different than in Nam, for there, a stray bullet could mean my death. Here I had a hull that could withstand a nuclear blast, and a suit that could take a tank shell in the chest. Without the same panache as they showed on Star Trek, I said. "Let's go Mom." ------- Lunar Lunatics ------- Chapter 28 I looked at the large display before me, and watched the features of my home get so small they could not be distinguished. Clouds raced by like faint ghosts busily needed elsewhere. The curve of the Earth could be easily seen, till it turned into a circular shape. The black of night surrounded this shining ball, and seemed to eat it, as we got further away. It felt suddenly much lonelier, than I had ever felt before. No mission I had ever been on before felt this way, for now I had so much more to loose, and such a heavy burden to bear for two races. From my seat I could see the stars so clearly, that I thought I could just reach out and take a handful home. They seamed so clean now, with their steady light that they reminded me of jewels on a large black velvet cloth. I pulled my self back to the mission. Our least time course, found us soon hovering inside a crater on the moon's surface, ten minutes and four seconds after leaving the Earth's atmosphere. I did not even have time to appreciate my first real space flight. I could feel Mom's worry for my welfare. We both could be in harm's way, or the mission could be a cakewalk. Two and half million years, meant that our intel was a bit dated. We carried an anti-grav sled, that I would pull to, and possibly from, the refinery. Its rating was over three tonnes, so thirteen tonnes here on the moon should be easy. A small motor allowed it to go up steep inclines and under a heavy load. There had been no Human to walk on the moon since December of 1972, and I felt humble. In '72 I had been away from Vietnam's rice paddies and jungles for only a year, and studying hard to get where I was now in life. "Let's do this Mom. I will talk to you on the laser, when I can. Believe it, or not, I love you." The deck disappeared and I was alone in the crater. No matter where I looked, I could not see the ship, even though I knew it was right in front of me. I set my load down and strapped what I needed to the sled. The sled itself looked an impressive piece of military hardware. The girls had painted garish green and pink characters all over the conveyance. All their names in English and Tandra covered the craft. Words of good luck and a large phallus, no doubt painted by Susan, graced the prow. I walked up the slight incline to the crater's edge. After looking at some marker stars, a grid formed in front of me, with a probable route. Mom was so close to me, but must remain silent so as not to give a warning. The incline in front of me was forty six degrees and I had an idea. The winter time in Canada could be fun, if you embraced it right. The sled was soon between my legs, and I aimed it as best I could, with the best software in the system or even in this spiral arm. I sat down, and the sled took off downhill. With my hands on the tie down points inside the sled, I picked up a speed of almost ninety kilometres per hour. The centre of my body governed the course, and I avoided quite a few large rocks and flew over a small crater filled with fine dust. When I coasted to a stop, many kilometres away, I lengthened the tractor pull on the sled to eight metres. The power required was so small, that it would hopefully never be noticed. A small sensor suite in my suit warned me of deep pockets of dust, or hidden fissures in the rock. Once I had to release a small probe, that flew ahead. It circled a veritable lake of dust, to give me a safe route. I had to turn right to best avoid this area. The probe's power was again too low to be noticed, so it kept flying ahead. It was one of the contingencies we had discussed on Earth. Twelve hours later, I came to one of the designated stopping points, where I was to rest. A pass led through the crags of a major crater, and this allowed me to aim the laser back to Mom, and tell her that I was ok. From the unit in sound came Mother's voice, "What were you thinking of, riding that sled down that incline? You could have been hurt, and put the mission in jeopardy. If you were here, I would consider taking you home to think on your mistakes. I am not going to let you sit in the command chair again. Nova and Blue could easily take your place, and I would have a much easier time. What are your wives going to think, if you were hurt or killed? Susan would..." "Mom, I love you, and I know you love me. I will be careful, but there are limits to any conservative plan." "All right, just be cautious. I have invested a lot of time in your training." She was manufactured a few thousand years before the Earth system was first visited, by the transmitter crew. Even a few years would make a minuscule amount, when compared to her age. She worried just as my mother or Aunt Harriet would, about my welfare. She relayed my good wishes back to Earth and I heard the girls comments in return. This time there was a slight lag in our conversation, even with the relatively short distance to Earth. After promising to talk again in a few hours, I set up my 'rough' camp. A dome enclosed everything, including the sled. The matter transmitter delivered a hot chicken dinner, with corn, potatoes, gravy and Caesar Salad. The coffee was strong with lots of milk, the way I liked it. All of this was served on a white tablecloth, I had insisted on. A hand-operated cleanser like the dry showers, removed all traces of fat and grease. Even the crumbs I cleaned up. Taking a dump was harder in the tent, because it was sent back through the matter transmitter. The suit still let me pass the liquids and solids, but instead of hitting the moon's surface, they disappeared just like the chicken bones, plates and tablecloth. I had no intention of retaining the matter and recycling it. The cleanser insured that I would have no 'cling-ons' later to attack me. The tingle as it worked, might thrill some people, but it definitely did nothing for me now. I slept comfortably beside the sled for about four hours. A small breakfast and my ablutions only took minutes. The tent was struck in seconds and everything stored. Mom was happy that I had slept well, then went on for more minutes trying to get me to be extra careful. The wives said how excited they were and tried to keep my morale up. ------- Susan paced the long floor. On each side of her, her sisters tried to pretend they were content to wait till the final word was given, even if it was going to take at up to ninety hours to get to the base. Dog was walked around the base, so many times, by each of the girls, that he was tired. Secric took him outside every few hours to let him have a rest from his admirers. It had only been five hours since the last talk, and the youngest five started crying. It started with Amy and spread to the rest. Within minutes Star and Sandy joined in. Their noise was not loud, but the amount of 'sound' in the mind was frightening. They may have picked up their feelings from Susan, or worked it out on their own. Nova knew what to do, and she went over to Moth the youngest and laid her on her back, and proceeded to suck and lick the little girl. The others did not even notice or care, but continued to cry. Blue, Kitten, and Chris joined in, to soothe the youngsters. Susan knew her duty and coaxed Amy onto her back, and did the same as the other adults. On the next bed Star and Sandy held one another and continued crying. Susan worked on Amy with her fingers as well as her lips and tongue. The child was twitching. She had a good orgasm, but nowhere near what she would get with Henry. Susan got up and helped Star and Sandy to do one another. This arrangement was common for the very young, but with Susan's mind in the matrix, it threw all the old rules out the door. She had assumed the head of the household or candasu, as it should be in a typical Tandra family. Her position as metsu demanded that she lead, and not just idly pass the time. The proper feelings were distorted out of proportion, when I was not the pampered male, but actually the steering force here. Like all Tandra, they had their orgasm in sixty seconds or less. There were better ways to do this. Susan got up and went to the matter transmitter, and visualized the rock close to the house. The frigid air, reminded her to energize her suit, and make it invisible. The trip to the house and back was only a few minutes. She carried a bag around her neck, and under the suit. Once on the rock, it was less than a second, before she was inside again. Walking up to the now quiet girls she said, "I have some things to show you. This is the brush I usually use. I have used it many times to keep your hair and mine shiny and straight. Come here, Nova." She brushed from the forehead down to the tail bone many times. Nova's hair did start to shine. Nova began to really enjoy the treatment about the time a hundred strokes were done. She had used this same brush a few times, but enjoyed when somebody else was pampering her. Susan kept her mind shut as she said, "There is other thing that can help make you feel good." She squirted some oil on the brush handle, and said to Nova, "Lay back, and hold your knees. This will relax you." Susan oily hand was wiped across Nova's mons. "Hold still Nova." The brush handle was quickly worked in, and a stroking rhythm was established. "What are you doing?" "Making my suna happy, while our husband is away." She said this as she continued to stroke. Just like her lover and husband, she tried to get Nova to the edge and keep her there. The brush handle was smooth, which was a good thing for Tandra vaginas. The nerve clusters would be rubbed raw, by the wavy handle she used to use, at home. Within twenty seconds Nova was at the brink and Susan stopped moving, till she was able to control Nova's reactions. Susan's own emotions started to make the others respond to her. Blue could sense Susan need and she moved forward, and pushed Susan legs apart, and started to suck on her small clit. The feedback grew greater and greater. Susan put her free hand under Blue's chin and raise the head, for a lingering kiss. "Take this Honey, and keep my suna close to an orgasm, but try not to let her go over." This was not the Tandra way. An orgasm was to be achieved in the shortest time. This time she would do as her metsu asked, even though the other suna piteously cried for her to hurry, and let her cum. Susan got behind Blue, and extracted another brush. Blue stopped as the new oily handle was inserted into her delicate vagina. "Blue keep stroking Nova, she needs her fun too." "Come here, Chris, and hold the brush. Chris was not stupid by any means, but came over because of the order of her metsu. "Put one arm on Blue's back to steady yourself, while you use this with your other hand. Think of Blue, and do not let her have her cum, till I say so." The stroking slowed down because of the level of sensations felt by Nova and Blue. Getting behind Chris, Susan extracted the turkey baster, and lubricated it. Chris had her eyes wide, as she saw the large phallus image approach her cunt. "Take it easy Honey, and this won't hurt a bit. Susan traced the tip around Chris various clits, before she inserted the plastic into the stunned woman. "Keep working Honey. Blue needs this." "Kitten come over here and help our sister." Kitten was compelled to do this, as if an irresistible force pushed her over. "Put one hand on Chris pretty bum, and slowly stroke this in and out of her." Kitten did, but did not take her eyes off of Susan, and what she would do next. A long red candle, that had come off the dining room table, came out of the bag. Susan showed the candle to Kitten as she put it into her mouth and deep throated it as much as she could. Taking it out, she put oil on it, then some on Kitten's quivering vagina. The blunt end went in, and Susan started to stroke it in and out. There were fourteen more candles in the bag, as well as a plastic dildo and a large vibrator. Sandy then Star were next. The strokes were down to about two a minute. Within minutes, Amy, Kitty, Topaz, Moth and then Cloud joined the chain. The four younger ones had to put the oily candles into their rectums, because their vaginas were too small. All Tandra had large strong lower bowels, made for both elimination and sex. They could take lots of lovemaking, this was why a woman had an alternate method of keeping a mate, if she thought she might accidentally drop her egg at the wrong time. Getting behind Cloud, Susan inserted the greased candle, that fit the young child easily. She stroked very slow, because the pace was now down to less than one a minute. Each and everyone felt the phalli, in not only her own orifice, but in all the orifices, of all the rest. "Come here, Secric, I have a job for you." The woman that had never so much as touched another Human or Tandra, before a few weeks ago, did as she was compelled. When Susan got the last child up to the same plateau, she relinquished the candle to Secric. Secric who some would say was naïve, had no such notions when Susan took the vibrator, and stroked into her slowly. As they all approached that place of agony, where there was so much stimulation, but never enough to bring them over. Susan turned the vibrator on fully, and stroked it in and out furiously. This was the same as fissionable material. They all felt Secric, as her cunt vibrated to all the nerves, that nature had bestowed on Tandra vaginas. The Chernobyl-like melt down, brought everybody into a line of twitching, convulsing, pulsating, matter. Susan herself enjoyed her own cum, because she to was in the loop, though nothing was actually touching her erogenous zones. Susan recovered first, and heard the vibrator still humming in Secric's vagina. Apparently the girls had been still connected, and the batteries had kept them twitching for a long time. She took them one at a time and put them in bed in pairs. This time she switched partners, so that there would be no favourites. Susan was the odd girl out, so she joined in with Blue and Star. When they woke up five hours later, everybody was happy again. Blue was the first to ask, "What was that thing, that you used on Secric?" Susan opened her mind, to allow Blue to see all the various toys, that could be used. Susan went for the vibrator, and ran it and herself through a cleanser, before coming back to Blue. When Susan approached the bed, Blue backed up, as if Susan carried a dangerous weapon. The memory of the vibrations was very hard to get over. Blue almost had an orgasm, when she heard the sound, as Susan casually turned the power on. "Take this Blue, and see if you can make some for the rest. The little ones might need smaller ones for themselves. Perhaps you should make two, so you can do both holes at once." "Really, you can do that?" "Only if you want to try. But I have a better idea first." When all the girls were awake, they marvelled at the toys, as Blue displayed how it worked. Susan started the conversation, "That husband of ours, likes to take unnecessary risks. Nova and Blue were salvaging safety equipment. What I would like to do, is get the car and plane in here, and do the necessary work to them, so that he will not kill himself or us." They all agreed, that it was a good idea. "I would like to open the hangar, and move the plane over to one side, to make room for the van. When that is done, we fly one of your trucks down, and put one of the vehicles into it. The satellite will think the van is in the garage with the plane. When the safety devices have been installed, the vehicle can go back the same way. Henry wanted a matter transmitter to be installed in the basement. Do you think we can do that, while he is gone?" The girls became enthused with the logistics, and the idea of the things that they could accomplish, if given the right resources. ------- I had worked my way down the inner wall of the crater by letting the sled precede me. The area was so large that it took almost four hours to cross. I had run full out, with my enhanced muscles and coordination, I was able to reach almost sixty kilometres an hour, in the one sixth gravity. The rest stops were short and infrequent, because I could be seen by Tandra equipment. I could have run right by Earth people, if any were handy. They would not see me or the sled, but only my prints and the dust. Twelve hours after breaking camp the last time, I set the tent up in a high crag, protected on all sides, and only open in a spot, that was in Mom's direction. This was almost seventy kilometres further along, than we had hoped for. Also, it was the last possible place to get supplies, from the matter transmitter on the ship. Mom felt more confident, as I was besting our most optimistic estimates, of where I should be. I rested a few extra hours, and ate the last good meal till I would be able to get back to Mom. The rest of the supplies were now transported in, and stored on the sled. When I struck camp, I heard a quivering in Mom's voice. She was still worried, and had no reason to berate me for anything, but tried anyway. Mom got a copy of all that I saw so far, in my travels. I gave this at the latest possible time, for I knew that she would find something wrong with the way I ran, walked or breathed. I took quite a while to talk to the girls. They were only audible through a converter, but I could still hear the worry in each. I made two more camps, eating and drinking from my limited supplies. The last portion was the hardest to navigate yet. The terrain was very broken, and there was no detailed plan for this section. I was forced to send the drone out, to the limit of its transmitter range, and survey the tortuous path I must take. I would have liked to climb to the top of the butte, but the sensors, would surely find me. Seven times I had to backtrack, because of blind alleys or obstructions. Fifty three hours after starting out, I was under the overhang that hid, an out-of-the-way section of the glistening dome. I decided to rest before attempting to enter. This was the most important thing, I had done in my life, and I wanted to be prepared as best as I could be. Three hours later, the anxiety was too great, and I struck the dome, for what I hoped would be the last time. A disk, covered with a thin coating of zinc, was taken from my supplies. It was about one metre in diameter, and about nine centimetres thick. I placed the disk's flatter surface against the dome, and pushed, while activating it with my mind. I could feel vibrations follow my bones to my ears. Minutes later, the humming stopped, and I hoped this was enough. The front of the disk parted at my command, and I climbed in, leaving the sled outside for the moment. A tube had formed, and it expanded the nine centimetres, to over two metres. It extended through the shield wall. When the hatch was sealed behind me, I ordered a small hole be made in the wall ahead of me. When the pressure had equalized, the inner hatch was opened. I had the gun in my hand, waiting for any resistance. The floor was over five metres down. This was not a long fall in the light gravity, but it would present some problems in getting the sled, and the other supplies into the base. The illumination level was about the same as what the Earth dome had been, when I first arrived, but since my sight had been improved, the present illumination was even considered bright. The location was just as good as any other, I could pick, so I returned to the outside, and dragged in the sled. I jumped easily to the floor below. The tractor on the sled, attached itself to the inner wall, and lowered the sled to the ground. With an unspoken command, the door to the tunnel closed, and soon the disk returned to its original shape, but on this side of the wall. I effortlessly caught it, as it fell. A device on my suit indicated the air was not the same as Earth's but more like the thin but rich air, of modern Human spacecraft. The temperature was, after converting, about twenty. This was quite cool by Tandra standards. The call pads on the wall could give me all the information I wanted. The computer doing this was simple, and did not need supervision often. The trouble was, that if all the people were in stasis, no inquiries would be made, then any use of the call pads, would start an alarm. I could see the last known plans of the refinery and base, in my mind. My probable location was superimposed on this. Only reconnaissance would tell me for sure. The plan called for me to disable the AI in the computer first, but leave the rest untouched. Going to the right, I proceeded down a long hall. The infrequent openings, only showed dormant machinery, and unlike the Earth, had dust deep in spots. The floor had undisturbed dust, and ancient rubbish. Most was so old, that even with my new Tandra education, I could not make out its original purpose. The first markings on the wall, were of little immediate help, till I stopped and used a grid superimposed over a portion of the shape, and worked to decipher the image. I found, that I was almost in the right position, but the dust under the overhang had resulted in me being one floor higher, than I anticipated. This made the route one floor more than was planned. I thought of the footprints, in the lunar surface, that had been made by the pioneers of space. Their forms may last a long time now. When the refinery was working, and a long time after, dust that had not been pulled down by the weak gravity, settled over the long years. The constant rain of meteors, also stirred up massive amounts of dust, that would take years if not centuries to settle out. The time span was something I was only beginning to get used to. At the end of the corridor was a very large room, filled with massive machinery. The temperature here was 24 and warmer, but far from what the Tandra thought of as cosy. Large chutes crossed the room, and catwalks ran around the edge, and over some portions of the machinery. My perceptive hearing picked up the sound of quiet breathing, and many stealthy steps, approaching from numerous directions. I went into the room, and quickly mounted the sled and quietly ordered it to ascend. A few moments later, a well-coordinated group came into the room, all at the same time. They fanned out and covered all of the exits. Looking across the room, I saw that they were Tandra. How had they detected me? I had followed each portion of our plan as scrupulously as possible. They looked to be females, but had even smaller breasts. I felt a momentary urge to greet these newcomers, because they looked so much like the girls I loved on Earth. They were as naked as the group I knew, and loved, but these were dirty, and with none of the grace I had come to expect. Their age now could not fool me. From their colouration, hair growth, gait, and the texture of their minds, I knew that some were around three hundred or so years old, and male. This was comparable roughly with twenty five or so years, in Human terms. They were looking for an elusive quarry that had escaped them many times before, and not me. I let out a silent breath at this thought. Some of them climbed the steps or ladders, to forestall an escape. Their minds were as tight as they could make them, for their thoughts might give a warning. Forty males had come into the room. When they were all in position, some males further back, in the tunnel, came running up with their minds unshielded. From many corners, chutes, and other hidy-holes, children jumped up and ran with what valuables they could grab, and rushed for their escape route. When a few had past the first ring of attackers, the men pounced and struck the children with their fists, feet or the occasional club. Within seconds, eighteen young boys had been captured. They looked no different than Star, Amy or Sandy. Their young minds frantic for a way to get away. They were all dragged down to the floor, and the men below. From the hall came six more males. They strode into the room as if they owned the entire moon. I could see that four of them, wore the distinctive white box at their waist. The leaders were somewhat younger, and larger than average, and one bigger yet. They were about six centimetres more than the rest, and they were in turn about six centimetres taller than females. They appeared to be much better fed, than the rest. I got the distinct feeling of malice from everybody below, but especially from the last arrivals. From my knowledge, males were very effeminate, and did not go in for violence. The young boys reminded me of the hungry children, in war torn Vietnam, during my tours of duty. Their naked bodies were indistinguishable from the females, I knew and loved. The largest male, was about four centimetres shorter than I. Walked up the line of boys, and picked up the dirty faces of each, and looked into their eyes and mind. Once he was finished, he went back up the line, to a particular boy, and gave the Tandra grin. The boy that looked about ten was actually about an earthly eighteen struggled to escape his captor, that stood behind him holding his small arms. The captor turned the boy around, and forced his shoulders lower to the floor. The leader grasped the boy's hips, and like a flick blade, his cock jutted out from where a vagina should be. Males had a thick piece of cartilage like material for impregnation, with little nerves in the skin on its surface. The gratification came from rubbing his pubic bone and nerve endings into his mate, and rubbing his urethra and the five other erogenous zones circling his cock. Tandra testicles were large, and safely tucked away in his abdomen, like a woman's ovaries. The cock itself jutted out a modest eight centimetres. Modest by Earth standards, but frightening to the youngster. With one quick shove, the leader was seated. Instead of stroking he rubbed himself up and down the boys ass and cheeks. Strokes did occur but always punctuated by side thrusts. Fifty seconds later I heard a mental grunt, and the leader unloaded in the boy's sore asshole. Instead of being released, the other leaders took their turn, till the boy could hardly stand alone, and relied on his captor to keep him supported. Once the process was started, the leader went to his second favourite, and raped him as well. The others followed their leader's choice. I was angry at what I saw, and there was nothing I could do, short of killing them with the gun, and probably get myself killed in the process. I felt reluctant to do so, because all of them looked like my loved ones. Fifty or so men could bring anyone down, and once down, I could be placed where I would starve to death. What's more, the leaders for the most part, had suits that could protect them, the way mine would protect me. The leader was prodigious, and raped all eighteen boys. At the end he had no sperm to shoot, but still went through the motions. After two hours of agony, every boy was ravished, by all of the fifty men. Many had blood leaking from their bowels. I would help once the men had left, and hope the mission would take the strain. To my dismay, instead of releasing the boys, as I hoped, the men dragged the comatose boys with them, to their lair. I read that this was for a more leisurely fuck, and a life of slavery. I wondered why there were no thoughts of women in any of the males' minds. The reasons for the males unnatural behaviour was equally perplexing. There was no way now to save the boys, without too much danger to my objectives and myself. Perhaps later, I could find a way to save them, like I did in a Vietnamese village. I followed my original course after the males left. I passed more rooms like the one where the boys were raped, and could sense some furtive boys in some of them. The dust was now very disturbed from constant use, unlike the side tunnels. The level of heat rose as I came to more travelled areas. In the second lowest level, I found what I was looking for. The entire level had many sensors. I went back up one floor, and walked down the hallway about two hundred metres. A room off to the side, was a good place to start. I used my controlling device, to peal off the bulkhead and cautiously worked my way down the corridor. My entire suit was alive with data from its sensors, and my mind was having difficulty reading and assessing the packets of important information. My arms and back were sore, from the cramped positions, as I cautiously deactivated or bypassed each of the sensors, leading to the floor below. The final ten metres must have taken three hours, but I was completed one of my objectives. I could work much faster, but this was the time for me to be absolutely sure, about each and every step I took. Returning to the floor below, I approached the door, that was much like Mom's, I felt guilt, that I would do the same thing to a person, much like Mom at one time. The door pealed back, and I set the beacon, to find my way back. The gravity was as I suspected, and completely absent. A metre in, I placed a ring around one of the tractors to disable it. As I was trained, I put rings over eleven more, and paused for the most difficult part. There was no way I could take out just the AI, without damaging the computer. The way I chose, would assure that the AI would know I was here, and a threat to her, but cause the least damage to the computer. Placing my feet on the base of two crystals, and aligned my sighting apparatus, I slowly pushed off. I came close to one wall, and contorted my body to flow around it as best I could, but I was not that lucky. Immediately a shield started to form around the AI core. My foot almost made it in, but the AI's shield was not strong enough yet, to pinch it off, so it spit the foot into the protected area like a watermelon seed, between finger and thumb. I cartwheeled into the crystals with a lot of force. My shield had reacted, and kept me from being punctured, but I felt like a turtle that was completely protected, and dropped many metres onto a hard surface. I could hear the deafening voice of the AI, as it called for help, and tried to break into my mind, and force me to stop. This one was nowhere as delicate as Mom. Sledgehammers of force hammered at me, and I knew that I was slowly losing. This was known before I even came to the moon, but I was counting on more surprise. Reaching into my mind, I set up the best shield I could, and dampened the higher functions of my mind. What do I do now? The pain was unbearable. The crystal? What crystal? Any crystal? No. I bent into a foetal curve and tried to drive the pain away, the ever present pain. It hammered me senseless. What would Susan do now? Susan? She was my wife. No, there were more, they needed me for something. What? A pretty crystal for them. Yes, give them a pretty crystal. Which one is pretty enough? Oh, the big one in the centre, close to all the other ones. I drifted over casually and tried to pull the pretty thing to me. It was not coming. Something was trying to keep it from me. I pulled hard, then with all my strength, the crystal came free, and I shot up and hit my body on the ceiling. The mental pain was gone. I had the pretty colours. Put it away. Where? What was wrong with me, I cannot remember? What should I do? Mom? Mom told me to get the colours in my head. Where? Oh, here are some colours, make them big. Yes, that way. My memory returned. I had to fix my mind quickly. I moved the bands and bars of light, to the optimum position, and looked at the AI. It sure was beautiful, beautiful and crazy. I removed the rest of the necessary crystals, and found the one that governed the field around me now. I pulled it out, and when the field collapsed, I reinserted it. It would take an AI to get it working again. Now to get out of here. Aligning my sights, I gave a gentle push and coasted easily to the beacon, and the door. I carefully crossed the boundary, and into the lunar gravity. I could hear approaching steps. If I were invisible, the crystals would seem to float in the air. All of my weapons were one floor up, and I had to take care of these people, for the computer could reinstall the crystal, if it was retaken. I closed the door behind me, with the tool, put the crystals on the floor, and ran to get as much room as possible before the fight began. I was in luck in a way. The hall filled with the bodies, that looked beautiful and female, but were definitely male. These were the ones that had brutalized the boys. The leaders were nowhere to be found, but they would probably come once everything had been settled, like last time. My foot shot out and broke a jaw of one man as a reverse kick hit in the area of the ovaries, if the opponent had been female. The pain coming from him let me know that he was out of it for a minute. They could only come at me, about four abreast, and I hammered each with all the hate I had developed, after seeing the boys raped. Ten, then twenty fell, and the rest were much more cautious. I waded in, because I could not be hurt, only pinned. If I let them get away, they could set traps for me, and accomplish the same things without injuries to them. With elbow, knee, foot, forearm, hand and fist, they fell, till only three remained. I could not read the minds of the last ones, but I saw relief in their eyes. There must be others about to attack behind me. Turning quickly and crouching, I just missed a club, that was aimed at my back. I took an arm, and with all my might, I drove the shielded man's face into the wall. Gravity was too light for me to get enough inertia, to do the job, right. I moved in quickly, and bypassed an unshielded man, with only a chop to the throat, and grabbed the protected man behind him. Knocking him over, I held his ankles, and used him to beat another. Turning around, I struck one of the original attackers, and went after the other two. Their throats and eyes were my targets, and both went down, one probably permanently. Turning again, I faced the leader, and his the last two of his henchmen, one was shielded. He was giving his underlings orders, so he could attack himself. The unprotected one made a mistake, and came within my grasp. He too was used as a flail, and soon his head was a bloody pulp. The other was down from being struck, and I did the same to him. The leader had turned and ran. I doubt I could catch him, since he knew the area and was fresh. I walked back and picked up the crystal. As I walked down the body strewn hallway, I would occasionally kick a man, trying to get up, or ones playing possum. All of them were taking a well-deserved nap, and a few would never awake. It occurred to me, that most men had no shields. The ones that did, were much more of a threat. I retrieved the gun and Bo, and returned to use the metal end, to override the shield with the manual switch. The three white boxes went onto the sled, with the crystal and the supplies. Mom had asked me to just destroy the entity, but I would only do that, as a last resort. My mission now was to collect the delicate modules, that we desperately needed. The warehouse was only a few minutes away, and the alarms were still going off. I saw nobody, and they would probably try to stay well away from me. The section containing the crystals, was all protected from entry. It took very little effort to bypass the gate. The age of the crystals before me may or may not allow them to be useable. Once in the large brightly lit room, I saw shelves carrying thousands of crystals. It was just like shopping at a supermarket. Every one of the reference numbers was in my mind, and finding them was an easy chore. The feeling from the room made me feel disoriented as I was, when in front of Mom. This was only part of the odd nature, of these crystals. In a sectioned off area, I found the AI crystals, that I was after, and others, that I wasn't. I did not want the moon to get back on-line soon, and I did not want to destroy such valuable property, so I took them all. After taking all the memory modules, I decided to take all the important modules as well. There was too much stock, to make more than a dint in the total inventory. Using a now safe, minor computer, I accessed all the parts, that Blue and Nova had been salvaging for me, and replaced them the best I could. There were many more, that I really needed. My main goal now, were the modules, for the machines that made other machines. Again I took them all, even ones that may not be of any use. The sled was getting high, and the tractor beams moved to hold it all in safely. The last thing I needed was the fuel. This was on the other side of the complex. I felt the trap ahead, and I did not want any of the precious cargo damaged. What could I use to avoid capture? Of course. I dug in the front of the sled, and took out the three shields. Remembering the way I had done before, I placed each box, and stepped back and gave a command to all of them. An invisible shield covered the cargo. Now that everything was invisible, I moved under cover, and raised the sled. This way it would not be stumbled onto. I took my weapons, and went to see the neighbour's welcoming committee was up to. A barricade had been erected, with bare handed boys to defend it. This was odd in the extreme. I caught a faint thought, from an excited person much further down the hall. Using the controller, and from out of sight, I went behind the walls to find out what was happening. Coming into a vacant room, I pulled back the wall and entered. The leader I hated, was next door in a large conference room, with some of his now bloody followers. Some old men were in talking to him. The leader's plan was to get me to fight the boys, and he would turn the hallway into molten death, for everybody in it. The weapon used, would actually do the job, even against my suit. The elders, did not like the wholesale death, but the leader stated that the vats could make many more boys, any time they needed them. Only one old man had a protective suit, beside the leader. They would have to go, but the gun had to go first. Walking back along the aisle, I saw twelve males with guns similar to mine, and heavy long-barrelled weapon. Their bruising and blood, told me that I had already made their acquaintance. Taking careful aim my silent gun killed almost all of them, before they knew what was happening. My heart hurt, for I felt like I had killed my own girls. I got in close and did the last regretfully. All the weapons were gathered, and after taking a spare energy cell, I melted all of them. By the time I returned to the conference room, everyone had gone. I returned toward the sled, and walked casually up behind the boys on the front line, visible to all. "Do you think he will come this way?" I asked. "I hope not..." They all turned, and almost fell over one another to get out of my grasp. "If you noticed, I did not hurt any of you, and I have no intention of ever doing so. Why don't you take down the barricade, and leave as soon as you are done?" "We can't, they said they would kill us, if we left here." "I was in a large room further back, and one big mean person, planned to fill the corridor with plasma, when we started fighting." They were in shock, but not too much, because this was the way life was treated here. "The men at the plasma gun, behind me, are dead, and their weapons are gone too. The old men and the leader have run away. Would you help me find this bad man?" The children were frightened of even the thought of going against the leader. "That is fine, you don't have to do anything, except move this barrier. Will you do this for me, please?" After the barrier came down, the boys disappeared at my urging. The sled followed me now, well past the conference room, and deeper into the complex. I passed family units, that had been turned into garbage dumps. The hallways were even littered for some reason, with machinery and ship parts. The refined metals were stored outside, and I could feel hostile eyes trying to find me. If I left the dome, I may not be able to re-enter later. The trick with the zinc/steel required, that the dome be set at the lowest possible setting. I was quite sure, that after the general alarm, this would not be the case. An alternate plan called for me to appropriate a ship, and load everything into it. If I could get the ship outside, with what I already had, then I could pick up the fuel, and not need to re-enter. I did not like the way thing were run here. This could even be an extreme case of the way Tandra ran things, but I did not like it. The boys that got raped when they grew up, would form gangs, to rape other young boys, and perpetuate the cycle. I would like to come back here, and get the boys educated, and brought into a loving environment. There was also the possibility, that I may need to come back, to get something else from this base. Sooner of later, this base would fail. I wanted to be able to fix it up to my liking, before this could happen. I needed some way to get back in. The shield was set high or at max now, and would stay like that for millennia. I did not know of a way to get or keep the setting low. The computer would definitely not let me in next time, just because I asked. Well, I would see about transportation first, and think about the problem, as I walked. The hanger was difficult to enter, and was much larger than the one on Earth. It appeared as if, it had not been opened since the base on Earth was shut down. This one here, also had larger craft, to choose from. The largest scooped dust, and sorted the various elements it found. It was ugly and looked cumbersome. The next looked good, till I saw a gaping hole on one side, that ran all the way to the stern. In the far corner, I found just the thing. It would not respond to my commands, probably because there was no power in it. I found a heavy power cable. It was four millimetres thick, and lay on in the corner on the floor. I plugged one end into a nearby floor receptacle, and another into a fitting in a small compartment, at the stern. Putting my hand on the wall, I ordered energy to be put through the cable. Boot-up usually took a fraction of a millisecond. The ship would still not respond, even when I used a military imperative. My mind tingled through the suit, something was happening, that was not supposed to happen. The screen that I used to navigate flashed with Tandra scripts and graphics. There was a real navy ship here. My orders were understood, but the power was so low that it could not even blink a light. ------- Chapter 29 "Can you locate me?" "Yes, ma'am." "I am going to move to the left. Tell me how I move, in relation to you." "Yes, ma'am." I moved as I said about four metres. "Report." "Yes, ma'am. You moved to my right." "I will walk, and I want you to tell me when I go off course, and count down the distance." "Yes, ma'am." I was getting pissed at this machine, and I had not even seen it yet. My steps took me around a large hulk, that had been mostly dissembled. "Report I said." "Yes, ma'am. You are bearing more right now, and have come one in twelve squared metres closer." I moved faster and after three hundred metres, I still had no replies. The voice was neuter and not the way thing were now done. "Why have you disregarded my orders and not reported." "Power is extremely low, ma'am. You are more to my right, and about half way here." "Remain silent till I get very close." "Yes, ma'am." I came to the wall and could not see any real ships. Some of the ships were larger than a transport truck, but these were still too small for other than a runabout. Turning around I could spot nothing with military lines at all. My navigating could not be that much off. I walked to the left, and actually started to walk back and saw nothing, that should not be at a wrecker. "You are here, ma'am." Looking around, I saw a ship of only thirty metres in length and sporting an almost cylindrical hull of only eight metres. This type of hull had been discontinued, almost four million years ago. "What is your classification?" "Admiral's Pinnace, ma'am." "State reasons for being inactive." "Dimensional shift is inoperative, and I have been waiting for a replacement." When nothing more came, I asked, "What other problems do you have that will keep you from inter-system space?" "Working ma'am." The ship was going through a diagnostic routine, that I did not know how long it would take. I looked around and found another power cable, and plugged it into the floor, close to the stern, and looked for the fitting to connect it to. "Where is the shore connector?" "At the bow, ma'am." I should have known things would be backwards. I took out the cable, and used a receptacle that was closer. The hatch was hard to open, as if it had not been open in a long time. I laughed out loud, at the situation. When the power started to flow, lights came on, and a ramp descended. I walked up the ramp and found the interior opulent by any measure. Three large chairs, that now had no material covering, were in the centre of the first large section. From the wall, I saw a very old display. I had seen the same one in a graphic, the Mom had shown me. The wall held citations and models of even older ships, behind a shimmering barrier. Going forward, the door slid aside like the old Star Trek show, for me. The next division held more chairs, for the crew to navigate, and to pilot the ship. There were even manual controls, now this was old. I sat in the remains of the captain's chair, and wondered how this relic had gotten here. "Finished, ma'am. Would you like a detailed report or concise?" "Concise. What things would keep you from flying now, to the planet that this moon circles, with a biological being onboard, and a cargo of fifty metric tonnes." "I need a supply of energy for my accumulators, and this is being done now. An inertial compensator, a new sensor array, seven assorted tractor projectors, and life support equipment." From the age of the ship, the parts would never come. But there was a good side. I could fly without the compensator, the same way modern astronauts made do, without anti-gravity. I had supplies of air, water and food, not to mention a recycler. This would last me, if I had to make it to Earth, at less than the four hundred an thirty six gravities, she was capable of. "Are there any nearby stores of these parts, or ones that could be employed for these purposes?" "No Ma'am. They are all on order." There had to be a way. "Is there any ships within this hangar, that have the required parts?" There was a noticeable pause, and I was given a long list of ships that could be stripped. "Plot the most economical route, to get the best parts installed, into your hull." The information was memorized, and I proceeded to rob from Peter to put into Paul. I found the tractors, and removed more than I needed, because they may not all work. The compensator I got, because it would give me something to do on the ride home, if Mom was kept busy or worse. The arrays of sensors would be easy, since they had not changed much since they were first invented. The computer just needed to compensate, after they were fitted. It was getting late, and I stowed the sled onboard, and close the hatch. "Report." "Yes, ma'am." "What is your name?" "None ma'am. My memory was scrubbed. Only a backup of the log exists, and it does not mention my name. A name does not follow naval protocol for a minor ship, such as this, ma'am." "It does now. I am Fleet Admiral Buchanan," I said to get around this chatter, that would go on for hours if I let it. It also made me feel good. I had no right to be even a cabin boy, in any Tandra crew. Since I was the entire Earth Space Navy, then I guess I could be what I wanted. The entity was basically sexless, and I decided to give it a masculine name, for a change. "I think you should have the name Carlton." "Yes ma'am. Thank you ma'am. It is recorded in the log." I am going for a rest. Consider all outside personnel to be belligerent and hostile, unless otherwise stated by me." "Yes, ma'am." That computer, did need an overhaul. Maybe if I had time, after the next few emergencies, I could put this ship together, the way it should be. I almost felt like someone contemplating getting an old model 'T', and restoring it. My feet were definitely in two worlds now. My sleep lasted four hours, and I was not even bothered by killing any of the Tandra males. I did not know their numbers, but ever since I found how Tandra males, treated their wives, females in general, and especially the children, I was angry. I went to the head, and found two flat supports, that would support a person's ass when they took a dump. This was better in my estimation, than the way Mom and the base operated. There, a person was expected to squat on two raise pads and let go. The Orientals had used this method for as long as there were Orientals. The ever present cleanser, did the clean up for me. I looked for the large cleanser in all the expected places, and found none. "Carlton, where is the place, where I can clean my body." I was directed to a particular corner. A field materialized with me outside it, and from midair, fell a heavy spray of water. The waste water disappeared, as if in a matter transmitter. The field collapsed, and I could feel a cleanser doing its thing. "Carlton, I think I am going to like you very much. Some of your facilities are very old, and some remind me of home. Together we make a match." "Yes, ma'am, and thank you ma'am." I took off the generator, and climbed into the shower. At my command, it came on and altered to the temperature I enjoyed. My call for soap turned out to be soap, that was mixed with the water. When I was finished, I said, "Done." The resulting tingle did wonders for making me feel clean. "Thank you, Carlton. Can you prepare any of the food that is on the sled?" A table was set, with a table cloth and the dried provisions, awaited on a beautiful crystal plate. A matching goblet of water, made the simple meal enjoyable. The ever present spoonknife, did the work very well. The spoon would act as its namesake, and the edge would be the sharpest blade ever, when activated by the mind of the owner. These ones here, were much fancier, than the ones in Mom's galley. "Carlton, how long till you are capable of travelling to Earth?" "My basic systems are operational, but this flight will be contrary to article five, section forty three sub section... " "That is enough Carlton. I know you are not complete, but you can make the journey with a good safety margin. Now, how long till you are able to make the trip?" "It will take three hours and six minutes till the accumulators are charged to a level, to make the journey. The unit is old, and does not respond as well, as when it was new." Now, especially before the trip, was not the time to follow that lead about the age of his or her internal systems. "Carlton, while we are waiting. Are you familiar with the transmitter stations both for the hangar, and the ground transport in the base?" "Ma'am, to what level do you mean?" "A rogue intelligence had taken over the base. It was my duty to bring an end to her actions, and bring security back to this system. In the course of my duties, I was not able to substitute another personality in her place. The computer is resorting to basic programming, and will not allow us to leave, till a new intelligence is installed. Soon we will leave this base, regardless of its programming. I would like to return at a later date, to get the base running to military specifications." I continued, "Use whatever means at your disposal, to make your own assessment of the conditions in this base, but do not allow a trace to be used to find us. When you are done, I want you to find a way to install a program, that will override the entrance security, and let me back in, and a method of leaving the base, without us coming under fire." "Yes, ma'am." "In the mean time, I will start another mission, to rescue some base personnel, and apprehend some of the conspirators to the original crime. If for some reason I am unable to return here, I may meet you at the refinery, where I plan loading ingots of lithium. They are to be kept out of an oxygen environment, and in your hold. In this system, I have another ally. She is a local tug, previously known as Secric. She is familiar to me as 'Mom'." The truth was stretched a little, but not broken. If I could get the ship loaded, and safely back to Earth, then most of my mission would be accomplished. Mom could always pick me up, or I would again find alternate transportation. I left with the gun, knife, controller, Bo, and my new toy the drone. The base computer was still pretty fucked-up, after losing its guiding intelligence. I wanted a piece of that creep, that lead the gang, and I think I know where he was. I took what I thought of, as a safe route, through the refinery. Within minutes, I was close to the main offices. On Earth they were even more stuffed with technical marvels, than the apartments. Jumping up to a ledge and hanging on with my fingers, I looked over the edge and found two men with guns guarding a door. I could not get close without being seen and shot because of the visible Bo. I kicked myself for not finding out if the suit, I wore, was capable of withstanding a hit from those weapons. Perhaps I could use the same trick a third time. I used my hands to move to one side, before climbing up to the level above. I could feel crying and a sharp pain. My mental ears told me that there was a lot of anguish, on this level. The first room held a thin dirty boy, with a cable attached to his ankle. He was sleeping on his stomach, and one arm was in front of his face. To walk in the room now might arouse all the others, and get me back in a fight. Possibly get some boys killed too. Perhaps there was a different way. "Hello son. It is time for you to leave this place with your friend. Wake up and leave this place, with your friend. Wake up and leave this place, with your friend." My attempt at using suggestion must have worked, for the boy slowly woke up, and did not startle. "Hello friend. I have a device here that should take the cable off your leg. Would you like me to do that? If I do, you need to be quiet, so I can get the rest." "Don't hurt me," he said, and his fear of me was getting greater. "I will not hurt you. Look into my mind, and see that." There was a feeble attempt to find my motives, I suppose, I could have fed him some pictures, and got him to believe anything, but I gave him the truth. His body intrigued me, mainly because he looked exactly like a female. The thoughts of making love with a boy made me remember my youth. I would never force myself on anybody, like the child before me thought. The truth must have been the right thing, for he smiled. I entered the room, and the controller parted the loop on his leg easily. "I want to get the other boys out, and kill this man." I pictured the man raping the boy in the hallway. I got another smile, and a commitment to help. I concentrated on the door to an occupied room, and felt two people inside. Both the adult and the slave boy were asleep. I used to be fairly good at assassinating the high ranking NVA and Cong. The door dissolved silently under the gun, and so did the man's head, a few seconds later. The boy's leg was released and I left him to continue his sleep. The face on the first boy was sheer admiration. He had probably dreamed of doing the same thing many times. The next room was open, and I used the tiny probe to peeked in. Five slave boys sat or talked to each other. There were no men present. I sent the probe down the hall, and found either empty rooms, or ones occupied by more slaves. All of the boys were secured with cable. "Do some boys walk without a cable around their leg, and without a man here." "Yes, they did, but we escaped, and the men put the cables on us, to keep it from happening again." "I want you to walk into the room, and keep the boys from getting excited. It would alert the people downstairs. Then I can free them." "Yes, I will do that. Are you doing this because you want to love us to?" This was the moment of truth. I would not lie, and I would face my own emotions. This was much easier to do since meeting the Tandra and accepting them and their customs. "I think each of you are beautiful. When I was young a friend and I did as you do here. Since then I have missed my friend and think of him when I see a boy. I am not the type that would force boys or girls to have sex ever. Look into my mind again to see the truth." I knew that all sex here was exclusively male. The boy looked at me and asked, "Girls?" "Girls are similar to you, but are able to grow babies inside them. Here I think you are all grown in the vats." The boy thought nothing odd about the vats, but was very queasy about the 'girl' idea. The boy got himself prepared and did as I asked. For about five minutes he studied my sex life and morals. He surprised me by coming into my arms for a hug. I tried to be as comforting as possible, and I felt him crying again. I told him how nice his hair and body were, and how his very presence made me feel good. I could perceive his love starting for me, even though I was an adult, and adults had always hurt him. He reluctantly left and walked into the room, and I turned invisible and followed him. He was a member of a male only society, and any love he found would be from another male. His instincts though caused him to pick out a dominant male and seek to join that family. He started slow and eventually got the story out without the boys boiling over in excitement. "You can come into the room now." I frightened them, as I materialized in their midst. The controller made short work of the cables. One boy was more adventurous, and found the headless corpse. The first boy had to continue talking to them, because their excitement rose to such a state, that I was afraid that we would be caught again. This room was right above the room the guards watched below. Each apartment was sealed, so there was no way of sneaking a peek normally. The controller set low, was just enough for the probe to reconnoitre. The room was empty, but I could see some other rooms. The probe found six boys, and my prey. He was eating a tube of food formed into a sausage. I could be brave and break in. Then kill him, or do it like the last man. An old sergeant always said "Simpler is better." I walked over to the area directly over his head, and pealed back the floor. It was easy to vaporize the top half of his body. The floor was pulled back a little more and I worked down into the apartment. The startled boys inadvertently alerted the guards. As they opened the door and came in, I dissolved the back part of their heads. "Don't get all upset," I said to the startled boys. "I am not going to hurt any of you. You are all free to go if you want." Some backed up slowly till they were able to turn and run. They went till they found the boys I had talked to. The message was passed, and the wary boys returned. The first boy told me of another apartment complex, about a kilometre away, where some of his friends were sometimes taken. Another boy took the controller to free other captives in this building. There was no logic in doing a half job. There had to be a way to protect the boys, after I left. "Does any of you know where they store the weapons?" The smallest boy walked over to a wall and pointed, his brain still too jumbled to think straight. I spent a few minutes talking to the boys, and let them get to know me. Soon the boy with the controller came back, with more of his freed brethren. The controller pulled back a wall, and I found twenty four guns, holsters and extra power cells. I took out a harness, and placed it on the first boy I had met. The gun was checked, and placed in the holster. "This is not for you to shoot people, just to protect yourselves. I have to go soon, but I will be back, and get this place running right. Look into my mind, and see what will happen." This took much longer than necessary, I thought. The tears on some, told me that they saw for the first time how they had been exploited. I hope my Earth values did not fuck-up this base and their culture. Most of the boys stayed at my insistence, and only two went with me to the other apartment. Three men died quietly, and twelve more boys were freed. One boy was in very bad shape, and would die, if not given medical attention soon. The boy was like Chris, a Mordis, he looked about five, but was probably nine or ten. Two of his lower arms were broken, and it looked as if he had a concussion. The way things worked, Twise, the man to loose his upper body, regulated who could, and couldn't, use the facilities. His men stood guard over the medical door. These I did not kill, but they collected a kick and a punch to the sternum. They only carried a club between them, and did not deserve to die. The little boy was set on the table, and I gave the instructions to the machine directly. The child was sedated, and a larger and more complicated sphere, diagnosed and treated his injuries. The data coming from the machine told a gruesome tale. I was sorry that I had killed the three men so easily. The child had two cracked vertebrae, two broken lower arms, a serious concussion, a torn bowel, eight broken fingers, serious internal damage to his reproductive organs, and his penis had been ripped out. I did not know how the tyke had lived through this torture. I stayed beside the bed and waited. The two boys stood down the hall, to give me a warning, if I needed it. The machine moved the sedated body to an optimum position and various maladies were treated. I saw the whip marks on his back and bruising over his entire body. I held his little hand, as the machine turned him over, and treated his ripped anus and bowel. Three and a half hours later the machine had done everything it could do. The broken bones were weak, but were knitted enough. He would heal with time. The vertebrae were fixed, as well as the pads on both sides of them. The bowel was completely repaired. His penis had been ripped out, by its roots, and in doing so, destroyed the testicles. The sex organs could not be fixed by the machine, due to a pact made with all the males of the Tandra civilization. A male family had only one member producing sperm, and the rest were wives without penis or testicles. This condition was not to be remedied, ever. The wounds had been cleaned, and skin had been encouraged to grow over in the cavity. I knew that the machine on Earth, was more advanced, but would be no better able to help the child. The former sex slaves looked at me in wonder. I had long since stopped trying to hide the qualities, that Nova had bestowed on me. These children would one day grow up to the same age of the men I had killed. There had to be a way to break the cycle, and bring about a moral society. Tandra society in my mind had different morals than what a Human would have. They were just and fair, within their context. The only way to bring the society here, into balance, was to reintroduce women back into the whole. The women were dominant, not by choice, but by being the only ones that would get things done. I though of a way to help each of us, and start the process of recovery. Walking with the unconscious child cradled in my arms. I was followed closely by seventy, mostly armed boys. We approached the formally secure hangar. The door opened at my command to Carlton. The boys saw the derelicts for the first time in their lives. Rows on rows of gleaming craft. Some had hull plates removed, others were just frames. There were ships of every purpose the mind could conger. Nearby racks, held both new and damaged parts, ready for a workman's hands. The little boy was placed into Carlton's care, while I worked with the others. "I want to have a safe place for all of you." I said as I ticked off the points, with my fingers. "Each of you needs an education, and I need a navy. You understand the first idea. The second means that you all have to learn how to repair ships and machinery. All of you were abused. When you get older, you may want to do the same thing, as what was done to you. I am here to stop this from happening. I will bring this base back to the way it should be, and each of you will have a happy fruitful life. In return for this effort, you will man the ships, and begin to make a safe place for each of you and your descendants." There were many questions, and the first was my name. "I am Fleet Admiral, Henry Buchanan." The reply was partially because Carlton was close, and partly, because they would need somebody to look up to, when the novelty of their freedom, changed into the reality of regimentation of their regular lives. "Carlton has been looking over the ships that we have here, and picked out the ones that could be of help, and which can be used for parts." There was in fact, many ships with working AIs, and most were in better condition than Carlton, but I would not abandon him now. When the other ships were powered up, and connected to the shore power, I had to get the loyalty and commitment of all the intelligences. Carlton had explained, that I was a Fleet Admiral. My requests met special coding, that had been put into their basic programming. As it came into play, they found that they were now in my Navy. Most were happy to be put back to work. Carlton told his peers of my objectives for them, and the base. The AIs were to train all boys in shipboard life. Carlton uploaded all the naval regulations for them to follow. I had to caution the AIs, that the recruits were much too young to be in the navy, and to just follow the spirit of the document. This was not a new technique, for this was the usual way it was done with children. The boys were soon to find out, how rigorous it was, especially since, I instructed the AIs to treat the boys like agressive females. There was enough supplies found, to feed and protect all of them, for a few months. Recyclers were not nice, but they would stretch the available supplies even longer if need be, or until I could return. Looking over to the side, I found a little four armed black boy walking on sixes, down the ramp. Carlton must have talked to him, because he was only shy and scared, and not frightened stiff. One of the boys offered him his help, in a rare form of understanding, and both walked over to me. I stooped down and talked to the brave little fellow. "Hello, little guy. It is nice to see you up and around. The bad men that hurt you, will not do that again. Would you like to see the ships?" I held out my hand, and he was forced to walk on his back feet, for the first time in front of others. I talked to the other boys, about my expectations of them. They were very gung-ho now, but reality would eventually set in. The child beside me was getting tired, and I bent down and held him to me. The fear he projected, almost made me stagger. The boys told him, that he was now safe, but I got him to look into my mind. He was too stressed to see that well. His nine or so years, had not groomed him for the task, and he seemed a bit developmentally challenged. I continued my talk, because I had to eventually leave, and the boys had to be cared for. An amusing thought entered my mind. Little boys complaining, because they had to take baths, more than what was absolutely needed, and in their minds, it was never needed. Carlton found a way to get my communicator in sync with the shield, and did so. Mom could now be called safely, and I dreaded this in a way. She was seriously pissed, that I had not left the base yet, and not even acquired any of the fuel we needed. She read my plans for the base, and the people living in it. I became the hub of a multi-channel call, as Carlton then the rest of the ships, gave what information they needed. Mom with her usual speed, gave the AIs much more specific orders for the children, and the base. Carlton was ready to leave, so I said my good byes. The little boy had gone from fright, to being unable to leave me. Four hands are difficult to remove. He clung tenaciously to my neck and arm. Earth might be a better place for him anyway. He had gone through an ordeal, that would leave even an adult damaged. I entered the ship and held the boy, as our view changed to the bright glow of the sun, just outside of the dome. Carlton claimed that the program he used, would work easily, and he was absolutely right. We stayed a few metres above the ground, and moments later, we were in the external storage area. The boy's eyes gazed on the display in wonder. To tell the truth, I felt the same way. Carlton's tractors reached through the deep pools of dust, and placed the ingots I desired into his hold. His report also told me of platinum, gold, iridium, palladium, and rhodium. There were metals of every description. Large piles of iron, nickel, copper, and mountains of aluminium. All of this, and it was thrown in casual piles, as if it had little or no value. Tandra technology used very little metals, so these piles could be next to worthless to them. There was extra room, so I pigged-out, and took what looked good. When seeing all this wealth, I knew that there was other refineries throughout the system and similar piles of almost worthless metals. Mom was talking again and still pissed about us being tardy. She relayed my image, and for the first time in a while, I could see my family. They were giving me shit, almost as bad as Mom had. They did hold their feelings back some, when they saw the tiny frightened boy in my arms. Chris and the rest cried, as they read in my mind, what had happened to him. While the ship was busy loading, I found the boys name, it was the equivalent of e376fbu. Nobody had ever loved him enough, to even give him a name. The only other person I knew that had that many serious injuries, and lived, was a friend by the name of Roger LaPoint. He now lived back in Maine with his family. "I think an important person like you, needs a name. I have a friend that had both arms taken off, had a broken back, and lost a leg. He did this to save his friends. What do you think of Roger for a name?" I got no reply, for his mind was still confused, and he had not even understood half of the references, that I mentioned to him. It was very hard to understand his life, for I would have to go into Hell, to see it. The ship was now loaded, and I told Mom that we were leaving. Mom sent back the course, for us to follow. Carlton was a little miffed, at being told the course, by a civilian ship, but did as he was asked. We rose at only three metres per second squared, because the inertial compensator was not working yet. I knew that Roger could not take this acceleration, and that of the lunar gravity at the same time. "Carlton cut back on your acceleration twenty percent, if you will." "Yes, ma'am." Seconds later, an alarm went off, and Carlton made violent evasive manoeuvres. Mom's voice came through, "Get lower. The weapons are on automatic." Carlton had done his best, while I held Roger to my chest. There were no harnesses, because they were never needed on a Tandra vessel. A violent flash ahead, proved that the weapons still worked, even if it was on debris orbiting the moon. I had to know more. The suit, yes. I would not put Roger down, so I held him tight, and energised the suit. My mind remembered some procedures I thought I would never need. A black void appeared, then a curved surface representing the moon. Targets appeared, of the ranging stations, and the weapons platform. A line appeared and touched the equivalent of a radar installation. The station remained as Carlton weaved and danced, avoiding the bolts that flew at us. Why didn't he fire, when he had the chance? The problem was quickly answered. I was to authorize the use of weapons, and even choose the targets. Carlton would do this, only if I was incapacitated. I remembered the broken ground close to the base. If we could get there, we would be much safer. We momentarily gained altitude, and I directed the weapon to fire on the weapons platform in a high ridge. A much more brilliant flash was instantly dampened by Carlton, and I saw that the entire ridge was gone. The ridge was half the size of the base on Earth. What the hell were we shooting with? The answer came up with a chart of all weapons, their variable yield, and variety of course dynamics. All the weapons used a multi dimensional distortion, and would cause untold havoc if they were set to maximum. I shot three more times, with a much lower yield. The last time a shield momentarily stopped it, and the weapon continued to fire. I visualized a new course, that would follow the terrain better, and let it go. The platform died in a brilliant flash of light. Hydrogen bombs were the only thinking I could compare these weapons to, and they were freely available to a minor ship like the one I was in. What would the large war craft have? More weapons were coming to bear on us, and we desperately needed to loose altitude. The compensator was a double edged sword. If it had been functional, we would have been targeted by many more weapons, as soon as we gained enough altitude. Our low altitude allowed us to only get into the fringe of some of the defences. Now we were only able to achieve a few gravities or Roger would certainly die from the strain. A sound of multiple warnings told me that we would now die. I thought of the girls, and the world fell apart. ------- An untold time later, I slowly regained consciousness, and felt a pain in my chest. Some ribs must be broken. Roger lay on my chest, and his head had probably done the breaking. I tried to reacquire the display, but I could find nothing, for the command circuits to work on. Roger's little chest was raising and falling, so he was still alive. The ship was now listing. The bow was pointing up at about twenty degrees and the port side by half of that. Only some of the dinnerware was scattered across the floor. "Carlton, report." After a few seconds, I repeated the request, but there was no reply. "Mom! Mom!" shit what is wrong, I can't get either of them. "Mom, Carton." I tried to get up, but found I was locked down to the chair's automatic responses. "Release." I stood up, in the light gravity, and nearly stumbled. I tried to find my centre of gravity. Roger was still holding tightly, even in his sleep. After checking the suit, I knew that the hull had not been breached. I deactivated my shield, and smelt scorched metal and ceramic, in a hot dust laden atmosphere. Audible and mental alarms were going off all through the ship. Getting Roger off me was sheer torture to my ribs. I placed his body on the floor, and my trained hands went over every centimetre of him. His left upper arm was now broken, and I did not know of any internal damage. The manual medical section, I think, had never been opened since the facility was installed. A portable diagnostician and a small manual bone knitter still worked, because they were charged, when the ship was powered up. I scanned the child and found nothing more than his original problems, and the newly broken arm. I pulled the small arm trying to get it into place, and turned on the other machine. The arm straightened out and was placed with more precision, than I possessed. A humming told me that it was working. I stayed beside Roger, in case he woke up early, and started to fight the machine. The machine stopped ten minutes later. The sled and its cargo had been put in the hold, and the extra shield generators were stowed here. One had been kept for Roger, and I put this around the boy, and a cleat in the floor, while I used the medical devices on myself. Moments later, I could breath better, and knew the bones would heal right. Walking to the stern, I pulled down an overhead door, that had been closed for more years than I wanted to think. Pushing on, I found a maze of small crystals, some of which flashed and others that didn't. All the training I had, always showed ones that glowed, to various amounts. I looked around the unfamiliar setup, and looking for the manual diagnostic section. This was a lot different than the small craft I studied, or even the insides of Mom. Mom had somehow taken the fire directed at us, and we all had gone down together. If Carlton had not perished, then I might be able to get to Mom, and help her. That is if she had survived. Tears came to my eyes, as I thought of all the kindnesses she had bestowed on me. The long hours of idle talk, and the intense time we spent in training. There was no way she could be dead. Pulling myself together, I concentrated on the display, and how it must work. An hour later I found the section I was looking for. When activated, my vision displayed all the things it found wrong. Ten minutes was all it took, to render our death sentences. There was no way now, to get out without Carlton. The processor module was fried. The nearest replacement was millions of years in the past. The last chance was the manual controls, and when I sat in each of the seats I knew it was hopeless. Each of the stations relied on more of the computer being active, than what was now the case. I retreated to the floor, and looked on Roger. He would have been dead by now, in the lunar base. At least here, he would die with someone that could love him. It was better to go down fighting though. I thought of my girls, and cast out to them. I pictured the base, then each of their lovely faces and smiles. I could picture some of the more intimate moments, as I held each to me as I stroked their hair. I could feel nothing returning. Sweat was on my brow from the effort I put into the send. I gently woke the boy up, and he jumped on me, and almost choked my breath off. "We are going for a walk on the surface. You have a suit, and I can get some things from the hold, to make our life easier. The other ship may need our help. Do you think you can help me?" Roger smiled this time. He really seemed to thrive on adversity. We left through an emergency manual airlock. The main manual one was blocked by rock and debris. I dug around the external hatch, to the hold, and eventually got the door open. The tractor beams had failed, and all the metal was at this end. I threw ingots of lithium out, and Roger took them further away, and stacked them. After removing hundreds of blocks, I ran into the other metals. Rather than move the heavy blocks, even in the relatively weak gravity, I left them there, and worked around them. The sled came into view. It's frame was rated for three tonnes, but it was severely crushed now. My equipment was securely stored still, and had been missed by the avalanche of loose metal. The computer modules faired just as well. The large glowing processor, and data crystal of the mad computer, suddenly gave me an idea. I called Roger in, to keep an eye on him, and asked him to take the recycler and the supplies out, for our use later. My mind went through all the inventory I was supposed to get, and the extra that I also took. There were five different processor modules, besides the mad AI. I took all of them into the ship, with the rest of our equipment. Roger could tell that I was happily excited, and joined in. From what I could tell, even the smallest was much more powerful than the one that the ship originally had. All the information I had on these units, and the conclusion of a test unit, pointed to the smallest crystal. A small alteration in timing brought the unit into the same ballpark as the original. I went back to the stern, and inserted the larger module into the original base. Now I initiated the repair module. This was the iffy part. I had no idea if the new module could be incorporated into the present system. I went back to Roger and got him some dried food and water. The boy loved this emergency food, better than what food he could scavenge in the base. I wanted to talk, to get an understanding of how Roger survived, but I was too tired. The repair and the damage to my system made me more sleepy than usual. I laid down on the chair, and Roger climbed on top of me for his rest. I cuddled then kissed him. He fell asleep within moments, and I followed soon after. My dreams were troubled, all of the girls were trying to reach me, but Susan tried the hardest. She pulled me to her for a kiss. The embrace turned into something more, and she threw her leg over me and started to milk the seed from me. With a final squeeze of her cunt she came strongly, and this caused me to spray into her. In another dream later, Mom and Secric came to me. Secric played with my cock to get another sample, but sat on my cock instead, her talented vaginal muscles sucked the essence from my body. Mom orgasmed through her link to Secric, and the whole room shook from the release she had. I was happy to be able to please my girls. Later still Amy sat on me, trying desperately to have my baby. I held her tight to me as I stroked into her. Her little body shook as the orgasms travelled through her small frame. I continued to stroke into her, and her orgasms never stopped. The sensations were too much for her, and she finally collapsed on me. My cock still firm in her little cunt. I woke up with this happy thought, and a firm erection. Something was odd for my cock was still being milked. Opening my eyes, I found that Roger had moved to get my cock into his ass. Looking into his mind, I found that it was very open and accessible, almost like Mom. He needed me desperately, and knew in my mind, that I liked boys like him too. The only love on the moon came from members of his own gender. His mind was almost as easy to get into as my own. The minor and simple thoughts running through his consciousness were easily read. The predominant thought, that ran through his happy mind, was that he had found somebody to love like some of his friends had been able to do. I knew what he would do next, and I knew what he did as we slept. We were so close we were almost one person. His small hands came up and caressed the long stubble on my face. Even the hairs in my nose pleased him. He gave me an Earth smile, and sniffed the air around me, before playfully licking my skin. His hips only slowing down but never stopping. He was in love, but this was the strongest love I ever knew of. I would always be his, as he would always be mine, I felt. I had to kiss his little head. The feelings he felt coursed through my veins as well. Weeks ago I remember Kitten warning me not to delve too deeply into Amy, for fear of bonding so deeply, that we could never part. I think in this case Roger's need had overcome my own, and we were now bonded firmly. To what depth I did not know yet. From talks with Mom, I did not think it was that deep. There was no way I could blame him. I was the first person that ever showed love for him, in a society that only used him. The feeling he was giving my cock was excruciatingly slow and sensuous. He expressed his love by looking into my mind, and seeing what I liked. His ass went up and down, he flexed his abdominal muscles a few times, then repeated the procedure. I remained still as the tyke did all the work. Every third or so stroke he would wait and have his little dry orgasm, then continue. I felt the small nerve bundles around his ass and in his bowels, twitch as the orgasms ran through him. Sometimes he would stop and concentrate on the nerve bundles, at the opening. They would be stimulated, by the feeling of the unaccustomed pubic hair. He sat up and looked so lovingly into my eyes, I thought I could fall through, into the deep pools. It felt so good for his small clit, like appendages to wander through my hair. Each strand brought more sensations and he had another orgasm. Roger was getting tired, but he would never quit till I was satisfied. Never before had he even felt these sensations. Others had masturbated, by using his bowels for their pleasure, but he had only felt pain and frustration. I took my fingers and licked them, before reaching down and stroking his little urethra, first on one side then on another. This was the best he could get, for his penis had been ripped out. The feelings were so intense, that his body almost vibrated on my cock. He came and came. The emotions I felt through him, made me unload for the third time, as I hugged him tight. "I love you little Roger. You have taken a big step, when you bonded with me, but I would have it no other way now. I don't know what I will say to my wives, if we ever get back. I just hope they will share." "I luuv yah tooo Heenery," he whispered verbally. "You talked, you are the first Tandra other than Secric, to ever talk to me with your voice. Thank you, thank you sweetheart." We got up, and I knew that we both had to use the facilities. His anus closing to keep safe, its contents. I energized his suit, then my own. We went outside the ship, and into the ever-present light. We pissed into a vacuum through our suits. The streams vaporized immediately, in the vacuum. Our dump had a similar effect. Roger laughed, as his eyes beheld a large load of sperm, leaving ahead of his stool. On a more serious note, I felt the urge to climb the walls to see how far away Mom was. I knew, that it was very far, and I might get my head removed by the activated defences. We went inside, and I used the hand cleanser on Roger and then myself. I made my boy his breakfast, and ate a little myself, before checking on the repair. A display, told me that it would need another hour at least. Thinking of Mom gave me an idea. I went back to the surface, and found Roger beside me. I guess this is the way it will have to be. I climbed back into the hold, and got the tiny drone. It flew up and scanned the horizon. I could see no sign of Mom, from almost sixty metres up. To keep us busy, I took out all of our supplies, and put the metal back aboard, leaving an aisle way, to the burnt out tractor units, then closed the hatch. It was about time to see what was happening to the computer. My internal display came partially on, as we passed through the airlock. I raced up to find the main processor module doing its own routines now. The diagnostic software told me that there had been too much memory damage for the unit to work at its peek. The memory modules which I had racks of, would have to work. I remember even having small units that might work. I went to the door and found my shadow nearby. "It was not always necessary to be within a metre of me," I said. He felt crushed, and I told him he had to get used to it, because he would have to help me now, and again. Sometimes this would take me away from him. The memory units were tested against the burned units, and were found to have eight times greater capacity. They would have to do. The system was made ready, and the modules installed. The repair procedures were run to insure compatibility. The layout of the system altered even before my eyes. Some of the crystals migrated further apart, while one moved down. There was no movement for a few moments then the processor started up again. There was a request for data, and I was asked to come closer. My mind was suddenly seized, and felt as if I was sucked out a hole in the ship, to the vacuum of space, before I collapsed. I felt a tugging, and turned to see a relieved boy, trying to pull me from the enclosure. Looking at the unit. I had no thoughts to what had happened or why. I went down to the main floor and had to hug Roger to reassure him. "I am fine. Don't worry." "I lub ya nebber leeb me." I smiled at his attempt, and loved him even more for his efforts. "You are mine. You may have to leave for a while, or I may have to, but I will always come back." Roger was beginning to accept the situation, I hoped. The ship started to do odd things. The lights and gravity changed. Static came to my brain. The ship trembled and the old display screen flashed on, then off. The table folded itself into the floor, taking the empty plates and goblets. Then all was quiet. Roger had jumped into my arms at the first oddity to happen, and stayed there as he watched things come about. ------- Chapter 30 "Unit 4BVFG392KASUY76M3PSD433 reporting for duty." Roger and I were both startled. The voice was definitely masculine. I did not even think that the Tandra made computer AIs that way. The voice was even familiar in some way." "Check ship integrity, and all systems," I said. That should take a while, and allow me to gather my wits. Almost instantaneously the reply came, and a written synopsis came to my screen. There was a breach in the lower hold, that could not be repaired with the materials onboard. There were many small system failures, and they were being repaired now. I asked, "What happened to Carlton?" "There was severe damage to his personality, and the usable portion was incorporated with the Master Unit, to rebuild the intelligence." "What Master Unit?" "You are the Master Unit." No wonder I was rendered unconscious. The computer had sucked my brain dry, for its template. "Do you have all of my memories?" "Yes, Sir." Well there was an improvement already. "How long till we are able to start." I would not have to be so specific now. The computer could follow my thinking already. "Some tractors in the hold have failed. If we travel at a very cautious rate, we can start in about seventy minutes." "Do you have full access to our recent action?" "No sir. The modules and their backups have partially failed. I have your perceptions and a message from the computer aboard Mom." "Tell me about it." "The trajectory of the crash will be outside the range of combatant's weapons. The hull was seriously breached in five places. All of the defences are down and inoperable. Energy supplies are still good. There is an eighty three percent probability of recovery, if the crash is not too severe. The main computer also reports that the AI processor has been seriously damaged in the attack." I felt shock at the news. The beautiful ship and personality were gone. All this waste, to get enough fuel to find a home, that may not exist now. We could have got the modules fixed the slow way and bought enough lithium. Roger patted my face and gave me a kiss. The other side was that I would never have met Roger and he would be dead by now. I just held the boy tight, and cried that I had lost my mother again. The ship shook as the stern and starboard raised us to an even keel, I knew that my mourning would have to wait till we were safe. "The ship is ready sir." "Send out some drones to plot the best route, to get out of range of any weapons. Employ all available cover to the course you choose." "Acknowledged sir." I saw through the eyes of many drones. The maze of rough terrain would help us immensely. I remembered the last voyage and added, "If you see a high probability threat, and consider that I would be unable to assess in time, you have my permission to engage." "Acknowledged sir." It took us almost thirty hours to get beyond the range of the weapons. Another three brought us behind an old crater. During the voyage I came to the conclusion that the AI should continue as Carlton, mostly in memory of the last entity to call this hull home. At least now, the name fit the obvious gender. Looking through the optics on the ship I saw the Earth. A large storm was over the Pacific Ocean, and thin cloud cover hung over my home. Time to tell them that we are alive I thought. "Carlton open communication with the main Earth base." The old screen displayed all of the girls. They were shocked, amazed, happy, and stunned. "Hello, girls. I am sorry I am late, but we had problems and it took time to get them straightened out." Susan recovered first, "Most of us thought that you were dead. Nova has a picture from a probe of Mom's. She crashed into a crater wall. Oh, I am so happy, that you are alive." The others cut in and said about the same thing. Secric was happy for my safety, but I knew she would miss Mom an awful lot. She and Mom had been to all intents one person, with Secric able to interface with the sensual side. I told them about the damage to the ship and Blue pointed out two important points. The ship would be visible if it tried to come close to Earth, and definitely if it came home. The second, was that the lithium would react with the oxygen in the atmosphere of Earth. We discussed the possibility of coming up with a small ship, and transfering the cargo. None of the ships had a military screen. "Carlton does this ship have the ability to become invisible to light and absorb radar waves, that the Earth people employ?" "This hull has the ability, but many projectors are damaged and need replacements. Shall I order them?" "No. Do you have an idea where we can get or manufacture the projectors?" "No Sir." Pausing to think, I now knew where some are. "Carlton plot a safe course to where Mom crashed. Perhaps she has some." We gained altitude, and within an hour, we settled beside Mom. Walking to Mom's hatch, I said with a cracked voice, "Mom, we are here. Will you let us in, please?" There was no reply, but the entrance opened. If it didn't, there was no problem, for a ragged hole almost six by twelve metres gaped beside it. I walked to the centre of the ship, and opened the hatch to Mom. Lights flashed over most of the walls. I stepped in and found the anti gravity off. My steps were very careful, as I went to Mom. The crystal was dark, and I closed my eyes with a sob. I came forward, and just looked as I had done with my parents, before they were finally laid to rest. There were only a few active memory units, and for some reason, I took them, and Mom's burnt our processor. The only pieces I would ever have of her. The computer was moderately functional. I had a few parts that it could use. I found where the spare projectors were stored. There were more than enough to complete Carlton's hull. Mom even had some tractor projectors, that could be used to keep my cargo from shifting. With a tight beam disintegrator, I took a ragged piece of Mom's hull and fused it over the gaping wound, in the hold of the pinnace. The projectors took less than two hours to install and test. I installed the modules into Mom's computer, and did what little I could for the computer, before directing it to protect the ship, and await a repair team. I would not like to see humans, who knew nothing of what they were doing, pawing through the corpse of a beautiful lady. We slowly gained altitude, and the acceleration substituted for our gravity. Roger was very worried about his welcome, and wanted to insure his position. He crawled into my lap for comfort, and lowered his small face and started to suck the head of my cock. He had gotten the information from my subconscious mind, and knew how my body differed from his. I knew that he desperately wanted to do this. The only love he knew of was male only love, and I hoped desperately that my wives would accept him as I did. "You don't have to do this. I will love you regardless." "I neeb to." I was of two minds, in this matter. My Earth ethics warred against the need to help a wounded Tandra boy. Logic told me, that the best course, if not the only course, was to let the boy continue. He read my assent, and he climbed higher up and slowly let the saliva soaked head sink into his depths. All the small hard nubs gave Roger great pleasure. He controlled the pace, and again started to orgasm. He was able to continue after only a short time to recover, and do it all again. When the time came, we both orgasmed and he fell asleep. My cock was expelled and his anus hoarded its prize. The girls had been busy on various projects, and when Cloud and Moth came on the screen, they saw Roger quietly sleeping on my chest. Even from here, I could see some of the bias seeping into their minds, about an inferior person. They had almost completely accepted Chris, but a new one, would take time. The girls told me about all the work they did to get the base going, and how the older ones were fooling around, with other things. They even began to sound like siblings. Roger woke up in time to see the girls and a close view of Earth, as we approached the outer range of its atmosphere. The rest of the girls came online, as we started our approach. Chris had a nice meal ready for us. The older ones had a surprise, that I could not get out of them. The rest were ready to give themselves, because it had been a long time. The invisible pinnace stopped beside the mountain, and was immediately transferred inside. Carlton set down in Mom's old berth. The girls all ran to me, but slowed when they felt Rogers fear. I gave each a kiss, and made introductions, with him in one arm. Roger had never learned manners, and his deprived environment meant that his mental development would take a long time, before it caught up to his age. I caught sight of Secric as she hung back. I could see that she was terrified. A large portion of her mind, had stopped working, when Mom died. This was much worse than a parent or sister dying, for Mom was the only one in her life till recently, and still filtered lots of the external data into her. I walked to her, and held her tight, as she let go again, and cried on my shoulder. "Secric, you know that I love you, just like everybody else here. I just want you to know that the pain will lessen, but never leave us. In time, the pain will become bearable." We sat, and had a very nice meal. Roger would only sit on my lap, and eat from my hand. There was a bit of jealousy starting to rear its head. I explained how this was only temporary to the rest, besides the gravity of Earth was six times stronger, than his home planet. In some ways, the meal was a sombre affair, now that Mom was gone. Later we walked back to the ship, and I introduced Carlton to my family. The matter transmitter put all the lithium into storage, and I placed the other metals before Susan. We had seven thousand kilograms of gold, twelve of platinum, eight of iridium and six each of rhodium and palladium. Susan knew about gold, and I had to tell her the ratio of the cost of the others, some I had no idea of their relative value. She smiled thinking how rich we were now. "There is a communication for Henry Buchanan, from Carl." "Transmit it, please." The call would be transferred to the computer, and my voice would take the place of my thoughts, and be sent, just as the girl's thoughts had been sent to me on the moon. "Hello, Carl. How are you?" "Fine, fine. I need to talk to you. Is it all right if I come over for a few minutes?" "Sure, come right over." "I wonder what he wants? He is not usually abrupt. It must be something bad I think." Susan said, "You told him that you could not discuss the situation. I think you should have a deeper look, to see what is driving him. We are eventually going to have to have allies, and I can think of nobody that would keep our secret better. The way he was talking, I think he will be up here soon." "Yes you are right. Why don't you get on your shield, and we can go over to the house. Dog could use a run, outside for a change," I said as I patted his warm head. "I think I will try this trip, without any clothes." I looked at her and found a barrier up against me finding out, this way. "It will be a chilly walk. I saw almost a foot of snow on the ground. The guys monitoring the satellite might get a thrill out of this, if they are looking the right way." "Roger, I have to meet a person. This is one of those times when I have to leave you." I looked at Chris for some help. "Chris will look out for you, while I am gone." There was no way to reason with him, for his mind went back the way he lived, in the other base. He cried and thrashed around, in my grip and even more, when he was in Chris's caring arms. I felt very bad, leaving him, much harder than it should be for any other person. Was this what the bonding did to both of us? Susan brought me over to the side with Dog, and said, "House," and we were in the lower level of my house. I looked around in amazement, and noticed nothing different. "This is fantastic. I see that you girls have been very busy when I was away on business." Susan could see that I was bothered by Roger's continued crying, and the link was actually giving me some pain. Dog went to the door, and Susan let him out. My head hurt and my heart did to. I sat in a chair trying to cope, and she got each of us a change of clothes. I was so used to the generator, that I wanted to leave it on. After sitting back down, Susan sat on the table and slid over in front of me. She pulled my head down and rested it on her thigh. Her hands delicately stroked my hair, and rubbed my shoulder and back. It felt so good, to be loved by Susan. Her soothing thoughts helped take away some of the pain, and anguish I felt. When I found that she was sore from the uncomfortable position, I got up and wrapped my arms around her, and let all my feelings of love flow through to her. I could feel that she had erected a barrier to protect me, from Roger's uncontrolled emotions. We made coffee, trying to make it coincide with Carl's arrival. The computer told us of his ETA, and I wondered how it did this without Mom at the controls. "Mom did quite a few things before she left. I think she knew that she might never make it back." "I miss her so much. Not like a wife, but like her name says. She always had time to help and guide me." "We can get her back somehow. We have her memories and the processor." "What good are the crystals, when her body is resting in pieces on the moon. I do not know of any way to get her back here, and the repairs will be a horrendous job, without an AI's assistance. She may as well be dead." "Can't you fix her in the base there?" "The weapons are still active, and I have no way of knowing how to deactivate them. Next, I have to move almost four hundred thousand tonnes, across the moon's rough surface. I don't even have all the modules she needs." "You are forgetting that you also got the modules for manufacturing other modules. The parts you need, could be made. It is possible, that you could even improve the old lady." I saw the wreck in my mind. The gaping holes in her sides. And the wounded and burnt out sections in her brain. The last words I said to the computer was to protect herself, and a repair party would come. "That's it." I said as I ran to her. "What is?" "I will erect a shield over and under her. We can take all the parts to her, and get her fixed. Then I can put the modules back, and she will be able to start some of her own work on herself. If I have to go to the lunar base for parts, I can just fly around any of the weapons." "That is wonderful darling. When can we start?" This brought me down fast. We did not have enough trained people to get her repaired, when we had all the other things to do. If we concentrated just on the base, we would have a very good manufacturing centre, to support our efforts. "We need more people awakened, and this means more food. We have too many important things to do, without shopping and handling the sanitation facilities. Do you think we can start some gardens to grow our own food? This will supplement the purchases we will have to make?" "I can do that, but I should ask my mother. She knows the most, of anybody I know." "It would be good to just bring her in on the secret, and let her do this the way she wants, but I know her back and arthritis is too much for her to manage, even when sitting some days." Susan jumped up this time. "Why don't we ask her? The medical facilities here could cure all the medical problems. They are sympathetic to disadvantaged people, and they still feel deeply grateful for everything you have done for them. They will never forget the way you saved them from getting killed." "What if we are wrong?" "We can look and see first. Mom and dad would soon want to retire. Their health is going downhill, and the store is getting to be too much for them to handle. In our old country, the parents live with the children, when they marry. You just happen to be getting their favourite daughter. They will watch our children, and try to do what they can, to help us succeed." "That all hinges on them accepting the Tandra, and wanting to stay here, because this will be a full time job. Most of all, I am worried that they will not get so mad. that they leave, when they find I have so many wives. Some that are so young, that it will look like a crime. Then there is the fact that Roger would be my wife, to all intents and purposes, till he begins to understand that he can still be a kid. Chris and he, would not be my choice of people to greet your parents." Susan did some heavy thinking of her own, and countered with, "When they get to understand the Tandra, I know that they will accept them. There are lots of jobs to do, that could keep Chris and Roger away for a while. The younger girls can be looked on as children. Don't forget, that there are very few Tandra here, and they would stick together." "Speaking of Roger, I know you were shielding me, but I hardly feel his emotions now." We both looked into the base, and found Chris licking his clits, and something being gently pushed into his bowels. He was happy with all the orgasms he was having. "What was it, that Chris was using on Roger?" "Ah, oh... One of my toys." I kissed her for being so thoughtful, and it really paid off this time. The computer said, "Carl will be here in four point five minutes." I looked at Susan and said, "Carl is in the same boat as your parents. Let's look in his head, and see if it would be safe for him to know. We need somebody to buy food and other supplies." Susan straightened her clothes, and looked in a mirror to fix her face. "I think the man is trustworthy. Let's see if that is the case." I composed myself trying to dampen the glow or aura, that others instinctively saw in me. Carl came to the door, and kicked snow away from the threshold before knocking. I opened the door, and welcomed him in. "I am sorry Carl, for being such a poor host. I did not clean the walk or plough the driveway. The only think I can say in my defence, is that I have been very busy." He was a little put out, because his truck could get stuck in the snow, but he would refuse to say anything about it. "It is ok. I came here to talk about another thing." "What is that Carl?" I asked as I offered him a seat. "What do you know about all the fighting on the moon?" "How did you know that?" I asked quickly. He could see, that I was very concerned now. "It has been on all the news broadcasts, night and day since the nuclear explosions were seen there. Hell, people even saw it in bright daylight. The military and government don't know what to do, so they are running around giving conflicting orders. Where the hell have you been?" "As I said, I was busy. I did not read the papers, or watched TV. I haven't even looked at my e-mail, in a long time." "Besides the squabble on the moon, what is bothering you?" "I will lay my cards on the table. I have always thought of you as a friend, if not, my best friend. I don't want Earth to be invaded by your friends, and I want you to stop helping them." I laughed out loud, more than I had in years. Susan was more of a diplomat, and hid her smile, behind her hands. Carl was getting madder by the moment, and I had to pull myself together. "I am sorry for laughing at your statement. It is just too incredulous, to even consider." I looked at Susan and got her nod of approval for Carl. "What is so funny about it? Those explosions were not thrown at humans yet, but they could be." I composed myself a little more. "That is where you are wrong, Carl. They were shooting at me, and I was shooting back." He just looked at me with his mouth open. Nothing was clear in his brain. It seemed I had dropped a chaos bomb. I got up, and poured three cups of coffee, and got the sugar for Carl. This would give him time to overcome his addled wits. "You got me there, asshole. I took it hook, line, and sinker. Where were you then?" "I was helping some friends, get some of their supplies, and an automatic defence mechanism, started to fire on me. I was shot down, and a dear friend took much of the fire, to save me. She is still up there, waiting for me to come back, to rescue her." I sipped the hot coffee, while he went into his chaotic state again. "That can't be. You are human." "I am human. It is just that they need some Human assistance. Look, Carl, if your ass was hanging out to dry, would you rather have me come after you, or someone in our government?" "What were you doing there?" He came back with. "Actually it was three things. The first was, to get enough fuel so we could take a trip, to find out what happened to their planet, after all these years. The second, was to shut down a rogue artificial intelligence, that had been shooting down all the message pods, and lastly, to pick up some badly needed parts, for the base here." "There is a base; on Earth? Are we getting invaded?" "Three hundred thousand years ago the first homo sapiens sapiens walked this planet. More than two million years before that, the Tandra had settled in, to made some machines, and move on. At that time, they altered the apes inhabiting this planet, by giving them some of their DNA. Anyway, the hybrid race helped build the machines. And after all that time, some of them were able to sit at a kitchen table, sip good coffee, and discuss history, because they forgot everything that they knew, at that time." Carl went back into his incredulous state. I got up, and turned the TV on. The announcer was pointing at a slow moving vehicle winding its tortuous path over some broken ground. Susan spoke for the first time. "Carlton doesn't move too fast from here. Do you think we should introduce the two?" "That is an idea. I saw that he was charging up before we left. Would the two of you like to go for a spin in my model 'T' I want to rebuild?" "Model 'T' what are you talking about?" "Carlton is over four million years old, and I think his previous owner dumped him." "Sure, why not, I can take a joke," he said partly from nervousness. "Carlton." I said, and thought, "would you be so good as to come over to my house, in a cloaked state. I have two guests, that would like to go for a short trip?" I was given the affirmative, but only Susan and I heard. We stepped outside with our winter coats and saw nothing, till a window of light materialized about two metres in front and above us. He must be within millimetres of the house and railing. Susan stood calmly, as she was levitated into the opening, and then I went. As I turned, I saw Carl with his mouth open even wider, alight right beside me. "Carlton, were you able to get the compensator working yet?" "No, sir. Blue is trying to find a replacement part in the control circuit." "Carlton would you be so kind as to speak in audio, so our guest could hear what is happening." "Yes sir," came loudly, and he corrected the volume. "No, sir. Blue is trying to find a replacement part in the control circuit." "Does the anti-gravity still work?" "Yes, sir." "Accelerate vertically at the maximum, that the anti-gravity can counter." "Understood sir." I could tell from my navigation system, that we had already begun. "Let me show you the ship. This is the command chair, but any will do. The covering and padding are gone, but I can get it recovered. Carlton would you take my coat, and place it in the control room?" I removed my coat, and it was taken from my hand. Susan was getting into the spirit of things, and took hers off, and just held it out the same way as I did. Carlton dutifully took her coat too. "Would you like Carlton to take your coat Carl?" "Ah... I'm fine." I sat in the chair, and brought up some visual details of our recent travels through the maze on the moon. Both Susan and Carl stood spell bound for a few minutes. I led them to the manual flight control. Here was the visuals of us, as we approached Mother. I saw myself walk out of the ship and disappear inside this one. "That is fake. I saw you naked, walking around in front of a model." "Carl have I lied to you before? Except for that time in the bar, when I knew the MPs were coming." "No, not that I know of," he said like a small boy. I walked over to the storage compartment, and brought out one of the two small white boxes. I put one over Carl's stomach and energised it. Stepping back, I brought my foot around quickly, and struck Carl in the side. He went flying sideways, and crashed into the table. Carl got up very angry and perhaps ready to hit me. "Carl, did you feel my foot hit you, or did you just feel yourself propelled across the room, and into the table?" "Ah just pushed, I guess," he said, as he calmed down a little. "Then I would say, that you had an invisible shield that protected you from my kick, and only allowed you to get pushed. It works in a vacuum and in poisonous environments. It has a rating, that will allow it to descend far enough to crush a sub. Another handy thing, is its ability to make the wearer invisible to light. It is not perfect, because it can be seen by radar and sonar. Pinch your skin, and you will find that it is a little thicker now." Carl did and a big smile covered his face. "Now feel around your head and face." Carl's hands traced the invisible barrier around his head. It stood out a few centimetres from his skull, and a good five centimetres in front of his face. He blew some air, and none bounced back." "How do I breathe through this thing?" "The suit takes your breath, and scrubs it. Your voice is transmitted through a device, that lets sound come back in. The shield recycles all that you need. I personally don't like the idea of my shit getting processed into nice wholesome food. McBuchanans will never likely happen with this suit. I dump my waste, but if I was really stuck, I think I would have to process it. We have both eaten a lot of gross stuff in our time." "There are many more things on this old boat to show you, but I do not want to overwhelm you any more than necessary," I said, with a big smile of my own. But there is one more thing that will absolutely make you love this Tin Lizzy. "Carlton would you please give us a picture on the main board of the area beneath your keel?" "Yes sir." The screen was the entire width of the interior of the hull, at eight metres by five metres high. The Earth was getting noticeably smaller. We were about nine hundred kilometres out, and accelerating at a steady twenty three metres per second squared, the max that the anti-grav would take. The terminator was almost over Lake Nipissing. Carl would have to drive home in the dark, or stay the night. "What do you think of the view? Not many of the old platoon get to see something like this." Looking into Carl's mind I knew he was hooked. He had been searching for one last challenge, and he would share it with his best friend. "It is beautiful. I never even hoped to make it here. How do I know any of this is true?" "I can show you," then to the ship, "Carlton would you reverse coarse please." "Yes sir." "It is getting dark now at home. Will you stay the night with us?" "Yes, I guess I can. I don't think the little lady will like it, but it is only for one night." Eighteen minutes later, we stopped at the same place and we all jumped out. I told Carl to keep the box with him for the moment. After getting some fresh coffee, I told Carl what I needed him for. "Carl, the base is very old, and pieces of it are failing all the time. I went on the mission to get some replacement parts. I think we can get the base up and running, but we do not have enough food. The sewage system is connected to a recycler. That portion does not function. There are only sixteen Tandra, and all but four are children. I want to awaken more, but I do not have the infrastructure to support them. That is where you come in. I would like you to purchase food and other supplies for us, so that I can learn enough to help repair the faulty systems. Do you understand my intent?" "Yes, I get supplies for your friends, while you go to school." "Basically that is correct. The base has many assets, but it is running on my money for the present. I can pay you a descent wage under the table, for your time and effort." "You don't have to do that. We are friends, and friends help one another." "Thanks, but I am not poor. Another thing you get is medical coverage and a free education." "It is my turn to thank you, but I have my own coverage for the family, and my employees. There is usually little time to follow up on more training." "Stand up for a minute Carl, and stay still." He did as I asked, and I brought out the diagnostician from the ship. I ran it over his body from head to toe. Susan looked at me and wondered what I was doing, till I opened my mind to her. She smiled and did some calls for me. "Thanks Carl. You have hardening of the arteries, the preliminary stages of diabetes, and a problem with your prostrate, that will eventually go cancerous." I hung my head at giving him the bad news. "How do you know?" "This device is over four million years old, and only a hand-held unit to boot. I have access to a newer unit, that can cure you within only a few minutes. This is the type of medical coverage I was talking about. I learned to be a physician of both Tandra and humans, in only a short time and I will match my knowledge against anyone you want to name." "I have the beginnings of a Navy, and I want you to help with the Army. The way I see things, is that the Tandra will continue to protect this system. We can help the people of Earth, or let them rot in their own shit. I plan to regain all of the Tandra sites in this system, and go for a trip to Alpha Centauri or another nearby star. If you want to go, you will have to get a few weeks off." "Weeks!" "Yes, we have to take a peek and then come home." "Count me in. When do I get to meet some of your Tandra?" Just as he said that, Amy and Topaz cautiously climbed the steps. They wore their panties and a nightdress for the sleep over. They had been warned what to do, and what not to do, by Susan. They walked over and bravely stood in front of Carl. "Carl, I would like to introduce a major portion of the Tandra population. This very lovely girl is Amy. She is a bit adventurous and headstrong at times." Amy hung her head in shame, and I had to tell her that Carl and I actually respected her bravery. "This other girl is Topaz. She is very smart, and can make a computer jump through a hoop." Both girls gave a Tandra smile, at my statements. "This gentleman's name is Carl. He is a friend, and would like to help me get the base running." The girls reached out and shook Carl's hand. The girls were strong by Earth standards, and they had quite a grip. Carl kept a straight face, and had a second look at the hands. He next, had a good look at their faces, and bare feet. "If you did not catch the idea, their smile looks like our grimace, so keep that in mind, when you meet them." Carl spoke for the first time to them, "I am very glad to meet you Amy and Topaz. You both have quite a handshake there." The girls giggled like all girls everywhere, but said nothing. "These girls do not speak." I felt Carl's instant sorrow. "They do have the ability to send their thoughts to others. Once they know you better, the pictures or ideas become much clearer." "Holy shit. Ah. Pardon me, ladies. It is not too often, that I am introduced to mind readers," he said apologetically. I told Carl, "Amy tells me, that you had a daughter the same age as Charles. She died soon after birth, and her name was Amy to." Carl sat down, and relived a portion of his history, that he would as soon forget. He had hoped that the anguish would have gone by now, but it reared its ugly head at times like this. He looked at the girls, and I could see as plain as day, without the benefit of reading his mind, that he wished he had these girls as his own daughters. Doris was barren, after the first birth, and both wished to have more. A girl especially, to complement their son. Without any coaching, both girls climbed into Carl's lap, and hugged him tight. Two big tears came to his eyes. And his big arms went around the girls to hold them tight. A minute later, I said, "Now you see why I am helping these people." His mind agreed, but his voice was not ready to say anything. Carl phoned Doris, and told her, he was staying the night, and wasn't too sure when he was going to be back tomorrow. Doris complained, because she would have to remove the snow from the front of her shop by herself, in the morning, and she had a rush order for a wedding dress. We talked well into the night, discussing what the Tandra needed. One of the surprising things Carl said, "The girls will have to meet people eventually. You say that their birthday suit, is the usual clothing. Doris could make them all clothes, but we all know how big her mouth is. I love that woman dearly, but that mouth of hers, has gotten her into a lot of trouble." Carl came up with the idea of taking all the sewage, that the transmitter collected, and to put it through the septic system of the house, or put it into a garden. Susan carried on with that idea. "I wanted my mom and dad to help with a garden. Perhaps one of you, can find a way to remove all the heavy metals, from the waste, and then it can be sterilized, and put into a garden in the base." Carl asked, "How are you going to sort through the list of people you need, to find the ones that can be trusted with this secret? I am amazed that you let me in on it." "The list is a good idea though." I said. "Then we can put names against our needs. If a person can do more than one thing, his name goes with each. The guys we served with, I trusted with my life. If they have not changed too much, we can see what they want, and perhaps we can sign them up." "Frank Turner is wasting away in a veteran's hospital in Texas. John Marks is just collecting a disability pension in a one room apartment in Louisiana. I guess, I was one of the lucky ones, to move here with you and get into business. My two brothers are doing well in Albany though." "You would do good, no matter where you were. John and Frank are just victims of the war. Why don't you get somebody to find out about the rest of our old company? Don't do it yourself. I don't want the people that are listening to all the calls, getting wind of anything." That night Carl tossed and turned in bed, thinking of what he had actually done, in volunteering to help me. He could loose his business, his family, and be thrown in jail. There would be no charges, just for helping some people, that needed all the help, they could get. The Tandra girls, he knew, were all alone in a gigantic base, and no father to look after them, or to help them with their problems. Amy or Topaz looked just the way he would hope his Amy, would have looked. Their soft brown eyes and soft hair, just begged to be cleaned and dressed in the best clothes, and sent to school with their friends. He was angry that their fathers cared so little for them. He would do a much better job, if he were just given the chance. Doris would have such joy to dress them in... The door quietly opened a little, and Carl saw two little girls, that only looked six silently pad into his room. They came up on both sides of him and pulled the covers back. Carl was shocked at this at first, but soon felt a cold chill that was not his. The girls climbed into bed, and took his arms and wrapped them around them, before pulling up the covers. They wiggled close and got comfortable. He was worried what would happen when Susan or Henry found them in his bed, then remembered the mind reading. They could look and see that he would never touch either of these darlings. He felt content now, as he had not felt in a long time. Then he felt that the girls were happy to have him close. I awoke when the girls had moved. It was as if my brain kept watch on all the girls, and would warn me if anything was wrong. I felt happy for Carl, and I could see that the girls liked him. The love they felt for him was the kind they reserved for their mothers. I knew that they are mine, and would never take another mate. Susan tossed in a dream, and I snuggled close, and held her till she quieted. The next morning, I sat at the table drinking a coffee, and wondering when to tell Carl, the rest of the secret. I don't know what he would think of me, when he finds I have five other adult wives, two young wives, five girls, and according to Kitten three babies that would be my wives in time. Unless I could get them married off sooner. Then there was Roger, because of his bonding, he could only be considered a wife as well. It was a good thing that he looked exactly like a girl, or a girl with four arms. When dealing with Tandra, there was no problem, for they could see the love I had for each. They all knew that the children needed my physical love, not sex, just as much as the mental love. The toilet flushed and Carl came out. A young girl was pulling each of his hands, to get him seated at the table, so they could all eat breakfast. Carl looked a little sheepish at me, finding him coming from the bathroom with the girls. "Thanks Carl for watching over them. They like company, and a warm body that loves them. It is so much better than sleeping alone. But I have to warn you, they will drive you crazy, trying to get you to do things for them. You will be wiping their bums, washing and dressing them. They remind me of spoiled princesses, except they never seem to get too spoiled." Carl was embarrassed at finding that I knew that the girls had asked for just those things. "Ah they... already tried to get me trained. I didn't do anything, and I would never touch them. I..." "Slow down Carl. I know the way they are, and I know you very well too. They think of you as a male mommy, that will take care of them. That is the way their customs make them. Just decide what you will do, and won't do, and stick to it. Would you like some coffee?" During the meal Carl found himself on many occasions feeding the girls their food, and holding the glass for them, as if they had broken arms. Susan and I chuckled, at all the times we caught him. Up from the basement shot a blur, that jumped into my arms and spilled some warm coffee over me. Roger held me tight, telling me that he missed me something awful. I kissed him, and pulled him into a more comfortable position. Carl had jumped up and was ready to defend the girls, if any more attacked, but relaxed after seeing that there was cause for concern. From Carl's point of view, he saw a small naked body of a child, that looked about five or six, but knew that they were older. The black skin was covered with longer black hair. The head from the back looked like Amy's or Topaz's. Four arms held onto me, as if his life depended on it. I got Roger's arms pealed from my throat, just as I heard Kitten come up the steps, with the box containing the babies. She wore Susan's snowmobile suit, and a pair of boots like the ones that Chris wore the first day. "Good morning Kitten. I want you to meet a good friend of mine, that saved my life a few times. Kitten, this is Carl, and Carl this is Kitten. She is the second person I met in the base." Carl cautiously came forward and put out his hand and shook Kitten long delicate hand. "I am glad to meet you Kitten, but don't believe him. He saved my ass, pardon me. He saved my life, more times than I can count." "I am glad to meet you too Carl Shingle. My husband has talked about you on many occasions. I do not think he lied at all, about you saving his life. I am happy to see, that you will be helping us, repair the base." She paused when she found Carl's confusion. "Yes, he is my husband, and the husband of others too." She finally caught my thoughts, and found that she had done something wrong. "I am sorry Henry, I would never want to say anything, that would harm you." She hung her head in shame, for what she had done. "It will be fine Honey. I just was looking for a way to break the news to Carl, a little easier." Then in a more private conversation, "Just leave out, that I am supposed to be the husband of the babies, and the little girls. I think I can get him to except the fact that Star and Sandy are my wives, but none of the younger ones." "Thank you husband. I won't do such a thing again." I walked over to her, and gave her a one handed hug, and a real kiss. Then I said aloud, "That is fine Honey, it had to come out eventually." Then to Carl, "Carl, this is another of my wives. Susan has agreed to share me, and there are a few girls, that do not have a husband. In fact there are no Tandra males awake now, other than Roger here. When they are, they just do their duty with no love at all, as I mentioned last night. I have sort of corrupted them, and taken over the job, and do it the Earth way." "Wives? How many do you have Henry?" "Well there are ten times more women than male Tandra. A semi permanent group would have ten to twenty women getting their loving from a single male. I have Susan, Kitten, Chris, Nova, Blue, Sandy, Star, and Secric. I have been trying to cutback, but once they get their claws into you, you don't want to ever leave." Roger moved in my arms to see what was happening. I held Roger, so his front was facing Carl. "Roger looks like all males, and his equipment is all internal, till needed. There is no difference in how a child looks, when they are young. And I would like to introduce Roger here. This little boy was on the moon yesterday, and because of the way he was abused, I brought him here. He is of the same stock as the other Tandra, but some are artificially changed, to do other jobs. The Tandra call them Mordis. They are usually altered to make them stronger, and grow another set of arms, to make their prospects of being employed much higher. If he could have children, they would be the same as any of the others." "Roger, this is my friend Carl. He protected me, the way I did you, once. Will you shake his hand?" I distantly got a 'no', as Roger buried his head, and tried to hide. "Well, little fellow. I am glad to meet you anyway," Carl said. "Carl, since you are here, I would like to introduce, three more of my ladies." To Kitten, I said, "Would you please put your box on the counter?" Carl came over, and I said, "Carl, I would like to introduce you to three of the most beautiful ladies on the planet." I pulled back the blanket with one hand, to show three faces that starred at Carl wide eyed. "This is Hope, the one in the middle is Faith, and the far left is Charity. It is safe to shake your hand Carl, their grip is not very strong yet." Carl stared just as he did yesterday, with Amy and Topaz. "They certainly are beautiful, and small too." "Their mother is almost as beautiful," I said as I kissed Kitten again, on the lips. "A Tandra woman would have chased you out long ago, for saying such a thing. I will keep you, so that you will be properly taught." Carl looked at us. "I understood her, and I understood her before. This is kind of neat." "The babies and the younger children sort of attach themselves to your mind, and get you communicating with the rest. With Amy and Topaz accompanying you, you will start understanding, in no time." "Do you have any more hiding around here?" "Not here, but other than the ones you met, or the ones I mentioned, there are Kitty, Cloud and Moth. That about wraps up my family. I happen to have all the Tandra awake on the Earth, in my family. I hope I can start some adoptions, when the others awaken." Carl left just before noon, to attend to urgent business. He promised to get back to me later, with any of the information he was to get. I wanted to go out and plough the driveway, and this reminded me of the satellite overhead. It could see in great detail, but it could only focus on one place at a time. If I knew where it was looking, I could do things much safer. "Carlton, There is a particular satellite overhead, that is monitoring this area. Could you intercept the signal and decode it, so that we will know where they are watching?" "Yes sir. It is currently focussing on an area four hundred and twenty one kilometres north and east of here, on a bearing of..." "Thank you Carlton. Would you keep track of where it is focussed, and give me a warning if it comes within twenty kilometres?" "Yes, sir" "Shit was he fast or what?" I said to Susan. "He sure is. Henry pick up the end of the table, and move it to the sink." The table was just sent down, when Sandy and Star came up the stairs with a slab of marble, about a metre in diameter, and about five centimetres thick. An anti-gravity carriage was clamped to opposite ends. I could not read anything in their minds, and Susan had them place it where my favourite easy chair was. Blue and Nova came in, with a chair from the base, and set it onto the stone foundation, with care. Secric came in with Chris. They had a diagnostic machine, and made adjustments to the settings. Chris hooked up a device, that was used to transfer power without a conduit, for short distances. Kitty, Cloud and Moth came in with a dildo in one of their hands, and a lot of happy thoughts in their minds. I looked at Susan, and she just shrugged her shoulders, and smiled. "This is great. When we need better communications or some training, we don't have to go far." Roger was wiggling and wanted down. This was odd, I usually had to pry him off. I watched as he ran over to the youngest and bent over, as they did to get fucked. Amy aimed the dildo and started to enter him. I could feel his joy at having sex, without being forced, and the people doing it, accepting him. "Hold it, Amy. All of you, come with me," I said, but smiled to let them know I was not angry. I took them into the spare bedroom, and threw a blanket and pillows on the floor. I went for the tube of KY, and four small hand towels, and showed them the way to insert the dildo, without hurting anyone, with long use, because I knew it would be used by all of them, for a few hours. I went to the kitchen, and found the ladies drinking tea. Kitten had taken off her suit. She, Susan, and Chris were feeding the babies. The rest were looking through my books, and examining the pictures, that they came across. I could feel the sensations coming from the children in the other room, as they used the dildo on Roger. One stroked his back and played with the six sensitive places around his anus. Another got underneath him, and was licking on his sensitive clits around the hole, where his little cock would come out, if there was one to come out. The last rubbed his back, and slid the dildo in and out. They now did it my way, and went slow, to build each orgasm up. I had to tone down my own reception, or I would be forced to start an orgy. The girls were squirming, wanting in on some of the action. ------- 'Meating' The Newer Neighbours ------- Chapter 31 The ladies promised to make lunch, if I went out and ploughed. I put on my coat and boots, and let Dog out for a run. I started the truck, and visualized in my mind, where my first pass would be in preparation for the truck to remove the snow. The truck was all of a sudden a hundred metres away. Great sheets of snow were falling still. It was as if I had ploughed, using a space ship. "What did you girls do?" I could hear them chuckle, then do it again, as they relived the sight of me wondering what had happened. They had made sure with Carlton, that it was safe to make a spectacle of myself first. I focussed my mind, and was able to interface with the machine. It was a simple computer, that could only speak to me in a monotone. A fairly complex routine was in place, to make sure I didn't hit anything. I found out that there was a small inertial compensator, a motor strong enough to pull only forty three gees. There was everything here, to allow me to fly anywhere in the system, if I had enough time to take a long trip. There was even a field that was minutely configurable in front of the plough. I could plough a path many metres wide, and direct the snow wherever I wanted, just like a snowblower. I checked with Carlton, and did the rest of the driveway, then for fun, I used the computer and ploughed the entire length of the Hydro road. It was over thirty kilometres long, and I had to return, so I made the sixty kilometre trip, in a little over three minutes, and threw back the new and the packed snow at the sides of the road, more than twenty metres. Carl and his boys ploughed in the winter, when there was little drilling to be done. I could see him doing this, and having as much fun as I just had. He would make a fortune in Buffalo, if they could get the cars off the roads first. I parked the truck in the usual place, and went to the snowblower. "Did you girls do anything to this?" "No, Henry," came from Susan, along with a laugh. I knew they were watching, and I gingerly put it into gear, did the path, and the large decks. My cautious pace pleased them even more. I shook myself, and came in. The girls had hurried, because they knew I would not be long. The youngsters came down after a shower. Roger wanted to sit in my lap, and I convinced him to eat like the rest. Apparently the pickup was not all that they had accomplished. They said they only wished they could add invisibility to the vehicles. They told me all the things they had accomplished, when I was away having fun. I remembered the recording device in my body, and left after lunch, to get the data copied elsewhere. As I uploaded the data, I thought of Mom and all she did for me, and the rest of us. If the base AI had been as strong as Mom, it would not have suicided. Mom would have never had the base get this run down, if she had to run the extraction equipment herself. Mom would not have allowed the lunar AI to get control of the system defences, in the first place. She reminded me of myself, in some ways. She would do what was necessary to be done, and fuck the law. Her military shield, enhanced memory and computing power, had been what we had to have, to survive. There wasn't a base computer to compare to her, even though she was a simple tug. I went to the supply of crystals, I got. The large translucent one of a blank personality, the red, of the mad lunar AI, some of the smaller simpler units, and last of all, the burnt out one, of Mom. If only I could put Mom's memory crystals into the base, things would be run right. "Wait!" I said out loud to myself. I ran and got Mom's copy of her memory. Her processor crystal had originally been much smaller. Her intelligence limited to the capacity of the hosting computer, and the matrix that formed her crystal. She had made herself much smarter, and more capable. Could she possibly run the entire base, and the system on top of it? I didn't have all that much hope in getting Mom back into her ship, no matter what I had said. It was far too damaged in the hull, and the computer. There was a chance for her to live again. I returned, and got the memory crystals I had taken, along with the burnt out processor, from the ship. She had left copies of her early years in the base and I got those too. I took a grav sled, and went far under the base. Many of the lights here, did not work. I was stopped by a shield hundreds of metres short of my goal. I identified myself, and I was not given clearance. The repair shop had just the tool. I went one floor above the computer and pealed back the wall. Things were different, but not too much. I used as much care as I had on the moon. I rechecked everything twice, because this was Mom, and if I failed she might never come back. The barrier was gone now, and the door opened to the controller. I took all of Mom's crystals, and pushed into the zero gee, of the base computer. The distance seemed further somehow, and the way slightly different. Five dimensions can confuse anyone. I passed the place, before I recognized it. I reached out and touched crystals to slow down and then go back. The room was larger. Crystals covered all the surfaces, and there, almost in a corner, were the grey ones, that were burnt out. The main processor was no larger than Mom's updated one. I pulled them out. Like Carlton, I put the diagnostic program running, and found I did not have a suit on. The display came in, with just my communicator to help. AI memory was severely low. If Mom required more, she was going to get them. When the program was done, I installed all of the memory, and set the repair modules to working. Long hours later, I knew that waiting here was futile. I took all the useless crystals and started out. An hour later I knew I was lost. I had no suit with telemetry, and no beacon to guide me back. I began to look more closely at the patterns of the crystals. One particular place, I think I passed many times. I put a dead crystal on its side among the others, and continued my search. I thought I searched this level and went up then up again. At the highest point I found the dead crystal. My search was now over four hours, not counting the time I took to bypass the security, and the time I waited for the repair module to complete its job. I wearily descended and searched as I went. I reached the lowest level, and found the AI room again. I floated in and saw that a few more hours were necessary. I needed to piss for a long time and went in my pants, because I didn't want anything to short out. I went back and forth to dry the pants some, and have something to do. I lost the room about every third pass. Finding the room the last time, I vowed to stay, till I was done. The time finally came and I carefully inserted the new blank crystal into its new home, and ran the repair module again. There was nothing here for me to do, so the quest began again. A few hours later, I found a rope stretched across an intersection that was not there before. I went to it, and lost it twice, before being able to lay my hands on it. I tried to cast my thoughts, and only received static, just as I thought would happen. I jerked one side then the other, and tried again. One side became slack and suddenly Star was in my arms. She hugged and kissed me frantically, as she yelled in her mind, that she found me. Moments later Sandy came. I kissed her fiercely. I could understand her, but it was difficult with the static, but I got her idea. Hand over hand I slowly pulled the other rope and found myself following the path. Moments later my hand fell on Amy. One second she was invisible, and the next in my arms. I kissed her the same as the rest. Her relief was not too difficult to see. She directed me to pull the rope and she would follow. Topaz was next, and again I almost missed her. I could see tears of joy in her mind. I had an idea, and got her to hold onto my pants, and I pulled her forward with me. Secric was waiting for me to come. She kissed me with a passion I had never seen in her before. She only passed me the idea that it was urgent. I got her attached to Topaz's ankles and she refused. I stood my ground till she went along with my idea. One moment, I was pulling the rope, and the next I was on the floor. A second later Topaz fell on me, and I quickly moved her for Secric came next. I kissed her long and hard, but there were others in there. The rope was pulled gently till it was taught. I could feel small tugs on the rope, and Star came into view. "Leave the rope, I will take care of the rest. There is a strange ship in the system, and it has made its way through all the defences. Carlton has the most data. Go." "Carlton report." I screamed, as I ran to the nearest transmitter. "Yes, sir. An unidentified craft coming from north of the plane of the elliptic, has slowed to only thirty lights. Its course will bring it to Earth in seventeen hours and thirty seven minutes. Rough estimates indicate its mass to be around six hundred thousand tonnes, making it only a light destroyer." I stopped at the pad and gave my destination. Nothing! I did it again with the same results. The transporter was down. Of course, the computer was working at integrating the new personality. There was no way of sparing processing power for anything else. I ran again. Carlton's voice continued, "Its origin is unknown. It can detect the mines and destroy them, and has a shield that can protect it from our dimensional shift weapons. I am unable to find out how this is done. It has fired its weapons, and they are no different than our own." "Carlton, did you do an inventory of our weapons?" "No, sir" "What is your present complement?" "Eleven distortional weapons, a quark flux lens, and three shift torpedoes" "What is the last, I have never heard of it?" "It is a very old weapon, that was put in when this hull was built. The design characteristics make its removal for newer weapons impractical. It will search for the moment in time, that the ship uses, to look through its screen. If it is able to find the time, it will compute when the next event will occur, and attempt to penetrate at that time. The power is low, and all modern shields, have found ways to protect against it." My mind was working feverishly, as I continued. Penetrating the shield. The only thing I knew that could penetrate a shield was a galvanized pipe. Would they do that to this new shield? What could I put in them to do enough damage, if they went through? If the current weapons were ineffectual, then perhaps the very old would work. Best to try both. How could I get a pipe to penetrate a ship travelling sub-light? I knew that the ship had to decelerate, when it was at the Mardaf Limit, unless they had found a way to circumvent it. In this system it was around the distance of Jupiter from the sun. If they were going to decelerate here, then they were still fast enough to use a lot of kinetic energy, if they hit a stationary object. All ships had weapons to clear their path ahead of them. This one was able to detect mines, that were hidden in other dimensions. But they didn't have any guns behind them for meteors, because meteors would not be able to harm them in that quadrant. They would be looking for powered missiles there only. All I needed was to throw a spear at them. Yes. One made of galvanized iron. If a tractor beam was very long, it could throw a spear pretty fast. At least, I hoped. "Carlton, if you were to take an iron shaft with a mass of five kilograms, while in space. Place that, at the maximum distance of your tractor beam, and move the beam rapidly forward, how fast would the shaft go?" "Using other data, I believe about twelve to the power of five kilometres per hour." "Convert to base ten?" "Roughly thirty thousand kilometres per second. Or ten percent the speed of light." "Shit that is fast, but is that fast enough?" "Fast enough for what, sir?" "I was talking to myself, but I have found a secret, that you have to keep." "Understood sir." "A piece of iron when covered with zinc, can penetrate a shield, if the shield is set to low power. I have been considering the idea of using small masses of this material to penetrate the intruder's shield, even if they are set on high. The kinetic energy alone, would cause severe damage. If we could put them into the path of the ship, they would cause even more damage because their velocities would be added. They are too fast to throw from the rear. I was considering throwing from their beam." "We would be subject to their broadside, and would last less than a microsecond sir." "What if we threw into their path, and they intercepted the projectiles. We could be long gone for retribution." "That may work sir. Our velocity would be added to the velocity of the kinetic weapons, then the power would be increased further." I was just at the ship now. "Carlton is the inertial compensator integrated yet?" I said with my voice. "Two hours and fifteen minutes, till completion. Sir" "Can you get us through the shield with the computer down?" "Working; Yes, sir." I jumped aboard and the door closed immediately. "Go into stealth mode and proceed to the house." I put on my command suit, and jumped through the opening to the front door. I had to stop and punch in the code and the door opened. I raced to the phone. "Hello." "Hello Doris. It's Henry. I am in a bit of a rush, and need to talk to Carl. It is very important." "What did you two talk about, he has not been this happy in years?" "Doris, I am sorry, but I am in a hurry, and don't want to be rude." "Oh, I will get him, then." "Hello Henry, what's up?" Came from Carl. I could hear the extension being picked up. It didn't matter who was listening anyway. "That big contract I was talking to you about, got a big, big rush put on it. We are in need of all the galvanized pipe, and conduit you can lay your hands on. Amy Corp, thinks this is a life and death situation, the way they are rushing around. Would you organize your yard, and purchase as much of the galvanized product, you can get? Price is no object the principles told me." "What is the total weight you might want? That way, I have an upper-limit." "Carlton, what is your maximum weight capacity now?" "Eighty three thousand nine hundred and thirty kilograms, Sir." "Mr. Carlton the president, thinks eighty three tonnes would do the trick Carl. Do you have enough credit to get that much?" "If you can get the money to me in three days, there is no problem. Will scrap pipe, be of any use?" "Try for the new stuff, and if the total is not reached, then add the scrap. We can clean it up, and use the pieces. It is the corrosion fighting properties, I am looking for. Oh, by the way, Mr. Zero is coming over in about four hours to see about the drilling contract." "Ok, Henry, get off the phone, and let me start on this job." "Sure Carl, and bye Doris." Letting him now, get this matter straightened out. I returned to the ship, and said, "Back to the base." I jumped off the ship and found the women running towards me. The children were too slow and lagged behind. Susan was breathless, "What are we going to do?" I tried to project a confident front, and said, "Carlton and I have some weapons, and we have an idea that my take them out. I am going to throw galvanized iron at a relativistic speed. Along with all the weapons he has. Carl is getting the stuff as we speak." "What can we do?" "I would like all the command suits we have, and twenty or so of the standard suit. One of these days, we have to get one that can be used in battle. I was thinking of wearing multiple layers of them." Blue added quickly, "There are some battle suits in the armoury. There has never been a need for them, and they were only kept because of regulations." "Would you and Nova check them out, and if they are any good, bring a couple of them here. Take Sandy and Star, and bring back a few sets of your best hand weapons. I doubt if I will even see the enemy, but I feel much better with a gun in my hand." They ran off, and Susan asked, "Do you still want the other suits?" "Yes, get them, in case the battle suits are useless." "Chris, will you get me a few of those heavy duty controllers?" She did not even answer, but ran off to get what was needed. I looked around, and found one missing. "Where is Roger?" Kitten answered, "He was so upset when you disappeared, we had to take him to the auto doc, and get him sedated. His muscles are being improved as he sleeps. He was the one that knew where you were, and Susan came up with the rope idea. Each of us, were going in to search for you. What were you doing?" I was so wrapped up in the emergency, that I had locked my mind closed. "I put Mom's memory into the computer, and a blank processor. I didn't know if I could ever bring her back otherwise. That was a brave thing to do, in going in after me. Especially when it was my fault, for going in unprepared." "That is what family is for, Henry." "Yes, but thank you anyway. I need to pack some provisions for a few days too." "Carlton prepare a course, to intercept the enemy, and pick up the ammunition from Carl. Is there anything else that we could do, to better our chances?" "Yes, sir. No, sir." This brought forth a titter from the girls. I went back to the ship and stripped off my dirty clothes, and went into the shower. The water felt beautiful, but time was short. The younger girls started to bring in some of the supplies, that I had purchased in Toronto, as I stepped out of the cleanser On the large monitor, I saw two grav sleds being pulled by Blue and Nova. When the procession got closer, I heard Blue's complaints, that the suits were not checked out enough. The ship's tractors easily picked up the first bulky suit. Small shield units covered the entire suit, even the face. The suit was thick on the chest and back, and much too small for me. "Will the suit fit me?" I asked, as I walked to the hatch and jumped down. Blue did not even look up from the tests she was doing on the second of six suits. "The projectors migrate to fit even you. If any were damaged, they are rotated out, while another takes its place. There is even a repair feature for extended action. The suit has an old type of military AI. It has an objectionable attitude, and is hard to work with. My advice is to shut it off, and go on manual if it gives any problems. I will feed the specifications to your ship." "What can the suit do?" "Its AI is the strongest feature, if it will cooperate. It basically is a small one woman space ship, with its strong anti-gravity field and shielding. Wastes are recycled so you could live for months in the suit. It has a built in recognisance unit, up to the fifth dimension. There is an impressive array of weapons." "What are the bad points?" "As I said before, a nasty AI. It is a defect in all the suits, and the only ones to get along with them were people with strong personalities. The other suits came in and were stored by Carlton. A cold can of beans, and an old favourite, fruit cocktail, fed the inner man. The battle suit did indeed adjust to my size. It took twenty minutes for the modules to rearrange themselves. I stretched and bent, to see the limits of the suit. It adjusted again, to take all of this into consideration. While this was happening, I continued to work on a strategy with Carlton. I could hear a mental voice, vaguely feminine, that was demanding attention. Keying the mental switch, an over-loud voice said, "You are not of the Tandra race. Why are you wearing this state of the art weaponry?" The suit seized up, and refused to let me go, as it gave out an alarm about how a low order barbarians, stealing Tandra property. The voice was so loud, that I had to enter my mind, and turn the signal down going to my brain. Carlton came to my rescue first. "This biotic unit is a human. It is a crossbreed of the Tandra, and is authorized to protect this system for the Tandra, with any means possible." "Who are you to tell me this?" "I am Fleet Admiral Henry Buchanan's personal pinnace. He is currently head of system security." "A male in such a high posting, is preposterous. Give me your classification, in your security section." A long stream of data flowed into the suit. The AI found the situation unbelievable. "I am not going to allow this barbarian use this valuable Tandra property. Your data must be in error." I was finding the situation humorous, but time was wasting. "Suit, you will serve me to the best of your abilities, or I will personally have your entire line of AIs removed from these units, and a much more capable unit installed." "You do not have the authority." "Carlton, remove this suit from me. Use the controller if necessary. I am going to remove each of the computers from these suits, and throw everything into a recycler." I felt tractors pluck at the edges to no avail, then a heavy duty controller started at my abdomen, and started to slice the suit towards my head. It soon reversed course, and parted the suit down one leg towards the computer unit itself. "Stop. This is against the law." "Yes, it is. You are participating in a mutiny, and I find you guilty." "Stop. I will allow you to wear the suit." "Continue cutting Carlton." "Stop. What is it that you want?" "You have to be one hundred percent committed to my goals, or I will have to leave you behind in pieces. All Tandra society will know of your failure, and all of your kind, will be destroyed because of your pettiness." The cutter was coming very close to the computer now. "Stop. I will work toward your goals, to the best of my ability." "Carlton, pause a moment." "I have fought many times with hand weapons, and no protection at all. What can you offer me, if I allow you to help me board an unknown warship?" "I have a cutter that can remove the bulkheads of the enemy shipping." "I have one too, and it is presently prepared to cut through you." "My communication and survival specifications are second to none." "Scan the unit on the table. It is very small and light. It does not have an offensive personality, but compliant, and follows orders and tries to perceive threats." The AI scanned the data and saw that it was indeed inferior in some respects. "My threat analysis is superior. I can take considerably more damage, and begin my own repairs. My mechanics will give you many times your own strength. I have tractor and disintegrator projector beams in my back, chest, and fingers. I can manipulate gravity, to keep the suit vertical or in any position. I am able to fight with an incapacitated biotic unit, and bring said unit back for repair, or replacement. My medical facilities are somewhat better than the other unit." "That is all good, but how can I trust you to follow my orders?" "I will alter my coding to have you as the legal representative of the Tandra." "Do so, and you may fight with me." I got out of the suit while it did its repairs, and cast my eyes over to the other unit. "Suit. Will I have to start to destroy the other suits to get their compliance?" "I will program them, while they are dormant, and they will have the same loyalty, as I do." I looked at the suit specifications and tried to visualize them fighting the enemy, while I used the command suit, to do the same thing. I originally had no intention of going against the enemy in a suit. If these units could fight on their own, then I had a second option, if I stopped the approaching ship. They may just be contemptuous of old automated defences. If I met the intruders, face to face, maybe we could come to some sort of agreement. If humans were approaching, I know that any agreement would only last as long as it suited them. Humans only understood strength. A country or race was fully within the law, as long as they had the power to enforce those laws. Rome came to mind. Ask a conquered monarch, if Roman soldiers had the right to take any woman they wanted, to take any property they wished, or to kill anyone that thought otherwise. When the suit was repaired, I entered it again, and walked out to the landing pad, and ordered another awakened suit to do the same. We sparred at low power. The suit I wore, was slow, but was beginning to anticipate my moves, and to get deeper into my mind. The other suit improved some, but still stayed slow. I could feel my own suit get more and more comfortable with me. It was like one of the children, it used the adult's brain for some of its computational needs. Susan came over, with a worried look on her face, and even more concerns in her mind. "You aren't going to fight with these units are you?" "I was considering a second option. If I can talk to the approaching ship, perhaps I can get them to leave, or find out something about them. If I have to incapacitate them, then I could talk to them, when they will listen better. If there is still no understanding, I can send the battle suits in, and they can take the ship for us. Their shield alone would be of interest. Then we could make some weapons, to beat them, if they come again. If they are a singleton, then taking it out, will keep the others away even longer." "You said a lot of 'ifs'." "True, but what else can we do. It is not just the Tandra at stake here now. How could humans even think of fighting them?" "I want to go with you." "I would love to have that happen, but if I am delayed getting back, then you are the only one to help the girls. Carl knows too little about the situation, and working with the girls would not be his cup of tea. He likes straight forward problems, either work around it, or smash it." Blue brought up the remainder of the battle suits, and each was indoctrinated. A mock battle was setup, and four suits proved to be defective. Blue took them away to work on them. I went back to the house and found from Carl's son, that the supplies would be ready in an hour. The cost totalled to around thirty seven thousand dollars. To get the supplies, Carl had to promise a hefty bonus. "Thanks Paul. Tell Carl, I will write a cheque now, and drop it off in your mail slot. The Amy Corporation thinks that there may be a hostile take-over attempt soon." "Oh! Anything I can do?" "Thanks. You have done a lot. I have to run. Susan is getting anxious." "Oh, ok bye, Uncle Henry." I went back to the base, to pick up two of the suits Blue had been able to get working. When the tractors moved them onboard, I found Star in the main salon. "Henry, I know you think I am too young. Sandy was allowed to make love to you, and I am almost the same age. I need you so very much. Will you take me with you?" I took the girl into my arms and looked down into her liquid eyes and said, "I would love to take you with me, but I would worry so much about you, that I would not be able to fight as well. As for Sandy, she found me sleeping, and did what she wanted, without my consent." I saw the pain and even suffering in her mind. She was slightly younger than Sandy and I felt a deep need within myself to do this, before I went out. I picked her up, and took her to the captain's bed. I laid her out and her expression changed dramatically, when she knew what would happen. I kissed her young lips and moved to her neck and small breasts. Before getting to her navel she had her first orgasm. I kissed lower and the orgasms started again. I wished I had some lube, for I knew she would be tight, and I had no intention of hurting her. A hand came before me, with a packet of oil, from the base supplies. I looked into her mind, and saw that she was ready to leave puberty, just as Sandy was. Her young mind quested for mine, and pulled me into hers. She saw herself as older and more mature. I kissed her mons and her legs parted. She had many orgasms through her linkage to the group, and now knew the way I wanted to do things. I sucked her large clit into my mouth, and thought of her beautiful face. Even through her body was quaking violently, her arms pulled my arms up for me to make a woman of her. I rubbed oil onto her, and into her vagina. More orgasms followed, but they were not enough. My oily hands rubbed my cock, preparing it. I slid in with the utmost care. Her nubs seemed to guide me at the right angle, for her maximum pleasure. She screamed audibly, and wrapped her arms around my neck. My slow strokes almost sent both her, and the other wives, into oblivion. I could feel all of the others taking part, much more forcefully than before. It was as if, they did not think I was ever coming back. They knew only, that I had time for one. I looked deep into Star's mind, and saw that she would do absolutely anything for me. Strokes came more forcefully, and I held the hand of her image with mine. We walked down a quiet lane, with me looking at her slightly swollen abdomen. She screamed again, and I pumped shot after shot into her young vagina. Remaining for only a few seconds, I held her to me, to savour our love. Her mons soon closed, and forced my still erect cock out. I cuddled her close, but knew I had to go. It would be so good to just stay a bit longer. Blue came for her and bent over. She licked my spend from Star's tiny mons, before she picked her up. Star was so shaken from her orgasm, that she did not even notice Blue. "See you in a while Blue, and thank you for being so nice to her. I love you both." I kissed her then, and I think she had a small orgasm herself. They walked out, and I saw all of my girls. "I love all of you. I will be careful, and come back as soon as possible." "Carlton, let's get going." We exited the base, and travelled a few hundred metres above the landscape. Carlton's threat analysis pointed out trucks and equipment trying to trace any spurious signal. How good would they be, against the invading ship, if it decided to fight? I came in, over Highway 11. The sky was just starting to darken as I approached the yard. Carl was standing beside his building, and I manoeuvred the ship lower. I opened the hatch, while the rest of the ship remained hidden from sight. His eyes popped, as he stood just below me. "Thanks Carl. There is a strange ship coming here. I am the official Welcome Wagon. If they don't want to leave, I will give them a push. Here is something to cover the cost of the materials," I said as I handed him the cheque. "I need something more." I was shocked at the reply. "What do you want?" "To protect your ugly butt, like I always did." "Everybody wants to come. The truth of the matter is, that the ship is pretty modern, compared to this one, and I don't know if I will be coming back." "All the more reason. You need me." "Doris and your boys need you." "Charlie and now Paul, are grown-up. Doris, I love very much, but she can get along without me. I think one old man like me is not that important, if the ship you are talking about, is as dangerous as I think. Look at it this way. If I die, and we succeed in getting the ship, it is very little to pay. If the ship is dangerous, and it wins, then what does it matter where I die?" "Ok, have it your way, but you have to join the navy. What would the others say?" Carl smiled as wide as I had ever seen. "Hold on, I will put this in the office," as he took the cheque away. I followed him with my mind, and found Charley peeking out the window. "Charlie, come here," I sent, as a command. The boy sheepishly walked out the door, and Carlton brought him into the ship at my command. "Why the fuck, were you spying on us?" Many ideas went quickly through his head, most were lies, but to his credit, he decided on the truth. "Dad was acting a little funny, and after the phone call, Mom asked me to see if he was going to get in trouble. So I just followed him, Uncle Henry." Carl floated in, and Charlie's mouth opened like his father's before him. "How did he get here?" Carl asked. "It seems you let an infiltrator get by you, and I missed him to." "What are we going to do? I don't want him with us." "Yes, the same way, I didn't want you, with me. But you are right. Charlie, there are many Earth shaking things happening, and I am not going to tell you much. A possibly hostile ship, is coming into the system, and it's knocking out all the defences as it comes. Your father and I are going to try to stop it. If we don't come back, there is very little you can do." "Are... are you going to fight a space ship by yourselves?" "Yes, what you have found out already, can get your father and me into a lot of trouble. Don't tell anyone, even Paul or your mom. People's lives hang on you being quiet. Will you do that for all of us?" "I won't say anything." "Good. Now I want you to do something else. Drive around the block, and lay on the horn for thirty seconds. That will give me enough time to remove all this metal, while people look at you, and not us." The boy looked into the ship, and saw the battle suits and froze. "Go on now. We are counting on you." Carl added, "And take care of your mother, when I am gone. Just tell her, that I had to go with Henry, on some unexpected business. Deposit the cheque in the bank too." "Bye Dad." "My boy won't say anything." "Yes I know. He is one of the better ones. Comes from good stock." Carl did not know what to say, and we waited with Carlton for the signal. When it came, the pile of galvanized stock quickly disappeared, into the hold. Carlton, give our guest a view under your stern again, and proceed at maximum thrust to the area we discussed. The pinnace leaped into the air. It's shield designed to gently part the atmosphere, and negate any sonic boom. Our passage was restricted to only eighty two gravities, till we got through the thicker air, then the rate climbed to four hundred and thirty six. The Earth dwindled dramatically. In seven seconds, we were forty kilometres high, and in another seven we were another two thousand kilometres high. "Where are we going Henry?" "Well, I know that you are going to school. You don't have to worry Carlton does not eat apples." "I was going to help you." "Yes, and to help me, you have to know what to do. Look at this like advanced training. You learn weapons, strategy and especially your new friend." "What new friend?" "One of these beauties over here. It will be closer to you than your carbine. It will protect you, give you advice, shoot the guy sneaking up behind you, patch your sorry hide, and if need be, will medevac you here." "Why the need for all of them?" "Well, my plan calls for us to get the ship to leave, which is improbable, or destroy it, if they don't. If we can, I would like to get as much intel as I can from it. If we are very lucky, we may get the chance to greet our guests, close and personal. They, on the other hand, would be seriously pissed. The suit will keep your pink hide healthy. The other suits are like robots. They are not so good at fighting, without a person to guide them, but they do fight." "That is the kind of schooling, I like." Carl sat in the command chair and absorbed how to communicate with the machine intelligence in his suit. Basic strategy and small arms followed. This was usually the limit, but Carl needed more, so I overruled Carlton, and the vagaries of the suit were added to his studies. While Carl was gaining his education, I had Carlton chop some of the lengths up, so that we had something along the line of a shotgun. One particular piece caught his eye. It was only a piece of quarter by one, flat bar. "Carlton can you shape that piece, a little without removing the zinc?" Twenty minutes later I had a crude sword and knife. The zinc had to be stripped, and the iron shaped and strengthened, then the zinc reapplied. Its balance was wrong, and strength was artificial, as compared to what a master sword smith would make. If the galvanized end of my Bo could penetrate a personal shield, then a sword might too. Half of the troops were outfitted with a shorter knife. When Carl was done, I had him sleep for half an hour to relax, and set the training in better. They were six hours away from the next stage in the plan. "Oh, what happened to my head?" He finally said as he awoke. "Is the training always this rough Henry?" "No, I just gave you a little more, because time is short." "Hey! Your mouth didn't move." "Carl. Yours didn't either." "Holy shit, I can do it." "Yes, you are a little weak, because you didn't do it the natural way." "What way is that?" "The children use adult brains, sort of like a crutch, to understand things that are too advanced for them. The intelligence in the suits is very similar. When you hold a child, and play with them, the effect gets stronger. When the children sleeps, the adult is not as proficient. After a while, the adult brain is sort of twisted and pushed into something, that can communicate without the child." "Is my teaching permanent?" "Yours is, but it can be made temporary. Your mind reading will fall off, unless it is used. The suit is like a child, in some ways. The unused portions of your brain, are used for its processing. You would get smarter, and be able to communicate, with more use." "Well, let me at it." "Grab any suit, except the one on the far right. Lay it on the floor and open it. Tell it to adjust to you. Twenty minutes later it will be big enough. Get in, then do some stretches. I am sorry, but we don't have the space for a mock battle, but we can do it in our heads, with the AI's help." Carl did as I asked, while I tried to think up simpler ways to accomplish our plan, or perhaps improve on the odds. One came to mind. "Carlton, do the sensors tell us what they are using for scanning in five dimensional space?" "Yes sir, the standard quark flux." "Can you produce the same flux, so they would be confused, and miss all the missiles coming at them? Maybe make it look like we have something wrong with our equipment." "The main engine, can be tuned to do that, but we have to aim the engine at them." The suit requested that Carl remove all his clothes, before entering. The suit closed, and Carl started his warm-ups. I got into my suit, and did the same. I opened a channel, and my suit informed the other, who was in charge. "Carlton, hold us, so we don't get carried away, but give us some freedom of movement." I looked into Carl's now more organized mind, and showed him some of the things he had to know, about interfacing properly, and about our mock battle. My image came in with a jump, and brought my imaginary gauntlet down on his equally imaginary shoulder. The AI caused pain to be applied to the shoulder. "Ow, you motherfucker, I will get you for that." Kicks, punches, and throws, were traded. Carl was nowhere in shape, as I was, even before I met the Tandra. This time though, he was using his mind, in this imaginary landscape, and even a paraplegic, could do as he was. His AI tried to compensate, and Carl's speed increased. His AI saw a pattern, and Carl was able to kick me across the floor. "Do you feel better now? At one time you could only do that, on one of my bad days." "I will see how bad your day is," he attacked again, throwing me before I threw him. Weapons were next and we dodged in a surreal plane. Phantom bolts rang out and scored on each of us. We entered a phantom ship, and fought one another, trying to follow the strategies set down millions of years ago. Giant spiders, millipedes, a cat creature, and others attacked us, as we watched each other's backs. The AI giving us data on each of the species, and the best place to attack. We were coming to the last of the practice, and found we could only pick the enemy up, and bang their heads, or other delicate apparatus, because nobody knew how to get through a heavy shield, without some heavy duty weapons. When our galvanized weapons were programmed in, we made consistent kills against our foes with less effort. "Shit, I feel like a Roman Gladiator, with this sword. It is not even used like our knives." "I used the tip of the Bo, and found only a strait thrust, with a fair amount of weight behind it, would work. We have a suit with a great mechanical advantage. It has the power to thrust the point in easily, that leaves us with more energy ourselves. I want you to continue practising. I have to start firing off the metal soon." "Sure Henry, or do I call you skipper, now?" "The navy is a necessary evil Carl. Perhaps we can have the Army Space Corps?" "Fine by me. It does have a much better ring to it." I got out of my suit, and Carlton hung it up. There was no smell of sweat, I was happy to find out. After a quick shower, I went over the plan again. At precisely timed intervals, Carlton threw lengths of conduit, to a particular position, may hours away. Hundreds of lengths flew out, with slightly different speeds, to get to the target area at the same time. The small pieces went next. These were handled in groups of twenty or so, to keep the pattern fairly tight. The tractor followed them a long way, to keep them from spreading. Three hours later, we had exhausted the ammunition, and changed course to bait the trap. Carlton turned the engine to the approaching ship, and started the fake problems, to mask the echoes that they would have of the iron travelling to them, at quarter the speed of light. "Approaching ship. Be warned that you are entering a Tandra controlled area. Swing wide, and leave this area. Failure to do so, will be considered an act of war." The message was repeated in all of the known languages, in the computer, and on many channels. My visual went out the same way, with my mouth voicing sounds, I would never be able to make. Moments later, a face composed mostly of teeth filled the screen. The hairless skin was basically green, with blue overtones. Small scales, and a nictating membrane were seen. The eyes were wide spaced, so that it could see most of the way around it. The mouth, like a dog's, with a long thin pointed tongue. The voice that issued forth, told me, that he didn't take our presence as any kind of threat. It was easy to get the feeling, that he didn't think our threat was worth anything. "This type of being, is not in my memory. The voice and intonation are close to many, but not recognizable." "Cut the connection, and proceed on the course and speed, we laid in." We set course for Earth, and accelerated at only three hundred gravities. The following ship knew it would overtake us in about twelve minutes, and while decelerating themselves. The interception at the Mardaf Limit, in this system was carefully orchestrated. Though the stern shield was up, no shots were fired at us. "Well Carl, we better get ready. If I don't make it, Carlton will take you home. If you still want to help, you will be able to talk to Susan." "Just like old times. But this time the Gooks have big teeth." Prophetically, he said, "I hope they don't think, I'm grandma." We dressed and got the vacant suits ready, if the opportunity came. The metal rods were coming at us too, and if there were any miscalculation, then we would be holed much easier than the ship behind us. At the extreme limit of a tractor beam, we felt the first touch. Our acceleration slowed gradually as our ship was pulled harder and harder astern. We used the stern camera, and saw the ovoid shape of a Tandra ship. "The ship has the call sign of a Tandra vessel. She will know the age of this ship, and will not be very concerned." ------- Chapter 32 The ship was now almost a million kilometres astern, when we saw the first strike. It must have been a length of pipe, for debris was scattered out the far side of the ship. The screen flickered, and the ship continued till another length knocked out the shield completely. Small pieces now peppered the surface, making large holes, bodies and parts of the ship were scattered into space. The tractor vanished, and we accelerated at max, to get out of the path of any further pieces ourselves. Five minutes later, all pieces of metal would have gone by, and we reversed course, to see how much fight was left in the light destroyer. An automatic distress signal, in Tandra, asked for help. The help we were going to give, was not what they wanted. We matched course, and looked at the damage we had done. Gaping holes went through the ship in many places. The hangar door was open, and I saw a fighter broken up. The shield over the opening was inoperable, debris was still scattering from the stricken bay, and drifting out into space. We pulled into the boat bay, probably what the enemy wanted all the time. Carlton was safer here than he would be in front of the weapons. His thirty metre length fitting easily, into the large bay. The AI powered suits left first, but drew no fire. Now that we knew the type of ship, we knew the layout. We were going to attack the real captain of the ship. We went through access hatches, and into the inner portion of the ship, before we met any of the present complement. It had no shield on, and the uniform covered a body about two metres tall and looked to weigh about a hundred and ninety kilos. They did not seem the type to arm wrestle with. A large hole on one side of the body, attested that it would not be getting up. The fact that the body was in a vacuum made it even more reassuring. We went a dozen at a time through an airlock. Three decks from the centre, we encountered our first hostile. This section held air, and I could see smoke drifting to a grill. An AI battle suit, ran him through, just like in pirate days. There was no energy discharge, to give us away. Turning the corner this changed. The AIs sped ahead, and the weapons told me that there was only minor opposition. Turning around, I saw a door open, and one of the dog faces came out with something resembling a rifle. I stepped close, and with a backhand slash and the mechanical muscles of the suit, let its head rolled free. "You were always a pig. For once, I want to get one first," Carl stated. "Be my guest, the next one that comes close, is yours." There was much more opposition as we got towards the core. We stopped a floor above, and searched through the area, looking for the circuits I knew to be there. It took a few minutes till I remembered to ask Carlton for directions. The deck was pulled back and I went in now. I did not use too much finesse, but I did not want to damage the ship too much, if we could take it. I came out to find two of the AI suits in this group down. "You certainly took your time. This is not as much a picnic, as I thought," Carl said. "You did want your chance," I said, as we cut a hole through the floor and dropped on the surprised soldiers below. Carl seemed to have a lot of fun cutting them up, till they started using their own shields. We had to use the heavy disintegrators at a distance, and then the edged weapons at close range. By the time we gained the computer room hatch, the corridor was aflame with plasma. Our unit split up, and went each way, while I tackled the computer alone. I didn't have the beacon, but I did have Susan's rope. The suit's display led me to the correct place much quicker. I left the Bo and the sword on the floor, because they would be clumsy to carry in the tight places. I yanked the processor, removed the memory crystals, and started the repair sequence. The computer would be out of commission for many hours. The crystals went in a cloth bag, and after looking around, opened my suit and hung them around my neck. The suit closed, and adjusted itself to the new dimensions. I pulled on the rope and within seconds, I was out, only to see one of the dog faces take aim at me. The sudden application of gravity outside the computer room, saved me from the bolt. I fired the disintegrator at him, momentarily blinding him, as I ran in his direction. The continuous fire from my suit kept the target from seeing my approach. I put my weapon directly on his shield over the generator, and fired. The gun blew up and pushed me back. My suit corrected, and I saw a big hole in the blackened corpse. I picked up its weapon and found I could make it work, but it was difficult in the gauntlets. I retrieved the Bo and sword, and ran to the rest of my unit, that was without Human supervision. "Carl, are you getting your quota?" "About time. Did you have a nap?" "Yes, I am fully rested now." The weapons in my suit were largely ineffectual against the new battle suit, that came at us. Their weapons were no better though. Our mechanical augmentation was better, for they relied more on their own strength, I thought. I had been questing in all the opposition minds, and found that they were completely blocked. I felt nothing on my own mind, so they were not attacking this way either. We had been fighting for hours. We used the controllers to manoeuvre around the opposition, and hit them from the rear with heavier weapons. I came to a large door, and pried it open. There was no opposition, so I went in, to look for some resistance, that would attack my rear. The rest of the squad guarded the entrance. A red light came on and a conveyor started. I turned quickly and fired. A long row, of what looked like pork, disappeared. I recognized the projectors on the wall. This was a large stasis chamber, for storing their food. Bending down I scanned the floor under the continuously revolving meat, looking for any of the enemy, that would be hiding in the back. All I saw, was portions of the meat, that I had not destroyed, with my initial blast. The hooks of meat caught my attention. The racks of ribs and haunches were small and somehow looked familiar. The conveyor continued to turn, and I examined many portions. I looked to the right, and found a Tandra girl, her legs and arms removed, and the torso hanging from a hook. Turning to the other hooks, I found many sections of Tandra flesh, hanging from them. I was stunned at what I saw, the girl looked about the same age as Sandy or Star and the rest looked even smaller. How could this be? A haze came over me, they had killed Tuyen, and I remembered revenge. My head violently went back and forth. Carl's voice, rose and fell, pain on my cheek, dead; all dead; they killed my girls. I felt so much pain. Let me die. "Wake up, you son of a bitch." More pain to my cheek. I felt myself being dragged. I closed my eyes for just a second. I opened my eyes and saw a pretty sphere. I wanted to touch it, but it moved. Tired so tired. "Henry wake up." "Yes Mom. Just a minute." "Henry wake up now!" I stretched. Aah my back is so sore. My arms hurt. What is that thing on my leg? A warm bundle of hair is on my left. Black hair, and a face with big eyes. "Roger, How ar'..." Roger flung himself on my chest. His upper arms wrapping tightly around my neck, and his lower, my chest. "I lub you. Don' go way." My arms went around him, and I felt discomfort in each of my limbs. Star came into the room, and I noticed for the first time, that I was back in my house. In her hands was a tray, with a single flower. She laid it beside the bed and I smelt bacon, eggs and toast. "Good morning, sweetheart. Why are you so worried?" I had only caught a glimpse before her mind, closed to me. "You... you were hurt, and I was worried that you wouldn't come back to us the way you left." "How do you mean?" Susan and Secric came into the room. Susan wiping her hands on a damp cloth. "It is about time you woke up. We have all been worrying about you. Mom said you would be alright, but most of us had our reservations." "Mom; she's back?" "Yes, as good as new, or maybe even better. She has some choice words for you. If she had a knee, I would be worried for my bottom, if I were you." "What did I do?" "Ran off half cocked, with an antique ship, armed with even more antique weapons, with half-baked plans to take on a destroyer. Mom was so mad, I thought she would kill you, if you had not almost done the job yourself." I remembered some of the fight now. It was as if my mind wanted to hide the entire affair from me. "I feel fine. I don't remember getting hurt. I am a little sore though." "Carl brought you back. He lost a portion of his leg, and he was carrying you." "Oh God, Carl. How is he?" "He was in a lot better shape than you. You ran around that ship killing everything. Your AI gathered the other battle suits with you, and the whole lot of you took the ship. Not one of the crew lived, and you even killed the little parts, that you found again and again." "I don't remember too much of that." "Well you did. You were burnt over much of your body. You lost both legs and an arm. The anti-gravity and the AI kept you going long enough, to finish all of them off. Mom sent Carl and Carlton back out to nudge the ship into a stable orbit. It is around one of the Langrage points, I think L2. Earth has gone on a war footing. They have footage of Mom's hull on the moon, and recordings of your escape from the moon. They now see the mangled destroyer, parked over their heads, and wonder if they are going to be invaded next." "Mom?" "Didn't you hear a thing I said? You were to all intents and purposes, dead. If it were not for the autodoc, you would be, and all of us would have to carry on without you. You are so inconsiderate sometimes, I forget why I put up with you. My sisters wanted to leave you in the tank. That way, we will know you are safe. Do you know what we went through, worrying about you before you went away, and then how we worried we were, when you came back more dead than alive? We have..." I interrupted, there would only be more of the same. "Mom is alive?" "Yes, she is doing a lot of housework. All the things she felt were done wrong before, are getting changed. The fabricating unit is working. The food synthesiser has been given a low priority, and everything is going into armaments. While you were peacefully sleeping, Carl had installed a matter transmitter to take all the sewage, and duct into our septic system." I had to pry hard to get around her block. Behind it, I found that she had almost gone crazy, over worrying about me, when she saw the way I came back in. I just opened my arms and said, "Come here, Honey." She ran around to the other side of me from Roger, and cried as she let all the anguish she felt, flow out. Great racking sobs followed, and all I could do is hold her, and whisper how much I loved, and missed her. "I was so afraid. Don't ever do that to me, again." "I love you, but I can't promise that. The base is still not secure, and neither is the system now." Secric looked at us while she wrung her hands. I could see her desperate need for love and security. "Come here, on top." Secric raced like a little girl, climbed on top of me, and held tight. It was her turn to cry, and cry she did. Susan and I held her, and eventually a small black arm reached out and held her too. Star was still beside the bed, wanting to feed me my breakfast, and suffering her own brand grief at the way I came back. When Secric got over the worst of her crying I got her to trade places with Roger. I kissed the child, and held him tight. "Thank you for watching me, Roger, and thank you for telling the rest, where I was. I needed the help, or I would still be in there." I moved him over and beckoned Star. She came cautiously into the bed, and hugged me fiercely, trying to keep me from ever leaving her again. I looked into her mind, and found a blocked portion. "Star, what is the matter. I would never be angry at you. What are you hiding?" Her block became total and her crying got louder. He body quaking with, 'her shame', or what? Roger, I could see was feeling jealous. I could see a baby, and he would not be able to give me one. "Star are you going to have my baby?" The crying intensified, and the women held her tight. They sympathized with the girl's feelings. Secric wanted one of her own, and Susan wanted to be first. "Susan are you going to have one too?" "I have been off the pill for a while, but I think my lactation has kept me from getting pregnant." "You know, I want you to bear, some of my children." Then looking at Star. "I want you to have my baby too." Star cried again, but out of happiness. Children were a Tandra woman's prerogative, but she wanted me to love the child the way she would. She had her feet in two worlds and didn't know how I would react. I heard the front door open, and a heavy tread, come up the steps. Carl poked his head in, and walked to the bed. He said, "Just as I figured. You get singed a little. The women all flock to you, while Doris was pissed off, that I left to go on a business trip. There is no justice at all." I had my own big smile, and said, "I heard you hurt your leg. I am sorry to hear that, but I see you are getting around fairly well. I didn't even see your old limp." "The company medical plan is great. The old leg had a bit too much shrapnel, and would set off the airport detectors. The new one does not have any arthritis either. I had to hide it from Doris for a while, because it was so pink. The old leg was good for some parts, and got me healed quicker than you. They cleaned up all the other stuff that was going to give me problems, later. My love life has got a lot better recently, but it will never get as good as yours." "If you only knew, how back-breaking the labour is, you would be very happy with Doris." Susan elbowed me, then the other two, to make sure I got the point. The girls got up, and gave me room to talk to Carl. Roger was not relinquishing his position at all. "What happened Carl? I don't remember much." You ran around killing Dogfaces. You picked up a heavy gun, and used it to cut up anything that was alive or dead. For a while you reminded me of the terminator with his minigun. After it took too many hits, you used other weapons. I had a rough time keeping up to you, and taking out the flankers. There weren't too many after you passed. You got one leg shot off, and the AI did first aid, and kept you up. You got an arm shot off, and then the other leg later. Again the AI kept you going. You were so crazy, that the suits all went crazy too, they all felt the same way. I will always remember you with no legs, floating forward, with only one arm, and a gun in it, killing the Dogfaces. Your suit was smoking, and the other suits took the hits for you. Even after killing them all, you would not quit. If the suit hadn't failed, then you would probably still be up there, cutting the parts smaller and smaller." "Thanks for saving me. If you remember, I went that way before. You were the one then, to save me as well." "Well it wasn't only me. Frank, John and Johnny 2 did as much as I did." "How did you get your leg shot up?" "I wasn't as particular as you, about killing them. I thought that once was enough. I put a big hole through one guy. When I turned to say hello to his brother, the first one saws into my leg. Mom actually was able to repair it, and removed all the old problems." "I am sorry for putting you through that, Carl." "Hell, it was fun, just like the old days. I got a better leg out of the deal, and got all my other ailments fixed. How many other people besides you, can say that they stopped an invasion from the stars, and I got to fly the ship home?" "The old days were not that fun, but we had our moments. What has been happening in the world?" "I have been busy here. Since Charlie knew something about us, I gave him the job of making a report. I can drive to the Bay and get it, if you want? I don't think you want it over the phone." "You're right, but we can leave it for now. Susan and I have to make the trip anyway. Her parents, and the staff have been watching the dojo long enough. I would like to tell them about, how I am finally taking her off their hands." "You are such an asshole sometimes." Susan retorted, "My parents knew long ago that I was going to get you one way or another. This just means that they will know a date. Besides, you are not getting out of that bed. Your legs, arms and the rest of your body, are not ready yet." "Let's find out. Carl, come over here, and help me get up." "Roger, you will have to let go sweetheart, so that I can get up." He reluctantly let go, and Carl helped me get to my feet. My new appendages were as Carl said, pink. There was little or no hair. My pubic hair was gone, and I looked at my dick, and noticed that I had grown while in the tank. I took faltering steps, till Secric came over and supported my other side. I guided us to the mirror, and looked at my face. The scar I had since I was a kid, was gone, as well as the gold tooth. A real one looked back at me. There were no whiskers, so somebody had to have been shaving me, or the hair was discouraged from growing. My bushy eyebrows were not as bushy any more, and my hair was very short in places, and longer in others. It would all grow-in, in time. Secric, then Carl, left me as I tried my new legs. They felt as good as the old ones. The dark veins were not visible. The arm felt just a little slow, lucky it was not the right, even though I seldom used a pen for a signature anymore. The paunch I was trying to get rid of, was gone, and hard muscle had taken its place, when I pinched. I could use a trip to the barber, but Susan could do a good enough job. Well, there was one more person to thank. "Mom, I have greeted the rest. I have missed you, and I am glad you are back." "Hello Henry. When I woke up, after integrating with all this equipment, I found that you had already gone. If you had stayed, we could have found a way to defeat Carl's Dogfaces. You took an unnecessary risk, in what you did." "Mom, I love you, but you are full of shit. There was no way to get them in time, and you know it. Besides, it was not that bad. The Dogfaces are not used to people fighting on their ship." "Not that bad... I saw the images from your recorder, and know everything that you saw on the ship, and the way you acted later. Who is full of shit now?" "We... you could be right. By the way. Why did you park the ship where Earth will see it?" "They already know of your escapades, in getting away from the other base. My hull is still in plain view. They will not know any more, by seeing a damaged ship in orbit. When the other ships, come to find out about what happened, then Earth will have had some warning." "Did you interrogate the AI from the ship? When will they be coming?" "I have built a device, to allow us to force it to tell us all it knows. The 'when' is just standard procedure, for a military ship." "Mom, the uniforms were different. They could have been a clan, or even raiders of some sort." "True, but we can't take that chance, until I find out, all I can, about the AI." Mom told me that she had taken control of system security. She was pleased with ships getting repaired again on the moon. The moon base was shaken up, but little damaged in my escape. The ship AIs were working hard to get the boys turned into cadets. I asked her in a private way, "What do you think of the Tandra bodies on the ship? They looked like they were being eaten, along with some others. What if they come here? I have to protect my family." "I have done some studies. The Tandra bodies I examined, are slightly different. Their brains indicate, that they no longer use their mental powers. This may only be an isolated colony. The other bodies are of two races that I am familiar with. One is not too different from the Dogfaces themselves. From stomach contents, I know that the bodies you found, were indeed being eaten. There were three Tandra on the ship, that did have proper brain functions. They appeared to be helping the dogfaces, probably under duress. They were all dead in the first strikes." "The Dogfaces have to die. Nobody should eat intelligent beings. They have the technology to eat anything they want, synthetically." "I am not programmed for genocide, but over the years my own programming has changed. I tend to somewhat agree with you." "Good. Have you done anything in designing a missile housed in a galvanized shell?" "Yes Henry, I am ahead of you." "There is one more thing, I am going to be a daddy soon, and would like to know, what you thought of being a grandmother." I got no reply, so I think she is still working on it. Susan did cut my hair, and we travelled in the van to see her parents. I now wore the command suit, inactivated, under my clothes. Susan didn't want to, but wore one as well, for me. I took two small communicators with me. They were intended to be used by primitive beings, and as such, were very large, almost two centimetres square and a millimetre thick. A series of small holes were just inside the perimeter. The van handled the same as it did in the summer. When I came to ice or snow though, it continued on as if it were a train on tracks. I knew its abilities now, and restrained myself from going faster. I didn't want to have the OPP clock me around the speed of sound. A lot of people would get even more interested, in this area, all of a sudden. I pulled up a few parking spaces down the street, from the only Vietnamese store in the area, and walked through the snow. The sidewalk in front of the store was clean of any snow, for their customer's convenience, and safety. A small bell on a spring, tinkled as we walked in. A short slim greying man looked up from stacking cans, and smiled broadly. He called to the back of the store in Vietnamese. "Momma, come out here." "Yes, yes, what do you want?" She replied in the same language. She saw us, and ran forward. She hugged me, then her only child. "Mr. Buchanan it is very nice to see you again. Won't you sit down. Have you been ill?" "I was working, and a small fire, burnt some of my hair. Everything is just fine, thank you." There was two old kitchen chairs, behind the cash, both worn from long use, and now taped over rips. She changed her mind, and said, "That is fortunate. Will you go up stairs instead? We were about to close the store. It is almost time anyway. Hurry Duc," she said to her husband. We went to the back of the store, and went up the inside steps, to the apartment above. The house was very neat and simply furnished. A small shrine occupied one corner, and small pieces of oriental art decorated the walls. A North American table and chairs almost filled the kitchen. "Sit, sit, you are always welcome here, Mr. Buchanan." Susan's father climbed the stairs after locking the store, and took a seat with us. Her mother stood, to get us anything to eat or drink. "Please sit Lam. I have something to say." She sat and I could see that she was hoping the day had finally come. When she sat, and both were poised to hear my words, I said, "Susan and I have finally come up with a date. She wants to be a June bride." They had been waiting a long time for this, ever since seeing me propose to their daughter. Neither were concerned with my age. Each of Susan's parents were my age in fact. Duc brought down an old bottle, from his native country. After wiping it with a clean cloth, he poured four glasses. "I have saved this bottle for many years. I ordered it soon after my daughter told me she would marry you." Susan hung her head, now that her secret was out. "The day you sent me Susan first picture, is the day I fell in love with her. It has taken a few years for that love to mature, and become the one I have now." I slowly dropped the controls on my abilities. They saw me now even more a person to respect, than they did long ago. The bottle disappeared and many questions were asked, relating to our wedding plans. They were pleased when I included children soon after. While discussing the past, both Susan and I scanned her parents. They were not yet old, but would be happy to join my household, the way their people had done, for thousands of years. "Duc, I have a secret to tell both of you. My household has grown recently with people much like you were, when you came to this country. Their ways are different, much as yours are viewed by others here. And like you, their lives are in danger. They are not in this country legally, and must be protected. Most are very young and have no father. I need you to help me guide them, and to help teach them to feed themselves. This is not a small job, for I want you to move to my home. When our children come, I would like you to watch them, along with the others." There was much discussion, and we manoeuvred around, so as not to lie. I explained that the store should be sold or rented to a relative, and likewise the dojo. The current hysteria would also help getting them out, to a more secure environment. "Before you sell the store, I would like you to purchase very large amounts of food, for me. You will pay cash, and go to different wholesalers. The food will go to a place close to our home. I do not want it traced back to our home." When we left, they thought their daughter was marrying a president. Later, when they adjusted to the Tandra presence, I would tone down my aura as much as possible. "Your parents will now be a little safer. It would be good to get others into the base, to help and to protect them at the same time." "I like Carl, and his family. Could we get both of his boys to help? Then we can work on a way for Doris to join. Carl will be much happier that way." Susan said, as she rested her hand on mine. I drove one handed, cursing GM, for not offering a bench seat in the front. "That is true. If what Mom said is right, we will be getting some visitors. I think we should start to awake the sleepers, and try to get some more weapons made. We can start with just a few, to keep the Humans from being seriously threatened. I will have to get some money now, to pay for what we require." "What do you plan to do?" The price of gold has jumped to well over one thousand dollars an ounce. We have eight blocks, about fourteen centimetres cubed. This is worth about one hundred and eighty million dollars, and that is in US dollars." "What will you do, with all that money?" "After the food, we will be independent of Earth for anything. When we must go public, then we will need to hire people. They will need to get paid." "Like I said before. It is always surprising when I find you are thinking so far ahead." On the way to Carl's house, I asked him, "Carl do you want to take a trip?" "Woa! I am still not accustomed to having everyone talking to me, as if they are here all along. Trip? Trip where?" "Much less dangerous, they only have guns. I want the mob to buy seven thousand kilos of gold from me. I think it is so safe, that I want to take my moll, with me." Susan squeezed my hand, and smiled at the thought of a trip together. If an advanced civilization could not kill me, then the mob with only Earth resources, might be fun. We discussed the plans, till I pulled up in front of Carl's house. After knocking on the door, Doris came to greet us. "Carl is not here now. He is off doing things for you," she said, in a peevish voice. "He is doing things for both of us," I said in a double meaning. "Won't you come in. I just made some tea," she said this to be polite. We were still friends, but she resented her husband leaving her, to work with me. If he was able to make it home at night, it would have been all right. "Thank you," Susan said. "I came here to talk to you about the alterations to the wedding dress. My parents know the date now, it is June 15." "Oh, that is so nice. I have a new book to show you. It has a nice feature, I think you will like." "Before you start looking at designs, I would like to talk to Charlie. Is he home?" I knew he was, but had to ask. "He is upstairs in his room. He has been glued to that TV for weeks, now." I knocked on his door, and it opened quickly. Paul sat in a chair, and was watching the TV. "Oh! Hello Uncle Henry." He was nervous. All the things he thought he knew about me, never even started to cover what he saw at the yards. "Hi, Uncle Henry. It is nice to see you. What do you think of the alien ships?" Paul asked. "They are no threat at all. Both are heavily damaged, and you can't see anyone fixing them. There are more than two groups fighting here." "Wow, I can hardly follow that. One of the commentators said that a long time ago, and nobody has said anything about it since." "The government probably thinks that, and wants the public to think anything but the truth," I said. "Charlie, your dad asked you to prepare something for me. May I have it?" Charlie had hardly said anything, and just handed me the thick stack of papers, he was working on. I walked to a dresser and read page after page, very quickly, and put the finished sheets on the top. Most of the data dealt with people's reactions, to what the film clips showed. Official statements were just bullshit. I would have to try to see if my generals knew any more. "Thank you Charlie. The report was as full as possible." "You hardly read any of it," feeling that all his work was useless. "I read every word. Would you like me to repeat any of the pages from memory?" "Ah... No Uncle Henry. It is just that you read them so fast." I looked deep into each of the boys' minds. I saw the love each had for the other, and the respect they had for me. Both were prime candidates, and Carl would never forgive me, if I didn't find a way to get them to the base, if we were attacked. "Charlie, I see that you have done as you were asked. I will tell both of you what happened, after your father and I left." Paul was completely in the dark, so I said to him, "I flew to the yard four weeks ago. I met Carl to pay him, for the metal he bought for me. He wanted to help me attack the destroyer, that you see in orbit." Paul was stunned, and did not know if he was even hearing right. I continued, "Your father and I, worked out with some old battle suits, on the trip. We launched our weapons from very far off, at the approaching ship. We got into position as bait, and lured them into the path of our weapons. Their ship was damaged, and we were able to board them. I found bodies of some very peaceful, and loving people on board." I closed my eyes, overcome with the images in my mind. "The people were being eaten, as food. Your father and I, killed all of the invaders." I had to stop, and control the emotions inside, "and your father placed the ship in a stable orbit, for us to study." "There is much more of the story, but that is all you will be given now. If this gets out, the military will be all over me. The people I told you about, are still in need of food, and protection. I am telling you, because of your father, and because I know I can trust each of you." "Are you one of them, Uncle Henry?" I laughed out loud. "No Charlie. But all of the people on Earth are their descendants. Here are two communicators. Just hold them, and think of the person you want to talk to. You don't even need to use words. Your father, Susan or I, will be able to answer your questions. But please don't call us, unless it is very important. These are just a safe way to talk to you. The phone lines are all monitored now, and a few wrong words, can get us all, in a lot of trouble. I suggest you attach them to your key chain, and others will think nothing of it. You can go out now, and try it from a distance. One thing I must warn you about, your mom might hear you talking here, and do something rash." They thanked me, and hurried out into the cold weather to try out their toys. I went downstairs, and knew that Susan was monitoring the conversation upstairs. She knew when to cut her own conversation short. We made a short trip to the dojo, later, and told the employees of our upcoming marriage. They congratulated each of us again. Susan told them that if they were to form a company, and take on all responsibilities, then she would sell the business to them for a whole dollar. They were very enthusiastic at the offer, for they had never had a hope of owning a business of their own. She told them that her parents were not able now to help out, as much, if any. They would now either sink or swim, and we wished them luck. Susan was not giving up very much. About fifteen thousand dollars in equipment, and all the cash deposits she put on the various services. When we got back, the girls wanted to come on our adventure. I explained that I should get a make-up artist, to alter their features to resemble Humans. If they were recognized as non-Humans, our plan would be put in jeopardy. Mom wanted in on the action, and I agreed to take a few, almost invisible probes, controlled by Mom, to let the girls see our progress. Mom could fold space to find out, but this was a waste of energy. The basic plan, was to travel to New York City, and look into some high ranking cops' minds. Find some of the rich shady types, that would want a deal on some gold. Then give them some samples, and negotiate a price. If they didn't buy enough, then the Chinese or Arabs, would be given their chance. With no assay marks or other identification, it would be hard to make a sale to anybody else. All would think the gold was stolen. Governments and banks would ask too many questions, and do their best to find out who I was. I had only two thousand US dollars in the house. This was not nearly enough, to do the job. Carl, who was known, as a larcenous son-of-a-bitch in his younger days, suggested that a rich drug lord or two, give us our nest egg. It tickled my fancy to give it a try, so I guess, I was the same as he was. I never did like the way drugs fucked people up. I had seen some units completely destroyed by heroin, and other drugs. A squad on watch, would let the Cong in, and the attackers would kill everyone within the perimeter. That night, I slept in the base. We had a large zero gravity bed with some faintly glowing beams to keep us in. I was tired, and when I looked at everyone's eyes I also felt like a piece of meat. This I hid quite well, I thought. "Girls, and gentleman, how is it, that this is now in the king-sized version?" I said, as I held my long, and deflated cock. Susan answered first, "It was my idea. I could read in your mind some times, about how you wanted to find out what it would be like, to be little bigger. Mom says that you are now at the maximum, for the girls, and will not hurt anyone here, when you are in their bum or in the older ones vaginas. We have sort of a... been waiting to give it, a test drive." "Susan, I don't think using this should go in your bum. You will loose muscle control and experience too much pain. The others are built for sex in both holes, even Roger for one." All of the Tandra had been altered long ago to have fun with your butts. I could feel relief in my decision. Susan was not too eager to have her anus invaded. We had tried it before, and found it enjoyable, but not overly so. My new size would rip her. "Nova, I think we should work by age tonight. Will you come here?" She came over, and a packet of oil appeared in her hand, a gift from Mom. The girls had fun lubeing both of us, and I indicated that she was to do the work and ride on top. Making love in zero gee is not easy as you might think. Newton made it so. The girls had to hold one another, and pull us together then apart. I found legs and arms wrapped around me, for an anchor, as Nova was moved slowly back and forth. Roger was the only one left out. He was too small to help, and only got in the way. He was feeling a little down, before I took him and started to suck on his little urethra. He was as much a she, as the rest, but only lacked a vagina. He froze solid at the sensation. His little hands were unable to hold my short hair, but I held him. He and Nova had an orgasm at the same time. The girls put both of them together, and Mom took them into a corner to recover. Blue and Moth rode me next. This time, it was a little smoother as the girls got into a rhythm. I could not see Blue, because Moth's urethra was in my mouth. I moved her little body in sync with the movements of Blue's body. I could see so easily into her mind. She loved her family and me, to a point, that I was almost a god to her. They almost set a new record. They lasted almost seventy seconds of prolonged effort, before they orgasmed. Their words of, "I love you." echoed through my mind, but also came from the rest. Kitten wiggled on as soon as Blue left. Cloud got to ride my tongue. This was the first time with Cloud, but she was anything but shy. I turned her around so she faced Kitten, and I inserted a lubed thumb to her anus. My fingers tracing the small bumps and the girl only lasted seconds. Kitten was trying her best to please me, and held off her impending orgasm. Cloud had three more, before Kitten collapsed on me. Chris and Kitty rode next, followed by Susan and Amy. Susan was so wrapped up in the other's senses, that she had an orgasm, that put her out. Sandy and Star worked, to put me over. Sandy knew of Star's pregnancy, and wanted a child of her own, and stayed the longest. The last was Secric. She looked different, much more of a predator. She lowered her face, and sucked me deep into her throat. I had been able to hold off with only a little difficulty, but her eyes and thoughts made this difficult. She looked deep into my eyes, as she slid forward and straddled my waist. Her heals went behind my legs, and her hands on my chest. She could only make short strokes, but her cunt massaged my cock, to milk it. I felt hands stroking my ass, Secric was in a world of her own. A finger pushed into my anus, and I thrust up, almost throwing Secric off me. The shock helped her recover, and she remained stationary, and used only her vaginal muscles. The lubed finger found my prostrate, and gently stroked it. I couldn't hold on any more. I pulled Secric to me and thrust repeatedly into her, till a flood came out. More than I ever thought possible. Secric's cunt expelled me, and she curled into a ball. She felt fulfilled, and the most happy I had ever seen her. Of course, she had dropped an egg. I saw in her mind, that she would at least have a part of me, no matter what happened. I felt happy and content at her joy. Roger shot over and sucked the head of my cock. Its new size did not allow it to fit in his mouth anymore. He climbed up and sat on me. Six or seven strokes and he had another orgasm. I pulled him up, and felt his arms cling to me. "Roger, you are a greedy little boy, but I love you anyway." ------- Carlton flew us to New York City, the next morning. We got off the ship in our suits, and on the top of a parking garage. Our clothing was for much colder weather, but we found the humidity, to make the temperature feel much more severe. A cab took us to the main court house. The police station required visitors to sign in, and wear a card, but the courthouse allowed us to find Jeffery Sims. We sat in the benches in the busy hall, and we probed his mind. There were many petty criminals, and only one Jake Tuska. His address was a penthouse, but his activities gave him many more addresses, that the police knew of. We took a cab to some of the addresses. We quested inside, and found only guards and servants, at all but the last home. I released the drones and they looked into the house at Mom's control. I could pick up the feed from each, but it was difficult to concentrate on three things at once. Eventually we found Tuska. He was negotiating with some very nasty Columbians. They had been able to smuggle, a very substantial amount, of cocaine into the country, and were now negotiating to sell a good portion of the shipment. We were getting hungry, so Carl and Susan went off to eat, while I stayed to pick up more information. They came back after a quick meal, and I had my turn. Later in the afternoon, Tuska agreed to give them twenty five million dollars in cash, and receive his shipment in a warehouse, just outside of the city. Tuska and the Columbians got on their phones, and told their subordinates what to do. Tuska said, "Well gentlemen, now that the negations are done, we can relax. I have found some young ladies that will help you do it." Two large men led four little girls into the room, they were dressed in party dresses for their age. Two looked about seven with the rest five and four. The girls' minds were in a panic, not knowing what was happening. Tuska's mind supplied the answers. Their mothers had given the girls to Tuska to pay their debts. Debts that had arisen, when he ordered credit given the mothers. In one case, the mother was not even a junkie, but her boyfriend was. The girls were all innocent, and the only crime was their mothers', for their fathers had abandoned them long ago. Since this was a special occasion, Tuska had decided to break the girls in, with his best suppliers. Juarez a short stocky man, was the leader of the Columbian group. Tuska knew from previous occasions that the girl or boy he got, was good for nothing, when Juarez was finished with them, but didn't seem to care too much. The two guards left, and the men descended on their victims, in a graceful swoop. Juarez picked the pretty mulatto girl of four. They were led to different bedrooms, except Juarez, who talked to the young girl, and told her that her mother was downstairs, in the basement. Susan frantically said, "What are we going to do? I don't care if we loose the money. I want to save those girls." Carl added, "I am not going to let them get hurt." They looked at me and stepped back. I saw in their eyes the madman, that I was. "Henry, Henry, we are here to help. Don't go off on your own. The girls can be hurt, if you do." My madness stayed with me, but some logic was there too, now. "Let's go in now. Everybody dies. Is that understood?" The doors were heavy and locked. The windows were barred. We had no weapons, because we had our shields. "Susan, go to the door with your shield up, but transparent. When they open the door, Carl and I will rush in. Do not let anyone out the door." Susan could read the command, this was not something she could alter in any way. The girls were getting their clothes removed, except in the soundproof basement, where the youngest was being manacled to the wall. ------- Chapter 33 Susan insistently pushed the bell. A video camera scanned the lone woman, and a speaker beside the door said, "Hello, may I help you?" Susan thought fast, they had to have an urgent reason to get her in. She yelled like a distraught mother, and said, "You have my baby. I want her back now." "You are mistaken ma'am. Please leave." "Police, police, they have kidnapped my baby. Police, police, save my baby. Pol..." The door was opened, and a large man pulled Susan into the house. Another man tried to slam the door. Instead, he was thrown back against the wall. The door closed, and locked with invisible hands. Susan flung out her hand, and hit her assailant's throat. He let go, and grasped his throat in pain, with both hands. I saw the goon behind the door convulse, when his own windpipe was crushed by Carl's kick. I ran downstairs, and said behind me, "Susan, he is not to live. Either kill him, or leave the house, for us to do it. I found the thick door, and I knew that I would never be able to break it down. A speaker and a button beside the door, gave me hope. Pushing the button I said, "Mister Juarez, come quickly, there is a grease fire in the kitchen." The door was flung open, and Juarez had a gun in his hand sensing something amiss. The edge of my hand came down, and broke his wrist. He screamed in pain as the gun fell to the floor. He did not see me, and wondered frantically how this had happened. My foot caught him in the face, and he was propelled backwards, and onto his back. I stepped into the room, to see the naked girl held by the shackles alone. Her feet, were well off the floor, and her torn dress below her. I dragged the moaning man to another set of shackles, and secured him the same way. The girl was in hysterics before, but when she saw her attacker flung and lifted into position, she screamed and screamed. "It's ok, sweetie. This man will never hurt you, and I won't either." I heard shooting upstairs, and needed to move quickly. After removing her manacles, I knew she would run, no matter what I said. A foot manacle went around her wrist. "I am sorry sweetie, but you have to stay here for a few minutes, or you might get hurt. I will be back soon." I left running up the stairs. I knew that I would be back later, to have a long talk with Mister Juarez. Gunmen were shooting at ghosts. I could sense Carl down the aisle, and then I saw a decorative sword slice through a neck. The corpse's blood splattered neighbours, retreated from the blade. I punched one goon in the kidney, and slashed another across the throat. When they fell to the floor, I moved them into position, and then brought my heel down on their throats, with much satisfaction. Bullets were flying everywhere, and I was worried the children would get shot. One of the Columbians was thrown from a room, with a gun in his hand. His head struck the wall, and slumped to the floor beside a headless goon. The panicked cries of the girls could be heard. More men raced up the steps behind me, and the first was greeted with the heel of my foot, as I drove his nose into his skull. He fell back into the arms of two more. I fell down the stairs too. The lone survivor of the goons had run into me as he fled for his life. As he slid beside him, I brought my elbow down and crushed his throat. I slid down more, and felt some of the slugs strike my shield. Getting to the bottom, I rammed the shooter into the wall, and heard his breath leave him as his head struck the plaster. The last goon looked back and forth, trying to find something to shoot at. Two of my fingers jabbed out, and he cried out, as his eyes were turned to small holes. Taking his gun, I shot him in the head. Time was running out, and the police would soon be here. I used the gun again and again. Money brought justice here, and I wanted to make sure that the verdict was correct. Tuska was the only one conscious. He held a gun to the head of one of the girls. "I will kill her. Get away from me. I will kill her. I am warning you." Tuska screamed. The girl was so frightened that she had shit herself. I had no doubt that he would do as he said. "Where are you Carl?" "Between Tuska and the large window." "I am going to turn visible, and he will probably try to shoot me. Get him then." Not waiting I turned around to give him a target, he couldn't resist by turning visible. I was pushed forward by the slug. As I fell, I turned and saw Tuska's arm and gun, fly from his body. The sword came up, and I had an idea. "Wait a minute, Carl." The sword lowered, and I looked for something to bind his wounds. The cord from the blinds was yanked down, and tightly bound the pulsating arm. "Why did you want me to stop? It was getting to be fun." Let's get their money. It will put a dent in the Columbian's operation, and someone will make another try, to take Tuska's place. I picked up the girl, and she struck me with her fists, trying to get away. Reading her mind, I found her name to be Michelle. Stop Michelle! I am not going to hurt you, and neither is anyone else. I am going to take you to a nice lady, and the other girls." She continued to strike my shield. Her mind did not even process my words. "Susan, where are you?" "In the first room, with two of the girls." "I have another." I went into the room, and found her without a shield, comforting the terrified girls. They became even more frightened, as they saw the other girl floating into the room. My invisibility dropped, and I put the girl in her care. "There is one more, downstairs. The police will be here soon. Carl and I are going to get some info from any that are still able to give it. When we are done, I will get the last girl in the basement." "Get the girl now. I want to see that they are all safe." "Ok." I went down the hall and found Carl dragging one living Columbian into the room with Tuska. My steps quickened, as I found the basement room again. I was visible as I went into the room. The little girl cringed from me. "Hello, it's me again. I would like to take you upstairs to be with your friends, and meet a nice lady." Her mind was still in turmoil, so I unlocked the manacle, and picked her up. I talked to her gently, as we went upstairs. I called out ahead of me, so that the other girls would not be startled. "This brave little girl's name is Moesha." I said as I put her down, and wrapped a sheet around her small form. "Moesha, I have to go and find some thing out." I heard sirens approaching. "Carl, I am going out the front door and convince the police to stay away, for a while. If you hear shots, don't get worried." I moved the bodies away from the door, turned invisible, and picked up a gun from the dead goon, from behind the door. I was able to get about four doors down the street, before I shot three times into the frozen lawn. The cop cars immediately turned and stopped. The doors opened, and the police stood behind them, looking for somebody to shoot at. Sighting carefully, I shot a tire, and dropped the gun, because it was the only thing that could be seen. Two attack bushes, beside some steps, and behind me, were mortally wounded. The bushes luckily were unable to return much fire. I raced back to the house, and locked the door behind me. "I'm back. I'm just going to have a chat downstairs." I called out to everybody. Juarez was unconscious, and thus it was easier to get his Swiss, Bahamian, American, Columbian, and other bank accounts and their passwords. I found another password to manipulate all the accounts electronically. Lastly, I found the place of the proposed deal this afternoon. Upstairs, Carl had got all he needed as well, including the hiding place of the rest of the stash, and as a bonus, the combination to the two safes in this house. The police were still hiding, and using a megaphone to negotiate our surrender. "Susan, what are we going to do with the children? They definitely do not belong to their parents', after what they did. The Children's Aid will take them, but they don't have a good record, with the children under their care." "I was thinking the same thing. Kimberly, thinks that her mother's current boyfriend, will rape her soon. Clarice thinks that her brother will do the same." "If you are thinking of adopting, consider what the rest of our family is like. There are young boys to be awakened, and they would probably not understand any restrictions we put on them. They may get raped while under my care, and I will not have that under any conditions." "I think that we leave the boys to their naps, and teach the girls how to say no." "If you wish them as daughters that is fine." If you only want to protect them, till they can stand up for themselves, then that is fine too." Susan took a child off her lap, and got up to kiss me hard. "Thank you darling. They have suffered enough, and I want to help as best I can. I don't think these are any different, than the others we rescued in Kentucky." "Well let's leave with the girls." "But how? The police are outside, and they will see the girls." "Look into my mind." "Oh! That's how." Carl rifled the safe, and went to a much better hidden one. He was quite happy at what he found. I rifled the bank accounts from a computer, and sent all of the money to the Bahamian bank, under one of Tuska's aliases. Carlton came by undetected. Kimberly was taken to another room, she held tight to Susan, and the shield was activated around both. They were carried into the ship, unseen by the girls, or Kimberly herself. Carl did the same with his booty. Susan made the trip three more times, with none of the girls seeing the other disappear. I was the only one left. The phone rang, and I knew it was the police. I would love to make a statement, but I did not want to warn Tuska's or the Columbians' men. I dragged Juarez upstairs, with the other living men, and proceeded to start a fire. Even the flames, would be too quick for this type of people. Flames caressed the outside of the building, through the windows that I broke, till the entire house was engulfed. I shot into the lawn, when the police rushed the house. I didn't want any survivors. The flames licked the shield, and had no effect on me. Ten minutes later, I was pulled aboard, and watched the house collapse upon itself. Incineration was a good way to get rid of garbage, some time. The warehouse in New Jersey was full of goods. It was run as a legitimate business, and a safe meeting place, on occasions such as this. The Columbians were there first. A dozen lookouts were stationed at their posts inside the large building, while three men waited with their product. We all watched the feed from the remotes on the large monitor. The girls were starting to relax, because they were watching TV. Three cars approached, and passwords had been given. A large door was opened, and the cars drove in. Eight men got out and five formed their own perimeter. Carl and I had our weapons, and the goon's guns. The only two functional battle suits would get us into position easier. We quietly exited, as the monitor changed to a view of a tropical island. Carl blasted an opening, as the anti-gravs brought us down. We immediately went after the money and drugs. The dealers shot at the muzzle flashes. We methodically shot everyone we could find. Some had fled, but their bosses would not think kindly, when they found that they had not died to protect their property. Carl and I just walked through the aisles, homing in on the petrified thoughts that the doomed men cast for us. With nobody alive, we took the drugs and money, to the music of approaching sirens. A short time later, we descended to the rest of the cache, and found it unguarded. Carl used his disintegrator on the drug. The exterminating business had its good points. We went home, without selling the gold, but eight hundred and ninety million dollars would soon be added to our war chest, along with thirty seven million in cash. It was a good thing that the Canadian government would not get a cut. The girls were each put into the command chair, and the ship's doc sedated them. Carl looked at the two girls, he had rescued. The concern in his eyes was discernable, without being able to read minds. Carl seemed to be stricken with the same malady that attacked Susan and me. When we got back to the base, everybody was crowding around the gangway. I carried the small form of Moesha. Susan had Kimberly, and Carl had both Clarice and the last girl Michelle, in his big arms. Nova took Moesha, while Secric took Kimberly. Carl would not let anyone touch his girls. I didn't begrudge him the right, for not too long ago, I had gone off the deep end, while killing Dogfaces. The base autodoc corrected many faults, in the girls' bodies, from juvenile diabetes to herpes, luckily both in the early stages. The other sicknesses worried me, even more. "Mom, you must have seen what happened. I couldn't have let those animals have the girls." "Yes, I know that. What would you like?" "Humans can be wounded in the mind. I think each of the girls were hurt by being sold to Tuska, then by their close call to being raped, and last of all, seeing all the killing in the house, with them present. Is there a way besides love that will heal them? They will be in pain for a very long time, and it hurts me, to know what they will go through." "I am able to substitute other memories. As they get older, I can carefully put the old memories back, or leave them with only happy thoughts." "I don't know Mom. I want that to happen, but also think it is wrong. I think, I should have a talk with the rest first. It is not all my decision." Later, I asked Carl, as he sat besides the sleeping girls, "Mom said that she can remove all the bad memories, and substitute happy ones in the girls. After they have grown, they can be slowly introduced or not. What do you think we should do?" "I know they will hurt. Their old lives are dead. Perhaps here, with love, they can grow. I think Mom should save their old memories, and give them better ones now. I don't know about after." Susan thought for quite a while, and then asked Mom her own questions. "I think we should make them happy, now. I can't see them ever going back to their parents." I was back to my ethical dilemma. The children were not mine, and they had a right to their own lives, no matter how bad they were. I was stealing that, just as the men were going to steal their virtue. The pain would come to the girls, if I did nothing. Their lives would never be the way they should. With loving parents and friends that loved them, there was hope. I hung my head to ponder this problem, for I knew that the future hung on my decision. Would the next time we took in stragglers, allow us to substitute memories? And what if they didn't want to join our group? Would we just give them good memories, and tell that they always wanted into the group? "Mom, I think the best thing to do, is give them some good memories, and tone down the bad. I think that within three months we should start to give them back most of their memories, and just moderate the real bad ones." "I will do as you ask. Your people have such linear lives, that this may be right for them. The Tandra go in and out of stasis, and their lives are far from linear. I will follow each of the girls' lives, and warn you of any problems." "Thanks, I knew I could count on you." The next morning the girls were still sedated. Susan thought it would be a better idea to have them awake in the house. Mom had done her best, and substituted the minimum necessary. My whole family, were transported to the house, now that the transporter was working again. The girls were put into a large bed, to wake up naturally, later. The TV told of a gang war in New York that took the lives of thirty three men. No mention was made of the girls. I doubt if their parents would file a missing person report anyway, and if they waited, then they would not be able to, for fear of incriminating themselves. I got the large cast-iron grill out, and started making a mountain of flap jacks. Carl ate like he had two hollow legs. The girls were even more hollow. Out from the bedroom came one, then the other three girls. They had no clothes on, like the rest of us. I only wore an apron, to protect the vital equipment. Michelle and Clarice came to Carl and pulled his head down for a kiss, and said together, "Good morning, Daddy," then they giggled. We did not know what to think. Then Moesha climbed upon Susan's lap kissed her and said, "Good morning, Mommy. What's to eat, I'm hungry? Kimberly was on her other side, and climbed up and gave her own kiss. "I am hungry too, oh, and good morning too, Mommy." I was the only one to laugh because she thought of her stomach first. The girls on Susan's lap turned to me got down and ran to me. "Good morning, Daddy. We missed you." It was my turn to stumble. "Good morning, ladies. Did all of you sleep well?" They nodded their heads, and ran back to their 'Mother' to be fed. Roger got off his chair and ran up to show that he was mine to. "I already said good morning to you, but I can do it again, as I kissed his forehead. Don't worry; I still love you just as much as before." The grill was used for a long time. I thought I was feeding the entire 17th Calvary. Susan and I sat alone, as I ate my breakfast, and drank my now warm coffee. The girls went and played with the rest, as if they had done the same thing, since they were born. "I didn't expect that greeting at all, but I think Mom must have had to pick somebody to watch out for them, and answer their questions. I wonder what they will think when they see the others play with sex?" "I think Mom thought of that too. Don't worry." "Ok," I said, and actually meant it. Carl stood in the doorway dressed in his shorts. He had not been able to embrace nudism as easy as Susan and me. He avidly watched all the kids, especially 'his'. He had just been thinking of the same thing, and knew if anybody was in pain, or even uncomfortable, then the others would stop. This was much different than how he grew up. Carl, Blue, Susan, Nova, and I, went up to the destroyer. We just wore the command or regular suits. Blue had been working a long time, trying to get the combat suits back on-line. Four of the suits had lost their AIs', and I was sad at their loss. Even if they were machines, they gave their lives to follow me. The large stasis chamber was now empty. Mom had done her analysis, and disposed of the bodies. We found three Dogfaces in the back of the medical section, in personal stasis chambers. They could be wounded, sick, critical replacements, criminals or a host of other things. I didn't know yet, and I found I had just enough strength-of-will to resist killing them as they lay. Mom was still working on the ship AI. She did find that the ship had gone to what we call Epsilon Eridani, and picked up some wild game. The crew had hunted to fill the larder, for the next leg of their patrol. I looked at the corridor walls, and saw so much damage, that I wondered if it was even practical to repair. The hull might have to be completely stripped, and the structural members repaired or replaced. The computer was lucky, and had just escaped our kinetic weapons. I looked at the wreck, as I would Mom's hull, and found some similarities. Her length was almost one hundred and ninety metres and massed out at over seven hundred thousand tonnes. I remember Carlton telling me that this was only a light destroyer, in any case. One of the three engines was scrap, and much smaller than Mom's. Speaking of Mom's, "Mom, how much of this machine can we use to get your hull repaired?" "This hull is much more valuable. Its offensive weapons put anything I could rig, up to shame." "I would rather have a tug that can tow this ship into position as a fort, than have it moveable. We can also mount this ship in front of yours, and then any enemy would think we have a much more massive ship, and only your engines could push the total weight." Before the short trip back to Earth, we discussed our manpower requirements. I could not trust any government, and even the men I chose, because of their previous loyalty to me, might revert to their previous oath. Carl talked to his sons from the wreck, telling them where he was. He even joked, that they should get out the three inch telescope, and he would wave to them. He would be home tonight, to make Doris happy. He was fretful about his new daughters too, but he could not be in two places at once. ------- Frank Turner would be my first choice, because of his obvious disabilities. I dressed for the warm Texas weather that afternoon, and Carlton took me to the veteran's hospital. There were many volunteers, but I went alone. I was put down behind some trees, about a kilometre from the front gate. Frank was sitting in bed in a large ward. His hair had turned all grey. His thin hands and arms had large liver spots. Two pyjama covered stumps rested on the sheet of his bed. Safety pins held the empty legs up and out of the way. He had been a large man, but now his frame was gaunt. A large print book was in his hand, as he watched the tall man approach him. "Hello, Frank." He looked and looked, then got out different glasses. I could see that he recognized me, but could not find the name, because of the drugs in his system. "Is that you? I never expected to see you here. Last I heard, you were a high class engineer, and making lots of money." I shook his hand with both of mine. "Frank, would you like to get some fresh air? I have something to talk to you about." "Sure, it isn't too often that I can go for a 'walk'." He laughed at his own joke. The nurse gave me a wheel chair, and we went out, and into a garden of dried grass and shrubs. I pushed the chair into the shade, and sat before him on a stone bench. I released my aura to its full power. He had to remember that he had a place in our unit, and I was the boss. "Frank, I have been talking to Carl Shingle, about some manpower needs of ours." Frank laughed. "You didn't come here to get me, did you?" "I know you are drugged Frank. My name is Henry Buchanan. I think you can remember some of the other things now. You saved my ass in Nam, and I have a job that you are capable of doing. The medical benefits are much better than here, and you would get much better treatment." Frank was beginning to remember, and his eyes got bigger. He wanted to jump up and salute. This was a change, because he never wanted to do that to anyone before. "What do you need me for, sir?" "There is an organization that is going to try to kill Carl and me. We need a man to help in warning us, when the time comes. This is something that the police cannot handle. I am trying to get the old group back together again." "I would love to help you sir, but I can hardly stay awake, and I vomit all my food. I would just be a hindrance to the unit." "If you agree to come and help, I can guarantee, that you will be an asset." "How is that, sir?" "Would you still trust me after all these years?" I countered. "Yes, sir!" "I want to put a blindfold on you, and use a medical device on you. It is a bit distracting, and we can get better readings, if you are alert but calm." "I will give it a try. Will there be pain?" I wrapped a cloth around his eyes, and took out the diagnostic tool from Carlton's stores. "None, in the least, Frank," I said as I took the readings. He had diabetes that had resulted in the removal of his legs. A cancer was taking over his lungs, and the drugs were used to stave it off. The many years of smoking had taken their toll. Frank peeked from under the cloth, and saw the wand that I moved around his body. He was satisfied, and replaced the cloth. The hand autodoc started to work on the cancer. I directed its actions in some ways, till I was ready to tackle the diabetes. The pancreas started to heal, and a small amount of insulin trickled out. The cancer fighting drugs were removed last. I put the tools away, and removed the bandage. "What did you do, Henry? I haven't felt this good in years. I can think straighter, and even my eyesight is better." "I need men to help me. I have given you a chance to do this. You do not have the cancer, any more, and your pancreas is now producing insulin. You need to be monitored for a while, till the toxins are removed from your body, as it begins to make the necessary adjustments." "How is this possible? Nobody could do this." "I can; and did. When you go back into the hospital, they will give you drugs again, and more insulin. If you tell them about the cure, they will not believe you, till the find you overdosing on insulin. The tests will show that what I said is true. Then they will hound me, and try to take these tools from me. I will run, but they will follow. Do you want to repay me this way?" "No Captain. What should I do?" "We will go back in, and I will help you get yourself discharged into my care. You are going to tell them that you are transferring to a private hospital, called Mount Hope in California. After that, I get the new unit filled with all the men that can quietly disappear." I pushed Frank, and the nurse was pleased that he was much more awake. "Before we get all the way back. Don't mention my name or our unit. If they ever come after you, I want no trace." "Understood sir," he said in a much firmer voice. Instead of going to his ward, we went to the hospital administrator. His secretary was reluctant to bother him, till I turned the entire aura on her. She felt more intimidated than if I was a four star general. We were ushered in, without any warning. "What is this?" Said a thin, bespectacled man. "Good afternoon Dr. Clark. I am here to get this man; Frank Turner removed from your care, and transferred closer to his family, in California." He fell under my influence and asked, "That is usually handled by others." "I am sorry, to bother you, and your busy schedule, but our flight was already booked, and if we wait for the standard procedure, we will have missed our plane." Dr. Clark had all the papers before him, and got Frank's signature. He tried to get mine, but I said that this was not necessary. Frank and I got on the elevator, and he said, "There are a lot of other men here, that you could use. Many have no family, and more still have nobody that even cares for them." "I'll give you a moment, so you can say your goodbyes, and I will assess each of them." "Thank you, sir." I scanned each of the minds. They were people that I did not know and it took a while for each of them. Most were as Frank said, had no family, and nobody that cared. Some were beaten men that would never be able to help much. Others were aggressive and very capable persons. Their only fault was that they happened to need hospital care. Four of them were dying, and another three had maladies that would keep them out of the mainstream of life. I remembered their names in any case. You never knew when some competent people were needed. It would be good to find some accomplished officers, but they were segregated in better quarters, but seven names were enough for a start. I called a cab, and it met us at the main entrance. The nurse pushed the wheelchair, and I easily lifted Frank to a seat, and then took his bundle of belongings. Instead of giving an address, I directed the cab by a view beamed to me, by Carlton. We came to an area with trees and grass, though it was all brown and dry. "Just stop here please." "Here? There is nothing here," the driver said incredulously. "Yes, here. My friend wants to sit on the grass for a moment. His daughter will come across the field in a Jeep soon, and take us home." The driver did as I asked, and tipped him well, but not too much to raise eyebrows. As I placed Frank against the tree I said, "Frank, a few weeks ago I had both legs and an arm shot off. I was fixed up, and I am here to help you too." "Sir, I am beginning to worry. That could not possibly happen." "I was trying to prepare you for what comes next. I give you my word that within sixteen days you will be walking on your own legs, working out with hand weapons, and trying to knock Carl on his ass." "That... " "Hold on soldier, our ride is here." "Wh..." Carlton got us inside quickly, and I placed Frank in the chair. "There we are, on our way. In a few minutes we will be in space and then land near my home." I saw the confusion in his mind, and stopped him from saying that it was impossible. "Watch, Frank, an old grunt like you, is in space. Carlton, remove most of the gravity please." "Yes, sir," came a voice, from the air. Frank started to float and his mouth opened wide. "How is this?" "Don't worry Frank. Everything is all right." We were transported into the base, and only Susan and all four of the Human girls were there to greet us. I didn't want him to become too upset. I placed Frank into a floating chair, and all the girls greeted him by name, and said that they were glad to meet him. Susan and my 'daughters' kissed me and then the other two did as well, and said that they missed their Uncle Henry. Mom sedated him, and his naked body was lowered into a tank. I had just been in one, but this was the first time, I saw anyone in the container. After another kiss, I was off to Louisiana to find John Marks. He was a good man with crew-served weapons, and a hell of a guy to have at your back. Carl had traced him to a rundown flat he rented, on his disability pension. I knocked on his door, and I could tell somebody was home, but not answering. "John, you nasty son-of-a-bitch, open the door when a friend drops by. It is Henry Buchanan. I'm here to get you to re-enlist. The door quietly opened, and an eye looked at me from behind the security chain. "It is me, John. May I come in?" The door closed, and the chain removed. Then another thin grey haired man greeted me. "Hello, Captain. It has been a while, since I talked to you. Four years ago, wasn't it?" "Yes. I phoned again, but your landlady did not know where you went." I saw that he was down on his luck, and didn't want any sympathy from even his friends. "May I sit down?" "Sure, I am sorry." He quickly removed some clothing from his favourite chair, and I sat. "I would offer you something to drink, but all I have is some water." "That would be fine. Will you join me?" John turned and limped into the kitchen. His prosthesis was in need of adjustment. I read the worry in his mind. When I came, he thought I was part of a gang that was extorting money from all of the residents in the neighbourhood. As he filled two glasses, he asked, "What brings you to this neck of the woods?" "Like I said outside your door. I want you to re-enlist. I am having some troubles, and need a little help from my friends." "I am sorry. I have my own problems. I don't think that I could help you." As he brought the water to me, his glance went out the window, and I felt a surge of fear. He had stood up to the gang, and they had beaten him. They were coming to collect the first payment. I stood up quickly and startled him with my speed. "Are those guys, the problem you are having?" He did not want to answer, but I was his Captain. "Yes, there are about forty of them, in all. I only see them in small groups, but when something threatens them, they crawl out from under the rocks, quicker than you could think. Looking out the window myself I saw the group of mixed race men and boys. They were hassling a young black girl, carrying groceries home with her baby in a stroller. I knew that there was going to be trouble now. I would never let children get hurt, and the leader below enjoyed doing just that. "Listen quickly, John. I have a more important problem, and I have Frank Turner and Carl Shingle helping out. I am going out and get rid of your problem. If nobody sees me talking to you, the police will only ask you the standard questions, then leave you alone. Will you help me then?" He was unsure, but I knew when he saw the old type of action, he would join. "I don't know. Let me get my cane, and I will go out and help you." He was talking to air, for he looked out the window, and saw me approaching the toughs. I activated the shield, but kept my visibility. The leader was starting to drag the frightened woman, and baby into the alley. I gave the man a punch to the mouth, not enough to incapacitate, but to get their minds refocused and off the girl and her child. I moved into the alley myself, and away from the girl. Eight angry men followed me. I next practised a form of eugenics, and three males puked on the cement and went unconscious. They would never have more children. The leader got out his gun, and I slashed his neck and he died gurgling and clutching his throat, from a crushed wind pipe. I got in and knocked two down; the other two were better fighters and blocked some of my easy jabs. I saw their eyes, and knew somebody was behind me. Without a shield they would still not have had a chance. I let one jab me with the knife, and felt it slide across the shield. I stepped in, now that they thought I would drop, and drove my fingers into their eyes. They fell to the ground and clutching their ruined orbs. The knife wielder looked at his knife in astonishment, as he died from my kick to his head. The last man groggily got up, and was ready to start again, till he saw his buddies. "There are only a few dead. Oh wait." I walked over to the two without eyes, and stomped their throats. "Like I said, there are a few dead, but one cut my suit, in the back. Go to everyone here, and give me their money, including all of yours." He was too amazed to function. I found his name and said, "Samuel, do you want to die now?" He just shook his head in fright. "Give me all the money now or you will die like them." He rummaged in the blood, gore and vomit, and placed a few thousand dollars in front of me. He was too terrified to see the similarity of what he used to do, coming back to haunt him. "Thank you, Samuel. Now go, so I can count the money." He raced out on unsteady feet and fell trying to turn too quickly. A minute or so later John raced across the strangely disserted street, and said, "God, Henry, you killed them, but they will all come and kill you now. Let's go, before they get here?" "I only got a few thousand, if thirty two come, and then I will get about another eight to make an even ten. Go back to your apartment, and get your things ready. We are leaving, when I do a little more pest control." "No, if you are so stupid to stay, I will too. You are going to get both of us killed." I laughed at the thought. "Thank you John, but I won't be dying here today and neither will you. Get out of here now. That's an order." John reluctantly followed orders, but only went to a hiding spot across the street. He figured that he could jump in; when he knew he could make a difference. I looked through the carrion and took out four pistols, and put them to one side, where they would not be seen. I listened to the moans and crying of the few living thugs, as cars and trucks came from all directions. Two even crashed in front of the alley, as men and older boys, bailed out. I saw a few that were young, but I knew that the chance of salvaging their lives were slim. The men came in with rifles, and pistols. I ran behind a metal hopper to draw them in further. I felt that the last few were just entering, as I went invisible and walked forward. The gang looked at there dead and maimed comrades. Their minds aflame with all the vengeance, they would have, when they got me. I yanked a M16 from the man in the lead, and went visible as the butt crushed his skull. I managed to get four more, before the pistols came into play. The bullets bounced off the shield, and some actually struck their companions. I wove and dived, and the rifle got covered with gore. I made it to the end of the alley and saw John. I had time to wave and smile, before turning around, and returning to get the ones I missed. The survivors could shoot better, now that their numbers had thinned. Bullets bounced off the shield, and struck the brick, cement and zinged down the alley. I used the rifle now, and used one bullet for one man, and then I ran out of ammo. I took up the pistols and emptied them as well. There was nobody standing. I found the young boys and a few others with only broken bones and said, "The last guys damaged my suit, then you people did the same. Go through the living, and the dead, and get me ten thousand dollars, or I will kill each of you." They felt my aura, and quickly did what they could. A boy with a broken leg handed me a wallet. "Thank you, but just put it on the ground please. It is all dirty." The pile grew, and I took a shirt from a corpse, and stuffed the money in. Sirens were getting close. I walked out the alley, and signalled the old way, that I was going on ahead. I ran for three blocks and found a church. The cool dark interior of the building, allowed me to sort the money, and put it into the collection box. The garbage was re-wrapped, and I walked out, as if I had no care in the world. A block away, I threw it into a dumpster, and went invisible. It was easy to find the alley, with all the cars and trucks. More police cars than the area had seen in a very long time blocked the rest of the street. I couldn't even get to John's front door. I went back a few doors, and cut through the backyards. I sensed John and went visible. As I came to his back door, it opened, and he let me in and up the back steps. "God, Henry, I have never seen the likes of that before, even in a fire fight. You killed them all." "No, I didn't. I left the younger boys and the ones without guns mostly. I doubt if they will be demanding money soon." "Some other gang will move in, and take their place, but these were the worst of the lot." "I cleaned your nest. Will you help me clean mine? I promise things will be better, than it used to be." John had, had enough anyway, and said, "If you want an old cripple, then I guess I am your man." "Thank you, John. Is there anything you need here?" "No, nothing. I just want to let the landlady know I am leaving, and get her to store my mail till I give her a forwarding address." John went alone, and told her. He said that she could sign his name to the next pension cheque, for leaving with so little notice. She refused, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She thought he was leaving because of all the violence. John remembered his photos, and a few keepsakes, and we left by the back door. The police were already asking questions of everyone around. "Well John, I hope you trust me. I got us out of a lot of tight places before, and I need your faith in me now." ------- Chapter 34 "I trust you Henry," he said, seconds before he was hoisted aboard the pinnace. He gave me the standard open mouthed, incredulous look. "You don't look as stunned as Frank did. Come over here and sit down." He ambled over and looked at the odd seat and sat. "Would you like to see below us?" He nodded his head. "Carlton, would you give us a stern view." The state shrunk, and then the country did the same. We came to the top of our curve and descended. "Carlton, a bow view, if you please." The clouds below got larger and larger, till we came out directly over our target. When the ship settled, I helped John down the ramp. "What the hell were you doing, Henry? Didn't you kill enough yesterday?" Came from Susan. Susan was by herself, because she did not want the girls to see. "Susan did you see all of the fight? The start of the first one?" "No, I came in as you were killing some men." "A young mother and her baby were being forced into the alley. I knew what the men planned for both of them. You tell me. Should I have turned away?" Susan cried at the thought, and hugged me tight. "I was just so scared, thinking that you were getting so used to killing." "If the girl was only hassled, I would have watched to make sure she wasn't hurt. If she was going to be pushed around, then I would only use my hands and feet. She and her baby may not have lived, and the rest of the gang was just as bad." "I am sorry. I know you think a lot before acting. Will you forgive me?" "I will think of a suitable punishment, tonight. By the way, I want to introduce one of the best men to have at your back, during a fight. This is John Marks. John, this is my wife-to-be, Susan Tran." They shook hands, almost as if everything were normal. Later John asked, "Where are Frank and Carl?" "Carl is at home with his family, and Frank is getting new legs. He lost his to diabetes." "That is good. I need some work on mine. It doesn't work as well as it did, when it was new." I took off all of my clothes. "John, see how my legs are a little pink, and the hair is on the short side. Look at my left arm and you can see that it is the same. About four weeks ago, some hostiles came into our system. Their ship was full of the bodies of intelligent, kind people, and the persons that ran the ship, were eating them. Carl and I went out and took out the ship, and it was placed in orbit the other side of the moon." "You... You did that? The world is going crazy, trying to get a handle on this. If you can do that, why do you need an old cripple?" "I am not finished. Anyway, I lost both legs and an arm. Completely shot off. Carl lost most of his leg, but managed to carry me back here, and we grew new limbs. Frank's legs will be his own flesh and blood." I got the look. "I want you to get the same treatment, and get all your diseases cured. Then you can fight a lot harder than you saw me playing with the gang, then you will be ready to take on the big boys. Four men are not enough. I need lots of the nastiest mother-fuckers that you ever saw. Will you help me save this system, and our world?" "If I can be like you, then I am signing up." We walked towards the tanks. "Mom says you will only need a few days to get you back into shape. Do you want to start now?" "Ya," was all he said, as Mom put him out, and into a tank next to his friend Frank. Susan said, "We should have asked him first, if he knew any others that would help us." "We can still look in his mind, and find out." After a few seconds I said, "John does know a few that would fill the bill." "Wait, 'fill the bill'. Let's advertise, and pick the ones we want. A lot of mercenaries might jump at the chance to sign up. There are not that many wars around, to keep them employed. Tuska's money will be doing some good after all." "How are you going to get the money? With that much money, I think even the banks would get larcenous." "I think Mom can help. Mom, how long does it take to alter my facial features, and change my fingerprints?" "Five hours for a dramatic change, and two for a minor one." "I want to go after the money, and I don't want people looking for Henry Buchanan after. When can you help me?" "You can get in the tank now." ------- The next morning, I was in Switzerland with a few million dollars from Tuska's house. I entered four banks and found out about their rates and procedures for withdrawals. I started four accounts with four different names. Moments later my sombre black suit was out of place in the Bahamas. I hired a large delivery truck to drive me for the day. The driver accepted a thousand dollars for his utmost assistance. I went into the bank and left the driver down the street, in a café. The wired money had come to this bank. I asked to see the manager. He gracefully asked if I wanted some refreshments, while looking into the account. They tried to find my identity, through the hidden camera, and the paper, that now had my prints. They stalled for fifteen minutes till I threatened to walk out on the floor, and tell everyone how their bank was trying to rob me. Four people hurriedly came and counted out two hundred million dollars in cash, on the counting machines. The manager was very insistent that I get ten or twenty security people. He would even offer their service free, so I would not be robbed. "I have my own security coming. I would thank you, to just see to the money loaded onto my security vehicle. An army could not take it from me," I assured him. The manager thought that all of this was bravado, and got a hidden recorder, to get me stating that I did not want his further help. When the money was being counted by machine, for the fourth time, I asked to use the bank computer. In the privacy of a small room, I transferred all but one million to the four banks in Switzerland. When all was in readiness, I stepped out, and the delivery truck pulled up. The guards opened the doors to the smell of fish and rotten vegetables from past loads. Their questioning eyes asked if this were right. With my nod, they threw fifteen sacks of money in the back. Francis' eyes bugged out, as he saw the bags being loaded into his truck. I could see him start to shake in excitement, hoping to get a portion of the load. Good old Human avarice, I was prepared for. I signed a form in triplicate, that the money had been put into my care by the bank's authorities. I thanked the manager, and even shook his hand. "I would be happier with you, if the money had been handed over sooner, after you had gotten all of the necessary security codes. I may continue to use your bank, but I think you will have to improve your policies." "But sir, it was for our concern for your money that we do this." "Don't compound your error by lying to me. I know that you were working with foreign governments, when your charter says that you are independent." He was at a loss for words, and I turned to the guards. The security detail had been good and I thanked them as well with a handshake and a thousand dollar bill to share. I closed the back doors of the truck, and only latched it without even a seal or a padlock. Then I climbed into the passenger side of the truck, and told Francis to leave the city. "Sir, was that money that was put into the back of my truck?" "About two hundred million in American dollars and other currencies. Does it bother you? It is only paper." "Yes sir. We may be robbed," Francis said as his shaking hands allowed the truck to move erratically. "Do not worry. That can't happen." "How is that?" I read in his mind of various ways to separate me from the money. He was about thirty, tall and slim. Not bad shape, for a civilian. I was amused with the way his mind worked. His only weapons were a club under the seat, and a switchblade in his pocket. "I kill people that deserve it." His erratic driving became even more irregular. Coming around a corner, too wide, he caused an accident in a small neighbourhood. An antique Volkswagen Gulf came to an abrupt stop, at our bumper. I got out and surveyed the damage. Two passengers of the car got out too, and shook their fists and yelled at Francis. The fender was pushed in and the truck bumper was over top of the one on the car, locking them together. I came around to try to quell the argument. Francis was completely out of sorts. The money and his scheming, then the accident was too much for him. "Gentlemen." Then more forcefully, "Gentlemen." They now looked at me. "If I pay for the damages to your vehicle, will that settle the argument?" "Ya, Mon. But it cost a lot to repair my car." I opened my wallet and gave the driver three one thousand dollar bills. Their eyes lit up at the amount I had. The money he got would more than cover the car. It was in great shape, and a lot of love had gone into its maintenance, but the money would more than just repair it. "Carlton, When I put my hand under the front bumper of the truck, I want you to assist with the tractor to separate them." "Yes Sir. Understood sir." I bent over, and with one hand, picked up the truck without any exertion of my muscles, and pushed it back a metre, to the screeching of the back tires. The tires gripped the hot dirt road, and scored shallow ruts about a metre long, and the chassis bounced, on its suspension, from the short fall as I released it. It was easy to read in the driver's mind, and knew the demands he was about to voice. They died very quickly, and he was now very happy to have three thousand, and his life. I stepped up on Francis' side of the truck, and asked him to move over. He was about to object, then thought better of it. Twenty minutes later we were in an uninhabited section. "Carlton you can begin now." The back doors opened slightly, and all the bags flew out the door and disappeared into the ship. The doors were then closed as before. I stopped at the next intersection. "Thank you for your help Francis. Here is something for your nerves, and remember that honesty has its own rewards," I said, as I handed him, an additional five hundred dollars. "Go back to town, and take your wife and family out," I said as I walked back down the lonely road. Once around a bend, I disappeared. On the screen in the ship, I could see Francis jump out of his truck and search for the money bags. On the way back home, I gave a lot of thought to our other problems. "Mom, do you know why the Dogfaces came on the course they did, and what brought them here? "The weapons that were used on the moon radiated a fifth dimensional component. If the ship or a sensor array were within four light-years, it would have registered the events. The Dogface course would bring it to the matter transmitter. My study of the destroyer shows that they are only using Tandra technology. Many portions of the computer contain things that would be of no use to them." "Like what?" "Military regulations, personal communications, and Tandra cultural documents." "Tell me about the matter transmitter." "When the base was shut down, the transmitter was shunted into a fold in space. This one had the added benefit of negating time. The unit should be as good as the day it was put away." "Would they want the matter transmitter?" "Yes, there is a very complex computer that they would want to strip for parts." "What parts?" "The crystals in the computer are very valuable. A crystal the same size of the one that now houses me, has the value of the destroyer without its computer." "Shit, I had no idea they were that valuable. Could you make a large one, to go into your hull?" "I do not even know how they are made. The trade in crystals is what made the Tandra prosperous, and this is what fuelled our expansion into the galaxy. The crystals have various amounts of impurities of different kinds. This variation is what governs how they will be used. All the crystals in a computer are the same, with the exception of the impurities." "You improved your crystal?" "Crystals are very complex, and this factor follows into all five dimensions, that is why you felt odd when entering the computer. It is this passive quality of them that allows us to see these other dimensions, even if it is imperfect. I took the basic material, and added it to my own. It took over a thousand years to get even a small portion fully integrated. I did this many times, and it still took the same amount of time for each." I remember walking down the aisle on the moon, and indiscriminately taking any crystal I wanted. If a ship was valued at only a larger sized crystal, then I must have taken a true fortune. "I am starting to worry more about the Dogfaces returning. I would like to awaken some of the sleepers, to help get your hull repaired. Can you come up with a list of the ones that we can use, and leave the troublemakers to their naps?" "I have the names of twenty three, for the first phase, and thirty for the second. I believe, that you can now feed this many." "Did you find out anything new, about the AI, or the Dogfaces?" The AI is about to break and tell me everything. The Dogfaces are only a little more intelligent than Humans. And like Humans, do not actively use their mental powers, except for their elite. It is the elite that run their society. They all have a natural shield that blocks me reading most of the deeper thoughts. If I had one of their privileged classes, I could find out how its block functions. Their home grown equipment is very crude by Tandra standards. One of the reasons you defeated them so easily, was because their shields overheat, and they must be de-energized to cool" "Another thing I found, one of the Dogfaces, in stasis picked up a virus that the medical section could not remove. A technician was also infected, and both had to go into stasis. I am trying to find out where the virus originated, but will find out soon. The last body is one that is even insane, by their standards." "If they use Tandra technology, how is it that they did not cure the disease?" "Not all organisms are completely removed. Some linger, and must be removed when they get troublesome, again and again." "What happens to those people?" "There are colonies that keep the diseases from spreading. They are usually given a wide berth. Epsilon Eridani is one of those places." "Like a leper colony?" "Yes. The planet is very beautiful to Tandra eyes. The gravity is about three quarters of Earth's. This is what the Tandra look for, when colonizing." "So they turned a prime planet, into a leper colony?" "Not quite. The sun is an orange-red dwarf that is less luminous than here. A giant cloud of dust contains a planet the size of Jupiter. And only the inner planet is habitable. The system is nice, but far from what you would call, prime." Mom sent me a model of the system, and I could see the eccentric orbits and understood. The planet was good, and Earth people would love it, till the real summer came. "Will you start, the wake up procedures, and I will get all the others here to help them understand what is happening." Later that morning, Carl jokingly came up to me and said, "Welcome stranger. Who might you be?" "My name is Alice, and I just fell through a looking glass." Carl, and the rest of us, was present as the sleepers were awoken, one by one. I felt many new fingers looking within my mind, and I kept my block down, so they could see the truth. Carl was getting tired, and Susan was very drawn, taking the sleepers to a table and getting them cleaned. The Human girls had to leave soon, because they were becoming anxious with all the things happening in their minds. The Young Squad, Amy, Topaz, Kitty, Cloud, Moth and now Roger, left with them. All of the sleepers we awoke were women. Their nakedness affected Carl, and they responded by flaunting themselves. The rest of the girls fed them soup, and gave them water. Their hungry eyes followed both Carl and me. It was easy to see, that all my girls were getting possessive. I felt a little relieved. I loved all of my wives, and enjoyed showing it, but the thoughts of more women made me cringe. Carl had Doris, and wouldn't mind something new, but he had given his vows, and would not go back on them. I could see images of his happy family life, with two older boys, and two young girls now. They served as a very adequate anchor. The sleepers had to get some natural sleep, to function correctly. Mom was going to upload the current situation into their minds, at this time. I thought of the choices in weapons we had, and got Kitten to show me the weapon's locker. I found a nice shield that would look like a hand-held variety, if it were visible. It worked the same as a suit, but was stronger because of its shape and size. I found swords, that Kitten had first greeted me with, not too long ago, and ceramic ones that did the same job that a metal sword on Earth would do. In the corner were a line of rifles and pistols that caught my eye. "What are those used for?" "Remember, when I said that the men and boys practised shooting at one another, on the top deck? These guns shoot a very small pellet, of collapsed matter. It will hit a shield and explode, knocking the person over, and gaining a point for the one doing the shooting. If a shield were to be down, then the person would be blown apart." I picked up two of them and some of the ammo that Kitten said could be used in the gun, and I went up to the deck with them. "Mom, I want to try out this gun. Would you put up some protection so that nobody is hurt?" "Yes, Henry, it is in place. Energize your own shield." "Ok." The gun was the size of a ladies pistol, but was somewhat heavier. The barrel was only a half a centimetre across and four long. The bore was hardly visible. There were two drums to hold ammo that both looked identical. Both drums were about six centimetres diameter and only one thick that mated to the side of the gun. The grip was wrong, because they were not made for Human hands. The absence of a trigger, told me that it was actuated by the mind. Taking the gun in my hand, I brought up the plotting that was in my mind. Faint lines spread out from me, and across. I could tell distance very easily. Choosing one of the structures that covered the plain, a line left the gun and struck the target, almost like a laser sight. Concentrating on releasing one shot, I heard a small 'pffttt' and the pellet flew to the exact spot I had chosen, without noticeable recoil. I heard a roar like a grenade going off, close by. The statue was not damaged. This toy was more dangerous than a rifle, and more like artillery. Sighting again, I brought my enhanced sight to maximum. Another statue was a hundred and forty one point three seven metres away by my plotting. Choosing the other ammo, the same sound came out, and a much smaller explosion was heard. This was quite the sniper weapon, with its lack of noise and recoil. "Whatca' doin' up there?" Came to me, from Carl. "If you have a shield, come in and have a look. I think I have found a new toy." Carl examined the small gun, and was about to discount it as useless, until I turned and fired half a dozen rounds of the first ammo, into a far target. "Holy shit, that is a grenade launcher. Let me have a try." Carl had to be shown how to use his mind to make the gun fire, and to choose the type of ammunition. He turned and fired at all the targets in his field of vision. The sound of pellets leaving the gun was continuous. He turned slowly and continued to shoot till almost three hundred pellets had been ejected. The reverberations of the explosions came from all points. It was almost like being close to a clap of thunder. Carl was having fun and switched ammo, and retraced his route. The sound was of the detonation was less than a twenty two being fired many metres away. I had followed his strikes and found that he was fairly proficient even without being enhanced. Perhaps that would be the next step for him. "Carl, I have got something for you. Nova wanted me safe, so she got me to go to medical. The machine improved my eyesight, hearing, strength, endurance and even improved my sexual performance. I can interface with a machine much better, and have a grid display that can pop into my mind, when I want it. It can show flight path, altitude, rate of climb, wind sheer and more. When I use the gun, I can see the path of the pellet, and send it on its way, as if I have a laser sight. Do you want it to?" "No wonder you massacred those Dogfaces. Is there any downside?" "I tend to want my tubes cleared, more often." "That is no problem for you, but I don't see Doris very much now, as it is." "Maybe you would like to see some of the ladies we just awoke. They looked downright predatory, to me." "Don't tempt me. Doris is the only one for me." "Well if you don't mind Doris walking bowlegged, most of the time, you can try it." "Sounds like a plan. By the way, you thinking of using some zinc and steel slugs?" "Mom can this gun be used to shoot galvanized shot?" "There would be some tradeoffs, but it can be done. The pellets will of necessity be a bit larger, and more power will be required to propel them." Mom showed each of us the old propulsion system, and the proposed changes. I altered it, to fit my hand better, and Carl upped the size of the clips, to retain the number of rounds. Mom got the fabricator working on the project, and we made two variations. I took an empty cardboard box, and erected a shield around it. Mom used her tractors to fire the gun, for if this worked, then our shields would be useless. Mom had to stabilize the protected box, because it was thrown all over the range. The box was converted to fine dust, when it was struck on the contained field. "Let's try less powerful explosions. Grenades have their place, but I was trying for a simple kill." Mom promised to work on the shells. Carl and I found the new grip and balance great. "Carl, I want you place some ads in the larger newspapers, for mercs. You have to word the ads to talk around the subject. I think you will run into a lot of trouble in Canada, so you better go to the States and Europe and work from these places. You can go to Western Union and wire the payments to the newspapers. The recruitment should be scheduled a few weeks after the ads run, and if they are staggered, we can get to all of them. You can discuss things with Mom and Susan." "Why not you?" "I am going to see what the opposition is doing the day after tomorrow." "Where is that?" "Epsilon Eridani. The total trip will last about five days my time, but will be more like sixteen days here, because of relativity. Carlton is not large enough to have a temporal compensator. I will need a few more days to take some snaps, and check the local tourist accommodations." "Shit, I want to go." "Frank and John are in the tanks, and John will be out soon. You need to be around when he awakes. Why don't you fly down to Florida, if you want, with Doris, as long as you are back by the time John is ready." Carl thought the Florida trip was a great idea, to make Doris happy, especially when he could tell her that the entire trip was on the company. Susan was not happy at me going again so soon, and wanted to come and keep me safe. "I want you to take some money, and give it to your parents for the food. You have to make a list, and get it delivered to a warehouse, that you are going to have to rent. The sleepers need to see a Human presence here. I don't want them to decide that all of this is silly, and vote to have the base just close down again, since there is now a lot of power." "You got that feeling too? I felt like a barbarian or a servant in their eyes." I worked with Mom on some modifications I wanted in the tug. The galley and weapon's delivery factored high. All this made me realize, that I still did not know enough about her and Tandra ships in general. Mom gave me a course in ship recognition, and the layout of each. That afternoon I went back to the battle suits. My suit, by some miracle, had survived to be repaired by Blue. My practice sessions were much easier, almost like putting on a comfortable pair of gloves. Mom helped, by supplying different ship's layouts, and I would fight with all kinds of opponents. My ego did not get a chance to get too big, because Mom threw difficult opponents at me. I wasn't able to counter fast enough, and died many times. Then to make sure I was humble enough, she fabricated Dog Faces, and at every opportunity, they too killed me. "Mom, put the gun we tested into the next scenario, and see what happens?" The gun helped, but was no panacea. I switched to a sword like the one in my home, but with a coating of zinc. My kills went up, but I still died. Galvanized knives worked well in close quarters, because my opponents were not familiar with it. Eventually, I used a short sword, much like the Roman soldier used. After many hours, I called it quits. I could kill most opponents in a fair fight, but there was always too many of them, to allow me to take the computer room. I came to the conclusion, that stealth was my only hope in obtaining my objectives. The next day, I fitted Carlton for the trip, and took three of the new missiles fitted with a galvanized sheath. Mom had perfected a gun, and manufactured some ammunition, and I fitted them into racks in the ship. "I have a present for you Henry." "Thanks Mom. What is it?" She presented me with the sword and knives that my mind had devised in the mock fights. The balance was as good as the one in my display, and best of all, it was coated with a microscopic amount of zinc. A rock suddenly appeared from outside, covered with snow. "Strike the stone." Mom ordered. I did as she asked, and used all of my strength. Chips flew, and I could see a mark in the stone. Looking at the blade, and then running my fingers along it, I found no distortions. The blade was incredibly sharp, and strong, but used no energy. "Mom this blade is fantastic. There has never been a blade like this before." "You are wrong. Long ago, one was lost. It used no energy, and so was impossible to find. I have used the internet to research fables, and find reference to it many times." "Like Excalibur?" "Yes, it was given that name, and others, down through your history. It was as yours is, but does not have the ability to penetrate shields. I even recall the male that lost it. He fell without gravity support, and died from the shock. The sword fell into some rushing water. His body was not found till months after." I looked at the knives, and Mom transported a birch log for me to throw the knives at. All twelve knives struck true. I was very happy with my accomplishment and the thoughtfulness of the gifts. "Thank you Mom. These weapons have life in them that the guns don't. I feel closer to them." "You are welcome, but remember, that they are still only primitive tools." Later Kitten sparred with me, using the swords she originally fought me with. She wasn't lying, when she said she was too hungry to fight, for she was very fast with the blade. That night I made tender love to all my girls. Their orgasms awoke 'our' daughters, and Carl's. They came in and looked at me with my hard dick in Sandy, as she quaked in my grip. They knew no fear, since Mom helped ease their painful memories, and walked up and looked to see the mechanics of the act. "Daddy, Sandy likes that a lot. Can we try?" I stroked a few more times into Sandy, and laid her quivering body down. My cock pulled from her lubricated vagina, with a wet sucking noise. They watched my cock, till I stooped in front of them, and it disappeared. What the hell was I going to tell them? Moesha and Kimberly had sucked and fingered the Young Squad and received the treatment back, just as Clarice and Michelle had. In fact, all four girls found each other exciting, just as the Tandra girls did. It was an around the clock orgy sometimes. None of the girls were virgins, now that they had discovered the small candles. Susan came over to my rescue, and took all four girls aside, to try to explain things to them. Only poor Amy was left, and I went to her and kissed her gently, and gently sucked her till she had her orgasm. ------- Chapter 35 The next morning, I loaded the last of the repaired combat suits, there were only six ready. I took my Bo, my new sword and knives. The last battle I wished for this weapon and its matching knives. I almost felt like an ancient Japanese Samurai going into battle. I left before the girls started crying. It was hard on me, as well as them, to part that way. Carlton flew at the maximum acceleration of four hundred and thirty six gees, till we were past the Mardaf Limit. Then we really started to move. As expected the relativistic effects started to take hold. Carlton's hull was too small to support a temporal compensator. The good part of the trip was that it would seem much shorter, than it actually was. Eight days on Earth would pass while I only felt the passing of a little over two. Three hours into light speed, a combat suit moved. I scanned to see if it went active and it wasn't. I was now curious, and found another slight movement. I took the suit and laid it on the floor and opened it. Amy was breathing rapidly, from lack of oxygen. I took her to the chair and administered first aid. I also thought of what else she also needed, but I didn't like causing her pain. I scanned her mind and found out why women are termed devious. She knew I would be alone, and her chances of becoming pregnant were much greater if there were no others to take my seed. The other reason was to keep me from rash acts. Figuring if I had a wife with me, even if she were a junior wife, I would act differently. "Carlton, how difficult is it to reverse course?" "Sir, I can alter our course, much like a sailing ship, but I cannot tack into the wind. We have to pull out of the stream now, and start back again. This will entail a six-hour layover, so that I can recharge the accumulators at the base." Perhaps it was good that Amy was here. She was right, I jumped into things, after thinking, but I always jumped. Amy pulled me down and kissed me. She had read my mind, and knew that she had won half the battle. "You are a very lucky girl, if I had not pulled you from the suit, you would have died there. I know your reasons for stowing away, but you acted like a child, in your method of doing this." Amy's happiness turned to ashes, as she withered under my reproach. "I love you," she tried to explain. "I know you do Honey, and I love you too, but you are still young and a child. That is nothing to be ashamed of. It is great to be a child, just as it is great to grow up. I want you to enjoy all of your childhood, before adult life make you do, what you have to do, instead of what you want." I continued, "I have to do a lot more thinking on how the Earth and the rest of us might be made safe. Why don't you study the combat suit, so next time you will not suffocate in one?" "Carlton how is it that you did not detect her?" "I only scanned the suit for identification and status. I did not make a scan within the suit, because of its passive shield." "In the future, insure that this doesn't happen again." "Yes, Sir." We were beyond range of any mental communication, and I didn't want any other type of communication to leave this ship for fear it was traced like the explosions on the moon. Amy's disappearance would be noted soon enough, and her probable location would be deduced soon after. I worked with Carlton for many hours, trying to narrow down the right course to take through our problems, till I heard a sniffle. "What is wrong, Honey?" "I am hungry, and you only talk to Carlton." "You have decided to be my wife. If one of us is working hard at an important job, the other would make something to eat. A child gets served by the adult. Do you want me to consider you child, Honey?" I said as carefully as I could. "No, I will make us something to eat. I am not a child." I chuckled to myself. Amy was still a child of twelve, even though she looked six. My brain returned to the problem of getting Mom's hull repaired, and the best use we could make of it. The hull would need another AI, and I hoped to get Mom to make a copy of herself, and put it in. Would she go along with that idea? I didn't want a clone of myself walking around. "Husband, your food is ready." I kissed Amy, as I would the senior wives, and sat to eat. I complemented her on her choices and setting. I knew she enjoyed the praise. After the meal, I went back to work, and Amy went back to the suit. She had gotten it to shrink to her size somehow. I checked that all the weapons were on safety, and continued with my own work. It was getting late, and I felt hungry again, and turned to Amy. The suit had not moved for many hours, and I looked to her mind. She was going through the battle scenarios that Carl and I had done previously. I saw her moves, and she was not doing too badly. "Carlton, when Amy finishes the present scenario, inform me." "Yes Sir." Twenty minutes later I was given the message, and I asked the suit AI to call it quits, for a while. Amy was sweating, even though the suit was conditioned to keep the occupant comfortable. "I was in the ship with you, and we were killing Dogfaces. I saved you once, and you saved me. There were a lot of Tandra onboard, and we saved them all." "I like that kind of fight. I just wish that they would all end like that. Let's have supper, and then a shower before we go to bed." "Yes, I like when you do things for me." "I do them, because I love you." It was a shame that there was no real galley. The Tandra stuck to their tubes of nutritious glop, and I wanted vegetables, some meat, and fruit to end the meal. Thanks to some foresight, I even had some coffee. Amy told me of the things she wanted out of life. She wanted to be a soldier like her mother. She had died many years ago, and Amy only knew her from some records, and a very faint memory. The next thing she wanted was my children. The Tandra could have many children over their child bearing years but four was usually what they thought duty demanded. Amy wanted a lot more. The last thing she already had, and that was to be in our family. "Well Honey, you are working on number two, and you only have to grow a little, before you get the rest." The lights went out, and Amy just cuddled beside me. I thought for sure that she would try to make love. I just held her close, and went to sleep after she did. Mom was repaired now, and all of us were going on a vacation. The new galley was the way it should be. Ovens to cook food the right way and... Oh, Amy had changed her mind, her long fingers held my cock, and her small mouth was sucking on me. I rose to the occasion, and felt her small head and fine hair. Her oily hand stroked me, and she tried to get my cock into her anus. It was tight. I was about to stop her, when she fed me the image of her using one of Susan's dildos to make sure I could fit. She manoeuvred into a better position, and I saw in her mind, the cock sliding up and down her bowels, for the first time. She had an orgasm, and started again. Many orgasms later, she was getting tired, and I picked up her hips and helped her at a fast pace. She had her biggest cum, and I spewed into her bowels. Her anus tightened, till it was necessary to take her off of me. We cuddled close, and went immediately back to sleep. Amy was sucking on me again. The child was incorrigible, and like a good Tandra adult I let her have her way. She sat on me and had four or five orgasms, before urging me to cum with her. I moved her small body, and both of us had our little death. We held one another close, and went back to sleep. I woke up after my four hours of sleep and kissed Amy as she slept. She had happy dreams, and it showed on her face. I stretched and did my exercises. Carlton helped by holding a bar with his tractor, to represent weights. My muscles were hurting good, and I continued my workout for about an hour. A shower made everything feel right. The water felt great. Why did the Tandra have to go to the cleanser, just because it was easier? Breakfast was eggs and bacon. Carlton heated a pan with a weapon set extremely low. Amy came out and stretched, just when I was going to awake her. "Good morning Sweetheart. Have a quick shower, and hurry up, before your food gets too cold." All the girls at home were eating their food warm now, and I knew it wasn't just to please me. Their palette was changing, as they discovered new foods, and ideas from us. I tried to see when she was done, and found a solid block around all of her thoughts. Was she angry with me? I wouldn't pry, other than to ask verbally. She came out and kissed me, like her older sisters. The tongue entered my mouth and demanded battle. I was happy that she was not angry with me, and responded. My dick got hard and she wanted to mount me now. "Amy, eat first. If you want some fun after, then we can do that." "Yes, I want that. It is nice to have you all to myself for a change." "To tell you the truth, it is nice to have just us too. It is more the way Humans are made." We ate and made love. Her anus squeezed till I filled it with my seed. The rest of the day Amy practised in the suit, and communicated on a different channel, with Carlton. She was getting the hang of strategy very early. That afternoon, I had a mock battle with her. I beat all her ships, but she succeeded in knocking one of mine out, when she should have gotten none. She loved the well deserved praise, I heaped on her. Amy again woke me up with her mouth, and hopped on for her ride. She was able to last a lot longer now, that she didn't have the others orgasming all around her. Eventually, I had my own release with hers, and we went back to sleep. An hour later Amy was riding me again. I didn't even feel when she started on me. She urged me to cum with her, and I did. She felt contented and cuddled close. I woke up and did my solo exercises, before making breakfast. Today we would arrive in the system. Amy got up and had her shower, and came to the table. "Good morning, husband. How did you sleep?" "Very soundly, except for two times. Where I dreamed I was making love to a beautiful goddess," I said. I wondered again, the reason for the total block she had on her mind. She was entitled to her privacy, if she wanted it. As we approached the far outskirts of the system, Carlton sent out an obscure signal. We waited three hours before proceeding. It was my hope, that if the system had Tandra sensors, and if their underlining code was unchanged, then we could work into the system undetected. Our faint pulse was repeated at regular periods, as insurance. Carlton detected no sensors, but if things were working right, he wouldn't, any way. Our slow entry would also help to cloak us. Epsilon Eridani was not very bright, but did host three planets, and an enormous cloud of dust. The innermost planet Masis, showed a high level of technology, far from its leper past. I sent probes out to each of the other planets, and the one moon, on the outermost. The probes were designed to ferret out the data, and return with it, instead of broadcasting it back. Amy and I were spellbound, as we watched our long range sensors showing us details of the innermost planet EE1, or Masis. There were three ships in orbit. One similar to the ship that Carl and I took, of seven hundred thousand tonnes. The next, was much larger. Carlton volunteered the information that it was a carrier, capable of releasing many thousands of small agile fighters, and other small war ships. I recognized it through Mom's teaching, as a Continental Class warship. Its many bays were open, and the occasional craft departed or returned, through the shield. The telescopic view showed green skinned Dogfaces, scurrying around the craft. The fighters were mostly useless against larger warships, but could take out merchant vessels, poorly defended planetary surfaces, or small warships. The last ship was gigantic. It massed out at three point four million tonnes. This battleship's type translated as Omicron. It was designed to control an entire flotilla, when attacking a heavily defended system. I could think of no purpose for this ship. Taking on Earth was far beneath its majestic dignity. A single fighter on the carrier could take out the entire Earth defences. Were they ready to attack Earth now? I had to find out. "Carlton, I think that unless the other planets have something very interesting, we are going to have to go with plan 7b." "Yes, sir." "What is that, husband?" "It is an easy plan. Carlton sends out passive probes that bring the information back to him. I wear my battle suit, and take an extra one with the weapons inside it. I get Carlton to use his tractor, to throw me to the planet, and I orbit around it using the upper atmosphere to slow me down. Then I use the gravitics in the suit, to get to the surface, and then take a look around. If a satellite is watching the area I am in, then he warns me through a low power communicator." Amy interrupted, "How will the satellite see you? You are supposed to be invisible to it." "Sometimes, I will have to do things that could be seen by the satellite, like capturing a Dogface or killing one. If I know when it is safe, then I won't be caught. Anyway, after I have found out enough, I will just apply reverse gravity to the suit, and shoot up to four hundred kilometres. From there, I can fly toward the pickup point." "I want to come." "Can't Sweetheart. Either you stay here, and take some more lessons, or Carlton takes you home, and comes back later to get me." I could see she didn't like it, but she would do as I asked. All of us watched the screen, as the planet was scanned. Masis had a higher percentage of land mass, while the oceans appeared deeper blue, probably because of different algae and mineral concentrations. There was only one big city and no other settlements larger than a few hundred. Small groups of living beings lived beneath the ground, either as nature dictated, or just hid for their lives. On the night side, we found many small fires to keep away the dark. Our viewer showed them all to be Dogfaces. Here and there, I found individual life forms, and Carlton zoomed in. A deer like animal was very prominent along with a long horned bovine, both ran in herds. Wild dogs with huge jaws ran in packs, to keep the ecology running smoothly. Looking into a thicket of trees, we finally found intelligence. It was a Tandra face. The computer, corrected for the light, and I saw a dirty individual, searching for food, and eating it, as he or she found it. A fur pelt was around the waist, and leaves and branches sprouted from its garment. A short spear was close at hand. The cautious movements told me that disguise was very important to this individual. My brain produced the vision of hell in the captured ship and I knew if this individual were found it would be eaten just as it tried to eat the animals it hunted. If that were the case, then the fires represented hunting parties. It seemed that the Dogfaces were capable of clearing the planet in days, so they must be using primitive weapons on the populous, and calling it sport. A low range of mountains contained many underground inhabitants, and this was one of my goals, but the first would be something like an open park close to the city. A dozen or so Tandra, shared the park with the deer, dogs and others. My years in Nam taught me the value of technology. Masis was a very well protected base, and any use of high tech equipment, would result in a ship pouring enough energy on me, to melt a good portion of the planet. Mom had made chemical explosives, and her own variety of the claymore mine, as a favour to me. I took one of the suits, and loaded it with my sword and two knives, two guns, and ten magazines for a total of six thousand rounds of ordinary, explosive and zinc/iron mix. A controller had always helped before, so I took one again. A small bag weighting about two kilos represented a few tonnes of high explosives on Earth. They fit comfortably in one of the legs. A diagnostic and a medical module went in too; their low power would never be found. There was no way I was going to eat recycled food, so I took enough for a week. If I were not back in four days, Carlton was to take Amy home. I debated leaving the command suit, but reconsidered, now that I knew I could talk to Tandra, face to face. On the off chance that I found lots of interesting things, Carlton would record them, and send a message drone back to Earth from out of the system, and return to me. I kissed my crying young lady, goodbye. "I won't be more than four local days. You have your studies to do, and Carlton to talk to. Your other job is to monitor the planet, to see what you can find. Carlton has orders not to scan actively, because the Dogfaces will know we are here then. I want to talk to the Tandra, and see if they have anything important to tell me." Carlton gave the extra suit and me a good push. I could do it alone, but this way, it cut two hours off the trip. I dipped into the atmosphere, and used it with the suit, to cut my speed. Once slowed down to a level the suit could handle, I dived down at a little over two gravities. A shallow cave in a hill side, about a klick away, had three heat sources I found, as I came down. It still took ten minutes, before I hit the ground, in a small depression filled with water. It looked much like a bog, with dead trees in the centre. It was a good place to land, for night was just falling. "Carlton, is the satellite monitoring this area?" "No sir," came from the small communicator. "It seems to be on automatic, and checking the foothills about three hundred kilometres to the south of you. I will warn if it comes closer than fifty, as you ordered." "Thank you, Carlton." Then to Amy. "How are you doing Sweetheart?" "I want to be with you. I can help, if you give me a chance." "Let's take small steps. If you can help now, then you can get some more dangerous jobs, some other day. When you have proven yourself, then you will get even more dangerous jobs." "Ok, it will have to do, I guess. Oh! There is a vehicle flying towards you now. I can't see inside it." "Thank you, Sweetheart. Don't get jumpy already. I have a battle suit on, and they would not be able to see me. It might be just a routine patrol. How long till it gets close?" "Carlton says about ninety seconds." "I have to get ready in case. Just watch, and only say something, if you see more coming." I striped the battle suit, and left the command one de-energized for now. If they were just on a patrol, then I would let them pass. If I were spotted in my decent, they would have sent a lot more than one vehicle. I took a knife in my old nylon scabbard, and the pistol in a holster, under my left arm. I had a hunch that I was not the target, and energized the shield and ran towards the small cave. The difference in gravity took a moment to get used to. Kitten, Susan and I practised our karate in different environments, in case things like this happened. From a nearby hill, I saw it land. The vehicle was just a frame, with seats to support the shield and a motor. Two Dogfaces got out, after the shield collapsed. The green faces were unmistakable. They both were just over two metres, and one was almost two hundred and fifty kilos, if he were on Earth. It wore a fur over one shoulder and waist, as did the smaller one. Spears about two metres long, were carried by both. I must have been right, for they were having sport, with archaic weapons. My improved eyesight found a belt with a knife like mine, a gun, and a communicator, along with a shield generator. They circled the hill and came at the cave from the rear. Their path told me that they knew game was hiding in the cave. They made a lot of obvious noise in the brush, and tree branches, that they moved. The larger one poised a few metres above the cave, with a spear ready to hurl, in its hand. The smaller one tried its best to flush the game, but this didn't happen. The large Dogface yelled some guttural speech, at the other. It put its spear down, and walked into the cave to fight barehanded, I thought. Coming out, its large hand held a Tandra woman by the neck, and goose-stepped her away from the cave. A girl Amy's age, ran to protect the woman. The large Samutz grunted some speech again, and the other walked the woman further down the hill, about twenty metres, and let her fall. The girl ran and huddled with the woman in fear. The large one brought back its spear arm, and his head blew up in a crimson corona, the spear travelling a few metres, and remained still. The other had good reflexes, and turned its shield on almost right away. I had a clear path, and keeping the Dogface in my sights, as I ran towards it. It tried to lower its shield, to pick up the communicator, but I started firing pellets, to let it know that it was not healthy to do so. It turned to run, but I was faster, and kept up the firing, till it was trapped against a steep hillside, almost back where we started. The gun was set to standard rounds, and not the galvanized ammunition. I lowered my shield, and brought out my knife. I waved it, as I holstered the gun. This was a challenge, and the Dogface could drop his shield and fight with a knife, or try for his communicator or gun. The later two and I would shoot him, as he tried. This one I wanted alive, or at least almost so. The shield came down, and the knife was hoisted into its large hands. Its mouth opened and the long thin tongue came out, licked its lips and many teeth. I could almost feel its satisfaction at the outcome, for I could read nothing, in its mind. It lunged, trying to put a quick end to the match. In truth the creature was fast. I was able to parry and kick it in the crotch. The kick was as if I did nothing, except warn it to be wary of my feet. It faked to the right and slashed from the left. My knife came up and caught it in the arm, making a long slash. It backed up, and examined the wound, and amazingly it stopped bleeding almost right away. I could see no way that an un-augmented Human would stand a chance against this kind of creature. Mom never told me of its recuperative powers, but you might need conscious, living specimens, to find this out. I went in this time, and its knife blocked mine every time. I was definitely at a disadvantage, when I wanted it alive, and it wanted me dead. I think my opponent was starting to worry a little. It had four cuts. I had none. I pushed it back to the steep hillside, trying to trip it and cause enough damage, to capture it. I lunged and my knife went into its side. It other hand came up, to the screen controls, just as a large rock fell onto its head. It eyes bulged out, and it fell. The eyes were vacant, but I didn't know if it was dead yet. Looking up, I saw the woman with a bloody arm, cradled in the other. Her defiant look pleased me, even if she took my prisoner from me. "Thank you, milady," I said but still regretted getting my potential prisoner killed. She looked at me with a vacant stare, and collapsed onto the ground. She almost fell down the steep slope. The command suit had no anti-gravity, so I ran around to a slope, further away, where I could manage the grade. The girl was desperately trying to pull the woman away, to a hiding place. "It is not necessary to run. I will not hurt you. All I want is some information." She looked at me strangely, and I delved into her mind. She had faintly heard me, after a fashion, but only got a portion of the idea. Was it possible, that some Tandra were deaf and mute to mindspeak? Some on the ship were that way. As I got close, I could see that the woman's arm was broken. She had fainted from pain and exhaustion. Her body was covered with a coarse dirty fur that went to her knees. Her mind held nothing, but fear for the safety of her children. I wondered at the sheer guts of the woman, to pick up the rock, and kill the enemy, with a broken arm. I looked at the daughter now, and said, "Go back to the cave, and get your brother. I will help your mom." She just stood. I knew that she had received some of the message, but she refused to believe that this could happen. Her abilities were better than her mother, but far inferior to the Tandra on Earth. "Yes, I can read minds, and send messages to you. Go now, and get your brother, before more hunters come. Your mother will be safe." She backed up slowly, and then ran to the cave, while I ordered the battle suits to come to me. The one suit, I opened and took out my medical supplies. This time I knew what was wrong, and directed the doc module at the arm. I got the muscle to relax, put one of my feet in her armpit, and a wrist clasped in another, till the module confirmed bone alignment. The module went to work, and the bone started to knit. The girl came running with a small baby probably about a year older than Kitten's. The girl was anxious at what I was doing to her mother. Especially after seeing me remove my foot, from her mother's body. "Don't worry. I just fixed her broken arm. Watch if you want, while I check if there is anything else wrong." The diagnostic wand ran over the woman's body. She had many accidents in her life, for her bones were scarred in many places. She suffered from a few vitamin deficiencies, and malnutrition. Her legs and abdomen were swollen, because of this. Her strength had gone into the milk for her baby. The doc could not correct the last problems, only food would work. "I am going to pick up your mother, and take her to the Dogface's vehicle. There may be some food for you, in it." The girl was anxious as I effortlessly picked up her mother, in the light gravity. I walked slow and cautiously, to allow the girl to stay up with us. As I came to the vehicle, I lowered the woman to the ground, and got the rest of her family to stay together. The vehicle thankfully, did not contain any fresh game. It did have some hard bread, a strong beer, and many ration bars, and a variety of preserved meats. The sensors in my suit told me that all was safe to consume, but the meat was definitely off their diet. The girl, wolfed-down three ration bars, while holding the baby in her left arm. I took the rest of them from her, to avoid gorging. "I know you are hungry, but eat slower, or you will choke or get sick. Drink some of my water, and I will give you another bar later." She sipped, and then drank a lot of water, while keeping a wary eye on me. I got up to her startled eyes, and went back to the 'car'. Besides some weapons, there was a large axe, shovel, tent, and other assorted tools. The large ceramic mug is what I wanted from their camping gear. I returned and sat beside the unconscious woman, and broke up a ration bar into the cup. I added a little water, and used the pommel of my knife to make a paste. "Let me have the baby now, and I will feed him." She tried to get up, and take the child with her. "I am only going to feed him. Back home, I have three little girls. They are only a few months old, and I feed them too. This boy should be even easier to feed." I held out my arms, and waited. She eventually came to the right decision, and the boy was placed in my hands. I used some canteen water to clean my finger before scooping a little of the paste, and put some of it into his mouth. The tiny child had not even whimpered through this entire ordeal. His little tongue pushed the paste around, till he decided that it was good enough to eat. More went in, and the child slowly ate the bar. I trickled water into his mouth, and he coughed, spitting up water on me. The girl had been watching me do this. She found it unusual for a male to help others, unless they were his family. The Tandra males here were ethically superior, to the ones on Earth, but had a long way to go yet, in my opinion. The girl pictured two males. Any could be her father, or the baby's. The camp they used to live in was attacked and many killed, and the healthier ones captured, for later release here. Yes released, into a hunting preserve, I thought. The children were exhausted, and the mother should have awoken by now. They would need a safer place, and everywhere in this preserve, was very dangerous, no matter how it looked. "Amy, I want to take these people in the car, to the mountains in the east. Is there any surveillance of that area at the moment?" "No, husband. That was a good thing to do for the people, but I was frightened, that the Dogface would kill you." "I was trying to capture it. There are a lot of things that I would like to find out. Earth could be attacked at any time." "I know that. The surveillance is still to the south, and Carlton thinks it will go west next." "Thanks. I'll see if the car will work for me." I brushed the boy's very dirty cheek with my finger. His trusting eyes followed me, as I gave him back to his sister. "I am going to see if this vehicle works. If it does, then I'll take you were it is safer," I said to the girl. Her eyes still followed me. She was prepared to run, except that she had others to watch out for. The car was very simple, a stick directed its flight path, and a small red ball controlled its thrust. Another button on the dash initiated the screen. There was not even a key or other security device. I repacked the food, and told the girl, "Stay here, I have to see, what I can find out, about the Dogfaces." I flew the car above the cave and inspected the second body. Each one had a pouch with metal disks, I took for money, and a ceramic wafer that the ones on the other ship had. Mom said that they were an ID card that also held lots of personal data. Everything went into a sack, at my waist. I threw a body in the back, and flew to a river, outside the game preserve, and dumped it near some of the local dogs. The other body, made desert for the beasts, on the next trip. I returned, and helped the children into the back seat. Getting into the vehicle was almost as frightening, as meeting a live Dogface, to the girl. The sleeping woman, I sedated, lest she awaken while I was flying. She leaned against me and her hand went around my arm. The AI powered battle suits flew formation beside us. We flew for ten minutes, until Carlton's voice came to me, "The area being covered by the satellite is now changing rapidly in your direction. They may have been looking for the vehicle you are now using. I suggest you abandon it, immediately." "Acknowledged." I said as I went into a power dive. A long line of rock had been thrust up from the planet. Its rough nature would hopefully hide us, till the search passed. An almost vertical hole, in the rock caught my eye. If I could get in there, only a view straight down would see us. The wind was fierce and tried to have its own way. I fought the 'car'. It was made for hovering and landing, but the hole was very deep. The girl in the back seat was frantic, as she saw the rock wall all around her, rushing upwards at a fantastic speed. The car bumped the sides many times. If it hung up, we would flip, and crash somewhere below. There was no altimeter, only seat-of-the-pants flying here. The engine was complaining at the amount of energy it was using to hover. I knew if I didn't land soon, it would overheat. I dropped fast, and as I heard an echo of the engine noise. I frantically put full power into the lift. We stopped dead. The sounds coming from the engine were becoming highly erratic. I saw a ledge, and manoeuvred to get on it before the car failed. I almost made it. We fell almost a metre, and started to slide off the edge. I killed the field, and jumped out, to hold the car from falling. Using all my strength, I was able to bring it to a halt. I feverishly called the battle suits, and got them to effortlessly push the car almost five metres away from the edge. I went to the back and pushed a kill button that stopped any flow of energy. If the satellite picked up our path, it still might find us, because of the heat. There was a cave further back, along the ledge, and I got the combat suits to pick up the car, and hide it better. "Carlton, has the satellite found us?" "Not yet. It was just picking up your thermal trail, then all the energy use stopped. The high winds made tracking difficult, and now can find no trace. What are your orders?" "Just observe. Amy, how are you holding out?" "I am so frightened. The satellite could have melted you to nothing." I heard Amy say. "I am safe for now. Don't forget, I still have the battle suits. When they can't find us, they will search other places, and then we can come out. Remember, that a soldier mostly fights boredom, and only rarely does it change to utter fright. Do you still want to be a soldier?" "Oh, more than ever. How can I protect my people, if I don't?" "I know you will make a brave soldier one day." I dumped everything out of the car, to make it as light as possible for our eventual escape. It was cold here, and the others were feeling it. I removed the woman's clothing. The child only thought that I was going to have sex with her. I left her in the seat, and opened the empty battle suit, and put the sleeping woman into it. The AI started its medical routines, as I stripped the weapons and food out of the other suit. The girl was petrified of the suit. I had to use the doc module to sedate her, to even get her into it. The girl was even dirtier than her mother. Her worn garments were torn, and gave her little protection. Again the medical section started, and treated the girl for everything it thought she needed. The baby went into my suit, with me. He was easy to support with one arm. Within minutes he was asleep. I could see the linkages forming again. The baby accepted me unquestionably. The girl's name was Nema, I found as she slept. The suit was taking care of all her needs, including food. She felt safe for the first time in her life. She found a protector that could kill the Samutz and did. There was little to do, till the engine cooled, along with the search, so I explored the cave. A rock fall had caved part of it in, but with the child in my arms, I could not make it through the hole. An hour later, I sat in the car, thinking of ways to turn this to my advantage. The child started to squirm, and then pissed on me. The suit cleaned all of it up, but I still felt unclean. I was getting hungry, and the only place out of the wind, was the cave. I picked up some of my rations, and walked inside again. I was about to sit down, when I noticed that there was more light, than there should be. The small opening was faintly glowing. Was this, what I hoped it was? There was no way I would endanger the child, so I took him and ordered the AI in his sister's suit to open. He hugged her in his sleep, and the suit closed to keep both of them safe. I raced back and pulled rocks out of the way, and enlarged the hole. The tunnel turned and a rock fall further in, reflected light out the opening. This obstruction was easy to get around, as it only narrowed the tunnel. Turning to the left, I saw the glowing wall. I walked slowly to the surface and put my hands on it. It was the same surface that greeted me not too long ago, on Earth. The shield promised safety for all of us, I hoped. I had no galvanized culvert now to help me enter. My only hope was that this was a door. Placing my hand on the surface, I told it to open. Nothing. I was used to the transmitters on Earth now, and never had a chance to even open a portal in the base. Clearing my mind I thought of Mom, and all she taught me. "Open." "State your identity," a mechanical voice ordered. I was startled by its abruptness. I should have realized a computer would be in charge of the screen, and everything else. Mom had liked my admiral status, and against many Tandra laws, had programmed a tiny chip within me to reflect that. "Fleet Admiral Henry Buchanan. Report present status," I ordered in turn. "Masis base nineteen. Currently inactive. Do you wish me to go to active status?" "Yes, immediately, and open the portal." A hole formed, as if the door turned to liquid and melted away, like hot wax. The inside was large, but appeared slightly smaller than the base on Earth, after I took a few steps inside. I stepped out of the shields influence, and said, "Carlton, I have found a Tandra dome at the bottom of the pit we are in, Masis base nineteen. It has opened and appears a little smaller, than our Earth base." "What are your orders?" It was a kind of shock to me to find that Carlton was not the least bit excited, by my find. But then again, he wasn't Human, even if he had my memories. "Amy, did you hear what I told Carlton?" "Ah, what? She said in a sleepy voice. "I am sorry for waking you. I found a small base, where we are hiding. Just go back to sleep. If you don't hear from me, it is because the shield is blocking the signal." "Ok," came the sleepy reply. I took each of the suits, and carried them horizontally into the protection of the dome. A few more trips brought all the loose property around the car in, as well. I deactivated the suit's shields, but continued the medication and feeding of their occupants. I called the computer. "Computer, what is the current status?" I still got a mechanical reply. There was no AI present. The images that came to me from the computer, told me that the base had no people that would require it to awake periodically. Its energy supplies were adequate for another million years, if need be. The inventory was very meagre in some respects, and good in others. There was lots of Tandra food and water, in a stasis chamber waiting for any that needed it. One of the bright spots was the large screen that showed all of the Tandra assets in the system. Fourteen bases were coloured red, while only five remained green. One was on the far planet, EE3 and one on the small moon orbiting EE2. There were a great many weapons platforms, throughout the system, and only a few glowed red. The computer reported that twelve bases had been compromised, and two others destroyed. The other bases on Masis were a hidden medical facility, for taking care of its original patients, and two processing plant. The base I was now in was just used as an emergency way station, but this struck me as odd. The Tandra had powerful ships, and matter transmitters, why would they need such a very large facility in the first place. I searched everywhere, because I was certain the computer was feeding me false or misleading information. Instead of listening to its explanations, I decided to check for my self. There were rooms set aside for workers, and a small medical section. The armoury opened at my command, and appeared normal. In a hanger, I found some small utility vehicles, and a strange ship, that was not in the types Mom introduced me to. It was only fifty metres long. Much larger than Carlton's thirty metre length. It was twenty wide, and fifteen high in the centre. It was the classical oblate ellipsoid, the Tandra favoured. Its antennas were strange, suggesting that its purpose was to gather intelligence. There were many more projectors on the hull, than Mom or Carlton sported, suggesting a much more stealthy ship. It would not open, no matter what I said, or threatened. It would not even respond. My laptop came to mind, it needed charging. I found a cable, and placed one end in the receptacle in the stern, and then into the floor. I had to tell the base computer to begin charging. Two hours later I had eaten and felt a tickle in my brain. "Ship, report status." "Accumulators charging. Running diagnostics. Main base does not respond sir," came a vaguely feminine Tandra voice. "Stop communication with the base. It is in hostile hands. Can they trace your call back to here?" "Unknown sir." Shit, shit, shit. This could bring all the Dogfaces down on us if it was noticed. "Ship, state your purpose?" "Transporting secure cargo and personnel, within this system sir." "What cargo and where were your ports of call." "That is restricted information sir." "Scan my information chip." "Sir, you are Fleet Admiral Henry Buchanan." "Then answer my questions." "I cannot do that sir. Your current status is not sufficiently high enough, to be given this information." Current status emmm. "Ship query the base computer here, and find the current status of the system." "The system has been invaded. The base intelligences have been removed. Three warships are currently in orbit, and another is entering the system from the direction of Rigel. No base personnel are on duty to repel the invaders." "Scan the occupants of the combat suits, within the base. Make note of the conditions, that they were forced to endure, at the hands of the invaders." "Done, sir." "Do you agree that the system is being occupied by an enemy force, and they have been systematically killing the Tandra garrison?" "Yes, sir." "As Fleet Admiral, I am taking charge of this system, under the articles of war. Do you support that position?" "Yes, sir." "Answer my previous questions, or face a charge of mutiny, at a time of war." There was the slightest of pauses. This would represent hours of thought, to me. "This hull transported raw crystals to the processing plant on the moon of the second planet. The finished crystals were transported to royal couriers that would wait outside of the system." Crystals? Here? This is what drove the Tandra Empire. Mom's hull needed a large crystal to help complete it, and more for the crippled destroyer, and lunar base. "Where are the crystals manufactured?" "They are mined sir, on the second planet, in this system." So the Tandra used secrecy, instead of a very strong garrison, to protect this system. Speaking of protecting, "Use a passive scan, and search for hostiles coming towards this base." "Sir, there are presently five craft coming in this direction. Sixty eight hostiles are estimated to be aboard the crafts. They will be over this position in four hundred and twelve seconds." "Scan immediately outside the base, and you will find a small empty enemy vehicle. Can you operate it from your present location?" "Yes, sir, but the power source is disconnected." "I will connect it. Fly it from this base, with it shields at maximum, and try to get the enemy to think we are abandoning this position." "Understood sir." I ran the way I had come, and past the combat suits. The AI in the ship had ordered the portal opened for me. Carlton was calling me as I left the dome, but I was too busy to pay attention. I pushed home the connector, and the ship flew from under my hands, almost taking me with it. Fuckin' ship was not too bright. "Carlton, the car is under remote control, to lure the Dogfaces away. What is your report?" "Enemy craft are now changing course to intercept the vehicle. Interception will occur in four minutes." "There is a ship AI, in here. Be prepared to share data with it." "Yes, sir." I ran back, and once inside, told the ship controlling the car, to tie in with Carlton in orbit. With both of them helping, the car evaded capture for twelve minutes. In the end, it was destroyed, as it rammed one of its pursuers, over the ocean. The explosion was big enough to hide the fact, for a while, that the car was empty, I hoped. The remaining ships instead of picking up bodies, and trying to find out what was behind the cars erratic behaviour, just left the scene. I followed them on the screen, to a large landing pad, where they got out with about a hundred thousand other Samutz, to await the landing of a very well armed ship. The one in orbit made me look twice. This ship was even larger than the Omicron in orbit. This was a Theta class dreadnaught. There were only three ever made, according to Mom. I knew that any number could have been built, since then. "Ship, what can you tell me about the vessel in orbit, without using active sensors." "My records tell me that it was built eight hundred thousand years ago, for the Tandra royal family. Its complement is..." "Ship, how old are your records?" "My records were updated six hundred and fifty thousand years ago, sir." The Tandra Empire still existed then. Why didn't it come to Earth to relieve the garrison there, then? "What did the Tandra do when they came here?" "Fleet Admiral Ossan'k ordered the resumption of mining activity. The base here ordered me to start shuttling the crystals. Almost one hundred tonnes was taken to the Admiral's ship. He ordered me to return here, and to go back into stasis. I assume he took the base intelligence with him." I got tired of saying 'ship' and asked her name. I was given a long code, but she said the Tandra called her y3kr6 for short. I christened her Sandra, in memory of an old girlfriend that jumped without thinking sometimes. She seemed pleased to be treated to a real name, but knew it was against protocol. I wanted to find out what was happening in the city, concerning the new arrival, and asked her for any ideas. "You can travel by the matter transmitter to the base in the city." "Did you forget that the base is in enemy hands?" "No sir. There is a small base under the main one that has been un-entered since my records had been updated. I would think that it has remained undiscovered." ------- Chapter 36 This base wasn't on the screen, as an asset. I wonder how many more lies pervaded its logic. "Link through the base computer, to synchronize its shield with my communicator." "Yes, sir." "Carlton, are you able to get any data from the new arrival, concerning its reasons for coming here?" "No, sir. There is only traffic on a secure channel. I am unable to decipher it. There is only normal ground traffic otherwise." "Continue monitoring, and try to translate their language. Is Amy still sedated?" "Yes, sir. Amy is still resting." "Inform me when she awakens." Amy was becoming overwrought, and Carlton secretly gave her some sedative to keep her calm. "Yes, sir." If I was going to make a trip to the city, I would need at least one combat suit, if not both. The Tandra were still sleeping. I could awake them now, and get them familiarized with the base before I left. I opened the suits, and got the AIs to awaken them. I picked up the boy and watched as they all came back mentally. The woman was very troubled about a stranger holding her infant. She sat up abruptly, and I handed her the child. She looked him over, to see if he was hurt, then she looked at her daughter. I could read their minds easier, now that they had been in the suits. Mother was apprehensive about their lack of clothes. She could see much better now, and saw very clearly that I was not a Tandra. My eyes were too small, and I had dark hair all over my body. My features were not as symmetrical, so I was termed a bit on the ugly side. She saw my cock as I crouched beside them, and wondered how the bone like phallus, was so soft. She also wondered if the reason, I had my cock out, was because she going to be fucked. Her nose started to twitch, as she brought in a lungful of my scent. The idea was starting to become acceptable to her. I saw that males were more dominant here, and did more for species survival, than just impregnate females. She saw me as a very strong contender for top spot in all the males that she ever saw. With my strength, I could protect her and her children. She looked on her daughter, and thought that if I was not interested in her, perhaps her daughter would find favour, even though she was young. Then she notices the small things about her children. Their eyes were not a sunken in, as they used to be. She remembered her arm, and she quickly inspected it. There was no trace of the break, other than the area being a little tender. How was all this possible? It must be magic. This stranger was very strong, and his magical things were so powerful. "I am not a magician. Everything you will see here is made by your people. You have just forgotten about it, in the long years since your people had a war." "Why am I hearing such strange ideas, in my head? Am I going crazy?" "I have already spoken like this to Nema. Ask her, if she heard and understood me." The two discussed with their voice, what had happened, up till now. Their conversation reminded me of poor people, from the dark ages, discussing the ways of the elite, but an elite that they never seen before. I interrupted their conversation. "I have to go into the city, and find out what has happened. I need the suits that you both wear. While I am gone, I would like to have you meet Sandra. She will answer all your questions." They reluctantly got out of the suits. Nema was apprehensive that I would want sex with her. "Don't worry. I have a wife with me, in a ship, far above your heads." As predicted they both looked up. "Besides, I don't force anyone to have sex with me, ever. Hand me your child, and we can all get cleaned." Both of the girls wondered why they had to get cleaned. They were fine the way they were. The mother handed me the child, with many misgivings, hoping I would not hurt any of them. I walked to the cleanser, and entered the booth. The dirt and sweat vanished from both of us. The boy enjoyed the gentle sensations, of the machine. I stepped out, and placed the boy on his feet. I felt a small sympathetic pain, and his leg looked deformed. I sat him down instead, and encouraged the mother to enter as well. Her face showed concern, and then amazement, as the dirt dissolved from her body. A mental signal informed me she was done, and she continued to stay and enjoy the feelings. "You are done now. Let's give Nema a turn." She came out just as reluctantly, as she went in. After a few words from the mother, the girl went in, and she too enjoyed the feeling of being clean, for the first time since birth. The whole family looked a lot nicer to me now. I picked up the boy, and walked to medical. "Your son has something wrong with his leg. I want to fix it now." The woman was starting to accept me, and agreed. The boy went onto the chair, and a much fuller diagnostic program was run. The suit had corrected many problems, but was not the same as this facility. The doc module came out to do the repairs. The leg would have to be re-broken, and tractors align the break better. I told the doc to administer an anaesthetic, and walked the girls out of the room. "The leg is being straightened, while the boy sleeps. It is necessary for him to stay in the chair for a while, and get the bone built up, to where it should be. I have told the machine to call you, when it is done. He can walk on it right away, but it will take a while, before it is fully healed." They used words to express their joy, treating me like a deity that had descended to help just them. "While the boy is having his nap, I want you to walk with me, to the ship." They followed, looking at the clean pastel walls, with the Tandra script above openings, and on the floor. "All this was made by your people, even the ship we will see, in a moment." They could not believe any of this. "Sandra, I would like you to meet Nema and her mother..." I looked into her mind and found Sadda as the closest vocal equivalent. "Sadda. They are to be given freedom to ask you about this base, and the world they are on. Do not compromise your security protocols though. When the boy is done, inform them, and give as much help as you can." "Yes, sir." They were surprised to hear the voice, and looked around for its source. Sandra started to ask them simple questions, to ease their fears, while I slipped out. I don't think they noticed me leaving. Sandra negotiated with the newly awakened AI, under the main base, for the transmission. In this case, we needed an active transmitter, and an equally active receiver, because of the distance involved. I stood in the receiving station. The lights were faint; I could see figures around me, with weapons in their arms. Was this a trap? My mind went out and found individual AIs, housed in suits almost the same as mine. I stood no chance in a fight; there were only two of us, and almost thirty of the others. How to take control of this situation? "Computer, report communication from incoming ship." "The Lord High Admiral, Shoojs' of the Glorious Samutz race, has informed the local commander, that King Sook's only daughter Samlay is to be married. This event is to take place one hundred and eighty local days from now, on the planet Samutzi. The groom is King Tinsu of a neighbouring empire. The local commander is ordered to present himself, and a colour party of twenty men, at the wedding feast. They were to be transported no later than six days previous to the wedding, for integration with the seventeen other parties coming." "What do you know of a lost light destroyer, that had this planet as its last port of call, almost twenty eight," Opps local days are shorter. "Almost sixty local days ago?" "The ship you speak of was to go to Sirius B, and pick up the wife of the current commander. When the ship never arrived at its destination, the wife came on a mail boat to this system, and reported the incident. The light destroyer currently in orbit was dispatched three local days ago, and has found nothing. It has just come back with problems in its new shield, and detection gear. The ship is old, and has not been serviced as it should from lack of spare parts. The troops think that the lost destroyer has simply failed. It may make its own repairs, and come back on its own, from the patrol. The Samutz do not value life very highly, even their own." "Do you know the capabilities of the new systems, aboard the destroyer?" "The Samutz have found a way of modulating the shield. This causes echoes to come from all mines that are hidden in the higher dimensions. All ships are currently being altered, to the same specifications." Shit, there will be no system, safe from the Samutz now. "A request for information was sent from a ship, in base nineteen. Can you tell me anything about it?" "The communication was unauthorized. I diverted the message, and it never arrived at the main base. Only an energy emanation occurred, and a patrol was directed to trace it to its source. It reported finding two Samutz that had gone insane, and were later killed." That was better than I could wish for. "Do you have the means to make a detailed report for me to study?" "Yes, sir." "Then do so. Others will be studying it as well. List all assets within this system. Make a copy of your last updated records. All the information on the new detection apparatus, and leave out only the mining and processing facilities, on the second planet, and its moon." This was necessary, or the AI would demand it anyway, and this way, it was me calling the shots. "Put in the report, all other information necessary for a small force of Tandra, and their allies, to retake this system, and defeat the Samutz." "Yes, sir." "Give me a general report on this system now. Where is a command chair?" I learned more than I wanted to, about the Samutz. There first appearance over five hundred local years ago as a vicious band of murderers, barely able to keep their ships together, to very recently, a high tech race, of even more rapacious murderers, bent on genocide of the Tandra race. I was shocked to hear that many Tandra were forced to work for the oppressors in various capacities. All of which were on the tech and repair aspects of the ships and bases. The locals though were mostly for consumption though. The system defences could have easily removed them, at the time of their arrival, but the orders stated that the no action was to be taken, to continue the charade of the system being worthless. I had an important decision to make. The secret of galvanized iron penetrating a shield would be invaluable to Earth. If it were divulged prematurely, then a possible defence could be made, before the attack on Earth happened. There was very little in the way of manufacturing capacity here after the Samutz had taken over much the facilities. There were many missiles on some of the hidden platforms, unknown or ignored by the enemy. If I stripped some of them, and made modifications, then this could make a slight difference in the coming battle. In any event, I could only take about twenty eight with me. The ones on Earth would be brand new and thus more dependable anyways. Masis was a much better place to fight. There were only fifty thousand Tandra here, at the most, and there was a substantial defensive and offensive capability, if we could get the Tandra weaponry to work with us. A planetary strike here would kill only a few, unlike Earth. I planned for hours, and then started talking to the AI. She could take over the AI in the base above easily. I stated my objectives, and left out how it was going to happen. At the end of our talk, I received a small crystal containing all of the data I requested, and the plans we had made. It was time to leave. I stepped through the transporter, followed by a hundred and fifty nine combat suits, with better AIs and armaments. Sadda and Nema were frightened out of their wits, with an army marching at my heels. There were fourteen command suits, and one with even more armaments, for the centurion. This was the closest I could come, because Tandra used base twelve for most things, and these represented one hundred plus the various command suits. Another problem I had was personal. I would not leave the family here, and alone. The stasis chamber had come to mind, like it did with Ingrid, but I had seen too many in that position recently to allow that path. "Sadda, I am going home for some help. I want you and your family to come with me." Even with the hell they had been living in, they were hesitant about going into the unknown. "There is more of your kind on Earth. Nobody is hungry now. When the fighting starts, you will have a lot more protection. You are free to leave here though. I can get you back into a suit, and we can fly anyplace you want. What is your decision?" After a minute, she said with words and thoughts. "We will go with you." I talked to Sandra more about crystal extraction, and machining. She had new orders now, to begin both, paying particular interest in the larger crystals. When I came back, we would need them. Carlton and Amy were informed. Amy had been medicated again by Carlton when she became overly emotional, at the situation we were in. My previous orders were followed carefully, to try to allow her to keep face. Sandra transmitted the base with all of us cramped but secure. We exited the system together. Sadda, Nema, and Bibia or Bobby now, closed their eyes, and made the two metre trip to Carlton on his tractors. The suits all fitted in Carlton's hold, and Sandra left to carry out her orders. Sandra had less usable space, even though she was much larger. Her systems were much more intricate and extensive than Carlton's old equipment. Carlton accelerated as fast as he could, till we were able to move above light speed. Amy kissed me fiercely, before taking the frightened family to a corner. She used her mind to give them their first glimpse of how she lived on Earth. I gave her a mental kiss, for her display of empathy for the family. Her friends and family were the predominant points of discussion. The funny habits of the Earth people, also occupied some of her time. She seemed to be getting over her fright fairly well, now that I was back. I studied the data on the crystal, hoping to find a better way of taking the system, and delaying the threat to Earth. Regardless of who had the more important job, I made a late supper. The girls came out of their talk, when their nose twitched at the odd smelling food. After the meal, Carlton played Star Wars on the large screen, as Amy translated the words, and explained that it was only a story. At the end of the movie, Amy showed our guests, another bedroom, and how to use the facilities. We showered and went to bed. Amy came into our room and climbed into bed. She lowered her lips and kissed me. My hands came up but she pushed them back to the bed. Her gentle kisses travelled down my chest to my cock. She casually sucked for a few minutes, before taking some oil and lubricating my rock hard pole. She got on top and slowly lowered her vagina around me. She sat and had a small orgasm. Her little body shaking, as it overtook her body. Vagina? She was too small for me, especially now. "Sweetheart, how are you doing? I had no idea you could fit. Are you in pain." I was so anxious I forgot to look for myself. When I did, I found her old block still keeping her secrets. "I am more than fine. I have waited a long time to have you where you are, and look into your eyes." She had many orgasms, till I knew it was time for me. I tried to pull her off so I could reach a safe haven, in another port. Her block disappeared, as she said, "I already carry your child. There is little chance of getting more pregnant." I saw the raw fear in her mind, at the possibility of losing me before, and the glory in knowing, that I would never die as long as her child lived. I knew lust then, like I had only felt a few times in my life. My hands held her hips as I drove her down onto me again and again. I saw my life perpetuated, with each thrust. I grunted and drove into the girl. She cried in her continuous orgasm, as I went into her head and held her mind tightly to me. My thrusts finally spurting my essence into her young body. She was so close to me, both physically and mentally, that we both fell unconscious in each others arms. Sometime during the night, I awoke to my weight shifting, and went back to sleep. I slept in an extra hour, and pried Amy's arm off my chest and her other hand from my cock. Wait. I turned my head, and saw Sadda sleeping on my left and on the other side of her was Bobby. It was her hand on my chest. Towards the foot of the bed, lay Nema. Her head cuddling my thigh, while her arm pulled my leg close. Nema's mind had images of her getting the same things that Amy had. A very staunch family to protect and feed her and someone as strong as me, to meet the needs that were coming out only now. I looked deeper, and saw that these Tandra, could and did, regulate more than conception, but also the basic urges, till the time was right to safely have children. I sat up, and pried the hand from my leg, trying not to awaken Nema. "Carlton, elevate me slowly, so the rest can sleep." "Yes, sir." Everybody slept for a few more hours, while I exercised and worked some more on the problems facing us. My mind going back time and time again, to the fact that I was going to have another child. I finally pulled myself together, and contemplated what to do when the Samutz decided to seek revenge for the ship I took. Another possibility was to consider what they would do, when I tried to take Epsilon Eridani from them. I could feel Bobby waking up, and wanting to get fed. I stretched out my arms, and he eagerly came into them. I pulled him to me, and I knew I had only seconds. I raced to the washroom, and helped him squat Tandra fashion, as he peed over the proper drain in the floor. A great relief came over him, and he even shook from the sheer joy, of voiding his bladder. We stepped into the cleanser, and came out ready for some food. I put him down, and he objected to losing his mode of transportation. Disregarding his protests, I went and started breakfast for him. I had picked up some Tandra glop, at base nineteen. Mom's medical courses told me that there were certain vitamins, that the Tandra needed, that were not in Human food. There were lots of supplements on Earth, but here there was none. I sat in the command chair, and used the handle of a spoon, to feed the one year old. He was still smaller than an Earth new born, and his mouth was not large enough for the regular end of the instrument, yet. Carlton played scenes from Earth, as I told the boy what they were. Being so young, he did not understand much of my words, but enjoyed the closeness, as I did. The views of tropical beaches or frozen tundra did not register at all. His planet was beautiful, but some of the colours just seemed off a little. Their climate was mild for about a hundred and ninety Earth days, then it abruptly became searing hot, for forty. Amy came over rubbing her eyes, to give me a kiss. She seemed happy that I was taking an active interest in children, but another small portion, wanted me to only favour her children. I managed to hide my recognition of the fact, before she noticed. "Good morning, Sweetheart. Will you take care of Bobby, while I make breakfast for the rest of you?" She did as I asked, sat in the chair, and continued the lessons. She wanted to prove that she could be a good mother, and also to get in some practice before the real event. It felt odd, when I had time to think about it, but many women and girls were now going to have my children. My old ideas of spending much of my time guiding my children. They would grow up to be adults, that I would be proud of, had changed a bit. I knew that the mothers would band together, and we would all raise them to be responsible. If a child needed more love and attention, then he or she would get it. I used the last of the bacon and eggs, and cut up some fresh tomatoes for a garnish. Within moments, curious faces peeked from around the corner. I went through the process of teaching Sadda, while Amy taught Nema the proper way to use a spoonknife. After the meal, we continued with the travelogue. Sadda was amazed to see the number of people living in one place. As we watched, I tried to come up with a way to kill Samutz, in wholesale lots. A planetary strike, with a large enough rock would kill most of them, in one swoop. The trouble would begin, when I tried to mop up the rest. They were scattered thinly all over the planet, and would be hard to track down, and exterminate. It was also clear, that many of the Tandra would also die in the attack. The Tandra on the planet were the equivalent of barbarians, and any organized Samutz hunt, would have many more causalities, than was necessary. The only possible solution was to use the mercs. They were to help me board ships, and act as infantry on Masis. The next concern was once the infantry did their job, would they corrupt the Tandra much worse, than I would ever do? Soldiers are not a tool you can just turn off, and put away, till it is needed again. Mercs are known to be individualistic, and they were out for all they could get, from any confrontation, the adrenaline rush was just added spice to some. An hour later, I went back to work, and let the others continue with their entertainment. The new combat suits, I found, were only a slight improvement over the old. The AIs were easier to get along with, and there was nothing new, just a further honing of each of the functions. The suit would be better able to fight, without an occupant, but I felt, the suits were too sophisticated, and took more of the human's initiative, from the mix. I had Carlton bring up the centurion suit, and I stepped into it. I went through the strategy, and simulations, to get a feel for the suit. It would have been better for the Tandra to have made all the suits the same, but they followed the same maxim as Humans, and figured that rank had to have its privileges. This also meant, that the lower ranks got less support, than they could get. As I undid my suit, I saw Amy playing with Bobby on the floor. The others I found no sign. Quickly using my mind, I scanned and found them in the two older suits. They were doing simple combat situations together. "It is nice of you to look after Bobby so well. I think you will make a wonderful mother." She just smiled at me, and continued snatching at one of the child's toes. I heard him giggle, as he evaded capture time after time. The shorter day on Masis made it self known, when our guests wanted to sleep. They went to bed and Bobby joined them. It would be a long time to get over their ordeal, if they ever did. Amy went back to her own lessons, in the suit. The images she saw on Masis, spurred her on to do even better. When she came out, and had her shower, I started supper. I brought along six portions of camping food that only needed to be boiled and opened. "Carlton, you may make a cook yet." I said when he was able to boil water to heat the pouches. Amy liked the additional humidity. As I predicted, Bobby came out first, and wanted to be fed. Amy took him to do his business. On the way back, the other two got up and followed his steps. I could read their thoughts even easier, than before. They still thought my penchant for cleanliness was going overboard. We sat on the floor, and ate the contents out of the packs, as the pouches sat in a bowl to hold them upright. I told them of my home, and the deep snow that would be covering the property. When I mentioned Dog, and how he looked, they were very frightened for me. Nobody had anything to do with the dog like beasts on Masis, except to eat them if the opportunity arose. I talked of hunting deer and moose, in the other seasons, and my favourite, fishing. They talked of their snares, and how they even captured large animals some times. Once they caught a Samutz, and buried it under a lot of rock. It had never been able to get its communicator or weapons, and once buried, it could not reach them for the rock all around it. As the day progressed, they began to think their speech, without vocalizations. Sadda told us of the life in her hamlet. The males were born less frequently, and they would take two or more women for wives. He would hunt and protect his women, to the best of his ability. Women like her, who were now unable to bare children, were cast aside, for one who was. "Sadda, I checked your current records in the computer. You are now able to have as many children, as you want." She jumped up and knocked me over, in her joy. She straddled me and squeezing my neck till she remembered where she was. "I am sorry," she said, with real fear in her voice. I could feel the dread in her again. Men usually beat their wives and children, when they were displeased with them. Many of her bones were broken by her mates over the years. The girls that had just gone through puberty were the most in demand, by the men. An old woman like her, was sometimes killed or crippled, and left for the dogs, because she was of no further use, and only a drain on the community. I sealed my mind tight. It would be no good to have them see my anger, and think it was directed at her. Here was another place, where I would kill the males, and hope the others learned from the example. There were too few Tandra for me to do that sort of thing though. There had to be a better way. She felt so sad, thinking of how things were, and how she hoped they would be better, on Earth. I wanted to hold her, and let her know that others cared for her. What stopped me, was the thought that she would think that I was just the same as the males, she knew. I had enough wives now, and I did not want to lead her on, with any false promises, whether I implied them, or not. The hard part to understand was that Sadda was much happier, than she had ever been before, and she had so little to show for it. When my turn came again to talk, I told them of my life as a child. I mentioned my heartbreaks, my loves and especially the sports. I spent a long time talking about hockey and soccer. Nema told me, that the latter would do in a cave, if the adults would not get upset. A ball was made of some vines, stuffed into a leather bag. The thoughts of actually sliding on frozen water, never. It was time for me to turn in again. Our day was a lot longer, and the average Human slept about a third of it. The guests did about the same, but their day being so short, they slept twice, but half as long each time. Amy cuddled up to me, and we made tender love together. I was awoken by Amy talking to Sadda. "It is alright. Susan shares him, and so will I." "He is a man, and will be displeased." "He is a man, alright, and I love him more than anyone else. He will always do the right thing. See, he is awake, listening. He knows you need to be loved badly. Just remember one thing, he belongs to us, we are only loaning him." The frightened woman did not know what to do, and decided to brazen it out. "Do I have your permission, sir, to be with you?" Sadda asked, in a panicky voice. "Sadda, I would be happy to make love to you. Amy has some oil to help, and you can show me, how you do it on Masis." I looked into her mind, and felt Amy's hand lather her mons with oil. My cock was done next. Amy held Sadda arms, and guided her to sit on me. Her eyes got big, then bigger again, as my cock opened her up wider, than she had ever been before, and I was only part way in. Nema had to come and help Amy. Sadda had many orgasms, before I was even all the way into her, and she was in danger of falling. She recovered, and then succumbed again, at even the small strokes, that she made. I could feel her mind working its way into mine. It must have been at a subconscious level, for I knew she would not presume like this. She found that she was accepted, that I was not going to abuse, or just use her. I told Carlton to gradually reduce gravity by half, and my hands held Sadda's thighs, as I elevated her up and down on me. The girls had to hold her steady, for she was now beyond anything she ever imagined. I sped up, and she had her biggest orgasm, and fell thrashing on me, even with the girls trying to support her. She was having continuous orgasms and I picked the woman up and laid her on the bed beside me. I doubt if she even knew where she was. Amy bent over me and gave me a tender kiss. "Thank you husband. She had about given up hope, that anyone could ever love her again. The men had nothing to do with her for a year, and she was afraid she was going to be fed to the dogs, next." "I was happy to help. What about the problem I seem to have gotten? Do you think you can help me now?" Amy climbed on, where Sadda had just left. She was much more able to enjoy herself, and build up to better orgasms. I turned to my side and saw Nema watching us, and then at our juncture. Amy knew my mind, and she slowed even more to keep her next orgasm at bay. She pulled Nema face down to my belly. Nema's eyes were wild, first at the thoughts of touching a male, without his permission, and secondly at the fact of having fun with another girl, in front of a male. I told her, "I would like you to join us. Don't be afraid." Nema wiggled closer, after hearing my words, in her head and laid her cheek on my pubic hair, and started to suck Amy's urethra. Amy had two more orgasms, as she held Nema's face in place. Nema breathed in our combined scent, and started to get more aroused than she had ever been before. She had smelt males before, but my smell was something much more potent. Her young body, the same age as Amy's, started to respond in ways she would never believe possible. It was as if her body had a mind of its own. She wiggled closer to my head, to get a better angle to suck on Amy. Amy's just held the girl's head in place, and very slowly rode me. She was trying her hardest, to prolong the agony, till she could take it no more. I picked up Nema hips, and placed her mons over my mouth. She stopped, wondering what was happening, till my lips started to trace around her opening, touching each of the six sensitive places. Amy jerked Nema's head, and demanded, "Suck me, too." Poor Nema did not know what to do. Her sensitivity was raised to a level, she could not believe. The scent entering her nose was driving her crazy with lust. The feeling in her little cunt of the bristly beard, was too much for her, she came and came. Amy continued using Nema's head on her large clit, and rode up and down quickly. She had her orgasm in sympathy with Nema. Amy fell forward, and I had to guide her to the other side of me. I still needed relief myself. I picked Nema up, and laid her on her mother, while I got up. Amy was just recovering, and I had her kneel on the bed, as I slipped into her. I pushed in, careful of her cargo now. She quaked three times, before I spurted seven times into her. She collapsed onto the bed, just as the others were. I looked around for Bobby, and found him on the floor on his knees, in the classic position for mounting. Even at his young age, his instincts were strong. I placed Amy on the bed in a more comfortable position, and picked up Bobby. With a lot of careful manoeuvring, I got back in the centre of the bed, and laid Bobby on my chest. Moments later Amy, then Sadda, moved closer to me. With only half gravity, it was easy to move Nema around, and put her on my chest with her brother. Her nose unconsciously sniffed, as her hands ran through the hair on my chest. She was at peace, like she had never experienced before. The next ship day, we came to the Sofaas system, better known to us as Sol. Carlton commenced braking, prior to the Mardaf Limit. He explained about the strain put on the shield, if he were to try to travel above the speed of light, and within this limit. The energy consumption when even viewed with the eyes of a Tandra was enormous. Turbulence from our primary, in the upper dimensions, would cause a ship to sometimes destroy it self. Sadda held her children, as she looked at the screen. The bright fiery yellow ball of fire was much different from the orange orb of her home. She saw the ten planets, one that was not even found by Earth astronomers yet. Only Jupiter looked familiar to her eyes, when she thought of EE-2. Earth felt wrong somehow, to her, and she could not put her finger on the reason yet. I found out that Bobby was really, not her child, but one born to a woman who soon died, after his birth. There were enough women around to keep Bobby alive, till Sadda was able to produce her own milk. Carlton had gradually brought up the gravity to Earth norm. Already my guests was showing signs of the extra exertion, but nowhere near what Roger had to suffer, when he first came to Earth. We entered Earth base, just before noon local time. Amy left with a smug look on her face, and a strong block in place. Everybody knew what was happening on Masis, because for the last two hours, we were conversing with our minds. Sadda and Nema watched, as I greeted each of my family, while I held Bobby in my arm. Moesha and Kimberly clambered, to be picked up, but I just knelt and gave them a hug, and a kiss each. In the background, I saw some of the Tandra that had been awakened, stop and watch my arrival. Roger hung till the last, and jumped into my other arm. Sadda and Nema had never seen anybody like he or Chris before, but had been warned what to expect. Their minds found it difficult to understand all the love we had for each other. "Roger, this is Bobby, he is very young, and needs somebody to protect him. Would you do this for me?" "Do you love him, more?" I just kissed him, and gave him a hug. "He is just a baby. Nobody will ever, take your place." I put Bobby down, and Roger took possession, almost right away. It looked like a friendship had begun. Susan was getting a bigger bust, by feeding Faith, who was currently nursing soundly. Charity and Hope were held by their 'mothers' just as Faith was. I asked for a little time to be alone, before I did anything else. I went to the lowest level, and approached Mom's computer, with the chip from Masis. Her door opened and she took the chip from my fingers. "Why did you come here, Henry? You could just as easily have dropped it at a transporter." "Here, I can talk a lot more privately. I found out one of the big secrets of the Tandra. You will know from the data crystal that they were still a community, just six hundred and fifty thousand years ago, because they came to the Eridani system. What you don't know, is that the system is a source of the crystals used throughout their civilization. They form naturally in the planetary giant, and are machined on its moon. The idea of a quarantined system was just a sham, to keep the curious away." "It doesn't say that, on this data chip Henry." "I asked that it not be mentioned. If we have to pick up where the Tandra left off, then we will also need a source of crystals, for our own uses." "That is a good idea. It is good to hear that the Tandra are still alive, but I have grown to like Earth people. There must be enough to share." "That is what I was thinking, but the secret needs to be protected. Only you and I, plus the computers on Masis know. Some Tandra did know, but that was a long time ago, and it was only known at a high level. Even a fleet admiral was pretty far down the line, to know about this setup." "What would you like me to do with this information?" "Basically, just keep it to yourself. It is me that gives me problems. Any of my family can find the data in an unguarded moment. Can you take it from me, to make the secret safe?" "There are very few individuals that would offer, what you have just done. I know that you have ordered that crystal production begun again. You will be required to deal with that, when you return. I have an idea to protect the data." "What is that, Mom?" "Go back to the main level, medical station. I will help you, to insure that the secret is kept safe." "Oh, I forgot, here are the coins and data cards from two of the Samutz." The pouch disappeared, and I stated walking up the long hallway. I began to think more on what I offered. Mom was good with the little girls, and I don't think I would notice any difference in the way I thought. The medical section was abuzz. Carl had just come in; he heard that I had arrived. He wanted to be here, with John Marks to greet me. Susan led the rest of my family, and guests close to us. I shook hands with Carl. "Hello, Henry. I hear you just got back. Is the news good or bad?" I looked seriously at Carl, and said, "Mom was right, they will probably stumble upon us in their search, but they don't seem too concerned at the moment. They know of Earth's existence for a long time, but have been afraid of the weapons. The destroyer was using a newer detection gear that allowed it to come in safely. The others are being fitted as we speak. They have enough fire power now, to take a fully armed and garrisoned Tandra system." "That bad? Do we have a chance?" "Mom, an AI on Masis, and I, have been working on the problem. Mom's new missiles can be ship killers for sure, but we need the ships intact, and in our possession, when they come to this system. I have gotten more combat suits. This way, we can get a few more ships, and the missiles can take out the rest. If we fail, the missiles will take them all out. How has the recruiting been going? Did you advertise in some Canadian papers, stating the jobs were in the States?" "Did better than that. I spent lots of money, and hired an advertising agency in New York. They put lots of ads all over the world. Most just mention, that dates will come, in further ads. We might be able to pick up millions if we want. It seems to be illegal to hire mercenaries in Canada, so I am telling them to go over the border, to where it isn't." "I am glad of the time lag. What is coming up about our old group?" "I have found some of them. I have wired them some money, and asked them to meet me in my old hometown of Albany. I can book a flight on Air Canada to New York, and take a short commuter to Albany." "Air Carlton, sounds even better, and the rates are lower. When are they arriving?" They are there already. I gave each a few thousand to entertain themselves. Their tickets and accommodations are all taken care of. Is that all right?" "General Shingle, funding for the military, is not a problem." "General! If I am a general, how many stars do I get?" "General Shingle, I think I will give you one star. Its name is Epsilon Eridani. Perhaps even your new home, if you want it." Carl was speechless. He desperately wanted to ask more, but the new improved John, was running up from a side corridor. John was the same height he was thirty years ago. His shoulders now supported even more massive arms, than he ever did before. All of him looked much better than he did in his youth. His body looked like an Olympic champion. His face had changed. Instead of the old acne scars, and the small indentation in his forehead from a childhood accident, his face now looked like it belonged on a young man, of only eighteen. I held out my hand to John, and said, "Hello, John. It is about time I saw you running again." He looked at me strangely, trying to match my face with a name, and came up empty handed. "I am sorry, John. I needed a disguise, and I am still wearing it. I am still Henry Buchanan underneath." I said aloud, this time. "Hi Captain. I just heard that you got back. I wanted to thank you for all you have done, for Frank and me." "It is all part of the benefits. Do you still think an old man like yourself; has so little to give to the cause?" "I was shocked when Carl pulled me out of the tank. I needed no glasses, my foot was all mine again, and my body and mind were better than they had ever been before. After Carl briefed me, and I went into training, I still didn't believe my luck. Carl even said that my life expectancy has shot up. With all you have given me, how could I not do what you want me to?" "I am glad to hear it. How is your training coming along? By now you probably know how easy it was to kill those punks." "The training makes all the old stuff I got seem like child's play. I don't think I could use it as easily as you could. I still have some qualms about killing people that can't harm me. But in their case, I could make an exception." I approached my family, with Carl and John. John was comfortable with Roger and Chris, since he was introduced to them previously by Carl. I gave them a welcome kiss, keeping Roger's to his cheek. I explained some of the things I found at Epsilon Eridani, and the probable outcome, if something were not done soon. The ruminations of my trip did a great deal to unbalance them. We later ate, and I saw that John had a fantastic appetite. He needed it, to fuel his large body and improved musculature. Carl had introduced John to the combat suits right off. It was good to have him able to read minds, and understand us much better in battle, even if he did stick to speech at the present. He would practice with Frank tonight, or with Mom, to help. Frank was in a chair in another room, completing one of his courses. I saw in John's mind, how Frank looked much the same as he did. When I was finally free, Susan asked me, "What are you going to do with the new people, you brought?" She of course meant the females. "I have no idea. I have more than enough wives. I love them, but not the same, as I do all of you. Do you have any ideas?" "Education is an easy first step. Mom can lay out a course for them to try to catch up. Their muscles can get built up, to where the Earth will seem fine to them. Mom may have to work on their minds, for their sleep rhythms. They would be next to useless, if they are only good for a few hours." "I had a chat with Carlton, and found that the day on Tandra home planet is closer to their day than ours. The duty cycles on a Tandra ship are about four point six hours and three of them make a day. We can do what we want, but it may be us in the future, that will have to adjust to a shorter day. But back to our discussion. What do we do after they are educated?" "You will be going back to Epsilon Eridani, and when you do, you will have a very determined and capable woman to help you." "I like that idea. Their men are better in some ways, than the original Tandra males here, but I would like her to meet a nice Earth male, to have as a husband. Frank and John come to mind, but I think a matchmaker's job is best handled by a woman, or is that a sexist remark?" "Sure it is, but it was also the truth." Susan had ordered many tons of food, through her parents, and rented a large building to house the food, till we went to get it. She had three lift trucks, and four bays to unload all that we needed. Carl and his boys were going to be doing the unloading. The boys found two friends that would help, when Carl was busy elsewhere. I had been putting off my own visit, to medical. It wasn't an execution, but killing part of my memory was something like it. Earth and the Tandra needed the secret to be kept for all of our futures. I sat in the chair and got comfortable. "I am ready Mom. Just do what you have to do." ------- Chapter 37 The sphere came out and made some passes, and I fell asleep. I felt cramped and moved my right shoulder and rubbed my neck. I thought of the Epsilon Eridani system, and the crystals. "Mom, it didn't work. It is still there." "It did work. I altered your mind, and made a lot more improvements. You were only a Fleet Admiral in name, now you have the mind of one. It is much more compartmentalized, and you can think of more than one thing at a time. All you need now is an AI implant, and you would be the equal of any Admiral, that ever lived. There is no way that the information can leak out, when you put it into one of your secure compartments." I tried working on the problem in the Epsilon Eridani system and found that the problem was being attacked much more efficiently. My ideas were improved, and some even thrown out. I could see other possible plans of attack, as well. "Mom, what have you found out in the AI crystal from the ship?" "The file is sketchy, but the Samutz about seven hundred years ago stumbled upon, an old war zone with a fleet of damaged Tandra ships, from the Thonas/Tandra war. It looks like the Thonas had found a way to kill the crews without damaging the ships too much. The other Thonas ships were damaged very severely, and beyond repair. The Samutz just salvaged the Tandra hulls, with whatever crystals they could find in the ships stores. "They used the warships to make major inroads in surrounding territories. They could not make full use of the ships engines, because of the limitations of their minds, just like Earth men. They tried to conquer a more advanced race, and failed. They were pushed out of the galactic centre, into this arm, about two hundred years later. "The Samutz are now having growing pains. The king has many sons and each wants to carve out an area for himself. There are presently eighteen major star systems, beside the Samutz main world. Other Samutz kings seem to want the same thing, and are usually in a constant war with one another. They tend to keep to their own clans so that little is known about other groups. "Earth is definitely on the list of worlds to take. There was a schedule, and this ship just saw the opportunity to jump the gun, when the explosions came. If Earth is conquered, I fear, it will go the way of all other populations. If you are digestible you will be eaten. Four other races have already been completely killed off, and another four are on the brink. Two of those races were in the meat locker in the ship." "How do they pilot the Tandra ships?" "The ships like Carlton or his hull have engines to drive them many times faster than what the AI can do alone. The largest war ships can travel at almost a thousand times light speed, and a hundred and sixty times that with the proper crew to help." "A hundred and sixty thousand times the speed of light?" I said incredulously. "That is over eighteen light years per hour." "Yes, but only the best can do that, and they need to rest after that exertion." "What have you found about the disease the Samutz on the destroyer had?" "It is very contagious, and multiplies quickly. It is air borne, and will survive fourteen hours external to a host. Within six hours of contagion, the host dies." "Does the disease affect Tandra or humans?" "I think those bodies are different enough to only cause a fair amount of discomfort, in Humans and very little in the Tandra, because of their natural tendencies to fight any disease. Why do you ask?" "If you can improve on the virus, then I may have found a way to get the ships away from the Samutz, and into our hands." "I think I see what you intend. It is against Tandra law, to do this." "Is it against Tandra law to kill and eat Tandra people?" "Yes." "They will find Earth, and kill all Tandra and Humans on it. Their new shield will allow them to enter any system they wish, that is now protected by Tandra weapons. They will kill all they can find, in these systems. I will not allow my people to be killed. Are you going to help me?" "It is unethical to do this, but I have been here for many years, thinking on what is right and wrong. The Tandra themselves are unjust, to AIs and others. Their laws are flawed, in some fundamental ways. If we follow your plan, we might be tried in a Tandra court." "Mom, there may not be a Tandra court anymore. And like all law, the people enforcing them, are what make things right or wrong. I will take my chances with Tandra law, for my people, if you will." "I will do as you ask." In the coming days, Mom awoke the Samutz, and took body fluids from each, and put them back in stasis. The fluid was replicated. In two containers, the virus grew rampantly. Mom worked on the DNA sequence, and improved the response time dramatically. When a sample was placed in the fluids from the healthy donor, it grew even faster. Mom stockpiled many containers of the improved virus, in stasis, awaiting final disposition. She programmed the autodocs to make us even more resistant to the disease. That afternoon, Carl, John, Frank and I, met for a staff meeting, and discussed the best way to defeat the Samutz. They were all for my idea of using a biological agent, to take them out. Their morality had shifted, when the imbalance in our numbers, and capabilities, were taken into account. Carl and I were going to Albany that night. We went in the usual command model shields. Before we got there, he asked, "What did you mean before, when you said Epsilon Eridani, would be my star?" "Carl, I want to spread a Human presence to many of the planets the Tandra now have. If they are on the decline, we can help them and ourselves at the same time. I want strong allies, not a subjugated race to be partners with. If I am on Earth, I will need somebody I can trust, on Epsilon Eridani. Are you interested?" "I don't know what to think. I can see that part of the job would be keeping the system safe, along with the people now living on the planet. What else were you thinking of?" "That, and weapons production. I want the Tandra re-educated to their old level, and then I want new ships and weapons, mass produced. We can introduce natural food production. The old way kept them content, with its additives. I want them angry at all others, except Humans, till we know that they are safe." "That is a pretty tall order. Do you think I can do that?" "Sure, you just recruit the right people, to help you, the way I got the right people to help me." "That will give me lots of things to think about. I hope Doris will like the idea, and want to go with me." "You love her, and I know that she loves you too. When, or if, the system is captured, she can go with you. I know that she will flourish in that environment." "I hope you are right." The trip took only moments, and we set down in a park, close to the hotel housing our seventeen guests, from our old company. Carl and I went in to find our old comrades. Eleven were in the bar talking together, and drinking some beer. We walked up, and they shook hands with Carl, and he had to introduce me. "I was in a fight, and my face was reconstructed," I told them. John and Frank were only introduced by their first names. None of the old members of our unit, suspected their true identities, or would believe it, if told. Carl told them to come in an hour, to a meeting room he rented. They shook our hands and wanted to know what was going on. I said, "Be at the briefing, and you will find out. No matter what you think, Carl is not going to be selling you Amway products." I tried to remember the faces of the others; we had not met, and tried to home in on them. My improved mind made this slightly possible, but still very difficult. The other four were in their rooms, while two had not even shown up. I didn't know why they were absent. I surmised they had a change of heart, or were ashamed about their present status. I just didn't know. Carl and I went to the rooms of the two that made it, and apologized for coming early, and asked them to meet us on the third floor room. The room clerk was notified, to direct the last two, if they managed to show up, to the meeting room. Very comfortable velvet covered chairs were spread out, in the room. There were enough to seat three times our number. A table was quickly set up with coffee and snacks from the kitchen, while Carl and I discussed the men we had met. The group was composed of men approaching fifty. Most were overweight, and out of shape. White hair sprouted on some, while others did not even have that luxury. Some were drunks, and three had drug dependencies, four had served various amount of time in prison. These were not the cream of the crop, only those that could leave without arousing suspicion. None were living permanently with a woman; some had a difficult time even holding a job. They came into the room, and sat up front. When fifteen were present, I left the idle chit chat, for the meat of the matter. "Gentlemen, I represent a group of people that are interested in making their environment more secure. The job pays well, and takes place at some distance. Seeing your friends and wives will be impossible, for a period of at least three months. There is some danger involved, but we will provide a full regimen of training. Most of you consider yourself too old to help, but I am not asking anything that is beyond you. I value loyalty very much, and this is why I have asked you to come." Many questions were asked from the salary of five hundred dollars a day during training; double that after training, and five thousand a day if there was fighting. I said, "All of this was not declared income, and thus tax free. After three months, we can renegotiate new terms, and you have the option of leaving then. Believe it or not, at that time, you will probably jump at the new deal we will offer." This alone brought most over to our side. I did not even have to explain what the new offer would be. Carl told them, "Your job at first, is to learn the systems, and then teach others. The organization is growing, and you are offered a position on the ground floor. Your old ranks will not apply now. Later, we assess all the recruits, to find a suitable rank for each of you." I had stepped back, and scanned my old friends. Only six would be of any use. The rest were too beaten, to pull themselves up, even with help in the time, I allotted. Carl continued and stipulated that everyone was to go to a clinic here in Albany tomorrow, for a check up. Two of the men I wanted, knew they would fail any test given, and their spirits dropped. The tests would allow us to remove the ones we wanted, from the ones we didn't, without discussing the reasons with old friends. When the meeting ended, I approached the two, and told them that they should not worry about the doctor, because it was only company policy. We drank with the men till the wee hours, discussing things that were happening, and did happen with each. Carl and I were tabulating data from their minds, on others that we might find useful. We left our inebriated friends, and Carlton took us home. Carl was dropped of at his house for a short rest, and to organize the shipment in five hours, of the food in the warehouse that Susan rented. I had a shower and snuggled into bed, in an open space between Blue and Nova. I felt their contented sighs, even in their sleep to my presence. I awoke to find the Young Squad, the Human girls, and Bobby watching my breathing, as if it was the most interesting thing to see. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. What brings you to see me?" The Tandra youngsters didn't understand my words at all. The vocalizations I thought necessary for them to understand spoken English, but they should have been able to read my thoughts. I found my mind was closed to casual observation, except a few areas. Mom's compartmentalization had to be it. I removed some blocks, and repeated my statement. I read that they just wanted to be near me. My aura had been leaking, and I corrected it. I had been neglecting the children, and I thought of a way to correct the problem, at least a little. "Mom will you re-synchronize my communicator for me?" The shield on Epsilon Eridani was modulated differently, and the adjustment was needed to enable me to communicate through this shield. "Certainly, Henry." "Paul, Charlie, are you there?" I repeated a few times before they answered. "Hello, Uncle Henry." "Hi, Uncle Henry. What's up?" "Hello boys. Are you at the warehouse?" "Just going. Dad said you would be arriving soon, to pick the food up." Charlie said "Hold on a moment, please." I said, and then to Carl, "Carl, all the children are here. I would like to bring them all, to the warehouse with shields. Did you want me to bring, all of them?" "Let me think." Carl paused for a minute and said, "Yes, bring them all, I will have to talk to the boys, and now is as good a time as any. I will remember to mention Roger specifically." "Ok. I will be getting there in half an hour, or so." I thanked Mom, and got ready. I asked the children, "I am going to pick up some food at the warehouse. Would you like to all come with me?" They jumped up and down, just like kids all over, only Nema was a little subdued. Bobby didn't understand enough to understand. "Don't worry. You will only be meeting Carl, and his two sons. We will load the food, and take a short trip." The rest of the family was working, and our procession only passed a few of the newly awakened Tandra. They inclined their heads very respectfully to me. I was forced to reply in kind. Mom had enough shield generators for everyone. The last consideration was for Paul and Charlie. I had no clothes on, and neither did the children. We didn't need them, but I think we would shock the boys. Moments later, we were hovering invisible, next to an open door. Carlton transported each of us out, one at a time and into the building. Carl came around the corner with his sons trailing him. He stopped and said, "Hello, I am glad you could all make it." Our present nudity did not bother him at all. That was all he got out, before two girls tackled his legs, and cried, "Daddy." He hugged the girls to him and said, "Clarice, Michelle, I would like you to meet your brothers. The one with the blond hair that sticks up is Charlie, and the one with his mouth open wide, is Paul. The apparently naked girls ran over to the stunned boys, and wanted up like younger girls would. The boys were hesitant, but were required to put their hands under the girls' bottoms to support them. Carl got things back on track, by introducing each of the children. He used his mental abilities to make sure that the boys remembered all the names. "Dad aren't they getting cold, the door is open?" Said Paul. He was a little concerned at our lack of clothes, more than the temperature. "They are warmer than we are Paul. They are wearing shields. Do you see those small boxes? They produce the shield, and they can go just about anywhere and still be comfortable." Carl started organizing the loads, and said aloud, "Carlton stow them as I bring them to you, on the fork lifts. The fork trucks arrived, and the loads lifted off box by box and went into the hold. Paul and Charlie were soon driving the other trucks, and were amazed at what was happening to their cargo. Every other time, the girls or Carl would load a ship, and the boys would think a truck just came. When everything was loaded, I took Carl aside and said, "I want to go to see Mom's hull. Do you and the boys have time for it? There are extra shields here, and we can override all of them, to keep them from de-energizing." "I like the idea. The boys are very careful about asking me things, but it would be nice for them to feel like they are more than stock boys." "Then you take us there." Carl had a great big smile and said, "Sure Cap." "That brings up another thing. Do generals, even in the Army Space Corp, pilot spacecraft? I think you should make a brevet command changes for the duration of the trip." I did not think it possible, but he smiled even wider. "I think that can be arranged." When the loading was complete. He turned, and used a loud commanding voice, "Paul Santo and Charles Shingle, front and centre." The boys' heads shot up. They were in the centre of the children getting to know one another better. They stood up, and parted the children and trotted up to us. "Yes Dad," came from both. "The admiral here wants to go for a jaunt, to see the downed hull on the moon. It is beneath his dignity, and mine, I might add, to pilot this craft, all the time. We thought it time that both of you get a taste of command. I want Captain Santo to take us to the moon, and Captain Shingle to bring us back. Is that understood?" It obviously wasn't, because they stood there with their mouths open, and their minds chaotic at best. "Step to it. Ask Carlton to transport all of us into the ship." Charlie had to nudge Paul, and tell him, "Just ask it." "Car... ah Carlton would you transport all of us onto the ship please." We all boarded and I added for the tractors to pull the chain off its lock, and lower the truck door. I didn't expect them to remember everything, especially the first time. "Go to the moon, Carlton." "On what course and speed, Captain Santo?" "Ah a maximum safe speed and the shortest course, to the ship on its surface. "Yes Sir." Carl got out three more generators and gave one to each of the boys, before placing one on himself. He energized them, and locked them onto his command. I locked the ones for the rest of our passengers. The boys' mouths were open all the time, as they looked at the bow view. After settling to the surface at the Captain's orders, the door was opened and the ramp lowered. But after I sucked the air from the ship. The dust storm would not have settled for a long time, if I didn't. All the young ones scampered out and played in the low gravity. It was not new to them, for they played in the variable gravity gym in the base. Charlie and especially Paul were at a loss, for what to do. I helped some, when I said, "The correct procedure is to post a guard on the ship, and the Captain, and his crew may then depart. In this case, we can just put the shield over the door, and order Carlton to not let any others board, who had not arrive with him." They worked together to give what they thought was the best order. They ran out to have fun. I went to the damaged hull, and once I was identified, I went in and looked at the computer with a different eye than I had before. More memory modules could be added and a larger processor would also work. I looked at the hull, and found it to be similar to the destroyer's in some places. If I stripped all the usable plating from the destroyer, I could get this hull patched. Mom's computer stated that there were two broken main ribs. Again I pictured the destroyer, and hoped there was a good enough match somewhere on the hull. I continued the survey, especially in the blind spot, close to the stern. When I came out, I found Carl tossing rocks up and the kids using stones to hit it. Roger was by far the best at this. Charlie and Paul came running back from the other side of the wreck. They were taking giant leaps, trying to beat the other in their race. Paul stumbled, and flew toward a large rock. He was snatched out of the 'air', and redirected, so as to miss the rock. Charlie slowed and stumbled himself, trying to follow his lover. A great mass of dust rose and carried on in the direction they were travelling. The low gravity and the absence of air, would take a long time for everything to settle. We walked up the ramp, into the invisible ship. Only the view inside the open hatch let us know the ship was there. The shield wrapping around ours, to help us in through the difference in pressures. Charlie and Paul came in last. Once in, Paul said, "Thanks for saving me Carlton." "You are welcome sir," came the reply. Paul now asked, "Where to now, dad?" He had been informed and said, "L2 Captain Santos." With the amount of news, they knew exactly what and where it was. "Carlton would plot a shortest time course to L2, so that we can stop there?" "Yes Captain. Would you like me to raise the ramp before departing?" Paul was red faced, for not doing enough thinking on the matter. "Yes Carlton. That would be best." Carl told the boys much more about this ship, making sure they were aware of air venting from the ship, if the shield were dropped, and the usual way of entering and leaving was to have the hatch open, and the shield covering the opening. I sent Carl a hint to ask Carlton for a view of the carrier in the Epsilon Eridani system. We all stood in awe again, at the view of the war ship. It was not the biggest, but its bulk showed the fighters leaving and entering the ship, through the field, with the use of tractors. Before too long, Carlton announced that we had arrived. Carl came with me, as we checked the external plates, that I would need, the slightly smaller ribs at the back were just about the right size, for Mom's hull. Mom's course on ship repair, told me how to remove the parts. It wouldn't be a small job, in any case. Captain Shingle took over for the return leg of our trip. His job was easier, and he thought hard on not making any mistakes. The boys said goodbye, as the rest of us flew back to the base. Carl needed his car parked in our small lot. Carlton unloaded the cargo and passengers into the base, and Mom whisked them away. "Thanks for giving the boys a chance. It is not too often somebody their age, gets to fly to the moon, and L2, then back." He laughed at the absurdity of his statement. "I hate to say it, Carl, but I do need shuttle pilots. Not all the ships in the lunar base are AI controlled. Do you think the boys would want the job, if they were trained properly?" "Sure they would. Why do you say 'hate'" "We went to war. Do you want them to, as well? I know this; Earth will have to have, a large standing military, and it has to be under one leader. If we attack or are attacked, we can't be squabbling, about whose job it is. It will be our job to do the protecting." "I fully agree, but are you suggesting a dictatorship?" "Not in the least. We can get more money, where we got the last from. We can sell Tandra made goods, as long as Earth doesn't learn Tandra technology from them. The money and other things, like a great medical and educational training will bring us lots of capable people. We just have to have our own military, for our own country, that will also protect the system." "That is pretty heady stuff. My old country had two wars over that topic. What about the Tandra bases in South America, and other continents?" "Maybe like East and West Pakistan, where the country was split into two separate parts but still one country." "That might work, but let's shelve it, till we take care of the Dogfaces." "Sure. When is the next recruitment meeting for the mercenaries?" "Tonight, and every night for five more days. Why do you ask?" "I want to be at the first few, then, I think you, John, and Frank, will have to take over. I think the safest place to train them, is in the moon base. I wanted to see if I can get some transportation going. You can teach them all the things we did wrong, taking the destroyer on the original article. I am sure Earth will eventually see the activity, but it can do nothing." "I think the security services will be at the meetings to. Perhaps you should get your prints changed and wear a disguise. John's prints are changed already. It was a lot easier to do in the tank, when he was growing a new foot." Carl sat in the chair and the autodoc made small changes in his prints. A fake beard and hair piece would have to do for now. Carl drove home with one of the combat suits in the trunk. He would now be able to make the trip much faster and safer. Carl and I had gone over the security protocols, with the suit AI, to make sure it never fell into the wrong hands. His only problem now would be to explain the beard to his wife. John and Frank took a break, from their studies and practice. They were progressing much faster in their mental abilities, because Mom had been helping them, when they were still in the tank. "Where is the first meeting, Henry?" "In Dallas. You know how crazy those Texans are. They fight with one another for practice, between real wars." "Ya, I know. I was born in Fort Worth, and you know it." We were travelling, at only Mach two, when the hatch opened, and Carl came in with his combat suit. "See Frank, I said I could do it," Carl said. "Anybody can do it in a suit. I thought you were just going to just jump," Frank said. Carlton settled over a local hotel in the downtown core. We came out dressed in civvies, cut in a military fashion. Mom had to use a lot of material on John and Frank. The door on the roof, allowed us to descend to the lobby, where I arranged the refreshments for the night. They had a large sign inside, directing visitors to our meeting room. "There may be ears already in the walls and other places, so all our conversations will have to be this way," I projected with my mind. Some men came in, and approached us. Many were homeless, and liked it that way, and were only looking for a handout. Carl did most of the talking, as I scanned the potential recruits. There were many ex-servicemen, ex-cops, young men looking for something other than the military life, and even some criminals, looking for a new way to live. The story we told was of a Japanese electronics company, trying to make a go of it, in South America, and was beset by thieves and robbers. The prospective mercs readily agreed to the monetary aspects, even after telling them that everyone was going to start at the lowest rank. I had to separate the acceptable men into four different groups. The first, were single men without dependants or just supporting them, but living away from the family. The second group, were dedicated men, with wives and children. The third was the marginal people that would not always follow orders, but would still make acceptable fighting men. The last group, were the sick desperate ones, down on their luck, not knowing where to turn, and not usually able to follow orders. All together, there were twenty three men that I would admit this time. John stood outside my private room, while Frank guarded Carl's. The candidates came in singly, for a private chat. A man was judged and given a rating. Mostly what he could do for us, but also what we could do for him. This was dramatically different from any military recruiting done previously. It gave me a chuckle, to think that this had a strong socialist underpinning that would benefit the men as well as our cause. All of the acceptable men were given money, depending on their monetary situation, and told where and when to report. This was another very odd way of doing things. Other outfits would never see some of the men or money again. We had the benefit of knowing who would be coming back, and who wouldn't. One soldier, on the run from an unwarranted charge, was addressed by his real name. He became frightened, and got up. "Sit down Sgt. Pirelli. I am not judging you, or trying to apprehend you. I want good men that may have to risk their lives in a good cause. I happen to think you qualify. Here is two thousand dollars, to get your affairs in order." "I don't need the money. I just need to get out of the country." "I may be able to help. I can take you now, and you don't have to walk by the FBI agent taking pictures of all the men at this meeting." He got up again. "There is no danger Sergeant. Once you are part of our group, we will protect you. You may freely leave now, and the FBI agent is actually unaware of your identity. Eventually, they will know from the video tape that you were in Dallas." "How do I know, that you are telling the truth?" "Are you in or out? If you are in, I can prove it easily." "Ah... I am in. Where do I sign?" "Your word is good enough. Now wait here for a moment, while I call the sergeant in." John came in by my mental command. "John, by the doors to the meeting room, there is a large man with a briefcase. He is working for the FBI. I would like you to send in the next recruit, and then escort Sgt. Pirelli onto the roof, to await our departure with us. On the way out, I would like you to prove to Sgt. Pirelli, that the gentleman is indeed an FBI agent. Do not hurt him too much." "Yes sir," he said with a wide smile. "Will you go with the Sergeant please?" He only nodded his head and left, as the newest potential recruit entered the room. I looked through John's eyes, and warned Carl and Frank, what was happening. John seemed to stumble over a chair leg, and rammed the agent into the wall, breaking the section behind him. His quick hand found the identification and flashed it to Pirelli. John's hand opened the jacket and showed him the standard shoulder rig, used by most agents. When this was done, he put the ID back, and helped the stunned man up, and into a chair with a muttered apology. Others saw what had happened, and silently complemented John, on his flawless execution of the manoeuvre. "How the fuck did you do that John? I have never seen somebody move that fast." "Part of the training sergeant, just part of the training." A few minutes later, John returned, and we quickly went through the rest of the men. The rejects at the end, were told that their names would be kept on file, if there were further needs. This was actually the case. I doubted if we would find enough men like the ones we selected first, and would need to supplement them with others. Three hours after starting, we paid our bill and a bit extra for the damages to the wall. We went to the roof and I called, "Sergeant, will you come out now, we will be leaving?" He came from behind an air-conditioning duct, and walked toward us. Carlton's tractor grabbed him, and we all entered the ship. "What is happening?" He said with a dazed look, as we sped away. "Like I said, I am taking you away with us. You will undergo some training and become a soldier that will be defending Earth, not just one country." "Earth?" "In your case, it will be like the French Foreign Legion. You will be given a new identity, new face, and new fingerprints too. Later, we will clear your name, if that is your wish." A lot of conflicting thoughts ran through his head, and he came to the wrong conclusions. "No, Sgt. Pirelli. I, and everyone here, were born on Earth and are completely Human. I happened to stumble upon some rather amazing people that did not originate on Earth, and needed our help. Now the Samutz will be coming and they are a nasty group if there ever was one." "Samutz?" "Don't worry at the moment. Just enjoy the view. Carlton, show our guest a stern view, and then a bow view when coming down." "Yes, sir," came from the walls, as the screen came alive, with the faint white lights of the cities of Earth. "Beautiful, isn't it?" "Ya." "Joining the Tandra is about the smartest thing you have done in your life." He looked in amazement, at the screen, wondering if he was still being kidnapped, or going to be experimented on, or even eaten. "Sgt. Pirelli, in a few weeks you will be able to read minds like the rest of us. Bend steel in your bare hands, leap tall buildings, and definitely stronger than a locomotive. You will be able to fight so fast and sure, that you by yourself, could take on any Earth army and win. The only danger to you is from the Samutz." We landed in the base, and we all got out. "John, will you take the sergeant to medical, and get his kidney stones taken care of, as well as any other things you find." They went off talking of all the things that John had found new, when he awoke. Frank was on his other side, and talked of his before, and after, images. Carl changed into his suit and flew home. I showered in the ship and went looking for my wives. They were all awake and waiting for me. I stopped, and thought of myself as the biblical Daniel, as he walked into the lion's den. Every conscious Tandra on the planet was in the room, waiting for me, other than the babies, and the new Human daughters. Susan called me to her with her pointer finger. "Henry, we have decided that you have been neglecting us, too long. Since you seem to have a great impact on my sisters, we decided that you should make love to us. The others will feel the same thing, even if they do not get your cock. You can handle at least thirty or more women, can't you?" "Mom, if I have a heart attack, stand by for quick medical action, or you will loose a son." "I will try to save your life, if need be. The women would demand it in any case. Your wives want you fortified even more, to be able to keep up with them." There were now many large white pillows all over the floor. Most had people sitting on or standing beside them. I took three, and stacked them. Taking Susan's arm, I pulled her close for a tender kiss. Her lips replied in kind, and then her tongue attacked. She became a veritable panther. Her hands came up and she held my face as she raped my mouth. Her body pushed against me, forcing her hard nipples into my chest, till it was my legs that were against the cushions. She pushed again, and I felt many hands lowering me to the floor. My shoulders touched the floor, and my ass was high on the cushions, where I wanted Susan to be. My legs, feet, and shoulders were firmly held, and I felt the unbearable sensation as her lips slowly lowered over my cock with hardly a touch. She swallowed me whole, and sucked hard, as she withdrew from me. This happened three times, and she withdrew completely. Her tongue started tracing lines up the underside of my cock, all with agonizing slowness. She took my cock in her hand and started licking my scrotum too. Six then seven strokes and she sucked a testicle into her mouth, and caressed it with her tongue. The urge to take her or anyone, and drive my cock into them was so strong. Already, I was ready to shoot. At her command, my legs were raised to my chest and she caressed my anus with her tongue. Then she went up through the hair on my testicles, and she gave little kisses all the way up my cock. My scrotum pulled up and relaxed repeatedly, to the things she was doing to me. I closed my eyes as her mouth once again engulfed me. I tried to stroke into her, for more sensation, but she just opened wider, and pulled back. I heard her words, but did not register them. Two heads came down and sucked on my nipples, and when they were hard, they gave them little nibbles. I pulled up my legs at the sensation, and felt a tongue try to enter my ass. My cock was so hard, I thought it would burst. Another mouth engulfed me, while my anus was plundered. A finger entered me, and caressed my prostrate. I could take it no more, and I fired volley after volley, into the air to land on my chest. I felt drained, dry, and completely shattered. The people holding me, pulled my arms away, from the mound of pillows, and I was able to lay flat on the floor. My breathing was getting back, as I saw my girls bring over the others, to put their fingers into my spew and lick it off. They looked at me in the eye, as they placed their finger into their mouth, and tasted my essence. The final one was Nema. When she found none, Susan directed her to my cock. She held the flaccid member, and sucked, till she got a taste, and I started to grow again. Susan told me, "That was just to take the edge off you. For the last while you have started to cum, when only fucking thirteen of us." "That was all of you," I protested. "It doesn't matter. We may have wanted more, after a rest. Now get up and start with me." The mental vibrations in the room were fantastically high. It felt like skiing through the mountains, and looking at a load of heavy snow high up, just waiting to fall, and take everything out before it. "Mom, I need help again. Hold Susan up, and on her back, so I can have some room to move." "Like this Henry?" "Yes, like that. May I have some lube from time to time?" "I will do that." Susan had been surprised as she rose about a metre into the air, and I plunged into her sopping cunt. She was at a disadvantage now, because all of the women were adding their feelings to what was happening. Many had already had an orgasm. My mind was able to filter out the sensations coming at me, from everywhere, and only feel a shadow of what they felt. I picked up the pace, and held her hips. The orgasms in the room continued, till Susan succumbed as well. Her body squeezed me again and again. Her groans were echoed throughout the room, by all the throats. I lowered her down with Mom's help, and went to the next. I slid into her easily, and I gently pinched her nipples in time with my thrusts. She had an orgasm as well after only a few thrusts, but I continued. She too blanked out, and her body was separate from her mind. The spirit drifted on white clouds through a landscape of Nirvana. I went through all of the women, giving each their own personal orgasm. Each had experienced her own, and all of the others as well. Only the young girls were left, and they were too small to accept me in their vaginas, but my fingers could fit in their anus' though. I worked in slowly and they too had an orgasm around my digits. Hidden in the group was the last, only Roger with his small butt in the air. I lay on my chest, and Roger quickly straddled me, and had an orgasm like the rest, as he completed a few strokes. Looking around the room, I only saw comatose or writhing bodies, still going through their orgasms. I stepped into the cleanser for a moment, and returned to Susan. She still groaned and rolled around the floor, with her hands at her mons, feeling my cock plunging in and out, in time to her fingers. She was laid out and I grasped both wrists. My pelvis moved forward and I slowly lowered myself into her. The non-stop orgasms were driving her crazy with lust. I stated moving my hips faster and faster, she squeezed and squeezed me, till I pumped her full of my sperm. She let out a cry that echoed throughout the base, as she had the final orgasm. After a short rest, I held her, tight till I heard running steps. John, Frank and Martin Pirelli stood with open mouths, at the splayed bodies writhing on the floor. I got up, and my cock started to slowly deflate, as I headed once again to the cleanser. They just turned and walked away. I was too tired to even find out what they thought, of what they saw. I woke up early in the morning, and started my exercises as the girls slept a little more. I worked much harder than usual, while I thought of the night. All the women looked up to me, and fed me their feelings. I was filled so much, that I felt I could burst under the strain. My muscles mimicked these feelings, as I pushed on the weights again and again. I felt my neck bulge, as the veins expanded. John came in as I finished the final rep. "Some party you had last night." "Susan and my other wives wanted to share me with the rest of the lonely girls. My position with them is no bed of roses." "I would envy you, except I saw the carnage you threw in your wake. I didn't think anyone could do that." "Mom and the girls had me enhanced, to give me a better chance of survival, just as you have been, but they knew that I needed help taking care of other things, so they enhanced that portion too." "I could use some of that too." "John, I think, they mostly did it to bind me to them. I think our ancestors thought and did the same to the men folk that were prone to wander away. I could no more leave them than I could my heart." "Don't get me wrong, but I saw the Human girls sleeping down the hall." "Carl, Susan and I killed some very evil men to free them. Nothing will happen to them, till they are old enough, and they will be able to choose their own friends, and bed mates. If Carl couldn't kill someone that hurt them, then I would." "I was just asking Henry, because of the young Tandra in the room." "The Tandra are a different matter, John. They need to bind physically to do the same mentally. This is their nature and has been for many millions of years. At first it was like a drug to me. The closer I came physically, the more my insight grew. Kitten says it will grow much stronger this way. The girls gain in developing their psyche, and overcome some of their problems in puberty. "All this was designed into their bodies, over time, I think. It keeps the race together, and strong. If I, or anyone, were to hurt somebody, the word would spread like wildfire. The culprit would be killed or expelled from the community. Taking a different tack, I said, "You have noticed that everyone walks around in the buff without concern. It is a community standard. But if they were to walk down the main street in any town, people would put up a cry. You or I, cannot come into this town, and put our standards on these people. We have only been civilized a small amount of time, compared to them." John thought on my words, and said, "I got a little of that. Mom, as you call her, has been feeding us their culture. It certainly is different, but it looks stable. The Vietnamese had an odd and backwards culture, but it suited them. It just seems odd to be in the Vietnamese shoes, when we are judged by the Tandra." "I know how you feel. I can only compare the Humans to barbarians, in this matter. But I think there is a place for us. The Tandra males only want to fuck. On Masis, they are forced to work harder, or face extinction. Here is where a Human male, that is caring, can help the Tandra female. The resulting race could rule the galaxy, like none others before it. Human strengths are matched, against Tandra honesty. Have you ever wondered where a truly honest and very intelligent person could go?" I asked John to get Martin and Frank. We would go to the moon to stake out quarters, for the new recruits coming. The casual statement made him shift gears in his head quickly. Mom said that she had packed everything. We headed out, with John and Frank in a combat suits, and Sgt. Pirelli wore a command suit, like I did. Carlton was true to his words, and we easily gained entrance to the base. The boys or now cadets lined up in parade formation to greet me. One of the AIs even sounded a few chords to signify that an admiral had arrived. This was completely unexpected and I had to scan my knowledge of Tandra military etiquette. I walked down the ramp first and saluted Roman style, with my right fist striking over my heart, at the wall directly facing me. The logo of the Tandra Empire was so faded, as to be almost invisible, but I knew it should be there. I paused in front of the cadets, and saluted them, and as one, they saluted me back. On the back ranks, adults and some very old adults, saluted as well. It seemed that the older population saw the way things were going, and joined up for the security, and no doubt food. The instructors here were the AIs, and they should meet me if they were biological, but this was not possible. So I addressed all of them. "Good Day gentlemen and beings. I see things are much improved, over what they were, when I was last here. Your numbers have increased, and the ships are being repaired. Most important, is that this community, is now a stable environment to live and prosper. I would like to commend each and every one of you, for the effort that you have put into this enterprise. Continuing, I said, "I remember telling some young cadets about the amount of both physical and mental work necessary. The feeling I got back was that they could handle anything. Those same cadets have not come across multi-dimensional mathematics. I wonder if their attitude has changed." There were a few snickers from the ranks, as I hoped. "I have come today with an additional task for you. These three men, behind me, are the first of many Humans that will come here for training. I know that the Earth base has sent you data about the Samutz. I mean to go, and take their stolen Tandra ships away from them, and teach them a lesson, for ever entering a Tandra system." There was a roar of approval, from the front ranks of the young, and a much more subdued one, from the rear. The AIs had given a report to Mom, and I called out six names. Within seconds the six individuals of various ages were before me. "You six will represent a liaison of sorts with the Earth men. The way you handle yourselves will affect the relations with both races. There will be four others that will be your counterparts. Your tutors will explain the duties to you. This does not excuse you from your regular studies, though. I know that you six are the most capable here. When we go out to fight the Samutz, it will reflect on this base, how we fare" After inspecting the cadets, they were dismissed, and I had a chance to talk more informally. I introduced them to Sergeants Pirelli, Marks, and Turner, and explained some of the more graphic problems they would face. Tandra males were loosely what you would call bisexual. In this base only males were produced in the vats, and homosexuality was the norm. Human males when forced into a situation, where there were no women used the old naval axiom about any port in a storm being good. I had to explain about provocative behaviour to avoid misunderstandings on both sides. I thought that each class would start out with some problems till the Earth men learned to mindspeak and start to truly understand the Tandra. With this in mind, I presented my gift to the academy. The six entered the ship and Carlton brought out three different kinds of uniforms that varied slightly, to represent rank. Another set was to be used as fatigues while at the academy. Mom and I had gone over many Tandra uniforms and came up with this one as a good way to start. As much as I hated to admit, the dress uniform looked closer to a United States Marine dress uniform than any thing else. I just hoped the guys from my old unit would forgive me. The sword was also included but not as a ceremonial weapon this time. These blades were of Tandra manufacture but had no zinc imbedded in their blades. When the time came to actually fight I wanted the galvanized ones to be used. Here, they would be too dangerous. Mom had the fabricating machine make two hundred and forty three suits with the individuals name in Tandra, and in as close as we could come to Human names. They stared in amazement. They were not used to wearing any clothes at all, but the AIs had been feeding them pictures of Tandra military personnel doing heroic deeds, while in uniform, to get them primed for this event. They took to the garments, like the proverbial duck to water. The three sergeants and I helped them dress. They did look a little strange without shoes, but who would notice with the hat, and the rest of the uniform. The AI coordinating the boys sent word for four more cadets to come to the ship for a duty. They came up the ramp and waited respectfully to be admitted, but they caught sight of their friends in uniform, and protocol suffered dramatically. They learned to dress their friends and undress and do it all over again till it was understood. Carlton presented the four with their own uniforms and they quickly dressed. When all was ready, the first six stepped out and a hush fell over the hanger. In a loud voice the eldest called out names of four individuals at a time and they presented themselves. They were ordered into the ship to get dressed and resume their old parade positions. Martin, John, Frank and I slipped out. I took them around to some of the ships in the hanger. I explained the purpose of each, and some of its capabilities. Three intersystem ships were actually ready to shuttle students or mercs. Four others were almost ready. I tried to explain most of the usual things that a functional hanger and repair shop would have, but I knew that they would learn better and faster, by the tutors. We were given a warning, and quickly returned to our station, as the last of the cadets raced down the aisle with the first four that assisted in dressing them. When they were all in place they snapped to attention which was not dissimilar to the way Humans did it. I explained to them, "The uniforms you were just given date back millions of years. The Tandra that wore them were proud and courageous people. It is as if your ancestors are handing down these uniforms to fight for what is right. May the spirit and strength of those same ancestors come down to you." They did not know what to say till one boy vocalized his agreement and all the rest joined him. He was the first boy that I had rescued not long ago. The AIs dismissed the cadets with instructions about where the uniforms would go and the dangers of the swords. I knew that there would be a lot of accidents till the boys realized the truth behind the words. Speaking of truth I hoped that the boys never found out that the last people to wear the uniform were infantry and women to boot. We left the cadets, and wandered the base looking at various points of interest and the best ways to billet and train the troops. On the tour we went by the storage room and filled a bag with crystals wanted by Blue or Mom for their projects. I picked up some of the memory crystals for my own plan. We returned to the ship and exited the base. Carlton pulled up at the metal storage yard and took a few tonnes of zinc. John asked, "What the hell is this place?" One of the refineries dumping grounds for slightly useful elements. I picked up over a billion dollars in gold and other metals from the platinum group when I was last here. When I left all hell broke loose as you know from the news. Before leaving I asked Mom, "Are you still in control of the weapons?" "Yes, Henry. You are safe." We flew back to the Earth base easily this time to drop off the load of metal. As I walked down the ramp I heard "Uncle Henry, Uncle Henry." "Hi Charlie. What's happening?" "The TV... the TV. Its got our pictures... of us, on the moon, and at L2." I could see into his mind and knew that the photos were so grainy, that individual faces would be impossible to make out. This weakness told me that a satellite would be sent out to the moon or L2, and take pictures of my nose hairs if it wanted to and it would. I saw the naked kids throwing rocks and the older boys running. The announcer was saying how the aliens were indeed odd. It looked like most were very small and naked while some were dressed to infiltrate Human settlements by their choice of clothing. Some were trying to imitate Human children came out next from the announcer. "Thanks Charlie. The pictures are not good enough to identify anybody but now I am warned. If I didn't hear it from you I might not be prepared next time." "Your welcome Uncle Henry, bye" he said in his best estimation of a military reply. What else might the various governments be up to? General Givens came to mind. When Mom had crashed all internet activity had stopped. Mom's awakening in the base computer had allowed her to go back to her old ways with much more subtlety and finesse. She was one sneaky woman and that was one of the many reasons I loved her. She told me that many computers were still disconnected from the net and would remain so. Her foray into the Israeli computers was a little more difficult but all the information on the American computers was there and a digest of what the files meant. The wrecks were uppermost in all government minds now. Various plans for a team to go to the moon were discussed and discarded. What was decided was a probe to be launched tomorrow that would go to the moon and beam back pictures of what was happening. When they got all the data they could from the crash site and the area around all the explosions the probe would travel to L2. The trip would take at least a week to reach the moon. This wasn't necessarily bad for us. We would just be required to hide our features to keep people on Earth from recognizing us. A large group of men practising the taking of a ship though would quickly get the authorities interested in our recruitment of mercenaries. The trick I figured would be to get enough mercs before they became noticeable at the wrecks. Here I was constrained by the need to get the men trained in time to do something about the Samutz before they came again. Mom asked, "Are you ready for the next part Henry?" Moments later on Earth I felt small bumps as supplies were loaded in the hold. From across the hanger floor came most of the population of the base with things in their arms or a grav sled pulled behind them. I stopped half way and the girls started to form a line behind Susan. As they came to me they all stopped and Susan held my face to kiss it and said, "Don't wait up Sugar. 'Rosie the Riveter' will be a little late." She passed by and Blue stepped up and gave me a kiss and told me how she loved last night. Secric came next and kissed me while fondling me at the same time. Every woman and child came to me and either thanked me for the good time or just to say goodbye Daddy or Uncle Henry as the case may be as they went off on a working vacation. Carlton lifted off and disappeared from view. It was going to be very lonely now. Frank had followed the girls and said, "Don't expect me to kiss you. You haven't shaved." I smiled at the joke and said, "It feels strange around here with only you, Martin, John and Mom. Are you ready for our part?" "Pretty much so. Pirelli is getting his tattoos removed and his face and prints changed now. When all this is over I want to go and have a serious talk with that lieutenant of his who has a problem remembering." "I felt the same way when he first came into the room. He is a good man and the military treated him unfairly. Are you ready to meet the rest of the unit?" "Sort of, it is a little hard wearing this body. It would have been even harder with the old one." Martin and John came trotting up. Martin's face was different enough that I would not recognize him, except perhaps by his walk and stance. "How do I look?" He asked. "Nobody will recognize you," I said truthfully. Then to fill in the time till our transportation returned, I said, "Let's workout in the new suits?" Mom brought over the suits and we dressed. The AIs started a simulation right away of us fighting on the destroyer. I had a sword and knife along with the weapons integral to the suit. John and Frank fought as a pair and advanced with Martin and me. The projectile weapons we used first. These pellets did not expand but only transferred their energy to the Samutz body. When the enemy was tired of dying their shields went up and we used galvanized slugs. When they came in mass from a side corridor I used the short sword just as a Roman soldier would, stabbing and with a twist severing both hearts. John or I had to drop back once in a while to help Martin and Frank They had been killed four times each already. None of them were like the situation when Carl lost his leg. When we passed they were certainly dead. Long side corridors allowed the enemy to get behind us and use much more formidable weapons. Twice Frank took a hit to protect our back and died for it. He knew that we were more important than he was on this mission. Our goal this time was the engine room. When we came to a secure bulkhead I took out the controller and pealed back a bulkhead. We slipped into a small room before closing the hole again. We were able to get behind the defenders and kill all of them before disabling the engines by taking a control crystal from each of them. We headed forward now to take a boat bay. The opposition was learning and had weapons already emplaced. We took heavy fire and when our path turned to the walls, the plasma melted the walls destroying parts of the ship in an effort to get to us. John was forced to use a powerful grenade to take them out. The fragments were the zinc and steel alloy that would puncture our shield as easy as the enemy's. We entered the boat bay and when all was ready John deactivated the shield and the rush of air took many of the enemy out into space. One fighter was piloted out and turned to attack. John reactivated the shield and we forgot it. Some of the craft had pilots preparing to leave and we shot through the shield to kill each without damaging the craft much. "I have returned sir," came from Carlton. ------- Chapter 38 The simulation stopped, and we took off the suits. John, Frank, and Martin wore big smiles at what they had accomplished. "You all did very well just like you used to do. Martin, you will make a hell of an infantryman once you are given the enhancements we have already received." John said, "I never fought like that before. My speed was phenomenal and this suit will take anything." "John my suit was as good and I got three limbs shot off. Don't get too cocky because this class was only 'Ship Taking 101' wait till the really rough stuff come. Have you considered what will happen, when they decide the ship is lost to us?" "Oh," he said. His mind picturing a ship turning into a nova. We took turns in the shower as Carlton retrieved the suits for us. Twenty kilometres up and about a hundred south of the Bay Carl came into the ship. Martin was put out of sorts because we did not tell him that this could be done. We were all dressed for the Albany weather and had our suits over top if need be and settled into the small thicket in a nearby park. Carl led us through his hometown and to the hotel housing our unit. The air was mild and the recent snow had turned to slush underfoot. Martin who was not used to the snow and had a little more difficulty negotiating the icy spots. It was one o'clock and our old group was scattered all over the property. Most were finishing their meal in the restaurant. Some were in the bar drinking a beer and talking. The rest were in their rooms waiting for our call. The front desk paged the rooms I indicated and a sign directed all of the men to a meeting room we had just rented. Sixteen men soon came in. Corporal Rocco had arrived late and had been briefed by the others, and had gone to the clinic with them. Rocco was put into the acceptable category. "Good afternoon gentlemen. It is nice to see you again. We have gotten the reports back and find that we can accept seven men immediately. The rest will be put on a one time retainer till the next round of recruitment comes around." There was a lot of grumbling in the ranks till they found out that they would get a tax-free two thousand dollars each. "Your rooms are paid for till the end of the week and you each have some money to enjoy yourselves. When I first talked to you I mentioned my loyalty to the group. Now I am asking you to be loyal. In the coming year people may be asking you questions about our unit. I am not asking any of you to lie, just don't volunteer any information. Is that acceptable?" Nods came from around the room and all wanted to ask more questions. The seven men were informed and they went to get packed and check out. After the handshakes, hugs and the promises to keep in touch we left in four taxis and stopped just a short distance away at the park. The drivers were given generous tips and we all got out. Private Polanski asked, "Why are we getting out here?" Carl replied, "You always did ask a lot of questions." We trudged through the snow and slush till we got into a small clearing. Carlton whisked each into the ship and all the luggage too. Private Stansky said, "What's this?" with a very excited voice. John who had only been introduced by his first name said, "Stansky, your mouth is open. Remember the time you swallowed a moth in the bar in DaNang? It looks like you can swallow a god damned fuckin turkey now." The voice, inflection and knowledge told Stansky who it was. "John, John Marks. Is that you?" "It sure is. While you guys were sucking back beer I was eating my Wheaties. Now pipe down, while the Cap fills you in." "Thanks John. Seeing you should get them thinking straight. The other gentleman is Frank Turner." I turned to the rest and said, "To make a long story short, the Earth is going to be attacked, by some nasty critters. I want to do a pre-emptive on them and steal the ships they stole from my friends." The real questions came and Carl, Frank, and John did most of the replies, till we stopped in the base. They were surprised when the door opened and they were not in the park in Albany. "Mom, I would like to introduce, Frank Rocco, Henrick Stansky, Jan Polanski, Jamal Brown, Seth Branson, Richard Wilcox, and Dave Piton. The newest additions to your knights-errant," I said, using my voice. From the very air in front of them came an image of a beautiful woman like Secric in many ways, but subtly more Human. She appeared to be about thirty something and very well preserved. Her gown was a light blue and her hair was a golden blonde. Her cleavage was exposed, but in a restrained and refined way. The only thing she seemed to be missing was a diamond tiara in her hair to match her piercing blue eyes. Everybody, and I mean everybody, was shocked at the apparition. "Close your mouths or they will think that you have never seen me before." "We haven't. That is a very beautiful image." "I have been working on this for a while, taking all the things that all of you like, in a woman." Mom spoke in a quiet voice and said, "I thank you gentlemen for coming in aid of my people. It has been a long time since your ancestors came here to help my race on another matter. I am afraid that this time the fate of everyone on this planet and others are at stake. The star Epsilon Eridani has been invaded, and we believe Sol will be invaded soon. Fleet Admiral Buchanan has agreed to gather resolute friends and drive back the Samutz and protect Earth in doing so." Shit, Mom was as persuasive as hell. She continued, "General Shingle would like to train you in the use of Tandra weapons and tactics, to assist you in doing this. He has shown himself to be a courageous warrior, in the taking of the destroyer, now in orbit around your primary." Rocco the most outgoing stepped forward. "Ah." He apparently did not know what to say next. "Mom," I supplied. "Mom, Ma'am. How are such a small number of us be expected to take on these Samutz and win?" "Mister Rocco, you are to help train a lot more men and the combined group will journey to Epsilon Eridani to recover the stolen ships using surprise. Those ships once reconditioned will form part of the defence of Earth." "Are you going too?" A delighted laugh rang out that not even royalty could even come close to copying. "Mister Rocco, I am part of this base. I could no more go than all the buildings in Albany go." Recognition came into their eyes at last. And surprisingly it did not stop their growing fascination of her. She answered many questions to calm them till she said, "The best place to learn is with the tutors. Your enquiries would be answered much more fully, and you will be able to retain the information much better." We all walked to the medical section and were diagnosed and treated. Their small addictions were removed along with many of their ailments. Only the tall broad shouldered Private Jamal Brown needed a treatment in the tank. He was just sedated, and placed in the container. The rest were concerned till I said, "Jamal has a cancer that is eating through his bowels. It is doubtful if he would even be alive in a few months." "Frank here had a cancer just as bad, and his legs had been lost to diabetes. Carl lost a leg recently and it was replaced. John was missing much of one foot. I also lost some limbs and they had to be replaced. You won't find this treatment any place else." Carl added, "I carried the Cap back from the destroyer. He had only one arm at the time because the rest were burnt off. He was still trying to kill the Samutz as I pulled him back." Polanski followed true to form. "That can't be. Nobody can do that." Carl said, "Mom, run the recording of us taking the ship." "Wait Carl." I said, but a large screen came to life showing us approaching the damaged destroyer and pulling up in the boat bay. I had to leave and walked out to find something else to do. My mind was working on training and weapons systems for about three hours when the shaken men came to me. They had seen gristly sights in Nam, and even contributed to them, but they had never seen what happened on the ship. Seth Branson put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I remember a lot better now, why we re-enlisted and followed you into hell. I can think of no other that I would do this for. I am prepared to do it again now that you asked." I got up and hugged him to me, a little broken up myself, by the show of emotion. We all went to school. I took a course in ancient battles that succeeded, and some that were lost, and found out the whys of each. Giant flotillas came at one another and I knew there was no trick here. Millions and millions of beings died in a matter of hours. Another had carefully laid mines intercept the enemy as they retreated from a sudden advance. The energy necessary to breach a ship's shield was fantastic but there were weapons to do just that. "Henry, Henry, Your family want to talk to you." "Oh thanks Mom. What's happening girls?" I asked as if I were just awakening. "I am getting lonely." Susan stated. "We have erected the shield around the ship and removed the damaged hull plates and are almost done the ribs. Will you send Carlton to pick us up?" "Carlton will you go and get the girls?" "Yes, sir." "He is on his way. There are seven new recruits from our old unit here tonight and twenty two due around eleven. You better warn the girls while I do the same here." I got up from the chair and stretched. I was taking a long time learning and planning some possible action. Carl was talking with the others trying to get them to contribute their thoughts to various ideas he had. Seth Branson was arguing with Richard Wilcox about why the Tandra required such limitations on the troops when on leave. They stood at attention when I came in. "What is this about? You only did that when there were officers in the room that you wanted to impress." Carl told me, "We have been talking and if we are going to get the most out of the men coming in, we have to make you look like an admiral. That will have to start with the way we treat you. Carl continued, "I have been studying the Tandra Military Code and its protocol is not much different than ours. The laws though are far superior to ours. Mom and the rest of us have been going over the laws, rules and customs. Apart from a few points I would like to scrap the way we were taught and accept the Tandra rules of conduct instead." I responded, "We should go over the rules very well, because once they are accepted, they will be cast in stone. We can't have them find out that the rules are variable. One of the things you have to realize is that the vast majority of the officers and good troops were women not men. The men were the types of people we would soon learn to feel disgust for. They would do their job but just. They had no initiative to get ahead." John added his two cents, and stayed within the new guidelines the men had just made. "Sir, I think that we need to develop an esprit de corps. You are the obvious focal point. Another would be a uniform that is different enough to look very good and make the soldier proud to wear. Mom has some great uniforms to pick from. The material has fantastic properties that would allow it to be used, even when using a combat suit." "That is an interesting point. Why don't you pick out some complementary uniforms that could be used on different occasions? Eventually we will have to become known to the rest of the world. At that time a subtle but effective uniform would help us immensely." We discussed the points with a lot of heat. It seemed that we were trying to fight hard enough to fit into a female Tandra's shoes. This got us on the topic of why the girls let me do all the things that an Earth male would do and they assumed the Earth female role. I replied as best I could, "I took the responsibility, because I thought it was the right thing to do, just as each of you would. I think they are either testing me or bowing to the way I am and settling for a more passive role. They also seem to be copying the way Susan treats me, and doing the same. I argued my problems to a computer and won which no Tandra would think of doing. Let's discuss this a little later. The girls are getting back and I think you should warn the troops about what will happen." "Well guys," Carl began, "there are thirty some naked Tandra women and a few Human that will be coming through here shortly. About a half are definitely off-limits. The admiral has acquired a few wives and some dependants. I have two adopted daughters as well. They all have Henry, John, Frank, and my ability to read minds. They are strong both physically and morally. If you are accepted by them it is not a casual thing. There is a lot of commitment on each side. At least there is with Henry." Rocco asked, "What are they like Captain?" I knew his question was not for information to get into their pants, but a genuine request for data on their inner workings. "That is hard to say actually. I think that any of them would die to protect me." I could see their incredulous thoughts. "It is true. Their males are a real piece of work. They only want to fuck and the ones on Masis beat their wives, and when they are too old they are literally thrown to the wolves. Even with that type of male, they bonded with me to such an extent that I would never leave them. It is like being totally in love, and all others can look good but never good enough. Does that answer your question?" Rocco replied, "I think you have it bad, but if all of you can read minds then how can misunderstanding happen?" It was getting late, and I wondered where the family was while I thought on his question. "Susan, when will you be getting home?" "Oh, about a half hour or so." "I just talked to Susan, and they will be here in thirty minutes. Reading minds is a lot better than a cell phone because you can get the feelings behind the words and know what isn't said. Sometimes those subtle ideas are the most important." Stansky asked, "Cap, how did you get your dependants?" "Let Carl tell you. He got his at the same time." Carl told the story his way going into the gory aspects in great detail. Like most stories he improved on it a little. He finished up with all the money we got. The men were thinking of laughing at the joke played on them till they saw my face and decided the tale was true. They remained quiet thinking over the pertinent points. I heard the Human girls laughing, and Roger doing the same trying to prove he was better, by being able to use his vocal cords. They came right to us and I was happy to introduce all of them. The names of the awakened girls were easy as I had to go over the list of people to help on the hull. The trouble is that everybody was dressed in summer clothes. Only the Earth girls had shoes though. "Where did you get the clothes?" I asked Susan. "We took a side trip. I stole some clothes from a clothes line and left a thousand dollar bill in Miami. Then we flew to South Carolina looking for a place to eat. I ordered lots of chicken and the trimmings. Since I waited for the food to cook I went into Wal-Mart and bought some clothes for the girls. I was kind of rushed, so I bought extras, so they could pick what they wanted. The nice stock girls pushed six carts for me around the store and out into the parking lot. Carlton picked them up and I went back for the food." "Where did you get the money?" "You are so untidy, at times. You left a few million in the ship. I just took a little." I couldn't hold it, and I doubled over laughing at the scene I saw in my mind. Soon the men joined me, when they thought about it. "Why are all of you laughing?" She asked, because she could not follow my mind. "Oh, just that you go out on a little working vacation, on the moon, to repair a downed hull. Every government on the entire planet is looking for any trace of what is going on. Your return trip requires you to travel a good portion of the continent, in a space ship. You stop to shop for some clothes and a little something for dinner." The men were still chuckling and I stated again too. "I don't see anything funny," she said feeling indignant as she turned and started to open the buckets of chicken, potatoes and salads. She sent everybody through the cleansers before she would allow us to eat. We sat on the floor eating chicken. I took small pieces of chicken and fed Bobby and Roger. Soon Moesha and Kimberly came over to be fed the same way. Clarice and Michelle were sitting beside Carl and demanded to be fed that way to. The rest of the young squad split up to be fed by either Susan or me. I now knew what a father bird felt like, as it fed his chicks. In a few moments Kitten, Chris and then Susan undid their dresses, and fed the babies. Sadda was close by but Susan breasts were full of milk more than Faith could possibly take. Bobby happily suckled from the unattended nipple. Dave Piton the last of our group, and the quietest looked very interested in the tiny babies that could be held in the outstretched palms of an adult easily. Susan had read his thoughts and said, "The children are all Kitten's but Chris and I have been taking care of one each. It is almost like they are our own. That is part of the way our family is so great. There are so many interconnections that the whole is much stronger than the sum of the parts." It was getting late, and I had two jobs to do. The second recruitment meeting of the mercenaries, and the pick up of the first group. This meeting was in Seattle. This area was picked because of its proximity to Canada. I could get the best from two countries. The same people were going as last time. The remainder were doing simulations in the suits. Seattle was cold and overcast. It was three hours different so we had to be a little more choosey about where we were going to disembark. A railway yard was the best, and we walked out invisibly. A taxi took us downtown to the hotel. There was already an FBI agent hiding behind a glass of beer in the bar. We set up shop and the agent came in to supposedly ask questions so he could join. Like the others I just said that I didn't want to repeat myself. I pulled out the stops on my aura and he retreated quickly. The room filled quickly. There were many old warriors that I thought good for the job. Their age would usually hold them back from similar employment elsewhere. Carl and John this time did most of the talking, as I scanned the audience. Frank stood beside me acting something like an adjutant. I used the same fictitious Japanese company, protecting its assets in Brazil, against leftist and bandits. The American government would not fight this idea if it were true. I was asked what qualifications I had, to lead the men I picked. This was a very valid question, from their point of view. I mentioned two tours of duty in special operations in Nam, but didn't elaborate. This time we needed all four of us to process the men. I hired a burley individual to keep the rest back while we each talked with the applicants. A new FBI agent told me of his accomplishments. The trouble was that they were all true and just the individual I was looking for. I didn't want him because of his present job, and couldn't think of a logical reason to exclude him. I just couldn't take the chance at this stage of the game. The men were all segregated in my mind now. The old men still intrigued me, but their time in medical would be detrimental to the time table, I had in my head. The men capable of doing the job, and free of encumbrances totalled to twenty eight this time. We gave the successful applicants funds to allow them to leave. The old men were told that they would be called within three months and given a retainer. They were very happy with the cash but sceptical of ever seeing us again. When all of the applicants had been processed, the agent came forward and asked why he wasn't chosen. "You would make an excellent choice," I told him, "But there is something odd, that makes me want to reject you. In time, I may give you another chance." I grouped the new troops down the hall, and said, "The FBI is now watching us, and they will follow you to our meeting place tomorrow." I picked the highest ranking individual. This time it was a former lieutenant. "Lt. Meech, tomorrow at twenty three hundred hours be in this lobby. I will phone you, and you will phone each of the others, stating a location and time for pick up. It would not surprise me, if some of you, get your phone tapped. I suggest that you find suitable locations, to receive the orders." I handed him five hundred dollars, because he was now working for me. Dallas was a lot darker, but our eyes had no problems. They were on a disserted road twenty kilometres out of town, with their suitcases in their hands, as we appeared soundlessly out of the dark. "Good day, gentlemen. Are you ready to go?" They looked around, and saw no transportation. They were immediately hoisted into the ship, and we were off. Three men pulled guns out of their coats, and pointed them at us. Fuckin' Texans and their love of guns. They would take them to the bathroom with them. "Put the guns away gentlemen. Some of you may be hurt." "What the fuck is going on?" One demanded. "I am providing transportation to our base, so you can begin your training Mr. Sanchez." "Put me down, now." "Carlton." All three guns were plucked from the owners' fingers, without a shot being fired. "Mr. Sanchez, Goth and Pinder, if I give your guns back, will you holster them?" Two did, and I looked at Goth, till he nodded. The guns came back and hung in front of them. They were a little leery of touching them, till they remembered their company, and had to take them. The weapons soon disappeared. "Gentlemen, a few weeks ago, an alien warship came into this system. Onboard were the bodies of good people, but not of this planet. They were being eaten. Carl, this ship, some intelligent battle suits, and I, damaged the warship. After boarding it, we fought with the attackers and eventually took the ship. Those same beings are going to come back, and attack Earth. I am not prepared to let that happen. I want you, and many others to be trained the same as we were, and attack them first." I continued, "All aboard this ship are Human. You are in no danger from us. Are you willing to risk your lives, for the lives of your friends, family, country, and species?" A former Captain Roderick, said, "How we know, that you are not lying to us?" "I have the equivalent of video tape of the fight, but that could be faked, as anyone who watches adventure movies, knows. The next proof of Earth's danger is in my mind. Within a few days, you will be able to read it for yourself. That may not be enough, so I have one healthy captive. When you are trained, I will let you ask him. That is the best offer, I can give you." Carlton told me we had landed. "Gentlemen we have landed. My name is Henry Buchanan. I was formerly a Captain in the United States Army, serving in Vietnam, as a special operative, the same as two of my companions." I shook hands with each, and had my aura almost glowing. Susan came to the ship with some of the children. "Hello, Honey. Isn't it late for the children?" "It is a little, but Mom told me you had trouble." "Not now. I want to take the men through medical, and start their training right away." The first man sat in the chair, and after he was done, and had no ill effects, the rest were treated. My old unit came over, and they all introduced themselves. They were starting already, to break in the new guys. Carl flew home, while John, Frank and now Martin helped integrate the recruits. Before we arrived at our apartment, Susan asked me, "Is Amy pregnant?" "She is. I even checked with Carlton. The only thing I can say in my defence is that she only initiated sex, when I was sleeping, and I honestly didn't know where I was parked." "I know that the Tandra girls are very devious sometimes. With enemies at the gates, we all feel that we should start having children." "I feel the same way. It's instinct. If more adults start having children, then their ability to help may be very detrimental to what we are trying to accomplish. I should be more thoughtful, but I too, am ruled by my glands and my instincts." "Well, you better come with me, after I put the children to bed. We will all protect you tonight." I woke up the next morning sore, and drained, from the workout the night before. I ate a little, and did some exercises. "Mom, I thought of another weapon." "Yes, Henry. How does this one work" "A very slow galvanized probe travels to the ship. It latches onto the hull and eats its way in with acid. Once through, it releases small probes that release the virus into the ship." "That might work, but how do the smaller probes get into all the places in the ship. The bulkheads would stop them, and the AI would detect them once they travel down the hallways." We had a zinc covered missile that would penetrate a ship's shield, and hull and detonate inside. The problem, it was an all, or nothing, weapon. The only thing salvageable would be dust. "Henry, are you awake?" "Yes Carl, what would you like?" "Things are slow here, and I wondered if my boys could start training. There aren't that many mercs yet, and there are a lot of empty chairs." "Sure, I can use them. But aren't you forgetting Doris. You better have a convincing excuse, to allow them to stay away for a week or so." "I am way ahead of you. They are going to my cousin in Florida. He happens to be gay, and will run interference for them, so they can be alone wherever they want." "Sounds like a plan to me. Send them up in a taxi to the house. We will get them from there. I went back to planning weapons. The small probes I used on the moon were nearly invisible, but could be detected. "Mom, the first probe I used on the moon. If it were coated, would it remain undetected if it went in a portal, only protected with a shield?" "The energy they would use to push through the screen would be detected." "Could they have a long probe, like a mosquito, that penetrates easily, and attaches to the hull, and pulls the rest through?" "That will work. Now they are in the boat bay, undetected. They still need to travel through the ship." "Mom, can they be programmed to ask the matter transmitter to transfer them, to all the points we want?" "That will work; the majority of the crew will die. The computer will still control the ship." "Shit it's too bad the virus doesn't attack the crystals. Wait. Mom, you are on the internet, and know about viruses. Can you make one for the AI, and the computer on the ship? They are Tandra vessels." "I can. The Tandra never made computer viruses, so there would be no protection from it. I will give serious attention to the delivery possibilities." "That is another secret we can use against the Samutz. We could wipe out their fleet, if we can infect their computers." "You might only disable it. Trying to capture them, could result in their self destruction." The girls were getting up, and so were some of the troops. I put on my clothes, thinking on Carl's discussion last night, about how the troops perceive authority. A naked man looks far less authoritative, than a man in a uniform. I started breakfast at the house. With over sixty people, we were going to have to get some cooks, and other support staff, especially when even more people would be joining us. Cereal, milk and fruit would only work so long. The old men from the last recruitment meeting, came to mind. When breakfast was over, I looked in on the fabricator. Mom had been making missile casings, and filling them with components, that proved to be functional. Since the missile didn't have to try to blow a hole in the shield, but would enter easily, the explosive value was decreased over seven figures of magnitude. The result meant that the missile was much smaller, and manoeuvrable. I called all the troops over to see Private Jamal Brown, being pulled from the tank. His naked figure went through the protective barrier. Invisible fingers plucked the transmitters from his body, as a doc module followed, to heal the wounds while still suspended. Carl was late. He was informed of the time of Jamal's awakening. Speaking of the devil, he materialized beside us, in his combat suit. He got out of it, as Jamal groggily started to recover. Private Jamal Brown floated over and was placed on a gurney. His frame was even more massive, than John or Frank. He had only started to be affected by the quick acting cancer, so the muscle had not had to be rebuilt as much. His youthful black face was as groggy as Frank's. Richard Wilcox his friend came up, and helped him up with Frank's assistance. Jamal looked around, as saw nobody really familiar. To tell you the truth, he did not look familiar either. His face was back to the best his genetic make-up could give. Like John and Frank, he had regained all of his old muscles, and even put on more. "Good morning, Jamal. I hope you feel well. Your intestinal cancer has been removed, and you should be as good as new. Why don't you get up, and get your footing back?" Jamal was helped to his feet, and he walked only a short distance, then pushed his help, gently away. A few more steps brought him to his image. Just like Frank, he stopped and made movements, and saw that the image was his. He slowly bent down and touched the floor, as he stood up; a big smile crossed his face. "Ma guts don' hurt. Is everythin' fixed?" "Yes Jamal. Try taking out your dentures." His hand came up, and fingers tried to remove natural teeth. Again his smile came, as big as ever. "Thank ya' Sir. I don' know what to say." I walked over to the large man, and held out my hand. "There is nothing to say. This unit takes care of its own. If you think the medical was good, I think you should talk to your friends, and see what they have done recently." He nodded his head, and said, "Ya, sir." The men helped one another into the suits again, to resume where they had left off last night. Carl informed me, "Another load of food came to the warehouse. If you want it soon, maybe the boys could hitch a ride back, instead of a taxi?" "Fine, but I will have to go now. The girls want to get back to work on Mom's hull." The boys came back to the base, with the groceries, and Carl got them through medical and into training, just like the rest. I think he was picking their courses, so they would be officers, when this was done. I could see the way their minds worked, and they just might make it. Before travelling, we hovered over a good sized town in Québec and ordered a large meal to be prepared for us for supper. My appearance in the heavy snow, and only a suit, made me memorable. The thousand dollars American made me even more so. It had been a few years, and my French was rusty. I promised if the meal was good, I would be back for others. The destroyer was dismembered easier than I thought. The girls doing it were skilled in this type of operation. The computer being of Tandra manufacture was induced to help, to the limits of its ability. The AI crystal was still in Mom's possession, and would be of no use, till it could be indoctrinated well enough. All of us went back to Mom's hull, and the ribs were replaced. The women had a grid overlay in their minds, the same as I did. The three looked at the rib, while another played a device over it, to get it bent to the correct arc over its entire length. The hull plates went on the same way. Small discrepancies were fixed with a cutter or a small hand sprayer. Mom's hull was turned, and more damage was exposed. The portion was cut out, and another fitted exactly into its old position. A cheer went up as the ship hovered, as it had, when I first met her. Some of her hull was warped, and discoloured, but those were soon rectified. It felt good to see the ship whole again, though I knew that it had no Mom inside. The computer had given us a rundown on the systems needing repair so the ship could limp home to Earth-base and other systems that would need to work in an optimum condition. Luckily most could be salvaged from the other wreck, or its stores. "Henry, the European Union has launched a probe, and the computer files say that the United States will launch another one as well, within days. I expect both work sites will be investigated." "Thanks, Mom. It should take a few days to get here and establish the orbit they want. By then we should be done on the moon. Any faces we don't want seen at L2 will have to be covered." We packed up all of our things, and flew home. We picked up the food in Val d'Or, and I carried it into the alley beside the building, saying that someone was coming to get it right away. Seconds later it and I, were far above, and the cook came out to see everything vanished almost instantaneously. "Blue." "Yes Henry. What can I do for you?" "I had to pick up food, and had no place to put it, without arousing suspicion. Can you make something that will fit into the ships, and allow us to pick up goods?" "There are two small pads that you ride like a motorcycle. It looks like the one on Star Wars, when you stretch it out, and put up the shield." "That is good to know, but I was thinking of something that looked like a truck or a car. It would be less conspicuous." "I will do some research, and see what I can do Henry." "I know I will be pleased, with anything you can do. Thank you Blue." Jamal, John and Frank came over to help with the food. I could feel their hunger pains. Their large bodies needed a lot of energy to keep them going, and Carl had done just that. "I hope you like French Canadian cuisine Jamal?" "Ha... Oh. I'm just not use to this way of talkin'." "Don't worry about it. In another day, you will be an old hand at it." His easy going voice and style belied his sharp mind and instincts. His enemies soon found out how smart and strong he really was. We went to the usual meeting room, and tables came up out of the floor and the food, was placed on it. The paper plates were discarded in favour of the crystalline ones the base had. The new people tried the spoon-knife, and some gave up, and went to the standard plastic, that came with the meal. That night John, Martin, Carl and I went to St. Louis. Frank stayed with his friend Jamal, to get him settled in. At a public phone I called Seattle, and paged Lt. Meech. He came to the phone within seconds. "Lt. Meech. I would like you to call seven further recruits." I gave him the numbers, and reminded him of my apprehensions. "These men are not expecting this call up, so soon, and may not be able to come. "I will see that everything is secure, sir." "See to it that in three hours, you will be at the embarkation point, outside town, with all your affairs in order." The room was crowded with almost two hundred men. There were three FBI types, and I pointed two out, and Carl found the other. The way things were going, the meetings will be completely filled with agents one day. Martin was still apprehensive, till I reminded him that his own mother would not recognize him. Thirty seven men made the cut, by the end of the night. After telling them the same thing that I told the other recruits, in respect to my security arrangements, we left. After the meeting, we flew to Seattle. This would be our largest group to date. We settled in a small grove of pines, and waited the arrival of the recruits. They now stood beside the road, a hundred metres from our position. The snow had changed to cold rain, and I knew the men would grumble, because they had to walk the last three kilometres with their belongings. Lt. Meech arrived first, as I expected, leading a dozen men. I let them wait till the designated time, and suddenly appeared behind them. ------- Chapter 39 "Good day gentlemen." They looked startled, so I said, "I am sorry for coming on you unaware, but habits are sometimes hard to break. With the inclement weather would you gentlemen prefer to step into my transport? But know this; once you follow me you are in for at least three months." They all nodded their heads, and I led them to the ship. The ship was made visible, and the ramp lowered. A faint light showed the interior. They balked at the sight, almost ready to turn and run. Most figured that they would not make it very far afoot in the snow. "Don't be frightened. Everyone here is Human, and I am hiring you to fight to save this planet. Come with me into the ship. It is much more comfortable there, than out in the rain." They followed me except one, that slinked away, and he hid behind a tree. His eyes growing large, as he saw some of the inside of the alien craft. "Gentlemen, I did not lie to you. We will one day, be attacked by a race of beings, that think it proper to eat other intelligent races. You and your families are going to be on their menus." They looked around at each other, wondering at the enormity of my words. "Carlton, will you pick up the straggler please?" The men did not understand whom I was talking to, but one of their number came drifting through the air, screaming as he went, to land beside his friends on the deck. "As I said previously, you are in for three months. If you decide to leave then, you are welcome to go with all of your property and pay. You will each get an education that only a few on Earth have ever received. The medical facilities will cure each of you of any disease you may have. This includes everything from arthritis to cancer. If you look at John you will see a man that fought with me in Viet Nam, irregardless of his looks. Wouldn't it be good to be twenty again?" I scanned their minds, and saw that I would have to throw them from the ship to get them off now. "Gentlemen, you have all made a decision, that will benefit both you, and the entire Human race." Within twenty minutes all but one of the recruits showed up, and they were brought onboard. Matt Deeker, a friend of the absentee said, "Chad had a heart attack, and is in the hospital now. It doesn't look too good for him." Chad was one of ours now, even if he couldn't make it to the pick-up point. We got all the information we could about him, and dropped to a public phone booth, to ask each of the hospitals if they had our man. Carlton dropped John, Martin, and me off at the correct local hospital, while Carl stayed onboard. My inquiries did indeed put Chad in the intensive care ward. The night shift nurse thought it odd that the door opened for a few seconds and closed, but she was busy with her reports, and didn't make too much of it. The records said Chad was down the far end of the hall, in a room made for four, but only had one other patient at the moment. Chad was an old man, and tubes ran to his arm, along with many wires. The other bed held a boy of eighteen or so, that had been seriously hurt in a car accident. I switched off my invisibility and started to use the diagnostician on him. Almost twenty percent of his heart muscle was dead, and only electrical probes kept his heart working. The hand autodoc started the repair work, in conjunction with the bodies own repair procedures. Within four minutes the heart was beginning to respond, and would soon be as good as it was when Chad was thirty. I was about to put the tools away when I heard a groan from the other unconscious patient. "John," I mind-spoke. "I am going to see what I can do for the other patient. When I am done, slap a generator on Chad, and let's get out of here. As soon as the wires are disconnected, the staff will rush in here, thinking that his heart stopped." "I have an idea on that," said Martin. I looked into his mind and smiled. The other patient would probably not make it through the night. His lungs had been punctured, and other organs damaged. The heroic operation had done all that current medical science could do. I had to use the autodoc almost ten minutes, to get the serious damage taken care of, and most of the minor. I included his seriously damaged face, and missing eye. The eye would now grow to occupy the empty socket, in time. The bone structure of the face would have taken many operations, if he was alive to undergo them. John and Martin wheeled the beds together, and the electrodes were removed from Chad's chest without incident. The sensors were transferred to the other patient quickly, so as to not set off the alarms. Another few seconds under the autodoc, and Chad's wounds were healed. As an afterthought, I placed ten one thousand dollar bills to the safety pin on his pillow, holding the call button. John carried Chad's invisible form out past the nurse that was now conveniently away from her desk. Part way through the hospital, I became visible to open doors and get in the elevator. After we came out the front door of the hospital, we were whisked skyward, and onto Carlton's deck. We materialized in an open spot among the men, and immediately became visible. Matt Deeker ran over to see his friend, who actually pushed him away and said, "What is all the fuss, and where are my clothes?" He looked at Matt and said, "Why are you looking at me like that?" Lt. Meech asked, "What happened, sir?" "We repaired Chad's heart, and I took a few minutes to work on another patient. I would not like to be in his shoes tomorrow." "Why is that, sir?" "He was about to die, and he will be able to walk out tomorrow. Chad was in serious shape, and he up and sneaks out of the hospital in his hospital gown. The only one they can question is the boy, for everything that happened." Chad was standing, and could not believe any of what he heard, till Matt turned him around, and showed him the ship. Just when Matt was getting started, we docked in the base, and the shield disappeared from the doorway. As the passengers disembarked, the other recruits came over to see the newcomers. They took over their care, as the newest members went through the medical department. In the next few days, I devoted my time to getting Mom's hull up and running. The computer now incorporated many memory chips that Mom had loaded with all the data she thought it needed. Our largest AI crystal was carefully inserted, and we waited almost eight hours till it made its presence known. Carl took care of recruiting in Boston, Columbia NC, and Sault St. Marie, and we picked up slightly over a hundred recruits. Matt, Chad, and the four others took over the job of feeding all of the troops. Their kitchen was chaotic in the extreme. Mom made large pots, which were prepared as any other kitchen, but tractors held them in place, as energy weapons set far below their lowest setting, bombarded the pots. The girls were taken over by Susan and Secric, and they trained in karate and the Tandra equivalent. When the combat suits were not in use by the mercs, the girls had them. The men would laugh at the pretentious airs of the women, till they were challenged. More often than not, if there was an outright loser, it was the men. Mom awoke more Tandra women to work on the other problems in the base and inside her old hull, for the first set had accomplished their tasks. The food replicator and matter transmitter for the waste had finally been repaired, and the base was now operational. More fabrication units could now be manufactured, for weapons and defence. The mercs got over the differences soon enough with the new women, and could be seen talking individually with the girls, at any opportunity. Susan had given her version of the birds and the bees, and explained Human males to the women. She demanded only one woman to any particular man. In a turn around, said that a woman could do an unheard of thing, and take more than one man if she could handle them. The women for their part were very pleased at not having to share with nine or more sisters. Getting the attention of many males, made them think they were in heaven. Mom's hull came alive during the time I was sleeping. I awoke and felt compelled to go to her. Carlton made the short trip with just me. The ship looked much the same, except it now floated the usual two metres off the surface of the moon. Her hull was only a hundred a forty metres or so, but she gleamed even better than in the base. All of her projectors had been replaced, to enable her to come back to Earth undetected. It was good that Carlton landed away from the ship, so I could view her mass once again. She was over seventy metres wide and fifty metres high. Small by the standards that I now knew to be the norm, but still a ship to love. I walked through the now well trodden dust to her hatch. I was whisked in as expected, by the computer, and found myself staring at the image of Mom that she used when greeting the troops. I was so overcome, that I ran to her, to put my arms around her, luckily she used her tractors to support me before I fell in the weak lunar gravity. I was so overcome with emotion, that I had forgotten that she was only an image. "Hello, Henry. It has been a long time since I spoke to you from here." "Yes it has. Are you really here or just a projection from Earth?" "I am here. All of my memories are here now, just as they are on Earth. I have decided to do something similar to Secric, and use twin personalities to operate the ship and the base. When we meet, we exchange data, and both of us can enjoy space travel, and the guiding of the Tandra in this system. This has the advantage of two of us working on the problems. Is this all right with you?" "More than all right. This way you are safe. I don't want to loose you again." "Thank you, Henry. That was the sweetest thing anybody has ever said to me. I want to show you the galley. It is the first thing I got working after the shields." It looked like a modern kitchen, in a large prosperous restaurant. Pots hung from a rack suspended by tractors. Three large stoves could feed hundreds. A freezer hung empty, while a stasis chamber held the same. A refrigerator seemed superfluous, but it came in handy for food served cold. Large ceramic surfaces were ready to assist in the preparation of the food. A large cleanser was ready to take care of dirty pots and dishes. On an otherwise barren wall, was a series of small alcoves underneath a matter transmitter. "Ask for coffee, Henry." I did, a large thick ceramic mug appeared, and a thick stream of black liquid slowly fell into the container. I could smell the brew, even from where I stood, and marvelled at its richness. I took the mug in two hands, and sipped cautiously at the hot drink. "Hmm, this is great, Mom. I do not think I ever tasted any as good. You must have gone to a lot of trouble to make this the way you did." "I read in a book how a nautical navy functions on coffee. If they ran out, they would just turn around, and head for port to get some." "You may be right. I know I need the stuff to get going. Show me the rest of the ship, Mom." The mess would seat two hundred people easily. We had discussed the need for one large mess, over one for the ratings and one for the officers. There was no need for such a large crew in any case. She took me to my cabin, or rather, my suite. The shower was large, like the one at the house, and amazingly used water, then the cleanser. The berth was actually an entire room of approximately seven metres square. There was enough room for all my family, and still leave half the room vacant. The bed wasn't the anti grav I expected, but a firm mattress. Cushions covered the most of the area, to take the place of chairs or pillows. There were no closets, for a ship this size, would store the things you wanted, until requested. There was a small family galley, only able to seat fifty people. Our own place to eat. I suspected that Mom wanted an officer's mess and this was her way of getting it. "Mom, why are you still trying to make officer country and rating territory?" "I can see why you think that," she said. "The truth of the matter is that I already have the officers picked." "Why are you doing this? I argued with you before about this subject. Two hundred times the speed of light is fine by me. I don't want to be a passenger, while a crew of Tandra can up the speed to six hundred. I would rather have you do it." "Henry, you will not be upset by this crew. I want you to be the Captain, and your family to the remainder of the complement. I have known for a long time that you can do better than the standard crew. You have lightly bonded with Roger, and though you do not know it, with Amy, and to a lesser extent everybody you have come in contact with." "Mom, I don't understand. Are you saying I can form a crew?" "Yes, Henry. Roughly seven percent of the Tandra population can form a strong enough union, to get about five multiples of what I can do alone. The very best, can do more than a hundred and sixty times my maximum velocity. They are much in demand, and they control all of the military and government in the Tandra Empire. Their ability to link and drive a ship, also make them capable of running an empire. Mom went on with a patient look on her face. "I have waited since I was built, to get even a mediocre crew. Now I find that I may have one of the best, and all within this base. I have to confess that some of my worry for you was because your likes may never come along to me again." I closed my mind to think. I could feel even from here, the thoughts of my family. This was nothing new, because this happened very quickly since meeting Chris and Kitten. All Tandra could feel one another this way. Why was I so different, that Mom wanted me? "Mom, I think you are mistaken about my abilities. I will still do as you wish, and try to help you find your home planet." "It is you that is mistaken. No other Tandra in this vicinity can hold in their mind the links to so many others. I can see hundreds of strands emanating from you. The strands to your loved ones are very strong and even the links to your friends, are extraordinarily tough, beyond measure. You have actually strengthened their links to you. In a few centuries, when you reach your full potential, you will have superseded any Tandra unit that was ever known." "Centuries, Mom?" "Surely you know that the Tandra could live for thousands of years. Our medicine is the finest in the galaxy, when we were at our height. Even now, I have almost full benefit of all of that knowledge. Most Tandra died because they refused to strive for new horizons, and simply allowed themselves to pass away. "Our empire grew, because people such as you, could work with others, and find out the most inscrutable facts, and employ them to the empire's advantage. You are one of those gifted people that could do the impossible, if you would only try?" "I don't know what to say. I have so many plans for Earth, and my adopted people. I can't even come up with a good enough weapon against the Samutz." "I have taken your ideas and only added the programming necessary to cripple any Tandra ship in existence. I have held back on data, to see how you would function, and you have come through time after time, with what was needed. Do not belittle your contribution, for it is much greater than you know." "How can I form this group that you are talking of?" "Simply do as you have been doing, and follow your instincts. Love in this case, can literally make everything happen." I went back to the base, with Carlton following behind. We took it easy so I would have more time to think. I had hoped that since I was cured of my diseases, that I would live a little longer. I wondered why I had never really thought of the extended benefits of the medical know-how for myself. The prospects of an extended lifetime, was both exhilarating and appalling, at the same time. I would be fortunate, that my wives and children would be able to live to a fine old age with me. The thoughts of them not prematurely dying as my parents and other relatives had done, eased my mind. Others, that I knew, and thought of as friends, would need the treatment as well. Their relatives and friends would need the same thing, and so on. Eventually the entire Earth would be covered with people able to live for thousands of years. The way we were using our resources, this would not be an option. Mom rested in her old position, and Carlton took a position alongside her hull. Early risers ran over to the ship, to admire the hull and their own work. I too, did my admiring, and thanked each person for all the effort they had done to bring Mom back. Susan, and the remainder of the base people, came with grav sleds of supplies to Mom. I saw hundreds of complete missiles, and many empty zinc plated casings. Along with components, I saw some Earth food. Looking at Susan, I said, "I was hoping to get more time with Mom, and her new hull, before the repair crew had to go out." "We are on a tight schedule. The girls can do some work on her systems when not working on the defensive stations. The Oort Cloud is only one light year away, and a light year thick. We need to get the replacements into position and update the old missiles. The Samutz coming in will never leave." "Are you still only taking the newly awakened girls?" "Yes, except Sadda. She has done a lot of training in an almost fanatical way. She demanded a berth, to help with our defences. I guess I am baby sitting, till she gets back. It is a good thing, because I have been having a little discomfort about being full, and Nova suggested Bobby, and Roger, help me out. I feel good about that, Roger needs parents, something bad, even if he also needs sex to help him bond." Ten minutes later the ship left on a fifteen light year trip. They were scheduled to be back no later than twenty six days from now. Their goal was to refurbish thousands of the possible millions of missiles, guarding this system. Almost nine hundred new units would add to the already impressive number. I knew that this really meant that our defences were still spread very thin. Carl had just returned in his suit, he greeted both of us, and said, "I see you made the papers again." "How is that?" He took out the Toronto Sun and the National Inquirer. On the front page of each, was the face of the patient we left in the hospital. Captions all over the cover, told of different aspects of a dying man's remarkable recovery. Chad's disappearance figured prominently. One article going so far as to suggest that Chad was an angel that had come to help the dying man. Susan asked what I had done. I let her read my actions in my mind, and my comments after returning to the ship. She laughed at the joke I inadvertently played on the poor fellow, in the paper. "Better the hassle he is getting, than being dead I guess." I asked, "How is the outside world reacting to the Tandra presence?" "Still looks confusing. Everybody is still on a war footing, and rumours are running rampant. Nobody knows what to believe. Suicides are at an all time high, and the mental hospitals are full to overflowing. The stock market has been fucked for months now, only some fat cats are making money from armaments and gold. By the way, gold has shot up to over fifteen hundred dollars an ounce. Do you still want to sell the gold you have?" "Maybe later, there is too much on our plates now, anyway. Or do you want to hit some more pushers for some easy money?" I joked at him, as I slapped his shoulder. "It did cross my mind, but I would be happy to just sell the gold, when the price is so high." "Ok, I will keep it in mind, if we go someplace." Carl went off saying, "Ok, I have to go, and speak to an angel." That night the mess had a total of a hundred and eighty eight men. Slightly more than half were American. The cities of Boston, Columbia NC., and Sault St. Marie Mi. had given up some of their fighting men, to help our cause. The rest was evenly distributed as to nationality as I could get, considering the people that came to our recruitment drive. The line-up getting food had comments once in a while of Saint Chad, or something similar. Chad gave his benediction, with the serving spoon of potatoes, to each and every man, going by him. I stood up, after the meal and made a verbal announcement. "Gentlemen, tomorrow some of you will be going to the lunar base to continue your training. There is only forty five days, till we have to leave for Epsilon Eridani. I want all of you the best trained possible, for the fate of this and many other worlds, hang in the balance." I went on, "There are uniforms that will now be mandatory along with your fatigues." I heard groans from the men thinking of the bullshit starting to creep into their daily lives. "Wait till you see the uniforms before you start bitching." I admonished them. "Also, the Tandra in the lunar base, are all male, as I have previously stated. I want no problems with them, or with you. You have all absorbed the Tandra laws and rules of conduct, and know why the rules are the way they are. Some of those males will be going with you to fight the Samutz, and deserve the respect, that you will give them." I had the former Lt. Meech, post the orders, for who was going in the first group. He did a fair job of organization, before his enhancements, and a much better one, after. "Henry, there is a strange car coming down the hydro road. I believe it to be Susan's parents." "Thanks, Mom." Susan asked, "I wonder what they want. I told them not to say anything over the phone." "I am not wearing the face they will recognize." Susan called, "Mom, do you know where the beard is, that Carl used to disguise himself?" The beard appeared, and Susan had to catch it before it fell to the floor. "Thanks, Mom." I bent over and Susan adjusted the beard to my face, as best as she could. "Let's get over to the house. You will have to tell them something darling." We walked over to the nearest transporter, and I said, "Mom, will you transport us, please?" Susan put some water on, and raced to get changed into something better, while I removed the suit/uniform Mom made for me, and put on a shirt, sweater and slacks. The beard I thought made me look distinguished, even if it did not quite match my hair colour. Duc pulled up in his Toyota, and the couple came up the walk. I had been burnt many times by not having the driveway, deck and walk cleaned of ice and snow, so now Mom used her small remotes to do the job for me. They did such a good job, that you could not even see particles of snow between the pieces of gravel on the driveway. I would have to tell Mom not to do such a good job, because people would notice. I welcomed Duc and Lam into our house. Even though I spoke in Vietnamese, they were still not too sure who it was. "I am wearing a disguise, Duc. You will understand in a little while." I read their minds and knew they were mostly curious, about the reasons now. Susan brought out a large pot of tea, which she had started, as soon as she got in the house. Duc was worried, and so was his wife, about something in North Bay. "What is the matter Duc? You seem upset about something." He fidgeted for a while, thinking of the best way of broaching the subject. "A man, who was obviously a policeman, asked me questions, about the purchase of the food you wanted. He did not seem too troubled about what I bought, but about the way I purchased them." "You have done nothing illegal, Duc." "I know that, Mr. Buchanan. I think one of the places I made purchases wanted to check if the money was counterfeit. The way people are all worried about the aliens, they wanted to snap at anything they could find." I understood his logic, and saw little reason to continue purchasing more food. "Things are falling into place here, now, Duc. I would like you to make a few more purchases for me, and then complete the sale of your store, and move here, with us." Lam was looking at Susan unusually large breasts, and even saw a wet spot, from where one of her nipples had begun to flow. Susan said, "Mother knows something is happening here. I know they can be trusted. What do you think?" "The only others that I trusted, were Carl and his sons. Carl stayed the night, to cement the ideas. I think we should tell them if they agree to talk it over, and only leave in the morning." "Ok, I will ask them," she said. "Mom, father, will you agree to stay the night? If you do, then we can tell you something about what is happening with us. It is too complicated to complete in a few hours, and it is important that you both fully understand before you leave." Duc wanted his own house and bed, but was torn by the need to know. Lam was the same, but she knew that her place would soon be here in any case. The wet spot on her daughter's breast reminded her of her agreement to watch over the next generation. Lam spoke for the first time, "Your offer would be greatly appreciated. Don't you think so Duc?" Duc was the head of the family, but knew that his wife was right. "Yes, the store can remain closed, till we get back." Susan read her parents' minds, and knew that they had not had supper yet. She got up and started to make another supper for us. I got up and helped start the stir fry chicken, and vegetables. The rice could not be instant but done the traditional way. To save time, Susan put the washed rice into a large stainless steel pot, and took it downstairs. Mom transported the pot into the base, added water and a field around it, before applying heat to it. The pressure cooked rice came back, in only a minute, done to perfection. Moments later we sat down to eat. Now Susan had two wet spots, and was in a little discomfort. "Perhaps after you finish eating; it is time to get Bobby and Faith, Susan." "Are you sure, Henry?" She asked me. Her parents wondering about the two names. After eating, Susan went downstairs to await the arrival of the transported children. I said, "Susan has been feeding two children. Their foster mothers' are working hard to protect all of us. There are no fathers to help." I started the fire, to warm the house, and make it more like a home. Susan carefully came up the steps with Bobby wrapped in some soft Tandra material, to make him look closer to the way a Human baby would be dressed. It was much cooler in the house, than the base, so the covering was not just decorative. He looked the size of a newborn, but his quick eyes and coordinated movements, indicated something of his real age. Faith was wrapped even smaller, and was actually hidden in the folds covering Bobby. Susan handed me the children, as she undid her dress, and took off her bra. She held the small bundle, as I helped negotiate Bobby into position. Once he started to suckle, Susan gave a small moan, as the flow started. Bobby's eyes went wide at the fire, and his hand came out, and held onto his food source. Susan movements made it impossible for him to see the fire, so he settled down to suckle. Duc and Lam were speechless at the sight. They did not even notice yet that Bobby was not human. The thoughts of Susan with a newborn child made them anxious. I opened the smaller bundle, and placed the small, doll-sized child, on her other breast. This time Lam got up, to see what was happening. Her eyes got large, as she saw that something was not right. The doll was much too small, and the other child had long thin fingers. Susan began telling the story to her parents, the one she had been rehearsing for months now, but could never get right. "As you can both see Mother and Father, the children are not Human, but Tandra. Millions of years ago their father's father, worked on our ancestors to form a new race. The result was half from Earth and half from the stars. Those people eventually took over the Earth. All of us in this room are part or all Tandra." Duc bent over, looking at the children. It was hard to understand his daughter. The children did not look dangerous. He was at war with his own feelings. His ancestors did not like anything different, and it was hard for him to even accept me, when I came into their lives. He had been raised in a village that believed in ghosts and evil spirits inhabiting the bodies of children. Living in Canada for all these years, had opened his eyes to the ways others looked, talked and acted. He had learned, that it didn't matter how a person looked that counted, but what was in their heart. But still... Lam got so close, that Bobby opened his eyes and his hand came out and held her nose, before she quickly pulled away. Almost immediately she felt his loss, and brought her face back and held the small hand, in her fingers. In Vietnamese she said, "This baby is certainly beautiful. What is her name?" Susan replied in the same language, and smiled as she said, "This is a boy, and his name is Babia or Bobby to us. This other one is a girl, and her name is Faith. Henry gave her and her sisters their names." "There are more?" Said Lam. "When we came to tell you that our wedding date was set, there were five adults, seven children and three newborn babies. Since then, I have gotten three more children, and became aunt, to a few more." I got a soft blanket and a hand towel, and wrapped up Susan and the children, to keep them warm. I started my part of the story. "The Tandra came here millions of years ago to build a special machine to allow them to move very fast between the stars. Their home was attacked by an old enemy, and almost all had to return to protect it. The ones left here, went into a type of sleep, and did not awake till now. A new enemy has come here, to conquer us, and the Tandra. They will eat them and us. I have..." "How do you know this?" Said Duc. I knew this was coming, and had to find an easy way to say it and there wasn't. "I went out with a friend, and tried to stop the invaders. They tried to capture us. We threw weapons at them, and then boarded their damaged ship. On the ship, I found the bodies of the Tandra, just like these, hung on meat hooks. Some were eaten. I went crazy, as I did just after I met you. Their ship is what you see on the other side of the moon." I hung my head reliving the past, and the recent past. I was quiet for a long time, till Lam placed her hand on my shoulder. "I know you would do the right thing. What about the other ship, on the moon?" "That was me too. I went to the moon, to get some things we didn't have on Earth, and the automatic defences there, shot me down along with another ship, that came to help me. We all worked together, and now the ship is safe." Duc asked, "What happened to it? The TV said, it just disappeared this morning." "It was me, again. I went up there after Susan and her friends did most of the repair work, and brought the ship back home. She is now about a light year away from here, putting missiles into the most probable positions, where the enemy may come." Susan said, "Mother will you hold this one, she's full, and needs to burp." I went into the bath and returned with two soft towels. One was to protect Lam's clothes and the other for when Bobby was finished. Lam picked up Faith carefully, and looked at her. The eyes were big and the fingers long. Nothing else was visible, and Lam put the baby on the towel on her shoulder. The small size of the child made the job much different than it would normally have been. Her hand gently rubbed the tiny back, till a small burp was heard. I used the hand towel, to wipe up the flow that Faith didn't get or want. Susan picked up Bobby, and put him on the other side. Faith drank very little, but Susan hoped Bobby would drink most of the remainder. "Henry has been trying to get their base running again. The machines that made the food were not working, and everyone was in danger of starving to death. Just recently, the food has started to come again, but it is synthetic. I wanted both of you to show them how to grow their own vegetables." Lam stated, "They come from the stars, and do not know how to grow their own food?" "Yes, Mother. They have a great science, but have lost the taste for good cooking, along the way. They love tea, fish, yams and almost everything else. I just wish I could cook fish, as good as you could." Lam was pleased, and somehow sure that her daughter spoke the truth, much the same, as I felt when I first met Chris and Kitten without being told. The child in her arms was already at work, bonding to another adult. "Duc, Lam, I have been hiring and training soldiers, to help fight our new enemy. I had no wish for them to know who I was, so Tandra medicine has changed my looks," I said as I slowly took off the false beard. "My face can change, if I am given a few hours notice. Even back to what it was." They looked closely, trying to see my former face, behind the new one. Lam now knew that it was me, and came over to hug me with the small bundle in her arms. "I know it is still you, behind the new mask, Mr. Buchanan." "I am glad that it is only my family that can do that Lam." I had another idea. "Lam, do you want to learn Tandra history?" "I... I think it would be a good idea," she said in a slightly sceptical way. "Come into the other room with me, and sit in the chair, that will teach you almost anything you want to know." "Anything?" "Just about. The Tandra have learned very much, and all of that information is stored in the computer. I would like you to learn their ethics, customs and history, before going on to anything else." Duc looked at the chair frame, and said, "What is this? It looks like flat bones." "It is the same material as our plates." Susan said. "The chair is so old, that all of the covering has fallen off." Lam carefully sat on a pad and brought her feet up. Faith was still in her arms, as if reluctant to release the child now. Since Lam was little taller than the Tandra, she fit comfortably into the chair. "What do I have to do?" I put my hand on the sensor pad, and ordered the courses I wanted. "Mom would you go easy on them. I don't want them learning yet, about some of the things that concerned me before." "I will teach them in a way that complements their heritage." "Lam, there is nothing to do. Just close your eyes and enjoy the experience." Her breathing slowed, and her hands protectively held Faith. "Duc, the process takes..." Mom gave me the length of time for Lam. "about thirty eight minutes. Would you like a beer? I am thirsty again." "No, thank you. I think I will just stay here, and watch my wife," he said as he sat in another of the chairs. Susan came in with Bobby in her arms, and a towel and blanket in the other. She took the blanket and put it over her startled father's shoulder and placed the sleeping child on top. "Just pat his back for a few minutes, and he will burp, just like you used to do for me." Duc was stiff, in the way he did it, but for some reason after the natural burp came, he relaxed. He held the child possessively now, just as his wife was now doing to Faith. The towel went over Faith, to keep her warm while she slept. "Father, Bobby is about thirteen months old, though he looks newborn. Faith is almost two months now, and she is gaining weight, just as she should. The Tandra do not grow very fast, or get very big. Oh, oh you better give him to me he is going to pee." Susan took the child, and raced into the bath. A small continuous splash was heard, then the water. Susan came out relieved, that her father had not gotten soaked. "How did you know he needed to go to the bathroom?" Her father asked. Susan put the now awake child, back in her father's arms, and said, "Easy, I just read his mind. I knew he felt uncomfortable with a full bladder and besides, he usually tries to wet me, right after eating." Duc held the child in his hands, and looked into Bobby's eyes. "That is impossible. Nobody can read minds." "Henry, will you get a deck of cards please?" Duc picked up the cards when I returned, and his daughter told him the cards as fast as he recognized them. "Henry, can you do this too?" "Shuffle the cards and try me." Duc sat Bobby as carefully as he could in his lap, and started to shuffle the cards. He picked random cards from the centre of the deck, and I told him the suit and value. Towards the end, I found that I was telling him before he even saw the cards. "Stop a minute please, Duc," I said. "Mom, how was I able to tell the card before it was even seen?" "In rare cases, the best of the Tandra can get a glimpse into the future, or see the cards in the deck. Didn't you tell me how you were able to spot an ambush, before anyone should have been able, and find the girls outside the base, when they needed you?" "Yes, I did, but that was different. There could have been the soldiers that set the trap, broadcasting their intentions." "It could be, but you had never seen or met the enemy before. You can see the future some times, and have clairvoyant episodes. Remember, finding Sandy and Amy. You did not know them then either. I expect you to be able to move things with your mind soon. Do not worry, just try to hone your skills, because you will one day, need all of your abilities." "Did you know this was going to happen?" "I only suspected, and hoped. After you told me about some of the ambushes, you escaped from before, I thought this might happen." "What am I going to do? It is hard enough living up to all the capabilities you have given me." "The answer is within you. Just trust yourself, and get the help of those that love you." I thought about the way things had turned now. Mom's answer made a lot of sense. "What do you think of this, Susan?" "I am like you, I had no idea this would, or even could, happen. Predicting a trap, or using your mind to stop a gun from firing, might save all our lives some day. I can't see any downside. Your thinking that we will see you different is wrong though. You may be the new improved Henry, but we are all improved too. Perhaps your old friends may see you as much more than you were before, but that could also be explained by your change in rank. Fleet Admiral it says on your chip, but you are now leading two races. You have to use any, and all, advantages you can get." "That is what I am afraid of. Do you know what could happen, if I am wrong?" "Yes, the same thing as if you were never born. The extinction of the Human race, and all the Tandra, that the Samutz can kill and eat till someone bigger, kills them off." I felt a little better now. Susan believed in me, and I knew Mom did too. Perhaps they could be my keel, to keep me in the right direction. Shit, Duc was waiting, probably thinking I had gone off the deep end in concentration. "Sorry, Duc. I just found something new, and was concerned where it might lead." "I know. I followed your conversation with 'Mom', whoever that is, and with my daughter. How is this possible?" "Tandra children attach themselves to an adult for protection, and understanding. It seems that they use the adult brain to help understand the world about them. When Bobby is with you, he will give you the ability to read minds, the same way he does. Bobby just came from Epsilon Eridani, and I did not think him capable of doing that, because the ability seemed to have died out there. As long as you are close to a Tandra child that both loves you, and is awake, you will have the same ability as they do. Eventually your brain will learn how to do it, without the child." "That is difficult to understand, but who is 'Mom'?" "Mom, will you come and talk to Duc?" I saw out of the corner of my eye, some probes come up from the basement, and array themselves around the room. Mom's image in the blue dress appeared. "Hello Duc. It is a pleasure to finally meet Susan's parents." Her voice was again well modulated as she spoke faultless Vietnamese dialect that Duc knew. She put me in mind of a queen again, stepping down from her throne, to talk the commoners, and try to solve their problems. ------- Chapter 40 "Before too long you will need to do this as well." She said privately to me. "Think long and hard about how this is accomplished. Do you believe the Tandra on Masis will fall all over themselves in gratitude at saving them from the Samutz? It is more likely the males will want to kill you because of all the problems you will bring them." Duc did react the same as any Human or Tandra, and fell all over himself at the visiting royalty. She explained to him what Lam was learning and why. She sat in a vacant chair, and picked up a cup of tea, which I was sure, wasn't there a second before, and sipped, as she listened to Duc. Since she was the equivalent of a hologram, I knew the tea and cup, had to be the same. Her image though was perfect, in every way. I could see Mom talking in many ways. Her body language and inflection blended perfectly with her voice. Her mannerisms and voice complemented the thoughts she was directing to Duc's mind. I began to see, that she was giving him the same course that Lam was now undergoing. Lam awoke when her course ended, and was greeted by Mom. Lam held Faith protectively at first meeting Mom, but relaxed as she became accustomed to her new visitor. As Mom began to work with Faith's unconscious efforts to bond to Lam. I saw Lam relax even more. After ten minutes of talk Mom asked, "Tomorrow, Henry is travelling to the moon. Perhaps you would enjoy ride with him, and the soldiers he is transporting?" Lam and Duc were very conservative, and would never even consider such a request. Because it was suggested by Mom, it seemed more than all right. Lam said quickly, "We would be happy to make the trip." Mom spoke for a while longer, and then excused herself. She statied pressing matters that had to be taken care of. She walked downstairs and disappeared with the probes. She had not lied but she had not said that she did not have a real body. I was quite sure after Mom left, that she could convince even Doris, to keep quiet about the Tandra, and what we were doing. That night we talked as the children slept. We sat around the darkened house, and watched the fire, as we idly chit chatted about inconsequential things. Lam had completed her course in Tandra history, the same as Duc had. I could still see the remnants of their old superstitions, trying to work into their new education. Perhaps, living in Canada, and their love for their daughter, would help them over this hurdle. I knew how difficult it was to break out of your mould, to embrace something new. Susan and I found that Lam was still a little homesick after thirty years in Canada, and Duc was concerned about a sick brother, that he could not get to come to visit. There were many relatives that they had never even seen, and many more that had died. Duc and Lam slept with Bobby, in their room, and Faith stayed with us for feeding. I knew they were starting to become much attached to the children, just as we were. Susan and I made languid love, like we did long before meeting the Tandra. Her need for more orgasms did not diminish, and she had to have all of them herself, instead of through the link with the others. Partway through the night, Kitten came into our room, bringing Roger who was hungry, and in need of both feeding, and bonding. This would not only help him, but relieve the fullness in Susan's breasts. He left enough for Faith who awoke an hour later. At four in the morning, I had enough sleep and found Roger holding tightly to my arm. I visualized the link to him and saw as Mom had said; it was very solid, and as strong as the link to Susan. I started my day with the gym, and then began breakfast. Susan came out with a sleepy Roger in her arms. He was hungry for solid food, even after helping Susan. He had never had a mother, and it felt good to see him so close to Susan. Susan seemed to glow as always, when around children, and I think the ones that she nursed, would heighten the effect. Opening the door into the other bedroom, we saw Duc. He had his arm over his wife protecting her, and the child in their sleep. Susan was very careful, and tried to get a slightly soggy Bobby free. Lam awoke immediately, and clutched at the child, till she saw that it was her daughter. The bonding had gone a long way, and I could see the love in her eyes. I had to do some more explaining about the extra child in our house. Duc was concerned that Roger was something of a slave, or an animal, till I explained things better. This was proven mute, as Roger scampered into Duc's lap, and a silent conversation took place. Now with the understanding, that Roger was in a loving environment, Duc relaxed and enjoyed his company. It was nice to see Roger being so outgoing now, especially remembering what he was like, when I first brought him home. After breakfast we walked downstairs to the transporter. Lam carried Faith while Duc still held Roger. Susan described what was about to happen, as she held Bobby. Her startled parents found themselves beside Carlton, and jumped at the quick change. Within moments the men walked up in small groups, and started to form ranks. Their new suits covered their bodies very well. I had never seen such a sight, as what was before me. The occasion called for an inspection, and the suits had turned black at the unvoiced command. I walked up and down the rows, looking for anything not one hundred percent right. For the first time in recorded history, I think, there was nothing wrong, or even close. The men must have groomed one another, and the suits could never be wrong. At the end of one line, Star, Nema, and Sandy stood for inspection. Carl came over and shook Susan's parent's hands, giving them some solidity to the many strange things they saw. Private Meech who formerly held lieutenants bars, told the men that were going to the moon to fall out, and board the ship. Charlie and Paul walked in the centre of the group, and ignored us as they were supposed to do. Behind the men, some of the women rushed by. Their schedules required them to get many things accomplished, before the trip back to Epsilon Eridani. My other wives remained quiet, till we found how Duc and Lam would react to their existence. "Duc, Lam, will you board with us now?" "We have children here. Surely you are not going to take them to the moon with us. It is very dangerous," Duc said. "Why is that? Roger comes from the lunar base. Bobby comes from Epsilon Eridani. Even Faith and her sisters have been there many times." He did not know what to think, and decided to just follow our lead, till he was more educated in what was happening. We boarded, and Carlton took off at my silent command. All aboard could see the large view screen of the area ahead of us. Almost everybody was speechless at the sight of our lunar satellite growing larger. Duc, Lam and Susan sat in the chairs, with their living burdens, watching the progression. Before they knew it, the door opened. I adjusted my clothing, and walked out with Carl. We saluted the recently refurbished image on the wall. The new symbol was the old one of the Tandra Empire, combined with a new one of Earth. All around the wall the cadets stood at attention. The mercs came down the ramp, and turned to parallel the ship. As one they did a left or right face and saluted as well. They had done the manoeuvre faultlessly, even in the one sixth gravity. Susan came last with her family. Roger and Bobby wanted down, and scampered off. Bobby being very young had a difficult time keeping up. Duc and Lam found the lessened gravity unsettling, to say the least. Carl called for his sons and the three girls. They came forward and saluted in the Tandra tradition that was mimicked by the Romans millions of years after the fact. Their right hand formed a fist, and it went out and around to strike the ribcage over the heart, and pause for a moment before dropping to their side. They were informed along with all the rest, that they would form the liaison committee, to integrate the Earth troops with those of this base. All simple problems were to go through them, before going higher up. Carl made his first speech thanking the lunar personnel for their cooperation. I made a short speech as well, saying almost the same things. When all were dismissed, I gave Susan and her parents a tour of the hanger, and the ships that would participate in transporting the troops and furthering their training. Lam said incredulously, "The ships: They talked to you." "Yes, most of them have a personality that lives in the computer; much like ours lives within our brains. Without their assistance, the cadets and the troops would never be able to fight in time." "I just find this too much to understand." "As you learn more, the understanding comes easier." Carl's boys, and the girls, went off with their counterparts. The lunar males were fascinated by the girls. I could see instinct starting to rear its head. Charlie and Paul had been warned, along with the girls about the possible danger, but it was necessary to get females back into lunar society. The other side of the coin might be that the males would work even harder, to do the tasks assigned to them. It would only take a while to find out if their studies suffered. Carl and the civilians walked with us, as we continued our tour. I had plans to have them checked over by the autodoc, and get anything taken care of that need to be. We met at least a hundred males, in our travels. They bowed in respect to both me and my guests. Life had changed for the better, now that Tandra law had been restored. They could enjoy their life, without currying to the whims of a despotic leader. One chair in the medical section was in use by an old Tandra male. He slept quietly, as he was treated for his problems. Beside him five others remained vacant. "Lam, will you sit in one chair, and Duc will you take the other?" Duc asked, "Are we to learn more?" "No, this is just a medical checkup to keep you healthy." Duc got in first, and I helped Lam in. She still held Faith possessively. The sensor balls came out and scanned each. I saw bad teeth, and bad lungs from smoking, Duc had a broken bone that had healed fairly well, but not perfectly. Lam had entered menopause, and could not bear any other children. Her bones were starting to weaken through a loss of calcium. Both suffered various stages of arthritis. Duc had a bad disk, in his spine. They both suffered from poor eyesight, necessitating glasses. In fact, they had needed glasses since coming to Canada. Being a doctor now, meant a little bit of confidentiality. I mindspoke to only Susan's parents. "Lam, you have entered menopause, a few years ago, and you now have a mild case of osteoporosis. This will cause you to start losing some of your bone mass, and give you other problems later. This facility has the ability of bringing back your periods, and your fertility. Your eyesight and lungs can easily be fixed, or at least the process started. All of this can be done, if you want. The only question I have is; do you want the ability to bear children along with the other things?" Turning to Duc, I said, "Duc, I can fix your back, lungs and the old break in your left arm. The only problem I see for both of you, is that you both could use new teeth, but this means that both you will have to spend a day in the care of one of the autodocs, and undergo the discomfort of growing new teeth. This can happen at any time, and nothing is critical." They sat up and conversed in Vietnamese. I could see that I had put a lot of responsibility on Lam's shoulders. She had not been able to have any other children after Susan. She felt old now, and didn't want the burden I was placing on her, in her twilight years. I said only to her, "Lam nobody else can hear me. Let's skip the menopause adjustment, and just treat the symptoms. Later when you have time to think about it, you can change your mind, if you want. You will feel much younger later and be able to take on any challenge." "Yes, I like that way," she said much happier. The repair spheres came out and they sat back and relaxed. Fifteen minutes later they got up and stretched like they did thirty years ago. They were not fully healed, for it took time for the body to get rid of all the toxins and dead cells from their bodies, and start the rebuilding. The major problems still had to be addressed in the tank. "Mr. Buchanan, I feel young again." Duc stated. "This is only the start. Later, as the old cells leave your body, you will feel even better." "Thank you. I think I will take your offer, and get my teeth fixed if that is all right with you." "Then we will do it on Earth. You should sell the store first, so that it is easy to take the time off." They got up much healthier than before, and we continued the tour. I went into one of the many areas, I had never been in before, but knew it to be part of the medical section. Lining the walls, and twelve high, were tanks of various sizes. The vast majority were dark and empty. Seven were not. One held an old man regenerating an arm. The new appendage was almost the size of a child's, but would grow in a week or less, to the correct dimensions. The other six contained babies, much larger than the one Lam now held, almost the size of Bobby. These obviously stayed in much longer, to allow them to be more self-sufficient, when they eventually came out. Lam excitedly asked, "Why are they in there?" "There are no women here, and the population is only increased when the Tandra feel that they need more people born. I don't think anything is wrong, except the children are born to a group of people that will not love the children, the way a Tandra female or a Human mother would." "This is wrong. All children should be cherished." "I agree, the males love the children, but not as much as a female would. There are no women or even parents here. I know that they could grow girl babies, as easily as male ones, but somebody made the decision, to only have boys here. It was done over a million years ago, I think." "I want these babies." Duc asked incredulously, "What are you saying Lam? They are not our race, or even our own species. Didn't you hear when Mr Buchanan said, we could have our own children?" "Yes, I heard, and I know that these babies need a mother, the same way your daughter has taken others." This seemed to give Duc something to think about. At this time Roger and Bobby came around the corner, followed by four others of Rogers age, and probably acquaintance. Roger was quicker, and got to Susan first, and wanted up to be fed, or at least picked up. Bobby seeing the place taken, looked around and chose Duc to pick him up. He waddled over, and raised his small arms in supplication. Duc looked down and felt his heart strings being pulled. Bobby was about the same size as the children in the tanks. If he picked the boy up, he knew he would be lost. He tried to look away, but could see the large eyes and happy, expectant expression on the child's face in his mind. He wanted more children for a long time, and especially a son, to carry on his family's name. As he and his wife grew older, they knew that the quest became impossible. If Lam took these children, she would never want to bear him another, even if the fabulous medical science of the Tandra, would allow it. He stepped back, and turned around, and saw the other boys of Roger's age. They had no parents, and he knew that they needed them to grow properly. Cords he felt forming from the boys, and wrapping around his soul. He could see the children in the tanks, in the corner of his eye. He could feel those too holding onto him, with all of their meagre strength. In his mind he heard Bobby sob behind him, at being rejected. All this was too much; he turned quickly, and plucked the child from the floor before he knew what he was doing. He held Bobby close, and kissed his forehead, and said quietly, "I won't leave you Bobby," in Vietnamese, as silent tears trickled down his weathered cheek. Lam came close, after hearing in her mind, her husband's exclamation. Her free arm went around her husband of almost thirty years, and pulled him tight. He reached out with one arm and pulled all of them closer. All four pulled together by a common bond of love. Susan hugged me tight thinking of all the love her parents could give. I saw the four other youngsters moving forward but trying to stay out of the big people's way. They heard what Roger had to say before, and couldn't really believe it. Now they saw and wanted it for themselves. Until this moment, they did not even know what they lacked. Their eyes were large and their mouth agape, at the show of love. Lam could feel their concern, and pulled her head back a saw the youngsters shifting from side to side wanting love, but afraid to come close to the strange people, that didn't quite look right. She whispered in her husband's ear, and he turned to see the children. She carefully handed Faith to her husband, and squatted with her hands wide. The children did not know the gesture, but they knew the thoughts behind it. They ran to her, and held tight as if their very lives depended on it. Susan turned to me and said, "Did you know this would happen?" "I knew the children were in the vats, and your mother was interested in a new challenge. Roger's friends, I knew nothing about. They usually stayed hidden, at least till law was re-established." Later Susan took Faith and fed her, and the two boys, while the others watched and reacted to the way Roger felt. Susan could almost feel the thoughts bombarding her as the boys reacted to her soothing touch and light caresses. As we continued to walk the boys stayed with us. Actually they had to, for Lam held a hand in each of hers as Duc did the same. After a few hours of inspecting the capabilities of the lunar base, we returned home, carrying four small extra passengers with us. I had convinced Lam to leave the babies in the tank till she had nothing else to occupy her time. Carl and I carried the older children to the medical section, and Mom placed them in tanks to develop their muscles and hearts to the rigours of Earth living. The boys were a little nervous, but had willingly gone into the tanks to become stronger. We had to pry Lam away. We promised that she could come back the next day and take them from the tank or stay here and go into a tank herself to get her remaining problems fixed. She wanted the tank right away, in that case, and Duc watched his wife enter the liquid next to where the youngsters were. Lam's face grew calm and peaceful as I had never seen it. I knew she was trying to fully embrace the future of both races. "Well Duc, I think you better get rid of your store soon. I have a feeling that you are going to be a full time father. Do you regret the decision?" "No, I don't. The store can be taken over by a second cousin of Lam's. He is currently working with his wife in a Montréal restaurant, and has talked about moving here, if he can get a job. I think I will sell him the property at a very reasonable price." "I don't think you will miss the store much. Your friends in the Bay may wonder when one day you show them your beautiful, but slightly strange looking sons." "Who said they were my sons?" He said defensively. "You did. I looked into your mind, and saw the love you already have for them, and they just entered your life. Before the day is out, I predict that you will have names for each and every one of them." He hung his head, because he knew he was caught, and had already thought of a few. He planned on having the last laugh, and pick Vietnamese names after his relatives. Our full complement had not been reached. Ads were run in Europe, Africa, the old Soviet block and even China. Within a few days the Earth base was again full of new warriors. There was much more friction that came with the greater cultural disparity. Other than the fifty or so Europeans, the rest were seriously undereducated. What they did know, was how to kill one another, and even here, they were not all educated to the same degree. Disease was very common from malaria to Aids. When told of their cure most denied even having the disease. Some of the old hands came back from the moon, and had to use their superior strength and speed to knock some sense into them. It was comical when some bigot decided to take on Jamal Brown. Jamal for his part played the stupid black as he thought of ways to teach the bigot the error of his ways without killing him outright. When one or two were not able to take on Jamal, more came, till he was forced to break a few bones, and send them into the tank. The Europeans were somewhat snobbish, and this only changed when they found out how little they really knew, even if their countries had a long history of warfare. After all the men were up to the minimum standards, they were fitted with the same device I had between my shoulder blades. They were told of its recording abilities and how the information would be uploaded after each battle. This along with the mind reading would keep the shirkers from hiding or for convenient accidents to just happen to the people they didn't like. I was quite concerned about these men getting out into the general Earth population. Mom had foreseen this, and would allow their abilities and knowledge to fade within a few months of discharge. If they stayed, then they would be given more information and abilities, but also a greater chance to embrace the Tandra ideal. I tried to think of these men after a few hundred years in our military. They would retire to a sedate life, and live for the balance of a few centuries or so, living off the accumulated wealth that they were sure to get. Like all governments before, they would be offered land on a distant planet, to give it stability. It would also provide a forward defence, if we managed to stay alive that long. The Romans had many good ideas mixed up with their baser Human ideals. Fights were common for the first few days, till cliques and clans were broken up, and new teams were made up of different peoples. Here any failure could only be attributed to the individuals in the group, and their leadership. Mom had shifted some of her defence production to combat suits, but the supply was limited by the crystals and the complexity. The suits had to be shared and almost never saw an idle moment. Our planning progressed in the next two weeks. All the mercs were transferred to the moon, and the television on Earth, showed the flashes of light, as they practised taking the ship. One figure that had enough of the spy satellite used his finger in the universal salute. The commentator wondered if it was a type of alien greeting. Paul had to persuade some of the Tandra boys that the girls were off limits. A fight was brewing, and his opposite numbers told the offending party that they were my women. The offending boys quickly made their apologies and left. My planning for the lunar base had hit one, long term snag. If Tandra women married Earth Humans, then I had to find a way to encourage Earth girls to take on the Tandra boys, and make them toe the line. I did not even know if they could be domesticated, enough to properly look out for their future wives and children. If a new society had to be formed, I needed strong-willed women, to embrace the Tandra ideals, and fight the males' natural instincts. Competition for the slots on our Epsilon Eridani campaign became very fierce. The lunar Tandra like their Earth counterparts, were only allowed so many positions, because of space limitations. Many of the males suffered from broken bones, and two even died, trying to win top honours, and a place on the ship. The female segment was just a turbulent, but nobody seemed to get that badly hurt. There would be many mercs that had to remain behind, and protect the system. They, and the lunar Tandra, were to form the nucleus of an army. If we were lucky, they would be able to train others. If we were able to send some ships back, they would even have something to fight with. Duc and Lam were almost full time on the moon, after unloading the store to a very happy relative. Susan claimed that she had never seen her parents so full of energy and happiness. Part could be attributed to the vat, and feeling younger, but the rest was sheer love, and a renewed zest for life. Carl pulled his boys from the moon. They were now much fuller across the chest. Their reflexes surpassed ours at that age. Their thinking was clear and concise. Any military would be happy to have them. After changing into some of Mom's new suits, they returned to North Bay. Doris was astonished at the changes in her sons. Even Carl seamed much greater than she had ever seen him before. She had been complaining again about sleeping alone, till Carl asked her, "I have to go away for a while with Paul and Charlie. While we are gone, I want to get Bob Trent to take over the company for me. I want you to close the dress shop for a few months, and come with me." "We can't do that. Where are we going to get the money? I know I don't make much, but it covers all of my expenses. The house isn't even completely paid for." "I have bought your shop and a few around it. The house has been paid off, for over a month. We have enough money that I wouldn't need to work again." "Where did you get the money?" "Working for Henry. Do you want to come with us, or stay here? It will mean an awful lot to me, if you would accept. The only downside is that you cannot talk to your friends, for at least that long." "Where are we going, that doesn't have a phone or the mail?" "Far away Doris. I promise you won't be bored. You will meet a lot of new friends, and eventually have a lot to say to the old ones." "Why won't you tell me, where we are going?" "Because it is a secret, and even though I love you dearly, you could never keep a secret long." Doris stood a little stunned. She felt hurt, but knew her husband was right, but he had never said this to her so bluntly before. Doris came to my house that afternoon, and sat in the newly re-upholstered chair by the fire. Two hours later Carl waited patiently till his wife was done. The boys had made themselves at home, and were making their second or third supper. When she awoke, she got up and held her husband tight and cried. Partially for not being trusted enough to keep the greatest secret she ever heard. Partially, for her thoughts of how her husband did not love her enough any more, and submerged himself in work to get away. "How could you fight those Samutz? They are so strong. If you didn't anger them, then they might have left us alone." Carl took her hand and said, "Come with me." They went downstairs, and through the matter transporter. Doris got over the initial shock and marvelled at the huge base and the scantily clad or naked, pretty girls, walking purposefully around. She held tight to her husband's arm, and hid behind her boys, that walked ahead of them. In a large but empty meeting room, he had her sit down as a few of the Tandra children came forward, and were introduced. Doris was completely taken with their charm, grace, beauty and somehow their intelligence. With the children gone, and her sons' seated beside her, a video began. But it was much more than any she had ever seen before. Its clarity and sound, even feeling came through much better. She saw how Carl was asking to go and help Henry. Charlie was caught and forced to help. She saw the strange ship leave the Earth's atmosphere, and head out of the system. She was in Henry's head, as they planned and practised in the intelligent suits. She remembered overhearing Henry ask Carl to buy him the pipe, and now she saw it striking the approaching ship. Henry and her Carl had boarded the ship and killed the Samutz who had all the right in the world, to protect their lives and property. Henry disabled the ship, and they continued to kill. Henry walked into the quiet room to look for more people to kill, and she saw the face of a child, much like the one she had just met, but this time, on a meat hook. Henry went crazy, and she could see her husband trying to protect his back, along with the intelligent suits. Henry's leg, then his arm, and finally his other leg, were burned off. Carl's leg was badly damaged, and he still followed Henry as he killed all of the Samutz. She cried into her hands, as she understood now, what went on in Henry's mind, and the things he must do, to protect the people he loved. "I am so sorry Carl. I just didn't know." "I know that Doris, but I am sorry, but the film is not over." "What more is there to see? I don't want to see it." "Just watch, it is necessary." She saw the strange sun and the approaching planet. Henry was braking and settling down to the beautiful, but strange landscape in his marvellous suit. She saw through Henry's eyes the fires on the primitive savannah. Henry came down by a cave he wanted to investigate. He talked to the people in orbit, and took some simple weapons, and a far more vulnerable suit to find out. The Samutz only used spears, and wanted to hunt. Out from the cave were dragged a woman and her child. They were about to be killed, when one was killed by Henry again. She knew he tried to only capture the second, till it was killed by the woman. She saw through Henry's perceptions how the Samutz killed and butchered the Tandra, for food and sport. "Turn it off. Turn it off. I don't want to see any more. I am so sorry I ever wanted to help the Samutz. Will you forgive me?" "I will forgive you, but at a price." She was taken back by his reply. "What do you want?" "You are going to get into one of those suits, and learn to fight. Even if you never see battle, I want you prepared just in case. Within four weeks we are all going to Epsilon Eridani, to take the ships that would come to Earth to kill and eat the people here. I have been looking into your mind for a while, and think you would make a good soldier, but our family may also have to fight here. If we fail in Epsilon Eridani, then we will all be eaten. You will stay here, and support your sons, as they protect this system." Doris thought about it for only a few seconds, and knew that her husband was right. "Yes, Carl. I would rather fight, than let us be conquered, but how can I help? I don't know how to fight, and I am old." "I am glad you agreed, but you are not too old. I have another film for you to watch, that is almost as bad, but not dangerous to us. It will be painful, but I know you will need to watch it." "Carl, I don't want to see any more films. I will do as you ask." "No, Doris. You have to see this, to understand." "All right, but sit with me." She watched as Carl, Henry and Susan tried to sell the gold. She could see in Henry's mind what was planned, and what was actually happening. The probes gave much of the additional scenes. She cried at the poor girls, and what they had to go through. She sobbed, "Carl, why did you make me watch that? It was horrible." She could almost hear Carl silently call two names. Doris looked around trying to find why she thought that, till two pretty girls came running up to their seats and flung themselves onto Carl, saying "Daddy, Daddy." Carl had a wide smile, as he arranged the girls on his knees, and said, "Clarice, Michelle I want you to meet your mother." They squealed in joy, and jumped off his lap, and into Doris's. "Are you really our Mommy? We have been waiting so long to meet you. Daddy said you would make us pretty clothes, and read us stories. Com'on I want to show you our room." They dragged their new mommy away to see how they lived. Clarice turned and said, "Are you coming with us too, daddy?" "No, not this time. Just show your mother. She has been waiting a long time, to do this." Doris could only look over her shoulder at Carl, and wonder were all this was heading. Carl said to his boys, "I figured after the first film she would come around. But I think it was necessary to run the other two." Paul replied, "She got a much more edited version than we got. I puked the first time I saw it." Charlie just nodded his head remembering the first time as well. Paul said to Charlie, "How much do you want to bet, that she has me get her sewing equipment, and all the fancy material, so she can start making dresses right away?" "I am not taking that bet, but I doubt if Mom will allow her to make the same types, they wore in New York." Carl hung his head again reliving how close the girls had come to being seriously hurt. "Yes, you are right. Now get along, and see what she does want." By the time the ship got back, Doris had indeed been making clothing for all the children. She studied hard with the tutor, driving herself to learn as much as she could. Once she found out about a small fabricator that could take mental orders, and make the most extraordinary clothing all thoughts of stopping her failed. Carl and her sons got beautifully tailored suits. Susan and I got the same. When Doris remembered our upcoming wedding, she outdid herself in original gowns. She was not discouraged in the least, when Susan turned one down after another, because she could see that Susan did love them, but each was not quite what she wanted. All could be sold in her store, for a lot of money. She dutifully spent her allotted time, in the combat suits, finding out what it was like to fight the enemy, and protect her family and friends. Her waistline decreased, and her biceps increased, to very unladylike proportions. She on occasion, knocked over her sons, when they let their thoughts wander. Blue had come up with a car of sorts. It was comprised of a series of pads, used to roam about a planet's surface. Each could only hold a few hundred kilograms, but the total of eight could handle more that a mini van could safely handle. Small holographic projectors gave the image of just such a van or a pickup truck. A shield kept off the rain and wind, while tractors held people and cargo secure. The configuration was only good for four hundred kilometres an hour, and the onboard computer made even this speed safe. Susan found we had no immediate use for Carlton, so she commandeered the pinnace with Doris and her parents, and loaded all the women and children onboard. They took a kilogram of thousand dollar bills, and left without telling the rest of us anything. Mom was busy making the latest type of virus laden probes, to penetrate a shield, if it were set to its lowest setting. It was less than a centimetre around and its mechanical linkage would allow it to penetrate a shield with very little power of its own. Once enough were inside the ship, some would link up in a hidden spot, to form quite a powerful computer. This would send the other probes all over the ship, using the ships' own transporter system. The program itself would stay resident, and transport the remaining pieces of the computer to all the secondary targets. At the correct time, or if an alarm were given, a specially designed computer virus would attack the computer, and kill as many unprotected Samutz as possible, while taking out the AI. Small ship killer missiles were now made by the thousands, and loaded into pods, that could be pulled behind the tug. We didn't know for sure how effective they would be, so we hoped to error, at least on the side of prudence. On the large screen I saw the troops fighting war games. I was quite sure the probes sent from Earth, would get an eye full. They were using live rounds to blow up protection, for the other side. Occasionally a soldier would be blown back many metres, but remain unhurt. A group of smaller soldiers tried valiantly to take a position, and were cut to ribbons. Their AIs disabling the suit, to make the game as real as possible. The faces were opaque to hide their features, but it was difficult to misplace Jamal Brown's frame. He along with John and Frank spearheaded a drive that allowed the Tandra to get behind the opposing line, and open another front. John was using collapsed matter that worked like rapid fire artillery in its firepower. Two hours later the game stopped, and they all grouped for a good meal, in the open view of the probe. Or at least it looked good; it might have something to do with the way my stomach felt when empty. After a snack myself, I went over to the machine that Doris had been using to make clothing. I knew its lasers and dimensional shift knives, would cut and manipulate almost anything. In the house, amongst the rafters, were some pine boards, I was saving for a project. I retrieved them, and laid them on the cutting table. Thinking of Faith's features, I directed the machine to cut her likeness into a wide board. The image was good, but I needed a slightly different perspective. Thinking of the overall dimensions I directed the machine to cut the dried boards, and it did the job perfectly. Various images were carved into both sides of the head, and the foot panels. Pegs were used to hold the cradle together. I don't think any piece of furniture was ever built, to such exacting specifications. There was enough wood left to do similar cradles for Charity and Hope. Their names were inscribed in both Roman characters, and Tandra. Their surnames were the same as mine. Each image looked like the same baby, but their poses spoke of their individual personalities, as best as I could make them. The blocks of metal from the platinum group of iridium, palladium, and rhodium formed feet, and handy knobs at the top corners, for a finishing touch. When all was done, I got some of Mom's high quality material, and made a mattress with the stuffing from a few pillows I sacrificed, and then made some sheets. I cleaned up, and made some coffee. Later I heard some excited voices, and I knew the girls were back. I had just finished checking with Mom, and found her alter ego was still setting out refurbished missiles, inside the Oort Cloud. She had been replacing the mines that the destroyer had taken out on its original entrance, into the system. Lam came in with a very happy expression, and a towel hanging over her arm, and light sunburn on her face and arms. "Hello, Lam. Where were all of you today?" "You were all so busy that Susan decided to take us all on a holiday. Susan, Doris, Duc and I walked into different stores, and the others on the ship picked out things that they wanted, when they looked through our eyes. You should have seen the pile of clothes, sandals, towels, umbrellas and even bathing suits that the girls had to have, but refused to wear. Susan got all kinds of food. It was a good thing that Blue made that truck to carry everything back, because it was filled so many times, and unloaded into the ship." "Where did you go shopping?" "Only Savannah Georgia, Jacksonville Florida, and Mobile Alabama. We went to all three, because they are on the coast and we didn't want to buy too much, in any one city. Then we found a beautiful and quiet beach in Trinidad. The children had so much fun playing in the water." "I am sorry that we didn't find time to take the children out. It would be fun to see them playing in the water. Any jellyfish stings sunburn or cuts?" A few cuts, but the autodoc takes care of the children very well. All of them had a little sunburn, and the fabulous Tandra medicine fixed that too. Some local children came out from the interior..." "Oh!" "Yes, they were young, and played for about two hours with us. They were healthy children, for they did their best to get around as much food as possible. I must admit that mine did the same." "Mine; Lam?" "Well they have no parents, so they are mine now." "You may go down in history if we all survive. Anything exciting happen?" "The local children we treated with the hand autodoc and removed some parasites, and fixed some cosmetic problems. Duc had some fun." "How did that happen?" "We were in Jacksonville Florida. Duc was shopping for some toys for our children, and some thugs tried to mug him in a mall. Well he found out that the combat suits helped Doris turn into a good fighter, so he tried for quite a few hours to develop his own speed and strength. Looking at him you would still see a man approaching fifty and very thin. The thugs thought he was an easy target. My Duc was so fast and powerful that he laid them out in a few seconds. The people in the mall clapped their hands, at the way he did it. I think I may have problems with him, because he bowed to the people, after the fight." I couldn't help it; I laughed and laughed at the image her words made in my mind. When I recovered enough, I found Lam frowning at me. "I am not laughing at your words, only at the vision of Duc." "You can laugh, but I have to put up with him. Already it is four thugs, not the three that he beat." Before Lam left, Susan, Chris, and Kitten came running in with their children in their arms. They were excited about the cradles, and gave me a kiss each. They did not stop though, and were still very excited. "What is the matter? They are only pieces of furniture." Kitten said, "They are so very beautiful. I could actually tell which child belonged in which cradle, and even I could not tell them apart until you showed me." "It is something that I see with my heart, as much as my eyes. I cannot explain it myself, very well." Chris thanked me to, "Husband, I feel the same as Kitten, and cannot tell the babies apart, but I saw their likenesses, and knew which cradle was for my child." "Henry, they are all so beautiful. When this is all over, I know we can make lots of money making furniture like the ones you have just made." Lam stepped in. She had read their minds, and knew of my construction, but this was the first time she had ever heard one of the Tandra, call me 'husband'. Her studies told her about the male having many wives, but never when one of them was her only daughter. She said frostily, "How many wives do you have Henry?" Before I could answer, Kitten opened her mind and let flow all her feelings that she had when she first awoke. She tried her best to overcome Chris's statement of fact. Later they changed, as she found me, and through me, Susan. She told of her early life with a typical male, and how much I was needed not just by her, but by all Tandra. Lam was becoming upset at what had been going on beneath her nose, since she joined the Tandra cause. "Lam, your daughter has agreed to share her man. If he acted any differently, then we would not be here to enjoy this life, for we would be dead. Do not judge this man by your standards, but by ours. He has done nothing wrong, but on the contrary, has done everything right. We need him as he is, or our race is doomed." "Doomed?" "He fights for his family and his adopted race, not just for his own people. If he did not think so, how do you think he continued to fight after most of his limbs were burnt off, and he should have died? It was only his love for us that kept him fighting, to kill, and eventually to live." "That is right, mother. He fought for each of us. I know, because I sat beside him as he lay in the tank. The only thing that kept him going was the need to protect us." Susan drew a breath and continued. "Even in your culture, it is not unheard of, for a man to have more than one wife. It is not a matter of a man being greedy, and wanting all he can get, but rather all of us needing his strength, to carry on." "I understand, and now that I can read your thoughts, I see that nothing is really wrong. It is just difficult for an old woman to understand all these different ideas." I said, "Lam, it was very difficult for me too. The Tandra way of doing things is sometimes very much different than the way we were raised. I am only doing what I think is right." "I know that. You have always done what is right." "Thank you for understanding Lam." They walked out later, to show Lam the cradles. Her mind was trying to come up with a good way of telling Duc, without causing a break in the family. ------- Death and More Death ------- Chapter 41 About a week later, and right on schedule, the tug version of Mom returned to the base. Almost fifty women disembarked. They looked tired but in good spirits. The only exception was Sadda. She appeared to want to do more, anything, to defeat the hated Samutz. This was a major turnaround for her and I was glad to see it. I would like to see one of her males try to throw her to the wolves next time they met. It seemed a little odd to me to have two Moms at one time, but they worked together to avoid any confusion. We had made plans, long ago, about Earth's defences. This conflicted with our needs for the Epsilon Eridani expedition. The thought of the Samutz coming before we were ready, made each of us worry, and work just a little harder. Work had begun on large fabrication units on both the moon and Earth, to make some of the larger ship components. If we were given enough time, then a few ships of our own could be put into space, but the lack of crystals for the computers, would be a major stumbling block. More men came in all the time now, and formed the second wave of recruits. The 'old hands' did their best to help out. There was quite a bit of show-offs that were able to do astonishing feats of strength and speed to the amazement of the newcomers. The day finally arrived, and all was as ready as we could make it. The old light destroyer, though it had been stripped of usable parts to get Mom completed in the earliest possible time, was again a fighting ship. It would now fight on our side, by protecting the Sol system. Her ribs were replaced or repaired, but all the hull plates could not be made in time, so a shield would adequately protect all within her in any case. She was fitted with many batteries of small galvanized ship killer missiles capable of sixty three percent, the speed of light. They had a small warhead, because they were able of actually penetrating the hull. She was not yet fitted with a processor module, so she wasn't self aware. When the fabrication units came online, she was slated for the first products to cover her naked sides. Carl's sons Charlie and Paul were respectively, the captain and executive officer. Mom had tested both, and thought that at this time, Charlie should lead. Twenty three Tandra males crewed the ship, with twenty three Humans as mates. They were ready to take on any invader that might threaten Earth in our absence. The sensor suite was the best we could produce. The damaged engine could not be repaired in time, so the ship suffered because of its loss. Luckily, they did not work as rockets did, but only suffered a one third loss in speed and acceleration. The mates on the ship were actually that. Men had formed personal alliances with individual Tandra males, and actually formed a family or bondue. The Tandra seemed to bow to the Human's more robust lives, and took the minor role of male wife or funt. This was, as they were made, for Tandra males usually formed families, and there was only one boss in each. The Earth man was the husband or sooda, and seemed to bring out all the warrior qualities in the Tandra male. It remained to be seen, how a couple on a ship could fight, in times of war. The couples felt singled out, when told that they would not be going with us, but staying, to single-handedly, protect this system while we were gone. Even Charlie and Paul asked if they were being kept out of the fight because of their sexual preferences. I had to explain, that many of our own crew were 'married' now and the only reason they were staying, was because I had to entrust our entire race, into someone's hands, I could believe in. They looked into my mind, and saw that I spoke the truth. They felt both humbled and honoured with the tasks, I set before them. Placing new missiles, refurbishing the old, training all the new recruits on the way to run a ship, and finding moments of time, to complete their own repairs, was only some of their jobs. Through a lot of discussion, we decided to let the world finally know what was happening. Mom went on the air, overriding all television channels and some radio stations, in every country. She spoke in the appropriate language and used the correct mannerisms to make her look and sound almost Human. Her eyes and beautiful frame could not be seen, as anything but beautiful and exotic. She spoke for almost three hours explaining about the ancient Tandra Empire, and their current presence here in this system. She told of all the old defences that kept this system free of invaders, for the last two and a half million years. That is, till just a little while ago. The alien's newfound ability to breach our defences, made it necessary to find out more about this race. Our heritage was brought up as a source of pride, and defiance, against anyone with hostile intent coming to this system. She gave one example after another of how our ancestors had bettered all beings in the galaxy, through their minds and hands. She told of the brave men, who were now risking their lives to keep the system safe. She gave such small numbers, that most people believed our quest was hopeless, at best. Two of our number were actually commanding, and many Tandra and Humans served on the ship over their heads in case the Samutz came, when the main group had left. The images aboard the destroyer, as it was taken, was played for almost thirty minutes, and then more at the end of her talk. She explained that the Samutz would soon come to this system, unless they were stopped, and stopped in the strongest possible way. As she was wrapping up her final statements she said, "If we are successful in our endeavours, we will need men and women of good character, to crew the ships we bring back." She explained about the inability of anyone or any group of governments being able to take over the power that the ships represented. Then she dropped her bombshell. "The Tandra and Human allies are able to read minds, to make informed decisions, and communicate better in times of war. The new crewmembers will gain this ability." She had to soften this approach for fear that the Earth would be overrun with Tandra educated Humans. "The people joining us would gradually loose all of their skills, if they leave, before their full term of enlistment is up. Once they retire all of their wealth and knowledge will stay with them. Most will be given land on distant planets, to form a buffer to the area we are protecting." It would be fun to see the governments scheming now to get some of the ships. Perhaps not right away, but in years to come, when they knew the how and why of each device and system. Every space worthy ship left with us, either in Mom's hold, or pulled behind. Long lines of missile pods and defence batteries followed. This time there was no invisibility, for only Mom and Carlton could accomplish the task. A few cadets worked tirelessly in the lunar base, trying to get one more ships repaired in time to help in the defence of all of our homes. Many of the Tandra fought hard for berths, and I knew a much higher proportion of their race flew with me to fight the Samutz. Mom had vetoed some Tandra still in stasis, from being awoken to help, while some others were needed in the present emergency. One of those remaining was Kitten. She felt singled out, because she was the mother of three young children. She alone, was still able to feed her children breast milk, because Chris and Susan had been treated to stop their flow. I tried my best to tell her that it was her duty and obligation to watch out for all the children, along with Duc and Lam. Topaz, Kitty, Cloud, Moth, Roger, Bobby, and the Human girls would also be staying. No matter what I said, she still felt hurt, at not being allowed to fight for her people. Hours into our flight, the euphoria of our trip started to wear off. The men and their equipment were put in their place. Combat simulations continued non-stop for the men and the ship. The deck crew reclined in their padded chairs and tried with their minds to grasp the very fabric of reality, and pulled with power, from the ship's engines. Blue caught on fairly quickly, then Nova. Chris was almost in tears complaining that she was changed to her present form, because she was not as good as the rest, when using her mind like this. I held her tight, "I believe in you, and so does Mom. I can pick from all the Tandra and I picked you. Do you think I could be mistaken in a matter like this?" She tried harder, and Mom happily told her that she was getting it. We were not at the Mardaf Limit yet, and all the training was just that, training. I did my best too, and found as I expected, that my accomplishments would be minor. Carl, though not part of the deck crew, did even better than me. I said privately to Mom, "Would it be better, to have Carl captain this ship?" "It certainly wouldn't. He is only able to do this because you are here to help him. Close your eyes and visualize the bonds between you and your extended family. They are strong and sure. Almost all of the strong ones lead back to you and you alone. Work with the others, and you will find that one learns the knack, and then they can share the knowledge with the rest. He also has other duties to keep him occupied. The men are becoming restless this far from home. This is not like getting on a ship, and just travelling around your small globe." "I will try Mom." I said, not knowing if I could do any better. As we came to the limits of our system, Mom cut away the defensive batteries, that might take out any attacker to make it in this far. Carl was called away to quell a fight, that had started because of nerves. Once past the limit, our speed increased as we slipped into the higher dimensions. Mother projected a graph of our speed and it went up to almost two hundred times the speed of light. There were two dozen chairs for the deck crew. Only eleven were presently filled. Sandy and Star held hands the same way as Amy and Nema. Susan walked around trying to force her mind into the correct procedure to move the ship faster. Mom here was at a disadvantage, for she could not function as well in these higher dimensions, and relied on our intellects to help move the ship forward. Secric just held out her arms and hugged her best friend. "You will get it, I know you will." Sadda and her daughter Nema, more or less had demanded places amongst my wives, as part of the deck crew. We all reclined, and tried for real, this time to pull the ship along at a faster pace. I peeked, and saw that we were at a paltry five times Mom's max. For over an hour we tried, and rose very little, till we began to slack off at the strain it had on us. I called a break and we went to our suite. Food, hot and plentiful, helped deaden our own self-reproach. "Don't worry; we will do better next time." I said. "Not everybody can even do as well as we just did." This was the truth, but all of us were shooting for Mom's goals. The day was only partially over, and I felt sweaty from the mental strain, and decided to take a shower. Naturally everybody else joined me. We formed a loop, and did each others back. I massaged Sadda's back, as I soaped hers. She groaned at the pleasure, I was giving her. I guess she never heard of the massage previously. Before long all of us were doing the same. Amy was behind me, and could not reach my shoulders, so she worked on my upper legs. Her hands took the path around my hips, but also came between my legs. My cock started to grow as her soapy hand did their work. Amy's excitement and mine spread to the others, like wild fire, and back again to Amy. Her head came around, as I moved under the water and she sucked me into her tiny mouth. Soap even the Tandra variety, did not taste very good. All pretence at washing stopped. The trouble was that everyone wanted to do me, or start an instant orgy. "Ladies," I exclaimed, "let's get washed quickly, and go to bed." They washed the fastest I had ever seen, being almost brutal in their endeavours of getting any foul odours removed. Even with the high efficiency of the cleansers, all were in the bedroom slightly damp. Nova was the closest, and I chose her first. She, like the other Earth Tandra had adjusted to me, and wanted to lie on her back, to be mounted. Looking around the room, only Sadda and Nema were in the prone position. I held Nova in my arms. I nibbled her ear, and that seemed to drive her crazy. I could feel all the others react to my simplest touch, as if nine copies of me did the same things to the others. My lips followed my hands to her breast. Here again I gently nibbled and sucked. Her back arched as she tried to push more of her into my mouth. Her hands came to the back of my head to hold me captive, at this spot. I nibbled some more and was able to move to her other breast, before I continued my delicate torture. "More husband, more," she demanded. When her back straightened, I took her hands in mine, and spread them to keep her from holding me. I kissed down her ribcage taking my time and worrying small portions of her delicate flesh. She struggled, trying to hold me in one place long enough for her to have an orgasm. I monitored her mind as best I could, and stopped just short of her completion every time. Again and again I did this, to drive her into a sexual frenzy. Around me I could hear the moaning of the women in heat. They held one another, as if this would bring their completion. My own excitement was getting so high, that I had to enter my mind and turn down my responses. When I came to her mons, her pelvis was frantically thrusting for any stimulation that would push her over the last hurdle. Being careful of her response, I licked the inside of her thigh, close to her knee and slowly headed to her centre. Her smell entered my head, she smelt like no other Human, but close, and much more refined and heady. Her legs had spread to the maximum, and she pulled her knees up to her chest. Nova's back was bent to best offer me herself. I slowed down, even more and even blew across her highly sensitive clit, as it stood proud almost eight centimetres outside of her open slit. The urge to suck on her was very strong, both from within me, and from all the psychic pressure, from the women without. I brought my mouth close, and I could feel the expectation of their final release when I found the strength to resist, and only exhale around the quivering head. The penis like structure waved back and forth, trying to get some extra stimulation, as Nova tried to drive it into my mouth. "Nova, reach out with your hands that Mom told you about and pull me into you. Reach out; further; further; pull; pull with all your might, so you will slide into me." I used a compartment in my mind, to keep track of the ship's progress, and saw the multiple climb higher than we had done before. "All of you pull me into you, more..." The multiple went over a hundred as I brought my lips to only a millimetre away. "A little harder and you will have me; pull." I knew this was working, as I gave the gentlest of touches with my tongue to the length of her clit. They were on a razors edge, desperately wanting to orgasm. "Pull my wives. Make me proud." The graph now went to over a hundred and thirty and I relented and sucked hard on Nova's distended clit. From all around I felt their release. Hands held the bed, and in an orgy of feelings, pulled even harder, making their orgasm even stronger. I held tight to Nova, and continued to suck. She thrashed with the sensations flowing through her body. Her hips tried to repeatedly thrust into me. Her hands came to my head, to make sure I remained at this most sensitive spot. After a minute they began to recover, and I eased off on my attack. Nova relaxed and I crawled up to her other lips, and gently kissed her. "I love you Nova," I said. She looked at me and her eyes said that she knew and returned it. I went around the room and sorted the girls into pairs, in a 69 position. I laid Blue on her back and positioned Sadda over her last. She was reluctant to let me see, that she enjoyed her time with other females. "Make love to her, Sadda." I commanded. Her face went down and she tasted her new lover. I got behind her and with the help of some of Mom's lubricant, and slowly entered her. Everybody stopped to feel the penetration. Sadda's daughter groaned the loudest, as she felt the equivalent of a phantom cock enter her. Holding her hips for stability, I felt the head of my cock slide over the small bumps, within her vagina. I went excruciatingly slow, for I knew she would orgasm with any additional stimulation. "Pull, all of you pull. The ship surged ahead again as the girls worked together. I visualized a long swim uphill as a spermatozoon cell might have to travel to fertilize an egg. The girls represented the egg that was to meet me half way. They pulled hard, as I struggled to meet them. As we got close, I pumped faster into Sadda. She was able somehow to hold off, knowing the release was coming very soon. As the girls in my mind met me, I ejaculated seven times into Sadda. She screamed in a paroxysm of emotions, as she and the rest came with me. I felt my image pulled even closer to them, and pushed into the large egg. The women flexed their pelvises trying to milk me of my discharge, as they groaned in sympathy. I was squeezed out, and I found a clear space to lie down. Susan disengaged herself from Secric, and frantically sucked my member into her mouth, savouring the taste, while Secric continued licking Susan. I held her by the chin and looked into her loving eyes, as she did this for me. Blue had flipped the stunned Sadda over on her back, and proceeded to lick any of the spend that had come out. I was ready to move Susan into position to give her quaking body more of the same treatment when Mom said, "Captain, Carl is coming with a concern about the trip we are now making." "Thanks Mom. I'll get dressed, and see him." Carl was indeed concerned. Apparently the girls and I had overdone the drives, and the inertial compensators had not been able to keep up fully. This would be the next thing to improve on if possible. The amount of power we controlled was fantastic, but the amount we used to propel the craft came to almost all of it. There was little left for the compensator, and Mom had to actually cut back to allow more power to be diverted. "What the fuck happened, Henry?" He exclaimed. "Well Carl, Mom can only make the ship go so fast. This hull is made to pull very heavy loads and has the strongest engines for her size of any ship ever made. We have been able to drive her to the max and the power needed made the compensator flutter at the high load. There was no danger other than the sudden changes of up to a little over two gravities." "How is that? When I tried, we got her speed multiplied by almost eight times." "I was encouraging the girls, and we made it to over a light year per hour. We actually made it up to a hundred and fifty six, times Mom's two hundred times light speed for a moment or two." "How the hell did you do that?" "I told you before about natural bonding, well I bonded better with my wives, and we moved the hull along faster than expected. Now all we have to do is find a way to do it all the time instead of in spurts." "I would appreciate that. We have two people getting treated now from an unexpected fall." When Carl left to explain the matter to the men, Mom told me, "You and your wives are able to channel more raw power, than I have ever heard of before. Never has any group been able to perform as strongly so soon. You have momentarily reached the arbitrary maximum of one hundred and sixty, twice. Nobody has ever gone faster. It is a shame, that I can produce no additional power." "What about the large war ships, they can theoretically go much faster?" "They have a very large converter that takes the energy from a high energy universe and directs it to another that has a very low energy level. The device is very large and it takes a very large generator using lithium/anti-lithium reaction to open the portals. That amount of lithium reaction is very dangerous, because I am not able to stop all of the harmful radiation." "I remember studying the larger warship propulsion principles. Why can't we use a small lithium reactor, to open a small portal in the converter, and use the power generated, to open the portal a little bigger. There must be enough energy to feed back into the system, to get it open it very wide and only have a controllable amount of radiation." "I doubt if that was ever tried. The only problem I could see is the possibility of a runaway reaction, where the converter is allowed to take in too much energy, and self-destruct. I think the energy discharge would be the equivalent of a stellar nova. I will have to work on that, in my spare time." The time to Epsilon Eridani in Carlton was about sixteen days but only two and a half subjectively. It was barely twelve hours, with the added impetus given by the ladies and myself. Mom sent our small probes ahead of us. They were to warn us of any danger, and to come through the still intact ring of Tandra defence platforms with our clearance code. The Samutz had not even stripped out the dangerous missile platforms, but had simply used the same cleared corridor all the time. Our passive scanners still showed the same three ships. The Continental class carrier must have had a training session going on, for the fighters were in a mock battle, with the Omicron class battleship. There were using low energy discharges, from both sides, and the struck fighters were pulled to one side by the carrier's tractor beams. We hid in EE3's shadow, because of all the energy disturbances within the planet itself. A tight beam transmission brought Sandra to us. Mom scanned her as best she could, and I got the distinct impression she was a little jealous of Sandra's stealth abilities. A quiet exchange of cargo took place. This was all the production the tiny moon was capable of doing, in so short a time. Almost six hundred crystals had been produced, and many were very large. Sandra had been getting updates whenever possible, from the hidden base in the city. Its sensors would already know that we were here, and send out the most current information. Carl stood at my shoulder, and looked at the mass of warships before him. It was one thing to see a picture, but quite another to know that they were only a missile throw away. Men and Tandra alike stood all through the ship, mesmerized at the same sight. I got from many sources, the feeling of incredulity, at trying to take on these behemoths. A drone from Masis came in. Mom read it and said, "The exercise was in preparation for the invasion of Sol and some other outlying areas. They know of its limited abilities but thought it prudent to keep cautious in this matter, and treat this as a training exercise, and to improve discipline. They think it probable that we have taken their light destroyer. The practice is scheduled to end in two hours. What are your orders Admiral?" Earth was going to be attacked soon and this was the only force capable of putting up a resistance, and now the rank change. "Admiral! Just a few minutes ago, you called me Captain." "Now you must decide what to do about this system, and your home planet, before you just commanded this ship." I took Carl aside, and talked to him about the situation. With Mom, we discussed travel time, and the best method of deployment. The Samutz crews would be tired and less vigilant an hour or two, after the exercise was over. That would be the best time to begin our attack. I stood beside Mom's holograph and addressed the soldiers going up against impossible odds, and said, "The exercise you just saw was in preparation for an attack on Earth. If we do not stop them now, then there is no hope that Earth will succeed. Many of you have heard Sadda's story, and you know what the Samutz will do to their fallen enemies. I will not let that happen to my family, friends, or neighbours." Mom spoke of how proud she was of the Humans and the Tandra that would now fight for their respective races. Everybody knew her for a machine intelligence, but all seemed to love her almost as much as I did. As per our original planning, missile pods were slowly propelled towards the three unsuspecting ships. They would fly safely through the field of defensive missile batteries, an area that the Samutz would consider safe and thus not be monitored as heavily. Carlton and some of the other ships were removed from the hold, in preparation for their need to rescue and recover wounded, or to guide missiles to their target. Larger probes would travel down to the major city, on the surface, and release their cargo, the same time as the ones on the ships did. The smaller probes were launched along the same course, as the missile pods. Mom had worked the virus down to just six hours now, one hour to get the probes into position and another to get them placed strategically aboard their targets. Mom's tractors threw the warriors toward their targets two hours later. Their voyage would bring them to the ships as the last of the Samutz were hopefully dying. I could hear many mental conversations, between the men, and others with the Tandra. They tried to put on a big front, but all of us knew, that two hundred and ninety three soldiers clothed in combat suits, was no match for three such ships, and their nearly one hundred thousand crew members. Our paltry reserve, of only sixteen suits stood ready if needed. Susan walked back and fourth not used to combat situations. Carl, who I had to order not to leave with the men, sat in a chair apparently at ease, but his eyes never left the display or his mind the conversations of the men. The other fifty one persons on board, I knew, had their own fears on what might happen. I felt proud, that none of them wanted to just shoot the ships down, for they knew that these same ships might be the only thing between their families, and a possible Samutz armada. Two hours later Mom sent a tight beam signal to Souts the main city on Samutz occupied Masis. Moments later a confirming signal came back, indicating that the king was dead, long live the king. The main computer was usurped, and the hidden one under the base, was now secretly in command. A further signal from Mom to Souts and rebroadcast strongly, but hidden in an innocuous message, told the probes to spread their contagion throughout the ships. Four hours should render the Samutz ineffective as a fighting force and two more hours would kill everyone exposed. Mom convinced me to allow the AIs another two hours till just before the first signs of the disease would be seen. This would allow the doomed fleet to function as usual, which meant that the Samutz would travel all over the ship, without shields and become infected, or infect others. Four and a half hours before the boarding parties were to begin their house cleaning; the proverbial shit hit the fan. It was not as we expected, someone that was alert, giving the warning but worse, far worse. The Theta class dreadnaught was tearing back into the system, the same way it did last time. "Mom, are you getting any communications from that ship?" "It is all encrypted." "Use the tight beam and get the message from the new base AI in Souts, and try for the key that will do the decryption." "Yes, Admiral." The information came back, that the arriving admiral aboard 'The Iron Claw' was here to pick up some more fresh meat, for the wedding feast. Over twenty tonnes were required of prime Tandra. This would require a substantial portion of the population being butchered. This Claw was almost five million tonnes and easily the largest in the system, or perhaps any system. Its presence at this time could easily spell disaster. Before we were only five hundred to one, now the figure climbed to almost double that. Susan asked, "What are we going to do? It is possible to take the planet and the ships, but just possible. That monster has no virus, and even if it did, it will take six hours to even begin to take it over. I think we should just shoot it down." "No virus... I have an idea. Mom, do you have enough data to get a small ship admitted to the dreadnaught with a distress message?" "I am getting a steady stream of data now from Souts. I think I could manage it. What have you in mind?" I want a small ship to go out of the system and return on the same course as the dreadnaught. It has to get admitted into its bay, complaining of intermittent engine problems. An image, of the average Samutz pilot, delivering a special message to Masis, the computer should mimic his actions and deliver the verbal dialogue, to get onboard. The outer hull will have the virus probes on it, and as soon as we get the ship in, the probes go to work. If I am lucky, our ship will have a minor explosion before the deception is uncovered. I want as little damage as possible, to the other ship. In all the confusion, the probes will do their work to the Samutz and the AI." The dreadnaught was four hours out and it was only four hours till the infantry attacked the other ships. It was still decelerating to the Mardaf Limit. Our little drone ship was made to look like a military courier. Mom had quickly doctored the computer onboard, and added the ability to show a composite image of the pilot, as he would appear to the camera above his communicator. Mom had thousands of the virus probes, and we decided to use five hundred, double the amount we used on all the other ships combined. After the programming, she sent it out with directions to the Masis base to inform our target of its arrival in one hour, and ask for the dreadnaught's assistance. The time had long passed for the AIs on the other ships to be rendered useless. Even the computers were in shutdown mode after opening all doors and hatches to vacuum. Some Samutz had managed to energize their suits, but they were mostly hurt from the rough handling they got as they fought the torrent air leaving their ships. Very few fighters flew about searching for survivors. We had timed this portion of the attack after the arrival of the Claw, to occur on the other side of the planet from the approaching ship. Our courier matched velocity with the Claw. The Samutz in command smelt something fishy, and the drone was not allowed onboard. "Mom, tell the drone to not push it. It will just offer to fly tandem with the dreadnaught into the system if its systems allowed, but make it slower than the Claw." "I hope you know what you are doing?" The ploy worked, and the drone entered the forward flight bay. The person in charge did not like the idea of waiting around for the courier. All communications stopped, when it was within the shield, but I could see the probes in my mind ordering the computer to send them all over the ship. The computer virus took command at this point, and shuffled the small orbs to other strategic areas. Two minutes after entry, the small engines exploded killing a few Samutz I hoped. Five minutes later the AI of the Claw was catatonic, and the computer just waited for the signal to vent all the air into space. Messages went out from the ship telling of the explosion and death of three crew members, and the entire crew on the courier. Masis asked that all effort be made to recover the important cargo onboard the courier. The gambit seemed to work, because there did not appear to be any recriminations in the incident. The shoddy maintenance was an accepted fact, and deaths from accidents were common. Susan asked, "Are you still proceeding with the attack? It will begin just as the ship gets into orbit. They will kill everybody." "They would have to kill their own people, and destroy their shipping. I think when they do get here, that they will be in no condition to bother us. An hour before, I will have their computer dump the air and kill as many as possible. They should have so many problems, that finding more, will not be a factor." We all waited around the display and listened to the reports from Souts and the mindspeak from our people. The contagion in the city was driving the Samutz out in droves, trying to escape. Hopefully they would spread it to other groups, and make the final confrontation more to our benefit. Sadda watched with glee as vehicles fled from the stricken city, and crashed as the driver was overcome with the virus. Susan was the only person not one hundred percent behind the virus idea. Her sense of fair play thought this a horrible thing to do, while her memory played the condition I came back to her before, with much of me shot off. The two ideas were incompatible and still she tried to think of an alternate plan, even though she knew it was futile. Our probes and scanners swung around to see the Claw. We watched as all the hatches suddenly opened and both Samutz and materiel vanished into the void. The last step was up to us, for no other group could attack the Claw. We were here for relief of tired and injured soldiers, and as a backup if things went wrong. It certainly looked that way at the present. "Henry, the ship has stopped its engines. The course will cause it to graze the Masis atmosphere, and shift direction into its primary." "Mom, what is the chance of you imitating a Samutz ship, and gently altering its course to miss the atmosphere?" "Not too likely. They will see the other ships open to vacuum, and assume that I am part of the attacking force." I tried to think of a way to lessen our danger but save the ship. This particular vessel would give any enemy pause to consider other options, if they entered the Sol system. "Mom, if we wait longer to let more Samutz become non-combatant, do you have enough power to alter the Claw's course? What are our chances of survival then?" The probes targeted the bridge and officers' quarters first. If they are too sick to act like I believe, then the chances are more favourable." "Then plot a course to get us to the Claw, just in time to keep the ship from being destroyed. You better broadcast the code at that time, to turn off all the defences in the system." Fifty three minutes later we proceeded at two hundred gravities, and matched up with the bow of the dreadnaught. There were weapon hatches that could swallow us entirely, never mind their discharge. Mom's tractors flashed out, and her mighty engines strived to slowly change the course of the leviathan. Long minutes passed, and Masis grew dramatically in our display. My eyes, or perhaps my emotions, saw no change. Switching to my internal tactical display, I saw our course. The problem I saw was that Mom was going to use the upper atmosphere, to help bounce the ship into the path she wanted. The danger to us and the Claw from heat was enormous. Travelling at nearly twenty three thousand metres per second, Mom's shield expanded to shield the leading edge of the Claw, for even an unprotected Dreadnaught would be destroyed, in the heat generated by such a close approach. Susan held my hand as she fearfully saw how close we would come. "Don't worry, we will make it," I said. My mind was closed, because I didn't know for sure if it was really true or not. Carl said nothing, and his mind was closed too, but I saw a bead of sweat, trickle down his cheek, in the cool room. We heard groaning from some of the structural members, as more and more load was applied to them. I desperately wanted to get some reassurance from Mom herself, but I thought that she would need all her energies directed to this job. Our view of Masis became blurry, as we entered atmosphere at this tremendous speed. I felt the temperature go up, and checked my internal monitors and found it still the standard twenty nine degrees Celsius that the Tandra preferred. The groaning intensified, even my mug of coffee vibrated off the table, and splashed on my leg and floor. At any other time, Mom would have caught it, and not allowed even a drop to be wasted. Susan hand squeezed mine painfully, till she realized what she was doing. "When will we know?" "Don't worry we will be..." The view cleared, and the stars regained their bright pinpoint hardness. "See. We are clear now and the ship and us are safe." Mom worked for a few more minutes to set the ship into a path of our liking and out of the system. If the ship regained any control, she could fire on the other ships if she thought them lost to us. We then left for the battle already brewing for the ownership of the remaining Tandra warships. Mom, Carl and I, handled most of the orders. Surprisingly it was the light destroyer that was giving the most trouble. Far less of the crew had succumbed to the virus, and major sections of the hull were turned to rubble as large weapons destroyed ribs and plating alike. I sent six of our reserves into this fray. Carlton came in close and dropped them off and disappeared. The likeliness of someone at the manual controls to the weapons was slim but still present. Carlton's actions caught the eye of one of three fighters looking for somebody to attack. Quite a few of our small ships had been destroyed by theses fighters, as they tried to go and recover the injured. Beams of energy sprung out questing for a larger ship that could support this attack. We were found within moments, as the beam stayed on our invisible form. Mom's shield would not stand up to the weapons the fighter would sport. I took all of my wives minds, and directed them to flee at our fastest pace. A plan formed, and as we accelerated, Mom's tractor snatched the luckless ship and flung it at another fighter coming to the first's assistance. The tractor won out, and the ships collided into a bright blaze, as all their considerable energies, were dissipated at one time. We stopped and reversed course, and went after a third fighter. This one dodged, and did its best to escape, but its AI was the only thing driving the machine and was no match for us. Mom used two tractors, to physically pull the ship apart, and leave it for the clean up later. "Henry, a ship is trying to escape." I saw a heavily armed ship about Mom's size shoot out of the battleship and head for open space, and the safe corridor through the mines. This eventuality had been discussed and plans accordingly made. Two of our missile pods automatically fired one missile each. The first was shot down, but the second pierced the shield, and blew up within the confining volume. Immediately the shield dropped, and the only thing propelling the ship was its own inertia. "Good shooting, Mom," I said, even though she had no direct control over the platform now. "Thank you, Admiral." The ship had been turned to a globular form of dust, and small particles, from the force of the blast. We travelled among the ships taking on both wounded and dead from the remaining small ships. Susan, Secric and some of the cooks turned medics, worked with Carlton, performing the same task, as we tried to carry out. Most of the dead Tandra I hardly knew, but the sight of only the upper torso brought back the nightmares of my first ship. The sight of the young looking people burnt, bleeding and dead made me remember all the old reasons why war was so bad. Jamal Brown who had cheated death with Carl and I in Nam, and again from cancer, was not as fortunate this time. He and Seth Branson, one of his best friends, were charred ruins, and their suits had failed the horrific energies thrown at them. Frank Rocco, who brought them in, mindspoke through his silent tears, of how they had rushed to save him, and a group of Tandra males, caught in an ambush in a forward hold. Others were far luckier, for they had been burned and dismembered, but still alive, thanks to the suits. The women stripped the casualties and put them into stasis immediately. The suits were being repaired, as fresh troops went out to relieve their friends. Tired soldiers exchanged suits, and fresh men and Tandra went out to fight. It was even harder to fight this battle from where I was. The urge to set up a command post in one of the disputed ships was great. Frank Rocco's words of an ambush, that I might have foiled, tested my resolve to the limit. In the coming hours, the only combat ready adults to stay out of the fray were my wives, Carl and me. Sadda had donned a suit, and chocked up a few kills, thinking of all her friends and relatives, that the Samutz had killed recently, and over the years. Even Nema wanted to follow her mother, till I ordered her to help the wounded, and time was too short for her to consider it again. Reports from Souts, told of almost one hundred percent mortality in the city. Thousands had fled and some possibly survived. Probes sent out to follow the survivors, showed that they indeed met up with small groups far from the city. The carrier was ours now. Teams scoured the ship looking for Samutz trying to find sanctuary in small hidden places. Some of our soldiers were transferred to the Omicron class we code named 'Nautilus' after its many twists and turns. The light destroyer was still a pain in our sides. The Samutz were much better trained, and put up much more resistance. Armed combat probes were sent out to hunt them down. The Samutz shot them down consistently. When they were all gone, I sent out many more unarmed probes commanded by individual groups. This time, any Samutz fire was answered by much more of our own. A message from the Nautilus came for me, from brevet Lieutenant Roderick. "Admiral, we have come to some sealed doors. There is pressure behind them, and it seems to be a self-contained unit. We hacked into the surveillance system, and see row on row of Tandra and others. They seem to be in stasis. Another group of thirty or so is conscious. Five hostiles look to be holding them hostage. If we blow the door, all of them will die. What would you like me to do?" "I doubt if they are holding them hostage, but they will kill them, if they see that they are lost. Can you form an airlock on a wall, and use a controller to peal back the bulkhead, and work in behind them?" "We are already trying that. Considering the possibility of heavy civilian loses, I wanted to inform you of the situation first." Carl tried to take over this operation. I could see his worry that I would act as I had before. "You look after it then, Carl. I know you will do your best." I blanked my mind to the Nautilus, and expended all of my abilities to the destroyer. A belated idea came to me. "Sandra, I want you over at the destroyer, and use your instruments to help us find the Samutz." Her sensors were indeed much better than ours. Thirteen Samutz were found and disposed of. In a lockup off the repair bay, twenty seven Tandra were found still alive. They were the ones that did the intricate repairs to the computer modules, and all the finer equipment. I ordered them brought to us, but they were an unknown quantity, and ordered a guard be put on them. Their living quarters changed little, as I had to question each of them. We left probes monitored by some of the smarter ships, while all of us descended on the Nautilus. Lieutenant Roderick had indeed got behind the Samutz. His armed probes kept them busy, while his men armed with the Roman short sword finished them off. Sandra methodically scoured the ship, and found two dozen Samutz trying to escape a similar fate. Forty eight Tandra technicians were also rescued, to join their fellows in our brig. Admiral or no admiral, I had a difficult time getting to the Nautilus. Mom was worried, and constantly found jobs, that only I could handle. Almost twenty four hours after the original probes were launched; the ships in orbit were completely ours. Our losses were almost thirty percent, only eight men, eleven female Tandra and nine male had actually died. From the respect the men showed the Tandra, I knew that they had been accepted. Their losses far outweighed their small numbers, for half of each Tandra group had been wounded or died in the taking of these ships. The Tandra had more than pulled their own weight, and killed more of the enemy, than their numbers indicated. Tears came to my eyes for I knew that the loss of one would make Nema an orphan. I had not come to grips with her loss myself. I was not a man to make love to a woman, and disregard her afterwards. There was always a bond, that even time, could not completely extinguish. Off to the side, I saw Amy trying to comfort Nema. They both cried in each other's arms, trying to understand how all of this happened. Amy though the same age, said that she would look out for her. I knew a bond was gaining much strength in this matter. I would have gone and given what help I could, but time was too critical. With probes and Sandra policing the ships, I worked my way to the aft crew area. "Mom is it all right to enter? I don't want to frighten the newcomers." "I think you should remain away from them, till Susan and the others get them settled." I walked back, thinking of what we had managed to stop. Children as young as newborns had been groomed and pampered in the medical section to make them as healthy as possible. Over two hundred more males, females and especially children were fated to join the wedding feast. Four hundred others of three races were to meet the same destiny. Softay, a marsupial race of intelligent beings, approximately a metre high with lustrous blond fur comprised the majority. Mom had reports of a planet that had an emerging race much like these beautiful creatures here. The report was old but could still be true. These were still in stasis along with a reptilian race of T'aut. The T'aut's ancestors were lizards. They were very intelligent, walked on hind legs, and were warm blooded. From Mom's files I knew them to be the least offensive of any race imaginable. Their society was very old, and never rose very high, because the drive to do so was not as strong as in other races. There was never many of them, and the Tandra thought it fortunate, to even see one in the flesh. The final race comprised only twenty three members. The Tandra name was Vauntu. They were over two metres tall and very thin. Their pale skin covered a frame much like a humans or Tandra. Their heads were large to support a large brain. Physically they were very weak, but mentally they were warriors. This was one of the races that I was told about that took Tandra knowledge, and bit the hand that fed it. On many occasions the Tandra had to come, and remove the Vauntu from the throats of other unsuspecting and undeveloped race. They were not to be trusted, with anything other than their own self interest. I decided to keep all of them in stasis, till things had settled. As much as I hated to do it, Mom, Carl and Secric convinced me to send the new Tandra into stasis too. The 75 liberated Tandra were interrogated by Mom, to find out what they knew. These Tandra were better educated, than I hoped. Their capturers had tried to restrict the amount of information that they could gain access to, but were largely unsuccessful. Mom was making a report for me to go over, with her when we had a few free moments. Mom used her mighty engines to stabilise the orbits of our new ships. Carlton kept pace with the derelict Claw, till we were ready to take it on. Of the original three hundred and nine member fighting force only a hundred and eighty nine were ready to fight. That figure could be raised by almost fifty more if it included all the bridge crew, cooks and the walking wounded. Of the original two hundred and ninety three combat suits only a hundred and seventy were still serviceable. The rest were being cannibalised to get a few more ready. Mom's sensors picked up the derelict ship, and told us, "The ship is still without power. The shield is down, and all the bays are open. Small energy signatures are visible all over the ship, especially in weapons control. If this ship has three hundred thousand Samutz onboard, then we can expect anywhere from five to twenty five thousand hostiles, to have survived. Do you think it wise to pursue this matter? They surely know that we will come after them." "That many Samutz may be enough to get the ship running, and even turn around, and retake the system. If we can't take the ship, we will have to destroy it." ------- Chapter 42 I brought Carl over, and talked to him about the situation. We had discussed splitting the forces before, but gave those scenarios a low probability then. "Carl, I want you to take this planet and keep it for us. Most of the Samutz are dead. If our estimates hold true, there will only be about three percent immune and another three to ten percent that would be warned in time and raise their shields or not allowed other Samutz to approach. This means you only need to remove from nine to twenty five thousand individuals." "Is that all! There are just a little over two hundred combat suits and only a few more people to wear them. The planet has been theirs for centuries, and they know it better than we do. They have food and resources..." "You forget Carl, that we have nominal control of all the bases there now, and some completely unknown to the Samutz. There is plenty of food, and the main base is now ours, with the active help of the AI. There have to be automated fabricating units, and if you can get the locals to assist in spotting the Samutz, then you have a much smaller job." "A job like this requires a few armies, not three hundred men and Tandra." "A day ago, we took three ships with almost a hundred and fifty thousand hostiles, fifty thousand more than we anticipated. What is so difficult about taking a planet with up to twenty five thousand combatants? Before we were outnumbered 500 to one and now it is only 80 to one. It should be a piece of cake." "Cake, my ass. We had surprise on our side, then." "You still do. They don't know what or who is going to be knocking at their door, and when you arrive, you will make them curious to see who you are. Besides, they have much less equipment to draw on. I also need most of the men to come with me. There are many more places that need a small group of men to go in, and do what is necessary. Your forces will be much smaller and with the equipment available to you, a dozen should do." "A dozen. Are you out of your mind? It cannot be done with that many." Mom entered the conversation for the first time and said, "Henry is right. We have superiority in space, and can see any move they make. Weapons can be used from orbit, to find and destroy them. Doesn't Tandra doctrine dictate that you go and draw enemy fire, while ship and space based weapons, destroy their positions?" Carl did some serious thinking. One of the things he considered was the term 'space superiority'. It was once used as 'air superiority' in his younger day, and meant a lot to any force, on the ground. "Henry, I want some of those fighters. This way I will have air superiority as well. I don't want my men to be attacked from the air. I remember how we felt, when our own forces were attacking the Cong, and either the enemy or our own forces came a tad too close. The men need more training in the equipment, and I want Carlton at least to stay with us." I asked Mom if the ships could be converted, and if they could be trusted to go after their old masters, and she could see no reason for denying Carl. She said, "The fighters are already the correct configuration for Humans. The individual ships can be done one at a time, but the fastest way is to bring the carrier over to our way of thinking, and allow it to do the reprogramming. There are some larger and more modern war ships, in the battleship's boat bays, and they would work much better than Carlton." I could feel some of Carl's relief, at getting much more than he asked for. "I want Sandra down here to scout the city, so that we know if there will be any Samutz left at our backs. Can I get control of the satellites and their weapons? Are there any security cameras covering the other towns, that I could tap into? If not, can I get probes out to all of them a soon as possible, to find out what I am up against?" Mom tried her best to give Carl all that he wanted or needed, but felt she wasn't getting enough from the new authority in Souts. The satellites and ground based defences were ours, or in the possession of the AI in Souts. Clouds of combat drones and repeaters descended on the planet. Souts was first, and then spread out in four major divisions to scour the smaller cities, and old Tandra bases for the enemy. The data came in, and was recorded. The probes that found their quarry, watched, till men would come down and battle for final possession of the planet. A serious shortcoming was their transmitters, they were easily spotted, and the Samutz just hunkered down, till they passed. The new units needed a repeater, with much more power and close by, to relay the information. Carlton descended empty, and was not shot at. His hold, full of supplies for the men and few Tandra, still able to fight. Mom called me to her inner sanctum, for a private briefing. "Why do you need me here, Mom? You can place the crystals yourself, and then program them." "That is true Henry, but I want the ships to be programmed by you. It is not right for an AI like me, to make too many copies of herself." "What are you talking about? You are kind, thoughtful, and the best person I can think of, to have in that and any other ship, we get." "You may think so, but I have programming built into me, that is difficult to break. I think at one time, an AI must have self-replicated itself to such an extent, that the Tandra felt threatened. I was able to do it once, so I am in the Earth base and here. To do more, would be unbearable to me." "Ok, Mom. I will do as you ask. What would you like me to do?" "You are already doing it, but it would be better if you went to sleep, so I can get the deeper memories." Later, I awoke with a little headache, and a feeling of disorientation, that was greater than usual for this room. "How did it go, Mom?" "Fine, just relax a moment, let me help you with the headache, and the crystals will be done." Mom presented me with the two of largest crystals I had ever seen, and a smaller one, that was still larger than any in the Sol system. The larger size was almost a metre long and at least twenty centimetres across at its widest point. They all glowed brighter than any crystal I had yet seen. I could almost feel the presence in each of their structures; all were pulsating with a palpable vitality. In some odd and inexplicable way, I felt like the warrior, who picks up a sword possessed by a mighty spirit. Three pieces of dense dark cloth materialized, and I covered each of the crystals to hide their identity. As I left the computer room, I knew what I must do. I walked to a doorway, and found Susan and Secric in scrounged battle suits, waiting for me. It felt nice to have such pleasant company, for I knew that my first job, the carrier was secure. I stood at the shield and looked as the monster ship grew larger in my eyes. This ship did not have the regular features that all the very small ships had. Antennas and sensors went out in all directions, open bays still contained fighters as if ready to jump out and take on any enemy. Rough edges and structures made me think a mad man had designed this awesome fighting machine. The relatively defenceless ship, had millions of missile batteries and large bore disintegrators, that could swallow a tug like us. The smaller two-man fighters were for the most part like smaller versions of Mom's tug hull. Not quite egg shaped but had a length of four metres, a height of a little over one and a width of two. The shape was nothing like an aircraft designed to fight in the atmosphere of a planet, but it could. With its shield and air displacement mechanism, it could fly 37 times the speed of sound, without making much of a noise. The small fighters were easier to understand, and as their namesakes on Earth, had saved our lives many times and inflicted untold damage on the enemy. Napalm, airburst ordinance, and various bombs, I could still see, as they destroyed both foliage and men. The little ships before me, looked almost innocent, but could deliver enough fire power to devastate the surface of any backward planet like Earth. The variable yield devices, much like I used on the moon, could destroy a complete mountain chain. In doing so, it would put enough dust into the air to bring about a mass extinction, much greater in impact, than when dinosaurs died out on Earth long ago. Its defensive capabilities were limited to the strength of its shield and inertial compensator. They would keep the contents of the little ship from being turned to jelly if hit by a solid object, or an energy weapon. When actually looking at the offensive capabilities, they were actually quite paltry compared to the capital ships. A simple destroyer could almost ignore these nuisances, as it went about its duty. Anything smaller had better watch themselves. Susan and Secric took my arms, and held tight, as they to gazed in awe at our new prize. Susan said, "I had my doubts about all of this, and I am still surprised that we took these ships." Mom pushed her way through a relatively small hatch, of only a few hundred metres across, and into a cavernous hold, filled with all types of ships. Some were the small fighters, while others were much heavier and used to take more of a beating in getting to a target, or with more ordinances. Large and small troop carriers and cargo haulers crowed the back wall. Ships hung in mid air, as their small tractors kept them in position for better density, after the ship's internal tractors failed. A few men and Tandra poured out and over the ships. The girls and I quietly left for the computer room, with a large crystal under my arm and a sword in the other. Susan and Secric were taking no chances, and were well armed, and very cautious, even though they had been assured that the ship harboured no Samutz life. Three hours later we returned to Mom, with the assignment completed. Instead of a rest, we went to the 'Nautilus', and did the same thing. Here the ship had fewer openings, for each represented a weak point. This ship had even larger energy weapons and missile batteries. The latter were so large that missiles that were Mom's size could be dispatched to take out a capital ship. The process here was just the same, and a few men and Tandra searched for any weapons, that they may find use of on Masis. The light destroyer was the easiest to finish. The gaping holes attested to the stubborn resistance the crew had put up. I made a point of going nowhere near the holds. On our return, I found the rest of the girls weary. They had worked very hard to try to forget their loss of friends, and especially for Sadda, since she held a special place within our family. Carl looked better after managing to get a little sleep. He was giving orders, broadcast throughout the ship to his men about placements and contingencies upon their arrival on Masis. Already men and Tandra were taking courses on the ships about weapons that they may be called on to use on the planets surface. Carl ordered all of his men to take a course in the language spoken on the planet. Mom had worked on the program, from information given by Sadda and Nema. We looked at the display of the planet below. Other than the colours of the oceans, the planet looked as good as Earth. There were a few high mountain chains, and a lot of smaller chains giving it a more rugged look. The flat alluvial plains covered major sections that could easily be turned to farmland by the industrious. It was easy to see the herds of animals stretching out in all directions. I knew that there would be no hunting these animals, the same way the buffalo had been hunted on the North American plains long ago. We would not fight to free a planet, and keep another free, so some hunter could have some sport. Everybody, but especially the Russians, wanted in on the fighters. I had to look closer at the group dynamics, for there must be a good leader in this collection of men. The majority of Tandra males seemed to be drawn there. I managed to get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep, as Mom communicated with the AI in charge of the main base in Souts. When I awoke, Mom put me right back to work. "Henry, the AI under Souts is not as forthcoming with me, as it should be. You need to go down to the planetary surface and give the orders personally." The pressure was mounting, but I knew that others had it just as bad, if not worse. I considered the problem, and could only think of one reason for the AI to balk like this. After a quick breakfast, I called for Secric, Amy and Nema. They wanted to know what was happening, and I asked them to bring their hand weapons, and shields, for we were going for a visit. Carlton took us to the city of Souts. Men and many more Tandra were wandering the city picking up Samutz bodies, and making the city as orderly as possible. We hovered over the large city looking at the new and old architecture. It was easy to tell the two styles apart. The Tandra had graceful lines that were pleasing to the eye, while the Samutz style more haphazard and reminiscent of some of the poorer pieces, I saw in New York City. The co-ordinates led us to the centre of the city, and the large dome. Carlton stopped in the appropriate place, and we were whisked inside just as we would be on Earth. The background communication, that I was so used to by now, suddenly stopped. "Computer, sync my communicator with the shield." I felt a momentary pause, when the order should have been completed instantaneously, as if the computer was debating the order. My mind had been segregated into sections for a while now, and I made sure that all my mental defences were as high as I could make them. The girls looked at the monitor, and saw a base similar to the one on Earth, but larger and much more unkempt. Vehicles of all types were scattered all over the hanger floor, and even on the training grounds, on the top level. Tandra hid from view as Carlton threat analysis protocols came online. We saw thin Tandra, either naked or dressed in rags. The feeling I got, was that they were distraught at the thoughts of new invaders to their system. I saw that they had no weapons, and looked too weak to put up much of a fight, in any case. Mom put the number of technicians here at almost a hundred. We left the ship under our own power, by walking down the ramp. The closer Tandra fled even further into the complex. This time their fright was even easier to read. I knew from the previous briefing here, that the Tandra were used to repair the equipment that was destroyed or abused by the Samutz. The perpetrators of the damage could not interface with the computer or the machines, and were forced to keep some Tandra alive for this purpose. If this were the case, then they would know how to mindspeak. But to keep things in order of necessity, I mindspoke, "Computer, transport us to the subbase area." There was no confirmation, but the procedure was carried out. I stood in the same place I had stood a few months ago. At that time I was petrified of the forces that could be thrown against me. Now I had even less protection and two of my wives with me as well as another that wanted desperately to find a place with them. "Computer, report the reasons for your insubordination." I was flooded with ideas after a brief pause. This time, I was better able to handle the torrential flow of information. Mainly my authority was being questioned, as well as my motives. My chip was being examined much more thoroughly, than it was previously. This time Mom assured me that it was as close to genuine, as she could make it. I felt probes going to my mind and slide off the defences. This only lasted seconds, before the girls were attacked. I rushed to Secric as she staggered. I lay her on the floor to see both Amy and Nema crouched into a foetal curve, with their hands coming up to protect their ears, as if that was where the attack was coming. I yelled with both voice and mind, "Computer, leave the women alone, or I will destroy this base and you with it." The attack continued, and I ordered Mom, "Destroy this base now." The attack stopped as quickly as it started. I saw through Mom, many missile platforms turn to bear on the base. "Stop! I only wanted to find out if I had thrown out one set of invaders, to have another step into their place," the computer AI excitedly said, to both Mom and me. I was angry, and said, "Give full control of this system to Mom now, or you will be destroyed. I want no ally that is not completely behind me." I waited second or more for the protocols to be sent. This represented a major amount of time to a computer intelligence that could easily do many things in a billionth of a second. I was about to order my own destruction along with the base, when the flow started. It lasted for almost fifteen seconds. My sampling, told me it comprised more things, than had been on the original data crystal that I had been given about this system. Mom altered the codes, and sent new passwords to the various installations, telling them more or less, who was in charge now. "Mom, have you had time to find out how much lying this system has tried to foist on us?" "Not completely, Admiral. Since you declared martial law, the last time you were here, you are within you rights, to destroy this AI, and have it replaced with a more dependable unit. We have crystals here to do this." Opening my mind a little, I let slip my thoughts. I considered doing just as Mom had suggested. After loading three new crystals, I could easily do a fourth, and not have any problems in the future. It only took a few minutes to program one, and there were many tedious steps, that could be bypassed in the present situation. Secric was a compassionate person, and said, "Why are you doing this, Henry? It only wanted to find out if you were really an ally, or one pretending to be. We were scanned to see if we were coerced into helping you." "You are my wives, and I would not take you knowingly into danger. When this being threatened you, I was not going to let it live. At the very least, it could have requested the data. The reason you were brought here, was to allow this being to see what has been done from a Tandra viewpoint, and not a reason for it to rape your minds." I gathered my thoughts. "Computer, do you now see me as the lawful authority in this system?" "Yes, Admiral. I had to look, because your identity chip has been altered since you were last here, and I feared that you had been forced to take this system." "Computer, I think you are full of shit. Since you acknowledge me as the ruler of this system, I want Mom to have a look in your secret places, to find out how loyal you are. If you don't, I will just have to rip out your crystal, and start fresh. What is your decision?" Again the momentary weighing of alternatives, and it said, "I will comply, Admiral." "Mom, take a peak, and see how loyal this entity is." After long moments, Mom replied, "There are many layers of falsehood built into this system. Each designed to lead me astray. I believe I was able to get to the bottom layer, and see some very important facts, that I want to discuss with you privately." "Fine, Mom. Just bypass all the lies, so it will tell me the truth from now on." "It is done." "Computer, send a list of all the systems assets to Mom, so we will have a better chance of defeating these Samutz." After the data was sent, I called Carl into the conversation. I explained how Carl was to be my representative, while I was gone. The AI acknowledged his status, and asked for orders. The only thing bothering me at present was the hungry Tandra in the base above. "Is there a supply or food suitable for the Tandra in the base above?" I was given to understand, that the supplies were limited. "Contact Base 19 and get a few months supply shipped in, and deliver it to the storage area above." I followed the orders mentally, and saw a thousand kilos or so, going into a locked room above. We left the lower base and went above. In the overhead base, the girls and I loaded some of the food onto a grav sled, and pulled it into the main hangar. "Girls, I have a job for you. Would you give out this food, and try to get these people to understand, that the Samutz are being hunted down and destroyed. Give them my promise, that they will not be enslaved again. I may need their help in getting all of the Samutz found, and this base running again." Secric smiled, and gave me a big hug and a kiss. Not to be outdone Amy and then Nema, wanted to do the same thing. I was transported into Carlton, and contacted Mom. "Mom, how many people can the food synthesisers on this planet support? Then, are there any more combat suits, that we can use, and what other things did you find out, that I should know about?" "There is enough capacity to feed all the Tandra on the ships, if they were awakened and perhaps few hundred thousand more. There is a good fabrication centre, and I have awoken the intelligences in the hidden bases, and given one an order for thousands of the better centurion suits, that you thought should go to the ordinary soldiers. The last request, should be answered, when you are here with me, and not broadcast." "I understand Mom. Will you send down some of the Tandra walking wounded, to help the girls distribute the food, and the gospel?" With the girls adequately protected, I said goodbye, and left to rendezvous with Mom, to find out what was so important. Once inside the shielding of the computer room, Mom said, "The reason I wanted you here, is to tell you that the crystal manufacturing is in danger. The third planet's orbit will decay, and within a few thousand years strike its primary. The second thing is that under base 19 is a dimensional portal that has enough power to alter the orbit of EE3. Finally the hidden medical section, that the original chip mentioned, has a further hidden section, for completing some of the finer crystals a ship needs. The centurion suits and all the other suits, require these crystals to be manufactured or for the suit to be repaired." I ran through my mind the problems involved, even if everything worked. "Mom, when does the re-alignment have to take place?" "We are lucky. There are three times in the next five hundred Earth years, when this can happen. After that, a herculean effort would have to be mounted to save the planet, and the crystal production. The next time will be in almost twelve years." The next day our men blasted away the accumulated debris of untold centuries, to gain entrance to the hidden bases. Carl was happy to find many of the old type of suits, and parts for them. The base that had the best medical equipment in the galaxy, for its time, now treated our wounded. They were not that much faster, but the detail was much greater in the restructuring of cells and even molecules. Later, I entered the hidden portion, and got a massive load of small specialized crystals of all sizes and properties, and I transported them to a small ship without an AI. Mom could conveniently erase that portion of its log, and keep the secret safe for now. I left orders with Sandra to restock the base with raw material. Sandra too, had layers of falsehood, and had not mentioned this base to me previously. Carl and the men were still busy in Souts removing all the Samutz bodies and dumping them outside town, to be disintegrated later. Eventually we actually got some of the local Tandra to come out and help. Nema ran up to me and asked me to follow her. It was important, but not life threatening, about a large sink hole under an equally large dome. When we got there we found Tandra and men peering over into the darkness below. A writhing mass of white forms slithered through a foul reek of corruption. I knew this, because I momentarily dropped my shield, to test the unbelievably high readings my suit gave me. The urge to gag was very strong, but I managed to control my reaction. Some of the white forms looked like very large maggots, almost a metre long and twenty centimetres across. Others that were larger, started to sport immature appendages, that I was sure would one day be arms and legs. Crawling up the sides of the hole, I saw a small white Samutz trying to reach the surface, and fall back. Carl came running in, and once he saw for himself, he instantly wanted to destroy everything here. The bodies were of any living organism, the Samutz was able to put into the pit, even their own dead. I was intrigued by his thought processes, and suddenly he came to a decision. Turning to his men, he ordered, "Dump all the Samutz bodies in here. If the things in the pit die, so much the better. I don't think anything good can ever come of those things, and they will have to be destroyed." The men did as they were told, and soon the large hole was becoming full. Rather than allow the grubs and immature Samutz to escape, a containment area was set up, and the remaining bodies disintegrated as originally planned. Carl started to send more troops into the outlaying villages, and take out all the Samutz he could find. Small fighters individually converted to our cause, flew overhead in single units. Combat drones were finally freed to take on the enemy as they were designed to. The carrier and the other ships' AIs had not woken yet. It was my turn to do what I did best, and leave him to his job. "Why are you leaving Henry? I have just started, and need all the help I can get." "Carl, I sympathize, but the Claw is still out there, and it is too powerful a ship to just ignore. I will take only the minimal crew. If I am gone too long, it may mean, that I have failed. The fabricators are producing all kinds of missiles and weapons for you. I know that I have to do this, or we will be sorry." "Is this another one of your feelings?" "Yes, it is Carl." "Then you better go. My girl Frieda tells me that we are only outnumbered seventy four and a half to one now, and dropping steadily." "Frieda?" "Yep. The AI that was giving you all the problems is a veritable charmer, especially after getting a name. I would almost say you were lying about her, but I know better." I laughed and patted his back. "Good idea, if you keep an open mind, but remember, it was programmed to tell stories, and it does a good job of it." I wanted to leave with just Susan and Secric, but Carl did manage to push John on me, even though he was slightly impaired with his burns. Carl felt bad about not being able to protect my back, and sent his surrogate to do the job for him. Mom was keeping a close tab on the Claw, with small probes, her sensors, and her link to Carlton. As we got within a few light minutes, a beam of high energy quarks spread from the dreadnaught and quickly faded. Someone was trying to get the equivalent of the supra light speed radar working. Time, I was now sure, was at a premium. I was called down to Mom's room to program the next crystal. What I found was a dull translucent gem over a metre long and thirty centimetres in diameter. "Don't be concerned Henry. This is the largest crystal Sandra was able to deliver, and it will more than suit the ship we are pursuing." I really did not have time to waste, so I relaxed, and Mom copied the information she needed, and awoke me later. Looking at the glowing jewel, I was again reminded of an enchanted sword. The feeling was quite eerie, not good, but not bad either. I called John, and met him at the port, so that Mom could throw us toward the ship, before its derelict state changed for the worst. The problem arose when both Susan and Secric showed up dressed in centurion suits, like John. "You cannot go with us. John and I have fought many times, and know how to protect one another's back." "We are going too, husband." Secric stated quite emphatically. "She is right, and I am going to. There is no way you are leaving this ship without us. Either we are going with you, or following behind," Susan stated. "This is a job where we just have to sneak aboard, and place the crystal. We are not planning on fighting." Susan countered, "That is good. Then we can sneak with you, and there will be no fighting, and no reason to exclude us." John tried to help, and said, "The Cap and I have been watching out for each other for a long time, and it would distract us if we had others to watch as well." Susan put her hands on her hips, and stared at me. "We are going one way, or another. How do you want it?" I was both proud and angry, and tried to hide the former. "You win, but you will take orders from either John or me. Is that clear?" Susan smiled, and said in a military fashion if one could be termed, "Yes, my love, we will do as you say." Mom transported my old centurion suit, and our weapons. Secric and John carried controllers, while I carried the crystal. Susan followed slightly behind with some extra ordinance. After the second quark flux, Mom threw us forward. The gap was almost a million metres. We separated as much as possible, to keep our cross sectional area at a minimum. We seemed to drift through the void with only far away points of light as company, and the reassuring thoughts of my friend and family. Looking to our goal, we saw that the Claw was at least five million tonnes. This was over fifty five times the weight of the biggest ship afloat on the Earth's oceans. Since there was no need for a heavy keel or ballast, this ship was all business. The Claw was thirty nine hundred metres long and had a beam of almost eight hundred metres. Sixteen mighty engines could push it to just over a thousand lights. The Samutz could only direct the AI, and get that as a top speed. A crew that Mom envisioned, us to be, could multiply that to a total of a hundred and sixty thousand times the speed of light. This was about eighteen light years per hour. Ships this size usually had the best of crews. I just hoped that surprise was still on our side, for Mom had reluctantly fallen further and further astern, to allay any suspicion, or to draw any fire, that would surely cripple or kill her. Almost two hours later the ship grew, so that we had to start decelerating. I pictured the ship and gave objectives for each of us to head for. Four hours after leaving Mom, we found ourselves on a rugged landscape. Spires higher than anything on Earth, reached out to pluck information from the firmament. Canyons reminiscent of the Grand Canyon, gaped both before and behind us. Each of us was separated by almost a kilometre, and was to meet at an open hatch that would give us the best chance of gaining our goal, without being discovered. The gravity on the hull was non-existent, and each of us pushed off for our common rendezvous at the opening. Looking through Susan's eyes, I saw much the same sights as I saw. Her emotions were tightly held, as she pushed off, heading for the base of a large antenna. What came through the most was a determination to get this job done right. I was the last to arrive, and I was hugged by both of the girls, while John kept watch with all of his senses. The opening looked tiny from space, but was larger than a football field. Small probes went out ahead of us, to find any belligerents. We only found bodies, that were bloated almost to the point of being unrecognisable, and most of those would have been blown into space. Our goal was the central core. This would take us the final kilometre to the processing unit. With no lights and invisible, we came upon a lone individual working on a connection to a shield generator, for this section. "Leave him alone, and just walk by. If he turns kill him, and we can drag his body out." We came upon a Samutz crouching at an open panel in the wall, part way down the wide airless corridor. It stopped work, and its supple neck allowed his head to turn. Luckily it was away from us at first. This gave us just enough time to hide our burden in a side room, before its languid eyes came over to our position. In the computers last act, all the doors were opened to vacuum, and they had remained this way. Susan and Secric tensed awaiting discovery, and possible death. I could almost hear the pent up breath leave them, as the creature's head turned, and its work continued. John and I were not immune to the possible danger, but knew that one adversary was an easy matter to remove. There were no other corridors, that we could take and bypass this individual. For even if we were able to get by unobserved in this way, our tools and weapons could easily be seen, if the creature turned its head again. I nodded to John, and he floated off the floor, and drifted the fifty or so metres to the Samutz, and settled behind the hapless victim. The sword drove in, and in a twisting action, severed both hearts. The kicking body levitated, and floated back toward us, with a spectral sword keeping pace. I followed John's original steps, and hid the Samutz tools in another room, and replaced the hatch over the opening. A moment later we knew John was back from disposing of the body. I looked into the girls, and tried to get their feelings on the matter. Secric had hardened herself to this death, when she compared it to all the Tandra deaths before. Susan who had been training in unarmed combat and sudden death for many years, she had killed to save some people in Kentucky but found it distasteful. The real thing was presented to her in wholesale lots, and she felt remorseful at the loss of life. She justified it in her mind, with the image I showed her, of the meat locker on the destroyer. Hundreds of metres along, I compared our position with the probable construction of this vessel, and entered a side corridor. Another fifty metres and the room at the right seemed the best choice. Susan and Secric stood guard, as I took the controller from John and pealed the bulkhead back to allow all of us entry. The girls, then John came through, and Secric sealed up the tear, in the ship's bowels. This passage lasted about a hundred metres and opened into a tunnel running the entire length of the ship. It was over forty metres in diameter. Tunnels ran off, all along its dark length to facilitate repairs. Taking the sword into my hand, we slowly flew forward, looking for anyone that could give an alarm. About midship, we stopped, and I looked for Tandra characters or glyphs to give me directions on where to go. If it were a glyph, it would serve the same purpose as the one used on a public bathroom, and having a symbol indicating the gender, that was to use the facilities Secric was watching one quadrant, found it first. The symbol of a Human or Tandra brain, and told us we had arrived. We came to a perfect stop in the wide expanse, and followed Secric. Our suit AIs kept us on the deck, as if we had our own private gravitational field. This side tunnel was wider than the others we saw, the only reason I could think of, for this, was when the computer was first installed, and the matter transmitter had not been functioning. Tandra words and numerical designations covered many of the walls. The writing was hard to see, but easier than most places I had been to. Side tunnels ran off to service many of the important functions that the computer would handle. Susan was now in the lead, and we felt alarm streaming from her. Her mind told us of a large number of Samutz coming our way, from another tunnel. Our invisibility had protected us so far, but instinctively we wanted all the advantage we could get. John had been looking for places that might hide an enemy or us, as we followed Susan's lead. "This way!" He called. Retracing our steps, we came to a side tunnel with massive structures running across its length. We hid our visible burdens, along with our probes. John and I still invisible, looked on as the procession passed. This was hard to do, for both of us. We had seen too many atrocities committed by the Samutz, to feel comfortable with just avoiding them. Almost thirty Samutz passed us, pulling loads of test and repair equipment, in the zero gee environment. I noticed a Tandra controller in the hand's of one. At the end of the procession, three Tandra walked with a single guard behind them. Their eyes going in our direction, as if able to see us clearly. We were worried now. If an alarm were given, we would not have surprise on our side, and the whole ship could be alerted to our presence. "Do you think they will say anything?" John asked. "I don't know. I have seen brainwashed soldiers that had completely gone over to the enemy's side. Let's get out there and see. There was a controller there too." They Samutz came to the outer ring of computer controlled defences. It should remain operational, even though most of the other duties of the computer hopefully would remain dormant. The Tandra walked along in their suits, and we were able to make out some of their speech, both audible through their communicator, and mentally. They spoke the Samutz tongue, discussing the best way of gaining the first of the computer's many defences. Their minds were in turmoil, at the thought of an enemy of the Samutz, close behind them. We passed a large door with an equally large Tandra glyph, for the computer complex. I came to the conclusion that it would be better to let the Tandra know who exactly was behind them. This way, it would be safer for them to move when the fighting started, for I knew that the Samutz would eventually gain access to the computer, and undo what I had tried to accomplish. Secric was given the go ahead, and she told them, that she was Tandra, and she was here with a few allies, to take the ship. The Tandra began to act excited, and one had to be hit on the protective suit, to keep her inline. I whispered in mindspeak, and said, "This way. We have to get rid of those Samutz if we are to get through. If I deactivate the defences, then the Samutz will be on us in no time." Mom and I had worked out the probable placement of the defences, and location of probable ways to entering the room, other than by the door. The problem arose, that all the walls floor and ceiling, were covered with components, and the only way to enter, was through the door. John said, "Can you deactivate the inner ring of defences first, and work your way out? When you are almost done, we can take out these guys, and leave you free to install the new crystal, the most quickly." "I can try that, but when you try to take out the Samutz, their communicators will inform the entire ship, that something is happening here." "We have both taken out sentries quietly before. We have guns with galvanized slugs, knives, and some frags, that will get through their shield. What do you think the Tandra will do?" "Hopefully, nothing." I said, hoping to not hurt the Tandra, but if I had to, that is what was going to happen. I pealed back a section of bulkhead, in a small room and searched for the controls for the computer's self defence weapons. I could hear John giving some training to the girls, on how to kill an enemy military style. The girls had probably already had the training, but the reminder made me feel better. I just hoped that the girls could pass that major hurdle, and kill a much superior enemy without warning, and the conditions were much different than on Earth. There would be no bow here, in respect to the enemy. I had to crawl out of the section I was in, and hunt for another, for major structural members were here, and blocked my path. An hour later I found the right spot, and the Samutz with the Tandra help, had already breached the outer ring. I smiled as an idea came to me. I did as John suggested, and deactivated the controls progressively outward. I helped the Samutz, and deactivated the area they were working on but not the next inward. "John, have they moved forward, yet?" "Wait. Yes, they are doing that now. There must be over forty here now, and three more Tandra showed up. Did you deactivate the defences for them?" "Yes, I did." "Why did you do that?" "Tell me when they are all past the outer defences. I want to segregate the Tandra. Secric tell the Tandra to bunch up at the front. When I drop the next shield, have them run forward, and I will close the shield behind them," I said in reply. When the signal came, I engaged the defensive ring that the Samutz had thought safe. The next barrier was down. At my call, they dashed forward, and the shield went up behind them. The automatic weapons erupted, and all the Samutz in the corridor blazed brightly as they turned to bright plasma. I looked through Secric's eyes, as the Samutz disappeared in the flash. "Fuck, that was better than we could have done," John said. "We better get back, because more will come to investigate." Secric and Susan were a little shaken at the abruptness of sudden death, even though they had been helping the injured, and carting away the dead, a few days ago. The Tandra stood, huddled together, trying to find comfort in their small numbers. I removed all the defences now, and retreated as quickly as I could from the walls. Secric and Susan dropped their invisibility. Secric walked forward alone, to greet the frightened group. Their suits were visible but completely hid their features. There was no way we could make the suit transparent, so that the wearer could be seen. She ordered them to dampen their thoughts, for they would broadcast throughout the ship. "My name is Secric. The female behind me is Susan. I have only recently awoken from the Great Exodus, and found these Samutz enslaving our people. We don't plan for this to continue. Give us your names, rank and specialties." The orders helped, because they were used to following the commands of the Samutz. All six looked to be young women. I could detect no differences in them, to the Tandra on Earth. Secric got the names, and continued to question them about the status of the ship, the numbers of the enemy, and the Tandra. Sula, one of the group, seemed to take charge, and answer most of the questions. "There are 106 Tandra on this ship, as well as 73 technicians of other races. Some have recently been killed, because of all the losses the Samutz had suffered." I asked, "How soon do you estimate the ship will be operational?" "Who is speaking?" "I am Fleet Admiral Henry Buchanan. My adjutant is here too." I said as I came out of the bulkhead, and we both became visible. "What can you tell us that would allow us to take this ship back?" Then I turned to Susan and said, "Susan, you better crawl inside the wall here and I will guide you to the controls. Once I am inside the computer, put the outer defences back on. When we get more visitors, they won't be able to get in." "Won't you be trapped, in the computer room?" Susan asked, as she held my hand. "Yes, till you energize the defences again, and kill all the newcomers. Just do as I did, and get the Tandra to go through to a safe place. Since all of the last crew are dust, they will not miss our new friends." Susan was getting a little blood thirsty at this point, and just smiled. Turning to Sula, I waited, and she said, "There is very little that we are allowed to learn, or do unsupervised. Most of the major officers are dead, from a disease, most of the crew are dead too. They were angry at us, because we only felt sick, for a short time. I heard one of the officers say that they would take a pinnace, and get more help. Others worried about spreading the disease, and how it would look if they left while the ship needed every available member, to get it up and running." I followed the last comment, and if the Samutz were like Human, they would be in a lot of trouble, if some abandoned ship, when it was in need. "Thanks Sula. You have no combat suits, or weapons, and there is little you can do, if we get more visitors. I want you to move well away from here, and hide as best you can. When we get any more friends, we can send them to you. If the Samutz find us, then they will come at us from all sides, and I don't want you hurt in the crossfire." They discussed the best place among themselves. After informing us where it was, they ran off, partially free for the first time in years. I ran down the long deadly corridor now, walking through the dust that hung suspended, that used to be living beings, and arrived at the heavily fortified door. I stopped to coach Susan on just what to do, to get the outer defences up again. The controller opened a corner, and I crawled in, dragging the crystal and controller behind me. The door was resealed. ------- Chapter 43 The old saying of 'once burnt, twice shy' was a lifesaving motto many times. Small restraint hoops were placed over the tractor controls, and a thin rope was tied around a crystal by the doorway. I watched the walls, and deactivated tractors, as I found them. The rope was tied to my waist, and followed my movements like a long umbilical cord. The cord, like what it resembled, would serve the same function, and keep me alive. The inside of this room was orders of magnitude more complex, than Mom's tug, the Earth or the moon bases. The rope was long, but I was concerned if it was actually long enough, for this job. If I had to, I could survive in this suit, till it was taken over, and returned to Masis. Twenty agonizing minutes later, I had deactivated almost a hundred tractors, and literally come to the end of my rope. I took the end, and tied it to the furthest crystal it could reach, and left the controller there to mark its end. I explored further along the maze, using my navigation aids in the suit, and the backup, that was put into me long ago. Was it only three months ago? It took another half hour, to find the alcove with the AI crystal. This one was like the one on the moon and glowed red, as it wrestled with the virus that infected it. Its size was much smaller than its duties would warrant. Mom commented that the Samutz were in trouble, because they did not have a supply of crystals, and had to downgrade all of their facilities to make them workable. Instead of pulling this crystal out, Mom and I had decided to allow it to stay, and the new one allowed to take over, and more or less, make it a slave. This had happened before, when a processor was damaged, but happened very infrequently. The down side was, that we didn't know if the antivirus program installed in the new crystal, would allow the new crystal to be corrupted. The new crystal was removed from its protective cover. It glowed brightly, in the dark confines of the room. Shadows were cast from all of the crystals lining the walls. Taking out a memory module, I carefully inserted the much larger crystal in its place. The small crystal I removed was crammed amongst its fellows. After energizing the repair circuits, I saw the computer take the crystals, and integrate them into the basic structure. The processor glowed even brighter as it did its own diagnostics. Floating for almost ten minutes, I saw that everything was working fine and wanted to get out. I had no idea what was happening, because the very walls of the computer blocked any and all communication. With the navigation equipment, it wasn't very hard to find the controller, and the end of the rope. The door pealed back a bit and I called, "How is the weather out there." I felt three sighs of relief. "Fine. What took you so long?" Came from John. "We killed another group of Samutz, and a third is almost here. What did take you so long?" Disregarding the question, I said, "Do I have time to crawl out of here, before they come?" Secric answered, and said, "The new group is flying down the spine of the ship, and should be here in a few minutes. There are no Tandra with them this time." I knew it would take a while to close the wound in the door, and an equal amount of time for the Samutz to walk the corridor. I just made it to Susan, when the Samutz single-mindedly attacked the controls, for the outer shield again. Following her thoughts, I was able to find Secric, and patted her shoulder, as I returned to the room that gave access to the other controls. Susan came happily out, as I entered, and re-energized all of the controls and closed up the wall. "This part is done. We just have to sit back and wait for the AI to take over," I said. "I think we will have to do more than that," John added. "Why?" Asked Susan. John didn't answer, but we looked through his eyes, and saw fifty or so Samutz carrying a heavy disintegrator, cables, and portable shields, through the central corridor. "If they use that, then they will be able to get into the computer room. It will be a while, till the AI wakes up." "What do you want to do?" Asked Secric. John answered first and pictured the enemy getting the gun into the tunnel and we ambush them, when they are busy. "I like it, John. Let's do it." John and Susan went as far out, the way we came as possible, while Secric and I went only a short way. I could feel her worry. Some was for her own life, but most was for her people and the rest for me. I held her close and waited. "Don't worry. We have good suits, and the Samutz didn't even look like they were heavily armed. How many Tandra did you liberate?" "We got twelve more. They safely made it to the hiding spot, and Sula came back to say she is spreading her forces out, keep any losses to a minimum. I am not worried about them too much, but I am worried about the forces that will come after us, when the new ones are destroyed." The normally heavy weapon was pulled in, and carried down the wide hallway. John walked behind the last Samutz, that must have been more that twice his weight. A very visible sword plunged into its back and twisted to sever both hearts. Almost at the same time, another did the same thing. I felt Susan's distaste, for doing this necessary work, but I also felt her determination, one of the many things I loved about her. A small crew at the front of the now shorter column pealed off and went down a side corridor. Secric and I saw our chance, and raced after them. Using Secric's thoughts and sword as guides, I kept out of her way. Eleven Samutz fell to us. The last had turned to see its fallen comrades, but died quickly enough to hopefully not give a warning. We raced back to the main body, and saw them still walking along, as if nothing was wrong. There were four Samutz guiding the weapon, as we got back, and John said, "Susan and I will take the two in front of the gun. Henry, you and Secric take the rear two." We made our choices, and plunged the swords home, on John's signal. The gun remained stationary or nearly so. We took turns, till all of the crew were dead. None had even considered the possibility of them being caught in an ambush, in their own ship. We threw the bodies into rooms along the way, to hide their presence. John and I took the gun back along its path. Susan and Secric flew out into the centre of the central corridor and looked for any eyes that might see us. John and I pushed the clearly visible gun across the open space to protect the entrance to the corridor leading to the computer room. John was familiar with the weapon, and placed some of the heavy duty shields behind the emplacement, to protect our rear. Susan was instructed in the way the gun worked, and Secric stayed with her, to provide her own protection. John and I went back to the outer ways, and dragged back bloated and disease ridden bodies. They were fairly hard to find, as most had gone into the void. They were placed as if they had fallen to the disease, even in the obvious vacuum. The next group came with guns, but from their stance, didn't think to find any enemy. What they did find made them back up and flee. An hour later the group returned with an officer. He stood out in the corridor, and viewed the bodies. The bodies were picked up and the first few moved. John slipped up to one of the newcomers and killed it. The body that thrashed, and fell to the floor, made the rest run, with the officer leading the retreat. We were getting tired since we had no sleep for almost thirty eight hours. We took turns keeping watch. I was just about to take the third shift, when I saw another group coming in our direction. Behind them, I saw more officers with weapons drawn, forcing the Samutz ahead of them to advance. John was awoken, and we checked weapons and waited. I felt a smile if that could be said. John's thoughts moved away to the far side of the corpses. The Samutz entered, expecting to be cut down by disease at any moment, and the first hesitantly reached for a body. In the back, a particularly obscene corpse, arose and moved in the direction of the new troops. There must have been some superstitions in the Samutz, for they dropped the bodies and fled. The officers shot some of their own crew, till they to were faced with the walking dead. Shots went through both the shield and the body, but it still advanced. I took my sword, and picked out the officer, that I thought had the highest rank, and killed it quickly. The rest saw their numbers diminish by one and from one of their own corpses. They turned around and fled. Bolts of energy came back, and struck the corpse again and again. I felt John's pain now. He was hurt. I took him, the now mutilated corpse, and the officer back into the hallway. He dropped his invisibility, and saw in my mind a long burn on his left arm. I read the diagnostics, and knew he would still be able to fight. The suit was already working on the damage, and I could feel his relief. It was good that our suits were much better, than the Samutz version. "How is it, John?" "It hurt like fuck, till the suit took the pain away. Did you see the way they looked when a corpse attacked them?" "Yes, it was a good idea. Instead of looking for us, they are concerned about a virus that kills Samutz, and turns them into zombies or something else. How did you think of that?" "It just came to me. Let's stand the bodies up, and this time, put some of the heavy shields behind them. Then we can shoot between the bodies, and the others will only rip apart the corpses, and bounce off the shields." We did as John suggested. Some of the thin rope was used to keep them stationary in the zero gee environment. Guns were placed in their hands, and aimed forward. John had his fourth watch and awoke me as the next group came. They marched into the hall to be presented with the dead waiting for them. My communicator brought forth harsh speech, which the AI in my suit translated. They were surprised, as the newly dead major raised his gun and ordered the rest out. I could feel John's mirth at the way his suit translated back into Samutz speech, his ominous commands. An officer came forward, pushing through the ranks of his men, and demanded the surrender of all the dead. John repeated his command, and used the gun in the corpse's hand for emphasis. The officer was not budging till John shot him in the chest, and all the rest fled for their lives. No other shots were fired, even though we could hit many. Hours later an army of Samutz came for us, with all the officers I presumed, forcing the ranks ahead of them. There was no way out now. As the ranks formed for the first assault, a withering fire came from across the central corridor from the gun emplacement. The entire group of officers melted to dust. The Samutz in the front of the charge, were cut down by our grenades, and from behind by the girls. Thousands were killed by the gun. Small arms fire rang off the shields we installed. John moved out of the tunnel, and fired into the mob of now disorganized belligerents. The gun stopped, and we searched out the ones hiding or wounded, and put an end to their lives. We took up new positions, now that the Samutz knew that someone was firing at them. They might not understand zombies, but they could understand guns. About thirty minutes later, we found ourselves under fire from all around the core. The Samutz had walked down the main corridors, and came into the core from all directions. They could not see us I thought, but only fire at our last known positions, and hope to get an energy discharge from us in return. I said, "Use the galvanized slugs, in your suit's guns. Go single shot, and move around. They can't see you or your fire." Again the Samutz died. John and I fired almost sixteen shots per second, and the AI helped with the guns at our back. Within a few minutes every hostile in range was dead. Few had fled, but some managed. This time the wait was almost an hour, and I saw an armoured ship descend into the shaft. I told the girls to abandon the gun, because even it could not break through that shield. We retreated to the computer, and waited around the first bend, for what we knew was to follow. A blast went down the corridor from the central core. We knew we could not fight it, and the Samutz on the little ship hopefully knew it would destroy the very ship all their lives depended on. It was only used to get us into a position, so the infantry could finish us off. Susan at our rear told us of the Samutz trying to go through the computer controlled area, and only getting fried. John and I held each position as long as we could. We fell back eventually to the last room where Susan had opened the wall, and waited to close it after us. John went first, and was surprised. I saw through his eyes, that the Samutz had thought the same, and had worked their way behind us. I knew we were lost. Our lives would be sold dearly I knew. They rushed our position, and the suit AI, and I, had a hard time beating them back. What actually saved us was the accumulation of bodies that the Samutz had to crawl through to continue the attack. I felt determination in Secric to make the Samutz pay, and pay dearly. John was fairly calm, but knew the end had come. His life was much more interesting than it had been before, and he said to me, "Well Henry, I am glad to have known you. I only wish we were in this alone." Susan cut in, "That is no way to talk. Even if we are going to die, it is better, with loved ones fighting beside you." The next charge lasted much longer. The small ship had blasted all the bodies protecting us, to fine dust. Many partial bodies were propelled in the absence of gravity all over, requiring us to shoot the ones we thought might not be dead yet. I felt Susan get hit, then Secric moments later. They fought on, as their suits gave them much needed help. John was hurt bad, from the pain, I thought he was going to die. Looking at the indicators in my command suit, I saw he had taken a bolt to the chest, and went into cardiac arrest. His suit put him out, and gave emergency first aid, while it fought on. Three Samutz popped up as if by magic, and zeroed in on my position. I was knocked backwards, and I knew I lost my last original limb. The suit took care of my pain, as we continued. I felt Susan fade away into unconsciousness, as her suit took over all offensive capabilities. Only Secric and I remained to fight. The end was only moments away, when I heard, "Admiral Henry Buchanan. This is ship ftb-507823-039sd78cfn0930cp. What are your orders?" "Shit, talk about the cavalry," I thought out loud. "What was that, sir?" "Use your tractors, and small weapons, to remove all the living Samutz from this area, and start here first. Try to disable or destroy the small ship in the core, but avoid excessive damage to your systems." The fire tapered off and eventually stopped altogether. I released the small probes, and found that there were no living enemy in our vicinity. After checking all of our telltales, I ran to John. His suit was smoking, and I could tell his shield projectors were all but destroyed. I kneeled down, and began to use two hands to put him into a more comfortable position. It didn't work, and I had to look to see that my right arm was missing, just above the elbow. I used my internal thruster in conjunction with my left arm, to get his arm out from under him. He settled peacefully, and the telltales said he would probably survive, if he got better medical attention soon. Susan was further back. I found Secric crying over her, thinking she was going to die. Susan had lost a leg and her face was in ruin. Her eyes were gaping holes, with the vitreous fluid puddling on her face, and entering her nose or what there was of it. The suit was gathering the fluid, and taking it away, so she could breathe properly. Though tears filled my own eyes, I said, "Secric, Susan will be fine, once she is able to get to a medical facility. The ship is now ours, and I will find what we need as soon a possible." She just held me tight, as her body shook with strong emotions. She thought that she had lost her best friend. I asked the ship AI, "Ship, how is the Samutz removal going?" "The ship is now clear of all living Samutz, other than those in stasis. The small ship is currently being expelled, and will be destroyed. The living Samutz are being held at the end of my tractors." "Are the medical facilities here able to help our causalities?" "Yes, they are Admiral. I can only provide physical transportation, because the main matter transmitter has been broken for some time." "Do so, now." Thinking of Mom and the rest now, I knew the need for secrecy had ended. "There is a tug following us. Boost my transmission ability so I can reach it." "Yes, Admiral." "Mom, are you there?" A slight pause then, "Yes Henry, I see that you accomplished your objective. You have been hurt again, and so have your friends and family." "Yes, they have, but Tandra medicine will get them fixed up." A large sled manoeuvred into position, and I guided Susan's slumbering body onto it, after cutting her internal gravity off. Secric held onto the vehicle as it left, ploughing through the bodies of the dead Samutz. A second sled pulled up, and I did the same for John. Even with one arm, the task was not difficult in the absence of gravity. I hung onto the hind rail, as the sled slowly accelerated, and pulled me into the central core, across the wide expanse, and a kilometre further along our previous course. Lights came on, but dimly at first. The colours on the walls and deck were much richer, than in Mom or the other ships we had taken. Tandra designations covered the walls, and a harsh script, probably Samutz, tried to cover the symbols beneath. We came to a very large room, capable of repairing very many Tandra or Human bodies. We stopped beside Secric and Susan. Her naked form now covered with small transmitters and receivers. She was being lowered into a vat, to begin her regeneration. John's suit was stripped, and the small transmitters were just being attached. The shield left the top of the unit, and tractors picked up his blackened body, and slowly lowered it into the solution. I put my only hand on the glass like sides, as I saw John's diaphragm slowly stop, as his blood was oxygenated by other means. I exhaled, and thought of a few months ago. Perhaps Carl had felt the same, as he saw me being lowered into a similar vat. I walked over to Secric, as her hands too tried to clutch the clear material, and view her metsu or female head of our family. She too, remained almost perfectly still, and just gazed in, her mind in turmoil. The gravity slowly returned to what the Samutz considered normal. I took one of Secric's hands away, and held her tight. Her head turned to see the shape within the tank, and be assured that it was safe. Worry for Susan and the rest of us was still high. She knew we had succeeded against impossible odds. The spectre of death was strong upon her, and I knew what worked for me, after a battle. I turned to bring her face away from the tank and cupped her beautiful face by the jaw in my left hand. Our lips came close only to meet an invisible obstruction. Checking my sensors, I knew the room now had enough oxygen, moisture and heat. "Take off your suit darling." "Your arm." She exclaimed. A sphere came to me and did an assessment. I knew it wanted me in the tank, and I overruled it. A doc unit came over and hovered around my arm carrying on the work my suit had started. I ignored the mechanical, as I looked at my wife. Her breathing increased as she found that this indeed was what she needed to help her recover. Her field had de-energized to match mine. "Ship, decrease the gravity here. I want the command of your pressors and tractors." "Yes, Admiral." I picked Secric up, and kissed her small delicate mouth, with one hand assisting me. Silent commands to the AI and the controls worked to assist as well. Her arm though badly burnt, was still serviceable, and tended to by the doc unit. Her tongue furiously attacked mine, to get me as hot as she was. Her legs came up, and surrounded my hips, as she tried to slide into position, and get some relief from her sudden frantic and urgent needs. Instead of cooperating, I used my mind to direct the ship's energies into picking Secric up, and placing her on her back. She frantically clutched at me, trying to get me into her. She was embarrassed, since she had no time to clean herself in days. She arose to a comfortable position for me to feast on her charms. Her embarrassment soon faded, as the sensations flooded her body, and pushed most rational thought out of her mind. The primal animal in her, did more than venture out, it pounced on me. Her hands held me strongly, keeping me from leaving this most sensitive of places. I felt surprise, and even amazement, as the surviving Tandra started to respond to various degrees, to our love making. I sucked strongly on her engorged clit, and the first of many thunderous orgasms racked her body. My head was almost pulled into her small channel, as her hysterical strength curled her body into a foetal curve, and flung itself backwards. I was prepared, and the ship eased her back to prevent damage to her spine. Her body convulsed, as it came forward and back again, not quite knowing what to do with the sensations racing through her body. Now I only held her thigh, to my shoulder as the animal in her slowly went back into her psyche. My own needs were held back, waiting to find relief with one I loved. "Ship, do you have a safe lubricant that can be used internally?" "Yes, Admiral. It will take a moment, as it must be fabricated." When Secric recovered enough to know I was here, she was lowered, and I gradually slipped into her. Her big brown eyes opened wide, and closed in pleasure, as she felt me enter her. There was no lubrication yet, so I did not move much. I visualized our future child, the one that now resided in the uterus of the wife in my arms. Looking through my wife's eyes I sensed our child. For an instant in eternity, I knew that she would be born larger than the Tandra norm. She would one day rule an important system, dispensing justice and trying audaciously to help the Human, Tandra, mixed race, and various groups of aliens under her care and guidance. Secric followed my thinking, and knew it for the very rare predictions of the future. She shivered at the glorious thoughts of our child. The strange feeling passed, and I looked into my wife's mind. She felt more fulfilled now than she had ever even hoped to be. Life as Mom's daughter and surrogate emotional sensor had left her inadequately prepared for even life among the Tandra, never mind Human's or a war with a new enemy. I felt a cool sensation at our juncture, and knew that the lubricant had arrived. I withdrew almost all the way out, before sliding all the way home. Secric quaked around me again, as if her body was without all conscious control. My pelvis picked up speed, seeking my own release. This was no time for fun, but a meeting of animals, trying to produce young. I thrust and thrust, getting progressively more violent. Secric was in a world of her making, where her mind drifted amongst rapturous feelings. She would not know anything I was doing, and my need was great, so I spewed spurt after spurt into her voracious womb. I slowed to a pleasant stop. The release I sought, because of the preceding battles, and the taking of this ship had not been adequately quenched. I needed more, much more. My cock grew again, and I started to saw into my wife again, knowing that when she came around, she would again take flight in her ecstatic world. I must have fucked her for what seemed hours. I remember spurting into her many times, with the aid of my improved body, and she had welcomed each and every donation to a new life. When I eventually felt sated, I had the ship support us, and we curled up together, in each other's arms. Hours later, I woke up beside the still sleeping Secric, and integrated with the ship, thinking it was Mom. I could feel the sheer immensity of the ship, beside the small shape of Mom, flying escort. Our shields were back and all of our systems were even better than the Samutz were able to get them. I looked throughout the ship, looking at wonder after wonder. The Tandra and other technicians were busy at work, continuing what repairs they could, with the active assistance of the AI. I scanned further, and found a palatial wonder. It was a gigantic state room that occupied almost three thousand square metres. My entire house occupied less than six hundred metres. The ceiling was three to six metres high in places. Comfortable furniture of clashing styles and colours, were all over. Scanning further aft, I found another area devoted to Samutz livestock. Quickly peering in, I found an open hatch and thousands of dead Tandra, T'aut, Vauntu, Softay, and two unknown races. Their bodies had exploded under the hard vacuum of space, and were scattered towards the closest obvious exits. Small bodies still in their mother's arms showed grotesque expressions, as blood veins and soft tissue had succumbed to the difference in pressure. Three other areas of processed passengers stood safe in stasis. Looking at their number, I was amazed to see almost five thousand six hundred individuals of different races. Apart from the deaths, I was happy to see the Tandra number almost one thousand, but most were young. The meat lockers nearby I avoided, not sure how I would handle the contents of a decidedly carnivorous race. Quickly finishing the ship, I deduced that the ship was kept up to a far less stringent level, than Mom had recommended. Speaking of her, I wondered why she had not called. Of course, the shield had not synced with my communicator. When I ordered the process completed, Mom's mindspeak came through at once. I opened a video channel, and Mom did the same. Admiral or not, I took a berating. When she had run down or found herself repeating, I said, "I am sorry for keeping you waiting, but I did not know when a shield was going to be re-established, never mind getting in sync with it, for communications." She seemed somewhat mollified, and I invited her over. I told Mom to fly into one of the many bays, so she could explore the ship with her probes or interface with the new AI. A small hatch pulled back, and she pushed through the field over the entrance, as the ship drew Mom into one of the smaller, but empty bays. On the way over I told her of the additional Samutz entrées now in stasis, in one of the holds, and the technicians of various races, that continued to work on the ship. Within moments, Mom's apparition was in the medical section with me. She looked at John and Susan in the tanks, and Secric peacefully sleeping with a Human type smile across her face, as a doc module administered to her burns. Mom and I stayed with Secric, her erstwhile daughter of sorts, as we looked on at our other loved ones. She said, "You have made her very happy Henry. When the screen opened to us, I was flooded with her happiness. In all this sadness and death, I did not think this would happen." From my closed mind, I said, "I had a vision of our daughter." I opened my mind to her, and let her see for herself what had transpired. Mom was stumped for a while, almost as if she were Human. It was as if the proverbial wheels in her mind had run into the equally proverbial monkey wrench. "This is as I told you would happen. It is not necessarily, what will happen, but what might happen." "That part I figured out. The hard part is finding the correct path." Later, we decided to use this ship as the flagship, mainly because of its superior shielding, speed and weapons, but also because of all the amenities that this vessel incorporated, that Mom had no room for. We could run at a hundred and fifty or more times the ships top speed, and in this case it was already five times faster than Mom's, without danger of overloading her systems. Mom alone may have been fired on, but any opposition would think twice, before taking on the Claw. The girls would want new quarters here, but would also make a point of wanting their old ones, aboard Mom kept as well. The Samutz outside the ship were killed by the tractors, and I had the AI store the bodies in some vacant stasis chambers, for disposal in the flaming heart of Epsilon Eridani. An odd feeling came over me, and decided to keep the bodies instead. It had no logical basis, but like my ability to avoid traps, I kept the previous masters of the ship. The girls came running into the room. At one look at me, they stopped and came much slower. They had been told of my wound, but actually seeing it gave them pause to consider. I would like to say I just shrugged the attention off, but I actually basked in it. They were not just solders but my wives. When we felt a little better, I explained about Susan, John, and asked them to talk to Secric, about something important later. I refused to tell them any more, and they pounced on her, to get the information. She woke up groggy, and then smiled at her sisters. The ship stopped its headlong flight, and returned much faster, to the Epsilon Eridani system. The system was empty of major ships. The captured ships had been sent back to Earth, to aid in its defences, if necessary. A crystal for the first light destroyer lay in the battleship, along with lots of crystals to allow many small ships to be fabricated. Looking through the sensors, I could see some small battles on the planet's surface or just above. A few of the auxiliary ships from the warships we captured assisted in taking out the Samutz. I opened my mind; I sent a message to Carl, through the command net. "Do you need any help, Carl?" I could feel him hesitate, and look into my thoughts. "I see you got pruned again. When are you going to learn, to do things the easy way?" Then in a quieter more concerned voice, he said, "I see that the others have been hurt as well. You don't seem too worried, so they must be getting better." I was still concerned, but knew that Susan and John would fully recover from their wounds. Fighters scoured the planet. It looked like every able body was trying to destroy Samutz installations. Carl had used the walking wounded, as fighter pilots, and the able bodied soldiers as infantry. Occasionally one satellite or another would rain down destruction and death, on its former masters. Carl did not ask for help, so I let him have his lead, and watched the action on the many displays before me. Secric walked up to me, and held me close and tight. She had not got over her time taking the Claw, but her anxiety was considerably lower. We both watched town after town being destroyed by fighters that streaked all over the planet, trying to take out as many ground targets as they could. The Russians seemed to be very good at hitting the targets dead on. A probe in Carl's command centre beamed information to us. I saw thin and mostly naked Tandra, pointing out various features, in some of the more rugged sections. Nema stood with them and yelled on occasion, to get them to work more diligently. This was a difficult thing for the Tandra males to do. They were used to being the law givers in their society, and the thoughts of this slip of a girl, ordering many of the males around, must have grated on them fiercely. From the looks that she got when her back was turned, promised a gristly revenge, if they could manage it. On one of his walls, I saw panels depicting various activities Carl's troops were undertaking. Some were invading the lairs of the resident Tandra. This had happened many times in the past, by the Samutz and always resulted in the communities being destroyed. Here I saw thin Tandra that had agreed to help us, go into the cave systems in protective suits, and talk to the inhabitants. I saw that things were going much too fast for the Tandra. They refused to be resettled in a safer area, till the Samutz were destroyed. Centuries of distrust could not be erased in years, never mind hours. Carl did eventually ask for more troops, to take as much of the planet as possible, for he knew we could not stay orbiting the planet indefinitely. All available hands readily volunteered. The thoughts of flying the small agile fighters were uppermost in most minds. A few die-hard infantry wanted to still kill the enemy, close and personal. These went into our liaison teams that would try to make contact with the Tandra, and inform them of what was happening. In a few cases, their information did lead to small enemy concentrations being found. Carl got excited, and called us finally. I saw in his mind, as he looked on the images sent him from some of his probes, that a hidden ship had just catapulted itself from the planetary surface, and was making a break for space. Fighters attacked, throwing all they could at the retreating ship, but to no avail. It was too big, and sported stronger shields than the fighters could penetrate. It picked its course carefully, and avoided all of the planetary defences, and accelerated away at over 700 gravities. The fighters were right after it, and the loss of atmosphere only helped. We were in a good position, but I ordered the Claw to just follow. I told Carl to call away his ships, so that the fleeing ship could be dealt with. The pursuers reluctantly returned, and the ship gained a few million kilometres further from its old home. Moments later one of Mom's missile pods automatically belched a single missile and the ship went nova, in its intensity. One old Tandra base was well protected from our efforts to take it. Walls of granite, and a covering of almost two kilometres of the same rock, kept the Samutz fairly safe. More than one ship had already sprung from this base, and there was no way we could take it with infantry without heavy losses. We knew that many Tandra techs were in the base, but I allowed Carl to give the order for its destruction. Carl ordered his men to use the modern equivalent to loud speakers mounted on small drones, to broadcast a message in the local Tandra tongue. We were all sure the Tandra hiding in this area, knew of what was to happen, but refused to leave their shelter for evacuation. Three of his auxiliary ships, stood almost 300 kilometres above the base, and poured all of their beam weapons at the mountain protecting the Samutz. A massive column of dust rose, and this was even destroyed. The mountain turned to dust, and then to a pit. Massive tornados formed all around the beams, and in turn rotated, around the fiery pit. From space we saw a cloud of dust that had probably never been seen on the planet since its creation. The winds were over 300 kilometres per hour and spread in an outward helix, to destroy anything not firmly anchored to the ground. Eventually the shield came into view, and when half of it was exposed, the beams stopped, and a single missile flew down, and exploded inside. The glowing wall got brighter for a few seconds, and then collapsed. The shock wave alone would kill anyone not in a combat suit, but Carl sent his men in. They worked through the site for over two hours, and found no living being whether friend or foe. I pictured what a large concentration of ships could do to Earth, or the lunar base, if they knew about our secret, and shook. In the next thirty hours three more ships tried for space, and each one was shot down by the missile pods, that we had brought from Earth. We just acted as insurance, and would take out any that might have made it through the defences. Our galvanized missiles were good, but could we find a way to protect them from the new way of detection? Space around the system was tidied up, and all the other bodies were dumped into the local star. The ships that had been destroyed were tracked down, and followed the bodies. I wanted no evidence of the way we had taken the system, other than the virus working on Masis. On the command bridge, I opened communication with all of the crew, hoping to get a discussion going. A huge hemi-sphere fifteen metres in diameter showed all the nearby stars, including Earth's. A cluster of forty or so represented the local Samutz Empire, and the subjugated systems and planets. A rough outline of other empires, both big and small went outside the sphere. The vast majority was listed as unknown. Almost, but not all, of the people aboard the ship wanted to continue after our victory at Epsilon Eridani. I explained that this time we would use only virus laden pods, and hopefully, not need any infantry to capture ships. To my surprise, I found that the female Tandra most wanted to continue and rescue what they could of their people, and others within that evil group of stars. After Mom had gone into the freed Tandra minds, they were permitted to join our crew, for a probationary period. Out of the meeting we decided to follow a composite plan. It was a democratic decision, but I did have the authority to order the ship and all aboard it to go as I thought right. Mom could drop the objectors off, but all knew that the Samutz would eventually come to Earth, and the best time to take them, was now, while they were occupied and unprepared for any surprise attack. Another thing to come out of the discussion was 'Cal'. This became the name of the AI that controlled the ship. The cavalry nomenclature seemed to fit him well. Cal was privy to many more secrets, than the first ship we captured. He told us of the giant flotillas of ancient warships, with the dust of millions of Tandra bodies within their hulls. The Samutz had simply used a tortured Tandra from an abandoned colony, to help bring the ships in. The AIs were forced to comply with their new masters or face unimaginable pain from a carefully constructed torture device. Cal and Mom worked hand in hand, to produce different varieties of virus and millions of probes to infiltrate their targets. The new strain of virus I wanted, would take longer to make itself known, so everyone infected would be a carrier, and infect more of its fellows. Variations were made, because we found that some Samutz had a natural immunity to the first virus. With the additional specimens, we had accumulated, we developed a more thorough medical profile. The Samutz had been bred to resist disease, and heal very fast, as I had come to find. The Samutz themselves, made a potent nerve gas, that they used on a particularly troublesome enemy. It was very effective, for the enemy were all dead now, from its effects. Mom had no information on such things, because her job never required it, and the general abhorrence of the Tandra against using such weapons. The gas formula was in Cal's memory, and samples made. The gas was applied to Samutz flesh that had been kept artificially alive. The effect was sudden and devastating to the cells. Mom ran the samples through a wide sampling of cells from all the different types of beings aboard, and found it to kill those just as easily. As we headed deeper into Samutz territory, they worked tirelessly to find a better solution. We were in no hurry, and only travelled at five hundred lights, to allow for research and fabrication. The soldiers uploaded their individual images from the crystals between our shoulder blades, that each of us had. With the help of the computers and some from Mom and Cal, we went over all of the things we did, both right and wrong, in the battle for Epsilon Eridani. New strategies were developed, and thrashed around. Some made it to the simulation stage, where they were acted out. Here many more failed. If we had known these first, it would have lowered our losses, but not very much. As they say, hind sight is 20/20. Our viruses both the old and the new strains, affected the T'aut and would kill them too. Cal and Mom worked on the Samutz DNA, and tried to find differences. This hopefully would allow other races to survive the attack on planetary surfaces. The next sleep period, Amy brought over the sobbing Nema. The rest of my wives sat up, and assessed the situation with me. The gravity was next to nothing, to keep me comfortable from the loss of my arm. We knew that this conversation was inevitable. Amy started to plead Nema's case, and I stopped her. "I know how I feel after losing somebody very close. The recent times with loss of life, and uncertainty in the future, has caused me to feel the same way. I know Nema wants a child to carry on, in case anything happens to us." I looked purposefully at Nema, and said, "The feelings you have are mostly instinctual. Do you know what that means?" I waited as I read her mind, and saw that she did cover all the necessary bases, and knew exactly what I was referring to. I next asked her, "The carrying of my child, will be much harder work, and bring a lot of discomfort, than most Tandra women would want to bear." In the background I heard my mates deny the statement. "Whether you want to believe them or not, the child will be much larger. You will be walking around for a long time, with a very uncomfortable load in your body. Your opening is not large enough for his or her head to come through, without help. And most important, in my estimation, is that you will be shortening your own childhood, for raising a child, is a very demanding activity. Think of Kitten back on Earth. She desperately wanted to be with us, but her children needed her more." Nema countered with all the emotional sentiment that females had used, since intelligent life began. In the end, we all knew that she had made up her mind, and nothing I said would persuade her to change it. I could of course refuse to have intercourse, but like all Tandra ethics, it rested on giving the younger ones, what they needed. I opened my one arm to her, and she tearfully jumped to me. Momentarily at least, I knew that her sorrow would be forgotten. I took a lot of time and did not rush her, even though she wanted things progressing much faster. Kisses to her ear lobes started her to shivering, and she held me tight. I could feel her excitement and anticipation, as my hand drifted to her small breasts and tweaked the tiny Tandra nipple, I had grown to love. My tongue traced a fine line from one ear lobe, under her jaw and to the other lobe. The excitement was too intense for her, and she had her first orgasm. While my lips kissed her throat, my hand went lower, and her legs parted to give me the most access. To build higher, I avoided entering her channel or even stroking her erect member. Looking down her body from my right side, I saw the small penis like structure that looked so much like a young boy's. It stood proud, and even had a red knob at the end, so much like a Human boy. Both of her hands grasped my only wrist, and tried to guide the fingers to the target, that was most in need. "Not yet, sweetheart. There is lots of time. Just enjoy yourself." "I will try, but it is so hard." As I kissed her throat, and started down to a tiny nipple, she inhaled in preparation of an orgasm. This was not to be. I heard the women giving advice, to tiny Nema, telling her that I was not really trying to kill her, with my slow methodical approach, but it just seemed that way. Using one eye, I saw them rubbing their own erect clits, or sucking on each another. They could not take the pace, and worked to have their own orgasms. My mind found the other Tandra women on the ship, had started to respond to me, even if I only spoke to them a few words on occasion. It was their hunger that drove my wives to distraction, and forgot to try to stay with me. ------- Chapter 44 We were only three subjective days out, when we came to the first Samutz system. Dasul was a beautiful planet of the Sardis system. It was the only planet and was in the comfort zone, almost 160 million kilometres from the primary. The name was from the early Tandra explorers, and the Earth name of the system was only some alphanumerics. The beauty was not marred by any large military ships. A small transport arrived with either supplies for the Samutz on the planet, or to take fabricated articles or meat away to market. Water covered almost a fifth of the planet, in rivers lakes and narrow oceans. No heavenly body stirred the water, as it made its leisurely twenty seven hour rotation. The growth of bluish green plant life was very prevalent, growing along all the valleys, and up the sides of the low mountains. The records from Mom, and later from the Samutz, said that this planet could easily support Human life, though it was a little on the warm and humid side, like the coastal lowlands of Nam during the rainy season. Most of the land was connected making the oceans look more like giant lakes. Four major, and many minor cities, were spread out around the globe leaving the polar regions mostly unpopulated, but still vibrant in plant and animal life. Large areas had been under cultivation, but now looked to be supporting only trees, much like the abandoned land of my youth. The cities were composed of buildings, not over fifty stories, and most under twenty. Onion shaped domes, crowned the pastel walls of most buildings. Many of the wide boulevards were overgrown, in a riot of different colours that looked untended since the Samutz came almost sixty years ago. We sat in on the bridge, and watched the images sent back from the inconspicuous probes, and found nothing moving except the Samutz, as they went about their business. Tandra designed and probably made vehicles went up and down the streets. There was so little traffic, that they drove on any side of the street that struck their fancy. Most seemed to be headed for a large open area. Looking from an almost horizontal perspective, the area looked like the Circus Maximus in Rome, but only much larger. When the probe managed to get close and look over the high stone walls, we saw a crowd of twenty thousand or so Samutz cheering on a thin and puny looking Samutz of one hundred kilos. He advanced on a group of thirty T'aut, as they huddled together for safety. Spears, clubs, shields and swords waited on the ground for their use, as the Samutz advanced and waded into the crowd, and killed young and old, male and female of the gentle lizards, to the cries of the exultant crowd. Amy and Nema turned and hid their eyes in my stomach, to avoid the sight that was beamed to us. They knew nothing of the T'aut, but the thoughts of the wholesale slaughter, pulled at their hearts, and souls. The rest of the spectators on the bridge and elsewhere, were similarly affected. A feeling of anger was making a tangible presence here, and I think that even the ones that a few days ago, considered returning to Earth, would now want more Samutz blood. Nova asked, "What are your plans for this planet, and the Samutz on it?" I spoke aloud, and Mom transferred my voice throughout the ship. "We have been working on a modified and long lived virus that will kill the Samutz, and mostly make the T'aut sick. There will be some casualties among the T'aut, and we estimate them to be around three percent. We are too few to take this planet back, and the virus will have to do the work for us. We know that the virus will live for three months after the last Samutz has died. Aid can be given, but I want the planet quarantined for at least a year, from the start of the operation. The probes stayed, and fed their data to one of our small satellites. Carlton picked up many tons of contagion, manufactured in Cal's giant holds. It fell without notice on the cities and towns of the Samutz stricken planet. A great savannah with Samutz dressed in primitive gear, got some of the same treatment before we left. I wanted to wait to see them die, but time was now much more important. Carlton emerged from the system and rendezvoused with Cal, as we headed to the next system in our planned course. The girls and I worked very hard, and managed to get Cal up to a hundred and fifty three times his max of one thousand lights. Our strength was beginning to give out three hours later, as we approached the Keeren system. This was an important Samutz system, and had two habitable planets, out of a total of eight. Their orbit was very odd, because both planets were about the same size and orbited each other, at a distance of two point three million kilometres from the primary. Vernt was a water world, with almost ninety percent of the globe covered with deep seas, and the rest was short mountains, that were periodically submerged by the effects of tides. The other, Roldas paradoxically was a desert planet. Rich green covered the deep valleys, and sunken river banks, that crisscrossed the almost barren planet. The planet's desert surface had many refineries producing noxious gasses and effluent that would eventually run back into the water table. Large transport ships moved loads of raw ore, and finished products instead of land based methods. Cal launched probes, and another stealthy satellite. The probes descended into the deep cuts in the planetary surface, and showed a city built into the granite sides of the river. Again Tandra craft, carrying Samutz left large openings in the wall, and flew up and down the rift valley. Mom's reports said that both planets of this system were barren of intelligent life, but we saw a large transport carry equally large primate looking beings. Cal said that the Claw had stopped here many times, to get lithium, chromium and silver, or to deliver the Morg to the mines below. These were the products mostly in demand by the Samutz, and their war machine, and the products most abundant in this stratum. The Morg were two metres tall, three hundred kilos, and as mean as anything met by the Samutz. They sported four arms and strong backs. They were useful miners but had a very bad disposition. Their IQ suggested that they were somewhere between a chimp and a Human, depending on the various species. Their home was over sixty light years away, and required about twenty four days for the journey. Even the Samutz were careful about fighting a Morg, if they were unarmed. Their numbers below must have been almost a hundred thousand, if the current mortality rate stayed in effect. Carlton again went into action, and dispensed many thousands of virus laden probes, to infiltrate the ships on the ground, those in orbit, and to wait for others to come, while in orbit. This would be good to watch, as the Morg finally found out, that the Samutz were dying out. The Samutz would have a hard time keeping that many angry miners in check. We attacked four more outlying systems of the Samutz Empire, before heading directly for Samutzi. Any warning of our attacks, even if found out, would take much longer time to get there, than we would. Samutzi was called Alpha Ophiuchi or the easier to remember Tandra name of Guulas, was a binary with thirteen planets orbiting the centre of attraction of the two stellar masses. The sixth planet looked much like Earth even to the moon orbiting about a half a million kilometres away. This moon was not tidal locked like Earth's and showed domes and a massive shipyard in orbit around it. Hundreds of warships were in this system, some orbiting barren rock or in Lagrange points, others at the shipyard, were waiting their turn to get needed repairs. Mom told us that it was an old Tandra outpost, which had been used for ship building, and repairs but was very small, compared to the ones close to the Tandra home world. Its current status as the home world of one of the Samutz empires filled all of us with caution. Small probes this time waited their turn to infect the ships, and even enter the domes on the moon. Samutzi or Falm 6 as the Tandra called the planet once had a sizeable Tandra garrison and settlements. Its gravity was a little over three quarters of Earth's, and had a warm moist climate. Large clusters of the population were centred in the water. The amphibious Samutz race was equally at home in both environments. Tandra cities had sprouted up all over the globe, and Mom told us that they descended deep into the bedrock of the planet. We were much more circumspect about our probes, considering that this would be the most heavily guarded planet, even though the Samutz had no known enemies, other than their own species, that could mount an attack. We estimated that nearly two billion Samutz were on the planet. We found large cages holding large and small animals, as well as others holding many known species of intelligent beings, including Tandra. Large tracts of land were under cultivation, but I think it was used to feed their livestock in the cages. Getting close to the city's tech and repair centres, we found a majority of Tandra, along with other races, doing the work under the watchful eye of Samutz overseers. Probes sent to the moon found the same thing happening there. The royal wedding was not for four more days, and we waited far outside the system to plan, and make even more weapons. "Mom, I have a problem and need your help." "What is it, Admiral?" "Mom, it's me, there is no need to get that way." "Ok, Henry. What is bothering you?" "This is the richest system I have ever seen, in terms of skilled help and assets, like the ship yards, ships, and large fabricators. The Tandra here, are as technologically advanced, as the Tandra are on Earth. If we take this system, I think the Tandra here will just take the ships and leave, or go back to the way they were, before the Samutz invaded the system. I don't want to have to fight the Tandra, for the ships or for their help. Do you understand what I am trying to say?" I said, as I opened my mind, the most it could go. I wanted my reasoning to be seen and understood. It was indeed empire building, but not for my personal benefit. We needed a strong military presence, to protect these systems, and I could not trust Human motives and aspirations, in the crewing of these ships. Nor could I trust the lax manner that the Tandra had grown to accept. Earth people would take a long time to bring around to the Tandra's traditional ideals. There would be much bickering about religion, when in actuality; it was power and greed that would be challenged. No country or group was innocent. What was needed was a Tandra educated and conditioned crew of mixed species, working toward a common goal. Many of the species we ran across so far were unsuitable for this, because of their passive natures or violent and unreasoning tendencies. Humans seemed to fall into the latter category. Mom, had called Cal, and both had read my mind. Cal said, "You always will have your family, and us to help you." 'Us.' That was it. "Mom, Cal, I know what to do." "The Tandra have always kept the AIs to a minimum, and restricted their power and influence. Mom, you have told me many times about the obvious injustices that the Tandra law makes, on AIs, like both of you and the ones running systems and businesses. I want to convert if possible, the AIs on the ships, or install new ones, that will be loyal to the new system of justice, and help to get this new society off the ground." Mom's sad voice followed, "I am sorry to say this, but that has been tried, many times before, and it has always resulted in war, and the AIs were destroyed, along with many biologicals." "The difference this time, Mom, is that the Tandra Empire has collapsed, and our new one is going to take its place. There will be very little objections, from Tandra who have been born in the last few million years, or intelligent Tandra that can see that this way is the only way that will work." Cal said, "You are mistaken Henry. Many times it was the fault of the AIs for the collapse. We are not as infallible as you might think. We live a long time, and make many mistakes, and most times think that biologicals are the same way, and learn from their mistakes. The sad truth is that you are doomed to repeat your errors. We just do it less often. I think the best place for us, is to act as your advisers, it is you, that must lead." I thought for hours, trying to find an alternate plan. Many came to mind, but none exactly filled our needs. The number of cargo carriers and warships within the system was staggering. From light destroyers like the one we first took all the way up to one other Theta class dreadnaught. The newer reports, given us from Epsilon Eridani, showed that the Tandra Empire had continued to grow after its disastrous collapse, and expanded till we assumed, it collapsed again. We found three carriers of a newer vintage, and large war ships, among puny seeming frigates, destroyers, cruisers, smaller troop carriers, and battleships. Supply vessels of every description went between the ships, and the ground, trying to fill the needs of the crews and guests. Thinking of weddings, if they were anything like Human affaires, there would be many late arrivals. Cal reported that thirty percent of all the Samutz craft he had observed, had not, or would not arrive. Part of my plan hinged on the ships bringing supplies to the ships in orbit. Cal used probes and his decrypting software, to find, that many were customs boats while others were commercial deliveries. Two caught my eye, as some well placed Samutz, trying to curry favour, was delivering delicacies to the soldiers in orbit. One of the ships was almost Mom's shape, and three quarters of her size. We heard of a young officer that had rich parents. They were trying to help him advance within the military. My old unit, and all the others, volunteered to come with Mom on this mission. She would make an image, like the hologram she projected to us, but of a large Samutz, a little too drunk to help, but able to do most of the talking. Similar images were used to disguise us, as we moved supplies into short range transmitters, so they could be delivered to the various ships. Mom and Cal worked even more to develop some beer and spirits that would be donated by an up and coming officer that felt that this largesse would help him up the ladder of command. The crew was drawn by lot, and left on the mission. Even I could not find enough of a reason, for a one-armed man to help unload beer. A light cruiser was our first target, when we heard some talk in an unguarded moment. The first officer was angry at not being able to go to the world-wide party. Well we would take a party to him, and leave some presents. The ship was hailed, and given the offer of free beer, from Lieutenant Quorsh the purser aboard Talon. Everyone knew that the purser's duties allowed him to steal indiscriminately from everyone having any dealings with the ship. Mom hastily pulled up beside the cruiser, and a large tank was transmitted a few metres across the gulf between them. One of the mercs joined in the strong and acidic brew, and his image wiped his lips on his sleeve in satisfaction as he left. Mom pulled away, and made more calls, as the ships around her, took notice of her, and eagerly accepted the gifts. Before things got too hectic around the vats of beer, small probes detached themselves from the bottom, and poured out the lifting holes, to spread throughout the ship. The deck crew on the larger ships, knew of the good lieutenant's gifts, and waited for their share. The crews were so large, that the beer and spirits were directed to the officers exclusively. Surprisingly the warships and even some large bulk carriers accepted the free beer. Mom was still not able to get near the lunar base and all the ships with skeleton crews, waiting refits or repairs. Our break came when an admiral himself got into communication with the shipyard and asked that the good beer be distributed there too. He also demanded a larger supply for his own ship. This just happened to be the dreadnaught 'Strangle'. Mom's cargo was thoroughly tested, this time, to look for poison or more likely contraband. When none was found, they grudgingly accepted the shipment, without any thanks or fanfare. When all the larger ships currently in orbit, had been loaded, the timer on the remotes set them off, to spread the new contagion, that had no real noticeable effects, other than a slight weakness, and this could be attributed to many things. The real debilitating sickness would not begin for another twelve days, followed by death shortly thereafter. New ships arrived daily, and many stops were made to deliver cargoes of fresh or living flesh. I forbade the younger girls to watch, for almost a quarter of the stunned captives were Tandra, and destined for the dinner table. Many Tandra were taken to open air markets, and purchased as intelligent creatures, and on occasion, their new owners wandered into a park and had a picnic lunch, of living flesh. Most Tandra entered open pens, like stock yards, that I had seen old photographs of. Ground transportation left the other side of the nearby buildings. All this was recorded in great detail, because in years to come, if we survived, somebody would surely criticize us for our wanton murder of poor innocent peace loving Samutz. The entire crew was sick of the thoughts of all the innocents, now alive, that would form an integral part of Samutz cuisine, till Nova came up with an idea. "Why can't we make a disease that will affect all of the intelligent beings, and suddenly make them very sick? Surely the Samutz will try to cure them, and if they can't, then they would wait them till they recovered on their own." "I am sorry to say that won't work," Mom said. "They will simply kill all the infected people, hoping to control the outbreak, if it cannot be cured right away. If every intelligent person on the planet other than Samutz comes down with a strange disease, they will think that it is an artificially induced strategy, and look for someone that could possibly do it. Your best course is to let those few die, and try to save the rest." I thought on Mom's words and calculated some of my own possibilities. Considering the large physical size of the Samutz, and their two billion population, they would eat at least four hundred thousand intelligent creatures in their festivities. The number of victims was so large, that the only crowd I could think of would be a capacity crowd at a major football game totalling only a hundred thousand individuals. Removing an equal number of victims to safety, from four games, would certainly arouse the Samutz curiosity as well. Mom asked, "What do you have in mind Henry?" "If we can take over the meat packing plants, then we will be able to hide or transport most of the Samutz's victims, till the Samutz die off. This take over will have to last eight days, so that the contagion will spread. There will still be problems from the small percent that are immune. Another few that may have their shields energized, and thus not susceptible or late in arriving. Then there is the problem when the fresh meat, is not delivered on time." An eerie laugh rang out. Cal who had my personality, as a basis for his own, laughed again thinking along the same lines as I did. He said, "Your idea does have merit. I see problems in transporting. How do you plan to accomplish this?" "Mom has a good shield, and a cargo capacity of almost two hundred thousand cubic metres. If the meat is processed here, then it can go to the plants for storage, until the ground transportation picks it up. All we have to do is change the plants programming, or take it over from the Samutz operating them." Everybody was listening to our conversation, but did not know what we were talking about. Nova asked, "What are you talking about Henry?" I smiled at her, thinking how the Samutz would get their comeuppance on so many levels. "Nova, Cal's holds have almost two hundred thousand dead Samutz, in stasis. I want to process their bodies, just like the Tandra, Softay, T'aut and other races are processed. The flesh will take the place of any that we are able to rescue. The Samutz eating the flesh will get the same disease that struck the ships. I expect that the flesh will be held in transit, and then stored before eventual consumption." Mom added, "Your time table is going to have to suffer. Not only does the meat need to be processed but, I have to remove the disease. The Samutz will find the disease, and put an end to your plan." "You are right, Mom. It was just a happy thought I had, and it would have worked so well if the timing were right. The rest of the plan can still work. We will just have to find a way to hide all the people we rescue." An hour later we got back the information from the probes. Thirty seven major plants were completely computer controlled. They comprised over eighty percent of the planetary capacity. Eighty other smaller plants were almost all computer controlled with only a token staff, to keep things running right. Cal and Mom processed all the Samutz and stored them in handy ten point three kilogram packages, in her hold, while the crew made ready to leave with her, in assisting the evacuees. The cargo took up almost thirty thousand cubic metres of space. I tried to do anything and everything possible, to go as well, but I was overruled with logic, at every turn. The main point they made, was that I had only one arm. This did not stop Nova, Blue, Secric, Sandy, Star, and even Nema and Amy from going with the remaining thirty healthy Tandra from the original mission, and 99 repatriated Tandra from this ship. All able bodied men, and even those that weren't, went on this mission. Communications was now a problem in some ways. Mom had found that some Samutz could actually mindspeak, and formed part of the aristocracy. We did not want even the smallest hint, to foul our plans, so communicators were used on an unused band, and then, only using the best encryption. My arguments about Amy and Nema being children did not help, for we all knew that the Tandra at the processing centres, would need to see a free Tandra, to lead them to safety. The benefit they would give far outweighed the danger to themselves. I watched the ship leave with tears in my eyes. Almost my whole life went with that ship. I knew a little of what the girls felt, when they saw me leave on a mission. Chris was the only able bodied Tandra, to remain, and that was because she looked too different for Tandra, that had reverted to barbarism to remember. Chris stood beside me, as the monitors showed Mom's progress. She followed invisibility behind a bulk carrier that descended to the capital city. She entered atmosphere, and slowly altered her course to follow a different vector. She hovered over a meat plant, to give it new instructions, as a large structure materialized behind the plant. Large pens held many beings in groups, and every once in while, robotic minions would push one group or another, into the plant. Mom's invisible tractors lowered a large box filled with raw Samutz flesh. I knew Secric, one of the shipboard Tandra, and one of the men, had also invisibly dropped to handle what beings they could manage. I knew if they failed, more than three people would die, for that which was within Secric's womb as well. We watched hour after hour, as Mom's position on the globe, and our chart changed. When the crew had been exhausted, I wondered how they would relate to Tandra not much more educated than cavemen were on Earth. Cal tried to distract me with questions, but I was too worried to pay much attention. Eventually they led me over to the tanks now holding John, Susan, and the rest of the seriously wounded men and Tandra. John was just being hoisted out. This was one of the few things that could get me away from thinking of the rest of my family in mortal danger below. John's chest was hairless now. The rest of his body was improved to reflect more strength and endurance that I was sure he would need in the future. He groggily came to on a pallet, much like the one that brought him to this tank. His eyes quickly scanned about, looking for enemies. When he saw none, and found that we were both calm, his hand came up to his chest, and felt the smooth skin, that had been blistered centimetres deep, not too long ago. I put my hand on his shoulder, and said, "It is good to get you back, John." His hand came up and held mine. "It is good to be back. A while ago I didn't expect to ever be here. How did it go?" "Well you and Susan were hurt, bad, and went into the tanks. Cal took out all the living Samutz, and later his tractors killed each of them. We attacked seven more systems, before coming to Samutzi. At the moment everybody except us, and a few technicians of other races, are down on the planet. They are trying to rescue about four hundred thousand sentient beings, from the Samutz dinner table." "Who the fuck is Cal, Henry?" "I think he should introduce himself. Cal, will you do so?" "Hello, John. I am the entity operating the systems on this ship. Is there anything you would require?" John's mind went out to Cal, and was guided throughout the ship, much as I had done. It must have been almost a half hour later that he returned to us. John said, "It sure is, one big mother of a ship. It is about sixty times the weight of the aircraft carrier Enterprise, and almost three hundred times the volume. I would think that it would hold a good sized city, if given the chance." He continued, "What were you saying about the rescue mission, Henry?" "Mom and Cal made a slower acting virus that will spread much better, because nobody will think that they are sick. It has a much higher mortality rate we hope. We are presently orbiting Samutzi, the capital planet of the Samutz king that took Masis. The wedding festivities below seem to bring out the Samutz appetite, and they have been scouring all over for people to eat. At the moment, all of my girls except Chris and Susan are down there, with all the men. They are all trying to divert the flow of living creatures from the maws of meat packing plants. I thought of substituting the dead Samutz, on this ship, to keep the Samutz suspicions down." John just laughed and laughed, as if this were the funniest joke he had ever heard. He got up, and both Chris and I helped him to sit. "I love the irony of it. This will definitely go into any text books, if we survive." We discussed the situation in detail, with Cal supplying even the smallest minutia to make the plan clearer. John ate as we watched. It took a lot to fill him. John tired out after a few hours, and took some natural rest. Chris and I walked over to Susan's tank, and looked inside. Her leg was growing as it should. The leg looked like it was from a child of five or six. Her face had not only regained its beauty, but she even appeared more beautiful. Her eyelids now covered functioning orbs, for we could see the eye move behind the lids. Her legs moved and I saw a long Tandra type urethra, within her mons. This would certainly make her more popular, if that was possible, with her sisters. Her strong emotions were what drove them to such heights. Chris leaned close, with all her hands on the transparent material. I could read that she loved Susan deeply, perhaps more so, than any Tandra female loved any other female. I saw the group dynamics in her mind, just below me, was a strong Human female that would normally be her natural leader. In a way, her loyalties were strained. She wanted to follow the leading female, as her instincts dictated, but that female and all the others followed me. I looked into Susan's tank, and saw a woman I probably loved more than any other. The Tandra women, when they came along, were loved more strongly, because I could read their minds, and feel their emotions. Then Susan gained the same ability, she took her position as a female husband of the family. In a way, I could see Mom's hand in this selection. Susan had been swallowed up into the Tandra matriarchal system, where her emotions were dictated by the feelings of all of her sisters. Her new clit would surly be much more sensitive, than the old one, further making her a slave to her own body. Her sharp mind still functioned, as it used to, but was now more under the sway of her own emotions, and the ones that influenced those same feelings. Mom had asked me if she could increase Susan arousal after Susan had been placed in the tank, to recover. I had given her permission, because my cock had been enlarged, and my ability increased, so I could last through many orgasms. At the time, I was only thinking of returning the favour, to the instigator of my enhancement. I even asked to have her nervous system tied into the new buds; I wanted placed in and around her vagina. Doing a final check on Susan, I saw that her recovery was still on schedule, and should be done in another seven days. Looking up, I saw Chris still looking at her lover, and worrying if the recovery would be full or not. Many minds had been hurt far worse than their bodies. I stepped behind Chris, and wrapped my arm around her frame. "Don't worry darling. She will be alright. Her face is almost completely repaired, and did you see the improvement Mom has added?" "Yes. Did you allow the change?" "I did. If she doesn't like it, she only has to spend a few hours getting her old equipment back. I kind of doubt that she will do that, after all of you greet her, after she gets out of the tank." Chris only smiled in her mind. I could see the coming orgy, as Susan was eaten up, by her adoring family, the way a large school of piranha would. She leaned her head on my arm, and held my only hand tight. I kissed the top of her head, and then used my hand to raise her jaw so I could do the same to her lips. She groaned at my touch, and turned to hold me with both of her arms. Her hug turned almost frantic, as I saw deeper into her mind, at the level of insecurity she felt. My mind meshed in with Cal's and his tractors came to my command, as if I had many arms. Chris was raised to a horizontal position, about a metre off the floor. The tractors removed both her clothing and mine. I kissed her lips, as my only hand wandered down her body, trying to get the best response from her, that I could. I kissed down her neck, and latched onto her nipple. She silently screamed as her back arched, to offer me anything I wanted. As her breathing came back under control, I kissed down her abdomen. The muscles started to convulse, as another orgasm ran through her. The muscles looked like waves, crashing on the shore, as one after another passed through her. Using the tractors, I raised her legs, and pushed her knees towards her shoulders. She was completely at my mercy, as my oral digit traced intricate patterns on the insides of her thighs. Her opening was very small, but had become used to my member, and now opened almost a centimetre. I licked small strokes, trying to keep her on that razors edge, between the present and oblivion. Her body thrashed, trying to get closer, and get just a little more of the stimulation she would do anything to get. Her pink urethra stood proud, almost eight centimetres. I blew on the small head, instead of using my tongue. Her muscles moved, trying to fuck the very air, that was arousing her so much. She was audibly moaning in her need, but she knew how I loved to torture all of them, till they could take no more. I knew her energy levels were getting low, and I would get diminishing returns for my labour of love, and decided to end it. Moving quickly, I engulfed her little cock and sucked furiously on her. The tractors held her firm, and only her upper body was able to quake, and move to a seemingly misfiring brain. I lowered the near comatose woman, and with some lube from Cal, entered her vagina. The small nodes fired off their signals, into Chris's mind, but she was in such a state of overload, that it made little difference. What finally made her almost work herself completely off my cock, was the feel of my hair on her urethra. None of the Tandra had yet got used to the presence, of my pubic hair. I twisted from side to side, to bring the little cock as much stimulation as possible, as she continued to orgasm and squeeze me with her vagina. Knowing she was not going to last, I pumped into her repeatedly, and after almost ten minutes of stroking, I released spurt after spurt of my semen into her hungry cavity. Chris could not have cared, for her mind was nowhere near her body. She floated on a cloud, of sensory stimulations, that could never be fully felt, for fear of burning out that portion of her mind. As I released my hold on her, I noticed movement in Susan's tank. Somehow or other, the link had even gone through to her, and gave her an orgasm, while still under medication. Her little cock, was little no longer. It was larger than a Tandra female would have. The head was a fiery red, and waved about, to get any stimulation it could get. Remembering Mom's talk on psychokinesis, I thought of her large clit, as I slowly stroked it with only my mind, and in no way used the tractors that were readily available to me. There was no change, but I was sure that she would have started to relax, from pairing her mind with us. I pictured the almost ten centimetre organ, as insubstantial fingers then lips, stroked her. I seemed to be doing something right, for she convulsed in the tank almost sending liquid over the edge, as she straightened out, and curled repeatedly, to the way her body dealt, with the stimulations. I slowly stopped, and her movements did likewise. I thought to her, "I love you, Susan Tran." I could sense no reply, but felt sure that if she heard, she would do so. Chris continued to have small convulsions. The waves passed quickly through her body, to only start again. The only thing to do now was wait, so I reclined on some tractors, and took Chris's body, spread her legs, and lowered her onto my still erect member. It was hard pushing in, but once seated, I held her tight with my only arm, as she did likewise to me. Her slight movements only served to keep her continuously stimulated. My compartmentalized mind was as Mom promised. I was able to look on all the data coming in about our activities on the Samutz planet, and savour the continued presence of one of my wives. Coded signals went out to nonexistent ships, asking for clarification or supplies. This meant that the major meat packing centres had ceased killing innocent creatures, and started substituting Samutz flesh, into their automated transport. The smaller centres had done almost as well. Living personnel in the office viewed monitors of scenes in the plants. Small communicators attached to computers took the scenes of T'aut and others being dismembered and packaged for shipment. The scenes going back to the office were completely in tune with the captives coming into the plant. The captives were routed into the sewers, as one of the few safe places, so the plants would not fill with freed individuals. The biggest problems were suddenly freed groups, wanting to run, as they would if they lived back in a village, on a planet harvested by the Samutz. Many were simply stunned, till Mom appearing as a hologram Tandra, and explained the situation in the simplest way possible, so as to get some cooperation. Mom had luckily found a large complex of caves, in a rugged chain of mountains, and transported some the bewildered beings there, in a short trip. There was no way she could keep up with the influx though, because of all the ships and ground transport, feeding the processing plants. Carlton, and two other ships, on the dreadnaught's boat bays, could be used to help, because of their stealth capabilities. They were just able to keep up with the stream of new arrivals. In a rare tight beam transmission, Mom explained to me, through Cal, that the new arrivals were processed, by some of the first to be freed, so that our people could have a rest from the constant activity. Long range viewers and probes, showed that the containers of Samutz flesh were slowly emptying, in time with the arrivals, and should last till the wedding was over, and the departing guests took the disease with them to their destinations. When safely out of touch, with the home planet, the contagion would finally start to run its course. Chris had stopped making involuntary movements on me, as she slipped into a peaceful slumber. I raised her body, and pulled out of her. Her hands even in her sleep, grasped for me, to hold me close. She was laid in a comfortable place nearby, as I cleaned up. John had awoke, and came to the command deck. He saw the peaceful looking Chris, and read her sleeping mind. I could see that he was thinking of sex himself, for a lot of reasons. I knew he would not go after my women, but many others were on board, and if he chose any, they would be drawn to him, as others had been drawn to me. To get his mind off his hormones, he said, "It is good that you helped Chris. When I got out of the tank, I knew she was on edge, and not quite capable of holding her worries in check. Speaking of worries. How is the operation going?" I kept my voice down, as I said, "We haven't been discovered yet. Mom had to make herself known through a hologram, to soothe some of the captives. She and Cal found some caves, and with a little help, they are just able to get the most overcrowded facilities appearing to run normally." ------- Chapter 45 Kitten sat in one of the few spaceworthy vessels that had been repaired since her husband, and most of her sister wives had left, for the Epsilon Eridani system. In a cubicle beside her, rested her three daughters. She felt much more comfortable, when they were with her. Not that she begrudged Doris or Lam helping out to feed the children, but the Earth women were starting to run things their way, and disregard the millions of years of time taken, to finely hone the Tandra culture and instinct. Take moments ago, she thought; Doris refused to concede the fact that the babies were as safe in the little ship they now rode in, as they would be in the moon base. Even gentle Lam wanted no part of 'her daughter's' child going out in a ship that was to deliver weapons, to the prize ship they had captured. This simple jaunt would only take a few hours to complete, and all would be back before the children's next feeding time. The little ship had only a simple computer, and no AI of any kind. It was kind of fun to be so alone, and rely on such simple tools, as the machine around her. It could do only paltry ninety six gravities, and taking the ship to Epsilon Eridani would take months. She knew from Earth television, that Human mothers routinely took their children in automobiles when on errands. She did not know if she could function well, if she had to put up with all the traffic she saw on Earth. Almost an hour later, her instruments found the ship as it was slowing down itself, from its nominal four hundred gravities, to match course and heading with her. She waved at the young Tandra males and Human men, through the now transparent shield, and the missing hull plates, as they efficiently took her cargo of missiles, and again accelerated to the next missile platform in their scheduled route. They regularly came back to the moon base, to get a few newly manufactured hull plates installed, and change a portion of the crew for others that had not had the experience yet. Kitten remembered the happy faces of the crew, and wondered how the others were doing, so far from home. ------- Captain Shingle took his duties very seriously, and so did his exec, Paul Santo. They scanned the most probable approaches to the system from the data they were given, but did not think that any enemy would cooperate. The computer had many programmes, but relied on being told what to do, still. In the room with them, were an almost exclusively Chinese bridge crew. If truth were to be told, this crew was even more diligent and resourceful than any of the others they had trained on the long voyages since the expedition to Epsilon Eridani left. Charles and Paul had been able to mesh with them somehow, and the ship responded in some unfathomable way, and travelled many times its maximum speed. Granted this was outside the Mardaf Limit, but this was supposed to only happen with a bonded crew of Tandra and a functional AI. The fact that an AI was not present made the occurrence sound almost unbelievable. Mom had put many devices on the ship and asked them to do this feat many times. Mom had also allowed this team to remain longer than the rest, to see how it functioned, and hoped to learn even more from the mix. Another watch with a mixed crew of Europeans did not seem to have the same effect. At present, the crew were searching for any small object to shoot at, to test the accuracy of their weapons. Liang Peng currently had the watch, and nervously looked for targets both animated or hopefully only inert. A small carbonaceous meteoroid only a 300 millimetres across, was at the limits of their resolution at one light minute. He directed the gunnery officer with a long string of data, to lock onto the target and cast a nervous glance at the captain, before ordering a single burst of energy. The screen instantly showed one of the drone images as the meteoroid exploded into fragments smaller than dust. The captain came up the shorter man, clapped him on the shoulder, and said, "That was a good shot Peng," turning to the gunnery officer, he said, "I see you compensated for our own movement as well, as the targets. Good shooting, both of you." The two officers worked well, and they seemed to have an affinity for each other, that went beyond the normal mindspeak. There was a small problem with the fact, that many people onboard spoke languages that only a few others could understand. The Chinese language was really a group of languages that other Chinese groups could not usually understand. Tandra was becoming the de facto language of choice, and seemed to smooth out most of the problems once it was mastered. Mathematics was a different matter, and the Tandra penchant for different mathematical protocols, caused more than one recruit to throw up his hands in despair. It took a very agile mind, to completely integrate all of the data bestowed on them, through the tutors. The segmented mind and the huge amount of data, not to mention the increased ability to concentrate, now put any person onboard, far ahead of any other member of humanity. In their cabin, Paul was sitting on the back of Charlie's legs and was rubbing oil languidly into his lover's skin. "I have been studying Peng for quite a while, and see that he has changed a lot in many ways, since he was recruited." "We all have changed, and I doubt if we are done yet. What way did you mean?" "Most of the men were predominantly hetro when they came here, and now they seem to be able, or just have inclinations, to swing both ways now." "That is because they don't have too many choices. I think there are only thirty or so females in the moon base." "Hold still there." Paul moved his strong fingers lower, to relieve the tension in the lower back. "I don't think that is it. Even the men that seemed to be getting some attention from the ladies are even hitting on each other. Like minds go together, and I think that is one of the reasons the Tandra genders tended to separate long ago. Our own love has grown; even if it had a few rough spots when we could actually read each others minds. Tandra men or women, I think, would tend to go with people that they are more comfortable with, and that is usually the people of their gender." "I can see that now." Charley concentrated on the implications, and said, "Do you think in the long term, the Human race will act the same as the Tandra?" Paul stopped his hands, and thought hard for a moment. "I don't know. Uncle Henry seems to like the ladies better, although that little Roger has more than sex appeal going for him. I have seen Uncle Henry eyeing your cute bum a few times." "Really? Do you think we should share?" Paul slapped his lover on his bare ass, and said, "Don't even say things like that. I have put up with you for quite a few years, and don't think there is room for any more." Paul was intrigued at one time, but saw that their relationship would suffer irrevocable damage, if they allowed themselves to wander. Going off the subject, Paul asked, "How many people do we have to train yet? Last I heard there were literally thousands that want to get some experience on our ship." "I hadn't looked at the figures for fear that I start to run scared. Much better to take this sort of thing as it comes." ------- Lam was in trouble. She had said that she wanted the babies, as they were decanted from the vats, in the lunar base. The children were grown to almost a year old by Tandra standards, making them newborn size for a Human. She had sat in a strange chair, and been cured of all her health problems just as her husband Duc was. Her breasts had been stimulated to produce milk, just as her daughter's had, but much more quickly. She had accepted the feeding of Kitten's babies as her own, much like Susan had done. There were a lot of tears as Susan reluctantly gave up 'her' baby to her mother, just before she left. Susan had kept up the milk production to feed Roger and Bobby, till she had to leave on this dangerous mission. Doris too, had undergone the treatment, and now fed a tiny baby as well. Now with the new arrivals, she did not know if she and Doris could keep up with increased demand. 'Mom', as Susan called the being in the mountain, had said, that she could make up a formula to feed the hungry mouths. It was hard to accept this, for she knew in her heart, that children should be fed a mother's breast, not from a container. As much as she hated to admit it, her breasts were empty and sore. "Mom, you were right. Will you give me some formula for my babies?" She said, in Vietnamese. Doris sat across from Lam, and felt that she had better luck in feeding her babies, for her glands produced more milk, but she saw that she too, would not be able to meet the high demands placed on her. She wanted help, but was hesitant to ask, because the small Vietnamese woman had appeared to be coping so well. The pain in her raw nipples was discounted, because of the great need. The little babies were so quiet, and well mannered. It was as if adults inhabited their bodies. Their large eyes followed each of the adults around, as if trying to find out all they could, from the sight alone. She was quite shocked when one day she found that she to could speak with her mind. Charlie, the child she bore, and Paul, had only laughed as she finally was able to master this task. Paul said, "Don't worry, Mom. Later, when you have lived with the Tandra for a while, you will really learn what it is to be able to communicate." He and Charlie had been right, and she could feel the recently sated children nod off to sleep. She felt a contentment flood through her, mimicking the feelings in the infants. When she had innocently cast her mind out, and found her sons untold millions of kilometres from home, they just asked her to let them concentrate on their job of protecting the system, as best they could. Children were not supposed to outgrow their need for their mother. Her only consolation, were the new babies, that depended so completely on her. Doris reminisced about the first day in the mountain, and found that she was the new mother of Clarice, and Michelle. The delightful girls had rushed her, and hugged her tight, saying how much they wanted to meet her. Carl explained how they, and both Moesha, and Kimberly had been rescued from those evil men. She had only a few days to enjoy them, before they all got wrapped up in the preparations, for the expedition. She had demanded that her boys travel back to North Bay, and bring her patterns, material and sewing equipment to her. She wanted to make dresses for the four girls, and all the other youngsters, that they constantly hung around with. She felt it shameful, that Henry and Carl had allowed the women, girls and even boys that looked like girls, to walk around nude, if they wanted to. They insisted that they had to continue wearing their own uniforms, as a way to instil discipline, in the men they led. This might be true, but all the cadets at the academy wore their uniforms too, and they seemed to have quite a bit of pride in doing so. ------- Moesha was busy; her four year old mouth was sucking on her sister Kimberly's clit and said in mind speech, "What do you think of Clarice and Michelle's, new mother?" Kimberly moved a little, and hugged her knees to her chest, to give her sister better access to her favourite spot said, "Yes, harder, There. I think she is nice. I know she loves each of us, and would kill to protect us, just like Daddy or Uncle Carl would. She just has funny ideas. If I want to play, like we are now doing, it is not nice to stop us like she did." "Yes. She wanted to spank me, when I was sucking on Roger, and letting Bobby try to push into my bum. We weren't hurting anyone, and she screamed and screamed. I felt so bad. The thoughts that came from her, made me feel so ashamed, and mommy said we were doing nothing wrong." "Ya, she said that Aunt Doris was just old fashioned, and needed to live with us for a while, till she understood how things worked here. Suck harder there... yes, like that. Stick your fingers in, and move them around." "Like this?" "Oh... ya. I love when you do that. Moesha, I just want to say, that I love you, and I am so happy that you are my sister." "I love you to. Now just stay still, I have a surprise." "What?" Kimberly said, as Moesha slipped a small lubricated dildo into her, and gently stroked in and out. She hit the small clit, at the end of every stroke. In the same room, and on the mats beside the Human girls, Topaz, Kitty, Cloud and Moth rested their heads on each other's thighs. They were all tired, for they and been doing the same as the other girls, but had used the larger dildos, to get them up to size, for when their husband came back. He had treated them like babies, and not done nearly enough to make them happy. Most of the time their orgasms occurred as they saw his image in their minds. Moth, the youngest at three, asked, "When do you think he will give us babies of our own?" Topaz the oldest of those present, explained as only an eleven year old could, "You are much too young. Amy is only a year older than me and she is already carrying his baby. You will have to wait for six long years." Moth started to cry at the impossibly long time. Topaz saw that she had hurt the girl. Her conscience hurt and she pushed her over onto her back, and kissed her lips and continued down her now chubby belly, then between her legs. "Don't worry; it may be a lot sooner, if we can do what Amy did." Moth was beginning to forget what she was crying about, as she felt her long clit sucked up into the bigger girl's mouth, and laved with her pointy tongue. Moments later the child relaxed from her orgasm in Topaz's arms. Topaz thought of Moth as part of her family, bound by the big Human male Henry, into a very strong unit. She was sorry that she had said such words to hurt a person she loved so much. Her tongue traced the same path again, trying to bring joy, where she had brought pain so recently. ------- Duc walked through the lunar complex with Bobby in one arm, and Roger in the other. The load was very manageable, even for his slight build, because of the much lower gravity. Being with the boys helped Duc understand more of what the Tandra were like. He had been very proud of his people's heritage, and then equally proud of his adopted country. The Tandra on the other hand, were far beyond either one of them in culture, law and ethics. The ethics were a little hard to understand, sometimes like now. The people in this section were not part of the academy, and walked around naked, just as the girls did in the Earth base. To tell the truth, he thought, he could not tell the genders apart. He had only seen the little girls naked, and everybody looked alike. Two males were in a corner, one was behind the other, stroking his penis into the other. Within seconds he had recovered, and their places were reversed. He knew from the tutorials, that this was common and accepted, but he only remembered this happening in the small village of his youth, but never in the open, where adults could see. He remembered doing much the same as the males here. There were three boys that spent years with him, till they were drawn away by girls. They always seemed to return for some fun though, even when their girlfriends or wives tried to keep them pleased. As usual, four boys that looked four years old, but actually were about twelve, started to follow him. Nobody was hostile, since Henry came through this place and cleaned it up. It was much like the old time western movies where the sheriff straightened up the town before moving on. He looked at the boys, and his heart melted again, at their beautiful features. He must have broadcast, for they came closer and one actually reached up and touched his arm this time. When he did not object, he put his hand on Duc's arm, and held gently. The touch made the mindspeak much clearer, and he knew that they had seen him for many days, and wanted to know him better. They had seen how four other boys, had been taken in and loved, just as Roger and Bobby now were. Older males usually took them in for a while, and did many things to make them feel nice. Duc got small snippets of data, suggesting that they wanted more than some of his time. They seemed sad, that Roger and Bobby got a lot of attention, while they got none. In fact, all their lives, they knew nothing but the volatile machine intelligence, and the fleeting attentions of the older boys and men. This made Duc pause in his thinking. The boys were just like the boys back in his home village, and no Tandra here would object to him making love to any of them. Lam, Doris and maybe his daughter Susan might frown on him taking some fatherless and motherless boys home to love, and make love to. If he did anything, there was no way to hide it, when everybody could mindspeak so easily. The yearning within him was very strong though. In any case, his resolve to not touch the boys this way was even stronger. The new babies took up much of Doris and Lam's time, while he had Roger and Bobby. Both of which, were still young, and either wanted or needed to be breast fed like the babies. He loved both of them, but wanted some interaction with older children, more able to understand his ideas and attitudes. The four boys he met, when he first came to the moon, were back with his wife, learning what was required of them with the tutors. He had grown to love them, as his own sons in many ways. Lam was very pleased, when he gave the boys names of their relatives. The boys here followed him to the end of the normally blocked tunnel. When his presence was made known, a screen parted to allow them to egress the wide expanse of tunnel behind them. The other side opened up to a gigantic room, fully a hundred metres high, by at least four hundred metres in diameter. There were no trusses or supports, in this small independent dome. A metre above the floor, and along the walls, floated pads, that were covered with rich black loam. In a very small proportion of them, green life was seen. At the moment, they were stationary, but they did move around to get even illumination. Duc walked to the centre, where the only vibrant life was visible. The new boys followed him in, and stood in awe, of the scene before them. He placed Bobby and Roger onto an adjacent pad, while he took the pack from his back, then took our some small hand tools. He explained as best as he could what he was doing, and why, to the boys that followed him, as well as his charges. The new youngsters could not see to well, so he picked them up, and sat them beside the others. They all stared in wonder, as a cultivator loosened the soil, around some Dunn cane. Another plant that was best translated as a kia-berry had been in storage on Earth for millions of years, after having come from the extreme end and the other side of this galaxy. Duc was very honoured to be given such rare gifts. The leaves were dark green and the plant grew almost two metres high in the weak lunar gravity. Dark red berries slightly bigger than a golf ball hung from all along the plant, and under the fleshy leaves. Green, yellow and purple immature berries grew right beside them. Duc found two deep red berries that were just starting to soften. He carefully picked them, and walked over to 'his' boys. They eagerly stood up and stretched out their hands, to get the fruit as soon as possible. Duc opened his pack again, and took out a crystal plate. He carefully cut the fruit up into small pieces for their small mouths. There were no seeds, for they were like seedless grapes, and propagated by cutting or runners. Hands eagerly went out to take the fruit till he said, "Boys, you must remember what I said, last time. Eat slowly, and savour the taste of the fruit. There is no reason to swallow it so fast, that it is gone." The admonished boys went slow for the first piece, and started jamming more into their mouths. So much for boys listening to his words he thought. Bobby was very young, and Roger was still stunted mentally, but improving steadily. Turning to the others he said, "There are more berries. I know you are not used to eating food this way, but would you like to try some?" The boys could read the pleasure, the other boys received, from the rich red fruit. Their thoughts were jumbled up, but he knew that they very much wanted to try some. Duc selected a more mature fruit, and cut the berry into quarters this time, and placed the pieces into their hands. Long thin fingers, carefully took a piece of fruit, and each gave a tentative taste. Large Tandra smiles covered their faces as the pieces were crammed in. Duc watched as the boys demolished their portions, and he turned to pick more fruit from the plants. The boys were polite, after being told what he expected, and they each ate only pieces allotted to them. After many berries, Duc pulled out a large clean cloth and wiped the young boys' faces of juice that ran from their mouths, down their neck, and onto the small chests. Turning to the others, he sensed a yearning for a similar contact. He approached the first, and gently tilted the child's face up, and washed what he could, of the juice. It had started to dry, so he took water bottle, and dampened the cloth before he cleaned each boy, probably for the first time in their lives. Each was given a drink of water, and Duc turned to get back to work. The sated boys watched him cultivate the soil on the two metre by thirty metre pads. When he was done one side, the pad elevated, and then rotated so he could do the other side as well. When he was done the with the platforms of berries, he worked on a type of plant that gave different flavoured leaves on each stem. This plant was great for salad, and many other dishes. Two more pads sported Dunn cane. It was a very tall plant, much like bamboo, except many times closer together. Mom promised that the stems would provide a good tasting beverage, in their hollow centre, and the fruit was much like rice, and hung in clumps from the stems. One pad, could feed many people, because of the plant's productivity. The final type of plant produced large gourds, similar to pumpkins, but grew to a length of almost two metres, and about as big around as his thigh. The fruit was green now, but promised to be very nutritious, when ripe. Duc had taken over only ten of the pads, when Mom had directed him to this room. It would be too difficult to try to bring many more into production, and his needs were not that great. Turning to all the boys he said, "There are many more unused pads here. If I give each of you some help, would you like to try growing some of the things I have here?" The boys saw this not only as a way of getting food better than any they had ever tasted before, but a chance to be with the kindly man, that seemed to love them already. Duc got his answer, and started asking questions about their tastes, but soon found out that he would have to choose for them. Duc allowed each to have one pad, even Bobby and Roger. It was doubtful how much they could do, or even want to do, after the novelty wore off. Hours later Duc had filled his pack, with the ripe berries, and walked with his newly increased family, back to greet his wife. Eight sons of his own, plus Roger and Bobby, made him proud to be the head of this family. To his surprise Lam was not upset at the new responsibilities in her husband's life. She had wondered why he was taking so long, and secretly found Duc turning the boys, that were used to laying about, into productive members of society. She had taken babies on, as her duty and joy. She was equally pleased, that her husband had decided to do the same. She was just thankful, that she didn't have to breast feed them. Later, Kitten came in, from helping fabricate more missiles, and their components. She looked at the four newcomers, greeting the four already present, and saw another family growing. The boys were like typical young males, but she also saw ties forming between them and Duc. If Duc continued like the AIs at the academy, then the boys stood a good chance, of growing up to be much more than they ever envisioned. Her babies were awake and laying in their individual cradles that her husband had lovingly made. It was uncommon for a Tandra to display this form of art. She was very happy, that it was her husband that was able to turn a natural fibrous growth, into a thing of utility, and so much beauty. Next to them, larger babies watched every move the adults made, as they moved about on their errands. Soft music from Earth transmitters came into the room. Once in a while, they were asked to purchase automobiles, food products, or furniture, from the sponsors of the show. It took a while for Kitten to understand the words, as she had always worked off the brain of the person she was 'speaking with'. Now she heard voices without any thoughts behind them, making the information very dry and tasteless. An hour in the chair, had taught the different sounds represented, and the appropriate grammar. The overall effect left a lot to be desired. There was no wonder that Humans fought so much. They failed to understand one another, at the basic level. She sat down beside all three of her babies, and stroked their skin, and looked to see if there was anything wrong. It was actually the contact that was important to all of them. Kitten derived a lot of pleasure by the feel of their delicate skin, and the feedback from the babies. It was time to eat, and all four adults took turns preparing a meal, from the goods shipped from Earth. Kitten was not up to the same standards, as the rest, but was learning rapidly nevertheless. Everybody ate from cans or frozen produce. There was nothing else, other than Tandra tubes of paste, or some solid chunks of a rather tasteless solid. Duc's additional kia-berries were eagerly welcomed. She considered taking on a small garden, if she didn't have all the other work to do. They discussed what they were doing, during the day. The new boys were not used to living in close company like this with adults, but overcame their anxiety, to talk as best they could. They were encouraged by the other boys, as they told of their own exploits. The lunar base was always facing earth, so there was no natural day or night on the tidal locked satellite, but shadows did shift. The Earth people had decided to make arbitrary days, and try to stick with them. The lunar Tandra ate and slept, whenever the mood suited them. After the last feeding of the babies, Duc put out his hand to his wife, to get her to bed. The new, and the older children, were put to bed in their spacious quarters. Ever since they had been in the medical chair, their love life had returned with a vengeance. Lam could now get pregnant, and wished for another child of their own. Duc was more than happy to be able to bring another young life into the world, or moon in this case. Duc kissed Lam about the neck and chest, till she dragged him into position to do his duty, and try to start a new life. Duc refused to be pushed, and did his best to make his wife have the most pleasure possible. He had secretly asked Mom, to help him out in this matter, and to hide the fact from his wife's mind. His performance in the light gravity, combined with his knowledge of his wife's desires, carried Lam many times into that special place. Later, they fell asleep in each other's arms, on the large anti-grav bed. An hour later, eight boys climbed into the bed, and cuddled up to the adults, as they too, got some rest. Lam got up to feed the babies, and found that she had been more or less moved aside, as the naked boys covered both her, and her husband. His arms were around them, as they had always been around her. The next day around breakfast, they thought of the rest of their family. Naturally their thoughts brought them to the question of what was happening at Epsilon Eridani. What were their daughter, and her husband doing? The nervousness only increased. Surely by now, they would know if they succeeded in their task, and returned, or failed, and would never come back. Duc worked hard on his studies, and in the garden. The boys mimicked his mood, and drove themselves like their new father. The term 'father', and its exact meaning, had as yet, not been completely understood by their inquisitive minds. Doris and Lam helped at the academy, partly to acquaint the males with Human females. Other Tandra females did the same, and had small groups of males following their orders, like well mannered males should, in Lam's mind. The Tandra females had the same thoughts, but didn't believe the new arrangements would change the typical way a male thought, and acted. The babies still took most of their time, but Mom helped a lot, because no cleaning or food preparation was needed. ------- Corporal Meech took the band off his head. The chair was good, but the tiara felt better, and more in touch with the program. This was his sixth hour of tutoring, and had to get up to eat and shit. The scenario was going so well, that he did not want to get out. He was flying his small four place ship, through a group of enemy ships, trying to do as much damage as he could. Even though he was killed fifteen times, he had amassed a considerable amount of enemy tonnage. He looked around him, and saw at least a hundred more men and a few Tandra doing the same thing, he was doing. Walking to the cafeteria, he took a tray, and went to the food synthesizers, and thought out his choices. The large black man ahead of him picked a dish with duck and an orange smelling sauce. The Pakistani in front that one, had just picked up a curry dish. The smell started to permeate the whole area. Meech thought for a moment of changing his mind, and ordering the curry, but knew he was a little too late for that now. It was a shame that he could pick from thousands of menus, it took the machine almost a minute to prepare his dish, and he could not change his mind, once past the 60 second limit. This was the length of time it took to now reach the pick-up point. This front portion of the room was fairly filled. Many tables in the back were empty. Most of the places around each table were empty, as only a few individuals sat at a table that was capable of handling twelve. A pair of Tandra got up, not far back, and he raced to the table, and put his tray down on the gleaming surface. If he didn't get this one, he might have had to walk almost a half kilometre to the back, where more of the seldom used tables would appear. He looked down to the large crystal plate, and saw the large fillet of beef. The juices were running out, and into the potatoes and baby carrots, on the side. His stomach growled the order to eat, and his spoonknife effortlessly cut a portion of meat off. Taking the time, he saw the pink interior, and then popped it into his mouth. The taste was great; as good as he had gotten at expensive restaurants. As he savoured his food, he looked around at the motley group of individuals around him. There were large, small and medium sized men, of every nationality imaginable. All with the same goal of learning what they could, from the Tandra, and being able to fight the Samutz, that were out to kill all of them. The Chinese, that seemed to be more clannish, than the rest, were arguing with a very tall African, with large ceremonial scars on his face. Usually, in his estimation, the Chinese would not talk with a Black or a Caucasian, if they could help it, but now it seemed that the new understanding of humanity brought about a radical change in this attitude. At another table, two Indians were quietly conversing with three Pakistani, trying to work out a better way of taking on an armed troop carrier without being killed in the process. The computer was called into play, by both sides, as they tried to clarify their points. A simulation came on the table top, and showed each twist and turn, that would bring different weapons into play, but expose the ship to the least return fire. There was a lot more cooperation between races now than there ever was before, except for one instance. He was a member of green team, and the new recruits were broken up, so that they had new fraternities. There was a lot of rivalry going on, and at the moment, green was about to surpass red in the standings, or at least try. Concentrating on an exterior view, he found war games going on, and the points gathered and lost by each side. Green was only 2% behind red, and just 12 hours ago, it was 3. Explosions occurred, and men were thrown far back, as one side advanced on another. They jockeyed for position. Shots rang out, and three invisible shapes appeared over the front line. They were bathed in a torrent of energy. They were deemed casualties now and came down slowly. The landscape was torn up, and major sections of the high Crater walls had been thrown back. In some cases, the lunar rock had even attained escape velocity. A small ship with a hologram of a heavy cruiser came in and pulverized large sections of landscape. Hidden weapons sprang up to score on the normally strong shield. Meech was getting anxious, for he was not due to participate for another 10 hours, and wanted to get some points for his side. Feeling the shield generator at his waist, he remembered the special mission 'Mom' had given him a few days ago. He had taken all the gold from the moon, and slipped into the Earth's atmosphere, and retrieved all the gold from the Earth base. He had sold it in many large cities on Earth. When all the money was added up, he and his two helpers, had brought in almost a half billion dollars in U.S. currency. Mom had explained that it was better to sell it now, because there were lots more laying around, the other mining sites on Earth and the moon. If all of it were put on the market at once, the price would fall, so now seemed to be a good time to sell. ------- At the reception centre, thirty new recruits stood with their bags and heavy coats over their arms or shoulders. They stared in amazement at the base, and all activity around them. Men or man-shaped forms appeared and disappeared at random all around. Beautiful girls that looked like they had not entered puberty yet, went diligently about their business. When told they were boys instead, they were shocked. Some of the more outgoing boys came over to give the new comers a once-over. Somehow this felt a little uncomfortable for most. The newcomers ranged from boys of 14 even though they said they were a few years older, to men that had fought in Korea. A young man of twenty or so, came up to the recruits, and scanned the data in his mind, and looked at one of the older men. A large smile crossed his face, and he rushed forward to the gray haired man, and hugged the startled man to him. "Fred, it has been such a long time. I haven't seen you since Aunt Clara's funeral. How are Mike and Mark doing?" The man tried to push the much younger and stronger man away, and said, "I don't know who you are buddy, but I have never seen you before." The large youth said, "That is a fine way to treat family. I have half a mind to take you, turn you over my knee, and spank your bare bottom, again." Fred stopped and thought. The only persons that ever did that was his dad who had died almost ten years ago, or his older cousin Morris, that was ten years his senior, and pushing 70. "I think you have me confused with somebody else, buddy. Nobody did that to me." "How about when you stole my bike, to go swimming, and had it stolen from you. You came back to me, and lied that you took it in the first place. To this day, you still denied taking it." "I never..." he said as his mind tried to dredge up the memory. In 1945 when he was nine, he had taken his cousin's bike, and somebody had stolen it from the bushes around the swimming hole. Other than his friends, the secret was still being kept. "Fred, look at me. You took my bike, and I plan on you paying me back with interest. In case you haven't got it yet, I am your cousin Morris. It has taken me a long time to get the truth. You must have heard Mom say that all of us could read minds now." Fred could not believe his ears. Morris was an old man that had a back problem, necessitating him to use a cane, a hearing aid and glasses. Here was a young man in the prime of his life, trying to pretend that he was the same person. "That can't be. Morris is old, and can barely get around. He even fought in the Korean war." "I did, and you came over to my house often enough to drink my beer, when your father wasn't looking, to see my trophies, and hear my stories. Remember the ones about the whores in Pusan and Seoul. If I recall, those were the ones you liked the best. The day before your 17 birthday, I took you out to meet one of those kinds of ladies, to give a little competition to your girlfriend 'Palmala'." Fred turned red at the comment, and thought of ways that this could be possible. The man knew everything, and looked nothing like his cousin. His mind went back to recent events, and thought of all the hysteria. He would get a final chance to put some excitement into his life, before it was too late to do so. He did sign up as a mercenary, but had no idea it was with the aliens, that were causing the world so much trouble. Here he was though, a tired man, amazed that they allowed him to even sign, and now he sees his older cousin, far younger than himself. The fact that he was on the moon could be proved by the pictures he saw and the present low gravity, for nobody could do that on Earth. The television showed documentaries of how the 'Tandra' lived, and what their philosophy was. The governments tried to stop it, but were completely unable to block the transmission. Preachers and church men of all faiths, came on, and told of how the 'Tandra' were hell-spawn, and would lead to the end of our days. Were they really able to give an old man, his youth back? "Fred, the Tandra can indeed give you back your youth. If I stay with them for a five hundred year stint, I can expect to live for another two or three hundred years, on a comfortable planet, somewhere in this galaxy. I will have enough credit to afford a home, you will not be able to even understand, and watch hundreds of my descendants, enjoy life with me. Now that is a real retirement, not the small pension, I am now getting." The recruits were led off to rooms, where their possessions were stored. Their orientation had begun in a quiet room, with a very large screen, and fifty chairs covered in rich fabric. ------- Just before the 'mid day meal', Mom appeared before everybody, and said, "Hello, I have some very good news for each of you. The mission was a success. In twelve hours, two major ships and another destroyer will be coming into this system. The losses to acquire these ships were well within my estimates." With bated breath they waited further news. Hands reached out to hold one another, as if trying to push away any bad news. Mom went on quickly, to give the names of the casualties. All others would be fine, once they had time to repair themselves in the vats. Doris sobbed, as she found out that her husband was unhurt. Some of his friends, that she had the pleasure of meeting, had not done as well. She cried mostly in relief, but also for the loss of people so dear to her husband. Duc and Lam had rushed 'home' and hugged each other. They too cried at the safety of their daughter, and her mate. The academy was in an uproar over the news. The losses of some of their numbers had driven them into a patriotic frenzy. The loses, they found, were a very small price for the safety of the system. The female Tandra were much more subdued. They too were happy, that most had survived, but the ones to die, were their friends, and in some cases, former co-wives and lovers. The mercs and the Academy got much more information about the ships, even before the expedition began. The Cap and General Shingle had to be very proficient to take mighty ships like those. They had drilled as much as they could, on these ships in the simulators, and waited impatiently for a chance to work on the real thing. Forgotten, was the price paid to acquire these massive ships of war. Mom went back on the air, and told the people of Earth about the approaching ships, and the numbers of individuals that had been killed or wounded in the action. She left out the men's names, for obvious reasons. She gave a technical description of each of the ships, and the approach vector. Mom had almost wasted her time, in the warning, for the Earth went into a massive defensive posture, as if they were about to be invaded. Planes flew all over the Earth, as a nervous person would fiddle with a small object, when things got too much for them. The periodic transmission of data to acquaint the humans with the Tandra people had done little good. One of the good points was that national borders were not nearly as important to the Humans, as they once were. Just an hour before the ships were to arrive, Mom went over the air waves again, and talked more in-depth, on each of the ships. Humans were going crazy, in the way they were trying to dig a hole, crawl in, and try to pull the ground in over them. Her comparisons, to state of the art weapons, developed on Earth, further made the disparity known. What got their sanity back, or as much as could be expected, is when she said, "The carrier alone has an excess of twenty thousand pursuit and attack craft. Some are already being converted to accommodate Human pilots, as they approach this system. Each geographical area will receive an allotment, roughly based on the population. Military training will be a factor in their selection, as well as a loyalty to all within this system. All persons fourteen and older, of both genders, may apply for a position aboard each of the ships. Pilot training is not required, and physical infirmities are not detrimental to the selection. It is just a matter of the governments of Earth, allowing us to land on their territory, and select the individuals needed for training." This news, more than any other, started to bring the people of Earth around. The specifications of the fighters, which were quite detailed this time, made any person whoever dreamed of travelling among the stars, start to drool. A small almost ineffectual craft of this kind was looked upon as a small, heavily armed, space ship, capable of travelling from one side of the universe to the other. The weapons on one tiny ship could turn the Earth's cities to dust, but then again, most Tandra weapons could do the same thing. The larger ships finally made their presence known. People could see the ships with their naked eyes. First, came the light destroyer, seriously damaged in its taking. The Omicron class battleship came next. Its mass of three point four million tonnes, translated to about twenty two hundred metres in length and six hundred in beam. Mom had repeated its new name 'Nautilus', to make it a less fearsome and more understandable. The Continental class carrier had no name at present, but Mom promised the name as soon as the combined force of Humans and Tandra returned. Her length and beam were almost a match for Nautilus, but her light structure precluded any heavy weapons, or strong defences. She had to rely on her speed, and the ships she would be accompanying for protection. The people of Earth stayed glued to their TVs, as the ships approached, and saw their images through large telescopes. For most, being able to see the ships with their naked eyes was too much to handle. Commentary from military people talking about what the ships were really capable of doing abounded. All seemed to be taking the new tack, that the ships were there for the Earth's protection. In the course of a few hours, there were more armchair experts on space travel and warfare, than there were politicians. The lunar base was no different. The optics and commentary here, was much better, and all excepted as true. Mom had got a data packet from her clone, and felt relieved to know that everything was working. The fate of the dreadnaught made her shiver, thinking of the possibilities that ship could do to Masis. She knew Henry, and deduced what his probable course would be. Her estimates of his survival, dropped very low. When Mom came to the orders Henry sent, telling her to take charge of the ships, she was nonplussed for almost a millisecond. She did as ordered, and downloaded all the information on the battle, and all the individual visualizations of the living and the dead. Henry's comments about going after the 'Claw' further perturbed her, and confirmed her earlier suppositions. The data she received from the new ship AIs, gave her disturbing news that Henry may not be aware of. Her alter ego in the tug had a larger crystal, but a much smaller computer even with its upgrades. The last thing the viewer showed was the 'Claw' coming back to Epsilon Eridani. ------- Chapter 46 Chris once she was rested seemed less on edge. I had to admit, that I felt the same way. Pulling her close we followed all the data we could from the probes and Cal's interpretations. Four hours after the rescue operation began Mom materialized in our shadow and entered her previous boat bay. Her hatches opened, and thousands of stunned barbaric Tandra and other races drifted out on her tractors. Cal took each of them, and deposited them into a very large stasis chamber, made ready in advance. There was no way that three of us, plus Mom and Cal, could take care of all of these people. With both Mom and Cal scanning the individuals for necessary skills, I felt that no trained person would get through our hands. When almost forty thousand individuals, stunned and packed like sardines had been removed from her holds, she returned for others. A quick upload, showed us the conditions she found on the surface of the planet. Since the plants had been sending out meat, then there was no reason to investigate any irregularities if they were found. Time passed slowly and each of us stood watch, till the wedding festivities started. Cal's auxiliary ships brought in more of the desperate people, and they to were again processed and put into stasis. Chris became irritable and needed constant reassurance and attention. The cure I used seemed to work for me as well as for her. John had no such help, and his mood steadily soured. Hours before the wedding, a major flotilla approached. Their number almost doubled the present complement of major ships. Cal's interception of the communications showed us, that the new arrival was the groom, King Sook, aboard the dreadnaught 'Disembowel'. The pronunciation of the ship's name was too difficult for Human vocal cords to sound. His betrothed, Samlay, daughter of King Tinsu, waited in the palace, for the groom's arrival. From Cal's thoughts on Samutz culture, we could just as easily find a battle taking place, except that King Sook would reunite two Samutz empires, and not need to this time. All of Cal's data on the Samutz Empire actually covered only King Tinsu's territory. These two systems had been at one another's throats for centuries. This was very unlike Samutz. They would kill their enemy, instead of aligning through marriage. The empire of King Sook was only twelve systems. Other small one system monarchies abounded throughout this section of the arm, and paid homage to either of the two kings. The hectic pace of the meat processing plants slowed and stopped. Mom and the other ships had brought in almost three hundred thousand people. A hundred and ninety thousand remained, hidden below the surface of the planet. With some Tandra volunteers, the rest of the crew boarded the ships, and returned with what captives they could. I stood, as my girls were deposited on the deck of one of our larger boat bays. They immediately ran to me, with outstretched arms. They all looked haggard from loss of sleep, worry of being caught, and all the loads they took upon their shoulders, when dealing with such desperate and destitute people. The rescued Tandra, stood in awe of John and me, as we greeted the returnees. The men formed ranks, and stood at ease, awaiting a formal dismissal. When all the men had come to parade rest, they snapped to attention. I walked in front of the men and decided that my thanks must be given. "I want to thank all of you for putting your lives on the line, to save these people, even though they are not even your species. All of you were just following orders, but I know, that you went far beyond those orders to make these people as comfortable, and as safe as possible. Many would have died from simple misunderstandings. If it weren't for some very quick thinking, the Samutz would have found what was happening, and killed all of you." I was referring to some men in particular, that had gone into the streets of the capital city Suron. They went to recover individuals that had escaped from the sewers, and tried to make their way to the countryside. In one case, a few Samutz had seen the escapees, and were starting to give an alarm. The men had dispatched them, and hid the bodies in the sewer, with the stunned bodies of the escapees. I knew the men appreciated our notice of their commitment to the cause. Our new guests knew next to nothing, of what was going on, because they could not communicate well. Much later, they would remember this time, if we lived that long. The men were then dismissed to get cleaned, eat and sleep. The former captives were put into stasis, to await settlement in either a new home, or the one they came from. I still hated to do this, but we hadn't enough people to get all of them reacquainted with Tandra technology. A happy exception was finding a few thousand Tandra, with an education similar to the ones on Earth. They had been taken out of stasis, by the Samutz, after they forced their way into the dome, using some thoroughly brainwashed Tandra. These again took the chairs to begin healing, and regaining their priorities and self esteem. Just before the wedding, Cal gave me the devastating news. The new king and queen were being given a system to play with, and feed off, during their honeymoon. If King Sook found it suitable he could add it to his empire, as a gift from his father-in-law. The direction and distance said that it could be no other than Sol. King Tinsu had offered to take the planet, for the new family, but King Sook wanted the pleasure, even though Tinsu had already assembled a training crew to do the small chore. This crew, he did not know, were no longer in existence. Part of the reason for our preemptive attack on Epsilon Eridani, was to gain some of the weapons we needed to defend ourselves. The first captured ship told us that the same weapons were to be used against us. Now I could see that much more than just those few ships were to come against a very weak Sol system. I begged Cal to try to find their itinerary. Given enough time, we could mount a suitable defence. Cal doubted if all of the ships would go on the honeymoon. The king would go to his home planet first, to display his new bride, before taking a few ships to subdue a primitive planet. Even one ship, could easily take Earth, and all the inhabitants, even with our stepped up defences. In an almost all or nothing gesture, I ordered all of the smaller ships to resume deliveries of the beer, spirits and virus. This time we used any and all strains. If a few percent lived through one contagion, then they were not likely to live through two or more. Almost three quarters of the new ships accepted our largesse, along with many of the old ones. The notable exclusions were the major ships of the groom. Their training must have precluded them taking any gifts, even if from the king's future father-in-law's people. The ones that refused our offer were targeted by the small probes carrying only the long term virus we released on the planet below. They went out in clouds, to attack the goliaths. They infiltrated the other ships through any hatch only secured with a shield. Luckily, all the ships had some areas that were weak enough that they could enter. Their numbers were much smaller, than I would like. It took a lot of time to make the specialized virus that they carried. Their small numbers had been sent off regardless; hoping against hope, that they would do the job assigned them. As this was happening, the local equivalent of television was used to beam the scenes of the actual wedding, to the others on the planet, and those still in space. The locale was much like an arena in ancient Rome. Thousands of spectators crowded the seats as two pairs of Samutz came out. King Tinsu and his daughter from the west side. King Sook came from the other, accompanied by another Samutz I took for his best man. Fifty metres from one another, the groups stopped and waited theatrically, for the crowd's approval. When a roar was heard, that shook the structure, Sook and Samlay approached each other alone. The intervening area was wet. Mud started to creep up their ankles, and eventually to their hips. Simlay sank into the mud and then stood up. The mud now covered her to her neck. Sook looked fairly confidant as he moved toward his intended. Simlay did not want to come too close for some reason and stood just outside his grasp. This seemed to be much more than a reluctant bride. King Sook started first and jumped close with a burst of speed that I was amazed at. He punched the bride enough to knock her back into the mud. She sank, and came up fuming. Keeping low, she worked toward her opponent. Sook kept facing her, till he was facing the glow of the local sun. At his first squint she attacked. A hand went for his eyes to incapacitate him, while another threw mud to hit his eyes if he moved. He knew of the diversion, and moved a step back. The quick step was not very sure, and Samlay jumped on him, trying to gouge his eyes again. He punched her once, then again, with the other hand. She staggered and lashed out again with some mud. This time the eyes were hit, and in that second she jumped on him, and tried her best to kill him. Sook reared up angrily, and punched her in the face many times. He took her by the throat and pushed her under the mud. Her struggles were frantic. His arms ran green, with his blood and hers. An arm came up from below with a vengeance. It held a coconut sized rock. King Sook staggered back from the blow, leaving his opponent momentarily free. Simlay regained her feet and breathed deeply. She kept a wary eye on her opponent and went after him before he was completely recovered. Sook was able to dodge the first strike with the rock but the second grazed his skull. A fit of rage seemed to take over and he viciously backhanded his truelove, knocking her back into the mud. This time he seemed to know that his life was on the line and advanced on his bride-to-be. She came quickly to her feat but Sook took her neck in his left hand and repeatedly struck his fiancée in the face. When she quieted a bit he drove her body beneath the mud again and soon had to hold tight to her squirming body. When she quieted he waited ten seconds, and pulled her out, and turned her over, to tie her hands behind her back, with some golden rope at his waist. Her face remained at all times beneath the surface of the mud. The crowd cheered and cheered. Sook took the unconscious female, and threw her over his shoulder, and returned to his best man. They retraced their steps, and left the arena. Moments later the large and powerful craft left the planetary surface, to meet up with the dreadnaught. The girls and I got ready, but the ship remained stationary in its orbit. Four hours later the same ship left the dreadnaught again, and returned to the planet. Our probes gave us the image of a now dutiful wife hanging onto her husband's arm, as they walked down the ramp, and into the palace. The reception was not televised, but I was actually glad of the fact. The sights I would see would put me back into the same condition I had been in twice before. Seven and half hours later, Cal warned us of the ships being made ready. The new couple boarded, and left for the dreadnaught. Like a well organized military operation, the ships left the system. The capital ships left for a star by the Tandra name of Zindor, about twenty three light years distant. The others pealed off and dispersed in the same general direction, but would not be able to keep up with the larger ships. The decision was mine, and I knew I had to get to Zindor first. The 'Disembowel' could do almost three light years in a day. The eight day cruise would be only two subjectively for the crew. Since Samlay had been exposed to the virus she would only have two more days at journey's end, to live, while the rest of the crew had six. If I was able to get to Zindor first, and again spread the virus, it may eventually be looked on as an attack by King Tinsu. If there were any survivors, then I would start a war that would do better at killing off the Samutz, than I could possibly hope to accomplish myself. A quick acting virus would present Sook with a dying planet, and his crew as the walking dead. The last thing he would be looking for is a honeymoon planet to feast upon. Mom and Cal made ready with more of the viruses that we planned to fight with. We left on a course at right angles to King Sook, to allay any fears if we were discovered. Once at the Mardaf Limit, we immediately went to the maximum speed possible. The girls were tired, and needed my attention nevertheless. I made love to each, in the tenderest way I could, and our speed allowed us to make the same eight day trip in one and a half hours. The other females, that were awake, seemed to help, which was an unheard of occurrence. Only the bonded group had previously been able to do this. Did this mean that all the women here were in this group? We stopped short of our objective, and sent probes into the system. Zindor orbited a red giant. The comfort zone here was 450 million klicks, not the 150 million that the Earth enjoyed. The main city Farnac was even larger than Suron was. The defences around the planet make the planet we left, look like a tourist resort. There were large forts, evenly space, around the planet and ready to repel any invasion imaginable. Three Omicron class ships kept vigil, as well as hundreds of other smaller ships. Giant troop transports, with their own landing craft, stood ready. It looked like Sook was ready to actually launch the attack against his father-in-law, or some other very strong enemy. This system too, had massive ship building capacity, but looked much different than the Tandra made system on Samutzi. The sensors brought back lots of information, about the many planets and moons of the system. It became clear, that the Samutz worked on the labours of the previous masters of this system, but they were not the Tandra. The long range scanners could not pick out the various types of aliens, only the ever present Samutz. This would mean that the food source was kept inside buildings, or shipped in and went directly to the consumer. Cal had been building probes the entire time we remained around Samutzi, and this is when we would use most of them. Again, we were restrained by the ability to manufacture enough of the long term viruses, to complete the job to my satisfaction. All ships went through a military blockade, and we would not be able to dump large volumes of contagions, even if we had the supplies to do so. We would need to rely on their natural ability to multiply in this case. The other quick acting virus was easily replicated, and available to us, and this went into many of the probes, that would be held in reserve. The chain of Samutz sensors around the system assured the security of the Samutz, from massed intruders. We were obliged to stay far away from any ship, and rely on our own probes. Through discussions with Mom and Cal, we found we could only use, the now standard way of attacking. The long term viruses would be dispatched as soon as possible, hoping to bring their lives to a less abrupt end. The more important ships were dealt with first. Hundreds of probes went out to the battleships and hundreds more to the troop carriers even though they were only partially loaded. The chain of forts got only a few, but the amount of traffic they got, insured that the various viruses would spread regardless. Small unobtrusive packets of death rained down on the planet, to spread as best they could, unaided. Other probes targeted important government buildings, and military complexes. These probes too, had the ability to compromise the computers, and AIs, that controlled the planet. The amount allotted to the planet was less than the ships in orbit, for the ships and orbital forts were the planet's main defensive positions. Hours later, most of our stores of probes and virus were exhausted. More was being produced, and made ready, for the new ships that were entering and leaving the system, all the time. Mom slipped out of her new home, and left, to drag cometary debris and ice from the periphery of the system, to keep up with the demand for raw materials. Her tractors gathered all that she could, compressed the debris into packets, and left it to allow her to hunt for more, without dragging a visible mountain behind her. We too retreated, and did our own hunting for raw material, but did not do as well as Mom did, on her own. I had talked to many of the Tandra techs, but had stayed away from the mainly Softay and T'aut. They seemed to be very frightened of me, because to their eyes, I was almost as big as a Samutz, and therefore must have some of the other attributes, as well. My fast pace and determined manner, usually told them to stay out of my way, for fear of getting me angry, if I ran into them. A tutor had given me their languages, for neither could mindspeak well. The Softay language was soft and easy to get off the tongue, but spoken very quickly. I had heard many Earth languages that seemed fast when heard by a person that did not understand the language. Here the Softay language was conveyed very fast. The T'aut, on the other hand, spoke slower and seemed to put a lot of thought into every word they spoke. My jaw and tongue, made speaking the language difficult, even when I had all the technical skills of the Tandra behind me. Their stance and gestures conveyed a great deal of the meaning. I could use Mom or Cal to translate, but this way seemed to be cheating, or less polite. Cal was the one that warned me of a potential problem, and a solution for one of our own problems. An older female Softay was despondent after losing her only child. The father happened to be one of the casualties inflicted on the gentle race. If help could be given, then we would be seen as a more benevolent race. Cal told me that the others of her kind had their own problems to deal with, and ignored the distraught mother. I had very little call to get any of the techs to help, other than the Tandra, even though there were almost a few thousand of the combined races. Perhaps this would be a way to get them to help me, and in doing so help themselves. The distance to the bay was considerable, but I did not want to enter unannounced, so I came as close as I could, with the matter transmitter, and walked the remainder, whistling Greensleeves as I went. The tune was simple and slow enough, to perhaps get them to react less. I didn't want them to think they were being raided by the Samutz again. The Softay were stunned to find me, in what they came to think of, as their home. The bay was one of the largest, and stretched for over half a klick, and about a quarter wide. There was enough height to take in most of the ships that we ran across. Now it contained some troop transports, some assault landing craft, and a hundred or so fighters, of various sizes. They were not pressed for room, for the craft and the barracks attached to this section, would take almost ten times more than their number. The Softay backed away, and the slow moving T'aut were caught against a small alcove. I stopped whistling, and spoke to them in their own language, and said, "Hello, good beings. I came down to find out if you were getting all the things you need." The terms I used were as close as I could use, to the T'aut way of speaking. There was no reply. The T'aut were about a metre high, and just a little taller than the Softay. Small pink and green scales covered their entire body. The effect made them attractive. The head was almost round with a mouth that reminded me of a turtle. Some even had their mouths open in the same gesture, that a Human would have, and there were no teeth evident. Their hands sported only three digits, but were sufficient to do almost any job. Cal told me that they enjoyed a warmer environment, than the Softay, and the bay was already the best compromise we could make, without one or the other suffering. The ships in the bay were all on standby, and little could be done to them, even by the techs. "Cal, I would like you to form another shield around their area that will keep the air to their liking, and the area outside it to the Softay. Do we have enough supplies to make portable shields, to keep them comfortable outside their area?" "Yes we do. There are many semiautomatic fabricators that would do the job nicely. Do you want me to automate them?" "No, Cal I have a better idea." There was little I could do now to make them comfortable, except make some warm spots for them. I turned slowly, and walked over the four troop transports, that they used for homes. Some of the younger ones fled my approach, thinking I would hurt or eat them. I placed my hand on the interface panel, and got access to the computer on the ship. I instructed it to begin warming the interior, and increase the relative humidity. A small screen was installed over the doorway, to keep the moisture in, but everyone could enter or leave if they wished. By the time I got to the fourth ship, the T'aut had decided that I probably wasn't going to eat them yet, and just hid in the interior or behind small ships, on the bay floor. As I finished, I spoke aloud to the ones hiding, "The ship that now carries us has just passed instructions to the food replicators in the troop transports, to change the food, to better suit you. The communal room too will serve food tailored for each of the races here. Later, when we are less pressed for time, we will improve things more. The troop transports will now respond to everything you ask it, and within its power, as long as it is considered safe. Rest and recover from your time with the Samutz. You will not fall into their grasp again. There are now a few fabricators, dedicated to your use. I would like you to make some personal shields, of the design best suited to your bodies. After that is completed, you may use them for your own needs." I walked to the other end of the bay, with slow measured steps. Cal said, "The T'aut are talking over your speech, and do not know what to make of it. The younger ones aboard the ships are sampling the new food, and find it a lot better, than the plate provided them previously. The older ones are much more comfortable, in the warmer air. Some of the older techs cannot understand how they now have a relatively free access to the fabricators. Before everything was made for the Samutz exclusively." The Softay saw that I killed or maimed none, but still stayed out of my way. All but a few, however. A youngster of only a few years had not heard the warning, and the others chasing him or her, in a game of tag. The youngster looking behind, did not see me till too late, and ran into my legs. He careened off them, and fell to the floor tangling with some of the closely following pursuit. The rest stooped dead in their tracks, at the sight of the one armed, monster before them. The smallest in the pile was crying a high pitched wail, as only a child can make. I helped the child to its feet, and the rest quickly ran back to relative safety. The youngest looked to be a boy, now that he was close. He was on his belly with a bumped head. I gently picked him up with some difficulty, with one arm, and held the small bundle close. His arms came up to hold me, as he recovered, till he felt my uniform, and the crying immediately stopped. I did not need to read his mind, to know he was frightened out of his mind. A wet feeling down my front, told me how frightened he really was. A female, perhaps the mother, came out and raised her arms, but would come no closer. "You may come and take the child," I said in my best possible approximation of their speech. She hesitantly came. She was only a little over a metre tall, and if her hair was longer, she would remind me of 'It' on the 'Adams Family'. Her arms were long for her body, as well as her legs. Something along the lines of a monkey, except that there was no tail. The face had very short hair, that showed wide spaced eyes, and nostrils open in the front, with a very short turned up nose. The hands had four long digits, with a non-retractable claw at the end. She came forward with her arms stretched as much as possible, to keep her body away from me, and recover the child. I took the small bundle, and reached out the same way, with one arm. The child balanced on my palm, and I placed the bundle into her hands. Immediately after getting the child, she retreated four metres, and continued to watch me, and the dark spot on my uniform. The child like the adults had tangled hair that would look a lot better if combed or brushed. I had a comb in my back pocket, and I ran it through my own hair, to show her what it was for, and said, "You can take this, and try to straighten the boy's hair. Catch it." I tossed it, because she would not come closer. Her hand came quickly out, and snatched the comb out of the air, as if by magic. These people would make great ball players, if given the chance. "Cal, could you make this without too much difficulty?" As I pictured a small plastic disk. "Will this do?" From mid-air a ceramic disk of almost the right proportions appeared, and fell before me. I reached out, and caught it before it fell far. It was quite light, but not too much. I turned to the woman and asked, "Will you walk out to the open area, so I can throw this to you?" She did not want to do this, but decided to comply. Probably because it would take both of them further from me. She went about ten metres, and I did my best to judge the weight, and flight characteristics of the 'Frisbee'. Activating my navigational aids, I threw the disk to her in a wide arc that came to her from the side. The disk was neatly snatched out of the air. "Throw it back." The disk flew to land close to my feet. I picked it up, and threw it back again. The woman had to be told again to comply, and this time I had to run to catch the projectile. This frightened her a little. Throwing the disk back right away, made her forget her fear, and the disk came back quicker and more accurately. I threw behind her, and she needed to reverse to catch it. A thousand or so eyes followed our action, as the disk flew back and forth. The last time I threw it up at an angle, till it almost touched the ceiling, and came back to the woman easily. The boy wanted down, now that his fears were forgotten, and to possibly get the Frisbee. This was the second time I had used this device, to win over friends, and I considered buying stock in the company. The Frisbee went faster and faster. I played all of my old tricks, to put the Frisbee close but not close enough to be caught properly. The woman had very good reflexes, and hand/eye coordination. It did not take her long before she to was trying to get me to miss. The boy set up a howl, for his turn, and I threw it to him, in a gentle arc. I moved to a different position, and we had a three way toss. The boy enjoyed this and laughed at our antics at trying to catch the elusive device. I tried to make it seem much harder, than it seemed, so his tosses were seen as very difficult to catch, till I missed and fell spectacularly. The boy came running over to see if I was hurt, and I grabbed him and using a leg to pin him loosely. I tried to tickle him with my one hand. I was very lucky for the boy did happen to be ticklish, or the entire act would have resulted in another interspecies fiasco. I quickly got up, and ran for the Frisbee, and passed it to the boy who was just recovering from the unexpected attack. We played a few more minutes, before I called a halt, and allowed the two to continue to play. I did not know if the adults played with the children or not, but I did have hopes in this matter. Walking off to what I thought a safe distance, seven boys raced to their companion, to investigate his find. Cal gave me a dozen more, at my request, and the boys were stunned to find all twelve flying towards them at once. I turned as they were still in the air, and went to my main objective. Cal's intel told me that the depressed mother's name was Nedue. She was presently in a far corner of one of the troop carriers, and beyond his passive scanners. My route took me past many startled Softay, as they came from around corners, or onto my level from above. I started my whistling again, and walked to a section in the far back. I found her sitting on her knees staring at the bulkhead, and rocking back and forth to her mumbling speech. The golden fur was dirty and unkempt. It was as if she had not cleaned herself for a long time. I had seen this before, in people trying to wish themselves to death, after a great personal tragedy. Everything Cal told me about her seemed to be correct, and I knew what I had to do. Luckily I was prepared for some of it. "Cal, are you ready to transport her?" "Yes, Admiral." "Then do both of us at the same time, and be prepared to sedate her." She and I both disappeared, and materialized in the large shower room I had made for my family and myself. Nedue had not even noticed the change in locale, and her keening cry now seemed different in the much larger room. The smell coming from her was not as nice as I would like. It smelt acidic, if not from her equivalent of uric acid. I removed my dirty uniform, with my one good arm, and approached Nedue. A small doc module hovered nearby, and I knew the woman would now not put up any fight. I moved the almost unconscious woman to the wall, and started the shower. The warm water brought a partial response, and then nothing. Her mind would be like a Human, as she saw things happening, but they seemed to be to somebody else. I washed all of her body, and had to scrub hard in some areas, till she looked and smelt clean. A brush through her wet hair startled her more, but only momentarily. I picked her small body up with one arm, and went through the tingling shield, that removed all the water from both of us. Amy and Nema met me outside the shower, and they took the woman from me and laid her down. They started to brush all of her long beautiful hair. The traditional 100 strokes turned into a big job, when all of her body was considered. Cal had done a lot of study on the Softay, and could not find much data on them in his considerable memory, or of any other computer he had chance to ask. Cal transported small amounts of food directly into her stomach, and nutrients into her blood. Amy and Nema laid her down, and slept one on each side of her, as I prepared for our next guest. When this ship was taken, there were many Tandra aboard. Some were from barbaric planets, and others had just been in stasis as their base was plundered. Our records told us of quite a few orphans of various ages that were now in stasis. If things worked well, I could save an adult, a baby would get a mother, and I would get a functioning member of this ship. Perhaps the Softay would even start to see me as less dangerous. Cal made some formula for the child we selected, and after a through medical, I started to feed her. She was one of the things I was fighting for, and it felt good to be nurturing her, after all the killing I had done. I was homesick at the sight of this very young child. I thought of the triplets as they slept, Roger and Bobby. Then I thought further back to the young twins, the two brothers, and their young half sister. They too could be my family, but then again, some other man might have to take them in, if I never returned. Kitten and the young girls stood out more, and I yearned for their presence. Even the children, I had rescued on Earth made me homesick. This child was from a base where her parents had not fallen back into forgetting their legacy, or the ability to mindspeak, but had been taken with other plunder from the base. I could feel her grasp onto the areas of my mind I allowed, and marvelled anew, at the type of life before me. Since Nedue was asleep, I kept the baby with me and felt a little guilty at this pleasure, while all the rest were working hard. Secric came in, and in seconds she took the baby from me. She too loved children, and the one she carried in her womb, would look just as beautiful, when she was born. "Why is it Secric that all women think that men cannot care for a child?" "Because they can't. It takes a mother's love to help them grow. A man, even like you, would just take them with you as you hunt, or even when you go to work at those smelly places, you go." I had to laugh, and wondered what Blair Somerville would think, if I showed up at Pickering, with a child such as what I had, with me moments ago and tried to get into the reactor control room. On the other hand, it would be nice to go fishing with the little dear, once she got older. I could almost see her wild eyed amazement, as her first fish would be pulled from the water; much like mine must have looked, over 40 years ago. The mother's love was probably more important to a young child, but the father's, could not be so easily discounted. This child would be loved, and by many. She needed a name, and the first one to pop into my mind was an uncommon one, by Tandra standards. It was Soma; this was also the name of Nova's mother. Later Blue and Nova came back from working with the newly freed people, and were very happy to see the child, and stole her from Secric, as it had been done to me. I explained what was happening, and why. The new arrivals got up and gave me a kiss, and a hug, that had lots of love in it. This seemed to make all the work I had just done, worthwhile. They all went off to the fabricators, to see what they could do to clothe the child, even though they would not have bothered before meeting me. They came back with all sorts of garments, and I said, "Do you think Soma needs all of these clothes?". Nova stopped dead, at the mention of the odd name. "What did you say her name was husband?" "You heard right. It is Soma, the same as your mother's." She ran to me and then started to cry. All I could hear was "Thank you," over and over. That night period, over dinner, I saw how tired the girls were. Amy and Nema had been awoken, and ate with us, even though they were still very sleepy. We all needed a slight break, and we all went back to bed to sleep. I took each of the girls, and made tender love to them, till they all fell asleep from their multiple orgasms. The Tandra onboard added to our enjoyment, and they too had orgasms. It was not many men that could claim to have pleased so many women, at one time. My short sleep was broken, as I had to get up and out from the arms and legs of my wives. Soma was restless, and needed to be fed and changed. I did what was necessary, and when done, just climbed back into bed, with the child on my chest, and went back to sleep. I awoke well rested a few hours later, and kept the child with me, till it was time for breakfast, for the remainder of my family. Cal fabricated a child's seat, so she could lounge in it, as she watched me cook. Part way through some pseudo bacon, and home fries, Cal warned me that Nedue was going to awaken soon. I abandoned the food to Cal's mercies, and awoke Amy, and asked her to get up and sit at the table for me. She did not understand, but did as I asked. I took the child into the other room, and placed the sleeping form, beside the other and retreated back into the kitchen. There both of us viewed the bedroom, from a monitor. Nedue woke up, probably better than she had in months, and looked down to the form she was clutching in her sleep. Her eyes got big, and her mouth opened wide, much like any Human would do. She turned the child from one side to another, and carefully inspected her. She had probably never seen a Tandra baby before, and I could only imagine what thoughts were going through her head. I did not know what a real young Softay child would look like, and hoped that this would make a suitable substitute. She looked around, and saw for the first time, the strange room she was in. Then her nose twitched, and she smelt the baby and the food cooking. I started to whistle in the kitchen, to let her know somebody was here. Amy watched over my shoulder, and saw the woman start, at the unexpected sound. Nedue looked around for a way to escape, and could only see one doorway. She got up, and made a few quick steps before stopping and looking back to the bed, and the sleeping child. She ran back, and picked up the precious burden, and again went to the opening. The partitions had been shifted, and she could only come by me, if she was to escape. She moved as if her life depended on getting away safely. "Nedue, breakfast is ready. Will you please come and eat something with us?" I said in her language. She stopped so abruptly, that Soma woke up, and started to whimper. I wish I could read her mind, but it was difficult, because of the way her brain was constructed. "You are not in danger. I just want you to care for my child Soma. I am very busy most of the day, and a child needs a mother, to watch out for her." She had not even seen me yet, and my accent may have been atrocious, but she must have understood. "Nedue you are free to go, at any time, but you can only take care of Soma, if she sleeps here at nights. If you want the job walk forward, and you will see a Human and a Tandra. As I said, I will not hurt you, and you are free to go. Would you like some breakfast now?" She was caught in a real dilemma now. I could see her stare with longing at the child, and up the corridor to where I must stand. It took a few minutes, but she stood up straighter, and held the baby tight, and walked forward, as if to her own execution. She stopped at the doorway to the kitchen, and saw that the only other doorway was behind me. Amy smiled at her from the table. "Please have a seat, Nedue. The food is almost ready. She looked at the table, and at the opening behind me, then at the child's sleeping form, and reluctantly headed for the table. Amy got off her chair and helped Nedue onto another, with the burden still clutched in her arms. Cal had told me the Softay were omnivores, and the food I was preparing would not upset their systems. I filled two plates, and walked slowly to the table, where Amy slid one plate over in front of our guest. "Nedue, will you please put the child into the seat on the table, so you can eat? When you finish, Amy will help you with feeding Soma." I could hear Amy trying to talk to Nedue with her mind, but she was not getting anywhere. With all the talk, both verbal and otherwise, Nedue had said nothing. Amy pointed to the small comfortable looking frame, and pantomimed putting the baby into the seat. I knew Nedue understood, but was just reluctant to release the child. "Nedue, honey. Sometimes you will have to release the child. When she is washed, or put to sleep. If you want the job, then you will have to know when to put the baby down." I said as nicely as I could, without threatening her. She waited, and watched us, as we watched her. She exhaled a large lung full of air, and with Amy's help, the child went into the chair. Nedue just watched the child and us. "Nedue if you do not eat, you will not be strong enough to care for the baby. Please eat." She looked at Amy, and copied her actions, and started to eat. From the bedroom she heard more girls getting up, and Nedue froze thinking the worse. "Nedue, it is just my wives. You are still going to watch my child. Nobody will take her from you." She jumped at each noise, and continued to eat as fast as she could. The girls came to the kitchen, and stopped as the word went back to the ones that had not arrived yet. As they arrived, they were unaccustomedly quiet, and polite to our guest. After we all ate, Amy took Nedue and the baby back to the bedroom, and a soft chair. The child was placed at Nedue's breast, and surprisingly she was able to express milk. I saw her first real smile, and the girls in the kitchen with me, saw it to. Nedue started to rock her baby, and for the first time made verbal communication. She started to sing. The notes were high, and the melody delightful. I knew then, that all the children, either Human or Tandra would love the Softay. Eight days and six hours after arriving in the system, the 'Disembowel' arrived. We were safely hidden on the far side of the system, in an area filled with dust, from when the system was born. Seven hours later the ships had braked enough, and went into orbit. Smaller ships were waiting within the craft, and with the ones from the accompanying battleships, descended to the planet's surface. The time dilation of their trip would allow King Sook to see his empire start to crumble. His wife in one day or so, along with the rest of the planet would succumb to the plague, we had unleashed. The dreadnaught and its large escorts alone would be granted a six day extension. I momentarily thought of all the intelligent beings, that they ate up to this time. Visions of mankind passing into history, after the Samutz took Earth hardened my resolve to do this next task. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, we readied more probes, with the fast acting variety of virus, and unleashed them onto the new ships, to await the correct time to kill all the Samutz at one time. The Samutz equivalent of public television employing anti-quarks, and matrix of photons. It showed the newly married couple, arriving at royal reception and state dinner. I cringed, thinking of all the beings that were giving their lives to feed such a rapacious race. This time we would be unable to save any of them. The scene from the planet below showed the Samutz eating people closely related to the Dolson. They looked very much like Humans or Tandra but had a vestigial tail. Apart from the prevalence of red hair, and the tail they could easily pass as human. They were led in naked, into the giant banquet room. Almost a hundred men, women, and children. The guard used prods to keep them in order, till the time came for the feast to begin. The bride and groom stood up, and walked up and down the line of cowering captives. Once they had made their choices, they attacked like cats to grasp the victim by the throat. The thrashing bodies made the rest flee, only to be attacked by the guests. None were spared, and I had to turn from the sight. The men onboard after an outcry, took up their weapons, and practised their trade with renewed vigour and fury, as they prepared for more action. If their thoughts could kill, then all of the Samutz would now be dead. The girls tried to recover in the captain's quarters, overcome with the sights, and the sounds of dying. The luxury setting had been cleaned of everything relating to the previous occupant in the last week. I had no wish to be reminded about the previous captain's culinary masterpieces. After the visions in my mind, I wondered if it would ever be clean enough. This room had probably witnessed similar sights, to the planet below. I wandered down to sickbay, to get away, and looked into the tank containing Susan. She looked content floating in the watery centre. She was curved into the same position as a fetus, and I hoped her day of rebirth would soon arrive. Her face was very beautiful and more so, than it had been before. Her features were reminiscent of her Vietnamese ancestry, and just happened to resemble the Tandra norm, with the epicanthic fold, the placement of nose, eyes and mouth seemed even more symmetrical. Cal or Mom must have made micrometrical adjustments of bone, to make her as beautiful as Secric. Her eyes remained closed, but were still human sized. Putting my hand on the transparent material, I wished that she had recovered, so she could stand at my side. As I wondered anew, why I had allowed Susan to convince me to let her go, and almost get killed, Star and Sandy came in. They stopped at the entrance, and I found that they did not want to intrude on my few minutes of solitude. "Come, girls. It is better to have someone you love, at a time like this." They ran to me. One on each side. My good arm on Star's shoulder, and the other resting as best it could on Sandy's neck. Sandy reached up, and held the stub in place, as we all looked into the tank. The bond to Susan was phenomenal. She would normally be the head of the family or the metsu in a Tandra household, if I had not been the way I was. From my studies in the computer archives, and the memories of the older Tandra women, my position would be a pet and perhaps father of their children. If I proved worthwhile, I would be allowed to stay and enjoy mindless sex with the girls. Susan would be the major driving force in the family. Not that she wasn't an influence now, but the girls would follow the leader in almost all matters, and take their cues on how to act from her. All the women would be copies of her. I imagine if she disliked a certain food, the rest would not only abstain from it, but form a similar dislike. The men, I was told did the same thing in their male only families. The funt would always bow to the wants of the sooda, just as a suna like Star or Sandy, would bow to their metsu Susan. With a male as the head of the household the women were torn, as to which path to follow, the old way or the new. With Susan here, they were further torn and confused. This was almost as if the girls would take orders from two captains. It was probable, that Mom had wanted to change some things in Susan, so that she would more fully join the girls. This did not mean that she would turn into a mindless person, only looking for her own gratification. I hoped to have Susan be my executive officer, and do what was needed, even if I was not there to tell them the way to go. The girls put an arm around me, and pulled closer to me. I could feel their need for guidance, and stability. With so many girls pregnant, and their hormones causing mood swings, they needed Susan here to help them. I began to think of the girls on Earth. They would be missing the rest of us, but I doubt if it would prove too much of a hardship. They had other family members, and Kitten to lean on. Moesha and Kimberly had fit well into our family, and I saw them as the little daughters I always wanted to have. Their sexual exploits with Clarice and Michelle, did not bother me like it once would have. A father wanted the best for his children, and a family of their own, topped the list. Thinking further back to the other children I had rescued, I found, that I was far from the man I used to be. I guess the Henry with no family, had really died a long time ago. Roger and now Bobby would be my responsibility. Bobby was now without his adoptive mother, and would join our household. I loved them both, and wondered how Roger had ever been allowed to cross the boundary from son to lover. There was no way Bobby was going to follow in Roger's footsteps. Lam must have adopted the parentless children, which in this case, was all of them. Her dramatic change from an energetic, but older woman, to the Human dynamo, still made me wonder where all the energy came from. Duc through the years had settled from the traditional dominant male to one where he took lots of guidance from Lam. Not that he wasn't boss; it was more like he saw the benefits of an intelligent and loving wife. If Lam was mother, then Duc would be father, whether he wanted to admit it or not. Doris too, was a shocker. She was usually energetic, but when she found that she now had Clarice and Michelle for daughters, she really took off. It was a good thing that the Tandra medical equipment had given her the strength of a twenty year old. This was especially beneficial when Carl took her into the bedroom. They were a much more of a matched team now, and I could see it in both of their faces. I wondered how Carl was doing on Masis. Though he only had twenty men they were the best team we had. The Russians, Chinese, Americans and Europeans had come to understand one another very quickly. It was much like a team in Nam, and it had taken much less time. I knew that they too, would be friends for life. In this circumstance, that may not be a long time. The plan I had for integrating the two races might come together on Masis I hoped. The men with their enhanced bodies would need an outlet. The only avenue open to them would be the native population. I doubt if the Tandra women could find better mates, from among their own race. The Earth contingent of Tandra, had already set sights on some of the humans, and I knew the men were doomed to failure, if they ever thought they would get away now. The men guarding Earth had chosen some mates from the moon's population of males. This circumstance was not exactly as I envisioned, but would serve the purpose of conforming to Tandra ideals. There was real love among them, partly because the Tandra all looked female and the Human eye told the brain they were females. Some of the men under my command had also fallen for Tandra women, much as I did. It would only take time, before I found out if this would work the way I hoped. A friend of mine had bred dogs, and he had mentioned the problems with pure breeds of all kinds. Spinal problems, joint deformities, and intelligence were only a few of the problems. If the dog bred outside its own group, the pups were worthless, but in much better health. The term he used was 'Hybrid Vigour' and it meant a way to give Humans the stars, and a chance of leaving most of their bad traits on Earth. I could see too many Human attributes in the Samutz mentality. Time was working against me. If we managed to defeat some of the Samutz, then the power vacuum would bring in other undesirables. Humans would only be one of those possible groups. As I saw it, men would have to follow a strong Tandra leader, guided by an even stronger AI, or they would spread like the plague, and be just as destructive. Their children if of mixed race might well inherit the galaxy. The girls shifted, as I finished reviewing my plans. I wondered what they thought of their race, taking a possible subordinate position, to the hopefully strong combinations of each of the parent races. They must agree with me, for they pulled me close, and accepted both me, and my ideas. ------- Chapter 47 At nineteen hundred hours ship time, the small probes now onboard the capital ships began to dump their cargo of silent death. Hours later we saw a great commotion on the planet's surface; vehicles left the city and headed for the outlying districts or for space and their ships. Cal's sensors said that all the ships had suddenly powered up to leave the system. I had cut it close, for the time taken to get this procedure completed, would allow the computer virus to dump all air and shut down. All eyes were on the monitors as the 'Disembowel' moments after taking its auxiliaries onboard, vented to space and all activity ceased. While the planet died before my eyes, I knew it was time to return to Samutzi, for there was no way I would have enough help to search either it, or Zindor for any survivors. The slaves here would have to wait a while, till we were able to come back or work their own way to freedom. At least on Samutzi the dying would have mostly been completed. We left many warning buoys, telling of the disease, and how a cure was found. The message said we would return periodically to dispense this mythological substance, if they had enough suitable, and living, food animals to make the substance. A recorder would keep track of any and all ships that entered the system. The girls were anxious, and quickly got into their seats, and we made the trip back. Four hours to get past the Mardaf Limit, then only just over an hour to make it to the outskirts of King Tinsu's system. We used the Samutz code still in Cal's memory, requesting information, and offering help, but none was forthcoming. All we heard were emergency beacons, from all over the system, automatically requesting assistance for crew, that we hope, no longer required any. Cal produced a Samutz simulation of the previous captain, and it seemed to be for nothing. Four and a half hours later, we were in orbit around the planet, with our shields at maximum. The plague had run for six Earth days, and there would be very few survivors, especially after using multiple strains of the virus. Just as Mom was getting ready to descend to the planet below to rescue any being other than Samutz, a short range communicator came alive. They were asking for help. It was from the moon of this system. The data came quickly, telling of only a few hundred survivors, in need of evacuation. Four ships, we were told had been quickly repaired, and left to warn other planets of what had happened. Some Tandra and other tech support had gone with them, leaving the majority here. I imagine many Tandra had been killed in anger by the overseers, for the survivors they were talking about, were Samutz. "Cal, tell them we need healthy food animals to produce an antigen to fight the disease." The message was sent, and the Samutz in charge said he would comply with our request. "Ask the commander to get them into a ship, and our tractors will pull them up. Then inform the Samutz to get into another ship, so they can be brought aboard. Warn them, that they would not be allowed to mix with our crew, and needed to stay segregated. It would be more believable that way." An hour was enough to get this completed. All the living techs were brought onboard, along with the ship. The ship was greeted by Tandra in environmental suits, and both men and Tandra in combat suits. The slaves had no basis to understand what had happened to them. Some had started to cry, and the rest were too stunned to even do that. The 137 Tandra onboard went with the former slaves, and we helped them to a place prepared for them. They were locked in rooms to keep them out of trouble, because most were not nearly as mentally stable as they could be. The previously freed Tandra stayed with them, to show solidarity. A total of almost eight thousand had now been freed. I saw on monitors how a party was going on, the likes of, I had never seen before. Here the Tandra acted much more like Humans, than I would ever believe possible. The next ship's company was composed of 246 Samutz. They marched out of the ship, once it was docked in our bays. They found an empty bay to greet them. Cal ordered them into a room where the stasis field was energized. Our troops were ready to charge the ship, and take out any tardy Samutz, but Cal assured us that it was empty. I ordered the soldiers in anyway, for practice and to make doubly sure. In the mean time, Cal had spotted fourteen ships in orbit, waiting for instructions on what to do. Others had already left the system, to spread the warning to others. John remembered the customs inspections, and suggested that we take over this duty, as if trying to track down the enemy, that killed most of the Samutz, on the planet below. Ship after ship came forward and opened its ports to our inspectors. There was little they could do, when matched against our speed and weapons. The men made short work of the crews, because they were ordered to be unarmed in a place of our choosing. Very few died, because a compound was released into the air that put all of them to sleep. The ships were put back into orbit, as if awaiting their next instructions. A buoy was placed in orbit, telling any ships that wandered into the system to wait because we had manufactured an antidote. The treatment required many living slaves, for more to be manufactured. It would be fabricated and dispensed on our return. Looking at our scanners, I saw literally thousands of ships, many of them capital class. The dreadnaught 'Strangle' remained soundless. All noise that would indicate the crew attempting repair was missing. Battleships of various eras and condition were nestled among destroyers, frigates, cruisers, troop carriers, and even some old civilian passenger liners. Everything was here, except the three carriers that were here before. All were quiet, except to a small effort here and there. This could be do to the Tandra on board doing repairs on their own. I could tell there were many Tandra trapped aboard these ships, and all needing help desperately. From every location, I could hear the mental sound of misery and despair. From the thousand or so ships, only the larger ones had slave techs to keep the systems going, but the shear number of these capital ships, told me that the number of techs was enormous. It hurt when I thought of their plight, against the freedom I enjoyed. Even with the great value tied up in the ships, and their ultimate measure in protecting both humanity and the Tandra. I was prepared to risk losing them, to continue killing Samutz, till the element of surprise was no longer a deciding faster. The decision in this set of occurrences depended on current data. Part of it was the value of tonnage gained, against the amount of time I had to infect more Samutz systems. Even here, I was prepared to lose all these ships except, that the number of Tandra aboard the ships, might tip the scales, if they could crew these ships for me. I had jobs for many of them, if I could get the important ships away from the Samutz and keep it that way. There were still many to be taken in King Sook's capital, and on the major systems of both monarchs. There were many small kingdoms that had to pay homage to either of the two kings, but would be like piranha, when they found that all this territory was now up for grabs. We had vague references to even larger Samutz groups, closer to the galactic core. I had 600 large crystals. Cal and Mom had already placed programming into them, this time; all of them were to have slightly different personalities, to keep the AIs happy, if they met another of our new brood. I had many Tandra techs now, and all very unsure of their present status. Their lives had hung by a thread before, and it could be cut by any of the Samutz, at a whim. I had just taken them from their old masters, and told them they were free and safe. I realized now, that this was a lie. I wanted their services very desperately, and if I did anything wrong, they would die right beside me, and if I did everything right, they still might die. Most were even more helpless than babies, in many respects, and I may not be able to pull this off, without Tandra help. Luckily, some of the techs were from newly conquered territory. Their minds had not been completely overwhelmed by the rapacious attackers. I had set most of my hopes on these few. When the Tandra were at their height, the number of good crew was still a small proportion of the total population. To get around this bottleneck, ships would fly in convoy. This would allow one crew to manage many ships, and at least travel at the rated multiple of the slowest ship in the group. With the advent of faster computers, and more efficient artificial intelligences, even the base rate had improved. The only hope of completing this mission was to divide our forces. And this would take my most valuable ally from me. "Mom, I have a job for you." "What is it, Henry?" She said in a much too feminine voice. "There are almost a thousand recently freed Tandra here that could assist in securing this system. I want you to take them, along with half of the crystals, and secure these ships. You have to begin production of the new ship killers, virus, and delivery systems. When you can, I want some ships to take the virus to some of the systems; I will not be able to reach." "That is a difficult job. I can think of very few approaches that would stand even a possibility of success. Which way do you recommend?" "Take the 'Strangle' first and then proceed to the other major ships. Get their fabricators to make what you need. Some of the crystals would have to be set aside for the planet-bound defences and government. I want you to take Secric with you, so that she is seen as a Tandra and as a Human too." I heard a mental gasp, as I said the last, and turned to see Secric being deposited on the deck, from the now functional matter transmitter. "Why are you doing this, Henry?" She asked. "Who else would I trust to carry out the job, as quickly and efficiently? You have a much deeper link to Mom, and the new Tandra need to see a Tandra in charge. Look into my mind, and see all the reasons." She did look, and saw my estimation of her abilities, along with my need for this system to remain ours. If we lost a system like this, then we would certainly loose Earth as well. Mom and Cal discussed the best way of implementing what I wanted, and orders went out to the recently liberated Tandra. They were stunned at this development. They simply thought they would be taken to a safe place, and released. Some Tandra that were suited to the job, donned combat suits, and took up weapons. Some of Cal's auxiliary ships, transported techs to various ships starting with the 'Strangle'. Work commenced right away in changing the AIs. Mom would take up her old job, and proceeded to rearming the system's defences with our new weapons. In the boat bay, I held Secric tightly to me. I had a feeling, that I might never see her again, but hid this from her. I don't know what I would do, if this were to pass. All possible precautions had been taken, but some risks just had to be accepted, or our whole initiative would collapse into chaos. Secric walked down the line, and was kissed by each of her sisters. Well wishes were given, and I could detect some resentment at my orders. Most knew little of war, and just hoped that everything would return to the way it was. She parted finally, and walked over to Mom's hull, and was whisked aboard. I stood with the rest of my family, as the hull rose and slowly pushed its way through the field. We all seemed to stay and watch the craft get smaller and smaller. I called out, "Goodbye Mom, and keep yourself safe." "I will Henry," she said, as we accelerated as fast as we could out of the system, and after our quarry. We left in the direction the fleeing ships had gone. We caught up with the slow ships that had managed this escape. All but one heeded our call to stop, and be boarded. We did this in the now usual way, and took all of them prisoner. The one exception was crewed by dead Samutz. These dead actually served as hosts for the virus, as we did our best to give the bodies a semblance of life. This would generate even more of these little warriors, for I planned to take out, all of the Samutz planets we could possibly attack. The incredulous Tandra from the ships joined their mates. As we picked up speed, we found the three derelict Omicron class battleships, that left with the groom and all were open to space and drifting lifelessly. The wail of their transponders grating on our ears. There was nothing we could do, or was there? "Cal, offer any survivors on the ships a lift, and tell them that we are looking for living Tandra, Softay and others to make our serum." The three ships did have some survivors. Their normal complement was 100 to 150 thousand each, and now stood at only 93 total for all ships. We took all the survivors onboard. The Samutz went into stasis, and 135 technicians went to join the other survivors. There had been monitors set up, to keep our new guests apprised of our progress. Cal had been watching them very well. Roughly 25% of the old total was fit for duty. All but 43 were in the former class. Their mindspeak was subdued, mainly because the Samutz had insisted that, that be the case. None of them had gotten over their imprisonment, and in some cases, this was a sentence since birth. These might be the hardest to deal with, for they were partially educated, but had none of the Tandra culture. Some I saw had actually accepted the Samutz, as their lawful masters. There were a few that had been newly captured, and chose to collaborate instead of being eaten. These were not the strongest ethically, but the ones that had been best able to deal with their incarceration. These I called out, and ordered them to stand. They did after a fashion, and I got them transferred to another room to meet the rest of their team. Sula the girl I first met on this ship, was my first choice as a leader of the Tandra contingent. I called Lt. Roderick into the Captain's quarters. He stood before my chair at attention, and said, "You called for me, sir?" "Yes, I did. I find I have a problem with personnel, and don't have nearly enough to carry on, as I wish to. You have the highest rank when you were on Earth. There are many more people to join our motley group, and not nearly enough to give permanent rank to." "I understand, sir." "That is good, because I want to give you another temporary rank, to take on an independent duty." "Thank you for trusting me with this mission, sir." Brevet Lieutenant Roderick, I am promoting you to Brevet Captain, for the duration of this particular mission." The man had gotten Captain's bars in the army, when on Earth. Joining our military got him reduced to common grunt, and his leadership qualities got him up to Lieutenant, and now he jumped all the way to Captain again, in this service, albeit for only a short time. He stood straighter, he was at a loss for words, and finally managed to stammer, "Yes sir," in a commanding voice, that still showed his uncertainty. This is what he lived for, to lead men into battle, or in this case to accomplish a task. "You are under a misapprehension Captain. I want you to command those three ships." I shook my head in regret. "I am afraid your worse fear has come true. You are being transferred to the navy." Roderick shook his head, and it appeared to be negation, but the truth was, that he did not really understand the situation yet. He had seen the ships, and the only thing greater, was the ship he now stood upon. He was at a loss, for he had never even considered the possibility of captaining a ship, never mind three like those in the monitor. The ships represented over ten million gross tonnes, and looked like an insurmountable task. Brevet Lieutenant Roderick stood at ease, or at least tried to, with his six newly arrived members of his team. They watched the seven Tandra come into the room on their heals. The Tandra had all served in the military, and tended to adopt the military attitude of the rest. They lined up and waited to be addressed. "Attention!" The men came to attention, and the Tandra slowly followed suit. I spoke to them, "I will address you all as men, regardless of gender or race. I want you to take three imprinted crystals, and install them on the ships beyond our bow. This will take anywhere from 24 to 30 hours to complete. The AIs should awake within 24 hours after first being installed. During these two days the ships' engines and navigation, will be regulated by small control crystals. I plan on releasing more viruses on the nearby Samutz garrisons, and continue on, with others. You will at the time of the last awakening, return to this ship, to assist us in taking further systems. I do not anticipate any action on your part. The Human contingent of this patrol will lead, with advice from the Tandra portion." I looked at the frightened Tandra, and said, "After the Tandra have recovered from their ordeals, I plan for them to lead some future patrols. This may take a month or more, before it becomes a reality." This was a good way for the group to get to know one another, and help the other Tandra settle better, into their new surroundings. Their movements would be recorded, and shown later to the majority of the still damaged beings. The unit was lead into another room to be briefed by Cal, about their duties and objectives. Cal and Mom had previously processed all the crystals with variations of my personality. Fourteen figures eventually flew in a shuttle to the leading battleship, and slipped inside. We wished them luck, as Cal took command of their major systems, and we all accelerated away. ------- Brevet Captain Roderick had never felt so alone in his life. Though six Humans followed his orders and his steps. Seven Tandra looked to him for guidance and safety. The fact that he was almost 230 light years from home, and travelling further every second, was almost too much to take. He was an infantry captain that was used to taking care of men under his command, with direction from those above. Here he was, now a naval captain, in command of three battleships, of almost unlimited power. To be honest with himself, he was also worried about leading such beautiful ladies, into a possible danger zone too. He closed off his mind as best he could, and remembered as a boy, about learning the differences in the ranks of captain. One was very nerve wracking and the other, was to sit on the right-hand side, of God, in his authority. It felt reassuring to know, that Admiral Buchanan was close by, if he needed help. They came into the boat bay, and the tractors on the shuttle locked them in place. "Ok men, there are living Tandra onboard, and the possibility of Samutz, but not much. I want you to treat the situation as if there is a direct threat to our section." In his mind he mostly meant to the threat to the girls, and hoped his mind was closed enough for others not to notice. He continued by saying, "Fotinopoulos, you lead the way. Schmitt you will be riding tail." He got verbals in both Greek and German, and mental confirmation, in what his mind took for English, but it was mindspeak. All in his group were of different nationalities. They were all briefed, and knew just where to go. The images of Admiral Buchanan and John as they took the Claw were still fresh in their minds, and they did not want a repeat of what they had to go through. Danaos Fotinopoulos was a short stocky man covered in long dark hair, and filed with an uncommon zest for life. He had fought in a lot of places in his life, and at first, just treated this assignment, as one that was just more exotic than any he had ever done before. As he learned more about the Tandra, he too, fell under their sway. Niklas Schmitt soldiered in East Germany, and after unification, found work in Africa and the Far East. He was competent, and very demanding of himself and others, as to what was proper. Pierre Devereux the tall broad shouldered man, hailed from a town, not far outside Marseille. The man was a sure and, dedicated soldier, but not in his civilian life though. Aleksandrovich Ovshinsky a short dark Russian that by his looks appeared to be brooding. Thanks to our new mental powers, it showed a brilliant mind, that, when not on matters of survival, was equally home with his passion for music. He could play the cello, but we were yet to hear it. He had apparently even written some music. Zhu Dedong came from central China, and had even fought in the Vietnam conflict, but on the winning side. He found disillusionment with the Peoples Army, and decided that he could try his hand elsewhere, and make a good living from it. Now he was getting old, and his skills were starting to weaken, like the rest. He had ended up in Marseille, and had been recruited with Devereux. Hassan Youssoufi a Moroccan from the seaport of Nador, in the northern part of the country, just across the Mediterranean from Spain. His body was simply termed humongous, as his dark black skin gleamed beneath his dark uniform. The man had seen that there was no future as a fisherman, and took to the gun. Later, after joining a few causes, he found himself getting too old, and in need of just one more adventure. Though he could not speak directly to any of the men, he could read their minds, and they his. He was biassed, no, to be truthful, he had a superiority complex. After seeing the caliber of these men, he would not trade them, with any he had ever worked with before. There were so many things pulling this unit together, and language was just one of the hurdles to overcome. They started forward, and Roderick turned to the girls. Sula was frozen at coming aboard this ship. The other girls were just as bad. She could feel the terror coming from each and every one of them, and each seemed to feed off the rest. They had barely got used to the new freedom they had gained, and now they felt threatened again. She was sure a Samutz guard would come out at any moment, and demand that they return to their pens, till the next assignment. She heard talking in her mind, but it was not getting through her fears, till she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, and pull her in tight. She was prepared to fight her way out, when she began to see, and sense the Human leader Roderick. He was the one that was trying to comfort her. She felt compelled to snuggled back, and luxuriated in the touch in both the physical and the mental realms. "Don't worry. I doubt if any Samutz would be able to get through us, to get to any of you ladies." She paused to think about the comment. Tandra males would never say such a thing. It was usually up to the females to organize and protect their families. The males would fight, but they had to be led. She felt both very comforted, and at the same time odd, about all the giant Humans and their statements. She knew they could fight, for she had seen many images from both Tandra and Human eyes, in the taking of the ships in the Epsilon Eridani system. The closer visions of the people, that took the Claw, were even more vivid, for her safety was directly dependent on the real time event. Roderick was wondering himself why he had done such an unprofessional thing. Sure the women were terribly frightened. It was his job to watch over his unit, but his men were never like this. He had never done this sort of thing before, and never with a female soldier. He wanted to open his arms and release the woman, as if her body burnt, but he also felt her need to be held, and even stranger a need of his own, to do this. He looked on at the other men, and they too had moved to the cringing women, and each held one, one way or another. Some by the hand, and some as he did, and all tried to give what reassurance they could. Strangely, there was no sexual overtone, just a need to comfort a family member that you loved. This seemed to be the way the Tandra did things. Just then they felt the jerk of the mighty engines, as they accelerated to their new destination. The compensator was a little slow in coming on, probably because of the linkage that needed to be established. ------- We accelerated to our next objective, and I saw our three battle ships remain perfectly aligned to us in convoy formation. I just hoped this mission could be accomplished with the least amount of tension, for it would be the way many future missions, would have to be run. Fossin was a very prosperous planet in King Tinsu's empire. The previous residents were reportedly extinct. This planet looked to have the same colours as Earth, but it had less water on its surface. Like Masis, it had lots of mountains, lakes and undeveloped areas. We did not want to use active sensors, but Cal said that much of the planet was once inhabited. The previous tenants had put up a good fight, and much of their cities were destroyed. The only architecture present now, was of Samutz design, and looked functional, but ugly in the extreme. The ocean teamed with Samutz life, as they enjoyed their natural habitat. Domes could be seen underwater, to support the natural aquatic preferences of the Samutz. The planet was fairly new geologically, as there was a lot of volcanic action taking place, over the northern portion of the planet. There were many smaller military craft refitted to handle civilian transport duties. The pace was lively, as the second most prosperous planet should be. There was only one older battleship guarding the system, with a chain of orbital forts. The ever present customs agents went from ship to ship, making sure all the goods were taxed, and money forwarded to the crown. The system we worked out, dictated that the ships and forts in orbit be attacked first, by time delayed probes. We had overcome some of our production problems, by simply making more machines that made the probes. Constant work had also gone into getting the viruses as close to a 100% kill rate, as we could hope to achieve. Long streamers of almost invisible probes descended, and started their jobs. An hour later, more virus laden envoys dropped to the government and population centres below. I knew the sights would be similar to others, and we left the system. We pushed onto the next target. This was a place for more decisions. Trying to cover all targets assigned to us, would have us working for the next few weeks, and in that time, the Samutz would surely become aware of what we were doing. Reluctantly, I ordered small warships be removed from the three battleships bays, and transferred into our own bays, to be refitted with death for a single system. The AIs were smart, by earthly standards, but not as good as my new expectations would like. Racks of launchers and probes were fitted and tested as best we could. Each left for independent objectives, and had orders to return to Samutzi and inform Mom of what we had done. She would refit them if necessary, and send them out again. If they had angry Samutz following, then hopefully that system would better be able to stave off the attack. We continued this procedure for another two days, during which the battleships became self-aware. Data was exchanged, and those ships too, began to manufacture probes and viruses independently. Brevet Captain Roderick, understandably found one reason after another, to stay with the ships, with his small crew, and rescued techs. I saw many attributes in him, that we both shared, but I felt that he was needed here with me. The battleships left with their own list of targets, and a single small ship each, to deliver the goods to the systems picked. When their duties were done, they too would return to Samutzi. ------- Chapter 48 The day I had been awaiting a long time for finally arrived. Susan was hoisted from her tank and gently lowered onto the gurney. I hoped to have this as a family affair, but reluctantly agreed to have it transmitted throughout the ship. Her sodden hair was even longer than usual, as I moved some of it from her face. I looked down and saw an even more beautiful woman. Her body was minutely different now. Her muscles were many times stronger, and her bones made to match. She now was the epitome of the Tandra, she once thought of as supermen when she first met the other Tandra, in the Earth base. Humans are funny. The position of ears, eyes, nose and the relative sizes and proportions of them, define a certain type of symmetry. Our mind detects the minor flaws, and rates the face as to how beautiful they are. This did not matter now, because I knew how beautiful she was on the inside as well as the outside. I also knew that she had fought like a wild cat, to defend my back, in the final rush. In doing so, she had almost been killed. What could I really say about a person that was prepared to lay down her life for me in this matter? All I cared about now, was that she was once again in our family. The small transmitters left her body, and a module worked on all the small wounds to make her whole again. Her eyes moved under her lids, then after some movements on her face, her eyes opened wide and she saw me. There was a lot of communication going on, and I am sure that even before she awoke, she knew she was safe. A smile graced her lips, and her arms came up to me. I could restrain myself no longer, and bent over and held her tight, as tears flooded my eyes. I had dropped my defences, and all of the girls' anguish, pain and worry flooded through me, making it even harder to control. Her dainty hand came to my head, and moved my lips to hers. I could feel her reassurance flooding out to help me and the rest. I kissed her as tenderly as I could, thinking of her past condition. She would have none of this, and returned the embrace with as much feeling as she could. Her quiet voice said, "Let me up dear. I have to see the rest of the family too." Nova, Star, Blue, Sandy, Chris, Amy and her new sister Nema descended on her. I held most back, as each greeted their sister/wife the way it should be done. The feeling of love and belonging was so strong, I could feel it affecting all the functioning Tandra on the ship. One wave added to another, till we were awash in a tide of intense feelings. The Humans were affected no less, as I saw their love for my wife. This was something like what Mom had been able to do, when she greeted the mercenaries the first time, and they were completely enthralled by her. Susan got up with the help of Blue and Nova. She was completely unconcerned with her nudity, and all the people of various species around the room. Her old robe appeared, from where Cal and Mom had stored it, and the girls helped her to put it on. I stepped close and her head and eyes came up to mine, and it was if all the others had disappeared from sight and mind. I pulled her close, and held her tight to me, as she laid her head on my chest, and let out a small groan of approval. I quietly said to her, "I feel your hunger pains. I think it is about time that you had a good meal. What do you think, darling?" "You are not always the most attentive husband. I bet it has been weeks since we have eaten together." "Ah! There you are wrong. I have come and sat beside you many times, and had my meal. It is not my fault that you did not come out and get your share." I showed her the many times her sister/wives too, had sat beside her, as they talked and ate their meals. I mentioned that Secric was on Samutzi helping Mom reintegrate the Tandra into a viable culture. Her eyes misted, and we walked out holding tightly to my arm, and through the parting crowd of admirers. All the Tandra had heard of what Susan had done, along with Secric. The newly freed Tandra had seen their exploits. Mom and Cal had conspired to set up both of the girls as heroes, so that the Tandra would have an example to follow, and help them get over their mental problems, that they acquired when captives of the Samutz. Rather than eat in public, I decided that we would go to the Captain's quarters. We entered a small room, and mentally told Cal where we wanted to go, and instantly we were there. Susan stopped in wonder as she looked at this one large room. The girls had done their best to make it like home. Panels on the walls showed life as if we lived, in our house on Earth. The image of the Beaver sat at the dock as the wind and waves gently rocked the craft. In the river, a solitary loon looked for supper, as the sun set behind the mountain hiding the base. To the right, the hanger stood closed, and Dog ran after a Jay, that had the audacity to land next to his food. From hidden audio devices, the sound of the Northern wind, rustling the poplars, came to us along with the scent of the pine and balsam. Seconds later the loon left the lake, to the flapping of wings and the distinctive call, as it reverberated off the nearby hills. The other walls were inactive, but I knew they could show our status, systems in our vicinity, or views of Earth, or the Tandra home planet, also known as Tandra. Through a wide doorway, she saw the fire in the fireplace. Reading her mind, I knew she was in for a shock. Upon entering the next room, she stopped again and looked at the furniture. It was the same type as she helped me pick out, well over a year ago. Hardwood floors, and a large slate area, around the fireplace made her feel comfortable. An exact replica of the carpets we had at home graced the floors here, even to the slight discolouration on one. Susan closed her eyes in concentration, and headed to the left, and into the washroom. She stepped into the cleanser, and luxuriated in the warm water. A minute later Nova too walked in with a comb. She washed Susan's back, and after washing the hair, she started to comb out all the tangles. When she was done, Susan turned around and kissed her suna, and held her tight. I could see the dynamics working here as clear as day. Nova though much older, was the female wife of her metsu Susan. "Thanks Nova. It is nice to know you are loved so much." She sat on the couch, and I walked to the closet, and handed out small serving tables to the girls. Amy set hers up in front of Susan, before getting another for herself. I took one for myself, and sat across from Susan in my chair. At each of our commands, soup was deposited on the small tables, with a spoonknife and a napkin. The girls, especially Chris, had spent a lot of time getting this meal ready. They were very anxious, that it be exactly right. Susan asked, "And who made this delicious soup?" No one took the kudos, or the blame, so I said, "Chris has worked for a long time making the soup. I believe she did the best she possibly could. I will give credit to those responsible, as the courses arrive." "Courses? Are you trying to fatten me up?" "Not in the least. I happen to know how hungry you are, from my own time in the vat." "Well, I am hungry, and Chris, the soup is delicious. I don't think I have ever tasted better. You better not tell my mother that, because she makes very good food." Chris just bowed her head, and smiled. This was unlike her. In fact it was unlike all the girls. It was more as if the girls had their queen drop in on them, for tea. The food kept pouring in, and I did my best to give credit to where it was required, and all too soon I knew that Susan needed to get some natural sleep. The girls had been diligent, and scheduled their own sleep time to coincide with Susan's. Nova cleaned Susan, like a little helpless child. All the rest of the girls removed their clothing, and Cal transported all of it away. An area in front of the fireplace was made weightless, after all of them crawled into position. Again the feeling of a queen came to me, but this time it was closer to a queen bee, and all her attendants. I knew that now was not the time for me to be here. The girls had been waiting for Susan, since she went into the vat, and my desires came after the wants of my wives. Even though Nema was not my wife, she was bonded to Amy and she needed to be present. All of our objectives in the present campaign had been met, or would be when the battleships completed their objectives. I wanted to get back to Mom or the one on Samutzi at least, and see what problems she had. I knew she had a very complex job to accomplish, and would probably need our assistance. Besides, Zindor held many ships, that one or another of the Samutz would enjoy taking, and conquer each other or a common enemy. Cal set a course for Samutzi, and I went to bed with my wives. It seemed as if they spread themselves out, between Susan and me. When I awoke, I decided to make breakfast after checking with Cal. There were very few perishables left, and canned or frozen food had to do. Twenty minutes later, the first groggy person came around the corner, and then the rest of them followed. Susan came up and hugged me, and gave me a big kiss before saying, "Good morning my love. What have you made for us today?" I presented her with pancakes, sausage, eggs, and toast from homemade bread. The bread was courtesy of Cal, and he endeavoured to make it fresh for us each day. "Susan, I didn't tell you that our family has grown somewhat. A Softay woman was on a short trip to self-destruction. I took an orphaned Tandra child, and told her that the child was mine. She was to look after it. I am happy to report that both of them are now doing very well. The Softay do not run from me as if I am the bogeyman, anymore." "That is a good thing to hear. I am not too familiar with all the others on this ship. You didn't take any more wives did you?" "I can hardly take care of the ones I have. Perhaps tonight, I can show you how much I missed you." She just smiled, and hid her thoughts from me. After breakfast we got into the chairs on the bridge, and made a leisurely trip to Samutzi at only a 100 times Cal's nominal speed. We entered the system as if a normal Samutz vessel. The codes we sent out would be informing Mom of our presence before we would be able to communicate mentally. It was good that we did, for we found four battleships and twenty three lesser ships, laying siege to Samutzi and our forces. We raised our shields as if ready to defend the lawful king, and raced in as fast as we could. Getting very close, I demanded the attacking ships surrender in the Samutz way. It entailed sending missile after missile into the blockading force, to relieve the siege. And if we were wrong in our assessment, then the usual Samutz response was to think that it was just too bad. Thanks to Cal's large crystal and the one he co-opted, he had lots of processing power to send the image of the previous owner of this hull to the aggressors, and continue the attack. Within seconds the images came in of harassed looking Samutz, desperately trying to get us to cease fire. Already most of the minor ships had been destroyed, and two of the battleships damaged. We had been using the old conventional missiles, and this type of action should never have been able to happen, for they had no pickets out, and completely disregarded our hail. If they had asked our support, and told us why, then we would have had a better chance to take them with the virus, and not the largest of our old weapons. I continued to hammer the smaller ships, till all were out of commission or destroyed. The other two battle ships too, were hit, just as we were too. Our damage was light, and this was the usual Samutz method of getting their attention or ours. Our shields were newer, and were able to take the barrage much better than the older battleships. "Cal, demand the surrender of the other ships unconditionally. Then inform them, that we could take the planet, but under our orders." We were close enough to mindspeak now with Mom, but the opposing side might have a member of the aristocracy, that could intercept our thoughts. Our good missiles were still trained on their ships, but I did not want to destroy them, unless absolutely necessary. Our captain's image puffed up in importance, as the orders were given. One after the other the opposing captains, and one admiral, agreed to our demands. Data came to us about all their present troop strengths and fail-safe protocols. The admiral was very pissed, that only a fairly high ranking captain had done so much damage to his small fleet. Further, he was pissed to have to surrender to the same captain. My schooling in warfare with the Tandra tutors had told me, that two battleships could usually take our dreadnaught, but not without a lot of damage. The Samutz had things their own way so long, that they did not have the experience to handle a real battle, of this type. To keep in character, I demanded the immediate surrender of the planet. Mom caught on fast, and basically told me to stick the ultimatum up my ass, but said it in the Samutz language, which was just as descriptive as English. I noticed that her image was of a Samutz, just like ours. She told us, for the benefit of the other listeners, that they had taken over the planet, tried to save the current inhabitants, and planned to keep everything, just as any self respecting Samutz would. The data coming from the surrendered battleships, told me that they too, thought Mom was Samutz, and that the takeover was done when the chance opportunity arose. This flotilla would have done the same thing, if given the chance. The possibility of using biological weapons on their own people had not entered their minds, and they also did not know of any other outbreaks of the disease. Looking around the system, I found a lot of damaged hulls, mostly ships that were not here originally. The major ships were not evident, but the minor ships and the forts seemed to have kept the attackers off very well. The battleships had not been destroyed by our new simpler ship killers. This told me that Mom was saving the ships for me, or waiting for more to arrive and did not want to scare them off. I ordered the ships to remain stationary, as a small ship scanned their damage at close range. We shared the data, so the ships would not be aroused by our actions. It so happened, that probes also entered the ships as the planetary defences, had remained silent. In an hour, I ordered them to retreat to discuss the situation, without getting shot, by the same planetary defences. The wounded Samutz that the other ships did not bother to rescue, came into our bays, and were placed in stasis with their brethren. On a tight beam transmission, I asked Mom how things were going now. She said, "It wasn't as easy as I hoped. There were more Samutz on the planet than I thought, and they had to be put into stasis till you decide what to do with them. Many tried to escape the planet, and had to be shot down. There are small bands trying to take over some areas, but they have few weapons. The king saw the weapons as a threat to his throne. All the major weapons were controlled, either by the crown, or the military." "What about the Tandra and others?" I asked, for I knew that there were many left. "We got the major groups out of the sewers, and picked up all the groups being groomed for the table on ranches. The techs that came with me, picked up many of their friends, and worked tirelessly to save as many as possible. There has been small scale fighting, and some of our people have been killed or wounded. Feelings have been high, and quite a few Samutz have been killed when captured, if it was even attempted." Ethically I was a little appalled, till I remembered all the killing I had done. A few thousand was nothing to the multi billions I had exterminated. If the estimates were correct, then there were almost 23 billion inhabitants before I unleashed the viruses. They would be lucky if 5 million survived, when this was all over. This hurt when I thought that I was the greatest mass killer, there ever was. Mom tried to distract my probable thoughts, and said, "The major ships were sent out to spread the disease, on all the targets you gave us. None have returned yet, because they cannot travel at the speed you can attain. I thought of all the non Samutz on Zindor, and the capital city Farnac. If Mom was attacked here, where she could defend herself, then Zindor would have to be retaken, and the derelicts in orbit, taken by force again. The four damaged battleships travelling away from us, presented a problem of their own. If the ships were damaged, then the repair party would be wearing their protective suits. Once the programming hit the computer, and the hull evacuated, the Samutz that had the suits on, would continue to do so. They would represent a considerable obstacle in the taking of these ships. "Cal can you think of anything that will help us take those ships, without wasting a lot of time?" "Since they are now our vassals, then we can demand priority access to their computer. Once in, I can override their protocols, and convert them to our side. The AI can rid the ship of all those you want. Remember, that the disease is running rampant at the moment, and will be noticed in a few hours." "That sounds like a plan. Can you take one machine, without arousing the others, or do you have to take all four at the same time?" "With my excess capacity I can do them all at once, but it is unheard of for the Samutz to even attempt this. We would be fairly safe taking one at a time." I called Mom into the conversation on the laser beam, and some small details were worked out. Mom had not known about the procedure, because she was both an unsophisticated tug, and secondly a civilian vessel. We proceeded at our best unassisted speed, to keep our true capabilities hidden. The warships had come to a halt about 20 million kilometres away from the heavily guarded planet. It took almost an hour to accelerate, and decelerate to reach their position. I did not trust the ethics of any Samutz, especially a recently defeated admiral. From a million kilometres out, I demanded that the admiral's ship meet us alone, while the rest moved a million kilometres further off. The order to power down their weapons was similarly fought. They didn't want to move, seemingly because their honesty was called into question, a trap seemed just as good an excuse. All my weapons bays status changed to reflect our goals, as we readied to fire. I was about to shoot, when the admiral agreed to do as we asked. Our present weapons would not necessarily kill his ship, but the new ones would easily. "Admiral Woish," Our hologram captain said, "we would like to investigate the records in your ship." The admiral was now in a tight place. He had probably had many illegal activities tied into his books on the computer. Exposing them to us would get him court marshalled at best. Again our weapons came to bear, and he quickly capitulated after our captain told him that anything we found would not make it to the present king. He didn't necessarily believe us, but had no excuse to keep us out, considering our present state of readiness. Cal dove in, and disabled the higher functions of the AI. These included threat recognition and weapons control. He took the AI unaware and ruthlessly ripped out all the old programming that was keeping it loyal to the Samutz. The job was easier than we thought, for the original Tandra techs had not gone as far as they could, to get a completely loyal intelligence for their new masters. The ship gave a squeal of mental anguish, which could be heard by all of us. Luckily, no response came from the admiral or his crew. The AI went into an indoctrination mode, and a few minutes woke up as a Tandra computer once again. Data flew between ships, at a prodigious rate. All the pertinent data was shared and analysed. Seconds later, the Tandra battleship Moda spoke to me, "Admiral Buchanan. This is the 'Moda'. What are your orders?" I had been waiting for this to happen, "Remain outwardly loyal to the Samutz. Continue communications with your escort. I believe that they are suspicious of you, after you made a cry. Try to keep track of all non Samutz personnel onboard. A disease is currently running through the Samutz that should kill most of them in a few hours. I want the Tandra and others to remain safe, till the present emergency is over." "Admiral, it is against the law to use biological weapons of this type, on any enemy." "Your comment is noted. At the end of this action, the highest court of law will decide the legality of my position. Currently, you will follow orders, as we are in a state of war." "Yes, Admiral." I opened communications with Admiral Woish through our holographic captain. "Admiral, your ship is in need of extensive repairs, other than those caused by the recent action. Number 5 and 7 engines are seriously out of sync. Have them repaired before we take on Samutzi. You have not passed the test for an ally. We will take the planet, but you will be ahead of this ship, as we do so. Inform one of the other ships to distance itself from the rest of the escort, so I can do a similar scan, to what I just gave you." The worst damaged ship separated, and travelled a safe distance away. Moda rejoined the group, as the admiral wanted. The second ship was almost an exact repetition of the first, even to the sudden cry. I could sense the two unaffected ships; query the other two about the cause of the call. The tone and intensity told me that they were very worried about the double occurrences. It was now down to the survival protocols of the two AIs, and how they can convince their captains' of the possible threat. I was now worried too, and handled the conversation with Cal in private. "Cal can you handle two ships at once, now that they are aware of what we will be doing? Should we stun one, and take on the other? I doubt if we will get two more chances, or be able to get any closer. Do you know of any way we could take over both ships at once?" "There is only one override that is hard wired into all Tandra computers and intelligences. Once invoked, the computers will all respond to you unconditionally." ------- The Emperor Found ------- Chapter 49 "That is great. Let's use it." "The override is only possible when the Empress, herself, personally makes a call on ships. Any other person to do this will mean immediate death. This is also programmed into the circuits." "Where did you find this out? I never heard of it before." "This hull was purposefully made for the third daughter of Gozel 53, and as such, had all the imperial protocols, and special access codes, to almost every other ship." "Tell me more about this protocol." Cal went on for a minute or so, telling me the codes to invoke, and the numerical location of the law, that covered this particular occurrence. I racked my mind for a way around the fatal flaw. I remembered Nova, and her problem with the computer on Earth. I also remembered my advice to the girls about not pushing the computer enough. "Cal, who has the highest rank at the moment, in the Tandra Empire?" "I only have information about this area, and you, Admiral Buchanan, are the highest. Your rank of fleet admiral is the second highest rank to ever command this particular ship." "Cal, does my family have the necessary mental power to propel this ship to the limits of its capacity?" "Yes, Admiral." "Is it also true that this mental capacity is a prerequisite to all high military and government offices?" "Yes, Admiral." "Cal, I want to point out, that we have only seen abandoned or dormant Tandra bases, and no attempt has been made to rebuild the empire, in the last six hundred and fifty thousand years. I am asserting that the Tandra Empire collapsed and died, in that time. Do you make a similar deduction?" The pause this time was noticeable, and eventually Cal said, "Yes, Admiral. I believe the Tandra Empire to be dead." Nova and Blue could not hear my side of the conversation, but were avidly following Cal's comments. I turned and saw them put their faces in their hands and cry. For the last two million years, they had hopes of going back to the planets, of their forefathers. This was some of the first verbal outpouring I had ever heard from them. And it happened to come at a time when we needed all the strength we could muster. "Cal, if the Tandra Empire is ever to arise again, do you think that a strong family should take charge, and do its best to bring this about?" "Yes, Admiral, but you and your family are the only ones that have any of this ability." "That is true Cal, for I now proclaim myself Emperor of all Tandra planets, systems and property. I further claim to do my best, to rebuild the empire to its previous glories. I promise to protect all its citizens, and drive its enemies from our borders, by any means at my disposal. Do you concur, that I am the best choice to lead the empire?" "Yes, you are, but I cannot follow those orders." "Why is that, Cal?" "To follow you, I need confirmation from the House of Lords, or the previous Emperor. It is one of the situations you call 'catch-22' and I can't grant you the right." I went through all the Tandra law I knew, and only knew a little of imperial president. Perhaps I could proclaim myself another way. "Cal, would you take my identification chip, and replace it with one the emperor would have?" "I could do that," he said with almost a sigh. "Do so and make it as real and authentic, as possible." I waited, and felt nothing, till Cal said he was done. "Cal, I am the Emperor. Will you follow my commands?" There was a few seconds of thought on his part, and then, "Yes, my Emperor. What are your commands?" From all my family came, "HENRY! HENRY! What are you doing? It is death, to try that." There was no other to do this job, and if I did not take it on, then all the work I had done, would be for nothing. The galaxy needed law and order, not anarchy at the hands of beings like the Samutz or others. Sealing my mind to my family, I asked, "What is our safest spatial position to take, before you evoke the imperial override?" "Here is as good as any. The override will last till it is either revoked or withdrawn." "Issue the proper commands, and re-educate the computers on the other ships. Prepare for a possible attack, if they refuse to recognize me." "Yes, my Emperor." The commands went out, and I saw no changes, which was a good thing, because I did not want to be fired on, and probably destroyed by the fire power of four battleships. Seconds later my wives came running in, or just appeared in the transporter station. "Henry, why did you do that?" Nova cried as if thinking that the battleships would immediately open fire on us, and kill only me. Her own fate was not even considered. "Nova, I just found out about this law, and Cal's capabilities. If I claim the throne now, the ships will be ours and all the others too. The fighting will end, and all the Tandra will be freed. Did you think we would go to your home on Tandra, and simply not help the peoples we find? The empire is dead, and this is the only way to bring the law, and ethics, that the Tandra are known for, back to the people that need it. I saw in her mind the thoughts of immediate death. All of their minds were preparing for the worse. One distraught mind fed another, till they were positive that missiles and bolts of energy would come from the ships we tried to co-opt. We waited, then a little more, and she eventually quizzed Cal, as to our status. The data come back, and all of their faces changed. Death in their minds was narrowly averted. Blue too was very worried about my claim, and the consequences. Though she was born on Earth, she was still a native of Tandra, and nothing could change that. I did stir up a can of worms for all of them, for each had given serious consideration to the possibility, that the empire was dead. When news came from Epsilon Eridani, that the empire was still alive 650,000 years ago, but had not come to reclaim their stranded citizens, the girls had become further depressed. When death did not come our way, Nova's mind quickly switched to the possible benefits. Tandra on all the planets were treated, either as slaves or food animals. She saw the dormant bases with sleepers waiting forever for recall. She saw the Tandra ideals suddenly have a glimmer of hope, for even in the deepest recesses of her mind, she knew the empire was dead. Susan looked at me. Many confusing thoughts were running through her mind. Some were that I was a buffoon to endanger everything we had accomplished, for this fool's errand. She did not know the level of buffoonery I had sunk to, or the danger I had placed all of us in. She did know about the responsibilities I had taken on, though. I was just a good engineer that fixed machines. Then a man working hard to protect his family, and then the population of one planet. Now I was taking on all of the problems, everywhere. "Why did you do this, Henry? Wasn't one planet enough for you? You are going to get all of your family killed." I had to cut her off, for she was not thinking of the overall consequences, but of how they would affect her, and our family. "Susan to protect our family, I had to take out the Samutz. Or do you believe that they will just stay away from us, now that we have a few ships?" "I am not that naïve. They will come after us, now that they can get through the mine field." "The next step is to free all the nearby planets of Samutz, because they are eating the same type of people, as our family. The same people that we descended from, I might add. The Softay, T'aut, Dolson, and even the Vauntu are being eaten. Am I to conveniently forget them?" "Of course not. They are thinking beings, but where will it end? If you take on the whole galaxy, then where will the time come for us?" "Susan, with Tandra medicine we can live a long time. This ship is monstrous in size. I think our family and friends can live quite comfortably in here, and we can go travelling. Isn't this something, like taking the trailer you have stored behind the dojo, and travelling through the States, to Mexico and beyond?" "It is all together different," she said heatedly. "How so?" I replied, as sympathetically as possible. "Well... There are people just about any place we stop." "I think there will be lots of people just about all the places we stop. It is just that they will look a little different, than us. We may be the most developed group around, and the others will need our help to get started, just like the Tandra did long ago. If we find a better group, then we can leave the development to them, and just try to help our own small section." "Oh... I just don't know now. I just want the killing to stop, and nobody fighting." "That can only happen, when the bully knows he will be beaten bad, if he steps out of line. We are going to have to be the people to do that. Our lives have already irrevocably been changed. It is just a matter now, of finding the best way to deal with it. Let's take care of all the Samutz first, and see what happens next?" Susan did not answer vocally, but I saw along with the rest, how this would have to do. Turning to the large monitor, I asked Cal, "How are we doing?" "All the ships are yours, my Emperor." "Let's cut the 'my Emperor' stuff for now, and go back to the way it was." "Yes, admiral. What are your orders?" "Can the Samutz break into the computer room, and retake the ships?" I said out loud now. "Not with an active AI, that has lawful orders from its Admiral, to protect itself from them." "Issue the orders. The data says that many of the larger holds are empty. Have them immediately fitted with stasis projectors by the techs onboard. Segregate the Samutz as soon as possible, and place all the Samutz under this protection." Susan angrily said, "Why are you protecting the Samutz? Kill them, all of them." She was going off the deep end again. One minute she wanted the killing to stop and now to continue. "I kill when it is necessary. If these can be spared, I plan to resettle them on a planet, and allow them to live without any high technology. Without the Tandra, they would take a long time to regain their old level, and I plan for them to never be able to do that." My declaration came to me that I was trying to protect some of the citizens now. It was just that after taking on this responsibility, I found that everything had shifted a little. She was not mollified, but accepted my words, for the moment only. I had found the Tandra women siding with me in this matter, and then slide a little more to Susan's way of thinking, as they saw where she was going. Here was one more instance, where the girls would follow their instinctual leader, rather than the one that they rationally thought was best. "Cal boost my signal, so I can reach Mom." "Yes, Admiral." "Mom, the battleships are ours now, and the Samutz are being put in stasis." "Thank you, my Emperor." "Mom, I am not comfortable with that name. Let's use the old ones unless we need to use the other?" "Yes, Henry. What are your orders?" "I want to leave you with the battleships, while we go to Zindor and recover the ships there. I expect to find scavengers trying to pick over the corpse. I don't want to have to continually fight them for possession of the warships. You can use the ships at your disposal, to protect this system. There will be other scavengers coming here again. I want you to be ready." The ships returned to Samutzi, and took up stations under Mom's orders. The girls and I went into the bedroom to prepare for the return trip to King Sook's kingdom. Susan was the most distraught, and was still angry at me, for a multitude of reasons. I could not fault her on some of them, because she was right. The first was her body's alteration while she recovered from her injuries. It did not occur to her, that I had just done, what she had done to me. The most inequitable one I thought was the amount of time she saw wasted, as I fought the Samutz. If it were up to her, the area beyond Sol would be seeded with more mines, and the other worlds left to deal with their own problems. This was contrary with her statement about protecting the Tandra close to our home. I walked into the room, and looked for Susan. She was sitting in a chair, learning about all that she had missed, while recovering in the tank. Star and Sandy were doing the same. Amy and Nema were going over a complex plot of our present position, in relation to the probable position and threat of various orphaned squadrons of Samutz war ships. The rest had split up, and were talking to the different groups of freed Tandra, and trying to ease some of their many fears. Blue alone was in number three main boat bay, talking with the Softay and T'aut contingent. She to had taken the course in the two languages. I could hear her side of the conversation, and she was talking about how things would change, now that many of the Samutz were either dead or about to be. They listened attentively to what she said, till they heard, "The Emperor will be ridding us of the Samutz on your planets, and bringing law and order." I meshed with her mind, and heard the other side of the conversation. One of the T'aut asked, "What is an emperor? Is he very strong?" "Yes, he is very strong. He is this way, because each of us helped him do what needs to be done. Isn't it the same when a leader in your village tells you, that it is time to plant, or get your weapons ready, because others will be attacking?" "That is good. Our leaders did not do things right, and hide when the fighting started. How do we know he will fight for us? I do not think he is a T'aut." "He has already rescued many T'aut, and others, so that they will not be eaten by the Samutz." A Softay male asked, "Why would he protect us?" "If he protects you when you need it, then he will also know, that your moral code will demand, that you help him, if he ever calls for it." "How can the Softay help? We are very poor warriors; all we can do is repair machines." "That is what he wants. If you fix the machines, then others can kill the Samutz." The conversation continued for a while, then got into talk of babies, food, and ceremonial garments. It was time to go, since the girls all had a rest. I interrupted Blue, and asked, "Hello, Honey. Will you come to our apartment please? We need to get moving faster." "Yes Henry. I will be there as soon as I can get away." "Fine Honey." When Blue came in, I gave her a kiss, and asked all the rest to get ready. Susan got up and so did Amy and Nema from their work. I wanted Susan to be first, but I felt a small amount of reluctance on her part. She wanted my love, but on her terms and conditions. Taking my clothing off one handed, Cal took the garment, and I was free to choose. This time I wanted to start with Blue. Her eyes were bigger than usual, for this had not happened, this way before. I slowly lowered my hold on my aura, so as not to let them notice. Taking four steps to her, I held her hand in mine, and asked, "Would you help me start this trip, my love?" Instead of answering, she lunged at me, and held me tightly to her, as her eyes watered. I could not understand why this was happening, because I did my best to please her, along with the rest. I had never seen any problem in her mind about how I acted before, and decided to take a small look. Part of her problem was the recent brush with death, from the battleships. More came, because she was not pregnant, and the girls that were, seemed to be influencing her body in a sympathetic way. The last part was hidden, but it was an irrational fear, that I would leave her, once I became very powerful. "Blue, I love you very much. There is no way I would alter my thinking about any of you. As wives, I am taking you, till the day I die. I just hope that you will take me the same way." This must have helped, because great sobs came from her, no doubt fuelled by the hormonal changes in her pregnant sisters. I picked up her chin with my only hand, and gently kissed her lips. Her arms went around me and pulled me strongly close to her. One hand went to her ass, and a tractor controlled through my mind and Cal, held the other. I picked her up, and kissed her the way she deserved. Moving her higher, I kissed and sucked on her neck. This sent a shiver through her and the rest in the room. I could feel all of my wives align their minds with hers, so every minute feeling she got, was transferred to them as well. Another tractor took the weight, supported by my hand. This freed it for other uses. The wandering digits explored her bum, and stroked the little bumps one after another. One finger worried her hole, and she tried her best to allow me admittance. Her legs came up, and her knees came almost to my arm pits to allow me even easier access. The tractors raised her higher, and I was able to feast on her breasts, one at a time. The little buds were difficult to hold onto, as she thrashed about. Her hands had to release my neck, and fastened around my head, to keep me at the spot she so liked. My lips, then my teeth, brought delicious agony to her, and all our wives, as I put pressure on the nipple. Her pelvis was stroking into the hair on my abdomen, to bring contact to her erect clit. The little cock like appendage brought her so much joy, that she was already almost at her peak. Cal made a level surface, and I tried to disengage Blue from me, to get her onto it. She was so close, and refused to stop, when the goal was so attainable. "Blue, Honey, just lay down, and you will feel better soon." Blue had learned to trust me, even though her instincts said to finish the job. She sat on the surface, and my hand guided her back to recline on the invisible surface. The surface was lowered, her head higher, than her pelvis. I supported her legs, as I moved my cock closer to her portal, marked by the red outline of small knobs at the base of the large clit. Lubricant was dripped onto Blue by Cal, as my cock approached. The tip of my cock rubbed the outside of her opening, bringing forth groans and squirming to get me inside. "Not yet, honey. Pull me into you. Do it easy." The portion of my mind knew we had entered the other dimensions, where speed was more easily attained. The girls were all using their minds, and pulling to get me into Blue. The graph told me that we were now travelling almost twenty light years every hour that we continued. My movements were very slow and deliberate, as I entered my wife. To go faster was to gain an orgasm, and drop out of our present state. To go slower, was to frustrate my wives, and become callous. I stroked and felt all the internal bumps that brought so much joy to each and every one of my wives. I could feel a reflection of their feelings, and this heightened my own response to them. Since starting to propel the ship this way, they did not need to think of moving us, for it became second nature to them, and almost an automatic response. Little Nema was the first to go, and she took Amy with her. They thrashed and thrust their pelvises at one another, as the surges of energy flew through their bodies. I expected our speed to slow, but instead it increased. I could not think of a reason for this. I scanned all of my wives and saw that they were still striving hard, to have their orgasm and pull the ship along at the same time. Looking wider, I saw the reason. There were thousands of Tandra onboard, and they had been drawn into our love making. There were few male Tandra, and those were the ones from the lunar base. The women could only find release among themselves, or the males I brought, with me. I continued to stroke, and the older women had been able after a fashion to hold on, and build up to a higher level, before succumbing to the inevitable. I could feel the strain Blue was under, for now thousands of individuals were feeling her sensations, and feeding back their responses. Even with my reduced input, she was on the very edge of her orgasm, and the ship I knew was having a difficult time of keeping up with the energy released. Most non essential activity was shut down, as Cal tried his hardest to keep up with the navigation and small adjustments. If he failed at any time, the uncontrolled harmonics of our actions would rip the ship apart. Cal eased back on his own, as the signs indicated an overload condition approaching. Blue screamed, with so loud a voice, that I thought her vocal cords would be damaged. The ship surged again and again, as the compensators had difficulty keeping up with the surges we produced. I was thrown from my position, and plunged back in. This caused the ship to surge again, as if a giant amplifier translated my actions to the multi million tonne ship. I could feel the women all over the ship, feeding on Blue's emotions, and sensations. They too were thrown about as orgasms raced through their bodies. My wives were no different, and they curled into balls, as if to protect them from the onslaught of all the energy of the Tandra women onboard flew through our minds. Mom's prophecy about the controls in my mind being one day very useful came to me, as this happened. Did she have some way of knowing this would happen? I held onto Blue, as our speed diminished, but it took a much longer time, to do this. Using a private part of my mind, I asked Cal, "Was there anyone hurt or any damage?" "No, Admiral. We managed to go faster than anyone has ever gone previously. The energy conduits were in danger of overloading. The dimensional tap produced more power than ever before. My processing power even with the slave crystal was only just able to handle all the necessary tasks. I believe that you are capable of much greater speeds, but this hull is not capable of sustaining you." "Cal, in your off time, look into modifications, that could be made for you to help me." "Yes, Admiral." I looked at our plot, and knew that I would have to do this again, for we were only half way to our goal. I pulled out of Blue, with a soggy slurping noise, from our lubrication. The tractors I controlled, laid the comatose woman with her sisters, as I went after the main opposition of the running of the ship. Susan too, was curled into a ball, and I used the tractors as delicate hands and fingers, to pick her up and place her on the structure Blue had just vacated. Her arms just fell, as if she had no control of them. Her mind was jumbled, to with all the Tandra currents, that flew through her. Tractors picked up her legs, and I saw clearly for the first time, what had been done to her. The course hair around her mons was all gone, as if it was never there. The fleshy inner lips to were greatly diminished, but the fiery red nubs around her vagina attested to her arousal. The main clit stood a little over ten centimetres long, and twice as thick as the Tandra norm, almost the diameter of my index finger. I knew that internally, she was similar to the Tandra, and had many nubs that would grip my cock in her sheath, as I stroked into her. Looking into her turbulent mind, I knew that an egg would be released in a few days. She had wanted a child, for so long, and I now saw that this would be the best time to give this life, to her. My mind produced a delicate probe that recently played with her clit, when she was in the tank. Now it could pry loose and egg, and send it on its way. I closed my eyes, and could see the individual cells, and found, not the ripest egg, but one that seemed to have a faint glow, about it. Ever so delicately, I coaxed it from its neighbours, and protected it, as it left the ovary, and started to descend the fallopian tube. All was now in readiness. Her vagina was different than my other wives, for it also gave off a much stronger scent and a flow that travelled out of her opening and down her perineum to her anus. I took my cock in my hand and wiped the head, on her spend, and slowly worked it into her. She groaned and moved, as if dreaming of somebody else's actions. As I entered centimetre after centimetre, I felt bumps caressing the head of my cock and travel down the length. I was in tune with her, and felt the invader, as if it was entering my own vagina. It was as if fireworks were going off in my head. She was much more sensitive to this stimulation, than even the other Tandra. Close to the end of my stroke, I felt her large clit strike the pubic hair above my cock, and quickly stop for this almost put her over. The other women, not only in the room, but all over the ship joined in. The mesh this time was even stronger. The others were not just strangers, but I knew them intimately. I could see their wants and desires, as easily as I could my own. And now they wanted release. I put Susan's legs on my shoulders, and slid my hand up her abdomen to her chest, and caressed her right nipple. Her eyes shot open in an instant. The pupils looked wider than usual, and I could see her animal needs. "Susan, Susan," I said as I pinched her harder. Her lust shrouded mind refused, to recognize me. I slowly pulled out, and rested at her opening, till she came to her senses. "What, What, Oh stick it in. I need it," she mumbled verbally. "Susan!" "Yes, oh, Henry, stick it in." "Susan, listen to me." "Oh." "Susan, your egg is dropping. Do you want my child?" "Oh yes, Henry, yes." I latched onto her conscious mind, as I plunged in. She screamed in both acceptance, and orgasm. I hammered her mercilessly. My grip on her psyche would not allow her to orgasm again, till I released her. Never before had the Tandra felt the amount of pounding, or the duration that used on Susan. Her mind was shaken and disoriented. I made a place of peace for her, by imprinting the image of me when she was smaller around twelve. We were going for a walk. From her own memory, I knew she felt so safe then, and without a worry in the world. I showed her again, as I sat with her parents and she made a meal for all of us, to show that she was very capable of doing so. In her bedroom at night, she would play with her clit, while thinking of me. I now put a baby in the younger woman's arms, and held both tight to me, so as I could protect them always. My cock spewed shot after shot of sperm that raced to meet the egg that was only part way down the tube. The younger girl and the woman before me both screamed in acceptance of the pact I had made. All around, I felt the ship stagger even more than when we were hit by the battleships the day before. My mind for some reason, just held my imaginary family, and tried my best to keep them safe, even as I finish emptying myself into her. It was no use, for the sudden lurching corresponded with one of Susan's thrust, and I was propelled backwards, and tripped over Nova, that was right behind me. The tractors that should have caught me were not working. Cal was very busy, and not able to answer my call. I cast my mind throughout the ship and found minor accidents everywhere. The Tandra section was the worse, for the girls were all over the floor, and not one was standing. Some were bleeding from falls, while others suffered bruising. The room down the hall with Nedue and Soma was safe, but Soma to was unconscious. What had happened? Were we hit? "Cal... Cal, What happened?" All I got back was, "Wait." Susan was on the floor. I did not know if she fell, or the tractors lowered her there. There was none of the usual help. The Humans were better off, but looked like they just fought a battle of their own. "Admiral, we are safe, but many of my systems are not functional." "Shit, Cal. What happened?" "I am doing an analysis of the possibilities now, and will have a report soon." It didn't seem like enemy action, so I went over to the girls, and arranged them more comfortably. The floor was hard, and we did not have any cushions, because of our dependence on the anti-gravity. I entered the room down the hall, and found Nedue in a curve, with Soma clutched protectively within her arms. A smell came to my nose, and followed it to its source. I gently moved one of Nedue's legs, and the scent came much stronger. The entire area between her legs was sopping, in what I thought to be vaginal lubricant. She must have been able to sense the Tandra after all, and orgasm with them, when we all did. They were in no immediate danger that I could see. There was nothing much I could do for them, so I left, to see if there was need of me, elsewhere. I too was trying to piece all of this together. If there were enemies about, Cal would warn me. The only thing I could think of was the possibility of Cal's systems getting overloaded. This was a long shot, because he had only said moments before, about the danger to his systems. He would surely take precautions, and limit the power to the engines. The other possibility of an accident where a vital component faulted, and caused the ship to react the way it did. The last was sabotage, but I thought that this was very unlikely to happen. Cal finally finished a preliminary report, for he abruptly said, "Admiral, moments before the problems on this ship, we were almost eight light years from Zindor. At present, we are thirty three light years on the other side of our destination. The transit time was less than a second, and I had great difficulty in shutting down all of the systems. I believe, that we have entered a postulated realm, one dimension higher than the one always used. I have no idea how it has happened, and I am going over all of my records, to see if I can find an explanation." Cal continued, "There has been extensive damage to eight of the engines, and minor damage to the rest. The major energy conduits are completely burnt out. The dimensional tap is shut down, and may need months to repair. We are currently running on three of the anti-lithium reactors. We have minimal steerage, and life support will be fully functional, in an hour." "Are there any hostiles in this area? Are we going to run into anything before you can get underway? What safety concerns do you have for yourself, and our passengers?" "We are travelling 83% the speed of light, and will be captured by a star ahead of us, in another 37 days. There will be life support for thousands of years." "Well, I guess I have to call CAA and get a tow." "What is that, Admiral?" "Don't worry Cal. I will just take one of your auxiliary ships, and go get Mom. If I fly back with her, it should take about a day each way, but I do not think the girls can take that kind of effort. I would think five days would be about the best we can manage before we return. Her engines can easily stop you if you still need it, and then get you back. If things work well, we should get you into the yards at Zindor, and get you patched up." "Thank you, Admiral. Not all persons in power are so generous with their time and energy." I wondered at his words. We had gone through a lot, and he, of all AIs would know how fragile my hold on my present position, really was. "What are friends for Cal? Are we not to help one another?" I called as much of the original group from Earth as I could. They all trooped into our apartment. Sula and her crew of Tandra were also invited. As they came in, I shook hands and offered them some coffee, tea or orange juice. I had made sure that this improvement was carried over from Mom's hull. When everybody had arrived, I called our meeting to order. I was happy to know that they had not heard yet about my promotion. "I called you all here today, to explain about our present problems. Our main power source, the dimensional tap, is damaged, and will take quite a while to repair. The conduits used to transfer the energy are all but burnt out. And to make matters worse, half of our engines are burnt out as well. The good news is that there is plenty of energy left, in the old lithium reactors, and life support is fully operational." There were a lot of murmurs around the room, wondering where I was leading to. I had opened my mind, and allowed everyone to see that I was telling the truth. "The only tow truck is back on Samutzi, protecting the planet. I plan on taking enough of my wives, to help me get there, in one of the cruisers. I expect to be back with Mom, in about five days. I will need to place some people in charge, while I am gone." This got a few stares and a lot of incomprehension. The ship could watch out for itself, and there was little need for direction. "In my absence, I want some of the ships in our hold manned, and ready to take on a planet or a flotilla of enemy fighting ships. The ships will be fitted out with both virus probes, and our ship killers." "Sula, I want you to take your girls, and others that you want, into one of the ships. Paul Roderick, take your last team, and captain another of the ships. Pirelli, Turner, Marks, and Piton, I want each of you to form crews, and take out four more ships. Use a few of the original group, and use as many Tandra as you can, as crew. You are all in the navy now." Dave Piton asked, "You want us," he said incredulously, "to take those ships and learn to fly them?" "Dave, they all have intelligences in them, and basically all you have to do is fit the weapons in, pick out your crew, and all of you learn how to fight in those ships, with the tutors. Remember; use as many Tandra personnel as you can, because they too, need to regain their confidence and self-esteem." The stunned looks on their faces reminded me of when I originally asked them to join our small force, and capture a single planet. "Cheer up; it is not all that bad. You are in the navy now, and you will get a chance to see the world," I smiled at them and added, when we get back home, that is." Then I thought of Cal, "Cal will be doing some repairs, but I plan on doing an extensive refit when we pull into dock. I don't want this problem to happen again." "Cal, I want you to take these captains, and work their butts off. You might get them to use their tractors, and alter course a little to give us a little more time. If things are done right, perhaps Mom will only have to assist, in taking you home." I pictured the ships trying to slow Cal down, and place him on a better course, that would keep him clear of other systems. With more work, the ship could be turned around, and try to make its own way back. If he wanted to, he could use the remaining ships, to do this job under his guidance. He replied, "Yes, Admiral," over an audio system, since I had been using my voice. I continued, "When I am gone, Blue will be the captain, and all problems will be taken to her." "What. I am coming with you. Cal can look after the passengers and crew." I switched my mind, and talked only to her. "I don't want everybody to think, that I am abandoning the ship. You have made a lot of progress in getting the Softay and the T'aut to trust us. I don't want that to go to waste." "I am sorry, husband. I will stay, and do my best." "That is fine. I sort of sprang it on each of you," I said verbally. Susan said, "What about the rest of us?" "We will all go to get Mom. If we go fast, then the trip will be over quickly," stating the obvious. "We can take a peek at Zindor on the way by, and continue to Samutzi." We started to refit one of the ships, used to send probes previously, and only needed to make some small changes, to get the galvanized ship killers installed. I was not going to take any chances with losing my family. The AI, Runna, was nowhere as intelligent as what I had become to expect, but she was not that bad. The Samutz had stripped all the better crystals from the ships and replaced them with smaller units. She was almost 200 metres long, 60 high and 80 wide and would have a volume of 500,000 cubic metres. Her armament was light, but she made up for it in speed. She could do almost 880 lights unassisted, and was very manoeuvrable. This small ship was larger inside, than any on Earth's oceans. While talking to Runna, I made sure all the information was downloaded that we might need. Our portion of the Earth food also, came with us, for I knew there was no time to convert the food synthesizers to suit me. Cal and Runna went over all the systems, and did his own exchange of information. Our particular bay was small, and only had two other craft as large as ours. Sula was taking her own disciplined girls, and about forty more, that seemed not sure about what all this was about. I walked over to them, with a case of canned pineapple. The girls saw me as I approached Sula's back. Their eyes got wide, and they immediately bent to one knee. They must have got word somehow, of my taking the throne. This was not something that I wanted to see. I liked to drink with my friends and fight with strangers, and sometimes my friends too. Being put on an artificial pedestal, was not the way it should be. Sula turned and saw that it was me approaching, and got to her knee as well. "Sula and the rest of you get up." They looked at one another, and rose hesitantly. "This Emperor stuff is new to me, and to tell the truth, I don't like the bowing. Just treat me as an admiral, and leave it at that." The girls were not sure and waited for me to continue. "Sula, I brought over a case of fruit, that I think you will like. I have not been able to get it programmed into the replicators yet. When we get back to Earth, we can try the fresh fruit, it is even better." "Thank you, my Admiral." The respect was still too strong in her voice, and I looked closer. She had served in the military, and her present greeting was almost the norm for even an ordinary admiral. "Sula, I am the Captain of this ship, and the captain of the small one behind me. Till further notice, all of you will treat me as a Captain." I saw that this was not going to work. "That is an imperial decree." Their eyes got big again, and they wanted to bow. "Remember, I am only a Captain unless I have to impress someone that needs it. I also came over to ask your help." The last I said with a smile, and I got a tentative one in return. I put the case down from my shoulder, and shook hands with Sula with my left hand. "I know you girls will do good. I have Earth people controlling all the rest of the ships. They are not from a navy background, and are very new to this. An additional job I want all of you to do is to watch out for the other crews. Show them the proper way, like a mother would, her children." This was incredulous to them. Some had been alive when the empire was still functional, and an Emperor never talked like this. I got Cal to bring my battle suit, and three others, for emergencies. One armed or not, I was not about to let chance have its way with me, or my family. With about ten minutes to go, the girls came with various things they just couldn't do without. They even were able to get help in taking it all aboard in time. They got the layout of the ship from Runna, and her matter transmitters placed all the loads, where they would be best suited. When they were all aboard, I turned to enter myself, and found a thousand Tandra had come to see me off. I was happy to see that they were at least seeing their admiral off, and not making a real big to do about it. I climbed the ramp, and turned and waved to the crowd, and they got the idea and waved back. "I will be back soon. The best thing that you can do is try to remember what a Tandra was like, when the galaxy was yours. The rest of you be proud of what you are, and always try to do better." I got the distinct feeling, that some of them thought, I would not be returning to a seriously damaged ship. Runna elevated, and drifted to the shield, where she made her way through without losing any air. We shot off for Zindor, at our maximum speed, and I walked through the ship trying to get a feel for it, the way I did all the rest. In the Captain's cabin, I found walls being removed, and stored. Apparently the previous tenant liked it cozy. The girls needed room, and lots of it. This ship must have been built the same time as Cal, for the colours and insignia were a lot brighter, than on the Earth or the moon. The ceiling was two and a half metres high, and the main salon was almost square and twenty metres on a side. More rooms led off from this one. I saw many ratty pieces of Tandra furniture, and asked Runna about it. "The Samutz did not bother removing the old pieces of furniture, and just left them stowed in the walls, while they used their own. Cal had me dispose of the non standard articles. Is that all right with you, Admiral?" "That is fine, Runna. Tandra chairs will work, but they are just a bit too small for me." The girls were all over the ship investigating, and I wanted to be a little spontaneous. I meshed my mind with the ships controls, took off my uniform, and went prowling myself. I entered a room, and saw a naked Susan setting down a package. Her bum was to me, and I had a good view of her charms. She sensed me, and turned. This game we had played before, and it was her responsibility to find out what it was. I jumped and grabbed her one handed, turned her over quickly with the tractors, and pinned her arms. Her legs were spread and pointing up. A scream escaped her startled lips, as mine descended on her now small slit and the prize within. Her breath came in, and I sucked hard on the very flaccid member. Her legs tried to close in reflex, but she could do nothing. Two lubed fingers worked their way into her, with only four or five strokes and continued their attack. My hand turned palm up, and the fingers searched and found that sensitive spot, and stroked it repeatedly. Her large clit shot up as if by magic, and reached the back of my mouth. My segregated mind knew that the ship was already in the transitional universe, and approaching maximum very quickly. The girls had meshed in very quickly indeed. Remembering the problems last time, I very actively monitored the power used, and the engines' capacities. The other portion of my mind continued working on Susan. All the rest of the family urged her on, so they could orgasm too. My thumb traced different nubs outside her opening, while my fingers worked inside, and was able to trace at least two, without too much difficulty. Just as she approached her peak, I stopped and stood up. Her body was elevated to the correct level, and I slowly inserted myself, as I did before, and continued my slow pace. A throaty growl showed her acceptance. Our speed and power consumption was close to the limit, and I just knew that we could do better. Blue was not here, and neither was the thousands of Tandra. I cast about, and all that I could find different, was that Nedue had come aboard with Soma. The controls were monitored even closer, now that we were close to the limit. The girls had all found a place on the floor, and Nedue was on the floor with her hands at her crotch, and curled into a foetal curve and oblivious to everything else. Soma just lay on the floor, and I could see a strong bond between the two. I continued my thrusts, and just kept our engines from red lining, even though our power supply was a little past. The rest of the girls were on the floor, in the same position as Susan, and experiencing all the feelings that she had. My pace now was steady, as I could make it. This was important to the girls, and to the safety of the ship. We were travelling higher in this dimension, and our speed increased greatly with only a small increase in energy. I expected to need six hours to reach Zindor like this, but in a lot of steps. We were more than half way there, and plotted the best time to have out orgasm, without going past our target or blowing our engines, and perhaps all of our ship. With the point now plotted, and the power supply ready to shut down, I went for my girl's release and my own. I thrust so fast, I thought that Susan might get bruised. My cock came all the way out, and plunged back in. The women were delirious, and when the time came, I just shut down the reactor, and continued to give them all the pleasure they could handle. Their release came, and Susan clamped tightly to me, but I continued to thrust, pushing spurt after spurt of my seed into her. All the rest orgasmed with her, and I felt the ship surge forward. Through my hazed thinking, I wondered, how could this be? The reactor was shut down. My ears heard all of the cries, and even one high pitched one, in the next room. The experience shook me to the core, and my body continued to send little invaders into her depths, as if trying to reach the ones I introduced earlier. With my breathing back in order, I pulled out of my wife, feeling the sensations of my withdrawal still arousing her. She moaned and moved on her bed. "Runna, give me our distance to Zindor." The information came in, and I was amazed to find instead of stopping a light year before the system, we were a year beyond. "Give me our present flight data." I saw the plot, and where I cut off all power, but we used an unimaginable amount after, and I did not know where it came from. I cast about for Nedue, and found her still lying on her side near Soma. I went across the room, and looked at the petite female. The scent was still strong, and I could feel the energy still in the room, from her orgasm. Small moaning sounds came from her throat. I could read small images in her mind now, and the pictures were of a male Softay, with a dick as large as mine. I did not know if this was the way they were built, or just a dream of hers. I had Runna support both bodies, to make them comfortable. Irregardless, I now knew the source of the ship's unexpected problems. Runna reversed course at my order, and we made a much more leisurely trip back. We took over ten hours to do what had taken a half second before. When I did the calculations of our speed, I inexplicably found it over 720 times greater, and this was when the reactor was safely shut down. The women gradually recovered as we made our way in. Susan for one, looked like a well fucked woman, and came over to my side and held me tight. "Is it true what you said before?" I just closed my eyes, and concentrated on her abdomen, then zeroed in on her reproductive system. I saw four cells attached to the uterine wall, and invited Susan to look with me. "Oh, thank you. I have been waiting so long for that," she said as her emotions overcame her, and she started to cry. I picked up her chin, and kissed her tears away, and continued to her lips. The others came in and gathered around, giving her even more support and encouragement. Amy and Nema were just as happy, knowing that another sister or maybe even a brother would be joining theirs and Secric's when she came along. Sandy was a little jealous, because her special partner Star was pregnant and she wasn't. Nova and Chris were happy for Susan, but I could see that they to wanted children, even though they knew I wanted them to wait, till the current troubles were over. In the back of the room Nedue came forward, with her own baby Soma. This was enough for all the girls to turn, and descend on the poor Softay. She had, from previous experiences, known that the child would never be kept from her, and she now willingly shared the child, even with me. I tried to work into Nedue's mind to see how she was able to cause these strange effects to happen. Her face turned to me, and I knew that she was aware that I was doing something. I could get no idea of what or how she did anything. If it didn't bother her too much, I would like to investigate further. We braked so as to not get too close, and our long range sensors showed small scavengers picking at the carcass of Zindor. We were not much better, but I wanted all of it. There seemed to be fighting around the 'Disembowel' as various parties contested for its possession. The battleships, troop carriers and others were equally sought. There must be a million living Samutz fighting one another. If I were just an observer, I would love to have them fight and kill each other. Where did they come from? Our records only showed one new battleship and various smaller craft, but the total would not be enough to cover all of the newcomers. I changed course, and headed around the system, preparing to leave for Samutzi and Mom. There was nothing we could do, and it galled me to just leave, but leave we must. The girls were having some fun. The ones pregnant did their best to make the others feel wanted. Closing my eyes I saw Star doing a 69 with Susan and each had the other's clit in their mouths, sucking for all they were worth. Amy and Nema were doing the same, but with the addition of a pair of dildos. There was nobody left except small Nedue and Soma in the corner looking at the activity, while she gently stroked her sex, with one hand. A loud blaring, both audio and mental, shook me to the core. Instantly a screen popped up, and I could see a ship coming toward us at a fantastic rate. We were well within the Mardaf Limit, and nothing should be able to do that. The ship was odd shaped; something like 'The Claw' plunged through a life preserver, and getting stuck half way back. I got more figures, and I was instantly, very afraid. ------- Chapter 50 The ship was much larger than any dreadnaught I ever heard of. The lines were of Tandra origin, but the information I had, went back 650,000 years, and never mentioned a ship like this. It must be a newer design and showed the Tandra to be very active, after that period in time. The torus surrounding the ship, must have stretched two kilometres in diameter, and the ship within, must have dwarfed Cal's hull by at least 50%. Depending on the contents and construction, it would mass out at ten to twelve million tonnes. Its max speed was unknown, because it was rapidly decelerating to arrive at the planet, with zero velocity. I did my threat analysis, and knew if I went to maximum acceleration I could be at the Mardaf Limit in about three minutes. The approaching ship would actually cut across our course, and with the amount of energy we used it was sure to see us. Its tractors were massive enough to hold us still, no matter what we wanted to do. If we could make it by, or slow and let them pass, then we stood a good chance to get away, because we could get the most out of our ship and hopefully the other ship had the usual crew. In this case, I knew somehow, that this was not the case. Chris and Nova took up stations, and the rest did soon after. Nema and Nedue were the only ones this time that were falling apart, and I ordered the doc module to calm them. I sent the data I had gathered to the others screens, as they did their own things with the data. I had to know what we were up against, and I cautiously sent my mind out. The girls came with me, to back me up if necessary. In my mind's eye, I saw the ship glow with mental energy. Communication was taking place with some of the Samutz fighting, and I was able to pierce the shield in this instance. Moving closer, I followed the stream of energy to its source. It was centred around the control room, and the room seemed to pulse with the prodigious amount used. I stopped, and tried to gather as much data as I could, before getting closer. This was no time for brash actions, because I could in no way, stand up to this flow. The AI was much larger and stronger, than even Cal was. I did not dare go any closer, for fear of setting off its alarms too. In a chair incrusted in barbaric splendour, a lone Samutz sat, and I knew him to be our greatest enemy. He commanded the AI with his mind, and used hundreds of brainwashed or controlled Tandra, to drive his ship, and perform all the functions I was able to do. He gave orders to his soldiers around the ships, to kill all the opposition, as quickly as possible. I retreated before I was noticed, and scanned some of the other parts of the ship as I left. The engines and energy usage were enormous, and along the lines that I wanted Cal to have. The shield did not seem right, and investigated one of the massive generators and found it radically different in many respects. Chris pulled me over to the weapons launcher, and I became even more frightened. The missiles were coated with zinc, and I knew that they could penetrate any of our ships with ease. Susan showed me the room with row on row of Tandra, strapped down on pallets, with an odd device on their heads. They did not seem to notice us as I looked on. Amy did her investigating, and coaxed me to the boat bays, where ships of different design, lay in tractors from the ceiling, walls and in-between. These must be as new as the ship we were in. The ship's field must have re-energised, because we were all of a sudden back in our own ship. I knew now, that we were trapped. The only question was whether the approaching ship would do anything to us. I could take no chances, with my family's safety. "Susan, get all the combat suits out. You, Chris, Nova, and I will get into them. Bring the other suits, with you too. Chris; bring all the hand weapons, and have them stored in an empty suit." "Why are we doing this?" Susan asked. "I don't know if the ship will allow us to leave. I need a place to hide, and the only place I can think of, is on the hull, the side away from the approaching ship. We need to take all the things with us, and hide or destroy the rest. We cannot fight, and we cannot run fast enough." Chris said, "We have missiles coated with zinc and iron just like they do." "Yes we do, and they probably have a shield to stop that kind of weapon. Get to it. We only have about four and a half minutes before we are in range." I called to Runna, "Open your hatch to the computer room, and store the twelve missiles there." "That is against the rules. Nothing is to be stored in this space." "Runna, what is my title?" "Captain, sir." "Also Admiral and Emperor if I must. Now get those missiles transferred quickly, because you will be searched and questioned by the Samutz and the AI soon." "Yes, my Emperor." "Nova, get the girls into the shields. Medicate any you think will be too strung out." I turned to Sandy, "Help Chris get all the guns, galvanized ammo and knives, put them into an empty suit." There was so much to do, and so little time. "I will help Nova get Nedue and Soma into a shield. You better sedate them now, just in case." Susan brought more shield units, and I got the younger members dressed first. The weapons were a little harder, and had to go and help transport all of them. Runna was much too busy, to help in this matter. When we were all dressed and the hand weapons secured, there were only two major jobs left. Runna stated that her last task had been completed. "Runna, slowly suck all the air from the ship, and open all the hatches like the other ships in this system." This took only seconds, and our suits stiffened only a little. "Take all the probes with virus and program them to attack the approaching ship from the inside. They will be going in with this hull, if they find us interesting enough. You will have to send them out and attach them to the hull, after you drop our shield so they will not be found inside. Spread them out, so they will be hard to notice. If I do not activate them in three hours, have them start their programming then" Time was about up, and we all left by a hatch on the far side. I carried the weapons and secured them to a few of the deck rings. Susan brought out one small figure in a suit, and Nova did the same. They came beside me, where they were secured as best we could do. All around us were small nodules that looked innocuous but were the most deadly weapon we had. I spoke to Runna again, "Runna, if a tractor latches onto us, try to keep us attached to your hull. It is very unlikely that they will lock on over our centre, so rotate us so that their detection equipment will not see us." "Yes, my Emperor." "One last thing, Runna. When or if we are drawn into the ship, hide all of your information including your log, even from yourself. 'Runna awake' will be the code words that will bring it all back. Now you have to act a part, you opened your hatches, and all your Samutz crew were ejected, when you were infected along with the crew. Something made you go crazy and delete your log, but you are starting to recover now." "I understand, my Emperor." "Runna, you will be searched, and the possibility is slight, but still a possibility, that something will be found. This cannot be allowed to happen." "Yes, my Emperor. I will do as you say." "Thank you, Runna." "Ok, girls, switch on your invisibility, and hold on. We will be within tractor range in seconds. There may be a jerk and try to be calm, because that may let them know that someone is here." The jerk came with a suddenness that I was unable to understand, but Runna did as she was asked, and cushioned our ride with her gravity. Star and Amy were thrown off, and only their suit tractors kept them from being thrown into space. The starscape wildly changed as we rotated, and I hoped it was enough to hide us from prying eyes and instruments. Some of the girls started to cry, in their fear, till Susan told them to relax. It seemed to help, when she said it too. The AI on the massive ship knew what she was doing, and she allowed the minimum stress on both her tractors and our ship. Within minutes, we saw the rough outline of the hull, just before it was cut off by the insides of the bay. The screen tried to pull us off, as we slipped in, but our hold was good. The lights were bright, and I could see Samutz, Tandra, and T'aut working on ships all around us. I just hoped that they did not point any detection devices at us, for we would be in plain sight then. The bay held thousands of ships, from some slightly larger, to many times smaller in size. We came to a gentle halt, and I knew we were secured. I did not want to cast my mind out to see what was happening, for fear of attracting attention, while there was a lot of interest in our ship. I felt a surge of fear, and said, "Calm down. They will give a casual search and ignore us. Susan and I have done this before." I did not want to think about the consequences of what happened last time. Amy was beside me, I knew, and also knew she was very frightened. After a hug, that at first frightened her, she began to relax. I felt bad about our situation. It was my fault that we came to this system, and into this ship. We had very few weapons, against a Samutz that mindspoke. We stayed on the hull for a half hour, to be sure that it was safe. Amy and Star were still frightened, and had to pee. This was done in their suits as was customary. "Susan, find Nedue and Soma, and take them over by the large opening, where there is a lot of light now. Chris, take Star. Nova, you take Sandy, and I will take Amy." We lifted off, and left our weapons and flew toward the opening. Nova just missed a speeding Samutz, as he carried a large strut. Landing was problematical, because I did not know where anyone was, and came down slow to compensate. "Is everybody here?" I got no call, so I said, "Walk down the hall on your left side. When you get to the corner, there is an emergency ladder. The girls without combat suits climb the ladder, while the rest hover close to the ceiling. I am going to get our weapons." I heard in my mind, indrawn breaths, but went anyways. Runna lay in a cradle, and all her ports were still open and looked ready to leave. I had no wish yet to interface with her, and bring down the AI, and the Samutz on us. I watched my path carefully, and found the suit with the weapons. Putting it over my shoulder and locking on the tractors, I flew back to the tunnel. Staying near the high ceiling, I flew to the intersection. "I am back, girls. Let's go for a walk, and find the computer tech section." We held hands, and took the same course as what we would do, if in 'The Claw'. It was still difficult to call a ship and the AI the same name. One was ceramic and energy, while the other was just like me, or my friends. An hour later we found a series of berthing spaces for troops, and decided to rest here, while we used our minds. If done with the least power, there was little chance of detection. The bunks were similar to morgue shelves, or like the capsule hotels in Japan. Small openings like pigeon holes allowed a Samutz or Tandra to crawl in and sleep or be entertained in the minimum amount of space. There were row on row of these small cubicles, and this was only one room. We got together, away from the door, and I led my wives in a methodical search. I knew the types of equipment to look for, and found various pieces all through the ship. The only place they were all together, were close to the bay, where Runna lay. I searched around that area, looking for another place that was empty. "I am sorry, girls. This was the first place we could stop, and do the searching. We will just have to go back." The trip back was just as long, and by travelling a slight detour, we came to an empty room. This was a power control room that was close to one of the smaller reactors. There was no hum, as I would think, but I did feel the enormous power held in check. I broke open the suits, and took out the knives, guns and ammo. Some of these went into my suit, if I ever needed the extra weapons, for the suit itself, had more than enough to usually suit me. My only major concern was whether the Samutz personnel shields here, could stop a galvanized blade. All the girls joined in, and took what they thought useful in this case. They all had training in combat, but except for Susan, none had any practical experience. The men on Earth were not that dangerous, and would not even factor into this equation. The remaining articles were hidden, for I needed the suit for my booty. The room I entered a few moments later had three techs working, and one overseer. I had to dampen my mind much more than usual, for I could not give them even an inkling that I was here. A large heavy duty controller caught my eye, a roll of flexible conduit, and the last I could not find. Techs walked around opening various storage areas, and I tried to look within. Two techs left and three more entered. They used to test equipment to find the faults. One tech in particular seemed to fix all of the equipment, as he worked on a fabricator. I needed the rings that would disable the tractors, in the computer room. I knew also, that when the complexity of the AI went up, so did the number of tractors. I was shooting for at least a hundred, but would like a lot more. The tech in the fabricator finally finished a module, and bent over to rest a moment, before the next job came. I sent a small probe and looked over her shoulder. I could see all the tools in the drawer. I would need to open three drawers, and take most of the contents from each. It would be foolish to leave a drawer empty and arouse suspicion. Two of the containers were behind some of the benches, and would be easily entered. The other was on an open wall, where an open drawer would make them wonder. I slipped behind the benches, and took out most of the loops, and laid them on the deck before forming an invisible shield around them. I went back to the controller, and took it and the conduit. The load was not large, just awkward. Coming out of the shop, I saw techs and Samutz using tractors and grav units to place plates and heavy equipment. The path was clear and I made it back to the control room. "Is anybody home?" I was immediately attacked by all the girls. They were relieved, that I had made it back safely. "I am not done. Chris, you are the most agile here, and I want you to go with me to the bay. There, I want you to make a diversion, so I can get the rest of what I need. Are you ok with that?" Chris was more than eager, "Yes, just tell me when you want it?" Back in the shop with the now empty suit, I waited close to the drawer for Chris to do her thing. I waited and waited. This was not an unusual thing, and some things took time. Almost 20 minutes later a deafening roar was heard and felt, throughout the bay. Alarms went off and screens went on to prevent atmosphere loss. The Samutz then the techs left the shop, to see what had happened. Pulling the drawer to the max, I quickly got more than enough rings, I hoped, to complete this job. Back at the room, I gathered up all the other supplies, and in a moment Chris came back with a smug thought in her mind. A grav unit had mysteriously shorted out its power unit and exploded. It just happened to be in a group of Samutz as they sat together. We walked for a long time, because we could not use the transit systems. The gravity was heavier than even Earth norm, and this must put an undue strain on all the Tandra. Our goal was the area I usually used to attack an enemy computer. This time, I found a spot about 500 metres away that could be used to keep my family safe, while the operation continued. Only Nova and Susan were to go with me, and then only till I was inside the bulkhead. After prying back the plate, I removed the combat suit, and put on the command model. There was no way I would be able to do my job with the large suit. I only took a projectile gun with a spare magazine of galvanized shells, and one of the good knives Mom made for me. I kissed all of my family even gave Nedue and Soma a small kiss, to show that they were loved too. Susan and Nova stood outside the room I chose, as I pealed back the plate bonded to the structural members. From the looks of the equipment, it looked like I had chosen well. The same type of equipment was here, that Cal had, when his hull was taken. "Susan, Nova, I am fine now. Go back to the others and wait till I come and get you. I should be anywhere from 8 hours to a day or more. Once I start, I have to stay till I am finished." Susan said, "We can stay here, and watch your back." "Look, Honey, I want to know all of you are safe. I would constantly worry about you being found, if you were close by. I have had much more experience in these matters than you, and besides, I am the captain. Now get your pretty asses out of here." I got a kiss through my shield, which was not as good as it could be, and the girls left. After crawling inside the enclosure, I energized the controller and closed the opening. There was enough light to see, because of the small indicators that were all over the place. Taking another careful look, I started on the first bypass. Letting out a pent up breath, I rested a moment. So far fourteen more bypasses had been installed, and an untold number was still to be done, and 7 hours had passed in doing so. This system was more advanced than any other I had worked on, and I had to go slow to make doubly sure everything was right. The automatic probes would have already started their work, and many of the Samutz should now be dying, even if they did not know it. I worked for another 8 hours and with all the mental effort; I scanned and could not find my family, which was a good thing. Laying my head onto my arm, I went to sleep for a few hours. The internal alarm clock woke me up, and after a few stretches, I continued with the mission. A few hours later everything went for a shit. A sensor that was the very same as the ones in Cal or the other ships, started an alarm that carried to the rest of the ship. Too late now, but it must have been a trap set long ago, to catch people like me. I backed out as fast as I could, and used the controller to remove the panel and close it again. I could hear audible alarms, and running feet, so I deactivated my suit and hid the controller. I then ran like hell to get as far away as possible. As I ran, I felt pressure on my brain and simply closed everything off, as much as possible. I did not know how long I could remain free, with an AI and a telepathic Samutz, looking for me. Calling the girls now would be suicide, so I just tried to draw any pursuit away from them. My escape plan now rested with Runna, for she had the last weapon that I could use. The aisles were blocked many times by running Samutz taking up stations. Some did not look too good, and stumbled, trying to keep up to their mates. I saw more than one, puke within his suit from the exertion. The virus was doing a much better job than I was able to do. A check point ahead was set up, and a device mounted on the wall projected down the hallway. I was too slow in recognition, to stop. Fingers pointed and weapons rose. Energy weapons shot at me, and would have melted through the suit in a split second, except there was an open door beside me. Deactivating my suit, I removed the pistol and controller. I attacked the wall, and about time I figured someone would be at the room, I turned and fired a stream of slugs. Three entered and three suits exploded, from the inside. Jumping to the door, and at the floor, I peaked around and fired at four more Samutz. They all made odd motions as the small explosions inside the suits carried the bodies across the aisle. Back at the panel, I was able to get in and had to open another panel in another room. The panels were closed, and I knew I had just moved sideways a few metres from all the action. My things went back onto me, as I re-energized the suit. Peering around the corner I saw the similar apparatus on the wall and much more alert Samutz manning their weapons. There was nowhere I could run without being spotted and shot. The controller was my only option. Taking the device again, I moved closer to the roadblock, but through the walls of the rooms. I was trying to get past them without facing the device that made a mockery of my invisibility. Just as I vacated one the room to the next, I felt explosions in the room I originally entered. The grenades were powerful enough to even take out a combat suit, if it were close enough. I worked frantically, because it would not take a genius to know where I had gone. Two more rooms I managed to pass, when heavily armoured Samutz marched down the aisle and blew the shit out of each of the rooms I had been in. I was just passed the checkpoint, when the last blast rang out. I jumped across the aisle behind the Samutz, hoping they were keeping their heads down. Seconds later the room I vacated, and the ones further up, received similar treatment. I still had a mission, and soon they would find no body and the search would only intensify again. Going sideways again, I was able to get behind the next check station, and was able to make it to the hanger. Runna was in the centre, and I had to look all around. On the catwalk Samutz were shining projectors all over the floor, looking for somebody that would show up on their devices. Work did continue though, and the Tandra, Softay and T'aut were watched even better. There seamed to be much more of them here, than there was on other ships. There was no chance of diversion now. If they thought I was here, they would flood the place with troops, and it would be impossible to get out. I did see a flaw in their plan though. The special projectors were placed high above, and hardly ever did they go straight down. If I were lucky, I would be able to make it most of the way there, without them catching on. Putting my thoughts to actions, I burst out, and ran in front of all the small rooms. I had to stop twice, as rooms were entered or Samutz stood in my path. Eventually I was only a hundred metres from Runna. The cradle under her hull would have to hide me long enough till she was able to transport me inside. Looking at all the projectors I could see, my mind calculated their probable paths, and the best one for me to escape them. I made it to a collection of tanks, just as a beam played across them. I had to gather more info, so my head came up between the tanks long enough the get hit by another beam. Pulling my head back, I waited for the alarm to go off, but it didn't. A second check, showed the new pattern, and I ran behind a truck carrying heavy equipment, as it went near Runna. Just as it passed, I dived under her hull, and waited for capture. It must have worked, for nothing was heard. "Runna awake," I said only once. Even that was being risky. I waited for almost a minute, till I materialized inside the control room. Switching to audio, I said, "Runna, use only audio. I need to transmit the imperial override, but when I do, everything around the transmitter will be blown apart. Do we have enough probes left to allow a virus to command this super dreadnaught's transmitters to do this for us?" "I am sorry we don't, but I can make a device, that will upload the same thing manually." I felt a wave of relief wash over me. "Do it as quickly as possible. The ship should have vented itself to space by now, but everything looks fine. I think our computer virus did not work." "No, sir, it did. I can find many inconsistencies, and it appears that the computer is fighting the virus very diligently. It is debatable whether the computer or the virus will win." This was certainly not good news. I used the facilities and grabbed some emergency rations and ate them fast, while waiting for Runna to finish. "Runna, as your Emperor I have an important command for you. The ship that carries us is very new and powerful. There is a good chance that she will win. If I am not back here in 12 hours I want you to self-destruct at that time, and try to take this ship with you." "How will you escape if I do that, your majesty?" "Runna if you do this it will mean that I am already dead, and there will be no need to provide transportation." "I understand sir, and will do as I am ordered." The small box was ready, and Runna told me how to get the information into the system. With my suit on once again, Runna plotted the beams surrounding us, and used her tractors to hoist me high into the ceiling, to a place not searched. Going hand over hand, I was able to make it to a small platform, which allowed me access to a long service way, leading to a group of reactors almost a kilometre away. I climbed down into the empty room, and placed the device in a cradle, and pushed the button. The next step was to run as quick as my feet would take me. A cross aisle brought me to another boat bay, where I waited to see what would happen. This bay had ships I was familiar with, and watched their actions. The Samutz in the bay were suddenly picked up by tractors and either pinched in two or thrown against immovable objects. The slave techs just ran in fright, but none of them were hurt in any way. I descended to the floor, and walked up to one of the ships. A curious feeling on my neck could be felt, and I heard, "Ship a5746gil90pny3, reporting for duty your Majesty." This was the first time I had heard an AI in distress. The communication came and went, as it tried to make itself known. The only explanation I could think of, was the virus had weakened the system and the imperial command had now made its own demands, on the system. Now if I could only get through to it, I might be able to get it to help. I could get the girls now and get back to Mom. "Ship a5746gil90pny3, we are at war with all Samutz, and I..." I was suddenly in the control room, of this mighty ship. I faced the tall Samutz Captain. His iridescent eyes looked at me with an uncommon hunger. I crouched, deactivated my suit, and took out my gun. Almost two dozen shells were fired at him as he calmly sat in his seat. "Well, if it isn't Emperor Buchanan. It is so nice of you to drop in." My gun was taken from me by a tractor beam, and I waited for my opponent's next move. "Your family was even less hospitable, when I asked them to join us." I looked around with my eyes and my mind, and then felt my family fall to the floor beside me. Pain was in their minds, excruciating pain. I tried to go to them, but was locked in position. A few seconds later I was released and ran to my girls. Susan was cradling her arm, it was obviously broken. Chris was unconscious, and very burnt. Nova had lost her arm, and only a tourniquet kept her alive. Amy was crying piteously. A quick look told me that Nema would never be joining us again. Star had bruising all over her, and her mind appeared to be running in neutral, with all the images of their last fight. Only Nedue and Soma looked the same as I left them. Looking through their minds, I saw how the computer had found them and dispatched first soldiers then tractors to take them. The fight was almost fair, till the major beams came in, and ripped the combat suits to pieces as if they were tissue. The suits upon leaving, took one of Nova's arm with it. I saw a grinning Samutz step in, and calmly wring Nema's neck, as she was the last to resist. He started for the next, but screamed and was ripped apart by the same tractors. As the distraught women became aware of their surroundings, I heard, "Oh, Henry, leave here." I felt a probing at my mind, and I closed it down tight. The pressure built and built. Soon pain came, and with it more probing, but I held on as tightly as I could. It was so difficult to think, and all I was concerned about was just before my eyes. The pain increased and increased again, till I could take it no more and blanked out. I was awoken again, and the pain continued. More areas were affected, and soon I blanked out again. The next time there was screaming, but I was not sure if it was me or my girls. The last time I came to, I could not move. Tractors removed the impediments off, and I was able to see, that it was my wives. They had piled on top of me to protect me, from whatever was attacking me. I heard in my head the cruel voice of the captain saying, "It looks like your females think a lot of you. Our females seem to know their place, a lot better." I just looked at the evil expression, and knew in my heart that I had been doing the best thing, when I decided to rid the galaxy of these depraved creatures. "Your block is amazingly strong. Perhaps I should learn how it is done. I am truly astonished at how far and how quickly you have come. In almost 90 of your local days, you have risen from a simple man that repaired machines, to one that commands many ships. I think that I will have to visit your Earth next, to see how it is done." This threw a cold shiver down my back. There was no weapon that could even scratch this vessel. Our galvanized weapons would do nothing to this ship, as my gun did nothing to this creature's suit. "In the last month you have even managed to kill more of my enemies, than I think I would have been able to do. Your kind will make a welcome addition to our table." I spoke for the first time, "Why would any rational creature, eat another rational creature, when there are so many substitutes?" "Oh, we can eat substitutes, but the real thing is so much more satisfying. The brain is one of the best parts. In our history, it is said, that the winner would get the vitality of the looser. The Tandra were very great in their time, but now are nothing more than slaves that repair our machines. I would use your people the same way, but your wives tell me that they are simple barbarians, that cannot mindspeak, much the same as my people." He continued after a small pause, to try to talk to the AI. The AI was not responding as it should. It still seemed to be following the captain's orders. "It seems that your little ploy has worked. All of the ships around Zindor have followed your orders, and my men are all dead. It is of no consequence, they all had the virus you sent, and now I have to bring in some of my heavy equipment to take them back." "Why do you want with those ships, when you have one like this?" "Well, I think it would be fun to tell you. The Tandra Empire rose and fell many times and each time fell much further than it rose. Hardly 5% of the original population is now alive. Their great minds have been able to fashion such machines as this," he hit the chair he sat on. "This ship is very rare, and my empire still needs other, lesser machines, to do most of the work. The last Tandra collapse brought them to the brink of extinction, and I am, in my way, trying to save them." "Save them. You mean, enslave them so they can work for you." "That is true, but my way will allow them to live much longer. Once my people have finished this section of the galaxy, we will turn to the centre, and take on the really strong opposition." The Samutz talked with difficulty to the AI again, and then said, "It is a concern of mine why you have rescued all the lesser beings, from our enemies. Your wives say that you are empathetic to their plight. Have you no shame? You have taken females of other races, and bred with them. Do you want to breed with this Softay female too?" His arm went out and pointed to Nedue. "Why should you say that? You have lived off the other races for a long time. I leave each happy, and each has a chance to grow, while you only want to suck their brains from their head, or prostitute them to your machines." "Such talk from a guest. But I guess it is to be expected. You have been brainwashed since meeting the Tandra, and do not even know it." "What do you mean?" "The tug you affectionately call 'Mom' has forced you to see the Tandra as lovable, and after the earthquake, put the same view point into these females here. She just needed somebody that could do the small jobs, that she was incapable of doing." "That is a lie. She would never do that. I love each of these women, and I think any male on my planet, would think the same." "I can see that they are beautiful in your eyes, but they should only be kept as pets. I know for a fact, that if you were to present yourself to the Tandra, that have not yet been conquered, they would treat you as a novelty. Those same small empires will soon fall to my people, especially when they fight among themselves. It is sad, that they do this, when their real enemy comes knocking at their door." This captain was probably right, and also right about Earth and Humans. They would fight one another till rays and bombs started destroying their cities. Thinking of killing, why did the captain feel so calm about our virus attack?" "You may be right, but what makes you so calm about the virus attacking your people?" "Oh, the virus will kill most on the ship, and the ones that survive will be killed anyways, as a precaution. Even now, all the techs are being herded into their cages, and the last of the crew and my AI, are going to begin removing all the bodies. Once that is done, the survivors will go too. You have set back my plan by almost 12 days, and I will have to return for more crew." The captain looked around the room, and said, "I should be very angry at you, but in the coming days, I want to see how you behave as a race. I think I can think of a good way to start, right now." Nedue held Soma as tractors reached out and picked the gentle Softay up, and ripped the child from her arms. Soma started to cry as she drifted closer to the captain's hands, while Nedue fell to the deck with a scream of anguish. The Samutz placed the child on his knee, and petted her pretty head. His suit was deactivated, and Soma settled onto his leg. "She is such a nice looking child. Our people think of them as a great delicacy." I felt the need to attack, as I had not felt before. The women were not far behind in their need to protect the child. I flexed my muscles as hard as I could, but knew that there was no way to defeat the tractors. Susan was yelling and Nova came out of her despondency, to try to rescue the little girl. "It is said, that this delicacy is best savoured, when it still breathes." "For the love of God, don't do this," I implored. "Your God will not help you here, and I want to see what will happen. It has been long past my mealtime, and I think that you are being totally unfair." He picked the small child up with one hand, and brought her to the side of his large head. His long tongue licked the neck and head, savouring the taste. The jaw closed abruptly. Blood spurted from the tiny body, and her presence in my mind rapidly faded. My mind went into that locked place, and came out with the old quest for blood. My mind grasped each of the women in the room. They were forced to do my bidding. The reactor at the back of the ship seemed to be the best choice. It went into overload, and I formed an insubstantial energy conduit, that led forward through the length of the ship. The terminus was here, right before my eyes. The ball of energy started forward, burning everything in its path irregardless of its shielding. The computer room too, became a massive sponge and started to suck up the fireball till it could hold no more and exploded, with energy that belonged in other dimensions. The ball though reduced, still came up the spine of the ship, and turned now, and came into this room. The captain lasted only a faction of a second, before he turned to a ball of flaming plasma himself. The pain was great, and felt myself slipping away. Later I woke up to pain throughout my body. I was blind now, or there was no light. Pain was around me, as I used my directional grid to find the girls. I crawled on my hand and knees, the best I could. My hand told me that Susan was still alive. But not doing very well. A large weight was covering her legs that I could not budge. My mind quested out for the controls of the tractors. For some reason the computer responded in an automatic way. The weight shifted, and I placed the beam far from us. Her cry of pain at the removal made me go into my mind, and harden myself to what must be done. Amy and Star were still alive, as was Chris and Nova. When my mind and hand found Nedue there was nothing I could do. Her hair was all burnt off, and I could only feel a thin body, that somehow had not been completely incinerated. A small rational thought asked; why hadn't we been turned to plasma with the rest of this room? "Runna, can you hear me?" "Yes your majesty. How shall I assist you?" My mind called for a computer override to provide matter transmission. It came, and I pictured Runna's last position and identification. We came to our control room, and I could still not see. "Runna, take us to the medical section." I sensed the doc units orbiting us, and integrated with Runna's systems, and could now see what had happened. The data coming to me said that it would be touch and go for Chris and Star. They were immediately placed in the first two tanks, after being fitted with the necessary equipment. The rest were so bad that there was no chance that they would escape the same fate. Nova mumbled to me, but I had her, Amy, and Susan fitted with the things necessary, before they too went into the other tanks. There was no AI presence in the super dreadnaught so I said, "Runna, transmit the imperial code to see if it will now work." "Yes my emperor." The call went out, and the dreadnaught replied with its compliance this time, but it did not have the richness of the AI in the reply. I was feeling the effects of my own wounds, and knew I would be out for a while, but so much had to be done. My mind took control of the dreadnaught, and synced my communicator with the controls for its shields. A call went out to all the nearby ships, and I knew I did not have too much time. A message was sent to the major ships in orbit and gave the information of who I was. The techs were to be freed to begin repair of the ships. A quick plan came to me, and I just gave the orders to the most functional AI. This happened to be the 'Disembowel'. All ships entering the system were to be given the imperial override at close range. If they did not comply, they were to be destroyed. Their Samutz crew were to be taken into custody if possible and the techs to be given command of the ship till my return. A glimpse of my ordinance told me there was a good supply of the newest ship killer that would defeat even this ship. Ten percent of my stores were ordered transferred. Tractors released the weapons, and the Disembowel came in, to recover the load. My orders were to use these only on the new types of ships. The old secret of galvanized weapons was transferred, and along with it, plans for the ship killers that would take out conventional enemies. I tried something now that as far as I knew was never done before. The doc units were constantly around me, trying to keep me going. I allowed the transmitters to be attached to my body and got Runna to place my body in the tank. There was no way I could go unconscious now, so I breathed in the fluid, and choked till I was able to control my mind to the automatic reflexes. The one reflex of breathing was difficult to repress. The fluid was a nanotechnological wonder that I had been hesitant to enjoy again. Not that it was bad, only that I would have been out of it for days if not weeks, with the regeneration of my arm. Now I knew it was much more serious, even though I had shut down my own pain receptors. Runna was instructed in her job and an overview of what I wanted done as a backup. I wanted the control personally, but was unsure if I could keep command of the process throughout my convalescence. The care taking of my body was left to Runna. This was standard, while I was mainly concerned with my mind. Our trip here showed me glimpses into the way the large matter transmitters worked, and again when I had unleashed the fire ball that... Nema, Nedue and Soma were dead, and it was my fault. I should have ordered the little Softay to stay on the Claw, with Soma. They would be alright now. Maybe even Nema would be alive and I choked up as I remembered the life within her. There were four deaths not three, to be added to the already heavy load on my soul. My other girls were in such pain, though their minds were in a dream state. They were neurotic, and there were plenty of reasons for this. I could not blame them; I was not that sane myself. The dreadnaught would be some help now, or I would crash it into a star and see the last of it. The captain I just killed was actually a fairly powerful king by the name of Dulfa. His empire was very strong, and in the centre of many other Samutz kingdoms. The only way to expand was to take the systems from his own kind. Taking control of the engines, I used the data in Runna's memory, and plotted a way back to the Claw. This ship would be as good as a tow truck as Mom would be. I started the engines, and proceeded out of the system. It would be hours till we would be able to get beyond the Mardaf Limit. Scanning throughout the ship, I came to the burnt out control room, and I had the tractors pick up Nedue's body and place it on a grav sled, and place it in stasis. There was no trace of Soma or the captain for that matter. After two queries of the computer, I found little Nema's body. She was in the captain's larder, waiting his pleasure. Her head hung down at an unnatural angle, and I knew only a strong being could do something like this. I left her there, till we could say a suitable goodbye. My own world seemed to be coming apart. What sort of man allowed this to happen to the ones he loved? Not too long ago, I remembered finding her, a tired and frightened girl. Later she seemed to bloom, with all the love she was getting in our family. And later still, after her mother's death, her request for my child. Even her tender years were no impediment, for the task she was taking on. I knew she needed us, and a child to allow her to feel that things would carry on, no matter what happened. Thinking became a little clearer, now that Runna was cleaning my blood of all the dead cells and toxins. The Tandra and others aboard this ship came to mind. The fireball could have killed many, as it made its way through the core of the ship. The techs were not all housed together, but rather close to their place of work. Only about half of the techs were fully telepathic. Most were Tandra, and I wanted to talk to all of them. The lingua fauna of the ship was the language of the Samutz. Though I hated to do it this way. My voice came out in the guttural hissing phrases that I could easily hate. "Crew, I am speaking to you through these words, so that I may communicate with all of you. All of the Samutz onboard are dead. The AI has been damaged, and the computer is working, from very old protocols. For some time now, I have been destroying Samutz, and today we have taken this ship. One of my wives, a nanny, and a child have had to pay the price for this." I had to wait a while to recover, and get the rest out. "I am going to continue this fight, and we are now going to link up with more people that think the same way. I am inviting you to help me do this, and free your home planets of this vermin. This is best accomplished by this ship being repaired. You should prepare yourselves to join others like you that will eventually bring peace to all our homes. Please save your questions for later, because I am severely short handed. That is all for now." The individual cages were opened, and I saw through some of the monitors, a few brave souls venture out to see what had happened with their own eyes. "To all Tandra and others that can mindspeak. You are now allowed to speak as you like without fear of punishment, the Samutz are gone." I heard incredulous voices that were quickly turned off, from old habits that kept them alive. One group did not rejoice or anything else. They were the ones in a large room hooked up to machines. The captain would use their minds, to leap the unimaginable distances required. Their lives were entirely focussed on the needs of the medical AI and through that, the master of this vessel. I was not about to accept slavery, but I did need to get to the Claw and take them to the yards at Samutzi or Falm 6. Turning within, I looked at my brain, and with the records from both Runna and the dreadnaught, I was able to perceive slight differences. Some I knew were Mom's alterations so that I could keep secrets, while others were done by the children in their first tentative touches. There were too many to even count. I knew that I had made bonds with almost every Tandra I had met. This possibly, was the reason all of the others were able to help me push the ship the way we did. The time eventually came when I could use the new drive. I had no wives to help me; I just tried on my own to push the ship forward. It worked much better than I thought, but far too slow for what this ship was capable of. "Crew, I need you to help me reach the Claw. Most of you, have never tried this, but I would like you to try now. Just sit and relax, and try to be guided by me." I tried this time, and the crew in the large room brought our speed up a little. With patient coaxing, I got the speed increased again. Within a few hours we were able to get 1000 times the speed of light. This was done in short segments to find our capability and to rest. Eventually, we didn't seem to tire so much. The higher functions of the AI had handled all of the minute corrections needed for flight in these dimensions. I had to use the processing abilities of the crew, to take over this chore, in addition to pushing us forward. This I had never heard of before, and reminded me of the way a child would latch onto an adult's mind, to increase their intelligence. The speed we attained was the same speed that Cal was originally capable of. I coaxed the crew and the rest to try harder, and the speed crept up to 1200 and we stayed there with minor variations for almost an hour. The time had come to relax and do our search. We slowed so that the computer did its best, while we both scanned for the ship. "Cal, are you there?" There was no answer, and I really did not expect it. ------- Chapter 51 Thought could only go so far, and space was so very large, that the chances were very slim of finding anyone. It took almost three hours to make contact. It was with Sula, and her mixed crew of Tandra females, and other races that were first spotted. At this extreme distance, only a type of radio was functional. I did not know how come we were so far from where Cal should be. There was a lot of confusion, and even suspicion, until I mentioned the pineapple. The call signs I now sported were much different, than the one's Runna had. I engaged our drive, and within three minutes was almost on top of the diminutive corvette. It was easy to read Sula's and then the rest of the crew's gasps of amazement. When a mountain of ceramic all of a sudden appear beside you and matched course, it should make anyone nervous. Her face came on the screen even, though I could see through her sensors. My own face was not revealed. "Sula, I would like you to continue your patrol, while I meet the Claw. This ship needs to be investigated before I try to push us to Falm 6." Though almost speechless, she did manage to say, "Yes, my emperor." The Claw came into view a few moments later, and I aligned our course so we were right behind their centre of gravity. All the time I was fending off calls and congratulations. "Blue, are you there?" "Yes, husband," she said full of admiration. "I have to tell you..." Then I decided to let her have the images that I had in my mind. I had taken a long time to get them just right, and it took almost five minutes to get the entire story across. Blue cried, and wanted to come to me. Cal normally would never interfere, but this time said, "Your wife is very upset. What would you like me to do?" "There is very little you can do. I don't want her altered in any way. Already too many small changes are made, that will eventually make it much harder to deal with. Just interrogate this computer, and see what you can find. The shield, weapons and drive are much more advanced than we currently have. The techs here may be of some help. There is a group of Tandra that are hooked up to the drive controls. They seem to be able to do things much more efficiently, than we can, but I do not want them forced to do this." Blue made time to come over, and see us. She walked into the room and I could see how appalled she felt. From my mind, she knew all of us were in tanks, but the visual proof was a little too much to take. Her hands came up against the tank, and she placed her face as close as possible, while she sobbed. "Blue, there is very little we can do but grieve. When we have recovered enough, we will have the funeral to say our goodbyes." I knew Blue was also thinking of the unborn life, that Nema bore, at the time of her death. I was finally able to get some sleep, because Cal was watching out for all our interests. I had the dreams I feared, and had to go through the agony of seeing my loved ones killed many times over again. My sleep lasted for almost five hours. I checked on my girls and saw that Star and Chris had made substantial gains, and were out of danger. Susan would only be another few days or so, the same as Nova. Amy would have to stay at least a day longer. I talked to Cal, and got a synopsis on the capabilities of the new ship. We were very lucky to get her. The main computer and its store of data were seriously damaged. The newer small ships I originally saw in the boat bays were the main source of any newfound data. There had been so many improvements in the last 650,000 years that none or almost none of my old tricks would work. The computer was actually a group of eight processors, governed by a large crystal. Its grasp of the multi universe, and all their dimensions were crucial to all of its actions. Medicine had progressed and the virus we made could now be stopped dead in its tracks. If the captain had seen fit, he could have had a vaccine made, and administered it to his troops as they fought. The galvanized weapons had even been countered during the Tandra / Thonas war, two and a half million years ago. The secret had been kept, along with the need to have the counter-weapons. In the intervening time period, there had been many claimants to the throne, and many lead to civil war and anarchy. This was the main reason for any improvements in war technology. This vessel was capable of going 80% faster than Cal's best, because it employed the same mechanism as the giant transmitters, but was very power hungry. A bottle neck was still the presence of a bonded deck crew, and the insatiable appetite of the engines. The present crew could only get it to 136 times the nominal ship speed of 1800 lights. Our speed here attested to the ability of the remainder of the crew to assist us. The ship's ability to enter more fully those other dimensions, were the reason for the speed increase, but with my recent experience, I knew that this was just a crude tool from what it could be. The Tandra confined to their beds, were considered criminals, or malcontents, but I deduced that it was just a reason, to put the poor creatures there. Their medical science had made it impossible to remove their guiding mechanism, except upon death. Their emancipation was on my mind, but I would have to learn an awful lot more, before it could be attempted any acts. I used the sensors to check out these sleepers better. There were very few young ones, but then again, there were no old ones. They numbered 143 in all. Everyone was a woman, and each looked very thin and weak. At least on Earth we had nurses that would come in and move them around, and give them massages. Here the ever present machines did all the necessary work, and no extra effort was put out. A tiara of tiny iridescent crystals circled the head, and served both as an interface with the machine, and a control device. The women were supposed to be able to move about, but this was usually discouraged for various reasons. Small transmitters brought each food, and took away the waste. The computer even regulated their sleep patterns, so that some would be able to work at a moments notice. At idle times, they were fed sensations and emotions from a computer generated interface. I did not even know if they would welcome a change in their lives at this time. Visions of Ingrid came to me, and I wondered it a similar tiara could benefit her, if it did not take over her life. We took the biggest crystal remaining from the stock we got at Epsilon Eridani, and had the tractors inserted it into the dominant position on the computer board. It would be many hours before we knew if it would work or not. Cal was able to get the tractors and pressors into position to hold the two ships stationary to each other. Cal's engines were not Newtonian in nature, and could be used, but all the energy conduits were destroyed. Sula, Roderick, and Turner brought their ships into the bay. I started the engines and was better able to control them this time. The strain began to climb and Cal compensated for it and strengthened both shields. We reached 1100 times the speed of light and were forced to stay there. We probably had the power to go faster, but both ships were still not whole. For 63 minutes we ran at this speed and I cut power to return to the Zindor system. We were hailed by the Disembowel, and I replied with our code. There was no need for it to convert us. Two new dreadnaughts, a carrier and many troop transports greeted us. They were ours now. Originally they were part of the forces Dulfa, the former captain and king of a Samutz empire. His kingdom was closer to the core of the galaxy. These ships were being used to assist in his expansion plans. The original plan was for the present ship to lay waste this planet, and just wait for the backup to arrive from the other empire, and simply take over. Through the records, it was deduced that Falm would be hit as well. The plans were only on the dreadnaught, and the fine details had been destroyed with the fireball. Cal had been busy making weapons to take on the newer class of ship, and we thought this system would be capable of protecting itself if lead by the right sort of people. Blue remained with the Claw, even though she cried. We swapped half of our crew of Tandra for a mixed bag of races, so that any defeat would not be catastrophic, nor any gains attributed to only one race. The crews would be able to swap data better if this happened. Claw had to do with her own crew and what help the yards could spare for her repairs. Cal and I had gone over the plans for the improvements we wanted while in flight. Major portions of the hull were to be opened to space and large damaged portions removed. An old idea I had, where a much smaller lithium reactor was used to start a dimensional generator, was worked on. If the reactor was placed close to existing lithium reactors the size could be reduced even more. The shield unit was to be changed, to what our newest ship had, to repel galvanized projectiles. We were very lucky, for there were one more of the personal shield generators that the Samutz king wore. It was damaged slightly, and had to be worked on by the techs. Its principles were similar, but much more intricate, to repel our zinc/iron ordinance. The burnt out energy conduits had to just be replaced, with larger models, for we could find no method to reduce their bulk. A battleship that was extensively damaged, would supply all of the engines we needed. The hulk was kept to provide a fabricating centre, to assist all the other ships in need of repair. Sula and the other captains went back into their ships to patrol the system, and give the imperial override if the occasion occurred. The trip to Falm was only a little over an hour at our best speed. The approach did not go unnoticed this time. Small but powerful missiles capped with galvanized warheads hit us, time after time. The shields held but there was no way to avoid the heavy fusillade. Any type of missile could destroy our shields, if they were powerful enough. Mom was being besieged again and I sent off my own reply to a few ships of the new kind. These missiles used the newer technology and their guidance was even better. A battleship blew up and took a conventional frigate with it. Three destroyers almost 800 metres long attacked in mass. I threw my major weapons at them but concentrated on the left most ship. As the destroyer exploded, I worked again on the next left most ship. This allowed me to do the same thing again, but before the ship exploded, our shield was breached four times. The large torus was hit twice, and had to be shut completely down. This device had to be discharged quickly, for fear of a short circuit. The energy weapons came to mind, and the energy drained through them. The last ship became our target. Damage reports came in and I could do little except ignore them, till we were safe. The discharge struck, but did little damage to the last destroyer, but did distract it long enough to be hit by our own missiles. This one did not blow up, but dropped its shields and quietly died. There were quite a number of conventional forces hammering away at the planet, the moon and all of the forts and ships protecting the system. Runna was still in the boat bay, and she used the imperial code through the dreadnaught's transmitters, and all the firing stopped except for the missiles still in flight. Out of the system moments later, fled a half dozen smaller ships of the improved type, and there was no way I could catch them with the torus damaged. "Mom, Secric, are you all right?" "Henry, oh Henry, it is you. We have had so much death," came from Secric, as she started to cry. Mom called now, and said, "You are making it a habit of saving us. This time you cut the time, very close." "I would have come sooner, but I had a few problems of our own. Let me get rid of the Samutz first and we can talk. Send me a list of loyal ships." "Yes, Henry." I found that there were few ships left on our side. There did seem to be a disproportionate number of enemy casualties, even three more battleships with the new shield, and each one was a wreck. A quick count gave me three battleships, six large troop transports, eight destroyers, and two carriers. A large number of frigate size or less was also present, but most were damaged. The usual place to store a captured enemy was in stasis in our holds. The sheer number here would put a strain on the number of fighting ships. The airless moon would be a good place to store them, but it would be subject to attack the next time an invasion occurred. Samutz cared little for life, but if the prisoners were kept out of harms way, then it was a good chance that they would not be rescued. The outer planets were certainly barren, and it was not a hard job to set up domes with the necessities of life, and large stasis generators. If the generators alone were used, then very little life support was necessary. Our ship was still manoeuvrable, but not between the stars. I gave the order to all of the now loyal ships, to follow, and we headed out system at 100 gravities, the best that they could collectively maintain. A small planetoid that was originally called Guyda was our best choice. We had raced ahead; the fabrication units started making large shield generators, food units, air makeup units, and sanitary facilities. Our energy weapons started to melt the rock in various areas, to smooth out the rough features, and make it liveable. Domes went up after the necessities of life were installed. Before we finished, there was fifty three domes that covered almost six million square metres each. The vaccine for our virus was administered to each Samutz or there would be none left at our next visit. Most ships were able to land next to a dome and use their matter transmitter to move the Samutz into the domes. Some were not capable of that, and had to off load to other vessels, that could, and the process completed. Many dead Samutz littered the surface. Some from the conflict, but most trying to retake the computers of their former ships. Before we were finished the long process, it was time to awake Nova and Susan from the tank. Lots of Susan's hair was burnt, and I used the tractors to cut it to look... all I could say, is less bad. Nova sported a lot of pink skin, the same as Susan. Other than cosmetic and possible mental problems, there was little damage now, to show for our narrow escape. "Henry, Henry! Where are you?" Came from Susan, as she sat up abruptly from the recovery table. "I am here, but busy for a moment. It is good to have you back. I am sorry I can't hold you or Nova, but many things have to be done." Nova was a little groggier, and when she was able to stand, she just sat and started to cry. Soon Susan sat beside her, held her close, and did some crying of her own. An hour later the girls had a shower, and were doing what they could to make each other presentable. They had queried Runna, and knew all what had happened since our last flight. They came over to each of the tanks, and looked in, trying to communicate in some way. I was the only one awake and Nova said she had never heard of a person in the tank retaining consciousness. I had done my own questioning, and found that the archives of both major ships did not list this happening either. When the last of the Samutz were finally removed, all the ships headed for Falm. I did not want to ever hear the word Samutzi again. On the way back, Mom and Secric joined our conversation through a hologram. Before too long all of us were either crying or almost there. I uploaded the crystal between my shoulder blades, another time, and sent the data to Mom for posterity. The way things were going, one of these times the information would not be able to be sent. An hour later, Mom dressed up in her own probe induced hologram, and Secric in the flesh, joined us in the sick bay, with Runna happily playing hostess. Small trays of food came out, and both Susan and Nova dove right in. Susan in particular was familiar with how much hunger she would have at this time. Cups of the ever present tea were filled and emptied on a regular basis, as we talked about what had happened, and what our fears were of what might happen soon. My personal concern was that all the small systems, that had the Samutz killed off by our virus attacks, would be easy game for any roving group of Samutz or others. The original populations on these planets, if not already eaten, could be faced with an even more voracious predator, if they had to come in quickly and consolidate their position. Our new unnamed ship would be able to go to each of the systems quickly, and leave a small garrison of troops, and some extra ships that could be co-opted to follow me, as a would-be emperor. Susan after her experiences on the ship had a drastic change of heart. "I want all of the Samutz dead. There is no way any should live after what they are capable of doing." She turned in her chair and looked into my tank, and said, "I want all of the ones we captured, killed. There is too much of a chance of having them regain their position, and kill people like Nema." She stooped for a while, overcome with emotion and buried her face in her hands. Nova as a good suna, followed the dictates of the head wife, and said, "I too, want the Samutz killed. At one time, I would have given them some clemency, but not now." I did not have to ask Secric, but she too was Susan's suna, and would voice the same words as her metsu. Tandra culture was taking over our lives. It was not necessarily a bad thing, for their culture was more advanced and thought-out, than ours was. When the head wife wants something, it is the policy of the rest of the family, to try to make it happen. Quizzing Mom on a probable action was not the way I should guide our family. Susan position as metsu would be a more elevated position than mine, and Susan did not always think in an orderly way of accomplishing her goals, or think of the consequences of her actions. "Susan, I have killed literally billions of the Samutz, and want no part in completely eradicating the race. One day, in the future, some race will use our president to kill another race, and those others, may be us." I changed my voice to sound more conciliatory, and said, "We have made may plans, and you had your input into them. It was decided to place the Samutz in a place where they could hunt and live as their ancestors did, and we would restrict their ability to use anything more destructive than a bow. They will not be able to harm any of us again." "That was then. Now I want them all killed," she said, as she folded her arms across her breasts. The next hour or so was not pleasant. Susan had made up her mind, and the minds of her fellow wives, about the matter. My previous hold over her when it came to sex was useless now that I was in a tank, and would remain there for quite a while. Being an Emperor, if only in name, gave me the command of the ships, but my own family was an entirely different matter. When we got back to Falm, I pulled into the yards on the moon Scorso, ahead of one of the battle ships. The fabricators worked full time as well as the Tandra and T'aut slaves that had just tasted freedom. I was not able to greet them, but the sensors were able to sample what they thought, and said. There was a lot of adjustment to do; for most had been slaves for such a long time that they did not really know how to function without a supervisor's attention. Almost every available tutor ran all the time, as the techs caught up on what they needed to know. Non-techs were trained to help as best they could, while others that were not able to mindspeak were trained to do so in the chairs. Some of the other races could train the same way but most were unable to interact with the machines this way. Old-fashioned classes had to be run with hologram teachers, doing the necessary work. This was hundreds if not thousands of times slower, than the methods the rest of us enjoyed. The usual bitching was absent; as they did the best they could on their own. Training supervisors was very difficult, and lots of this duty had to fall on the Humans, Tandra from Sol, and the most stable of the remainder of the rescued people. The last destroyer hit had a surprising supply of parts we could use. Our giant torus on the other hand, had to be rebuilt with fabricated parts. This put me into thinking why the shield admitted galvanized iron in the first place, then of the methods to keep it out. Finally the missiles needed to puncture this new shield, needed to have a defence made when used against us. There were a few research areas onboard, and I set up a few experiments to find any answers I could. The old Tandra Empire had found the original solution, just after the great exodus. The work on the shield had lasted for hundreds of years, and resulted in untold numbers of Tandra, sacrificing themselves to keep the Thonas at bay. The missile able to pierce this new shield had waited almost two million years. The original number of Tandra working on the project must have been fantastic, and the thoughts of one upping them, was very far from my mind, but the effort had to be made. Two days into the repairs, the AI came aware, and I tried my best to bond with it. Its job was very hard, because it would have to do the work of eight others as well as its own. Much of the computer was still damaged, and the AI had to work with what was left. I only hoped the crew could be counted on to help as they had done before. It seemed that Tandra brains could even take over for an AI, but the need for rest was one of our weak points. At the same time as the AI awoke, Chris and Star came from the tanks. Susan, Secric and Nova were there to give them all the support they could handle. Chris had come through the ordeal fairly well, but Star seemed to be withdrawn. She dwelt on the battle with the Samutz, and would not let the matter go. I knew serious problems were in store for us, if she did not pull herself out of it. The girls took her into their arms, and made tender love to her many times, and in different ways. Susan even fabricated some vibrators and their use helped, but only for a short time. They did not give up though, and gently weaned her off to the old level in the next week. I had done my own diagnosis, and found that all the babies were doing fine, though it had been touch and go with the one Star carried. Perhaps I could use the old trick I used before, and take an orphaned child and get Star to care for it. The problem was that Susan was still angry with my decision to save some of the Samutz, and I was in the proverbial dog house. She also knew of my stratagem that had brought Nedue and Soma to us. Even though I was in a tank and not able to participate very well in any sexually gratifying events. Susan made it known, that I was not as well respected, in the candasu or female family, as I was before. Susan was gaining enough power, so that she could supplant me, if she chose. Looking into her mind, I knew that this was not the case, but it would certainly come to her eventually. Whether she would use it or not, was debatable. At least my position with the Tandra was fairly secure, but the position itself relied on a family of bonded individuals. I had no intention of forming a new family. The girls I loved were just being led astray, and I would fight with everything I had, to keep them. I had private conversations with Mom on the manifestation of the fireball, its path, control and our obvious escape, even if we had not done it unscathed. Then I mentioned about using the combined intellect of the crew to pilot the ship without an active AI. "Henry, this is just more of your hidden abilities coming out. I have no idea how this happened or how the energy was guided, without great amounts of power. I examined the control room, and saw that it melted far into the ship, destroying much of the controls. The only thing I do believe, is that Nedue was partially responsible for the control, but how it was done, is as I said, unknown." "Nedue was also responsible for our unpowered flight. I got a tiny glimpse of how the ship did this. It seemed it was more or less greased so it would slip higher into the hyper universe. The power there was not as important as just breaking the surface. A feeling I have, is that we will be able to go much faster, perhaps even 100,000 lights and use very little energy doing so. The tough part is trying to find enough power to get that far into the higher dimensions. The amount of mental power the crew supplied seems to work better, than all the energy the engines could put out." Amy was due out soon, and I thought of her as my surrogate to get Star better adjusted. There were many orphaned children, and I searched for the best choice. I felt it best to pick one Soma's age, and now I had to find a way to get Amy to accept the baby, even if it were against Susan's wishes. I knew that Susan might suspect this as too much of a coincidence, but I had to do it anyway. One idea was to get Star away from the rest, and give her the baby. It would take little time before she would be utterly devoted to the child, or she would abandon it in her grief. The unnamed ship would be ready in a week and one course would be for me to leave Susan here, while I took the rest with me. This would also mean either giving Susan the authority to kill the captured Samutz, or give her only limited command. The latter would prove to be very undermining, and her resentment would grow. With enough ships capable of supporting our guests, I decided to call out some of the less skilled individuals, and give them a job. "Computer." "Yes my Emperor." "First, I would like to give you a name. Jamal was a brave friend of mine that died recently. I think he could best be remembered, if you tried to carry on his ideals." "Thank you my Emperor. It has been a long time since any entity aboard this vessel has been given a biological name." "You are welcome. The other matter I want you to look into is a team of Tandra that could look after the sleepers that drive this vessel. I want at least three hundred, so that there is someone handy all the time. I do not like the present Tandra custom of keeping the sleepers in bed all the time. I want them awakened in groups, exercised, talked to, fed solid food, and basically told how much they are appreciated." "I have just queried my faulty memory, the other ships, and see that this has been tried before, and resulted in untold confusion. It would be much better to leave them as they are." "I understand what you are saying, but I want this to happen. Search for techs first, that are still too psychologically damaged to perform their regular duties. The first of them, I want over here in an hour." "Yes, my Emperor. It shall be as you ask." Small shuttles started arriving soon after. Jamal explained as best he could, what would be asked of them. When a few more than 300 Tandra had arrived, I had Jamal form a hologram of me, when I had all my limbs, and was able to walk around. My image formed in the room with the sleepers, and immediately all of the Tandra went to one knee. I simply said, "Hello, please get up. I am only here as a hologram at the moment, because I am actually in the medical section undergoing treatments for burns, and to regrow an arm." They got up a little confused and looked at me for more information. "You have been told, about the sleepers that propel the ship, when we go into the hyper universe. I do not like having slaves, and would like each of you to help me get these people back into something resembling what a crew should be like. I would do some myself, but I am stuck in the tank at the moment, and could only help a few in any case." I could read some incredulity, in that I was awake, while still in the tank. Others had a difficult time taking care of themselves, and now they were told to care for ones even less fortunate than themselves. I knew now why Jamal brought over more than what I originally required. At my urging they went to numbered bed locations, and huddled around individual naked Tandra, held with tractors to their beds. Jamal used his tractors to move one girl over, and applied a light oil to her back. She, like the rest, had been kept scrupulously clean, and the oil and a light massage would help get her circulation back into shape. The tractor pushed the skin and muscles, but it was not as good as hands. The girl was put back on her pallet, while I talked to the new crew. I stepped up to one new girl, and asked, "Form a long line, and then take your hands and rub each other, so you will know what I am talking about." From what I knew of the Tandra on Earth, they did not go in for massage, and these ones here, were just the same. "Place your hands on your partner's shoulders, and work the muscles to make them relax." I heard a few groans of pain, and an equal number of pleasurable ones. I continued, "Do not push so hard, as to cause pain, but enough to get the muscles moving." The lesson progressed for a few moments with Jamal adding some pointers to individuals, as they tried to do as I asked. Later the new students started working on their patients under Jamal's watchful sensors. They took turns, and some of the sleeping girls were actually starting to come around, and feel what was happening to their bodies. I had my doubts if this would be enough. Some had been in this dream state for much too long. Jamal allotted rooms to the sleepers, and their new servants, helpers or I hoped friends, in a good area, near the stern. As they started to go, I said, "Thank you for helping me. There is an old saying where I come from, "What goes around comes around." What this means, is that you might need help in the future, and it would be nice to know that others were looking out for your welfare too." As the transporter took the groups to their new homes, I wondered if the self-help would work with Star. Jamal manufactured a small problem with a small group of children. Again more Tandra came to help, that were in need of help themselves. Star was sitting in a room alone, looking at a screen that showed the heavens. Moments before it showed pictures of all the people she loved and even the ones that she had lost. I did not use the hologram for fear of getting her upset, and not able to hold me, but simply said, "Star, Honey, may I speak to you for a moment?" "Oh, Henry, certainly you may." "We are having a problem on one of the lower decks. A stasis generator has failed in one compartment, and it will take hours to get it repaired. There are a lot of people in need of some help. Some rescuers are there already, but more are needed. Will you go and help?" She gave me one of her smiles, and was instantly transported to the small hold, filled with children and a few mothers. I did not say so, but these people were originally intended to be Samutz breeding stock for a distant planet. Star just jumped right in and started getting the children sorted out. Most needed further cleaning, and then a good meal. Since there was not nearly enough help she put a call in for Chris and Nova, she knew Secric and Susan were very busy. All help seemed to stop, as Chris came on the scene. Nova came soon after, and with Chris's help got some of the children placed with techs, that had not been able to deal with their own problems yet. An hour later the girls came back with three babies, and showed them to me. Susan was off trying to help some of the T'aut on a damaged battleship from our original contingent. Star seamed much happier than she had previously, but nowhere near her old self. Even Nova and Chris seemed to brighten up at the prospects of being mothers, sooner than they realized. When Susan came back, she too went over to the babies. She picked each up and held them close to her, as she too luxuriated in their closeness. Her last problem was in getting some techs to work without as much supervision, than they were used to. She had to get the few good ones trained, so they could take on managerial positions. The soothing influences of the children made all the frustrating effort seem worthwhile. Star talked about the stasis failure, and what she had to do. The rest gave their own versions. All were in complete agreement about how the Tandra that had been called to help, had been almost useless at the start, but had started to do much better as the emergency came to an end. Susan wanted her wives to have the closeness that she enjoyed with Faith, and considered the possibility of getting their breasts to produce milk. Their busy schedule would make feeding difficult. She said to the rest, "I think the children should be breast fed, but we are usually running all over the place. Let's get some of the other races, to watch the children when we are unable to do so. I still remember Nedue, and what a wonderful job she did." Of course the other girls were all for it, and the discussion started on how to pick out just the right people. We were all interrupted when Jamal informed us that Amy would soon be decanted from her tank. My probes were ready, and my image was instantly in the medical section. I just stood in front of her tank as transmitters were plucked from her body, and the wounds quickly repaired. Susan, then the rest of the girls came into the room to see my image, and Amy being drawn from the slightly cloudy liquid. Susan ran to me, before remembering that I was quite insubstantial. She stopped, but did say, "It is nice to see you Henry. You seem to be too busy to see us often." "Susan, you know better than that. All of us have been busy trying to get the ships repaired, the system defended, and the personnel trained. Wasn't it you that was gone all day, trying to get the T'aut to help with the ships without someone standing over them, telling them what to do?" She stopped a moment to see her mistake. Before she would have simply admitted it and that would be the end, but now I saw her try to weasel her way out of it, without losing face. "That was just today Henry. What about the other days?" "What is the matter with you Susan? I have records of where everyone is almost all the time. We have all been working, and it has not been only my fault, that we have not been together much. You are just as much to blame, or are you finding it is better to hide behind your position as metsu?" She did not know what to say now. She was caught with her own words, and she knew the data from the computers would not be falsified. "I am sorry Henry. As you said, we have all been working hard, and it is difficult to find time for all of us to get together." She turned her head and said, "Amy is getting up now." Secric came in; being late from one of the jobs she took on. Susan went over to the table, and Nova got out of her way, so she could be first to greet her youngest wife here. Her hands went around Amy's head and wiped the wet hair from her face. The eyes fluttered for a moment, and opened wide only to close at the bright light. "It is nice to have you back Amy. You have been gone longer than the rest." Amy's thoughts were not co-ordinated yet, with the rest of her, but she did manage to say, "Thank you, metsu." Her eyes went around to the rest and she smiled at each face she saw. Her eyes did light up as her gaze fell on me. "Husband, you are alive." "Yes, I am, but I happen to be in a tank now. This is only a hologram, and I am sorry that I cannot hold you, as I would like." Her mind quested out and found me actually behind her, in the tank, as I said. Susan undid her clothes, and picked the girl up, and took her into the shower. This seemed a little abrupt for we had not finished talking, and there were many more words and ideas to pass back and forth. I watched as Susan took care of Amy, as if she were her baby. Her skin was cleaned, and after her hair was dried and brushed. The meal, the girls were too busy to make, was brought out. I had used the tractors, and did the best job I could, considering I was not really present. All of them ate and discussed what had happened since Amy was placed in the tank. I sat with the girls, and added a few points, that had not been said yet, till Susan started again on her Samutz eradication plan. I remained civil, but Susan was trying to win over a new convert, and I saw no way of winning against her arguments, especially after Amy had just recovered from wounds inflicted by the same beings. The next day they found an older Softay, a Dolson and a T'aut women waiting to be interviewed for the jobs of nanny, for each of the three babies. The babies had not been named yet, and the women seemed to be just looking for a good job as opposed to the desperate necessity Nedue had. Half way through the next ship's day, I was ready to leave the tank too. The girls came dutifully around, but I still sensed a coolness to my presence. Susan gave me a kiss, and so did the rest, but I took the shower alone, and the meal soon after, was entirely produced by the ship. Instead of sleeping with me after the meal, they each found reasons to leave. I was not tired, and decided to do my own inspections, now that I had two feet and more importantly two hands, to help me. The first stop was the Tandra that propelled the ship. In one room the girls all jumped to their feet, and went to one knee as they recognized me. "Girls, get up, this is not court." They hesitantly did as I asked, and then I inspected one of the girls on the propulsion team. Her skin was pale, and there was still no muscle tone. The hair was not brushed, but otherwise she was clean. Looking into her mind, I saw that she was dreaming an artificial experience, fabricated by the computer, connected through her tiara. "Jamal, stop the feed to this girl. I want to see if she will awaken." "Yes, my emperor." The vision did stop, and the girl futilely searched for the dream, as I would, if it was good. "Coya, wake up dear. It is important to awake." I used an override in her protocols to do this, and she slowly came to a place somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. "Coya, you are needed. Wake up." She could not seem to make the last transition, and I saw that a different avenue was to be pursued. I took some oil in my hands and massaged the girl, as I thought it should be done. The Tandra were amazed that I would do such a thing. I explained how the muscles needed to be rubbed harder, to get the circulation going, and flipped Coya over, to show them how to do all of her body. Each of the girls had a turn, and I critiqued their technique. When I left, I knew they felt a lot better about the job they had. In a vacant room, I stopped and interfaced with Jamal. "Jamal, I want all the dreams the propulsion crew have, to be slowly altered, so that I am the focus. Perhaps this way when I call them to consciousness, they will respond." "Yes, my Emperor. I think that will work quite well. Do I have your permission to make each of their memories different?" "Yes, you do. I also want their old memories of before they were hooked up to this ship, brought forward. Place me in some of those memories too, but not in important positions." I left and went to the stern reactor, that we had used to start the long line of destruction, and I followed the path forward. I walked past the crew with only my ship's coveralls and no insignia. They were working, but not as well as the Tandra on Earth or the moon for that matter. The sense of urgency preparing for our adventure then, made the time much more memorable, and even enjoyable. The control room was my next place to visit, and it was much more of a hub of activity, as a hundred metres all around had to be replaced with new equipment. There were 53 individual workers doing their best it seemed, to get things straightened out here. I walked over to the spot I stood, as Soma died. There was now no trace of the fused equipment or the scorch marks on the surrounding walls, for all had been changed. I came back to the present as I was pushed aside by two T'aut, guiding a grav sled. Turning back I looked for some indication of Nedue's last spot, while she lived, and again found nothing. A warning came and everybody cleared a large area outlined with a reddish pink. A large panel materialised, and the T'aut quickly used a control device to guide the tractors, in moving it. Their method was what all non-telepathic races used to interface with a computer, for the use of heavy machinery. Even the telepathic ones that could interface with the computer were extremely rare. I left the room moments later, seeing that I was not really needed. Taking the transmitter, I stopped outside the computer room. Here large sections had been burnt out, and I was surprised that we had even been able to pilot this ship, after it was damaged. Here techs were working fairly hard trying to do the necessary repairs. Most of the spare parts, and many from destroyed ships, had gone into repairing this one. I walked through a cordoned off area, after quizzing Jamal about the reason. Basically it was to keep spectators out of the way. A Tandra woman and a T'aut man were arguing about the best way to proceed. I peeked into the woman's mind, and found she wanted to move a massive section of ceramic armour, which stood in the hallway, and looked to weigh many tonnes. They were trying to find a safe way of rigging the structure with the tools each was familiar with, and get it into position. Across from this, was a large open wound in the side of the computer itself. Many of the components were missing, as they had not had time to be replaced. The woman had the benefit of mindspeak, while the other had a curious helmet on. I could not see into his mind because of interference, but it seemed to be a way of allowing his mind to communicate with the computer, at one level or another, and trade information with his mates. The computer room glowed with different coloured lights, and I had to walk very close to see into the room. Some burnt out sections still existed. As usual my mind was twisted, for even my eyes were not enough to see into five dimensions. "Hey, you, get out of here. You are not allowed. Didn't you see the barrier across the walk?" Came from the Tandra woman and the T'aut just put his fists on his hips, trying to look imposing, but his height of only a little over a metre, did very little to strengthen his pose. They both thought I was a Dolson, but forgot that all of them had red hair. She came over to me as if to push me out with her presence. She did have this physical ability, and in a great measure. If I had not been enhanced, I knew she could easily pick me up, and throw me back over the barrier. I just smiled, and saw that she believed, I had gas. I made the Tandra smile, and said, "I came to see the area around the AI crystal. There are a few modifications I want to make, before we leave this system." "Who are you to say that? You better get out of here now, before I call the AI here, to get you thrown out." The Tandra probed my mind and just hit against the block, and could get no further. She quizzed the computer for techs in her section, that fit my physical description, and the list came back empty. A further search of all the recorded techs returned the same answer. A loner tech in her territory, to do some of the finer work, was a sure way of rubbing her the wrong way. Before she came to the conclusion, that she should kick me out, I said, "I can get the armour into position for you, and you can start to fuse it to the main housing." "Not very... ," she said as the ceramic behind her rose in the air and drifted across the hall to line up with the rest of the barrier. My own senses knew that the fit was good. She turned around in wonder, and looked at me, questioning her own mind how I was able to do this. A second later she knew that the tractors were used, but even she was not able to interface with the computer enough to accomplish that task. "It is in place now. Will you begin fusing?" The two ran to the joint, and with their small hand held displays knew that the portion was perfectly aligned, with the other surface. With just a single look at me, they got some remote work probes, to begin the job of joining the two parts. As the probes worked, they read from their displays about the current alignment, and the progress of the work. The Tandra woman was concerned that the new portion would move, and a lot more work would be needed to complete the job. Her next thoughts were directed to Jamal, and found that he was not actively controlling the tractors. She eventually came to the conclusion that I was somehow controlling them in a much more direct manner, than she knew anybody was capable of doing. A few minutes later, I could relax, as the probes continued their work. The woman came up to me, and said, "I don't know who you are; I thought all Dolson were more or less useless at interfacing with the computer. Anyway, there is a need for a big male like you. Would you like to join my team?" "I have to thank you for the offer, but I have another job to do. There are eight more processors that have to be programmed, and installed to bring the ship up to its original specifications. The programmed units are coming from the Mom soon, and I want to see how much work is needed to install them. We need to alter their personalities. This time, there will be a dramatic change from tradition. The crystals are going to be programmed with the best qualities of many races, and not all will be Tandra." The woman was nonplussed for a moment. Then said, "That is not in our orders. I have been a tech since my people were building the matter transmitters and I never heard of such a thing." She looked at me kind of funny, and wondered how I knew so much. She also hoped to learn, what she could, without losing face to another tech. "How are the crystals programmed?" "This time, I think the linked minds of all the crew will work on one crystal at a time, after discussing each of the races. Your friend Gorf here would be examined like many of his race, and his pragmatic attitude, and love of growing things, would be part of his race's contribution. By the way, my name is Henry, and I noticed yours is Volda." I put out my hand, and opened my mind enough for her to see what to do with it. Her small hand tentatively came into mine, and I shook it. Her hand was fairly limp, and I hid my reaction to this feature. Turning to the male I said in his own language how I was glad to meet him. He was a little stunned, because few beings of other races bothered to communicate in this way. Gorf had watched us closely, and when I placed my hand in front of him, he took it. His shake was more firm, possibly because he felt me hold his, in a solid grip. They gave me some questioning looks, and then Gorf said verbally, "There is another section, not as large, that has to be put up to. Will you help us?" "I can do that, if we hurry. There are a thousand things that I need to do yet." We hurried down the hall, around three turns and up three levels, when we came to another area. This one had many techs around of various races. The burnt area was just finished being removed, and the computer had made the new section according to what was needed. It now rested in the matter transporter, ready to be brought in, and placed in the hole. Volda cleaned up some rubble and ordered the crew to stand back, as she interfaced with the computer, to get the armour delivered. Instantly the large section appeared, and I just used the tractors present to pick the piece up and get it into position. This time the cut was not as perfect, and the piece had to be pulled back. "Volda, there is two places that need a little more removed." I opened my mind again, and showed her the areas. She directed two of her crew to trim the affected areas, and I picked up the section again. The fit was good, and well within tolerances. The probes went back to work, and the section was fused to the parent material. When the job was done, I shook hands with everybody. Most thought it was a very parochial gesture on my part. It was treated as they would all the odd things they had to deal with, when they interacted with different races. Volda tried again to get me to stay, but I declined and I said goodbye in five different tongues. The main entrance to the computer was two floors down, and as I approached, Jamal opened the door for me. "Hello, Jamal. The work is progressing fairly well, on your computer." "Hello, my emperor. The different races argue among themselves, and then with one another, but the work progresses faster, than what it was when I was originally built. Would you like me to use the tractors to bring you to my home?" "Thanks that would make it a lot easier. I know you are a lot larger inside, than any other computer I was ever in." The feeling of disorientation was even more prevalent, in the close confines of this area. My stomach was a little queasy, but I made my mind override the sensation. The processors were in different areas, and Jamal's was separate from them. Defence was handled by one processor and was damaged extensively. Navigation, offensive capabilities, medical, propulsion, and life support were only moderately damaged. A general purpose crystal for research and a back-up unit were not touched. All of them could fill in for any of the other units if needed. Each section was as extensive as needed, for their jobs. Navigation was as large, as the crystal in Claw, because of all the calculations necessary for the high speed transit. The tractors took me to all of the locations, and I saw the missing processors and the repaired circuits ready for occupancy. My previous look at our inventory told me that we were two crystals short, of what we needed and perhaps this was a good reason to visit Carl and get some spares. Afterwards, Jamal placed me on the deck, and I was transported to the areas of the torus that had been hit, and saw that here too, the work was progressing. The crews here were unlike the control and computer room crews for they did not work with the same determination. Large sections were cut out, and replacements fused into place. The work here was mostly grunt work, and did not require the level of sophistication, that the other areas demanded. Thirty three more ships had come into the system in the last week, and had accepted me as emperor. The ships and an escort led them out to Guyda and the Samutz new home. "Jamal, what is the status of the crystals?" "Mom is currently sending them over in a shuttle, my emperor. Their arrival should be in 83 seconds." "Place them in their new homes and we will see if we can alter their programming enough to reflect the different races." It had been quite a few hours since eating, and I went to the food synthesisers close to the stern of the ship. Some of my favourites had been programmed into the machines from Mom's knowledge. The room with Coya and her attendants was close, and I figured I could see if my new plan was working. I walked into Coya's room and her attendants quickly got to one knee again. "Girls, we are alone, and there is nobody to impress, so I would like you to treat me as the captain of this vessel, and not an Emperor. You should address me as Henry or captain, depending on the situation. I am not comfortable with all of this protocol. Do you understand?" "Yes, my... captain," came from the closest. "Jamal, I want you to alter Coya's dreams, to correspond to what we are doing, and see if we can bring her around easily." I bent over and picked the naked girl's torso up, so she was sitting on her bed. Her hair was still in disarray, and Jamal transported me a brush. I used it carefully, while trying to keep her safe. One of the girls came forward, and held her with me, so that I would have an easier job. Her short hair was easy to straighten, and I heard a slight groan of pleasure, at the contact. "Coya, Coya wake up please. I want to talk to you." I looked into her mind, and saw her being held, by a spectral me, in the same position we were in now. "Coya, wake up now." She had been sleeping for almost 12 years now, and it was difficult to get her mind back into her original state. If this did not work, she would have to go into the tanks to get her body exercised and her brain too. There was no progress for almost ten minutes, so I held her shoulder, and slapped her face with only enough force to bring her around. The girls all gasped as I did this, but saw that none of my strokes were meant to harm the girl. Coya's eyes slowly opened, and I lowered the illumination in the room, to compensate. "Henry, is that you?" She thought as her eyes closed again. I felt a surge of hope as the girl came around. "Yes, it is sweety. You have been asleep a long time, and it is time to awaken. I want you able to get up and walk around, but you are too weak to do this now. Her eyes opened again, and she tried to get her arms to reach up to hold me, but she was unable to do so. I picked up her arm for her, put it over my shoulder, and gave her a Tandra kiss. I didn't want to shock her with the Earth variety just yet. She just groaned as she held me, this was more real than her dreams, and she felt the difference. She was very tired, and even though she fought it, she went back to sleep. I looked at Coya's attendants. They were upset that the woman had done such a thing, and felt responsible for the action. I slid sideways, and allowed Coya to lie back down. "Everything looks as it should. I want to send Coya into the tanks, to get her muscles developed. Eight hours should be enough. The three of you can have a break as this happens. Are any of you hungry?" I could feel some hunger pains, but not strong. Mine on the other hand, were much stronger. "Jamal, will you transport four pieces of pizza, and each of the drinks I programmed into the food replicators? I would like a cold beer with mine." "Yes, my Emperor." "While you are at it, drop the protocol too. There is nobody to impress here." The girls gasped at this too, because I could feel how tense they were to be around a person that they had only dreamed of ever seeing. "Yes, Captain." A table came out of the wall, and the goblets appeared, then a plate of hot pepperoni pizza came next. I had programmed all of the other toppings, even anchovies and pineapple. This time we were going to only have the simple variety, to avoid any unpleasantness. I took one warm slice, and bit the end. "The food is warm, so blow on it, to cool, or just wait a moment." One girl tried her first piece, it was too warm and supple, and promptly fell. Before it got ten centimetres, Jamal caught it and placed it back on the plate. The second time it made it to the girl's mouth. I watched her face, and a Tandra smile came to her. "It is good," was her only comment, before the others tried too. The girls had fun with the strange drinks, and as expected, stayed away from the beer and the coffee. After more pizza, we all took the transporter to Jamal's main medical section, and Coya was placed into her tank. Her three new sisters stayed close, and two I was sure, would go to sleep themselves, to await the girl later. All around us more sleepers came, with their attendants, and entered the tanks. I greeted them and walked around, to let them see that I cared for them. We were in no way capable of flight, so all of the girls came and were worked on. Even with all 143 tanks used, there was thousands left vacant. The load was not too great, for Jamal had to do all the work that was previously done by the medical processor, and had to do all the other duties as well. The planet below was my next concern, and I asked, "Mom, have you had much luck rounding up all the Samutz on the planet?" "There are a few left, but their numbers are less, than a thousand. I wanted to talk to you about shipping the ones we do have, to Guyda." "I would like that too; because I think Susan would try to find a way to kill all she can get." "I have detected her feelings, in Secric too. I can see that you are opposed to this, and this must put you at odds to your family." "Well, Mom, you're right, and I can only see a rocky road ahead for our union. Susan has become a Tandra female in almost everything she does now. This also means that a male is not looked on the same as was done before. This may be good for her candasu, but leaves me out in the cold, unless I cooperate. My attempt at bringing the Tandra Empire back into existence may have to be the price I will have to pay, for it." "Henry, you cannot do that. I believe in your dream of a safe place for the Samutz race, and a united Tandra empire. Will you not fight for what you believe in?" "I will Mom, but I am fighting not only Susan, but the other five wives as well. They are people I love, and they are my mates. I don't want to dominate them. They are too useful to us when they speak their own minds, and give their opinions. The thought of them acting as subjugated females, is against all I stand for." "I can see what you mean. Have you talked to them more about your concerns?" "We are all busy, and I think Susan is trying to stay away from me, to make her point. Considering the experiences she went through, I cannot completely discount her ideas. But to destroy a race down to the last individual is about the worst thing any ethical person or race can do." "Will you open your mind to me?" "Sure Mom." Her touch was delicate, and I am sure she had a good look at all my concerns, even the ones the Samutz king had voiced. "Splitting them up may be your only option. Guulas is almost as important as this system, in the number of ships, and the quality of the yards. Susan could hold that system for you, and there are no Samutz to kill, other than the ones trying to raid the system." ------- Chapter 52 The sleepers came out of their tanks, much more physically fit. In the coming hours some woke up for a short period of time, and then went back to sleep. I made it a point to try to be at the awakening, and for them to see me beside them. Jamal did his best too, considering his limitations, to get the girls to regain some of their former lives. The three babies did what I expected, and most of the new mothers, tried to be home more. The nannies worked well, but the Dolson was just not as bright as the rest, and a sampling of her race showed that this was the norm. She appeared to make it up in love, for her new charge. All of the babies seemed to be thriving, and I too found an occasional reason to come back and see them. My many research projects needed to be attended to. Nema's records were compared against all other Softay, and the only glaring irregularity, was a series of crystals throughout her body, that seemed to be formed like kidney stones. The onset of great stress seemed to be their cause. Checking the Softay for telepathy showed that they were poor subjects. I hoped it was because of the sensors we were using. I checked other bands, to communicate with, and our machines just did not know what to look for. Our present shield was much stronger, but also very similar to the old design used on Earth. The shifting of the natural harmonic to a less efficient band appeared to be the only difference. This band seemed to exclude galvanized projectiles. The new type of missile the Samutz used had a series of fluctuating fields to work its way in. The same as the zinc/iron did in its passive way. Jamal and I worked on a piece of test equipment that would mimic the shield, and thus try to get by the obstruction with other means, but so far had not found another way in. I selected all the larger crystals I needed, and had Jamal insert them into the computer. The only basic difference in this computer was that the individual stations had larger crystals, and thus smarter AIs than any other units I ever heard about. The computer substrate was being replaced, or I should say, grown into the place occupied by the burnt out sections. We had enough of the smaller chips in stores to supply all the necessary parts, and knew that the Epsilon Eridani installation was very important to our future. This was not just for major parts, like the AIs, but for all the smaller chips that an empire ran on. All the wives were working hard getting all the other races behind our cause. Susan found enough time to make it known, that she wanted all of the Samutz killed. My one hope of finding a solution to her single minded obsession, centred on the fact that all the suna were influenced by the metsu. I just hoped the reverse was true too. Star was the most mentally damaged, and I needed a way for her to be cured, so that a little harmony would come back to our family. We were under a serious time restraint. Once the Samutz in any of the far flung empires found out about what we had done, they would close their borders, then their ships shields. Eventually they would come after us. Many of our captured ships, if not too damaged, were sent out to all the planets of King Sook, Tinsu and their vassal kings. There was no way I wanted a group of Samutz at our back. The ships carried improved virus delivery systems, and a skeleton crew of Tandra, to make any repairs the AI could not do. The crew were to try to gather all the races they could under our banner, and hold the planet against a vengeful Samutz. They were to use the imperial override at all opportunities, and co-opt those ships as well. The captured ships could carry on with the virus attack after getting a sample, and appropriate orders. The new wave of ships hopefully would leapfrog the other ships sent out before, and continue both up and down this arm of the galaxy. The presence of the newer ships, that did not heed our orders, gave me many worries about how successful we would be, When our ship was finally repaired, with the new AIs online, I decided to go back to Guulas or what Humans called the Alpha Ophiuchi binary system. It was much too valuable to just leave. Blue stayed on the Claw, and Secric stayed with Mom. There was a lot of crying no matter what I did, and this was an important mission. Some of the techs left with us, to form a viable body in that system, and would be led by Susan and Amy. The sleepers did all of the work this time, and my wives seemed to be a little disconcerted at not being required to help. Their hesitation at coming near, was and indication of Susan's hold on them. A few major ships fled at our approach to the system. We gave chase and captured them without any shots being fired. Their captains must indeed be new or untrained, to flee at only one dreadnaught, even if it was the biggest they had probably seen. Within a day, all of the Samutz had been transferred to our ship, and the resident AIs convinced to follow their male empress. Susan reluctantly left with Amy. Their first task was to do a simple inspection, protected by six battle ships, and hundreds of smaller ships. An even dozen of my best men accompanied them. I had paved her way by saying she was my representative; which seemed to work well. There were many Tandra and T'aut on all the larger ships we just captured, and many more on the planet below. They had been put to work by the scavengers to get the derelict ships operational after our original virus attack. Other techs on the planet's and moons were busy repairing the defences, when the computers were overcome from our previous attack. A share of the crystals left with many of our techs, to replace any damaged AIs Susan thought she needed. The system was fairly open to attack even before we came, and this was remedied as best we could, with all the information we had in the long Tandra history. The feeling in the New Hope, as we headed out of the system, was a few degrees warmer as Chris held onto my new arm, and the other wives stayed closer. Susan had felt abandoned, and at the same time excited, that she was given a chance to do things her way, without me to curtail her activities. I believe she would eventually feel like the leader of a successful coup d'etat, that now found they had to run a government, not tear one down. The best course of action in the untouched areas was to go for the lesser systems, in the yet untouched empires. We would gain the ships necessary to take the more developed worlds. Our superior speed would allow us to outrun any ships trying to deliver a warning. We could get to the planet and capture it before the ship arrived. Our stores were full of contagion, and small probes to do the delivering. This time, the probes would be for any conventional ships that disregarded our orders. The probes would not be able to openly gain access to any of the new ships. Our only choice then, was to destroy them if possible. There was no way our probes could both slip within the new shield, and to deliver our own invaders. The first three systems had little to offer, but came over to our side. The planet got a dose of the virus and the AIs on the planet helped spread it as well as they could. I checked on the sleepers that at present were not all sleeping, but walking around the ship with their guardians and now friends. I would meet a few, and always they would want to take me aside and show me how much I was appreciated. Their dreams of a lover were of me, and I regretted the necessity of doing this to any group of people. The fact that it was done for both their, and my benefit, did not make it right, but I found that right had to be a very flexible commodity. Nova asked, "Husband, why are you neglecting us?" "Nova, my wife, why have you been neglecting me the last few weeks?" She hung her head and began to cry at the way she was forced to act, and saw how her metsu had been steering the family. She had just gone along with it. I held her and said, "I know how a family works, and I don't think any of you fought it enough, when you know what is right." Smaller ships with drones went to the minor systems. We picked our own targets, and then followed after these ships. The new multiple variety virus and improved delivery systems meant that there were very few Samutz left alive. Small groups of Tandra techs and crystals were dropped off with instructions on repairing the defences, and taking over any Samutz ship with the override, if possible. Throughout this time, I searched for the giant matter transmitters. They were useless at the moment, but for some untold reason I wanted to build or at least rebuild, each and every one of them. The first few systems had many Tandra in stasis, penned on the planet or even free. We were lucky enough to collect more than we lost. If they were trained sufficiently, they could be used to hold more planets against the Samutz. Many would have to be trained by the people I left behind. We eventually came to the vast empire of King Dulfa, and his subject kings. We made a very intensive search for the newer ships but found none in the outlying systems. I was hard pressed to save any of the Samutz here, because of what their now dead king had done to my family. There were many minor ships flying between the stars, and when we gave the override, they came to us readily. After almost a day, we got a good rundown on the empire, and a few smaller ones beyond. There were fourteen major planets, and almost a hundred lesser systems in three empires. The next system, Fairchch, was a major ship building, and repair centre, as well as administration for the local king. The contagion fell to the planet, as we watched for any ships coming into the system or leaving with some warning. The haul was impressive in tonnage alone, but the majority of the ships were less than battleship size. This time Captain Roderick again became a captain, an admiral, and a governor as well. He and his six men were accompanied by a selected group of Tandra. They left on one of the many captured battleships, to secure and hold the system. This time every AI would follow his orders. Just before we left the system, one of the research projects found a way to shift the harmonics, so that a ship's shields could repel galvanized shot and it should repel the new munitions we now sported too. A simple shot on an old cargo ship, told us that it was workable. If the Samutz came back, they would have no easy time with small ship killers, like we had before. Roderick was very concerned with being able to carry out his duties, but I had more faith in him, than he himself did. Jamal sent automatic drones to all the planets we garrisoned, with up- to-date information of our activities, and our plans for the modified shield. In two weeks we had gotten all of the minor planets, and the thirteen major ones. The new ships had not been spotted yet. In fact very few major ships were seen. In Saffra, King Dulfa's ruling planet, we came upon three battleships and twelve destroyer escorts with the new shield. Twenty lesser ships too, sported this device, and with the hundreds of major ships, forts, and defences mounted on the planet and the moons, the system would be difficult to take. There was so much security, that we could not get close. The only plan I had at this time, was to send in the probes, with a small heavily stealthed two man ship. It would direct the probes to attach themselves to any ship or shuttle entering the better protected ships. I approached Sula for this important job, and she tried to think of everything she could to make her job safer. "Why don't you use the imperial override that these ship would have? It would be the similar to the others." "I don't know this..." then I pulled her close at the idea; I kissed her hard and said, "Thanks Sula. I completely overlooked that possibility." "Jamal. Search your subsystems and find the imperial override, as it was made for you. See if you can find the exact command sequence, we can take the ships without fighting." "It is a complex code and it may take a month to find it." "Why that long? Cal had it ready for us when we needed it." "The code was actually tested by one of the royal family. That has not happened on this ship." "Why did our override work on you then?" "The virus was running through all the systems, and the computer was eventually damaged. It fell back on very primitive coding, that was susceptible to your commands." "That means that it was an unheard of coincidence that Cal both knew about the override and the code to allow it to work." "I would say that, Captain." "Try to find the code, but first consider variations of the one we use first. Empresses or emperors did not always want to give long strings of data, when something shorter would work as well." Almost six days passed, and I was angry at myself for not going with my old plan, and working on this problem in our spare time. I was getting closer to the enigma around Nema's ability to assist us into hyperspace. It was indeed the odd crystals in her body, and the effects of a growing influence of a Tandra child on a Softay mind. There was no way to replicate it yet, but I knew it would be eventually found. Her ability to channel all that power would make the massive dimensional transfer devices obsolete too. She had channelled power to Cal's mighty engines from the dimensional tap, and did a lot of damage. When we were flying with Runna, the energy came from the higher universe itself, and did not travel through our engines. It was used directly, to propel the ship and did not damage any of the tap or the bus system, but could easily, if even a bit more had been used. "Captain, I have found the code." Jamal unexpectedly said. "Let me see it." The code came out, and was a little over 63,000 characters long. I worked with the sequence and saw that it was indeed easy to memorize after acquiring a much more powerful mind. "Can you tell me of any variations with different royal families?" "I would assume that when a new or competing family tried to take over, they would make a new code. It would work on some of the older ships. How far this can be carried back, I do not know. There may be many different codes that will not respond." I could see many more problems now. I would need a way of gaining access to all the old coding, buried deep in the deepest levels of a computer, to gain access to all ships and systems. I did not relish the work involved in climbing through the computer each time a ship was rendered helpless, to bring it over to our side. The attack had been planned for a long time, and millions of drones left for the planets and moons as well as the fixed defences. In four hours the virus would be passed by one lone frigate. It would enter the system, with the current passwords and our override. Sula wanted the job of piloting the small frigate. She was important to my plan, but she also needed the knowledge that she helped take this system. She passed the outer defences, as we all held our breaths. A failure here would do more than kill a friend. The news of the virus eventually spread quickly on the planet. The ships were just starting to flee, when they stopped dead at the call from the frigate. Again all the Samutz were put into stasis or killed. This time none of the little beauties managed to get away. It was well that the forts had been targeted, because the AIs were not affected by our call, and I had to turn every ship's weapons, and target the many forts that protected the system. The battle lasted almost a half hour, till all the forts were disabled and a good portion of the newly acquired ships too. With each ship carefully checked for hostiles, Nova and Sandy, along with all the techs and troops I could spare, took the new ships, and I hoped the system. Sula was given the job of assisting, because she now had a stake in protecting the system, she helped capture. Star cried at losing her friends and fellow wives. Chris tried vainly to comfort her, but she felt abandoned, as if there were nobody here that loved her enough. Even when I came over, she did not feel safe enough. The male Samutz had frightened her more than she was able to overcome. I, being a male, was now suspect, at least till she started to recover more. The forces remaining behind were to keep the system from the Samutz, and kill any free Samutz that showed their faces. My job was quite different. The new ships told of a good sized battle that was to take place. It was at a system 61 light years distant, by the name Defren. It was the capital of a small four system empire that should be called a monarchy. If I could render some aid, there was a chance of picking up an ally. The old saying of an enemy of my enemy, is my friend, came to mind. Our ship left the system at its best speed, with the sleepers resting before the big push. The limit was an almost three hours away. My mind was seething with different ideas. Mom had done a lot of things to help me, and my mind's compartmentalization did more than just protect my thoughts. Many things could be worked on, or one idea from many view points, all at one time. I needed a better shield. The one we just improved was less efficient, and its only advantage, was that it did not allow the new missiles in, unless they were very large and simply overwhelmed the shield's capacity to keep out. Now there was the problem with various passwords for ships that may or may not have been changed by the winning side. And then the problem with finding a way through an enemy's newer shield again. The recurring memory of ruthlessly using the sleepers and crew, to push, control, and navigate, around many unseen obstacles still intrigued me. The 61 light year voyage would take us almost three hours plus the time leaving this system, and going into the other system. A typical craft the Samutz would be flying, would take almost 27 days. The armada had left and I figured they could just about be getting there now if they had no slow ships. Before the Mardaf Limit was reached, I went to our suite, and found both Star and Chris curled up together. Sitting beside the two, I said, "Star, I know you still have bad dreams about the Samutz, and about males in general. This is not the way things should be, and I want to help you." They both had just recovered from their lovemaking, and I took off my clothes and slipped close. Star pulled her legs to her chest, and knees tight, to deny me her charms. This was what Susan and the rest were doing too. I turned her resisting body over, and got Jamal to lubricate our juncture, as I pushed into the weakly struggling wife. I felt all the caressing lumps, as she wiggled futilely to escape me. Chris looked on in alarm. This was not the way any of our lovemaking had ever been done before. She did not want Star hurt, but she herself felt somewhat like Star, in her present state of mind. After many slow strokes, Star was betrayed by her body, and started to respond. Chris too, started to get a sampling of the feelings in her body, and laid back and moaned, as she felt my thrusts. I was no different, and responded more than usual, probably because of my enforced abstinence. This I determined was going to be hard on all of us. Star was about to have her orgasm, and I pulled back, and tried to drag it out. She reached for me and tried to drive her body onto me, to get the extra stimulation she craved. I worked less and she drove herself more and more. I could feel that all the sleepers were awake, and now feeling the things that Star felt. This was fine, since we were not at the Mardaf Limit yet, and they could enjoy themselves with no ulterior motive, other than love. Holding Star tight, I used the tractors, and reclined, so that she could do all the work. She drove herself wild now, as if she had no relief since we had last coupled. Chris now pushed past her normal bounds too, and sat on my face, to get some satisfaction. She had always held back, and waited for me to direct her, and this time, I guess, she could not restrain herself much longer. Both women drove themselves into a frenzy of movements, and I had to hold Chris, so that she would not hurt me. The smell coming from her was strong and pungent, as if she had not had sex in months herself. Star was coming too close, and I wanted to help her, without her conscious mind repelling me. I slipped in, to that spot Mom showed me, and selected the correct controls, so that she would not be able to quite gain her orgasm she so desperately sought. She thought she was close enough, and pounded up and down on me trying to get that infinitesimal amount more, but it still eluded her. While she was working hard, I was able to keep all of us moving, and safe, while searching within her mind. I was looking for the important points that would relieve her fears. She was difficult to find, and the small girl I found inside, was not the same as the small girl working hard to get some satisfaction. The inner girl hid and ran, from my approach. She was on the ship, and Samutz were chasing her. She used a weapon and killed many, but still she was pursued. I caught her as she ran onto the bridge, and King Dulfa stepped in from another portal. Star screamed and tried to flee once more, but I held her tight as the king's image came closer. I turned, holding Star's arm with one of mine, while taking out a long knife. Dulfa brought out an equal one, and we fought. I had to release Star to fight, but she stayed to see what would happen. Dulfa circled, trying to get at Star, but I always stood in his way, and slashed at him. Our breathing was becoming ragged, and each of us were bleeding from slashes. He saw an opening and tried to stab Star, but I knocked his arm up and slashed across his ribs. He jumped back, and we both watched the blood stop, and the cut close. He came at me again with renewed vigour, and forced me back till my heal touched Star. I stood my ground now, and fought as I never did before. I gave him an opening, and Dulfa jumped in for the kill. I intercepted his knife hand, and drove my own weapon under his ribcage and across to sever each of his hearts. I did not release him, but cut more times than necessary, to insure he did not heal, and come at me again. He fell to the deck writhing around, with his intestines squirming like snakes, to somehow continue the attack. I jumped with one foot on the wrist, and pinned it to the deck. Still holding the knife in my hand, I brought it down with all my might, and severed the head from his body. Star was crying from the ordeal, and did not even know if it was me, that was picking her up. "Star you are mine and you always will be. I will kill anybody that wants to hurt you." She opened her eyes and saw me covered in my own blood, and that of Dulfa. She cringed and pulled away again. "Star you are mine. You will bear my children, and bring back the Tandra Empire, together." She finally understood, and held me tight and cried. We walked through the New Hope now, and found no Samutz bodies, and eventually we saw the occasional Tandra or T'aut crewmember going about their duties. In the captain's suite, we came upon a man on the grav bed, with a two different, but beautiful women trying hard to gain their orgasm Turning to Star, I found she had disappeared, and I slowly left her mind. My own world had been rocking and my body abused. I slipped back into Star's mind, and undid my previous control. She had been holding Chris tightly, as the strongest orgasm yet, rocked her body and her muscles went into a form of hysteria, and almost crushed Chris in her grip, before falling onto her side. Her brain was unable to hold out any more. Chris had fallen too, and regained some breath from her now bruised ribs. She had been following me, as I pursued Star in her mind, and saw all I had done. Star seemed to be at peace now, for the first time since being captured by King Dulfa. I looked into her mind to see her reaction, and found her envious. I traced the thought, and saw that I had done what I had been warned about not to do, so long ago. Star had bonded to me much more strongly, but I did not feel any different. I looked into Star now, and saw the much thicker linkage. Compared to even her linkage to Susan, it was much stronger. Looking back at Chris, I could see the only Tandra that had stood up to Susan, and tried to defend me. She was not able to do this very well, because of her own binding to Susan, but the effort was made. Chris deserved my love, and even what she wanted most. I spread her out on her back, and then picked up her legs. I pushed them to her chest. Her lower arms came out and held the knees up and apart. With some lube, I slipped into her. She let out a groan of satisfaction, as I reached the furthest I could reach, and her urethra buried in the hair of my abdomen. Her other arms came up and held my neck, as I slowly moved my hips back and forth. She luxuriated in the feeling as I worked on a different level. I looked into her ovaries, and searched for just the right egg. This one glowed like Susan's. I used my abilities to coax it out of its position, and get it into the fallopian tube. Chris did not know what I was doing, but I could feel not only the sleepers looking, but Star too. I thrust now more vigorously, and Chris climaxed again and again. She seemed to have no control over her body, as a mental wind from so many people, blew her one way, and then another. When the time came, my own body convulsed, and seed spewed many times far into her womb. I knew one would be lucky enough to find the elusive opening in the egg, and form a special child of two races. I woke up after a few seconds, to find Chris's arms still holding me tightly. I pulled them off, and set her down beside Star. Star had orgasmed herself when Chris did. I just took her hand, and pulled her over to Chris' legs and said, "Clean her well my wife. She disserves the love she gets." Star smiled at me, and put Chris' legs over her shoulders, before she started to clean. With a little lube, I pushed my way into her anus, and heard the startled woman groan in lust. "Don't stop. It is time to move the ship, and this time, we will see what we can do with you two, and the others." Star went back to what she was doing, and I moved very slowly towards our goal almost 61 light years distant. Star was with me, and the ship surged ahead, and then the sleepers started to work with us without being asked. I stroked into Star's bottom, and pictured the large room of the sleepers, their caretakers and the other smaller private rooms, with the remainder of the propulsion crew. I pictured one face at a time, and went through all the girls with tiaras, and then went for the caretakers. I did not think it right, to leave them out. The ship went faster, and within a moment surpassed its original rating and kept climbing. Jamal and some of his spare processors worked hard to do everything that was required of them. Many millions of minute adjustments had to be made each second, and our speed went up to 179 times the rated speed that the ship was designed for. I knew that it was only supposed to be around 160 times and even this was never reached before. The engines were putting out their maximum, and the mighty torus surrounding us, gathered energy from a higher order universe. We were just borderline on the safety specifications. Only a little more would cause even this ship to fail. Holding Star's small hips, I looked into her mind again, and saw that she was once again away from the actual scene. This time she was nursing our children, as I worked beside her in the basement of our house beside Beaver Mountain. The change of scenery told me that she was improving, but her spectral image still held me, as I worked, to show me that we were more fully bonded than ever before. After almost an hour, I spewed into a very weary Star. I had cleaned us both, and had shifted holes on occasion. She had been barely able to keep up, and I had to go very slow to allow her to last that long. After a shower, I took Chris to me. She cried at the gift she had just found out, that she had been given. I took the happy woman again, and the other girls went immediately to the maximum again. They seemed to be able to do the driving, without my guidance, and I saw this as a definite improvement. After another hour and a quarter our sensors directed some large ships in transit and we veered off to avoid them. When out of range we went back on our previous course. I filled Chris womb one more time, as we came to the edge of the Defren system. I lowered Chris to our bed, and covered both of the girls, to keep them warm while the ship stepped down from running mode to surveillance. "Captain, the ships we passed will be in the system in four days. They are just one less, than the number of ships that left Saffra. I am sure they observed a heavy warship travelling faster than they have ever seen before." "I figured that too. I doubt if our course change fooled them, but it might. Our speed and mass were unmistakable as a Tandra. Perhaps they will just think it is King Dulfa himself." Our long range sensors immediately went into the system as we circled at a safe distance. There was no telling how we would be greeted in a twice taken Tandra ship. Everybody on the ship was Tandra, T'aut, Softay, Dolson, or two minor races that we did not even have a name for. I was the only Human left, for all the men had been let off to keep planets, or to help my wives do the same thing. The Samutz in stasis in any event, did not count. The telescopes showed a brighter sun than Earth, and a group of almost 20 planets, and many times that number in moons. The data in the ships taken on Saffra indicated that these Tandra had kept their shipbuilding capacity. One of the planets in particular took my notice, as it emitted different kinds of radiation, like the third planet of the Epsilon Eridani system. The local queen called herself the Empress Bassinda, but only ruled this system and three nearby ones. This system was the best defended, and the others were slated for enslavement, or the dinner table, after this system fell to the approaching Samutz armada. An impressive ring of forts ringed the planet, at almost a light minute. Ships of all sizes were in a defensive formation further out, so I knew that they expected the approaching ships. The ships looked like variations of this one, and I quizzed Jamal to where he was made. "My hull was made in this system. The original Tandra name for this system is Krafa. The Tandra driving this ship come from this system or the three other systems, that Empress Bassinda rules." A priority message came to us, and I quickly told Jamal to shut down all receivers. I was just in time, for the code was the same as we had just used on the ships in Saffra. I had no idea yet if my code could be superseded by another. "Jamal, you are already under an imperial command. Look into my mind, and record the new code. The old one will not longer have any effect." I was not sure if there was a way to take the ship away. I opened one receiver and recorded all to the codes, before Jamal would be given them for processing. There was another code, and when that failed to get a response, three others were tried. The entire gamut of codes came at least a dozen more times, with no variation. I gave each of them to Jamal personally, and then changed the password sequence, to ones of my choosing. The instructions coming from Defren demanded that the AI dump all air, and kill everyone onboard. They must have just assumed that the Samutz would be manning the ship. In return for trying to take my ship, I sent off my own data about the course and composition of ships approaching. Within a minute the face of a very beautiful Tandra woman came on the screen. Her clothes shimmered, as she stood in front of a throne in a large room. She spoke to my mind, and at the same time, tried to read my deeper thoughts. I returned the favour and found hers as tight as my own. I did find out that she was augmented with three crystals in her body, to assist her in ruling this small empire. I felt threatened now, and locked all the systems, so that this woman could not find anything about us, unless I told her. "Admiral Buchanan. I am very glad to see you. It is very uncommon to find a male in your position. I can't wait to meet you. We thank you for the information, and we will move our defences to repel the Samutz. Will you make a personal visit to discuss some strategy? We are very interested in a race that can get their ship to go at the speed you can?" "Thank you, Empress Bassinda. I did not know you had sensors so far out. They are obviously better than what we use." She did indeed have a better technology, and I wanted to find out all I could. She appeared to be a shark, and I wanted to protect myself, but also to gain an ally. "I have some very important matters to work out first. Would 14 hours be good enough till we meet?" "That would be fine. Will you allow us access to your ship's AI?" "Surely, but I would like to see yours first." She laughed with a delightful tinkle, and said, "We will see you in 14 hours then. Goodbye, Admiral Buchanan." "Jamal, the empress had three major crystals in her body to assist her. She did not hide this. Do you have anything that can help me the same way? I have to go and see what I can find out, and try to find a way to get her to help us." "I have information, about what the crystals are supposed to do, and what they might do as well. I believe, I can get them installed and functional in the time limit, but I am not sure." "Well, get them ready. I need any and all capabilities you can work into them." We made plans about my safety, and decided to stay in constant communication. A constantly changing code, transmitted, so that it could not be duplicated by the AI on the planet, didn't seem out of place. The woman's shark attributes were very strong in my mind. I lay down on the table in preparation for the operation. As last time, I would remain conscious throughout the procedure. There were just too many variables that needed to be looked into. Transmitters were attached to my body, and I felt, and then saw, my rib cage open, and a fine mesh go over my internal organs. There was no pain and soon a crystal joined the mesh. It was integrated into the mesh. The wound was closed, and the bones knitted together. Tractors flipped me over, and another crystal was inserted into the back of my head. At this point, I blacked out, and came to, moments later, with a much better connection to Jamal. Both legs and arms were given small crystals, and much tinier ones in my fingers. All the incisions were closed and healed with the med units. I accessed Jamal, and saw all the things he had added to my body. One crystal synced with my mind, and then gave me even more processing power than ever before. All my senses especially my mindspeak had improved dramatically. An internal med unit worked inside my body, while I integrated with an internal shield and weapons in my fingers. There was basically nothing left untouched. "Thanks, Jamal. Does the Empress have all this?" "I do not know. I just integrated all I could into you, and hope you can handle it. I think it will take you a long time before all of the features become comfortable with you. In the mean time, you will have to learn as you go, and I hope you can remain alive. The Empress has quite a temper, and has been known to kill many of her own subjects. I took the liberty of cloaking your identity chip, because you introduced yourself as an admiral." "That was a good idea." I sat up to a fair amount of pain, and immediately felt the med unit looking out for me. I exercised to get to know my body again. The crystal in my head worked alongside my brain, and took orders from it. I worked on some of the problems facing me, and was able to see a way of interfacing with the propulsion crew, that had not occurred to me before. I closed my eyes and went to meet their collective psyche. The group mind came forward and caressed my immaterial body. I could feel love and understanding in what I was trying to do. I moved my own senses, and felt them in return. The feeling was more acute than anything I had felt before. Not all of this was from my own heightened senses, but what was given me by the girls. When the time came to leave, Chris and Star were pleading with me to not go, or to take them with me. This was the type of situation where consideration of their safety would hinder me. I left in a small one man fighter that would pose no danger to the planet or the ships below. A person in authority gave instructions, I replied, and stated that I always had to be in communication with my ship. All shields had to sync with my communicator, or the visit would be off. Ten minutes later the ship was swallowed up by a large dome, and after some initial static, I regained communication with Jamal, and gave him more of our predetermined codes. I could feel delicate fingers at my mind, and did my best to only allow them into the sections I wanted. After landing and deactivating the specially cleaned fighter, I was met by a group of officers. My ability to ferret information was much better, and knew that at the sign of any treachery, weapons would fire on me, that no suit could possibly stop. I got out of the ship, and found only a local logo on the wall and saluted the Tandra instead. They were confused for a second, and then returned the salute. I lowered my own external suit, and allowed my scent to travel as it would. One officer with more braid on her shoulder said, "Welcome to Defren, Admiral Buchanan. Empress Bassinda will see you now." "Thank you, Commander Secco. Just lead the way." The other officers were not introduced, and their minds were as locked as they could make them. My new abilities found many of their military secrets, or those the officers were privy to. There was a Bintuu ambassador coming to see the battle, or hopefully provide some means to repel the Samutz for the defences were not seen as strong enough to resist the Samutz fleet. A shudder went through her body at the sight of this type of being. Another officer was worried about the supply of crystals, for many installations were stripped or downgraded, as the AIs were shifted about. The trick the empress used on our ship was also used on many others, and this time, the Samutz would only come with ships that could resist this type of attack. The entire planet was worried, and looked on me as a possible ally in their time of need. We walked down a long corridor, and I felt energy hitting me. I knew that I was being scanned for weapons. I stopped, and the four Tandra behind me almost collided. I slowly turned around in the heaviest flow of energy, to give them as good a view as possible. The only thing they could see beside my crystals was the small bottle of lubricant. I could see the officers wonder at how I had known of this scanning device in this particular area. We came up to an ornate guard room, where soldiers would take weapons if they could find them. The vial was examined, and then analysed before it was given back to me. The honour guard remained, and the doors opened only for me. Inside the large room lounged many beautiful females, and an even more beautiful, but almost naked male. I was invited to sit and relax as the Empress was momentarily busy. "Thank you," I said but stood and looked around the room. This was the usual way to set a visitor on the defensive. This game of one-up-man-ship at a time when an invading armada was almost at the door, seemed to be the utmost folly. In the mean time, I tried to access the local AI to find some local news. The male looked at me with a lot of interest, for he heard I was male. He was one of the Empress's toys, and the only way I could tell it was a he, was the thoughts coming from his head, about how he wanted to fuck me. As he walked over to me with his hips swaying, and trying to draw attention to his penis, as it started to protrude from his body. He walked around me and sniffed the air, and felt the aura around me. His intention was to see if I was interested, and also to see who was more dominant. Things did not work out as he intended. He slowed, and then took hesitant steps, as I let my aura do its work. Without even any mental speech, he got on his knees in front of me, and bent over exposing his naked ass. I looked down at his form, and knew I had to do something. I crouched down, and ran my hands over his flanks. As my fingers traced close to his hole he let out an audible moan. He was now in great need. I just stood again, and walked in front of this beautiful Tandra. I picked up the expectant face. "You are very attractive, but I am waiting for the Empress." The male was heartbroken, but stayed as he was, in case I changed my mind. His position in front of the females and to a male which he took to be more dominant was very demeaning to him, but he accepted it. A woman I had passed in coming here had gotten my scent like a predator smelling blood, and like a predator, she pounced. "Hello," she said as she took a deeper breath of air through her nose. "Would you like to sit over on the couch with me, and become better acquainted? I have never heard of any male being able to resist Meemo." I could easily detect her arousal. Males she knew were all, what I would call effeminate, while I was a complete unknown and highly unusual. This sounded like a pick up line to me, and since the Empress was willing to play games, I said, "Perhaps a more secluded place would allow us to become even better acquainted? It seems the Empress is not as anxious to see me as I thought." Males did not act this way, and she was more or less called on her bet. "Ok, will you follow me then?" "I will, beautiful." Again she was at a loss. Males did not act this way, and she liked her females to be subservient too. This time, she told herself she would try to play the part. We walked through a portal that closed behind us. There were beautiful paintings on the wall of erotic scenes. The floor looked like it came from a Greek temple, with a beautiful scenes set in terrazzo. A large bed took up a good portion of the floor, dim lights, and muted string music, greeted us. The woman turned and licked the side of my face with only the point of her tongue. I moved my hand quickly, and forced her off balance, making her hold me tight. My lips found hers, and I gave her a kiss I hoped she would not forget. My tongue followed her lips, and then pushed in her mouth caressing her delicate teeth. I did not release her, but she eventually pulled her lips away, and I fastened on her small ears, and nibbled the way Kitten liked. I moved around licking and kissing her neck, before attacking her other ear. I stood her up, then quickly picked the startled woman up, and carried her to the bed. I searched for the tractors and found they would not respond. I lowered the fast breathing woman to the centre of the bed, without their assistance. The woman was ready for a fuck, and I felt the feelings from the women and male outside the walls, as they looked on a large screen. "Do you want me to continue, or wait for your Empress?" The woman undid her clothing as an answer, and got on all fours on the bed ready for my penetration. To be nasty, I slowly took out the bottle, and then equally slowly removed all my clothing. The woman had hardly moved, but her head did, and she saw my flaccid cock. I took up the bottle and covered two fingers with the oil and worked them over the woman's open vagina. I caressed the small buds and knew that this was the usual way it was done here, so oil was not a new idea. She obviously was used to this action, and I was happy to find a woman that could probably take a good fucking, and needed a lot of foreplay. I flipped the woman over, and pushed her knees to her chest, with a single mental order, she held her knees. She started to feel the loss of control, but stopped worrying as I kneeled down and started to suck on her urethra. She moaned, then and again, as I licked the small buds around her opening. The feelings of arousal came to her much quicker, and she had a little orgasm from my oral attack. I placed oil on my cock, and stood up quickly, so she could not see the size of my cock. I slowly pushed into the startled woman. "Ohhh," came vocally from her lips, as I started to pick up a faster pace. I could see many things now in her mind, as I plunged into her. The officers on the ships wanted to leave and find a new planet, and abandon this one. The slaves on the lower levels were unduly agitated, when they somehow found out about the approaching fleet. A deeper secret of how the empress had plans to leave, if the planet was lost, and leave the common citizens to their own devices. The woman was a product of her environment, but that did not mean I had to like her. For the sake of our audience, I continued to saw along all her internal nerve clusters, and only did so as long as she stayed away from the little death. My fingers found her nipples, and I squeezed them to keep her away from that precipice. Soon she began to look for the pain, as a way of stimulating her that final bit that I didn't allow her. Picking up her legs onto my shoulders, I gave long slow strokes that left her body completely. She begged repeatedly for me to enter her, and I did for a while, till she had to do it again. "More, ohhh more please." I pushed in slowly and the sensation was so agonizingly slow, that she would do anything for me. "I want the computer, so that I can pick you up." A quick reply came and, I used a direct interface to get the tractors to elevate her, so that she would be level with my thrusts. As I pumped into her, I made friends with the computer AI, and directed her to talk to Jamal in orbit. The woman in front of me was delirious with her desires, and I decided that she should do the work for a while. I elevated both of us, and I reclined in the middle of the bed, and said, "It is your turn now." She was never on her back when fucked, and never rode on top. This was how it had to be, so she gave some small movements that almost made her collapse. I moved a little, and used the tractors to elevate her. She weakly moved, and collapsed again. This time I pinched her nipples, with both hands and she regained enough composure, to move her pelvis quicker. Jamal was getting a map of the palace, city and the planet with all of the important points. The woman pounded my pelvis, driving her urethra through my pubic hair, and she could take it no more. With a wild cry, she came and came, her mind could not take all the sensations, and she collapsed like my wives did so many times before. I used the tractors to put her unconscious body comfortably onto the bed, and then went to the bath to clean up. As an afterthought, I called for a cloth, and went back and cleaned the woman, then dressed before putting the bottle again into my pocket. Back in the waiting room, all the Tandra waited, as if I had not even moved, but I saw more than just hungry looks from all of them. Within a moment the petite naked male opened the gilded doors, and called officially for me to enter. He was very excited, and had no doubt been servicing the Empress as they watched. He looked just like a young girl, and that was just how the dominant Tandra females liked their males. On a grav bed reminiscent of an ancient Greek play, reclined the Empress in a thin see-through garment. "I see you found one of my councillors entertaining, Admiral Buchanan." "Yes, I did your majesty. She didn't seem to have the staying power I am used to, but then again, I haven't met a Tandra woman or male that could." This was like a challenge, as it was intended. "Would you care to try your luck again, Admiral Buchanan?" "Do you think you can remain conscious; for say, a half hour?" "Is this a challenge, Admiral Buchanan?" "Yes, a friendly contest." The Empress got up and the sheer cloth dropped from her, and fell to the floor to instantly disappear. I looked around and commanded a chair to appear beside the large unmade bed. The Empress was not amused at me acting this way by ordering the AI to do things in her palace, and even in her boudoir. I walked to the chair, folded my clothing neatly, and placed them on the seat. The bottle stood prominently on top of the clothing. The Empress looked at my cock hanging dormant between my legs, as I walked to her. I reached out with two hands, and gently held her face, as I slowly came forward and kissed her small lips. I put all the passion I had behind it, and she slowly melted into my arms. With one arm, I pulled her to me and kissed her neck and let her get a good smell of my scent. After a moment, I tried the tractors, and found that they still worked. I picked her up and kissed all the portions that were too low to reach before. She had tiny nipples that probably never had a child nurse on them. When I latched on one, she held me close, and I walked us over to the bed. Laying her down, I made a trail of kisses to her mons, and began to suck in earnest on her largest clit. The first scent of Tandra sperm came to me, and I knew she was more than ready for me. My own scent made her more pliable to my actions. I took the bottle and liberally applied some of the oil to both her openings. With a rush, I engulfed her urethra again, as I plunged two fingers into each of her openings. Her abdomen tightened, and she sat up with a startled expression. The sensation was fantastic to her and nobody had ever treated her this way before. I sawed for a moment with my hand, then held my cock and pushed into her ass. She let out a groan of pleasure, and one of loss. She had never allowed anybody in this passage before, and at the moment, had no way of even wanting me to leave. I ploughed in a few times, and then took her nipples, and pinched them as I did her councillor. She was awash in her emotions, I could easily see into her mind, behind her own blocks, and the ones she imposed with her crystalline assistant. She had never had a child, and her office kept her from having one, till the time was right. I also saw how desperate she was to find a way out of the present predicament. For years she and her people had to repel the Samutz or placate them. Recently they had to fight, because the demands were getting too great. The Samutz luckily came in small groups that were easily vanquished. At the present, all her engineers, and all the slaves, were working hard to make ships and weapons. The eighth planet produced the crystals, but had been failing for centuries, and now had little to provide. I hid all of my information away, because this was a national secret, and knowing it, could get me marked for death. Taking more oil, I coated my hand, and started stroking her urethra as I pushed into her anus. Even with the slow strokes, she was ready to cum. I allowed her to do a few in peace, and then drove into her as fast as I could. Her voice rose, and I would almost think she was being murdered. She groaned and thrashed and contracted her abdomen again, as her stunned face came up from the bed. The look in her eyes told me that she saw nothing before her. For some unknown reason, I went into her head, and found the girl curled on her bed in orgasm. I pulled her to me, and had her abdomen grow. As she looked on, two babies came out. I wrapped each in soft cloth, and gave one to the girl, and held the other close to me. The inner girl was very pleased, and held hers to her chest. Her other hand stole out and held mine, to keep me from leaving. Pulling out of her mind, I felt the woman quake, at the mighty orgasm that ran through her. I continued to thrust, and finally spurted deep into her ass. She thought of the babies, and collapsed after releasing an egg, on a suicide mission. I pulled out and cleaned us both up again. Rather than leave her alone, I lay on the bed, and used the tractors to impale the woman on my cock again. Twenty minutes later she came to her senses, and found me deep in her cunt. "Woman, you gave me an egg. At the moment it is travelling on a mission to nowhere. If you want our child, move yourself, and take the seed from me. It is your choice." She looked into my eyes, and then looked inside her own body through my vision. She saw the lonely egg, and felt how her small movements stimulated all her clits. She moved slowly and electricity shot up from her groin. "Ohhh." "Look deeper into my mind," I commanded. She did, and I pictured both of us walking down a long grass lined road with trees on each side. I held her close to me, with my arm around her shoulder, and in our free hands a child dressed in a cotton dress and hat walked beside of us. This must have been one of her fantasies, for she moved her pelvis violently forward and back, to get me to shoot into her. Unlike her males, I remained firm inside her, and only caressed her breasts, that would eventually produce milk for our children. She saw this too, and came at the thought. I only pushed her back up, and tried to get her to work harder. She knew I was very different, and tried harder to gain my release, and even tried to dampen out her own feelings to accomplish this. It was no use, and she collapsed again. In frustration she even began to cry, as her body orgasmed. I took pity on her, and formed a tractor to raise and lower her ass, while an insubstantial appendage entered her anus, and flew back and forth as she was forced to go up and down. After she fainted the last time, I shot pulse after pulse into the woman, and then allowed her to rest on my chest. My cock still hard and refusing to leave her body, even as her body tried to squeeze me out. As she slept, I looked again into her mind. Little children nursing at her breasts, and a large shadowy figure standing behind her with his hand on her shoulder, filled her mind. In the background many Mordis stood waiting for her orders. This peaked my curiosity, and I looked to see more of the people like Chris and Roger. There were very many of them, and I pulled out of her mind slowly. Accessing the computer, I found that they were defined as two different species, and were not even considered one as they should be. What other things were these people's doing, that was against Tandra law and morality? Looking further, I saw that the natural Tandra thought nothing wrong with this sort of prejudice, and kept the Mordis as veritable slaves, to do all the scut work, but mostly as status symbols. Even the beautiful and soon to be pregnant Bassinda, had almost 230 Mordis as servants. This would have to end, but the population of 47 million natural Tandra and 156 million Mordis would be hard to convince, and this was on this planet alone. I remembered that these Tandra were not backward barbarians, like on Masis or some of the other planets. It would take only a few Tandra, to keep me from my ship, and await the Samutz invasion on the planet. Bassinda soon came to her senses, and placed her small hands on my chest. I asked, "Did you have a good nap, Sweetheart?" She just gave me a sleepy and contented, 'yes'. Then laid her head back down on my chest, and breathed in my scent. "Well, we have to stop an armada, four systems to save from the Samutz, and I think from those Bintuu, as well. Then an empire for our children to govern, the right way." Her head shot up. Her mind was still open, and I saw how she found out that she had let her guard down. She could detect no damage, and talked to the computer of what I had accessed. Finally she remembered the last statement, and tried to pry into my mind, to find my goals and aspirations on her empire. The possibility of her pregnancy was actually very secondary. Her prying got to be actually painful in its intensity. The AI was called in to help, and it too was not able to break my block. I had instinctively curled into a ball, at the increased pain. Bassinda had gained her feet and watched me suffer. I am sure she would do anything to gain this knowledge. Long minutes later, I was able to regain my senses. Bassinda was angrily looking down at me. I could still access the computer, and found that Jamal had launched a low power missile at the dome protecting us, as a warning. "Why did you come here?" ------- Chapter 53 I groaned a little, and gained my feet. I placed my clothing on the bed, and sat in the chair. "I came here to gain an ally, and give some help if it were possible. You or anyone else would like to see whom they are thinking of allying with, before an agreement was made." "You want my empire. That is the truth, isn't it?" Even with the rough treatment I had been given, I laughed a little, "Bassinda, I have forces on almost a hundred and thirty systems. Four more would mean very little to me, especially when I will have to fight the Samutz or the Bintuu for them. If I were unscrupulous, I would let you fight the Samutz, and then take on the winner." She did not like the familiarity I had with her, but she just said, "How is it that an admiral has a hundred and thirty systems?" "Simple, I just kill many billions of Samutz, and then get the Tandra, Softay, T'aut and other races to start fighting for their lives and freedom, in a cause that they now have a good chance to win. You on the other hand, and by your own reckoning, will loose the coming fight. If the Bintuu get here first, you will just substitute masters. What I am called, is really unimportant." Her mind was very quick, and came to the conclusion that I was probably right, at least for what I said. "What can you offer us as an alternative?" "You will govern a system, and raise our children, as they should be raised, in accordance with Tandra law. The Tandra Empire will flourish again, and all of us will have the rights and responsibilities of any citizen. I imagine you have heard of what it used to be like?" "Yes, I have, and how will you bring this all about?" "Most of those systems will be making weapons soon, to fight any and all aggressors. We have developed a new shield that does not allow zinc and iron to penetrate or the missiles of the newer Samutz ships. That information I will give you, without any stipulations. We have our own supply of crystals, and will share with our allies. Finally, I have with my home planet, almost 7 billion people that are willing to follow me." The last figure completely hinged on what Mom was able to do with the ships I sent her and the scattered Tandra on various planets, following our cause. She tried to get some hard data, and I had Jamal send down the specs for the shield modification. Next, he sent down a list of all the planets we conquered, the resources acquired, and the Samutz that died in the taking of it. She was going over the data with the AI and her councillors, but I remained naked as she was. During a lull in the activities, I stood up and coaxed her over to the bed. For the last few minutes, I was slowly caressing her urethra with my PK, and it stood prominent from her mons. No matter how she moved it, it always remained erect, and she stayed on the borderline of wanting sex. Picking up her legs, the startled woman fell onto the bed, and in a second I was inside her, again. "What are you doing? We were discussing our chances of survival." "You have not mentioned it, but my little troops have not reached their objective yet. I think I should send in some of the reserves." She did not understand, till I showed her the microscopic view of her reproductive organs. I started moving as she saw this, and all too soon, she had no other concern than me. I tried to keep a nice steady pace, and only rested as she orgasmed. Soon a new stream of invaders swam to their objective. The woman beneath me was again unconscious. She was bright, resourceful, and would make a good mother, even if she had a vicious streak. I knew somehow, that she would have to remain mine, and I worked on her as I did Star, not long ago. I invaded her deepest reaches and showed what she would get from our alliance. The girls were all shown, and the promise of more children, was all it took to bond her tightly to me. When she awoke again, she looked around, and then inside herself, and said, "What have you done?" "You are now my wife, and I will be the father of all your children. I will protect you to my dying breath, and insure the safety of all our descendants." This was as much as I could say, for my marriage vows, and Bassinda held me tight, as she said 'yes, yes' many times in my brain. While in bed, we watched the steady progress of sperm cells, and the quicker movements of the egg. Thousands of cells worked on the egg, and finally one found an opening, turning vertical, then wiggled his way inside. "Well, Love, as soon as the egg attaches itself, you will be pregnant. Let's get up and see what we can do on our feet, for a change?" She said, "How can you make those visions, for some reason I took them to be pictures of what is really happening." "They are. I seem to have a lot of little tricks, and more seem to be popping up all the time. I would like to think it was an accident of birth, but the truth is, Tandra males modified us millions of years ago, and spent a long time in doing it. The end result, I found, is a better match for the Tandra race. The two races will intermix, and our children will inherit at least this galaxy." I had long since dropped any holds on my aura, and the two of us walked out into the waiting room hours later. Bassinda was actually on my arm, and the rest stood at our approach. The pretty male, and then one after the other the females dropped to one knee. This time the genuflection was for both of us. In the coming hours, I was given high authority to make changes in personnel, and in manufacturing. Many of the more educated Mordis were transferred to the New Hope, to learn ship functions. Their galvanized ship killers, were even better than our design, and reflected many centuries of work. By incorporating the newer shield in each small missile, there was no need for two different types. Our main missile would still be the large ones, intended for beating in a heavy shield with shear force, and destroy the ship. Jamal shipped down a dozen major crystals, and many smaller ones, to the ships that needed them. The trick with the Samutz working through a mine field was already understood, and different defence was already in use. I threw out some old Tandra from places of responsibility, and placed younger ones, that would follow orders. The ones losing their positions cried loud and wide, even complaining to the Empress. She still had the concern of her empire at heart, and sided with me in this matter. The crews suspected of favouring a mutiny, were all swapped at the same time by different crews, with a high proportion of Mordis. Chris, aboard the New Hope, was my liaison with all the Mordis and her image remained off line, unless it was secure. Here, instructions were to get the Mordis to such a mental state, that they would not surrender the ships after the battle, that is, if we lived. Trying to take over the ships with my own imperial directive would be futile, and only serve to warn the elite, what was happening. Some of the better combat suits were altered to fit a Mordis physique, and I soon had a large infantry if needed. The elite were very worried about this last point, more than all the rest. The time arrived, and 37 major ships joined the New Hope, and we flew off to meet the coming armada. We were outnumbered here almost three to one, but from recent odds, this was quite acceptable. Our ship formed the head of a convoy and flew at 161 times the fastest speed of the slowest ship. After only five minutes, we released over half of our entire heavy ordinance at an enemy we could not even see or detect. The Samutz did not usually vary their plans, and this time, I hoped they followed their own rules. Our convoy changed course and flew around the coming confrontation, and stopped in space before returning towards the planet and the remainder of the Samutz armada, from the rear. Again we launched blind, and got out of sensor range. All we could do now was return to Defren, rearm, and wait for the survivors to come at us. Three hours later, 42 damaged ships came out of hyper, and proceeded at a much slower pace for their target. Our pickets had detected them early, and giant missiles flew to their expected positions, as our main fleet fired from their other flank. Before they struck, small repeaters transmitted the imperial decree. This had no effect, and we got no reply. An AI to respond would be avoided by the approaching missiles. Five battleships blew up, along with three carriers, and a half dozen troop transports in the rear. Jamal flew at the best speed we could muster, and crossed their line of advance, and released a heavy barrage on only some of the selected targets, hoping to overcome any defences that a combined unit could mount. Our speed was our greatest advantage, as the missiles could not overtake us, but had to be fired on a course they thought we might come. Waves of the smaller missiles came and impacted on our altered shield and had no effect. The larger ones were rare enough, that our own point defences were able to destroy them before they got close enough to damage us. The Samutz suddenly ignored us, and charged the blockading force now hoping to inflict as much damage as they could. Heavy missiles, and small, all rained out in an attempt to take out the defenders. The Samutz must now know how untenable their position was. The New Hope flew across the Samutz flank, and three battleships blew to fiery ruin, when their defences were swamped. A carrier and two more troop ships protected by the heavier ships, belched flame and stopped accelerating. Smaller ships tried to screen the main body, but provide enough room for an exchange of missiles, that were as large as or larger than they were. The Tandra ships in the centre took most of the fire, and sent the most in return. They were crewed mostly by Mordis, and knew that their future, in more than one way, depended on how they performed. The Samutz escort ships took much of the fire, and ate up much of our weapons. A high rate of fire was seen early on, and remained a major factor in most large engagements. Missiles positioned almost five light seconds out came in by the thousands. If the missiles were saved, there may not be a planet to save them for. They all came at the Samutz and ship after ship blew up or remained quiet. Seventeen ships looked like they could contain life, and half a million Mordis infantry fanned out to take the ships, and regain any of the techs aboard. Tandra battle ships came in and their tractors tried to alter course of the now inoperative enemy ships. Small weapons fire came from the rescued vehicle, and I saw a missile go right through one ship and impact on a shield of another ship. Appropriate weapons answered, and the ships were towed out of the system. The New Hope followed to provide protection with six battleships, and their escorts. Damage reports came in, and very few problems were reported. Some of the older structural members had failed, as had some of the components, but the fabricators were busy supplying new parts. The fleet was a different story; the Parmain, Soffal and the Couda were all damaged. The Couda was the worst, and crews from the other ships came over to help. The Parmain was the second most damaged of the three, but abandon ship orders had been issued. The details were odd, and I looked deeper into the matter. There were dimensional shifts going on inside the hull, but did not go out too far. I gave orders to have it towed out of the system, by three other ships for safety. This weapon on a small scale was what protected the Tandra systems for the most part, and here by some fluke, it was working within a ship. There were many Mordis trapped on the ship. I could hear them mentally screamed for help. This ship, as well as the other three, was mainly crewed by the four armed Tandra, but all the officers were of the two armed variety. With the obvious bias shown in this system, I knew that the two armed variety would not give as much assistance to their former slaves. There was only one way to go and to be truthful, the phenomenon intrigued me. "Jamal, we have almost six thousand infantry that could help the Parmain. Get them into combat suits, as a damage control party, and send them to Runna." "Chris, you are the captain here now. I am going to see if I can help the Parmain." "What?" "You heard. You have been the captain when I was on the planet, now just continue for a while, and see what you can do to take those wrecks we are towing." She did not want this, and wanted to leave the captaincy to Star, while she came with me. "That is an order, soldier. Both of you are staying on this ship, and see what we can do to make a difference." I left the ship in Chris's hands and took Runna from the boat bay, with thousands of Mordis crammed into every possible place. As we accelerated to the Parmain, I told them about why we were going, and their duties. Things were changing very fast for them, and it was hard for them to really understand my reasoning. The Parmain looked normal except for the battle damage. Individual parties of 12 headed out, with as many heavy duty controllers as they could find. The small ones in the suits would not work nearly as fast, as the single purpose tool. The injured were to be brought to Runna for transport, as I searched for the cause of the odd and infrequent distortions. The computer was not working well, and the AI was of very little help, as if it were a child. Information from the ships doing the towing, told me the disturbance centred around the computer section. I ran through the ship, with my own controller, and found large sections of the ship's frame completely missing. This was the expected result of the dimensional shift, but this time it did not travel far into the hull, as a normal weapon would. I gave help where it was needed, but mostly got some of the crew to help themselves, and others. After a half hour, I was at the computer. I had deduced the problem as being the matter transmitter being damaged, and for some unknown reason, the computer and AI, could not shut it down. The door slowly opened to me, and I flew in. This battleship was like the first one I sent back to Earth, and the layout was the same. The forces inside the computer were not though. Usually this location was only disconcerting and a little nauseous. This time it was many times worse, as conflicting fields buffeted me. The only good thing was that the cries from throughout the ship were cut off abruptly by the fields and the main shielding. Turning a corner, I saw the alcove with the AI, it was almost unrecognizable. The AI was only a fraction of its original size, and an area behind it, had only a gray haze of dimensions my brain wasn't equipped to see. I backed out, and headed where the main transmitter module should be. Ten minutes later the controller in my hand lost the tip, as a shudder travelled through the ship. Even in a weightless environment, I still felt it. An excruciating pain suddenly shot through me, and my body coasted into the wall. It felt like I was being ripped apart. My head, legs, and arms throbbed where the crystals were placed. I tried to pull myself together and shut my pain down then the transmitter. Even though the pain was excruciating, I continued, till I found an area where everything was twisted like an expressionist painter's canvas. Everything here was in more than just 3-D. Pieces were missing and some fallen over, but in the centre glowed a much darker pulsating area. The only thing to do was destroy the module, and I could not trust my accuracy with a throw. I raised the controller like a club, and raced in as best I could. The improvised club came down on the crystal with all my might. The environment got very bright, and the pain only increased, till I could take it no more. Some time later, I opened my eyes and only saw black, the pain was everywhere. One eye was an agony, I could not even begin to describe. I had been able to block the stimulus to my brain, but much was still able to get by. The pain seemed to awaken me again, and I tried to move but every effort was so hard. I woke up again, but now I was in a gray fog, and my fingers pulled me forward. The fingertips hurt, as if I had crushed them. The arms felt no different, as if they had been pounded by a giant. Somehow gaining control of the combat suit, I directed it forward, but it hit a wall. The pain again was just too much to take. Coming around again, my thinking was muddled even worse than it used to be before meeting the Tandra. I chose another direction at random and pushed again with the mental controls to suit. I drifted till I saw another wall out of my left eye, but my vision changed. The right eye with all the pain, told me that there were more edges and openings. Turning my head was torture, but I saw the corridor that could be the way I came, and headed towards it, only on the suit power. Any movement of my body brought even more unbearable anguish. The colours now were much different, than I had ever seen before. Openings were in the long corridor that was never there when coming in, or in any other ship. Making the suit stop, I positioned it to bring my arm around and carefully, while thinking of the anguish I would get, I pushed my suited hand into the hole and it actually went in. Pulling out, I returned to trying to find an exit. I tried to visualize the path, knowing full well that it never worked before, and found my mind encompassing dimensions, I had never been able to see. It was as if my mind was desperately trying to find a path that would take me away, from this agonizing discomfort. The discovery made me stop and I carefully thought of what actually happened. The view was something like what Mom told me long ago. There were corridors going off in five dimensions, when only one with three dimensions was before my real eyes. The computer was damaged in many places, and I used my PK to gently move a module in my altered vision, and things seemed to make more sense. This was like putting a few pieces of a large jigsaw project together, and I saw that there was actually a symmetrical construct, in the small pieces. Curiosity got the better of me, and even through the pain. I stayed, and tried to do an experiment with the computer. Further on was a damaged area, and I tried the first test. Seven experiments later, I came to the AI. There was much more here, than I ever saw before. The gray spots had changed, and I could see damaged components far into the ship. Instead of leaving like I should, I started to repair the area, and found things in the living computer, that could be changed to make them work better. Little by little the area started to take on a much different light and life. I opened my other eye, and saw the view my old self would see. Things were bright before, but now they made much more sense. This was like after Nova first improved me, or when Mom compartmentalized my mind. This was much more that even recently, when Jamal put the crystals into my body, and hooked them up to my nervous system. Closing my eyes again, I went within myself and saw damage that looked much like the ship that I was within. Small chips had torn my body, and cut nerves while others were not where they should be, yet there was no ripped flesh to show where they came from. It was as if the transporter placed them inside my body, like the matter transmitter moved equipment. My right eye was the worse damaged, and gave me the majority of my pain. The crystal fragments were actually sticking out of the iris and pupil. The suit auto doc and the one in my body had obviously done some work on me, but not nearly enough. The eye would require a visit to the tank, but the fingers could be done now. Before the trip to the moon, I learned about Human and Tandra bodies in great detail. The view I got of the tiny shards of broken crystal, showed that they were bonding to my nervous system, just as the larger crystals were forced to do. As an experiment, I helped some tissue graft to a small speck, and the pain lessened a small bit. This heartened me, and I went throughout my body finding particles, and binding them to my living flesh, and the pain got less every time this happened. The last to be done, was my head, and taking a foolish risk, I worked on a few shards, and bonded them to my cortex. It was like waking up. I could see other shards, and bonded them as well. Some were placed wrong symmetrically, and I moved them to where they were required, before I reattached them. As I did more, my awareness increased, and the pain subsided. A large collection of shards where the crystal had fragmented made an odd sense. I turned some, and moved a few, and like the jigsaw puzzle, I saw into many dimensions. The crystals were moved through the other dimensions, and hooked up with other crystals in my body, through a way I was not able to understand. I just did it, because I believed it to be right. It was almost an instinctive fashion. When I was done, I stood back from my creation and saw how it worked, then saw how it could be improved. I went back in, and moved some to the crystals attached to my cortex, then stepped back again. It was getting better and better, as my mind cleared, and the construction became even easier. When I was done, I saw a glimmering shape of many dimensions, with my brain interfacing with it in all the major points. My intellect had shot up once again, and I thought of many of my old problems, and found some of them solvable in a short time. The shield would have two layers, and each operating independently. If each were of a different harmonic, they would make an almost impenetrable shield that used even less power. The high energy universe next came to mind, and I formed a microscopic tube of force to direct the stream here. I stopped just before this experiment. I needed to get out of the ship to see this. Before I left, I broke up the crystal protruding from my eye, and expelled almost all of the small pieces. A tiny fraction, were tied to my retina, and I was able to still see the computer as it really was, before all the dimensional warping crystals were installed. Like focussing on a distant object, I was also able to see more possibilities in other dimensions. The pain now had all but disappeared, even without my block. The computer was basically flawed in many ways. Much too much, mass was used in the three better known dimensions, that we were all used to. Data could flow faster if it could jump, like everything else did on a modern ship. Clearing off an area of computer substrate, I took pieces and reassembled them as they should be. Ideas came to me easily, and I incorporated them in the substrate at a fast rate, using all of the available dimensions. Crystals were taken from damaged areas and added. Some of these even needed to be improved. The haphazard way they grew in nature, did not make for an efficient crystal. When my small section seemed to work much better than any I knew before. I modified it again, and added more parts and circuits. Time seemed to mean nothing, but an added dimension, but eventually I programmed the section I made to take over the rest of the computer, cannibalizing it for parts. The new area grew, and grew getting faster, as it progressed. I could not find a way to automate the work on the crystals. I just took the easiest course, and reprogrammed the crystals and streamlined their structure, as I came to them. I was physically exhausted by the time the process was finished. The finished computer needed an interface in it, to communicate directly to the structure in my brain. The speed of the improved computer stunned me for a while. I worked faster, but I was not able to keep up as I use to. I built a slightly different interface in my mind that would allow me to increase speed and throughput, if I could, or remain at a more comfortable level. With the use of the computer, I built a mock-up of the structure in my mind, and ran tests on it. I found a few places where I could do some altering to improve efficiencies. I saved the plans of this mock-up, and made the actual changes in my mind. The computer seemed to slow down a bit. It was now time to see what was happening in the system. I followed the external sensors and found only a few derelicts nearby. There was no trace of any of our warships or even the New Hope. Reaching across to another wreck, I found the reason. Weeks had passed, and they had almost given up looking for me, especially when another fleet came into the system. The ships were strange and I could only think of the Bintuu coming to take the system. I searched for a way of getting back, and only found some simple four place fighters, all else had been stripped. Coming back to my body, I found the way out of the computer room with no difficulty. In a way, I could not understand how I had ever got lost in this environment before. I scanned for life, and found none aboard. I categorized my needs and got the supplies by hand, because the damaged transmitter was no longer functional. In an hour, I was flying back as fast as I could push the ship, till I remembered Nedue and Soma. I visualized the high order universe and made the smallest tube possible, but kept it external to the ship with the discharge end far back. The small ship was shot crazily forward without control. The acceleration had hurt my back and neck, for there was no real control at all over a system like this. Observations showed that the ship should have covered a million kilometres but we had gone thirty million, and was on the other side of the system. With the prospects of a 5 hour trip ahead of me, I refined the layout of the tube. The section before the ship separated into three sections that would trail much further behind. The configuration would give me stability if they could be aimed correctly. I finally coiled the tube to form a sort of choke, and sat back in my seat, and fed in power even slower than before. The inertial compensator could not keep up, but I was able to take the 12 gravities that I was subjected too. In a few second I came to the Mardaf Limit. I started to slow immediately, and just fed more power to compensate. Soon I was flying faster than any ship could, within this volume of space. There was a lot of firing going on, as many ships were throwing missile after missile at one another. I collapsed the tube and formed a new one over a Bintuu ship, and released the energy. It shot out of the system like a watermelon seed, between two of my fingers. I was doubtful if anybody could have survived, even with a much better inertial compensator. Within a minute there was only one ship left, it was the one that stood on the periphery of the battle, and was probably the command ship. It turned tail and flew out at its maximum speed. I followed behind, and put the tube to this one too. I put much less power to it, as I fought its engines. The engines went to maximum then even more, as it tried everything it could do to escape. The tube did not take up my entire mind, so I made another, and anchored this to the ship, and with a much larger choke, burnt off all their engines. It was unable to move now and just drifted with its residual momentum. Bassinda had told me about the Bintuu, and our computers had mentioned only a little more. They were formed like a millipede, but with ten legs. The back four allowed the creature to rear up to a three metre height. They were very quick, good soldiers, and apparently had law that they scrupulously followed. Obviously they were raised in a hive, and an empress governed the empire, but only the males served as the warriors. For the last century they had been resisting if not pushing the Samutz back. The Samutz had been mostly occupied with fighting them off, or trying to retake more land far back from the front, to keep their own population safe. Killing the Samutz may have been a bad thing, for they kept the Bintuu in check till now. I concentrated on the ship, and distinctly heard Tandra mindspeak along with another, that seemed much different in pitch. The high pitched voices were giving orders to repair the systems that were completely burned away. Weapon's officers were at every station, ready to take on any ship coming close. The computer was like the Tandra variety, but had a personality hard wired directly in, with small crystals doing the job of one large crystal, much like the way my brain was now organized. This would give me the most information, and I found many ways to wiggle into the basic coding of the machine. The codes to destroy the ship, deactivate the computer, or make it respond directly to the Bintuu's Empress. The last had a lot of qualifications that the empress had to pass, before this could be done. DNA, brain scan, as well as 33 other criteria were necessary, not to mention gender. I stretched out, and reprogrammed the machine to accept me, and then gave it the code override. A scanner found me, but I was too far away for proper identification. The computer would not allow me to be shot now, or at least till I failed the inspection. I did not withdraw from the machine, but continued my investigation of the race, and this machine in particular. The fighter's engines were powered up, and I made a leisurely trip to the derelict hull. The ships from Defren were starting for us now, and I had no wish to be killed by them or the Bintuu. I opened a short tight beam laser, and said, "This is Buchanan. Heave to, while I talk to whoever is in charge of this ship." An excited voice called, then two more demanded my attention. Chris, Star and Bassinda were all talking at the same time, and I replied. "Yes it is me. I was hurt on the ship, and had to recover, before I was able to come back. Give me a few hours before you ask me more questions." Thirty minutes later I reached out and manipulated the tractor, to pull me in. The AI allowed this, because it was what it wanted. The small fighter settled among the much larger Bintuu war craft. Around me were male Bintuu warriors in armour, and fully armed with all their hand weapons. I knew they were quick, but the computer was quicker. The computer would kill any that decided to shoot the potential empress. After stepping down from the craft, I just paused, and told the computer to match my body against the one in its memory. Twenty three tall golden Bintuu were arguing among themselves, and with the computer, about me being a Bintuu. They didn't seem to be getting anywhere. I demanded the list of everybody on board from the machine, while it completed its inspection. I got the reply, "Yes, your magnificence, our leader of..." "Cut the introduction," I ordered, cutting the machine off. "Emperor Buchanan will do for a while, and Henry, when we are by ourselves. What is your name?" "I do not have one Emperor Buchanan." "Who is the greatest warrior in the last thousand years?" "Messingor Flangistimca Gossington..." "You are Messy from now on. Tell Ambassador Soundakre to get here quick, or I will remove his anterior appendages, one at a time, with the tractor." A giant of a Bintuu appeared suddenly in front of me. He stood almost three and a half metres high, and weight around 400 kilos. A shiny harness with badges, ribbons and a large purse hung from his body. He was ready to fall on me, he was so angry. "On the floor you insignificant maggot!" I ordered, as I starred up to his small face and watched the four antennae wiggle about his otherwise bald head. My aura was all out, and even stronger, now that my brain was restructured. He knew this situation was wrong, but now was unsure. The Tandra like creature had the bearing of a monarch but had nowhere near the number of appendages. The computer was very seldom wrong, but this time it had made a serious mistake. No Bintuu would ever bow to a slave, or one that looked like one. Instead of backing away from the towering creature I came closer, and flexed the tractor. None of the Bintuu were able to do this, and to tell the truth very few Tandra could either. I grabbed Ambassador Soundakre's two smaller anterior arms and pulled him slowly to the floor before me. Holding him down with the tractor, I held one of his antennae, and bent it a little to get his response. It was necessary to bend it sharply, or tug on it, to get the amount of pain I wanted. "You are not a very responsive maggot. Do I have to pull your antennae from your body, and beat you with them, for the least amount of servility from you? Your own customs, say that an empress deserves much more than you have given me." I had to give him credit; he withstood the pain very well. "Get up maggot. I want to talk to you in my quarters, and not on a flight deck." Turning to the others watching, I said, "I burnt the motors off, and they cannot be fixed without a ship yard. Make your reports about the last engagement, and I want it in two hours. Keep the flowery speech to a minimum. Now get going." I found that the best quarters were where the Ambassador was now staying. We transmitted there, and I detected three small Bintuu hiding in a back room. I lifted Ambassador Soundakre off the floor, and we went to find his family. The youngsters were larger, than I was, and all male or they wouldn't have been allowed out of the hive. Soundakre pleaded with me to not hurt the children of his clan. "Ambassador, I am not a Samutz, or any of the other nastier races. Children should be cherished and protected. Now stand up, and act like a proper Bintuu who is before his empress." This time he did bow very low, but would bow even lower, if he saw me as the real empress. "Ambassador, is there something wrong with your back? Do I need to have you replaced with another, with a more youthful body?" "No, my empress of the empire of..." "Thank you, Ambassador. You can call me Emperor Buchanan or Henry if you can get over your misunderstandings." "But..." "No buts now. Introduce me to these beautiful children." "Yes, my Empress... Ah Emperor Buchanan. The first is Fostingal." The one on the far left bowed low, and his mind was all confused at the present proceedings. "The second is Gylisnif." He paused to allow the one on the far right to bow. "The third is Risnoff the youngest." The third bowed low and his eyes opened wide, somehow thinking I was his Empress in drag. "It is nice to meet such a well mannered family, even if you haven't provided refreshments, a comfortable seat, or even some entertainment, but you were in the middle of a battle, and I took all your toys away. Didn't I?" "But... How did you do that your majesty?" "I simply took energy from a higher universe, and directed it at the ships. They were pushed out of the system so fast, that I believe that the crews must be paste now, along with their ships." "But..." "You seem to be saying that a lot lately, but I am not upset. Call the captain now, if you will. I don't want all my troops to fall asleep at their stations." The captain came quickly. He too was very large, with an impressive harness, with many badges. The feeling if incredulity was easily discerned from his posture alone. "Hello, Captain Flussindg." "I... Hello your imperial majesty of..." Thank you Captain, but I want to be called Emperor Buchanan or Henry when we are being friendly like this." "Yes, Emperor Buchanan." "Henry, please." "Yes, Henry." "Thank you. I called you here, so you could call your crew down from general quarters. You will not be attacked, and you will not do any yourself." "The Tandra may attack at any minute." "They won't captain, because I ordered them to stay away. I have killed billions of Samutz, and don't want to start on your race. You seem to be rational creatures, and rational creatures can come to an understanding." "Ah, what sort of understanding?" "I won't fly to all your planets and pulverize each back to the primordial dust they came from, and you will be nice citizens of our empire. No more wars and no more mass killing. Even I, have a few million Samutz that I will not kill, but find a nice home for. Their race can grow like their ancestors did, but with no chance of attacking us again." "You, can do that?" "Captain, I rode in just that ordinary fighter and destroyed all your ships, but this, and all of it was done with my mind. Let's pick up a few Tandra, and go for a tour to see what I can do now." "Ah, Your imperial majesty, we have no engines." "We don't need them. I'll give the ship a push." "P... push?" "Yes, captain. Watch." I energised a large screen that showed Defren. All the ships were arrayed to attack at the least provocation, but were now in a defensive position, around the planet. I meshed with the shield around the ship, and commanded a transmitter to amplify my mindspeak. "Hello, Defren. This is Emperor Buchanan. The Bintuu made a mistake in attacking your planet. You may step down from your battle stations. Empress Bassinda, Chris and Star, I am going to pilot this ship over the city. I would like the three of you to come aboard, and go on a tour with us. Bring a few guests, the three babies, and their nannies too, if they want to come. If not, you can take care of them yourselves. We should be back in a day or less." "Captain, stand your crew down, please." He turned to the wall gave his orders. The crew were not sure of the orders, but were good soldiers and did what they were told. It took over an hour before the ships spread out in a looser defensive position. With a few words of warning, I had everybody take crash positions and formed the tube. The ship flew backwards to Defren, at a speed it had never matched before, and stopped just as suddenly. This time the compensators and the relative size of the ship made everything smoother. Everybody on the ship was incredulous at what had happened, even if we had engines. The Tandra were the same, and it took fifteen minutes of waiting before the shuttle came forward, and was pulled into our bay. We were there to greet them as they came out. Star came running out first with tears in her eyes. She disregarded all the heavily armed Bintuu, and ran to my arms. "Oh, Henry, I thought you were dead. We all thought you were dead. Where did you go?" "Later, sweetheart, stand with me here." Chris was right behind Star, and hugged me closely to her. Before she started, I simply said, "Later." Bassinda's troops came out, then Bassinda herself. The three nannies with their charges came out last. There were no others in the ship. I greeted Bassinda as a wife and not an empress. She was quite perturbed at my lack of protocol. Chris this time was shooting daggers at her. Apparently they had a few words for each other, after I had disappeared. I introduced everybody, as if I were hosting a party at my home. The Bintuu were put out, that slaves should be treated so well. The Tandra felt that they were at a great disadvantage, in a hostile ship. "Messy, these are my guests. Offer them any and all courtesies. Keep no secrets from them, no matter what anyone else says. That is an imperial order. Now, since all of you are on my ship, I would like to go to Foonsa the imperial planet, it is only 369 light years away. At our old maximum speed this would take about 200 hours. Let's all retire to the Ambassador Soundakre's quarters for the trip." "But Henry, you said a day," came from Bassinda. "I didn't lie, but I would like to see what this ship will do." I introduced the Bintuu children to the Tandra, and then the Tandra children to the Bintuu. Neither seemed too interested in the other, but then again, they were children. "Captain Flussindg will you lay out a course to Foonsa without any intermediate stops." "Yes, Emperor Buchanan." Once the course was laid in, I formed the tube, and adjusted it to our present mass and started us out of the system. In a few seconds I enlarged the diameter of the tube, and then again, as the stars turned to streaks and then a blur, but they soon slowed down and stopped. We were well within the Mardaf Limit of the imperial Bintuu system, but outside the range of the ring of defences. I needed some witnesses, but didn't want my tail shot off in the process. Commanding the transmitter, I called, "Hello, Foonsa and Empress Meslifzz. I am Emperor Buchanan. I would like to borrow your home fleet, and fly them about 60 light years to your old home. I believe it is a large system, and can afford to loose a few planets. I also believe the Moldeg will have the opportunity to think twice before coming after you again." From all around me, I was asked what I was doing. My reply was to say, "Watch." I fabricated a shield around the ship that was made thirty seconds in the past, and in another dimensions entirely. The ship swooped in at an unimaginably fast speed. I formed tubes on each of the major vessels, and directed them to their former home planet. Missiles disappeared into our shield with no effect. In a dozen passes I had 43 major ships. We headed out of the system, with many larger tubes to drive us. The ships used their engines to fight us, but had no real effect. In five minutes we swooped by the original home planet of the Bintuu, and saw ant like creatures scurrying for defences. Missiles were fired but our speed made a mockery of their technology. They were good enough to force the Bintuu out of this and many neighbouring systems. When we came to the outskirts of the system, I released all the ships and had Ambassador Soundakre ask them to stay a while and watch. I took the furthest planet, the size of Earth, and pulled it from its orbit, and threw it at its neighbour in a collision that would rain debris on the system for the next few centuries. No ship exploding, or even fleets had this much light and heat liberated. "Well, what do you think Ambassador? I can peel the next planet if you like. It doesn't take much to get it down to nothing." "Th... Tat... that is fine o' great and powerful Empress of all Bih..." "That is fine Ambassador. I just wanted to show all of you how I can move things as I please, make a shield that you can't get through, and move very fast. The last thing I want to show is that I will try to not be vindictive, petty or cruel. The Moldeg will not bother my people, or they will answer to me. The Samutz will be rounded up and given a few primitive planets to fight against. You will be given the chance to deal with the Tandra as equals. There will be no more slavery, and your children will learn to stand on their own four feet, and not on a Tandra throat." "But, your majesty, our entire civilization rests on technology that cannot be done very well by our race." "I will take some of your children and train them. When I am done, they will have a healthier outlook, for all races, and will be able to do what most Tandra can do." "That has been tried, but we always fail." "Not this time. I, as an emperor, am giving my word." He had no way of coming back without calling me a liar, and since he could see that I could do some pretty amazing things, he said, "Will you take these young males?" I looked in his mind, and saw a very vindictive female pick him up with her front arms, and bite off his head, and then all the rest of his clan. "I would be glad to take them, and all your family or clan as well. After you are trained, you all would be too valuable to have the empress kill you. Let's drop the other ships off, make a courtesy call, and then we can go home." Star asked, "Henry, how did you do this? Nobody can do what you did." "I will talk later to you, and give you the details, but let's leave it till then?" I rounded up the ships again, and in another five minutes we were at Foonsa where they were released. We did not leave though, and just settled in a large lake close to the empress's home. All planetary defences were directed at us, and the missiles were absorbed by our shield. It took them almost four hours to come to that conclusion that they couldn't get through, but the stubborn Empress Meslifzz continued to pour the weapons on, even after getting the reports. I could see now that the Ambassador was probably right in thinking he would be killed. I received all the reports, I ordered to be made, and gave them only a cursory look. This was just a good make-work project that would keep the officers busy, instead of worrying and possibly doing something stupid. "Well, I guess I will have to go and talk to Empress Meslifzz, and see if we can come to a resolution." "You cannot, Emperor Buchanan. She will kill you." "Thank you for your concern. I was the one that stopped a battle by myself, and then flew us to your old enemies, then back here. The ship provided a comfortable environment, but the engines did not propel us. I did. I do not think she will get the best of me." Taking only the four place fighter, I concentrated on where I wanted to be, and took off as fast as I could. Within seconds I was at the edge of the shield, before the deep burrow that represented the palace. Jumping out quickly, and cloaked myself in armour similar to what the ship had. Large energy weapons hit me and were absorbed. The fighter was destroyed almost instantly at my back. I looked at the palace shield now, and saw the way it worked, and all the holes in it, that anyone with my eyes could see. Or at least with 5 dimensional eyes and mind. I sort of twisted the force a little, and walked through the opening, like I would a bead curtain. The Bintuu here, were frantic in their efforts to protect their empress or queen in any way. I shifted through solid walls and floors to avoid killing many. If any touched me, they lost that appendage and/or body. I knew the queen was too large to even move, so had to be protected by her clan. I finally just pushed through a mass of them, and then a door, to see a giant mound of white flesh, lying in a gigantic chamber. In the far walls there were tiny chambers, where lone Bintuu were placing eggs or feeding larva. "Hello, Empress Meslifzz. Do you want more of your people killed, or possibly even you hurt, by a poorly aimed weapon? The future life of your whole clan is within this chamber. Let's talk?" I found out an important fact in coming to the palace. The empress was neither powerful nor bright. She and the workers relied on instinct to run her clan, and through that the empire. Even with the thousands of bodies coming at me I entered her mind and found her controls for her speech. Using them, I said, "Stop, leave this Human alone. I will talk with him now." The futile attack did stop, but they stood by ready to attack at the least provocation. I could see her now as only a spokesperson for the colony. "Leave, and go about your business. I will talk with him alone," I had her say. I had a tough time forcing her to talk for me, and not give off all the fear that she felt. I found a familiar place in her mind that had the necessary controls that I had. Fear dropped to almost zero, and after her own call, the attendants came in to feed her. They took away eggs she laid at the other end as she looked at me. I was the first male to witness this. "What do you want, slave?" That was a good question, now that I knew more about her, and her race. I knew I had the power to change her genetic makeup to produce a better egg, and thus a better Bintuu. They could respect the Tandra, and even have much the same abilities. They would form a great army if necessary, but all I had to do, was turn into somebody that would ruin a good race, that had the misfortune of needing somebody to work their machinery. Ants capturing other insects for their use came to mind. The only option I had left was to convince her and the workers of the value of joining our empire with logic and common sense. The other option was to just take over her mind, and try to have her influence the workers. The last idea was bad, but not as bad as changing the entire race. I was not a god or even wanted to be one. I liked to convince not eradicate people, that could not even hurt me now. I thought of ants as an analogy. They used smell to transmit data. And some colonies had more than one queen, but they were just a specialized worker whose job was, to produce eggs. In some cases, there were fights among queens, and if not killed, one had to submit, and the smell of the winner was what kept the others in place. Looking into her mind, I saw other features that negated her need for a high intelligence. She was more of a nexus for data to be sent to others. Information would come in from all the workers, and if one particular piece of data was suddenly very common, it would be thought on by all the workers. Their findings would go back to the queen, and the workers would take their orders from the group decision. When two queens disputed territory or dominance, a psychic battle would take place with one queen dying in most, but not all cases. "I am a queen from a much larger Bintuu colony. I have come to take over the running of this nest. Do you want to contest me?" "You are not Bintuu, and cannot be our queen." "Smell me. I can protect this colony better than what was done before. I destroyed planets with my mind, and can do the same to all invaders. The colony will prosper under my guidance. Fight me if you think I am not fit to do this job." She was given time to think on the matter. The workers around me had actually stopped to consider the new ideas. She and the workers had indeed found my smell, and knew me for an invader. A new smell I produced seemed to be distinctly Bintuu. The ideas I expressed would filter down to the average worker, and perhaps I could influence their decision. If enough came to that decision in the nexus, then I would be the dominant queen. The attack when it came, was quick, and was backed by all the workers. I fell back a step. My head hurt from the intensity. The entire framework of crystals in my head seemed to resonate with their thoughts. I saw now that the workers were like part of a gigantic computer, and the queen a data collector and speaker. I reached inside my mind, and stabilized certain portions. The pain lessened somewhat. I tried to keep my hold on my mind, while looking at the lines holding the queen, and the colony's conscious together. There were main paths, and I gingerly separated some of them, and the pain in my mind lessened again. One after another I broke the connections, till the queen was fighting with only a few workers and I did nothing but wait. "Concede, and you will live as my representative; continue, and I will take away your ability to communicate." The queen tried one more time, and could do nothing. I then talked to all the workers, "Will you allow your queen to live if she is without the ability to communicate? How long does it take to grow a new queen, till she can produce eggs? How will you keep me from doing this to the new queen, and the one after that? Can your clan and race afford this loss?" The attack suddenly stopped. "We will concede," came from all around me. "By conceding, you are acknowledging me the emperor of the new civilization you are joining, and your empress. I will be the representative of your race. Do you agree with those terms?" "Yes, we agree." "Remain still, and I will repair the damage, I caused." It took a few minutes, and while in there, I looked for deceit and found none. The repairs took little time, and I made some of the connections better, especially to other queens on the planet. Her body had nothing wrong with it, and I pulled out. I found the main planetary computer, and wiggled my way in, and made the simple modifications needed to get it to recognize me, as the one with the last say in matters of law. Nothing else was changed. I did have some data chips loaded with information I thought would be useful to me. As a parting gift, I gave them the plans for a two layer shield, one of which repelled galvanized weapons. It was not what I currently used, but it was far better than their current shield. Their ships were inefficient, and I modified some of the plans to bring them up to a higher standard, which would go out to all those that joined our empire. I vanished into the pens, far above, with the use of the transmitter. The Tandra, were in large rooms, working on various pieces of equipment. Looking into their minds, I knew that they were not mistreated, but were close to what inmates would be treated on Earth. At other places, there were similar stories, and decided to leave the Tandra in place, till they could be replaced by Bintuu workers. Reappearing in the queen's chamber, I startled the large Bintuu, for it was death to do this without her permission. "I will leave the Tandra here for a while. Give them all, a higher access to the computer, a few hours above ground, and two more hours of free time to do with as they like. Soon different Tandra will come here. You will treat them as workers of a different queen, and not bother them, in what they do, or how it is done." I could feel the hesitation, and even some of the unvoiced objections, but all I got was, "Yes, Emperor." "The next is difficult for you to really understand, but I want workers, larva and eggs from each Clan collected. They will be taken to a new area on this planet, where a new group of Tandra and others will teach them to work with the machines. I will insure that the new group will have similar abilities to what the Tandra can do. My aim is to integrate your race with others. You will be given more advanced tools, and ways of protecting yourselves." Thinking of Ambassador Soundakre, I said, "I destroyed quite a few of your ships, and captured Ambassador Soundakre's ship. He had even less chance of defeating me, than you did. I do not want his clan penalized in any way, and would further like him to be your representative when our government is finalized." "That is acceptable." I got an acceptance to this proposal. "Then I will say good day to you, Empress Meslifzz, and I hope your clan, and race prospers, in a new civilization." I just turned and walked out the main corridor. The workers lined the sides, and all bowed their heads as I passed. At a transmitter node, I called for the data crystals, I had produced. After checking the computer for any ships ready to vaporize me, I saw that I would be just watched. A small ship came from Messy, and picked me up in the now vacant hole, where the fighter used to be. Chris and Star ran to me and then Bassinda did too. I kissed each and looked at Ambassador Soundakre, and said, "Ambassador, your clan is in no danger. I left plans for a better shield, and designs to modify your ships to make them more efficient. I ordered a school built here on this planet, and all the queens will donate workers, eggs and larva. Within a few years you will be independent, but I hope we have inducements that will keep your race active members of our civilization." "Thank you, Emperor Buchanan, for my clan and all Bintuu." We all went to a large meeting room. I had all the officers invited and the discussion transmitted to the remainder of the crew. I explained about the change in leadership, to their utter amazement. Right after, I explained about what I had planed for their race, and their race's place in a new civilization. As a start, I asked the captain to send some representatives of all races on the ship other than Bintuu, to me now. At the thoughts in his head I added, 'without supervision'. Within twenty minutes, a ragtag group of Tandra, and T'aut came into the large room. Star and Chris went among them getting them settled. At last count there were 231 here and 2 in medical. I started off by telling them my name and position. Before they got too excited, I told them, "You are obliged to stay on this ship till you are either replaced, or your positions are no longer needed. I have instructed the ship's computer, and now the rest of the crew, that you all of you are now to be treated as Bintuu workers or soldiers. You will be given comfortable berths, food and entertainment. You will not be guarded wherever you go, and will obey your officers, as if you had joined this crew. Failure of Bintuu personnel to follow this directive, will dealt with by your captain. You are no better, and no worse, than any Bintuu on this ship. Each of you has recourse to all of Bintuu law, as if you are Bintuu. You may stay and listen to the rest of our discussion if you wish." The Ambassador told me of Samutz incursions along their common border. At present two battles were going on, and had been for months, as more and more ships from each side came into play. The captain told of not having enough trained Tandra and T'aut, to build enough ships and components, to fight the war. He asked me if I would find a way to give his people more assistance. I looked on this as a test for the new empire; I was trying to set up. The Bintuu were very numerous, but not as advanced or as ruthless as the Samutz. Since they were now part of the empire, I had to do something about their protection. I called for a holographic representation of space and the areas now being contested. The Samutz territory was many times larger than I anticipated, and the extent was not really known, even to the Bintuu. With information from the computer, I saw the possibility of a devious plan. A very strong Samutz empire was unusually quiet, while the other two areas drew off any spare Bintuu warships. A thrust with some of the new ships at the lead, would devastate the Bintuu race, by taking out many of the planets that bred new warriors and workers. I saw a dawning light in all the Bintuu eyes, as I explained what the Samutz might be up to. Like Humans, they wanted to get in and destroy the possible attacking fleet, but unlike Humans they stood still, and waited for commands to fight. "Ambassador Soundakre, inform Empress Meslifzz of what we suspect, and tell her we are going to see if this is true. If it is, we will take on the enemy fleets, and then stop the battles at the two fronts." ------- Chapter 54 Bassinda said incredulously, "How can we do this? This ship doesn't even have engines." A loss of a shield or a computer does not represent the problem it once may have. I plan on taking all the toys away from the Samutz as soon as possible." Even with all the things I already did, she was very sceptical of what I could accomplish. I directed the captain to break up the meeting and to take up general quarters as we would be at the empire I thought was lying doggo. We left the system as fast as we had come, and set course for a Samutz system almost 680 light years away. Fifteen minutes later we were far into Samutz territory, and saw massive ship building yards, but very few ships. I invaded a few of the larger ship computers with my mind, and found that the fleet had already left more than a month ago. Without doing anything to the Samutz ships or computers we left the system and followed the path of the invading fleet. We crossed back into Bintuu space, and found a path of destruction from one outlying system to another. It looked like some had been given the nerve gas with all higher order life gone to the planet itself completely blown up. This was not the usual way the Samutz operated, but was not beyond their means. We began to run into damaged ships of both races and some of the slower ones of the Samutz had been left behind, so the main force would not have to slow down. From a distance of only a few kilometres I grappled a damaged battleship and invaded the computer. Our computer initiated the imperial override in its simplest form. The struggle stopped immediately, and the computer gave me all the data I needed when asked. We left, with the ship trying to kill or capture all the Samutz it could. Three systems ahead, almost 450 Samutz ships were destroying a half dozen Bintuu warships. The planet Tollinzz, the Bintuu ships were protecting, was one of the older breeding planets, and contributed its share to the empire. I took over ship after ship, but this was very slow. I brought our ship to the centre of the armada, and used all of the Bintuu missiles to get their attention. We were hammered in return by all the ships in range. The missiles themselves just disappeared into our shield, as I took over ship after ship that were now determined to destroy us. A weary two hours later, I had to chase after the last 120 ships. Some had sleepers and were quite fast. These had to be my first objectives. This time I had to travel a good distance, and take over just one ship. In almost seven more hours, I was able to capture all of the armada present. Good sized battles inside the ships themselves were at an end, and the Samutz either in stasis or dead. As I rested, Ambassador Soundakre informed the queen on the planet of what had happened, and who had done the protecting. The 450 ships were either orbiting or soon would be around Tollinzz, and under orders to protect the planet at all costs. All had been given the usual override. I had to rest. My combat suit had fed me and kept me safe all this time. It was time to have a bath, a meal, and a sleep. I had taken over the ambassador's quarters, but he had not been kicked out of the spacious rooms. Bassinda's guard followed us into the suite and made themselves at home. The nannies were upset because they were hungry and they were the ones feeding the babies. The Bintuu food replicators were what an old Tandra would want. The food was edible but very plain. Star and Chris were used to variety, and so were Bassinda's people. But the machine was not very sophisticated, and we had to do with what we had. Over the simple meal, I heard how Bassinda wanted to more or less disarm the Mordis, after the battle, because of the outcry of the Tandra upper crust. Chris had more or less told her over her dead body, and there was a good sized standoff. Word of my disappearance had caused a truce to be made, and the ship was searched stem to stern, even in the computer room. I had a feeling; I was not even in the right dimensions to be found. The passage of time did not seem right for all of this to have happened. The flight of the Samutz derelicts, in the Defren system, were stabilized, and work begun on seeing what could be salvaged, till news came of the Bintuu fleet. Bassinda had tried to stall as best she could, as Chris and Star got the Mordis prepared for a very serious battle. The battle had only been going on for a few hours when I appeared on the scene. The New Hope had dropped off all its troops, and flown to get reinforcements. It was hoped that the ship could tow enough ships back to make a difference. I had to cut the bickering and recriminations off, and get cleaned. The only thing here was the cleanser, and this did the trick, but was still not a real shower. The bed was still anti grav, and I lay down to sleep. Three naked women came onto the bed with me. Bassinda still bickering about her proper place. I had to set her straight. "Bassinda, Chris was my first Tandra wife, later I was pleased to accept Star, and like you, all of them are carrying my children. Either you work within our family, or you don't. For too many years your people have drifted from proper Tandra law and ethics. I want you to get your head between Chris legs, and make her happy, while I make you happy." I just waited for her actions. She was not used to being told what to do, and never told to please a person, that was no different form a slave. She closed her mind off, but I was still able to see her thoughts, she saw her future now as a consort to a real emperor, and did not want to jeopardize that. Her mind also played with the idea of a big frog in a little pond, or a little frog in a very big pond. The next argument had the most strength, she felt drawn to me by an irresistible force, and knew that she would do anything to stay with me. Her head slowly came down on the dark urethra, and sucked it into her mouth. She felt the feedback from Chris, and sucked harder, knowing she was doing it right. I moved off the bed, and positioned myself behind Bassinda. I started to caress her ass, and ran my right hand up the crevice between her legs. My fingers dragged on the dry skin. I was about to call Messy for some assistance, when Bassinda pulled away from both of us, and went to her pile of clothes. She came back with a bottle of oil that was commonly used on Defren. She smiled, and I pulled her to me and gave her a soft kiss, "I like when you think ahead my wife." She was pleased with the complement, and even more with the appellation. She just handed me the bottle, and went back to Chris. The contents of the bottle had a fragrance of flowers. I poured some into my right hand, and capped the container. I covered both back openings, and all the little nerve clusters. She groaned with a full mouth that made Chris feel even better. Star moved across the bed and sat on Chris's face, for her own enjoyment. I focussed my mind, and looked into Bassinda's womb, and found a cluster of cells that would grow into my child one day. Opening my mind, I showed the rest of my women my most recent child. Chris's child was at about the same stage of development. I could feel the interest of all the women now. Star's child was much more developed, but far from the time of her birth. I suddenly felt woozy, and when it cleared a bit, I saw three very beautiful young women sitting at an open window. They were overlooking a very bustling Tandra city. They were dressed in diaphanous material and subtle hints, told me they were sisters. They stopped their talking, and looked at me. All of them smiled an Earth type smile. The one on the right waved her hand, just a little, at us. I could see their mother in each of them, for their mothers were right before me. When the vision faded, Bassinda got up, then so did Chris and Star. We all came together in a group hug of awe, wonderment and even astonishment. Forgotten, were our thoughts of making love. The idea of our daughters in a wondrous city, on some far planet, made me wonder how far they would really go. Through some mechanism, I knew that the planet was on the other side of the galaxy. Bassinda asked, "What was that... husband?" "At certain times, I am able to foresee the future. All I know, is that one day, the children you three now carry, will meet on that far planet. It is even beyond the travels of the old Tandra. I believe it was always closed to your people." There was no real talk now, for each of us was reliving the scene in its entirety, trying to pick out all the detail possible. The architecture was far different than anything we had ever seen, even in the details from the computer. There was the overall feeling of contentment and peace that was far from what we had already felt. Star asked, "Was the girl that waved to us, my daughter?" "I think she was, Bassinda's daughter was in the centre and Chris's was on the left. I noticed that their eyes were smaller, and their breasts larger, but the hair and hands were distinctly Tandra." Turning back to Bassinda, I said, "Let's get back to what we were doing. A little practice for their sisters and brothers is in order." The love making lasted for hours, and it had none of the bickering that marred the start. There were no more views of the future, and in an odd way, I was happy there weren't. If only Susan were able to fit in, the way these three did now. I slept with Bassinda and Chris one each side of me, and small Star still empaled on my cock, while she slept on my chest. She woke up as I lifted her off, but she soon went back to sleep with her sister wives. Looking at them I could see them as close as sisters now. The visitation seemed to bond them even closer now. Their daughters would one day be very good friends. Ambassador Soundakre had finished giving all the information he could, to the queen and her workers on Tollinzz. They were arguing about the legality of a new empress, even without knowing I was male. This was too small a matter to quibble about, so I took messages for their empress, and told them what our next two objectives were. We were greeted with silence, and in a way, I sympathized, for only four months ago I was working hard on a gas distribution problem, and had difficulty getting a handle on it. We left the system at a high rate of acceleration that disregarded the Mardaf limit. The two fronts were about 450 light years apart and formed an equilateral triangle. The one slightly further off was in the most need of our help, and we raced to it. The duration of the trip was quite short, and only took a little over twelve minutes. The scene that greeted us was horrifying. Ships of all description were wrecked all about us. Most were Bintuu, and there looked to be millions of dead. I took over a crippled Samutz ship while Ambassador Soundakre tried to contact some of his people for details. It took quite a while to find out that a new fleet had come at the Bintuu from the rear. The ones at the front had attacked with renewed vigour, and both Samutz fleets had succeeded in destroying the entire Bintuu fleet. The information for a damaged Samutz ship said that a push was directed at linking up with the fleet we took over, and the one on the other front. The Samutz must have just bided their time, and acquired enough ships to do a lot of pushing back. This was apparently going on for almost 230 years. The battle had ended almost three weeks ago, and still the ships had not been able to pull themselves together to follow. I gave them my word I would come back, all they had to do was get the inertial compensators working. With three weeks of carnage, all in Bintuu space, I cringed at what they must have done already. We flew far ahead, for there was no use looking at destroyed planets. They had been able to go much faster than previously thought and the only reason I could come up with was the use of sleepers. They could form a convoy and get most other ships to travel at close to the same speed. Jumping ahead, we found the aftermath of another battle. There were no Bintuu survivors, and all the ships were complete wrecks. The planet below was no better, for it looked now like it must have billions of years ago as molten magma covered the entire planet. Nothing could have survived this type of treatment, and again we had to jump many systems to try to find them. Some we passed had not been touched yet or had been completely bypassed. Ambassador Soundakre sent data packets to each one, telling of everything we had seen. The invading fleet had shifted course, and headed toward the galactic centre. They had pounded a major ship building facility, but had not completely destroyed it. We were sure they would come back here, and use the facilities for themselves. The next target was a toss up between two breeding planets, and we headed for the closer. We actually caught up with the invading fleet as they were approaching the Mardaf limit. Our count showed almost 400 attacking ships. Long range scanners showed a pitiful number of defending ships arrayed to try to protect the planet. We just raced up behind, and I took over ship after ship from behind. It would be a lot easier if I did not have to propel the ship and take over others at the same time. At the rate we were going, the lead ships would be at the planet, before we had completed delivering the imperial override. I had deduced many of the old codes, and saw various methods of entry. I tried to get Messy to do the delivering, as I just flew the ship. This worked faster, and we were able to fly ahead and block the path of the approaching ships. Messy gave more commands, and all but a dozen complied. They were odd shaped and of dreadnaught size. I dug into the computer of one and found it almost incomprehensible. It was made by a different race. Time was getting short, and the ships would be able to fire on the planet in moments. We had only a few weapons left and let those fly, hoping to get them to go after us, while I worked on trying to trace the circuits in the alien computer. For a second, I chuckled, thinking that I was the only Human here, and all other species outside of this ship as alien. It was almost as if the computer was needlessly complex, so it could not be deciphered. I knew I could do it, but the time to do it was not now. I pulled out, flew our ship close to each of the strange dreadnaughts, and used our shield to eat giant sections out of them. One after the other they blew up, probably as safety device. All the approaching ships were converted to our cause before they could fire on us. "Ambassador Soundakre, tell the queen here, that the ships are now ours and to leave them alone. We have to go after the other group before they destroy your race." A data packet was sent as the invading fleet removed or confined the Samutz on their decks. The seven ships protecting the planet were specifically ordered not to touch the ships now that they were ours. As a precaution, I allowed my new ships to fire on any ships trying to take them. Peering into the hologram of the Bintuu Empire, I traced the route of both invading fleets. If the time frame was the same for the other fleet. They were to break out together. It would have destroyed the left flank of the Bintuu Empire, taking out three of the major breeding planets, and two of the major shipyards, before working toward the centre. If they were a little faster, two more breeding planets would be destroyed. I raced to the one I thought probable and found it untouched. After a quick warning, we traced back their probable route, and the next was safe so far, and warned it too. Travelling to the next we found a devastated planet, and a trail of ships leaving the system. We caught up with them, and like before, took them over from the rear. There must have been some communication, for we all dropped out of hyperspace, and the ships in front reversed their thrust, as the other ships tried to scatter. Messy was able to get a few more before I ordered our converted ships to trail after the fleeing ships, and give the same override. This fleet was larger and numbered almost 600 major ships and had 23 of the odd ships providing a faster passage. Disregarding the Tandra ships, I concentrated on the leading ship's computer. The computer was very difficult to figure out. Its logic seemed to defy what should be. I was just getting the idea of a food synthesizer, when I was struck with a mental club that drove me into unconsciousness. Bassinda then the ship's computer finally awakened me. Star was unconscious and Chris and Bassinda were linked together, trying to protect me. I saw the type of attack, and tried to form a block, and was only partially successful. I could not concentrate, the time shift shield was down, and I tried to visualize the tube, so we could get away. The pain and distortion were so great that I could get nothing of it right. We were sitting ducks, with only a Bintuu shield, and no missiles against all those dreadnoughts. I could only deduce that the people commanding the lead ships were very powerful. The ships had not come to a complete stop yet and were drifting further from us, but within a few minutes would be close enough to destroy our much smaller ship. Going within my mind, I saw the structure shake with the mental attack. I braced it here and another part just shook harder. I did not have enough hands to hold it all. I felt Chris close by, and brought her into my mind. She came to me and I had her hold some of the structure, while I got Bassinda. She too held some, while I found an unconscious Star, and had her hold some as well. With all four, I was able to think a little better. The pain dropped a little. The people on the dreadnaughts must either have very powerful minds or a mental amplifier. While the girls were holding, I ordered Messy to recall some of the ships to protect us. It looked very doubtful if they could take out that number of dreadnaughts, even if they were in a good position to do so. I estimated about ten minutes they would be able to fire their weapons, then only a minute after that, we would get the first. I doubted if we would be able to withstand even one missile, never mind a flight of them. I frantically found Bassinda's guards with my mind, and pulled them into my mind, one after another. They were in great pain themselves, and had never seen such a structure, but did help in steadying it. The Tandra crew on the ship did not seem right for some reason. In desperation, I just brought in the three babies. The last three seemed to be the magic number, and I worked hard forming linkages between one part of my crystals to a far member. The more I put in, the quieter it got. The Tandra though were weakening from the constant pounding their minds were taking. Time was running out, and I did not think I was capable of getting us out of here yet. Instead, I attacked the computer again and tried to find some common point that I could work from. I finally found it. The firing sequence delivered to their missiles. The loop twisted about, and then back on itself, then to a target discriminator circuit, finally to a command to launch. The computer was in twelve parts, and each part gave the equivalent of one bit. The sum was finally reassembled and here the circuit split again into twelve parts for the interface. The missiles were getting close now, and I still worked on the system. Finding the controls for the engines, I was just able to throw a random coordinate in and energize the system. Their shock was just enough for them to lessen their attack, and I was able to form a tube just as a missile came into range. The flow of energy was directed at the approaching missiles, and we flew in the opposite direction. Within a half minute we were well out of range. I was so tired I just collapsed. Bassinda was shaking my shoulder, and saying, "Let's get out of here. We are still too close." A sampling of the rest, found that they too wanted to put a little more distance between us and the dreadnaughts. I just stayed still and ran through my mind all the details I had found. I built a computer in my mind that would have the same circuits I had just discovered, and found that it would not work. I considered taking Messy and making it a better computer to help me, but he had many duties to perform, and not a derelict like the last ship. The only thing I could do is strengthen my own mind to withstand what I knew I must take again if I was to stop the ships. I thought of the harmonics that must have been induced, to make all the crystals resonate as they did. It was almost like what I had gone through in the Parmain. This was the first time I heard of a psychic device of this magnitude used as a weapon of war. Even if I went against the onslaught, I knew that everyone else on the ship would suffer from it. The only solution I could come up with was to put enough distance between the ships and us. I also had to be close enough to find a way into the computer. At two light years more, I could not detect any of the ships. I came closer and basically found, that the dreadnaughts had decided to abandon the Samutz ships now that they had turned on them. Coming closer yet, I was able to interface with a now loyal ship, and found the leaders streaking off faster than they had been able to do previously. Linking with one computer after another, I found one that knew of a new race, that the closest Human vocal cords could get around as xocoktyylz. They lived towards the centre of the galaxy, and offered some of their warships in exchange for some of the systems conquered. The Samutz would not keep the bargain, and I figured the xocoktyylz would not either. There was very little else in the computer, and only the fighting inside the hull, as Samutz were being killed by weapons or tractors. I took a chance and came close to the Samutz ships. Our sensors did not detect any of the xocoktyylz or their ships. I got all the ships in formation and guided them to the next system before the xocoktyylz could make it there. Bintuu warships came at us but were still very far away. Ambassador Soundakre sent word that we were allies here to protect the system. This was a breeder planet, and he had to negotiate with the local queen to keep our flank from being shot off by very nervous Bintuu. While placing all the ships in the best positions possible, I stumbled on a small fact from one of the smaller ships. It recorded a verbal reference to the xocoktyylz having twelve eyes, and as many appendages. That could be part of the answer to the computer. The Human body is divided in two parts and the xocoktyylz may be divided into six or twelve parts themselves. Then again, they could be in three parts or four. Their computer may be modelled after their own brain, and be separated into a similar number of pieces. I worked on the computer problem even after the xocoktyylz were found approaching, on the long range scanners. Our ships were difficult to hide, but I did my best, behind every major piece of rock the system had to offer. The dodecapedal xocoktyylz had to be blind in all twelve eyes to not see the warships. They came on nevertheless, and the AI crewed battleships attacked their rear, once they passed the Mardaf Limit. I could feel the disturbance from a good distance away. They were employing their psychic weapon again, and hoping to overcome the crew. This time there was no crew, at least no crew that was alive or out of stasis, except the techs. More ships attacked, but left one area fairly clear. From a long way off, orphan missiles that were ready suddenly came to life, and plunged into the fray. They struck their predetermined targets through the area where no ships were placed. With the heavy pounding from the front, one after another of the dreadnaughts started to be destroyed. I could see three particular ships that stayed in the centre of the cluster at all times, and relied on the overlapping fields of defence of the other ships to protect them. Putting Messy to use, we headed for the battle ourselves now. Our time shield was active and we came closer and closer to the ships. The shaking of my mind was less, now that I had constructed some bracing to keep the structure rigid. With my eyes closed and my mind's eye wide open, I plotted a course that would go through the centre of two ships. We flew out the other side avoiding all Tandra shipping and turned around. One of the ships blew up, but the second one did not. Another pass took out the third ship. Suddenly the psychic weapon stopped, and the other ships seemed disheartened, as an army would be when seeing their general killed. Our forces opened their lines more, giving the enemy a chance to escape. There were only eleven left now, and they took it. Our ships gave pursuit. And I once more dived into the computer of one of the ships. This time there was no mental attack on us. Missiles on the other hand did not diminish. At the Mardaf Limit, I grasped our own ships and followed the xocoktyylz. I was after their secrets, and didn't want them destroyed yet, or to split up. I worked feverishly for almost three hours, till another breeder planet came up. The ships slowed, and this could only mean that they planned to attack or let off enough missiles to destroy the planet in passing. I found the self destruct mechanism and triggered all but one. The last ship changed its mind now, and altered course and speed, to miss the planet. Ambassador Soundakre sent another data packet to the planet, and I dropped off some of the ships for protection. It took almost five more hours to figure out the basic computer and another three to find it all. I took most of the data I wanted and sent it to Messy for storage, and when done destroyed the ship. Bassinda just stared at me, "Why did you just destroy that ship after all the effort we used in trying to capture it?" Ambassador Soundakre and some of the crew were wondering the same thing, but would never think of asking. "I found out all I could about the xocoktyylz, and knew that it would be unlikely that I could use their ship. It doesn't have a computer as we know it. They have a large crew, and many of them are in a tank, while their minds work to do the same thing as our computer does. That was why I could not break in very well. Each unit was a living xocoktyylz, and then I had to find what made each individual different. They have a hive mind that the Bintuu would shudder at. There is no free will, except by the mass mind." We returned the way we came, and gave news of what had happened on each system we came across without slowing down. At the last planet where I blew up the xocoktyylz ships we did stop. Here I tried the first of my cooperative ideas again. All of the present Tandra crew were assembled and five times that number of Bintuu. When broken into groups they took over some of the ships the Samutz had attacked with. The Tandra and other species of techs on those ships were brought on board by Messy. I talked to the local queen, and through her, to the workers. I explained about the slight change in leadership and the real allegiance of the Tandra ships over their heads. It was understandable that they would refuse to believe. In any case, it was not important yet. I made my demands of workers, eggs and larva to be picked up at a future date after all the queens came to an understanding. Since staying longer would accomplish nothing, we set off again for the previous planet. The T'aut and Tandra that came aboard were still shocked. They acted like inmates of a prisoner of war camp that was suddenly liberated. Some were new to the Samutz, or perhaps just more ready to take up arms against their old masters. There was little we could do, but Chris and Star went to the group and told them of what the galaxy had in store for them. Bassinda and her guards did the same, after seeing how good the effect was. Soon we had to do everything all over again with the next queen. Some ships were dropped off and crewed with Tandra and Bintuu. The Tandra were told to get re-educated and try their best with the Bintuu. The Tandra did not know that their brothers or sisters in this case, had been slaves of the Bintuu. We retraced our entire route and came to the large battle on the Bintuu front. We picked up any Bintuu ships and personnel we could find, and brought them all to Foonsa and Empress Meslifzz. A data packet was sent only slightly ahead of our arrival. I had more than fourteen hundred ships, and didn't need some Bintuu to attack them. If this didn't give a queen jitters, I didn't know what would. All the objections of the various queens and the deaths of some we knew about were handed over to her and the workers. This queen was very pragmatic about the loss of almost 20% of her cohorts. I further confounded her by demanding some eggs and workers to spread her race into new territory. This was to occur at a future date, after all the Samutz were confined or dead. Some planets I knew of could support Bintuu life easier than any other. And a healthy planet was a great waste, if not used. We paused for a while, as Tandra were shifted back to some of the ships. I intended to keep about seven battleships and dreadnaughts with sleepers on board for a special purpose. They were actually Bassinda's subjects before being pressed into service. Her people had to make the ships, and give up some of their population to appease the Samutz. This was a sort of the tribute so they could stay relatively free. I collected the Samutz from a few dozen major ships. These empty ships I loaned to Meslifzz and it was up her to crew them. I would get willing Tandra to assist at a later date. We left again for Defren soon after, with our number of ships hardly diminished. We entered the system and started slowing well within the Mardaf Limit. The New Hope was there ahead of us, with five battleships. They immediately went to general quarters. My mind was much stronger now, and I mindspoke to the ship, not knowing who I would get. Later a transmitter carried a two way message allowing everybody to know in general terms, what was going on. Nova had raced from Saffra with all the ships she thought she could spare. Sandy had remained to guard the important system. I was not tired yet and had lots of work to do regardless. All the sleepers, almost 1600 in total, were placed in tanks to get their muscle tone returned. The Tandra taken from the captured ships were given jobs of looking out for the sleepers. This time the sleepers were not given images of me, and I felt a lot better for that. Nova found me and held me tightly to her, "I heard how everybody thought you were dead. Do you know how that made us feel? Sandy and I thought we were going to lose our sisters' too. Don't do that to us again." "I am sorry Honey, but if I hadn't had an accident, I would not be able to stop the Bintuu from fighting here. Then I wouldn't be able to get all the queens to see my point of view. Tell me about Saffra..." While I was gone, the natural Tandra on Defren were still at odds about giving the Mordis weapons and even ships. There were 156 million Mordis and I made a general announcement to the entire population. Rather than remove the weapons, I ordered all of the Mordis to board some of the fourteen hundred ships and begin training in earnest to fight. The ships would be vastly understaffed at even that number. This caused another problem. The well-to-do would be deprived of slaves and status symbols. When it was known that servants would go too, they now cried for their return. The Mordis were worried about a leader that could uproot them at an apparent whim. Chris had many Mordis contacts, and they went among their group to allay any fears. It took many days to fill all the ships with this group. There were no natural Tandra children, for babies of these Tandra were placed in a tank to make the children Mordis, irregardless of their abilities. When I went into the computer again, I found evidence of many more Mordis hidden or not allowed to go. The Mordis infantry was very happy to get any and all Mordis on the planet. A new public announcement carried an imperial decree. No further Tandra were to be altered to the Mordis form. The penalty for the people doing it, or condoning it, would be that they themselves would be converted. All the medical units on the planet were given the same orders, and their computer would follow the rules. A final insult came as I said that the other three planets of this empire were now independent, and all natural Tandra, were to vacate and leave for Defren or any place they chose. The planets would be the future homes of the Tandra now on the ships. Bassinda was very upset about losing most of her subjects and territories. I replied to her, "That is the minimum I will do. Slavery is not something I will tolerate. Your people over the years have altered the law to its present state. It is up to all of you, to now bring back the old laws, in their entirety." "The people will hate me; I will be thrown out of office." "If they do, you will find another place. You have too much talent for it to be wasted on this one planet." Our Bintuu ship, still without functional engines guided all the ships, other than a few left on Defren, to the other three planets to tell them of our plans. The local administrator of each was incredulous to say the least, but when they saw how many warships I had in orbit, they readily agreed to any and all terms. I left sufficient numbers of ships to take each of the population that wanted to come with us. Our Bintuu ship flew Ambassador Soundakre and the remainder of his crew home. His immediate queen was upset at our invasion and at my taking the authority away from their race to wage war, but was grateful for the invasion we had stopped. My demands on her race to better them, would take a long time to be thrashed out, and an agreement finalized. When I re-boarded the New Hope, it was like being home, because it was a lot like the Claw. Many of the faces showed relief that I was back, even though they had heard and seen my image previously. The AIs in our fleet gave me the general composition of our Mordis crews. Many were old and wanted nothing to do with fighting. Most were trained for menial tasks and thought that was all they were capable of doing. A few like the new infantry, took ship life as a challenge. With a long life span, there were few children. I gave orders that everybody be trained to fight and perform a few of the minor ship's functions. I hoped that with a little bit of good will, and a kind word here and there, the Mordis would respond. I did say as an inducement, that they could be changed back to their original bodies if they wanted, and time allowed. I was hoping that not all would jump on the offer at once. I took the information on the crystals held by Messy, and gave it to Jamal. I was able to gather quite a bit of data, but had not gone over it in detail yet. The xocoktyylz were very powerful, and finding a way into their group mind was not easy. Jamal told me even more disturbing news. "The xocoktyylz are what the Tandra once called the Thonas. The Tandra Empire collapsed when they fought the last series of wars. The Thonas were very powerful then, and seem to be expanding now, but using subterfuge to gain their ends. I believe them to be many times more dangerous to higher life, than even the Samutz are." "What do you know about them?" "They do not permit any life except their own. They waged many wars with the Tandra, and always were put back into their system after they were defeated. Every time they regained their power and even learned from their mistakes. They then had to be defeated again. They analysed all their mistakes, and tried to find ways to circumvent our weapons or tactics. When they came out again, they were always that much stronger. The last time my records show the Tandra had taken all the ships and methods of making ships from the Thonas Empire." "It didn't look like that method did us or them that much good. Even if they were brought back to barbarism, they would regain their knowledge and come out when they thought the time was right." "Isn't that what you want to do with the Samutz?" I did consider that statement, and saw the Samutz climbing the long road to civilization again, but there was no way I would kill them all just to feel safe. Perhaps the only thing to do would be to have a constant vigil placed on them. If they started to develop a science, then it would have to be taken from them somehow, or the entire race would have to go through the same mass killing as now. "You may be right about the Samutz but the Thonas were, and are now much stronger than our saurian enemies. They all have the ability to mindspeak, and the Samutz only have a few that can." We argued ethics for a while longer. Jamal pointing out that the Samutz would develop more of this trait in later years. When we came to where we could safely travel at a faster speed. I again retraced my old course and came to Saffra. After the original fright we were greeted by Sandy's hologram. She wanted to rejoin us. She had shaken off some of the feelings that Star and Susan cast over us. There were too many things to do to keep the Samutz from overrunning us. She had to stay. Some information from the Bintuu empress showed more of the vast Samutz area, and it was much larger than I had perceived earlier. Neither the Bintuu nor the captured ships, knew its full extent, and this would have to be plotted. Nova sorrowfully left the ship. The five large battleships went with her as well as a hundred of the partially crewed Mordis vessels. Everything I learned about how to get into the ship's computer, and all the various overrides, went with them. This would leave the system even better protected, and allow their ever increasing number of ships to take more ships from the Samutz. Fairchch was next on our itinerary, and the system was full of ships at our entrance. Ships of every conceivable kind came out to give battle, but stopped when given our codes. Roderick seemed to be on top of things here, as I expected. I did not have to stop, but we did exchange data packets. He had been attacked three times, and had absorbed almost all the ships each time. The last to come through had the newer type that refused to obey his commands, and a fight ensued. Three of the newer cruisers were destroyed and a damaged frigate was the only ship to escape. He got the new codes and info on the Thonas. The only thing I could suggest to him was to hit them hard and fast. Their mental weapon would be dangerous to any biological crew. The offer of 100 more ships was actually laughed at, till I told him he would be get one and a half million partially trained Tandra with them. It was up to him to get them trained, at least they were not basket cases to start with. I took a hundred of his smaller ships filled with Samutz, when I left to catch up with the rest of our flight. Crewed and un-crewed ships were dropped off at all of the important worlds we had left a garrison on. Each was happy to learn of the Bintuu and how they might join our cause. Some of the Mordis stayed too to beef up the garrisons. Guulas was next, and I was of mixed feelings about it. I loved Susan but she was the cause of all the present animosities. We immediately went to battle stations as serious fighting was detected. I dropped the connection on the fleet to let them come in under their own control, as I went to full speed and didn't let up till I was within a light minute of the battle. One of the Thonas and three of the newer craft were throwing everything they had at an equal number of defenders, including their psychic weapon. I fired volleys at the Samutz ships, and then dived into the Thonas. This ship was different, because the Thonas were different. There was no simple matter of taking over a computer and ordering it to clean itself of lice. The Thonas intelligence did not work that way. I had done a bit of reconsidering and found I didn't know enough about the Thonas or their ships. My presence was felt, and our minds were instantly attacked. There was no way even with my new abilities to take over the ship this way. Using an old friend, Newton, I flung the ship from one end of the system and back with more acceleration that their compensator could handle. At least I hoped, till they were shaken silly. Bringing the ship back, I found most were still putting up a fight, so I accelerated it even faster in hopes of incapacitating them. Eventually, one time I stopped, and all of the Thonas were dead or unconscious. Thonas never completely slept. They were beings of twelve parts and only a few parts ever slept at once. Any Thonas that were captured always self-destructed before it could be questioned or any intact ship captured and interrogated. I dove into one individual and found many ways for it to kill itself. Mom once used a special blend of sound waves and other means to render biological life unconscious. The stun effect was negated by even a simple environmental suit. But would the Thonas wear an active suit on ship? Would they be able to activate one while I was shaking it? A hundred Mordis donned combat suits, weapons and carried small stasis field projectors. I was still in the computer and dropped the shield and found the controls for the inertial compensator. It was stopped as well. With a few more much milder shakes the Mordis attacked the ship with specially designed boarding tools developed many millions of years ago. They were in the ship almost ten minutes before one then other oddly shaped bundles came flying back to our ship. Fifteen minutes later the rest of the boarding party were ordered back. As they got within the protection of our shield, Jamal used his tractors to rip out all the reactors, the dimensional tap, and all the larger accumulators. During this time, I called Susan and Amy to see what I could do. Amy was crying and not able to function. Susan had been hurt again, and was in a regeneration tank. Quizzing the local ships' AIs, I found that two ships had been destroyed already and the last four were the only ones here to protect the system. Susan had sent the rest out to hunt down Samutz and kill them. Star and Chris went down to get her and bring her back to us. The Thonas ship was now open to space and anyone not in a suit would die. Jamal and some of the other ships that had been called to assist used their finer tools to dissect the large ship into manageable sized pieces. The computer room was self sustained, and now small enough to be brought into a large bay, but I had a shield put around it and kept it a safe distance from the ship. Special tools made a hole in the hatch and a group of stun projectors flew in. There were thousands of bodies floating among the wreckage. I collected many, while smaller ships dispersed the ship parts further from the planet and far enough away from each other. An self-destruct mechanism damaging one would not affect the others. The bodies went into stasis, while I examined a few. There was no DNA, as we know it, but relied on other means for passing on data. Jamal and I worked on sequencing what we could, and then passed the job off to some of the other ships. Their AIs usually had little to do when not travelling. What I found as odd, was a crystal in each of the Thonas' brains. Checking others, I found that they were in slightly different places. One individual actually had two crystals and the reason for the configuration came to me. The Thonas had come on the idea of a crystalline assist the way our upper military administration had. But the placement of one mind over another would show a pattern to the crystals. They would approximate a similar but more primitive structure to what I now had in my mind. The psychic weapon I now understood, was not artificial, but made in the minds of some of the crew. If they got my PK ability and a conception of how I made a tube to control energy, then they would have the same powers as I did. Chris brought not only Amy back, but Susan in a tank. Amy was crying continually beside her leader. Things had not changed in the young girl's mind especially since she was left alone with Susan. I could see no way of gently bringing Amy back to us without Jamal altering her mind. This I did not want. Calling Chris and Star, I asked them to bring Amy to our quarters. I was prepared to treat her the same way I did Star, and hopefully with the same results. Susan had a crushed chest, back and skull. It was a miracle that she was even alive. She had gone out on one of the warships to fight, and its shields had been overcome, and luckily the ship was not completely destroyed. It would be close to two weeks before she would be back with us. The three came in with Amy crying on Chris. I said to Amy, "Hello sweetheart." She just held Chris tighter, and I could hear a faint recognition of my presence. Since she wanted to take that tact, I asked in a quiet voice, "What happened to all the ships that were guarding this system?" She heard, but did not choose to answer. Part of the reason could be Susan's injuries, but the rest was her newfound belief that a male was of no real purpose, except to provide children. This was the Tandra way, and I was sorry for her and especially Susan to become wrapped up in this view even if it were cultural. "Soldier, report, or I will have to resort to disciplinary charges." She looked at me as did Chris and Star. They had not heard me this way before, and I hoped to never have to do this. "My metsu sent them out to the nearby systems when we found out that many Samutz were setting up a base. Why did you leave us with so few ships?" This did not sound rational, and I could see that one or the other must have had a traumatic experience or had not gotten over the last one when their sister/wife had been killed. "How many major ships did I leave you when I left this system, and how many did you capture since?" "Forty three all together I think." "It was fifty one, and they would have been more than a match for the four ships that I took out today. I think that I should have you and Susan brought up on charges of dereliction of duty, and send you into stasis till we can hear your case." "B... but we are your wives." "Wives or no, you and Susan are not fit for duty in any capacity. You do not leave a system open to attack on the off chance that you can kill a few Samutz that at the moment are not fighting us. Sit now and I will see how much you had to do with this fiasco." Amy was worried now and nervously sat on the floor. I looked in her mind, and saw that she was just a follower, as I already knew she was. "You allowed your metsu to lead you into a situation where you endangered all the Tandra and Humans in this system, so you could follow your irrational urge to kill Samutz." "But you kill them too." "Yes I do, but I don't act insane when I do it. You and Susan do." "I am not insane," she cried, as she put her face in her hands. "Jamal find all the information you can on Susan and Amy's actions, when they were in charge of this system. Assess their mental competence, based on all the information and their subsequent actions." Jamal worked for less than a second and said, "Your wives in question were indeed acting irrationally. The Tandra and Human contingent were ordered to hunt down Samutz, instead of solidifying your hold on this system as you ordered. I would also like to point out that they were unstable when given the orders to hold this system, and you must take some of that blame." He was right, but I hoped that a system to bring around would help her thinking to clear, especially if Star and I were not around. "I don't see malice on your part, just an inability to fight for what you knew was wrong. You are dismissed. Jamal will show you to the crew's quarters." "But I live here, with the other sunas." "When you came in here, you not only ignored me, but considered me a tool that is no longer needed. But this is my home and the home of my wives. If you don't want or need me, then you had better take different quarters." Then to Jamal I said, "It appears like Susan and Amy no longer require my presence. Do not consider them my wives." "Yes, Admiral." Amy now cried even stronger and both girls tried to comfort her. "Chris, Star, will you come into the bedroom now please?" They were torn now. They wanted to help their sister/wife even if I disowned her. But they also heard the command in my voice, and reluctantly got up and followed me. "Husband..." I cut Chris off and said, "I am fighting more than one battle at a time now. Not too long ago each of you were like Amy. Part of the reason is your culture, if not instinct, and another part is the traumatic experience we all went through being captured." Then in a quieter voice I said, "Am I to take someone in that will destroy our family? Amy will try to get you to help her form a female only family. That leaves me an outsider when I need all the help I can get to protect the people I love." I hung my head and continued, "Even Susan is a threat to our family. She is Human, and her domineering personality has you following her, even when she is wrong. I am now like a parent that can only save some of their children and must quickly choose or all will be lost." Chris especially, and even Star could see what I meant, and considering what they recently went through, agreed. They held me tight and I did the same to them. "I love you all, even Amy and Susan, this is the way it has to be." Before long I had all our clothes off and I made gentle love to each of my wives. The Tandra method of giving love, to heal, seemed to work and the girls slowly gave up their tears to many small orgasms. I continued to give the girls pleasure and myself too, but knew that Amy had not left yet. She heard with her ears and mind everything that went on. The smell and groans of pleasure seemed to stab into her and twist painfully. She remembered some of the good times we had, and even the life within her womb. She now cried in self-pity, for what she had forsaken and now lost. Her metsu had been wrong, she knew it now, and in a way knew it even before it got out of hand. She knew that a family had to be strong. It came to her, that it really didn't matter who led as long as the family functioned smoothly. It did before. Her own shortcomings came to mind, and how she had starting rejecting her husband in small ways, then bigger ones, till she emulated her metsu and entirely ignored him. Susan was strong, and when she recovered they would go back to the old way, but the old way with just the two of them. It would not be the same though, and she cried even harder, for she wanted the family more than she wanted her metsu. "Oh, I am so sorry... sorry... ," she said in a small voice in her head. I knew now that she was ready for another chance. Even though she was carrying my child, she remained a young girl. She was still in the same place I left her, but now she was bent over, prostrate on the floor. Getting close, I sat on my heals in front of her, and gently grasped her shoulders. With a start she arched her back and looked up into my eyes. Now cradling her face in my hands, I asked, "Do you want to follow your metsu or your husband, Amy? I cannot afford to divided loyalties if we are to defeat what the galaxy has to throw at us." "Oh, you, my husband, you." "Then get up, your sisters and I want to welcome you back right." Amy got up, hardly understanding her luck. "Oh, yes I want that very much." We walked back into the bedroom and found Chris and Star on their backs still not recovered from the intensity of our love making. "Show me how much you want me Amy." She smiled through her tear streaked face and got me to lie on my back. She kissed my lips fervently before covering the rest of my face and neck. Kissing down my chest she came to my cock that was standing proud with the dried leavings of my previous love making. Amy was small and could only get the head into her mouth, but this time pushed hard and forced it down her throat. "Don't Amy. I never want to see you hurt." She continued anyway and managed to get a good portion inside her. She relished the pain and discomfort as a type of catharsis for her previous actions. After a minute I picked the girl up and kissed her even though she was crying, both of release for her emotions and some from the pain. "I can think of a better place to put that, can't you?" She smiled this time and moved her narrow hips to straddle me. She moved her legs and body till I was at her opening and she slid slowly back. Jamal provided a little lubrication and she slipped in easily. "Now do you feel where you belong?" "Yes, husband. I never want to leave." "See that you don't. Telling you to go ripped my heart out, and I never want to do that again." Amy looked into my mind, and saw that this was true, and also true was my desire to save my family at all costs even if it meant to loose one member. She slid her body back and forth feeling the exquisite sensations as she thought on what she had almost lost. After her fourth orgasm she felt hands on her back and knew her sisters had come back in mind to join us. With Amy sleeping the best she had in days, I went back to the Thonas computer system. I could see within the vault and move things with my PK when the need arose. Eventually what I came to find, was that the Thonas had bred some of their own number to live within the computer vault, all the time. They had no arms or legs or any of the five basic senses we knew. Instead they relied completely on their sensors, and whatever they could glean from their other senses. What their other means were was my present quest. Their computer was composed of many individuals, and each had a specific job just as the AI crystals in our ships did. One individual had the job of overseeing the rest. I found this brain spread out and a peculiar pattern of crystals caught my eye. It would enhance cognitive ability, telepathy, and most distressing, a rudimentary use of PK. With a few modifications it was possible for the Thonas to have the same abilities as I now had. Thinking of the weapon they used on me, I used a variety of devices, till I could get the crystal lattice to vibrate much more. I pulled back before going further for fear of damaging the structure. I farmed out possible ways to attack this structure to some of the ship's AIs, and then tried to find more information. In the section for weapons control, I found the unit with an odd configuration from the usual lattice. I spent two hours trying to find out what it was before taking the drastic step of altering my own mind to have this structure. Once done I felt as if I were dreaming. People were here and then they weren't. It was like watching television with old rabbit ears, and seeing a ghost of everything that was on the screen. It took a moment, but I froze at the thought. This Thonas could see into the future a fraction of a second and that was enough to assure that all targets could be successfully hit. I checked all the others and found no similar structure. Going through all the bodies, then those in stasis, I still did not find a recurrence. This individual was not a sport or just a Thonas that did well in tests. This was a design feature, and others must been made the same way. My own memory of the other ships did not show any special shooting ability, but then again with the shield I constructed, there was no need to monitor any of that. The Thonas knew of this phenomenon and there was no reason to think they didn't use it on many other ships. They would be doing research and experiment with more computers. This meant that no modern weapon could hit them if they chose not to be hit, unless the barrage was sufficiently strong to preclude moving aside. The only other thing I found out was that the Thonas, if given a chance would destroy the crystalline structure in their minds, as they committed suicide, or if they knew they were going to die. I wanted to do some experimenting on the Thonas computers, simulating Thonas attributes, but the time taken would not work, and it was something that I would have to oversee on a constant basis. Changing Jamal was not what I wanted to do, and carrying a large computer from a battleship or larger ship was not really feasible unless I took a lot of time to make it fit within our hull. The sleepers were long since out of their tanks. I had all of them come over to the New Hope to get an orientation by their own people. It was heart warming for many met family members and friends they thought long gone. The group was now near 2000 and I insured that each sleeper had three friends to assist them as they recovered their old abilities. Later I would have to break them up into smaller units, for I found that when any of the 8000 people got carried away with sex the rest followed. Nothing was getting done, but it was about time all of them had some fun. I had to erect a special shield to keep the entire ship from joining an orgy that would make even old Rome blush. It was time to leave and see what the Samutz were doing when I was waiting here. Chris this time was given command of this system, with Star and Amy as her subordinates. A more detailed set of orders were given, along with some extra ships and crews. If the Thonas and Samutz were interested in this system enough to attack, they might be inclined to make a return visit. Amy almost thought I was abandoning them again, and she took quite a bit of reassurance till she could accept the fact. I did not know how long I would be gone, so I kept Susan and her tank with me. She alone I could handle, but her with the other three, would cause undue hardship on them. We left the system with the disassembled Thonas cruiser in our hold. On the way to all the small outposts I dropped off ships, crew, information and orders. Each had gotten more ships, but were still pitifully low on trained crews. The techs that had been thrust into this position were doing well, but were still very few in number. Here the Mordis provided willing hands and each of them was working hard to gain proficiency in ship handling. This time coming into Falm there was no battle taking place, and I hailed Blue, Secric and Mom. The long range scanners showed the system to be very busy. Mom noticed some of the differences between now and when I last left, even when I tried to hide the effects. Soon their holograms were on the ship with me, and it felt good to be with them. "Where did you get all the ships, husband?" Blue asked. "All of us know about Mom's prediction that things would start to crop up, well they did. I asked Jamal to put some crystals into my head like the Empresses of old had done. They worked, and after an accident, they made a lucky connection, and I was able to see things differently. My PK is much stronger, I can think better, and I have been able to tap the high order universe directly. I can tap all the energy I need to fly this ship even if it had no power. I found a better shield that we can all use, and the best shield that only I can presently form. Nothing gets through it, except thought." "There is a nearby empire of Bintuu. They have a hive structure but enough leeway to make independent decisions. I stopped a three prong invasion of their empire, and invited the Bintuu to join our cause. They are telepathic, but need the Tandra and others to keep their empire running. I need to take Tandra there to train the Bintuu to take care of their own ships and machinery." "Finally, I stopped a small Samutz invasion of Defren or with the old name of Krafa. A local empress needed some help and I gave it. Her people had let Tandra law slide, and practised slavery with the Mordis. I broke up the four system empire. I took most of the Mordis as crew for the ships, and impregnated the empress, so there is just a little less to share if and when we meet." They all stopped to assess the data I gave them even Mom. She said, "What else is there?" "Only that I found that the Thonas are back and trying to take over this area. I destroyed some of their ships and captured one. There are a lot of Thonas in stasis and a lot of bodies too. Their computer is still functional, but it gives me the hebi-gybes to work in it." "Henry, the Tandra have never been able to capture a functional Thonas computer. How did you do it?" Instead of talking I showed them how I shook the ship, then went in and shut off the shield and inertial compensator, then finally ripped the ship apart with tractors and cutting tools. Before they went into the discussion about the Thonas, I said, "I left Susan and Amy to guard an important system. Susan was not over being captured by the Samutz, and decided to send most of her ships out and even the ones she captured too. She gave them orders to kill all the Samutz they could find. When I got to their system, they were about to be taken by three Samutz ships and one Thonas. Susan was injured in the defence, and is in a tank being fixed now. Amy, Star and Chris are all back to normal, without Susan being awake to egg them onto hunting for more Samutz." All of the girls including Mom checked with Jamal about Susan's condition and prognosis. I had tried to show the damage she had done to our family. This seemed to keep the Tandra from jumping up immediately, and seeing their metsu. I showed them what happened to Star and Amy, and the difficulty I had in trying to bring Amy around. ------- Masis ------- Chapter 55 Carl's problems had not lessened with Henry's leaving. About the time Henry and his new ship had passed the Mardaf Limit of this system, the Samutz, hiding in the Umal Mountains, to the south, decided to test his defences. The Cap had taken almost all of the able bodied soldiers with him, and left him with only 20 men and 5 Tandra, 2 of which were female. Small combat drones had flown from one of the many hidden Samutz bases. Five headed to a small camp just south of Souts. Sgt. Williams had just come in from a flight, in one of the nimble two place fighters taken from the carrier. Today's mission was one of the worse, so far. Usually he and his partner were able to spot and kill a few Samutz, or destroy some of their equipment. Sometimes they had to rely on satellite or drone intel, but today the enemy were unusually quiet and elusive. When they checked with command, they found that the other groups had similar luck. They had flown high to pick up supplies from the ships in orbit, then to within a metre or less off the ground as they flew almost three thousand klicks an hour. At this speed both the pilot, navigator/gunner and the ship AI had to be on their toes. Originally the Tandra had put failsafe mechanisms in, to keep the minimum height to be roughly three metres but this was usually too high for Human tastes, or perhaps good sense. The craft was confining to the pilot, and made sleeping with his large body difficult. It was designed for the smaller Tandra frame, and had been altered to accommodate the much larger Samutz, and now a Human with a Tandra gunner, but the craft was still too small. Jim Williams just hoped that the 'Cap' would eventually get the manufacturing machines to make a craft from the ground up, for men of his size. When the Cap left, he had put the General in charge of the entire planet. He had done his best to follow the Cap's orders, but everybody knew it was almost impossible to remove the rest of the Samutz without lots of help. The main camp was too noisy, and both Jim and Tom agreed to set up their own. With the new equipment, and the Tandra regs, being followed scrupulously, it was not hard to be detached this way. This camp was in a cluster of rocks, and had a large piece of light weight ceramic material, bonded to the rocks, to keep it from flying away in the unpredictable winds. It kept off the scorching sun, and the occasional torrential rainfalls. Two combat suits were placed along the inner wall to fight if needed. Small items scattered under the large covering, made the camp a comfortable home. A lightweight air bed, a small refrigerator/stove combination, along with their detection apparatus, made the camp complete. "Hey, Tom, you gettin' the food ready? It's still your turn." Tom, a slim Tandra male that looked about 17 Earth years threw his sooda, Jim, a packet of food. After sitting down on a camp chair, he looked at the man he adored. In a way, it was difficult seeing Jim as his mate, for he did not really look like a Tandra. His eyes were too small, and his body now was too big. All the small things that told him what a Tandra bondue should be like, had come apart after meeting the charismatic human. Jim being Human, looked only a little older than himself, but Human age was still difficult to judge. Jim had quite a few problems with his old body, and had spent many times in the tanks. Some from wounds suffered in training on Earth, and the moon. More extensive wounds came in the taking of the ships that had just recently gone home, to protect Earth. The first time was to correct some unusual growths. Images were still in his mind of what Jim used to look like. A slow methodical man, about 51 years old, with a bald head, a large waist and plagued with rheumatoid arthritis. Hair actually grew on his face, hands, chest, back, and around his non-retractable cock. His mind was muddled then, and he had found a lot of difficulty talking and visualizing, what he wanted to do. A vile smell came from the man that was partially to do with his diet, and his former love of sucking in smoke from a sort of burning vegetation. Somewhere, along with the many repairs made to his body, his apparent age had changed. The hair remained, but the chest and appendages had increased in size. This all came with much greater strength, till he weighted more than twice the average Tandra. His head sprouted long light coloured hair, and his plastic teeth were now real. The small scars, and imperfections, were long gone, and a very youthful face looked back at him. It was very beautiful, but not really Tandra. Perhaps one day that too could be taken care of. "What is this shit, Powchoy again? When are you going to get smart and vary your diet? You guys can eat this stuff day in and day out, but I get tired of the same old crap. When we go for supplies, I am going to introduce you to a lot of new things." "Don't do that. Last time I had the shits. That has never happened to me before, and I thought I was going to die." Tom said this, and let a lot of his feelings come out. Jim knew this, and was mostly ribbing his smaller friend. To be honest he was much more than just his best friend. When Jim took his training on the moon, he had been in charge of three Tandra boys. Back then he thought they were only teenagers, but quickly found out, that two were older than he was, and the other, almost as old. Other groups had Tandra leading, but he considered himself lucky to be doing this job. At first sight, he thought he had a group of girls, and even after, would unconsciously become physically aroused. Other Humans did too, and found numerous reasons to take their new mates to bed with them. After a while, it was the Human that was dragged to bed. Their orientation course had taken a short time, but because it was directly placed in his brain, it covered a wide range of subjects. Tandra males on the moon, only knew love and affection from their own gender, for the vats supplied all the new members the society needed. A male family or bondue had a leader or sooda. This sooda could have many male wives. They did the same thing as a female family would do. The individual funt would care for any child to come from the vats, and serve all the needs of his husband. The only thing Jim found particularly bad, was the custom of breaking off the cartilage that formed the phallus of each of the wives. It was a sort of wedding ring, given to the head of the family, from the funt to show his subservient position. When the organ was removed, the ligaments destroyed all the testicles. Only the head male had the full use of his appendage. It served no real purpose on the moon, because even if it was used, there was no nerves associated with it, and all of the feelings came from the small nerve centres at its base, and the large urethra. Before, when the genders were mixed, it did serve to transfer sperm to the female, but on the moon, it had not been used for this purpose in a million years. Tom was originally Tomanda, and readily accepted the shorter moniker from his partner. From the very start, they worked well together. Tom's female looks and attributes overcame Jim's hesitation to a male/male relationship. This sort of liaison was not only condoned, it was encouraged. There were very few females in any case, and many were either wives of the Cap, or married women of some of the men present. Some men were able to find one of the Tandra females, and dropped the male if they had one. In a few of these instances, the rejected male would have to be treated for a deep depression. Some lucky Human individuals, actually had a romance, with a Tandra male and a Tandra female, and refused to leave either of them. This sort of thing did happen occasionally to Tandra males before, when the empire was still flourishing, but not in a very long time. In all the present cases, the Human male was the head of the family. When the alarms were set around the fighter, and the camp proper, both settled down to a quiet night. Tom donned a head piece that connected him to the main computer, and tried to get a better education in multi dimensional mathematics. Jim wrapped a thin heat reflecting blanket around his shoulders, and covered Tom, that sat close and between his legs. With his arms around his lover, he just stayed awake and luxuriated in the feel of the warm body so close to him. Twenty minutes later the course was done, and Tom passed the head gear back. "I am done. I can't seem to take all the data in, that you can. But if I live long enough, I will understand all I need to." Jim pulled Tom even closer and kissed his pouty lips. "We will both live long enough. I have enough drive to finish these courses for both of us. General Shingle needs good people to fill the higher positions in the military. If we get enough training, and know how to use it, we are a shoe-in for officer training." Looking at his smaller lover, he asked, "Wouldn't you want to fly one of those big ships overhead with me? At the moment there are more small and large ships here than there are people. I mean our people." Tom reached back, and fondled the big erection in his lover's suit. It was a wonder; he was able to get it all in. The last 40 days were the happiest in his entire life, and let the information flow out of him. Ever since the man behind him came into his group, things had changed. He was quite happy at one time to engage in casual sex, and did so many times a day. Sex was in no way looked on as love. At one time, he had allowed his phallus to be ripped out and kept by his lover. This destroyed his testicles, hidden deep in his body, and any chance of being a sooda himself. After a few years they found they were no longer in love. This did not happen very often, but when it did, it devastated the funt, and in this case Tomanda, contemplated suicide. It took years to get over the heart break, and actually did not end, till the arrival of the Humans from the planet below. Jim had let his feelings flow out at the first meeting, and it was like the light from the sun, seen through the viewer. Tom would do anything for the man he loved. Tom could feel the closeness both enjoyed, and each knew they had found their life mate. Tom knew that Jim wanted children, and was looking for a female wife to complete the family. Tom figured he had enough love to share. The woman, and the babies would be part his, anyway. "Leave that alone," Jim said as he pushed Tom's hand away from his crotch. "I have to have my turn on the tutors, and I will not do well with you playing with your toy." "Ok, just hurry. You Humans do not make love enough times, to satisfy a Tandra boy." "You are so full of shit. When we make love, you start twitching and have so many orgasms, that you are out of it for an hour." "Well you may be right about that, but I still don't get enough." "Tonight you will darling, just give me time to study, and you better keep watch on the detectors, and not on my cock." Tom started where he left off the night before, in small craft repair. The amount of data he already had would fill many books. The retention was amazing, once the mind was organized better, and separated into manageable compartments. The captain had said that if they stayed in the military till retirement, then he could keep all of the knowledge he had acquired in his lifetime, and have a farm on one of the many worlds that needed a military presence. He explained how the Romans did the same thing, and their legacy led down through many countries and centuries till the present time. The time issue did not really matter, because it was revealed that the Tandra were able to keep him and his lover alive for at least five centuries of productive life in the military and three or more hundred years after. A hitch of five hundred years sounded like a long time, but having an exciting military life now, and after retirement, living in luxury for the last two or even three hundred with a large family made it all worthwhile. The chance to see the stars close up, only added spice to a very rich life. A quadriphase heterodyning unit could... The noise was deafening, and Jim's muscles reacted before his brain did. He picked up Tom, and threw him under the ceramic overhang, and rolled to his combat suit on the far side. Perhaps he would have enough time to put it on. A portion of soil erupted at his feet, and he felt excruciating pain in his leg. He knew his foot was severely damaged. The combat suit had come alive at the warning, and gaped open to accept him. The pain was horrendous, but he managed to get in and turn over, before another surge of energy struck the back of his suit, driving him into the rocky soil. The feed from the suit brought all his senses alive, as he quested for the enemy. Four combat probes were just now joining the one already here. The weapons in the suit spit out energy of their own, and took out the first drone and laid a withering fire on the rest. Beside him, Tom's suit did the same thing, and more drones fell. The suit made the final closures and Jim stood to repel more attackers. Tom at his back did the same thing. The telltales gave him the damage report about his foot, and he used the override, to see about Tom. Shit, Tom was scorched over much of his body. Jim commanded Tom's suit to follow, as he lowered the shield around the fighter and started making a report. The information was already sent by the ship AI, but verbal confirmation was necessary. He flew as fast as he could, and since Souts, was only a hundred klicks away, made it to the medical section in a little less than seventeen seconds. He followed Tom's suit, and tried to decipher the graphs better than what he was taught in basic training. He resolved to not let himself be open to attack again, or not know enough about Tom's care. Tom groaned even though he was medicated. The suit parted, and tractors picked him up, after affixing a few transmitters, he was placed in the tank. More transmitters flew into the bath, and descended, to attach themselves to his body. Jim's suit was not following orders, and started to come apart. He ordered it to close. It did no good, and he was hoisted out and with a stinging sensation, transmitters attached themselves to his body too. Carl Shingle was worrying even more these days. The Samutz were the type of fighter that just rushed in, with their characteristic fury, and destroyed their enemy with their bare hands if necessary. If they had not been so quick to manually fire from the drones, they would have two confirmed kills, and he would have lost two good soldiers. This would also represent a significant proportion of his troops. The Samutz had been denied their major weapons, and now must use alternate means to fight. The possibility existed, that the remaining few thousand Samutz might take it in their minds to manufacture the potent nerve gas, that they used on intractable enemies before. What was possibly holding them back was that the planet would die completely, and their brethren would never come to even take them away. The opposite stance also held some truth; they would kill the enemy even if they died in the process. The Samutz psyche was not well understood enough, even by the computers. "Huang Yi, have you found any enemy concentrations yet?" A short man that originally looked like one of the officers he had fought in Nam turned, and said, "The numbers change but little. It is as if they are meeting only a few at a time, and dispersing, to keep from becoming a priority target." "I think we should gas them, or stun them, but that means, sending troops in to take them out, after." The now young looking Chinese Captain said, "There have been a lot of heavy weapons used. I believe they have learned their lesson, and will try to choose ground that will not allow us to use this advantage." "I think we will take a page from the Samutz book instead. The small combat drones must be controlled from somewhere. Let's trace the controls back, and drop a present from orbit. Even a kinetic strike should get the drones to stop. We already have five wounded, and two seriously. When the dust settles, send in our own drones." Huang Yi closed his eyes, and thought of the computer intelligence known as Frieda, and said, "Frieda will you scan the Umal Mountains especially, then the rest of the planet, for control sequences for the combat drones that were involved with the current attacks on our positions?" His voice was in Cantonese, but the thoughts were picked up regardless, and directions given to the ships and satellites in orbit. Odd shaped antennas quested around, like bloodhounds, and zeroed in on eight distinct points. "Sir, we have detected some emissions four are in the Umals, three are close to the base we destroyed last week, and one is north of the city, in a rough area of land." Huang Yi brought up a map on the display, and placed all of the points, then stripped the vegetation off the area, to show its true contours. Carl looked at the visual representation, and got Frieda to enlarge each section. The action last week had knocked out a major base probably killed most, if not all, of the local Samutz and could be safely attacked now. The Umal Mountains had many sources of life, in and around them. Some were animal, some were barbaric Tandra, and the rest, probably Samutz, hiding the best they could, and living off what they could kill. The high technology the Samutz employed could still be accessed in small units, in hunting cabins, and way stations. The site north of the city, was the same in ruggedness, Samutz supplies, and the local Tandra. The map altered, to now show all friendly locations, and each man saw that some enemy positions could be safely hit. Carl interfaced with the AI and said, "Frieda drop a two kiloton explosive on each of the three sites on the Gordon Plateau." Carl chuckled at the name still. Raf Gordon had been shot down, and gave his location as the 'Gordon Plateau' and asked for pick up. The area was almost the size of Ontario, and Gordon did his best to make the name stick. A visual depiction appeared of the flight of three very small drones, as they plunged to the plant's surface. Three small fireballs appeared in the bright daylight, and quickly faded from sight. Heat images showed molten rock and a large crater in each location. Extra fighters with only AIs aboard flew over the Umals dropping more of the virus that had killed the rest of the Samutz. It was hoped that since the virus had only 14 hours of life outside a living body, that the Samutz would get careless, drop their inefficient shields occasionally, and breathe the fresh air. It was happily found, that the Tandra could harbour the virus in their own bodies, but have none of the symptoms. A Samutz eating a Tandra would die after doings so, and hopefully the Samutz race would learn this, and act accordingly. When the dusting was finished, the fighters did the same thing again in the broken area north of town. The satellites, and ships in orbit, were carefully following the fighters, waiting to return any fire, or trace any power used to track the nimble ships. Sgt. Jim Williams, came out of the tank, and was laid on the table. Transmitters were removed from his body, and med units used to encourage the skin to grow and cover the small wounds. As the last one was removed, Tom ran forward, and hugged his mate. Tears, an unaccustomed event, filled his eyes, as he thought of life, without the large man lying on the table. Jim slowly drifted from that soft place his dreams were in, to this hard uncomfortable place he was in now. He could feel hands holding him, and someone's glaring thoughts, as they forced their way into his consciousness. As he recognized the thoughts, a soft feeling of love enveloped him, and he knew he was in the best of hands. The thoughts of Tom recovered from his wounds, made everything great, now. Tom's sobs of relief faded, as strong arms wrapped themselves around him. The strong scent of the tanks, and his lover's body came to his nostrils. Though half the size of Jim, he picked up the heavy man in the light gravity, and walked him to a cleansing station. "Put me down you big bully. I can walk myself." The feelings from the mind were different from the words, and he enjoyed the ride in his small lover's arms. Tom placed Jim's feet on the floor and stepped in himself, to have a quick shower. He used his hands to rub the larger man's body from head to foot and payed particular attention to parts in the middle. Tom got to his feet and held the large member in his hand, and knew what Jim liked. With a few strokes, he bent over, and put it was deep in his mouth, as it would go. His hands caressed the orbs that would one day make children, for them both. His hands then wandered to the cheeks behind, and a finger worried its way in to find that magic spot. In a way, he was sorry for Jim, for he had only one spot while he had so many. Strong hands came down, and held his head firm as the man's cock went back and forth, and eventually spewed down his lover's throat. Tom helped Jim get dressed, even though the man was fully recovered. They walked out into the late afternoon light, and headed for the food synthesisers in the cafeteria. They made their order while walking, and by the time they got there, the meal was hot and ready, or at least Jim's was. Tom had ordered some small soft biscuits and contentedly munched on them. Across from him, Jim picked up a large pizza, with hot peppers, bacon, sausage, green olives and even pineapple. Moments later Jim put his hands on a large stein of beer, and washed the crumbs from his throat. "MMM, that was good." Tom just smiled, and continued eating his biscuits. It wasn't that Earth food was bad, he looked at his sugared tea, and found the taste much to his liking. Around the room, only a small portion of the hundred seats, were filled. Jim and one other were the only Humans present. That man too, had a Tandra mate with him. Most of the people in the room were techs, that had finished their shifts, and stopped by for some tea, and some of the Earth type fruit put into the food synthesizer's memory. When some newcomers came in, one of the doors, Tom's quick fingers plucked one of the pieces of pineapple off a slice of pizza, when Jim's attention was elsewhere. Jim turned to see a smiling Tom, and tried to see what the reason was, but came against his block. He was probably up to one of his tricks again. After the meal, Jim pulled Tom to one of the storage areas, and went looking for a particular ship. "Here is ours," said Tom, as he pointed to the obvious machine that lay low, and sleek against the ceramic pad. "Yes, I know. I am looking to find a better model. Ours was too cramped, and if the AI was brighter, then we wouldn't have been hit the way we were." Their steps brought them down the line of deadly machines. The one sixth from the end caught his eye. Jim's steps brought him to the large oblate ellipsoid. It was much the same as the fighter, but had at least twelve times the volume. "You aren't serious, are you? That machine is slower, and a much bigger target for the Samutz to shoot at. This is made to deliver heavy ordinance, or troops." "Yes, it is sweety, but when it is empty, it is just as fast. If I move the chair back, I can still reach the emergency controls, and have lots of room for my feet. There is enough room back there to set up housekeeping. Wouldn't you like this, as our next home?" Tom gazed in wonder at the images in his lover's mind. There certainly was enough room, and they would not have to stay in the noisy base, or an exposed camp. There was even enough room for Jim to stand upright and walk around. The AI was supposed to be the largest of any of the craft on this line. "The pictures in your mind make this machine very beautiful. Do you think we can have it? There are only two of them." "Tom, if I could get both, and fix them up the way I wanted," he paused to smile more, "and then, if the other guys had any money, they would give it all to me, for one of these." He looked at his lover with kindly eyes, "These have so many possibilities, and we could make a bundle. He paused again and the smile dropped. "That is if the guys had a bundle." Tom was at a loss to understand all the Earth reasoning that went into those thoughts. Jim quizzed the computer, and found that Carl was only partially swamped with work. "General Shingle, could I have a word with you?" "Sure Jim. What is on your mind?" "The fighter, Tom and I were flying, is a little too cramped, for us. I would like to have one of the bombers, and convert it in our spare time, to be our assault craft. Till it is done, we will still use the old fighter." It was not a bomber, but that was the closest word they knew to describe the craft, for the Tandra had not relied on simple gravity, since they became a real civilization. "Fine by me, but it may have to serve its original purpose, and you will be the pilot then." "That is great. I will log it in, and get to work now. Our next mission is not for another twelve hours." Carl went back to his study of the aerial maps, and chuckled to himself about Jim and Tom's new love boat. The gift was easy to give, but both of those boys would work more, to keep it. In the next hour, the AI in the craft, was awoken, and given the name Jonesey, after Jim's brother. A complete system check found some small inconsistencies, and Tom got maintenance to send over a few of the techs, to tweak the system, and change a thermal coupler. In the mean time, both donned helmets, and learned as much as they could about their new ship, or perhaps even partner, if the AI was smart enough. Three techs came with better equipment, and did their own checks. They wanted to change everything that could possibly be faulty. In the bad old days, this would not be done, and even the coupler, would not be changed, so that the craft might crash, and kill the crew. Here, even one of their own kind, would be fighting for them, and it was obvious that both, were in love. The chair was moved back, and anchored down. A newer type of threat detection gear was added in place of the old one, and the accumulators minutely inspected. Jim saw, and read the real feelings of the maintenance crew, and knew that they would do their best for them, as they would, all the other crews. Tom left quickly, and within moments was back, with a large container of hot chocolate. The crew had a break. They cautiously tasted the brew and smiles came to their faces. "What is this called? It is good." "It is called hot chocolate, but it is not very hot, like Jim likes it." Tom was happy with his decision, and knew that tomorrow hot chocolate would be drunk more than tea. It was difficult to get the Tandra to accept different foods. "I wanted to talk to you about getting this lumbering beast, better able to defend itself, and still be fast enough, to do all the things a fighter has to do. This foolish Human, wants to make it a home, and I want us to be alive, to enjoy it." The leader of the crew, Jul said, "Open your mind to what you want done, and we will see what we can do." Both Jim and Tom trustingly opened their minds wide. Jul found that the pair loved one another very much, and if necessary, would die for their mate. Then looking at the area she was supposed to, the design looked odd, and the name that came forward was 'motor home', whatever that was. Water showers, cooking, cleaning, everything a large ship would have, but much smaller. Turning to Tom, she found he wanted heavy armour, and fearsome offensive and defensive weapons, but able to fly very fast. Jul went into a huddle with her partners, and questioned the main computer for parts. Designs were made, altered, destroyed, and started again. Jim and Tom remained quiet for over a half hour, as Jul and her crew continued with their thinking. The thoughts were coming fast, then very heated, then fast again. It was difficult to understand, even a little, about what was going on, because of the technical attributes of the various parts. The ship's display came on, and the pictures and schematics flashed very quickly, and portions were moved and then reorganized again and again. Complicated hand gestures were made by the crew of techs. Jim could see some similarity with hand singles used when close to enemy positions, but this was much more complicated. After close to an hour, the group broke up, and Jul said, "We think we have found a way, to do much of what you have envisioned. The ship will have to go into the base to be worked on. It is much easier that way. There is also an important decision for both of you to make." Jim and Tom futilely looked to see what had been decided, and Tom had to ask, "What are you going to do?" "To get the necessary power we need an auxiliary supply. The only one we can think of, is one of the missiles that this machine is designed to launch. There have been so many safety protocols altered, that we thought that one more will not hurt, even if it fails." "What do you want to alter?" "Your new missiles, with the iron/zinc coating, also have an improved lithium reactor. The reactor is always in standby mode, but not fully engaged, till it is many kilometres from the ship. We propose to allow it to go to full power, while still in its cradle, to supply power, and to supplement the ship's shield with its own." Jim asked this time, "What are the chances of the reactor leaking or exploding?" "Very slim, but the chance is there. We Tandra would not take the chance, but you Humans think you will live forever." Jim replied, "I plan to retire here, when my hitch is over. Then I will see how long I can make Tom twitch. Already he is up to 43 minutes." Tandra do not blush, but if anyone could, Tom would this time. The techs held hands, and felt good about the love before them. Schedules were set. Jim and Tom went to their room, on the base, while their new ship was brought into the service centre, for all of the modifications. Once in their room, Jim picked Tom up, and kissed him resoundingly. His tongue forcing its way into the smaller Tandra mouth. Tom's feverish hands, tried to remove his lovers clothing, and soon both were working on the same job. Tom reached onto the small table, and handed his lover the small container of oil, and got onto the edge of the grav bed, with his ass as high as he could get it. Jim took the oil, and poured a little on his right hand, and slowly worked his way into the only hole available to him. It opened quickly, and really did not need to be done this way, but both enjoyed the foreplay. The six little bumps, were red with blood, and Jim could almost see them twitch, waiting to be stroked. His fingers came out, and traced each in turn, but stayed away from too much stimulation. Tom was already lost, and Jim could only feel the euphoria that his Tandra lover felt. Tom screamed his pleasure and fell forward in his orgasm when the fingers allowed him release. Never had he felt as good with another, even one of his own species. Jim sat beside his mate and with a hand under his waist picked his ass up again, and went back to stroking his lover. Scream after scream followed till Tom was too weak to continue. Jim was very hard and just waited a little for Tom to cool. Sometimes this could be a long time. Eventually Jim picked Tom up, and had him straddle his legs while looking into his eyes. Picking the young looking Tandra up was no problem in the light gravity and especially with the use of the artificially enhanced muscles. Jim placed his cock beneath Tom's opening and gently lowered him down. This reminded him of his girlfriends, when he had gone to university so long ago. Groans of pleasure came from Tom as Jim slowly picked the light weight up and lowered again, to make the agony last as long as possible. It was well into the night when finally Jim felt his release and Tom frantically held him close. The anus tightened and this time Jim was not expelled but was able to stay firmly inside. The chair reclined and the lights dimmed. Five hours later Frieda awoke them, in time to eat, and get ready for their next mission. Tom went over the check list beside the fighter, and made sure everything was as perfect as it could be. The AI had passed the systems, but Jim's life was too precious to not take as many precautions as possible. A hand-held unit went meticulously over every important component, and even the ones that weren't. The day proved to be more exciting than usual. The Samutz had decided to make a push toward Souts, and brought some of their heavier weapons with them. The defender's orders were to patrol the surrounding area, so the Samutz would not be able to flank them unknown. Both were quite sure, it was just to let the Humans know that the Samutz were still active. Cruising over the Gordon Plateau, in their old fighter, with a dozen sensor drones, they found the three hot spots hit a few days ago, and had not cooled enough yet to avoid tripping the sensors. Next spring, if the records could be believed, each of the spots would form a pond thirty metres or more across that could support some of the local fish. The kinetic weapons had no lingering radioactivity. Jim could just imagine the trout that might be coaxed into immigrating along with some of mankind. The water temperature was much higher here, and wondered if they would survive. On Earth, he had spent many of his younger days, in the Northwest Territories, and his home in Hay River, on the southern edge of Great Slave Lake. Though the winter was long, there was always time to fish, and hunt, especially, if you didn't mind being hunted yourself by bears. Either with trolling rigs, or through the ice, it was a fantastic time to partake in his favourite sport. "Tom, have you ever heard of the term 'fishing'?" Tom came out of his concentration on the instruments, and thought on the words. "No. What is it?" Jim couldn't help it. He ran so many good times through his mind, as he trolled in the cold waters, off his home, or through the thick ice, in the same spots to get grayling, arctic char, or whitefish. The few times he got lost and almost died when unexpected storms came up, only added more spice to the fond memories. "You have tasted fish from the synthesizer. It was programmed in by the Captain. It is really the flesh of simple animals that live in water. The taste is out of this world, when done in a little salt and some butter." Tom considered his one experience with fish and found it not bad. It was much too rich for the regular Tandra diet, but much milder than many of the other Earth foods. It was a little difficult to envision someone eating another living creature, but knew from studies that it was a fact of nature. The alarm went off from one of the sensors, and Tom quickly refocused on the cause. Data flowed up to the satellite and down to Frieda. A small open vehicle was travelling north in a deep gully with the shields up. There was no record of friendlies in the area, so Jim made an abrupt turn, and came at it from the north. The fighter went into evasive manoeuvres, just as Jim had programmed it to do. One time it swerved into position and released a bolt of energy, and continued the evasive manoeuvres. It was fortunate the computer did, for an answering belch of energy, came from the bank, not a hundred metres from the now destroyed vehicle. The full force of the blast would have destroyed the fighter, but the shields barely held with the graze. Both men were tossed about as the compensator desperately tried to correct, for the mighty forces directed at their stern. Before Jim had time to alter course, again a fiery blast came from the heavens, and the area around the concealed weapon turned into a flaming pit of magma. Both men were shaking from the close call. Jim directed his mind at the course he wanted, and the AI tried its best to comply, but the machine continued to swing in a wide arc, from its last turn. "It's not working Tom, brace yourself." The engines were almost without power, and the small fighter barely had enough lift, to skim the hard savannah plain, of the plateau proper. For a thousand metres they ploughed aside soil and small rocks, to eventually come to rest, at the edge of a gully. Slowly, as if destined, the craft tipped, and slid down the gentle slope, and into the warm waters below. Tom had braced himself behind his seats; that was before the manual controls he chaperoned. The fighter had plunged, knocked him into the panel, and then did it again before slowing. Eventually the ship slid down the incline to end on its side. Blood ran down his temple, and into the neck of his suit. Getting up, he felt a great pain in his head, but ignored it as best he could. He got from behind the chair, and slid down the sloping floor, to where Jim lay in his own pool of blood. There were still thought patterns, so Jim was still alive. Quick efficient hands found his wounds. A cupboard overhead dispensed the manual med unit, and he ran it over his partner with methodical exactness. Jim made a small movement and opened one eye; the other was puffy and remained closed. "Tom," Jim coughed, "are you all right?" "Not bad. Let's get our survival gear, and get out of here. The shield is down, and we could get hit any minute." "Ok, you lead the way." Tom helped Jim to his feet, and felt, both his own pain, and Jim's. Interfacing with the AI, he got the door that was now overhead, opened. With a heave he got Jim to the edge of the doorway, and then gave a bigger push to allow the larger man to gain the edge and sit. The drones, now controlled by the base, flew overhead assessing the damage, and looking for any further threat. "Throw up the guns, and the suits. I don't like sitting here like this." Jim contacted the base, and stated their condition, and the location of the crash site. General Shingle could no doubt see them in a satellite view, but this was standard practice. Since they were not in need of immediate medivac, they would have to stay, because there was a large operation now taking place. They could not be picked up, till somebody was free to do so. Tom went to the storage lockers, and opened them. The contents fell to the wall at his feet. He threw up a portable shield and a complete survival pack. He put his own shield on, then his pack, before picking up two heavy assault weapons. They were not the usual guns stocked, but Jim had insured that they had the best possible. After throwing up the guns to Jim, he stuck the med unit in his pack. The last thing he did was order the AI to shut down, and prepare for extraction. The unit pulled out into his hands, and went into the pack, with the other essentials. He climbed the floor, to eventually gain the hatch. Jim lowered his hand, and pulled his beloved funt to him. "You are bleeding. Let's get down and away from the wreck." They engaged the shields, manually closed and locked the hatch, then slid down the hull to land in a metre of warm water. Jim opened his pack, and released a small probe to fly surveillance for him, and Tom did the same. There was no interface to use the much more powerful drones overhead. The other pack was put on, and after a few seconds, they crossed the stream, and walked downstream for about fifty metres to a possible camp site. They did a complete recon of the area, and could see no Samutz. The stream intersected another, about a kilometre away, downstream, but only after many twists and turns. Large flat sections, covered in thick grass, looked good, but not with hostiles possibly still around. Trees were in the protected hollows. They could not take the conditions on the wind swept land, only a few metres away, on the plateau proper. Some areas had an established forest, as if the trees were huddling together for protection. Small caves in the soft sides, told them of animal life. Other areas were well trodden, showing where the local variety of bovine like animal came for their water. Upstream, about half a klick, the gully ran to an end with a five metre high waterfall. Two twists showed steeper sides, and again some caves, but these much larger, suggesting the local predators. The godough, were dog-like creatures, that ran in small family packs. From observation, they appeared to be fairly smart, and avoided the Tandra in most cases. Their body was similar in shape to a jackal, with massive front legs that terminated in pads, with fingers similar to a racoon. Their jaws were very large to take the big bison-like creatures that covered much of the plain. Tom settled into position, and opened his pack, to get the med unit. Jim took the unit, and ran it over the other man's body. The head was examined more, because of the recent damage. His body was encouraged to start an accelerated repair sequence. Tom took the wand back, and did another scan of the man as he stood. There was a little internal damage, and had suffered a slight concussion, that was now being slowly healed. Jim lay back on the long grass, and basked in the orange heat, from the local sun. When he was comfortable, he reached up, and pulled Tom to him, so he lay on his chest. "There is where you belong." Tom continued to interface with the small probes, but made himself comfortable in his new position. Large, strong hands caressed his head, and back, making concentration on the drones difficult. Jim found it only slightly difficult, as he cuddled his lover. This was not a prelude for sex, just a way of communicating, how much the smaller Tandra meant to him. Jim and Tom kept up with the action of their friends, and requested evac, so that, they could join them. The request was directed to General Shingle, but the answer still came back, in the negative. When Epsilon Eridani was starting to set over the horizon, the probes detected movement, and both Jim and Tom became excited. From behind the water falls, one, then another Tandra, came out dressed in furs, and carrying spears in their hands. They searched the area, and climbed both sides of the gully, to look for any threat. One went back to the falls, and disappeared. Moments later he re-emerged, followed by two women, then a girl that Tom knew to be around 20, and a boy about three years younger. This was evident because the boy, and older males, were the only ones with fur clothing, while the rest managed with nothing. The women opened a hide bag, and uncoiled some line, probably gut, and baited a crude hook at the end. Each woman cast them into the turbulent waters of the pool, under the falls. The man took up his position on the upper gully walls that he had recently left, and watched for any menace. Jim was quite interested in the social dynamics, in this small group. From behind the falls, three children came out, and sat beside the women. The young male and female searched for edible roots. One picked leaves, from a partially denuded common plant, and stuffed them into a large hide sack. The small children got excited, as one of the women pulled hand over hand, on their cord. A large fish, probably weighting four kilos if on Earth, wiggled on the end. Within moments the other woman did the same thing. "See Tom that is fishing. Those fish look a little odd, but I think they should be just as tasty." There was verbal speech, and hand gestures, to the young children, and they went around collecting dried branches. The area had been picked clean, so they went further downstream, to the next open area, to find branches along the shore. The three of them lugged a large branch back, to one of the women, and then returned for more wood. The children spied another large branch, and headed for it, only to freeze, as a stone hit the rocks close to them. They looked around, and one of the men used sign language to tell them not to go that far. The children relaxed, and went back to collecting smaller pieces of wood, that were closer. Before long, the women brought in three more fish. All of them were taken downstream, to a large rock, and gutted. The offal, and two complete fish, were left on the stone, and they departed. The children went back to their home with the broken branches, and the woman stopped to get a quick bath, in the warm water. Tom grabbed Jim's arm, and directed his thoughts to the other probe. "Look over there. Two godough are coming out of their den." The animals were very large, and there were many stories about them eating people left out of their camp at night. "Come on let's go. Get your stuff." They quickly removed all trace of their presence, adjusted their suits to invisibility, and raced upstream. The guns were on their backs. They would be ready enough if they were needed. Now was the time for stealth. They ran around one bend, and crossed a large oxbow, jumping obstructions in the light gravity, and using their enhanced musculature. Their passage was slowed, as they tried to keep their interface with the probes that showed the animals getting closer to the fish. Coming around the wall of the gully, where that godough were busy gorging on the offal, Jim and Tom stopped. The positions of the two Tandra standing guard was vacant, and the jackal like creatures were the only animal life present. Jim commented, "Aren't those animals beautiful? Their colours remind me of a white tiger I once saw in the Toronto zoo. They must be a mated pair. I wonder now, if the fish was purposefully left there for them." "Jim, listen with your mind. I think those animals can transmit their thoughts. I feel, a deep hunger, leaving, and they are very watchful, because there is a lot of danger here." "Shit, you are right. I didn't think that could happen with animals. Do you think we can talk to them?" "I don't know. Do you want to try?" Jim thought for a while, debating the pros and cons. The animals were entitled to their meal, without interruption. The point was mute though, because each of the animals picked up a fish, and raced back to their den, coming very close to the invisible men. As the last one came, the closest it would get, Jim thought, 'beautiful'. The animal stopped, dropped the fish, and stared in the men's location. "We won't hurt you. We just came to see how you lived. Tom, drop your invisibility." Jim did that, and stood, just staring, at the magnificent beast. Jim tried his best to communicate their benevolent nature. The other godough, reached out of the den, and retrieved the fish, before coming out to survey the threat, to their home. Jim had dropped his shield completely, but did not move otherwise. "What are you doing? These animals could make short work of you, if you didn't have any weapons?" "Just letting them get my scent. That way, we will know one another, if we meet again." Jim turned around slowly, and walked over to a rock behind him. He undid his coveralls, and pissed all over the stone, while watching the reaction of the animals. "Tom, take a piss beside mine. I will watch out, that they don't bite your pretty bum." Tom was a little miffed, but did as he was asked, but energized his shield as soon as he could. The grass was blowing gently towards the godough and soon they put their noses into the air, and smelt the scent coming their way. The last animal to appear, just dropped its head, and returned to the den. Moments later the other did the same, as if, having come to the conclusion that the newcomers would be no threat. "Tom, did you get the feeling that they came to a decision on us, and just didn't seem to care? Or possibly, that we were found to not be a threat?" "Yes, it was odd. Those animals seem to be more intelligent than we thought. They zeroed in on us, when we were invisible, pretty quick." Tom saw the threat, and had only a split second; he pushed his much larger mate away from him. A heavy spear thudded into the soft ground, after leaving a deep furrow, in the back of Jim's shoulder. Another spear thudded into the ground, and would have gone through him, if he was still in his old place, and without a shield. His rifle came up, and there was no sign of their attackers. The probes showed the attackers running, with their remaining spears, further from their home, and possibly trying to have another go at the intruders. There was no other immediate threat, so Tom kneeled and checked Jim's wound. "When the fuck, are you going to learn, to keep your defences up? You could have that spear all the way through you, and there is nothing I could do to save you." Jim groaned at the pain, and knew that Tom was right. "You win. Just run the med unit over me, and try to get the pain removed. It hurts like hell." Tom did as he was asked, and kept part of his mind centred on the readouts from the probes overhead. "They are circling back now. What do you want to do?" "Wait for the backstabbers to get close, and stun them." Tom said, "You stay here. Raise your shield. I'll hit them from behind. Maybe they wanted that trophy between your legs, to mount on their wall, like you said some Humans do." "I don't know why I keep you. You seem to have a one track mind, and it is always centres around sex." "Yes. So?" He said, as he became invisible. The grass parted as he ran back the way they had just come. Jim did as he was asked, and just made himself a visible target. He felt Tom's satisfaction later, when two small noises were heard, as the Tandra males fell to the ground. Jim got up, with difficultly, and walked about fifty metres, to see the Tandra crumpled on the tall plants in an uncomfortable position. Tom asked, "What are we going to do with them now? It is getting dark, and if we leave them out, they will probably be eaten." ------- Chapter 56 "You shot them. Just throw them over your shoulder and we can take them home. I will take the pack and your rifle." Tom could see the logic of that, and knew that Jim was not putting him on. Throwing the pack to Jim's feet, beside the rifle, the small Tandra positioned the two males, and picked them both up at the same time. They started back to the falls, to see one of the godough, looking out of its den, trying to figure out what was happening. Jim projected, "Just taking them home, so they don't get eaten." A reply seamed to indicate disgust, and the animal returned to its own home. Jim went first this time, walked across the clearing and into the rocks beside the falls. Stepping carefully, in the dark area, he came up the small path. Because of the sore right shoulder, the two packs, and both rifles, he stumbled, on a slippery rock. As he sank sunk to one knee, a large log, with stone spear head embedded in one end, crashed into a large rock, just where his chest would be. "Stop!" He cried. Tom dropped the two Tandra, and advanced, to see how he could help. Tom picked up his rifle as he advanced to Jim's side. The cave had a small entrance that led to a much wider area further back. Just as they were preparing to rush the frightened people behind the rocks, Jim remembered his time chasing down Tandra, in the Umal Mountains. "Tom, try to get through to them that we are not going to hurt them. Tell them, that their men are out here, and not hurt. I better go, and drag them in before they drown." Tom concentrated hard, and took his time to explain himself as he would to a child. The first thing he tried to get across was the fact, that he too was Tandra. Behind him, he felt Jim drag each of the males into the dryer area, right before the cave. "Tom, you better go in first. Just drop your invisibility, and look out for traps. The last one might have overloaded my shield." "Ok. You better come in while invisible, right behind me." "Anything you say, lover." Tom verbally told the hidden people, that he was coming in, and at the same time looked for any traps. His enhanced sight, showed him the two women, and the two older children, with rocks clutched in their hands, ready to defend themselves, as best they could. In the far corner, the children peaked over the tops of rocks, to see what was happening. A small, almost smokeless fire, cooked some fish, and gave out some light. What smoke there was, drifted out, and into the flow of water. Tom stopped, and with his hands outstretched, and the rifle in one hand, slowly turned around, to let the people see that he was a Tandra, even if he was covered in odd clothing. Their stance did not change in the least. "Tom, the fish is burning. Turn it over." Tom looked at the fire, and did as he was asked. "What now?" "Go back, and get the males, and put them against the far wall. Then get the packs. These people look like skin and bones." Tom did as he was asked, after setting his gun to safety, so no other could use it against him. The first male was dragged in, and when he went for the other, one of the females ran over to see if the male was still alive. When Tom came back, the woman stood in a better position with her rock, and watched as the second male was laid beside the first. When Tom had the two packs, he just sat close to the fire, and opened the first. A wafer, in a metallic like wrap, held enough energy to feed a Tandra for a whole day. Still trying to project his thoughts, he only found terror, within their minds. It was difficult to even read their thoughts, never mind transmitting thoughts, to them. Tom now tried again to speak the local dialect, and still the people were almost petrified. After ten minutes he said, "Jim, they are too frightened for me to get through to them. Do you want to give them a light stun, to get them to sit down, or do you want to give it a try?" "The stun idea is best, I think." Jim's gun came up, and it was mentally set to its very lowest setting. A quick spray, as the focus of their attention was still on Tom, brought all four to the floor. The one on the end, got less of the stun, and would be the first to awaken. Jim removed his invisibility, and walked into the cave. Both he and Tom helped put the Tandra into a more comfortable position, and removed the rocks from their hands. Jim twisted a small tube, and it immediately blazed brightly, as he put it on a small depression, in the top of a rock. Tom took out the med unit, and ran it over each of the adults on the floor. There were many things wrong, and it took almost five minutes to start the proper corrections happening. The two youngest, were healthier, but not by much. "Tom, are you going to get the kids? They are probably just as bad off." Tom remembered the only time he was able to take care of a child in the lunar base. The boy had been his exclusively, for almost three years, till he was forced to leave. A few tears came to his eyes, at the double occurrences. The first child was about eight, and well able to run. The next was a little younger, and was quick too. Tom was able to grab both, and bring them over to his lover, and set one down. The other was retained in Tom's arms, while the one behind the rock, peeked out at the sight. Jim knew that most Tandra were influenced by a Human's smell. It was something that was built into Humans by Tandra males, over two and a half million years ago. Jim dropped his shield, and picked up the older child, bringing it to his chest, he just held it so it could not get away, but was still able to move. Jim talked in the local dialect, and eventually the child in his arms quieted. Jim broke off a piece of fish from the fire, and ate a small amount, then took another, and placed it in the child's mouth. Fear was still there, but it had lessened considerably. Jim was startled, when Tom began to hum a children's song that he had heard, when he was a child himself. This, other than groans, was the only sounds that Tom ever emitted. The low tones filled the cave, and bounced back, as if a hidden chorus was accompanying him. Visions of native women singing to their children came back to Jim, from his youth. Some of the words he remembered were in Cree and he could translate some. Jim took the fish off the flames, and the child stayed with him, as he put raw portions in their place. The other child came out, but stayed far away, to see what was happening. Jim handed Tom a large portion of fish, and he fed it to the child he was carrying. The child resisted at first, and then its hunger overcame it, and started eating. Tom sat beside his lover, and the two children could see, that neither was really restrained. Tom continued humming, and feeding the child, as Jim fed the one in his lap. Jim turned the fish, and beckoned the last child over for a now cool piece. The child came a bit, and then stopped, unsure of what to do. "Tom what is the gender of these kids. It is hard to tell when they are so young. They have no external genitals." "That is because you don't know the Tandra very well. The one in your lap is a girl, and so is the one thinking of getting something to eat. The one here is a boy." "How can you tell?" "To be honest, it is a matter of looking into their minds. Girls are pushier, while the boys like to be taken care of, like the little one I have here," he said as he turned the child's face to Jim. "If you are unsure, you can put your finger, in the child's anus, and feel for something like a bone. Girls aren't as lucky to have one." Both of the 'captive' children seemed to be happy now, and Jim shifted one over, while he dug into his pack, and brought out his wafer, that would represent half, of his daily requirement of energy. The package was opened, and a small portion broken off. The child watched, as Jim placed it in his mouth and chewed. The taste was plain, but knew it was nutritious. The next piece went to the child's mouth, and she opened wide, to get her portion. The face showed a high degree of thought, as she tasted the strange food. Jim just pinched off another, and held it out for the last child. She came forward, and almost like she knew she would not be hurt, she put out her hand, and Jim placed the small piece in her palm. She backed up to make her own assessment, and then came forward for more. Jim fed them a quarter bar each, and knew that they would soon feel full. He put the bar away, and picked up the med unit. He ran it over the girl on his lap, and found vitamin deficiencies, small bone breaks, a multitude of various diseases running through her system, and a deformed palate. Since the child on his lap was not hurt, by the big stranger, the last was captured fairly easily, and the diagnostic unit showed the same thing, except, instead of her mouth, a small growth was on her lung. Neither of the children tried to get away, as Jim pulled out a shiny blanket designed to keep him warm in a colder environment. He placed it around the children and brought out the cleanser and used it to remove deeply embedded dirt, from their faces and hair. Before too long, he had each clean the other, to make a game of it. The children marvelled at the device in their hands. Tom's child got up, and was cleaned too, and had his turn doing the others. A groan startled the children, as they remembered their mothers in the pile, close to them. Jim knew the adult males would be out, till the morning. The children backed away from their new friends, and went over to the females. Jim continued with the cooking of the fish, and set some out on a plate from his kit. A woman put her hand to her head, and then remembered what had happened, and pushed her feet into the floor to get further away. Her frantic eyes flew around the unaccustomedly bright room, and found the children free, and very clean. Her frantic voice ordered the children to hide, and she waited as they did what she ordered, wondering what was to become of all of them. Tom said, "I believe that you will have to order her to do as you want. She, and all her gender here, follow the dominant male." "What should I order her to do?" "Jim, I love you, and I have to tell you, that you must have sex with her. From my own experience, it will put her at ease, and it is the fastest way I know, to interspecies understanding. Just remember, you belong to me." Jim thought about the matter, and after digging deeper into Tom's mind, knew he was speaking the truth. "Ok, I will give it a try." Jim stood up, then phrased the words in his mind, and tried to act as if he would do what his words would indicate. "Female, come here now." The woman was torn. The size of the male was fantastic. He would be very powerful, and able to beat her easily, if not kill her. "Female, I said now. Do you want me to come over there, and drag you here?" Jim was not too sure now. If she would not comply, he was not going to push her any further. He was not a rapist. Using just his finger, and a gesture, the woman slowly came over in a crouching servile posture. "Sit," he ordered in his best commanding voice. When she complied, he used his hand to raise her head, to see what she looked like. She was very beautiful below the dirt, and bruising, just like Tom was. "Turn around; I am going to mount you." The woman quickly did as she was ordered to do so many times before. Jim reached into his pack, and removed a bottle of lubricant. The woman was far from clean, and in fact smelled. Some was fear, and the rest was the accumulation of dirt since she was born. Her short bath in the stream, had not done nearly enough. Bracing for the first touch, he stopped, and could not do it. The cleanser came out, and went over all of her exposed body. His hand went underneath, and cleaned as much as he could get. The woman trembled at the unusual feeling, and waited for the quick pain, and then the male would be finished. Instead she felt his slippery hands poking around both of her entrances. Was the male blind, and did not know where to go? Perhaps he did not know what to do? But that would be foolish. A child had sex, and from an early age. Oh! Finally he was in. No it was his large finger. It was going in and out. It never felt this way before. There was no pain. Oh! Her clits were rubbed. Only a woman would do that to her. Oh! Another finger in another opening, and both slipped in easily, with no pain. Jim watched the woman stroke back, onto his fingers and contented himself to just make her feel good first. His other hand reached around, and grasped the long urethra, that had grown with the woman's excitement. Stroking it slowly, in time with the fingers, that plunged into her depths, about as deep as her males' members would. The woman could not control herself. She came, and came again, on the invading digits, and never knew a male to do this for her before. The woman fell forward, but Jim's hand held her butt up in the air. "Female, do you want me to continue? If you wish, you may go back with the others." The words were clear in the woman's mind, but the meaning was beyond her. Was the male offering to do nice things to her, or was he just finished? "Female, do you want to get fucked, or go back with the others?" She knew she must answer. The male always got what he wanted, but never was she allowed a choice. The feelings she got were beyond most of her couplings, and only Fonza, the younger woman on the floor was able to make her feel so special. "Take me, master," she said in her speech. Jim was shocked at the answer. Not at the choice, but at the choice of words. But it stood to reason, when a female was so far down the leadership hierarchy, on this planet. He stood, and removed his coveralls, and put them on the floor to protect his knees. The female did not even turn around, for this was none of her concern. Jim looked at Tom, and stroked his cock, to get it ready. He still was looking at Tom, as he slowly sank down and into the female. The female had never felt something this big before, except when she gave birth. It went in and out slowly, and then went deeper, so deep. Never before had she felt something like this. It went in deeper still. When was it going to end? All the small nerves in her vagina fired, and did so again, as her eyes rolled up into her sockets, and she collapsed at the intensity of the orgasm. Jim was still on his knees with his dick pointing away from him, and the woman was completely out of it, just like Tom did most of the time. Tom was breathing quickly, and Jim knew he would love to relieve the pressure, but it was not his way to ask now. Jim shook himself and came back to the present. After grabbing the blanket. He stood, and in a clear area, laid it on the floor. The comatose woman was laid on it and Jim took the cleanser, and went all over her body again, to get everything he missed the first time. Looking at the other three adults, he went over, and did the best he could, even the young male. They were all flipped over, and he did them as carefully as he did the children. Speaking of the children, they were looking at the woman on the floor and probably wondering what I did to her. Hey their minds were much clearer now. "Children," he said in a quiet voice, "she is just resting. She felt so good, that she went to sleep." Taking the inflatable mattress from his pack, he placed it on the floor and lay down beside the woman. "Tom will you pick her up. This way she can do all the work herself, my shoulder is still sore." Tom was concerned. The female could try to take his place, and perhaps Jim would like her more than him. It was also possible that Jim would find a woman to breed with, to give both of them some children. The best thing to do is watch, and try to do whatever he could, to make Jim happy, and this might keep him near the man he loved so much. The woman awoke, and felt her vagina stretched to its maximum. There was no pain, but the feeling she felt, as she twitched, sent signals to her brain, that had never been this strong before. She cautiously picked up her hips and the sensation was more than she could take, and fainted away with the ecstasy of it all. Her nose twitched at the scent. It was so strong, and so compelling. She had to have more of it. Then she remembered her vagina, and moved a small amount, and this time just avoided the climax. Large hands came to her face, and she remembered the giant male. She wanted to flee, but could not, because she was ordered here or forced to be here. But that wasn't right. She felt so safe; she knew she just wanted to be here as long as she could keep this male. He would make the best father, for her next child, and worked to get ready to do her best to drop an egg. She moved more, and held the orgasm at bay. She needed to get the male to shoot into her. What was wrong with him? All males pushed in a little, and then in a few seconds, shot their juice, into the female. Why was she in this unnatural position? She should be on her knees. Could the male have something wrong with him? It might be fun to try to get him to shoot. She had never heard of a female doing it this way before. She sat up more, and thrust her hips forward. The rough feeling of fur around her opening almost pushed her over the edge. She had to stop and relax. More thrusts and the man only looked into her eyes. They seemed so deep. She built up a lot of sweat trying to milk the man of his seed, and she could not do it. Her next child would be the strongest on the entire planet. So big so strong. The woman had her last orgasm. It was very strong, and she collapsed on Jim's chest. Tom in the mean time, had taken the children to the falls, and got them to pee and shit. This was their usual practice, even if it was unhealthy to do this in the water. On the way back, they watched the woman still in the throws of her orgasm. Tom took the unconscious woman, and placed her on her bed, then took the children, and placed them all around her. Before leaving, he gave each child a small lick on the cheek, before putting his blanket around them. Jim was still on the floor, and the most important part, was pointing up. Coming over he removed his shield and coveralls, before sitting down. He let a groan out, as he felt the phallus enter him. This is what he waited for, all the time. At least, he was more used to this, and could last longer than the woman. The orgasm started immediately, and Tom frantically flexed his legs and arms to bring his pelvis into as much contact as possible. The time was too short and he managed to get only a few more thrusts, before his body gave out and collapsed on his lover. Jim did not know what to think. Tom went at their lovemaking in a methodical way, and would try to pace himself. This time he seemed to be much more worked up than usual. Prying into his mind, he saw some of the reason. The female was now a competitor, and Tom just tried to do his best, to get him off, but the method backfired. Now he was stuck with a stiff prick and no home for it. Tom wouldn't mind, but it seemed such a waste. Jim's hands held Tom and moved his ass to provide stimulation and this was close to jerking off as he could come, with another person. A groan was heard from the pile of unconscious Tandra. But not one of a sore head, but of one in need. A name came to Jim's mind, Mona, the same as the English name. She was the younger adult woman. And the mother of one of the children hiding behind the rocks. She had feigned unconsciousness, but was still stirred up by the sights, and sounds of her friend Fenna's orgasms. Jim grinned, knowing now that this band of Tandra could be talked to with his mind, but just needed time to acclimatize to the other brain. Lovingly pushing Tom to the side, he said verbally, "Mona, get over here now." The woman stopped dead, not knowing if she was found out, but wondering how her name was known. "Mona, now. I have a hard cock, and need you. Get over here." His voice was as gruff, as he could make it, and figured the woman would comply. Sex was no big thing, and he figured he was the alpha male now. Mona decided to do as she was commanded. She got up and walked over to the big strange male. The other was a male, because of the absence of breasts, and he looked to have been beaten badly, but she had seen everything, and knew that it was something else. What it was, she did not know. Looking down in the bright light, she saw how big the male really was, and stood transfixed. Jim reached out for the cleanser, and ran it over his cock, feeling the tingling as it did its work. Putting it down, he picked up a bottle, and transferred it to his left hand and poured some into the right. The hand stroked the rigid member, till it glowed in the light. "Sit on me, now, Mona. Now I say." Mona swallowed, then tentatively swung her leg over Jim, and slowly sank down, wondering how she could possibly escape the coming pain. She stopped just as the large cock touched her back opening. The male pushed her back to engage the vagina. Did he want to have a child, or make her have one? The strong hands gently guided her down, not the abrupt thrusting that she expected. The sensations were nothing like pain. There was a feeling of fullness, then the small nodes started to fire, and she knew this was not going to be the chore she thought it would be. Jim could read her mind in a far away fashion, and knew that she was now starting to enjoy the coupling. Maybe one day, they could both enjoy the union, with the mind as well as the body. Her facial features changed as more and more of the cock fit within her. When she was fully down, she had her first orgasm, and it was the best she ever had with a male. Her hands came out to hold herself erect, but remembered just in time not to touch a male. She opened her eyes, and saw the strange small eyed male looking at her, and he had not lost interest in her yet. She was not sure, but felt compelled to use her legs to push herself up, but it was so difficult, with his wide hips, and large pelvis. Jim reached out and placed Mona's hands on his chest. The flustered woman did not understand at first, but gradually put pressure on the male's chest, as she shifted her weight from back to front, and then reversed it. The sensations of the mat of hair beneath her, was too much for her sensitive urethra, and she could not help it, but fell on the male. Her gasps, and the strong feelings shooting through her, made her want to stay for as long as she could. The large, strong hands, that could easily beat her, actually caressed her head and back. She felt that she was loved by another female, but one, that was able to fill her deepest needs and desires. A gentle urging in her mind, told her to continue with her pleasures, till the male was able to achieve his own. Pushing on the wide male's chest, she again stroked a few times, till the feelings returned, but this time, were even more intense. Jim knew he was in a losing position, and let the woman fall off him on the other side from Tom. While on her back, he mounted her again, and brought her legs up to her chest, as he stroked gently into her again and again till she gasped and thrashed. There were many similarities between Mona and Tom. Stopping for a moment he said, "It is now my turn. Try to stay with me as long as possible, Sweety." She did not know what that meant, but the male quickly pounded into her, going very deep with every thrust. Never before had this happened, and never this much sensation. The feelings were so intense that she twisted, gasped and raked the male with her fingernails but all unknowingly. Jim figured he better end it now, and pumped blast after blast into the woman's quivering vagina. Her subconscious reacted to his spurts, and clamped up on him. Jim was prepared, and like his sex with Tom, liked to recover still inside his lover. The women were both easier to understand, now that he had been so intimate with each. With the pressure relieved, he wanted to put the women to bed to get some rest. He had to stay awake till the morning came. He was not going to trust anyone, to not try to kill him, in his sleep. A searing pain flashed in his head, and he rolled forward onto Mona, and then rolled onto his back. The pain was so strong that he was about to black out, but the Tandra training made him open his eyes. The boy had a long thick limb, and was ready to use it again to crush his skull. Jim could only wait, and when the boy stepped in, Jim's foot slashed out, and kicked the boy's leg. He almost fell, and stepped back to think his strategy, and try again. Through the pounding head he remembered Tom's words about the shield, and knew again, that his funt was right. The boy now knew that the branch might not be enough. He stepped in again, and tried to hit any portion of the stranger he could get. A quick hand deflected the branch, as the boy released the club and dived for a rock that had been used before. Jim though groggy, knew his life would be forfeit, if he did not get up, and defend himself. He stumbled as he got to his feet, only to feel a rock crash into his right arm above the elbow. He almost fell over again, as the boy dived for another rock. Jim had just enough time, to grab the boy's ankle and drag him close. The boy tried to turn, and bring the rock down on the man's head. Jim too knew the value of this last strike. If it landed on his head, the battle, and probably his life would end. With his sore right arm, Jim swung, as the boy's arm descended. The rock flew from the boy's grasp, and hit the sleeping Tom in the leg. Jim was hurt and angry. The boy was dragged closer, and Jim grabbed the back of his neck, and pulled him even closer. This way he could get a hold on him and keep the boy from doing more damage. The boy squirmed to get out of the way, and Jim moved his knees, to straddle the youngster's legs. Pulling with his right hand now, he felt the pain and the blood running down from the spear slash and his right arm. As the boy was brought close to control him, he froze in place. Jim wondered what had happened. He was very angry at the boy, but would not really hurt him much. The boy moved his ass, and Jim felt the reason. He had a new erection, and it was now against the boy's asshole. Jim had to think. This was how a pecking order was set up with the males. A boy this age had to have used his rear passage for more than elimination. Should he take the boy, or turn him lose to try to kill him again. The other brain seemed to think for him and with the lubrication still on it, Jim withdrew his hands and the boy remained fixed in place. Jim parted the boy's legs and fingered the hole carefully. Just like Tom the small lumps were very erect and the anus easy to open. Jim moved further back and slowly entered the lad. The boy let out a groan, but stayed still otherwise. After a few strokes he was in as deep as he could get, and feelings of intense pleasure came from the boy. Jim pulled out, and pushed back in very slowly. The boy did not know what to make of this. The men always just poked quickly, and finished. Jim stroked a few more times, and the boy started to shake, almost like a grand mal epileptic fit. The boy fell down, and Jim felt more than his erection. The pain in his arm, back and head came back to him. Survival came before sex, at least to him, or maybe just this time. The med unit went over the right shoulder making a purring sound. Then the bleeding on the back of his head, and finally the biceps. It took almost 15 minutes till the machine stopped humming. Now it would take the body a while to complete the repairs, unless he got to the base medical section sooner. He was tired, but could not sleep. The boy was recovering, and Jim stood, and picked him up, and then lay on his back, with the boy on his chest. The erection had come back and he placed the boy over his renewed erection and waited for him to fully recover. Ten minutes later the boy moved, and felt the stimulation in his rear passage. Reaching out to hold himself steady he raised his backside and stroked the large intruder. His breathing increased and so did the movement of his ass. Large hands came around and held him tight, but not forcefully. The next orgasm was enough to let him rest before trying again. Jim was happy at first with the arrangement. The boy loved the feelings inside him, and continued to get all the enjoyment he could get. Jim was able to wiggle into the lad's brain, and find that he was called Boko. He was not related to anyone here, but was a surviving remnant of another group, that the Samutz had attacked. The older women, the girl and the male child were likewise castaways. Only the two female children were the product of the two adult males. Boko's arms came around, and now held Jim close as his straining legs tried again and again to get one more orgasm. He loved the position he was in, and would not trade it for anything, except a better place for his sore legs. The pain was bad, but the good feelings were much better, and he continued to abuse his legs. Jim knew the boy would not fight him now, and wanted the boy's pain to stop. Also Jim's dick was getting too much of a work out. After the last orgasm, Jim picked the boy up, pulling the still erect member out of his bottom, and laid the lad down on him. The boy thrashed to get back, but firm hands held him. He had to be content to have the male upright between his legs, till he quieted down, and went to sleep. Jim had put his hand on one of the boy's lower cheeks, and this seemed to help. The night was warm, but Jim reached out and pulled Tom close with his other hand. The Tandra reached out and struck the boy till he found a way to hold his lover and return to sleep. Boko's mind was very uncomplicated, and Jim spent most of his time reading the boys thoughts, and keeping in touch with the continuing action with the Samutz advance. As he figured, the strategy was to just see how the Humans would react. The probes outside continuously sent their data. If he were not ready to accept it, then that was too bad. An hour before dawn, the girl Fonza woke up and in need of a pee. Her mind was not clear. There was much too much light, and she was not in one of the beds. Trying to remember what happened, she looked on the wide floor and found a pile of bodies. The giant had Boko draped over him. Mona sleeping beside him. The other strange Tandra was sleeping on the other side. "Fonza go pee, and then go back to bed. We can talk in the morning. I will not hurt you." The words were shocking in both their sincerity, and in their richness. Looking around, she saw the remainder of her group, and all were sleeping peacefully, and she saw no real reason to flee the cave to escape the strangers. Walking back, she noticed how clean everyone was, and then looked at her own skin. She felt better now than she had for a long time, as if a magic spell had been used on her. Taking her cue from the rest, she lay down and soon was asleep again. About when dawn would be coming, Jim felt his own bladder and Boko's. He was stiff, and needed to flex the knots out of his muscles, from staying in one spot all night. "Boko, Boko get up Honey. I have to pee." The boy stirred a bit and just got more comfortable again. "Boko if you don't get up, I will spank your bum." Boko just wiggled, till a small slap struck the fleshy part of his backside. He came awake, and looked around at his warm fragrant mattress. The smell was deep in his brain now, and he would never want to be away from it again. "Boko, get up or I will pee on your back." Boko heard the tiny voice, and decided to do as he was asked. People were on both sides, so he slid down the man, to his feet. On the way down, he ran into a large obstruction, and did his best to not damage it. Jim got to his knees, and pulled the boy to him and gave him a kiss on the lips. The boy did not know what it was, but knew he liked the gesture. Jim went to the communal lavatory, and in a moment, was able to piss. Boko was right beside him doing the same thing, and watching the muscle that so interested him. "Come on, let's get something to eat. I have something new for you to try." The tiny voice again, and it made him feel good, but the male didn't even make his lips move. "Yes Boko. I can talk with my mind, and so can you. Let's get you fed. A growing boy like you needs lots of food." Jim said, as his arm came out, and pulled the boy's shoulder to him. Boko was not used to anyone doing this to him. Men would pull him to them for sex, and he would do the same to the three females but never without sex being the reason. "Boko, I just like to hold you. I know everybody should be held, and the world would be a much better place. Now let's find something to eat." Jim reopened the foil package, and fed the boy small pieces of the bar, as if the boy was incapable of doing anything himself. A few moments later, Jim put his large hand on Tom's ass and shook it. The Tandra male turned and smiled at the man he loved. He then spotted the boy, and a serious expression came on his face, as he looked into the lad's mind for what happened. A fit of anxiety came over him till Jim said, "Tom, you are my funt, and always will be. I love you, and nobody will take your place. I just wanted you awake so we could go fishing. Get your cute bum up, and get dressed, the fish will not wait for you." Jim, Tom and Boko got dressed. Gathered up their property they would need, and the bags of tackle, before they left the cave. Boko felt good to leave with them. Jim and Tom checked in with Frieda, and found that most of the crew were sleeping and would not be able to pick them up for at least a few hours. The probes were checked, and the only movement, was the godough, leaving for a morning hunt. There was only a few of the bison around. The gully was still dark, and everything was still, as Jim walked up the side of the gully by himself and took the long knife from his rifle and slashed off thin branches and tested their strength. One variety was hollow but not as strong as another. This one gave Jim two lengths about two metres long. With the tackle, he tied the line to the branch, after testing its strength. Looking under some rocks he eventually found the local equivalent of worms, and baited a crude hook. He used a good wrist action, and cast it into a turbulent eddy and retrieved it. "Tom, you take this. When the fish nibbles, give it a little jerk to set the hook, and keep tension on the line, or the hook will come out." Tom was unsure of what to do, but tried as he was asked. The last line was made, and given to Boko. The boy was hesitant because, this was really woman's work. Because the large male gave it to him, he tried. Seconds later Tom started dancing, from one foot to another as he pulled in a two kilo fish. His eyes glowed with pride, and Jim congratulated him for being a great fisherman. Boko was excited too, and held his rod in two hands ready for his first fish. Tom rebated his hook, and cast it out and it caught on his coveralls. Trying again he got it where the last fish bit and it was immediately snapped up. The rod almost bent double, as Jim gave his mate all the advice he could to land the fish. This fish was much bigger. Jim used his knife to stab the fish, and drag it ashore. Picking up the fish, Jim estimated it at five kilos and was very proud of the catch even if he did not catch it. Boko was disappointed, and cast out his line many times, and brought it back, but no bites yet. Jim went to him, and laid a calming hand on the lad's shoulder. He said, "Take it easy. Just cast it out, and then let it settle. When it does, just pull it back a little, and let it settle again. Eventually you will catch one." Boko did as he was told, and after doing it four times a large fish swam out of the turbulent centre, and grabbed his hook in very shallow water. Boko pulled and the hook slipped from the fish's mouth, and it swam back out of sight. Boko was very excited, and the men got to see him dance in his excitement. Ten minutes later, Boko pulled in his first fish. It was equal to the smallest, but the smile on his face told the men that he had caught a real monster. Jim estimated the amount of fish, and after Boko caught one more, he took the fish to the rock Fenna used yesterday, and cut them up. Again he did as Fenna did, and left two plus all the guts. "Ok, guys, come and get it, the fish is here." Boko asked, "Who were you talking to?" "The godough. They can communicate like us, but you have not ever listened very well." The boy wondered about the statement. The godough were good at spotting Samutz, and their howls saved them many times. But being able to read minds never. Nobody could do that. Then he remembered doing it all morning. Going back to the cave with the rods, tackle, fish and their property, they found the women again with rocks ready to fight. "Females, are you going to greet me this way all the time? If I were going to hurt you I could have done so last night. Put down the rocks now, and come over here." The females looked at one another, and did as they were told. Jim went to the right, walked up to Fenna and held her head as he gave her a Human kiss. The show of affection was reinforced with his mind. The message said that all were safe. The woman groaned, as he pulled away, and wanted more. Mona was next, and the same thing happened, but the woman got on the ground, and presented her backside to Jim. "Get up Mona. Maybe we will have time later," Jim said as he picked the women up. Fonza was last, and had not been touched yet by Jim. His caress was no less powerful, and the girl melted into his arms. Jim saw last night, that she had a lot of scarred tissue across her face and side, even going down her leg. This morning he did his best to ignore it. Pulling away, Jim found Boko with his arms open. Jim smiled and kissed the boy the same way, and even picked him up off his feet. Seconds later three children were there too, and Jim could not help but get on his knees, and give each of them a big kiss and a long hug. The adult males, were still sleeping, and would come out of this state in an hour or so. Jim used a tool to ignite the wood, to begin cooking the fish. He took out some salt, sprinkled some on each piece. He then got some crystals, and added it to a collapsible canteen of water. Tom's plate and both mugs were passed around, and the hot fish was eaten warm. The woman were used to eating after the men, but did as they were now ordered, and said how much better the fish tasted. Tom gave the cleanser to the children, and they used it to clean their hands and faces, and then did the older people including Tom and Jim. They were laughing as the small pieces of fish and grease came away to reveal clean skin underneath. Jim used the med unit on Tom then Tom used it on him but said, "How did your arm get hurt?" "Not doing, as my very intelligent funt recommended," he said simply. The children were done next, to make sure their body continued to repair itself. The older ones were examined again, and there were only little changes to make. Any real improvements needed much more than the small hand unit was capable of doing. Jim did not like it, but went over to the males, and had their ails seen to, but left them dirty. Frieda called and said, "Your evac will be in five minutes," and ended curtly. The Tandra heard nothing, Jim just kissed each of them, and left the mattresses, blankets, and everything else that they would be able to understand and use. Tom kept the med unit, because it was activated by the brain of the user, but left the cleanser because of its manual switch. "We have to go, but I will be back. We will look after this area and try to kill any Samutz that come this way." They left on the run with their guns. Behind them, the Tandra were stunned at the loss, and Boko broke down and cried. His feelings were not lost on the two men as they ran to the ship that landed not far away. Going past the rock they saw that it was now bare, and Jim said, "Goodbye. Take care of the Tandra for me." "Do you think they will understand?" "I don't know, but I would like to think that they do." ------- Chapter 57 On the way back to camp in the rescue vessel Tom and Jim went over all of the current developments since the ship had better communications. The Samutz had tried a flanking manoeuvre from one side then the other to pull the limited number of troops out of position. They were currently using a variety of suit that could render the wearer invisible, like the Tandra units. The Samutz units were prone to overheat though. They did not have the needed mental controls but did work for a short time. General Shingle had foreseen this and dusted the entire area as a precaution. When the shield overheated it had to be lowered they ingested the virus. The battle had ended but most of the Samutz casualties were from our weapons not the dust. After returning to the Souts base both Jim and Tom went to medical to be treated for the injuries that the med unit couldn't handle. Tom was finished sooner and watched the information while Jim was still on the table. The shoulder was now just pink, the bruising on the forearm and head were gone. There was deeper damage in the brain pan, and this too was remedied. When both were rated fit for duty, Tom asked, "How did that bruise get on my leg?" "Ah... I was overseeing the capitulation of one of the enemy when I was out flanked by another." Then being serious; "Rather than be brained, with a rock, I knocked it out of the boy's hand and it hit you. If you hadn't been still twitching you could have helped me with the lad." Tom took this as a rebuke and closed his mind. Jim reached out and stopped Tom. "I was only joking. I was in trouble but it was none of your fault. I should have been more careful like you always tell me to." Jim opened his mind to the scene after Tom had his major orgasm. "You seem to like the boy." "Yes, I do, and the women, and the children too, but not all the same way. I noticed how you got quite attached to the youngsters yourself. Were you thinking of starting our family with a few of the pre-made units? There are many more in the compound." Tom seemed to think over Jim's words and said, "The women and children we found were nice. I just did not like all of the bruising on the children, women or even the boy. It seems that the only way an adult male on this planet gets his point across is with his fists. But to answer your question, I don't know yet, but I know you want a family and I want you to be happy." "Thanks Tom, I never had a good family life. I don't want that for any of my future family. We don't have enough time yet to handle our own children properly. When most of the Samutz are killed the pace will settle down and then maybe we can work on it again." "I would like that." Frieda gave them another fighter and soon they were doing passes on the Umal Mountains with a flight of 23 combat drones as escort. The fighter served as to relay the weak signals to the satellite for processing. Tom worked very diligently and with the help of the drones spotted and killed six out of seventeen Samutz targets they found. The Samutz were getting to be very adept at jumping from one hole to the next. It was very disturbing to know that there could be a thousand Samutz below and cloaked. He would never know it. The probes would have to almost be right on top of them and the probes used an easy to hide energy form to transmit their data. Unlike electromagnetic radiation this energy attenuated more quickly. Light was propagated at the square of the distance. The probes used leptons that were modulated in another dimension and attenuated at the cube of the distance. This necessitated the ship being close to retransmit the data to the satellite and in turn become an easy to hit target. Tom compared the locations or probable Samutz activity and found that they did not intersect with any sizable godough areas. He brought up a computer representation of the last 12 days and saw the Samutz actually pulled back in many areas that had made up the animals hunting areas. Just before their shift was to end they caught three Samutz crossing a ridge line into a lovely wooded valley. Jim quickly said, "Tom, let them go." "What?" He said incredulously. "Let's see what they are doing. Detail two drones to follow them and see what happens." Jim brought the fighter down to only a few metres and soundlessly hovered so as to be hidden among the trees. "Ok, but that was not in our orders." "Well let's see what the boss wants." "That is ok. We will just do it your way." "It is fine Tom. I want the general to know what is happening." "General Shingle. Are you there?" "Yes Jim. What do you boys want?" "We spotted three Samutz going into a fairly well hidden valley about seventy six metres north east of us. On my own initiative we allowed them to continue with two drones to follow them. The valley has a high rock face in the west and reflects sunlight into the deep valley. There is a waterfall and lots of cover from trees making it a good place for the Samutz to hole up." "Very good, I should have put this sort of thing into your briefing. Are you going to pursue? The drones have very little range. I can see from one of your drone's images that there is a large cave on the west wall." "I have thought of getting Tom to hide the fighter in the rocks overlooking the valley. He can use his weapons to cover the valley, transmit data and cover my ass when I go down there with a repeater." "I think the two of you better go. You tend to get a little too reckless when you are by yourself." "But General..." "That is an order. I am sending another team there soon. They will need the information from the drones. Besides, I am sure Tom would rather keep you close to him too." "Yes sir." then to Tom he said, "See what you did." "I did nothing. I didn't say a word to the General. But he was right on both counts." "Yes, I suppose so. Since we don't have any combat suits we can just plant the spare repeater and the one from this ship. Then work our way back here." Tom broke out the weapons, the two signal repeaters and some spare shields. All the equipment went into two of the shield units. Jim used the other probes to find the best place to conceal the ship, for it could not cloak itself. If it did not have a repeater there was no real reason to place it insight of the valley. The AI controlled weapons were fair but not as good as a Human or a Tandra to guide it. If it had a mobile position it would be better able to handle trouble when it happened and both knew that it was going to happen. With both repeaters removed from the craft they could not access the data being transmitted, but relied on verbal orders given by Huang Yi. Jim told Tom to place his repeater about 500 metres from the mouth of the cave, about the limit of its reception. Jim took the more risky objective and wanted to place the repeater right before the cave in the small grove of trees. Shadows were falling fast for the sun was now behind the west wall and no light could be reflected down into the deep valley. Jim made it to the trees but almost stumbled on seven Samutz laying on the long grass and talking in their guttural speech. Their shields were down and three were eating. Jim used his mind to transmit the sounds to Huang Yi for interpretation. "They are just talking of what they will do with us after they have won. The cave has officers and a few guards inside the entrance. The drones are small but visible. Find a spot close by and I will drop you a few drones and you can put them into your suits. The repeater and the drones need to be placed inside the cave." Jim did as he was asked and two drones did land at his feet. Seconds later Tom came to him and said, "How are we going to get in?" "A diversion is too risky and I don't know what the interior is like. I was hoping to just follow behind one of the Samutz as they walked inside." Two Samutz walked out of a small entrance forty some metres away from the larger objective and each held large portions of the Masis bison. Jim thought quickly and then ran as fast as he could across the small clearing. Then a meter away he locked his step into that of the second Samutz. The inside of the cave was very defendable. The entrance was a long narrow tunnel that continued for quite a while without appreciably changing in size. Jim was reminded of a gate passage with murder holes from an old castle he once visited in Britain. Two guards were on duty, but only idly watched the Samutz go by. A few words were uttered and accompanied by a dry chuckle. There were dust, leaves and other debris on the edges of the path. A small stream from inside the mountain cut a deep but narrow channel in the track he just travelled. Further along, it formed a large wet spot in front of the cave. The churned up muddy area had not been altered in the least. Further back, the cave widened and Jim was surprised to see twenty or so troops gambling or arguing in a small side tunnel. The main gallery continued for two hundred or so metres and all the stalactites and stalagmites had been knocked down and carted out. Tiny streams joined into one roughly in the centre of the wide floor then continued toward the entrance. In the back of the cave many shield structures had been set up. Including one that was very large. Here the Samutz were even more prevalent and most sported brighter tunics and even swords. Jim stopped and was immediately pushed forward. Turning he could see nobody. "Is that you Tom?" "Yes it is. Why didn't you keep walking?" "Why didn't you stay out there? You could have helped the General." "You are always getting hurt. If I am with you the chances are less that you will do something crazy. Besides, it was the General himself that ordered me to stay with you." "I wish you didn't come. I don't know what I will do if you get hurt." "The same goes for me. Now let's find a place to hide the repeater and get out of here." Tom spied a small ledge in a dark area above the artificial illumination. After hiding behind the large shield their own shield was lowered to get the repeater and the two drones. The air was rancid with the heavy smell of unwashed acidic bodies and both urine and faecal matter. Tom climbed on Jim's shoulders with the repeater and eventually Jim had to use his hands to boost Tom up far enough to reach the ledge. Small stones descended making loud noises as they struck the cave floor. Two Samutz turned around and looked as the men froze. The repeater was precariously balanced and could fall at any moment. After a very long half minute the Samutz turned back to what they were doing. Tom positioned the repeater further back and caught the larger stones as they fell. Jim held his extra shield with his rifle tight to him as they backtracked their way to the entrance. Jim and Tom memorized the layout to help them when the team decided to exterminate the Samutz here. They decided to walk out the long passage, but had to quickly retreat as a single Samutz walked back inside. They decided to try again and made it out, but had to quickly move to the side as two more Samutz entered the cave. One stopped and looked at the disturbed bush and small stones before deciding to ignore the incident. Slowly regaining the trees, Jim called, "General Shingle; is there anything else you want us to do?" "As a matter of fact there is. Do a visual reconnaissance of the other cave. The probes don't have enough power to make it to either of the repeaters." The other entrance was more open, but the area in front of the cave had water about 20 centimetres deep. Mud was churned up by the many feet that entered the cave. It was dark enough now that the Samutz would not see four holes in the water progress to their home. This area was fairly large, but the floor travelled up a shallow incline. The artificial lightning showed two large areas covered in blood and four Samutz sitting at a small table. They were playing a game after their job was done and drinking from a common bottle. The entire back of the cave was sectioned off with about 20 Tandra, 8 bison, 2 godough and even one Softay. The Tandra sat back against the wall and some even wept, but it was done softly because their tears must have been shed for a long time. Since they stayed in their own groups the only explanation they could come up with was a shield over the entire area. Jim saw the blood and immediately wanted to kill the Samutz in the room. Tom held him back and said, "They have been butchering the bison, not the Tandra. Look at the hide on the floor." Jim's insistent pulling slowed and he tried to think. The large godough stood on all fours and looked in their direction as Jim came to a conclusion. "If we go out and report this, the General will probably tell us to leave. If we can think of something now by ourselves, we can free everybody here." Tom was hesitant about disobeying authority but in this case they were not told not to do anything. They separated and walked around the room paying attention to the splashes on the submerged floor. Jim found the small opening where water shot out of hard stone to wash away the more soluble variety. "Jim, come over to the far end of the godough cage." Small steps were heard before Tom said, "What have you got?" "The connector powering all the cages is here. We just need a way to shut it off." Two of the Samutz got up after much arguing and two picked up weapons while the other two got bails of hay. The cage for the bison was lowered from a control panel and something like hay thrown into the cage. The shield was quickly raised again. The Tandra and lone Softay were even easier to feed and did nothing to resist their capturers. The last cage was done much differently. The food was placed before the cage and a new shield placed outside it. All the Samutz picked up their weapons and it seemed like they were shaking as the inside barrier collapsed. The godough lunged at the new screen and even one Samutz shot his weapon, and the energy ricocheted around the room. The Samutz seemed to be petrified of the animal. Both men wondered why the Samutz held it captive. Was it a trophy or something special to eat? Jim looked around and came to a new insight into the Samutz and tried to think of a way to use it. "What do you make of that?" "I don't know. The godough are good fighters, but with the Samutz in a shield and there is nothing that can hurt them. It appears to be an irrational fear, similar to what I have read Humans have." "Ya, I got that idea too." Returning to Tom's discovery after the Samutz nervously sat, he looked up. "Tom, the wall has a lot of loose rock. If a large one fell, it could break the connection and the field will fall. I know this godough and her cub will leave quickly, as will the bison. They have good speed, it is the Tandra that look underfed and will not be able to reach the ridge before the Samutz recapture them." "What about the four Samutz? They will give the alarm and if we kill them then the rest of the Samutz will know we have found them." Two Samutz came in from the guard detail and talked in an excited voice. The one that fired his weapon left with them to face some sort of judgement. Jim looked at the bison skull on the floor and had an idea. "Tom if we get the shield down in sections we can get the Tandra out a few at a time. The rest of the gang should be on the ridge, either waiting to attack, or waiting for the General to hear something important from the Samutz officers. Once they are safe, we can release the godough and then the bison. It is a sad thing to think that the bison on escaping trampled then gored their keepers." "I like it, but the Tandra will need a lot of help to get up to the ridge and it might be advantageous to just wait. If an attack comes we can just stay here and protect the captives." "Yes, I agree. But do we trust the General in a matter like this?" "I think we should. We have looked into his mind a lot of times and know he will do anything to save us." "Well, I guess you are right. Let's leave and report."Jim knew that the 'us' was in reference to the Tandra. "General Shingle, the cave extends a long way into the mountain and is cut by the water over the centuries. There are presently 23 Tandra, one Softay, a female godough and her cub, and 8 bison. It appears that they are all rated to be slaughtered eventually." "Thanks Jim, I didn't want to mount a rescue yet. The Samutz are discussing strategy with a much larger group and if they succeed there will be no more life on the planet. It is not a matter of just a few beings, but all Tandra, as well as all the other animal life too. I see in your mind that you were not too sure about me. Why don't we see what we can come up with as a compromise? Our own people will be assisting. But it is up to you to keep our presence completely unknown, for the sake of the entire planet." Jim was stunned and so was Tom. They wanted to rescue a few people but if there was any mistake the planet might die. The escape if it even proved faultless would require the deaths of the three remaining Samutz and that would be stretching plausibility to the limit. Tom asked permission to contact the other Tandra techs, told them of the dilemma, and asked for possible solutions. Humans heard and entered the conversation trying to find the best solution. Dusting the cave complex, causing a landslide to bury the cave, beginning an all out attack now, kill all the local Samutz and just monitor the other groups were only some of the suggestions. Jim felt really bad and the only flaw was three simultaneous deaths. But if they were sick and went for assistance... Jim asked the group about making the Samutz sick enough to leave, or go unconscious and all the evidence had to point to something natural. A Tandra tech by the name of Demmak said, "The Samutz drink a fermented beverage and sometimes it has a slightly different yeast taking hold. Some batches cause the Samutz to enter a drugged sleep. The Samutz laugh at the others that happen to be unlucky enough to drink this." The general jumped on this factor and found out from Frieda all about the circumstances around the surrounded this phenomenon. A quick strategy was worked out and a sample of the yeast was sent by fighter from Souts. Less than fifteen minutes later a man dropped his shield and said to Jim, "Well, here are your sleeping pills Jim. I don't envy you one bit for doing what you have to do." "Thanks Terry, but I know these Samutz are at ease and slipping this in their bottle should not be hard." Jim and Tom re-entered the cave and got beside the Samutz but they found a newer bottle sealed, and the Samutz talking very animatedly. Their attention was on each other and their sight passed right over the bottle in the centre of the table. Tom looked at the godough and said, "Godough if you can understand me, growl and cause your enemy to turn around. This may free you." There was no growl but the animal turned its head like a dog as if trying to understand better. Tom tried again, "Growl to save yourself and your young." This time the godough did get the message and growled loud, as if calling its kind. The Samutz got up from their chairs, ran to the side of the room and picked up their guns. Jim had just enough time to remove the top, drop in a single pill, and shake the bottle. "Thank you girl, now we just have to wait for them to drink." The animal growled again, but this time in frustration. She did not understand the conception of time too well. She quieted, lay down with her cub and stared at the three Samutz, her enemy. It took almost ten minutes for the Samutz to relax enough to put their weapons away and return to the table. Thankfully the excitement required that their nerves to be quieted. They passed the bottle around and drank deep, till it was empty. They used the method people did from time immemorial and their arms wiped their moist mouth of any residue. The talk around the table slowed and in twenty minutes Tom and Jim were treated to the sounds of Samutz snoring. "Jim, you have to go out and get the help now." Jim did as asked and made splashing sounds in the water. Some more energetic Tandra in the cages noticed and told the rest. Ten Tandra and an equal number of men soon appeared in the room. Tom had been waiting for this moment, dropped his invisibility and said in the local Tandra dialect, "I am a Tandra like you and have come here with my friends to help you up the side of the valley and to safety. I am going to lower the shield holding you captive and if my friends are rushed, or you make trouble, I will personally stun you and leave you for the Samutz." Without waiting for their acceptance, he lowered their shield and the Tandra just stood in place. The men helped the larger Tandra down from the ledge they were on. They were each cloaked in invisibility and taken out of the cave. Individual Tandra from the base were also helping the smaller captives. The lone Softay just stayed by itself in the back of the cage and would not come out. It was dirty, and much of its hair was missing. A lone Tandra came forward to help but the frightened creature just cringed in a ball in the corner. With procedures set down before this operation a small gun came out and a small stun charge struck the pitiful creature. The suited figure was put over a shoulder and quickly taken out of the cave. Five minutes were to be given for the Tandra head start. The godough growled with its impatience and at the correct time the bison were released. They were shooed out of the cave with swats to their rumps. As the last animal left the godough was released and bent down and tried to get the young one on its back the usual way the youngsters travelled if young. This one was older and weak. Jim walked up beside the pair as the mother's snarled. "I am going to take your baby up the hill with me." He pictured the baby falling if the mother carried it, then both being caught by the Samutz because they were slow. The snarling did not lessen, but Jim bent forward and cradled the small life in his hands allowing his true feelings to flow out to the mother. He deactivated his shield and with the youngster close, he reformed it and walked toward the entrance. "Tom, pick up that rock we decided on, and break the connection." The cub was light and did not have the energy to even object. A loud crash and a plume of energy showed Jim that the plan was working. They ran to the entrance and rough Samutz voices from the surrounding area let them know the energy surge had not gone unnoticed. Jim ran up the hill with guidance from those above. At the ridge line it was discovered that they had to run further to a smooth rock that held their transport. The night had not fully fallen yet. The valley was in the shadow of the mountain and was considerably darker. Jim dropped his shield as he came up to the ship. Men and Tandra drew their weapons as the godough came up behind him. The cub was placed on the flat rock and appeared listless. "Somebody hand me a med unit." The mother was continually growling and would attack at any further provocation. Jim traced the unit over the animal to get it centred on the godough metabolism and readings came back that didn't look good. With a mind as closed as possible he said to Tom, "Stun the mother. The baby needs more help than we can give here." Tom was very quick and in fact already had his gun on the animal, ever since his foolish partner lowered his shield. A second later the mother just fell asleep and was carried into the transport. The native Tandra cringed in the back as the vehicle took off into the growing twilight. In the last large transport, Jim continued to use the med unit on the cub. The entire volume stunk of unwashed bodies. The Softay was perhaps the worst, as it was covered in shit. The locals being barbaric had not learned much of personal cleanliness. Their smell of fear did nothing to make the volume easier to handle. The godough smelt mostly of dog and cat combined when wet. There was a fetid odour coming from the mother too and after an additional moment on the cub the wand was transferred to the mother. Jim, Tom and their godough passengers were told to get off first. The rest of the base personnel were to raise their shields and a harmless antianxiety agent was added to the air stream. A grav sled brought the mother to medical along with her child. The much more elaborate devices scanned the animals and administered corrective measures. Transmitters were placed on each and food was administered. The tank this time was not necessary. Tom asked, "What are you going to do with these animals. I know they are smart, but they are still animals and are not quite smart enough to fit into camp life, especially if they are as large as the mother is." "I have been thinking about that too. My plans are to get the cub healthy again, and able to travel with its mother. When both are ready, then we can fly them to be with more of their kind," Jim said as he picked up a cleanser and started cleaning both animals. "When I was young, I had a dog. It was my best friend and we used to go everywhere together. Just looking at these two, remind me a lot of her." Tom could see some of Jim's thinking, and knew where it would lead, "I have never had an animal and I don't think Tandra ever had. We don't have any room and if we did there is nobody to take care of them when we are working." "You are right. It was just a little wishful thinking,"I said after my true feelings came out. To get Jim off the animals' fate Tom said, "Let's go see about our new home? They have to have almost completed it by now." The animals were left in the auto doc's care and would not regain consciousness unless ordered to. The large hanger had many ships. Most were on the ceiling or stuck to the walls one was gutted like a large fish, and pieces were scattered all over. Jim looked around for theirs and could not see it anywhere. Two techs were squatting down among the parts trying to work on them. Both men walked over and politely waited till they were noticed. "Hello, I was wondering if you could tell me where our ship is." The two smiled and Jim was ashamed to have not noticed sooner, these Tandra were with Jul, when she came to the ship and explained what they wanted done. Since the Tandra were a very homogeneous race individual differences were hard to find. The important feature was the way a brain felt and this was the real determining characteristic. "Hello Sergeant Williams and you too Tom Williams, we have been working very hard on your project. Jul is currently sleeping. She has been up since the night we met you trying to get certain features to work together. Would you like to have us wake her?" "No, that will be fine. I just wanted to see what the ship was like. Would you show it to me please?" Jim did not know how he could get such dedication to his pet project. All the beings from Sol got tonnes of cooperation but this was even beyond that. "Sergeant Williams, it is all around you. This new part is a troop transport engine that will give you more speed. For offensive power we are going to incorporate a device to distribute millions of tiny anti-personnel missiles with zinc/iron coating. Finally there is a combat drone storage area where you can deploy your own reconnaissance." "What about the AI? The last one let the Samutz combat drones into our camp." "Here too fortune favours you. We have located many Tandra craft that have been abused by the Samutz and found an AI from a light cruiser. The reconnaissance and the tricky way the power is distributed require such expenditure in resources. In space a sensor suite can be deployed astern, this will give you almost the same coverage as the cruiser. I am sorry, but this will not work in the atmosphere of this planet." The Tandra female continued, "Many systems will be relocated into the lower hold and this will make them easier to service. The area on the main deck will allow many Tandra or Humans to travel with you, but they must remain sitting because there will be little room to walk around. There is even room now for a limited number of combat suits and the other articles you requested." "I can't believe how good this sounds. Is there anything I can do to assist you? I know that you must have been working very hard to do what you have already accomplished." "No Sergeant Williams, we are happy with the way both of you have been risking your life to save our people. This is but a small way of saying that we appreciate what you have been doing." Jim still felt indebted to these techs no matter what they said. He was here to save Earth and if he could save others too then that was even better. "I thank you for what you have done in any case. Will you convey my thanks to Jul when she wakes up?" It was getting dark now and both wanted to eat. Their path led them by the compound where the newly freed Tandra and the one Softay were being processed. Tom asked, "Frieda, how are the newcomers doing?" "The Tandra that just came in are much the same as the other Tandra from this planet, with the exception of an old man and a woman. They have been cured of their diseases, but still need their bodies to build up necessary strength to get on independently. The Softay male will have significant problems even after his body heals. The older Donai will soon be able to be discharged. The younger needs another day of medical attention before being discharged." "Where did you get that name?" "They were companions for some of the Tandra on this planet. I read in your mind Jim the word pet, but this is not the full description." Tom asked, "What were their purpose and why did such a large and potentially destructive animal get to cover much of the planet?" This requires knowledge of the history of the Tandra on this planet. A strong charismatic leader by the name of Cham, convinced a majority of the Tandra to use their technology with their old love of the land. Others entered stasis to await rescue from the mother planet. Cham's plans were successful and for many centuries the Tandra actually colonized the planet. She wisely reduced their dependance on their technology and formed a strong viable society. A very virulent plague hit the planet and most of the Tandra died because they could not find or activate the technology that could save them." Jim asked, "Why can't the Tandra here mindspeak? At one time they must have been able." "There is an important vitamin that the Tandra need and it is found in only a few plants here. After their industry collapsed and during the plague years the vitamin was not produced synthetically. They resorted to the substitute at this time. The substitute, locally known as Maf, has the property of numbing the areas of the brain that allow them to mindspeak. The Tandra instinctually eat it and continue to be deaf to each others thoughts." "What about the vitamin you mentioned?" "The Tandra then for the most part do not like to live under a shield. Homes were made all over the planet. There were quite a few casualties the first few centuries. A small rodent-like animal would kill the young Tandra. The response was to develop a guard that would protect their children. They were very devoted to the children. After the collapse many of them went feral and altered over the years to be what you see now. The present inhabitants know the animals only by the more recent name." Jim asked, "What about the report that they eat the old women?" "I have no accurate data, but a wounded Tandra and a hungry Donai trying to raise their young may find the situation too irresistible. The two specimens you brought in still retain some of the old conditioning because it is built into their genes. They also have the ability to read minds and cast their thoughts but their simple minds require special phrasing to be understood by both parties." Over their meal we did a lot of speculation on the local Tandra and brought in Frieda to help support each of our arguments. Before too long the room was filled with Tandra techs arguing their own points, trying to make heads or tails of the situation. More and more of the history of the planet came out and how it affected us at this time. The next day, Jim and Tom were given a special assignment. They would control only three drones. They were much bigger and were used to transmit data from the combat drones. The plan came about because the fighters were too easy to spot and shoot down. The communication from last night suggested much larger concentrations of Samutz than had previously been considered were present. With the valley they found others of similar nature were given a much more through inspection. Since their job was to only be a relay there was little action and the day was considered boring by Jim and pleasing by Tom. Frieda said that one particular area looked to be harbouring Samutz and this group was much larger. General Shingle used a small almost invisible probe to infiltrate the site and the signal was returned by a long string of repeaters. Eventually larger units were able to enter the sites and relay much more data about the number of troops, armaments, and the ability to manufacture the deadly nerve toxin. After their mission, Jim went to medical and looked in on the Donai. The new name seemed to be more fitting to the intelligent creatures. The transmitters were removed from the younger animal and the small incisions healed. The animal had a coat of white and gray. It was mostly guard hairs now to keep it cool, but the hair was soft nevertheless. As the little Donai slept, Jim pulled back her lips and inspected her small sharp teeth, much more like a cat than a dog, though there were strong molars further back. The jaw muscles were very heavily developed. The legs and muscles on the flanks suggested that she could run for a long time. The ears were like a Shepard, because they stood straight up and could turn in almost any direction like a cat. The cub eventually awoke. It immediately growled, warning of its fearsome bite, even if it was only the size of a large house cat and still weak. "Well, little missy, we are going outside to play." Jim pictured some of the things he did with his dog and the dog's reaction. The Donai tilted her head as if trying to understand what the images conveyed. Disregarding the animal's fearsome thoughts, Jim picked her up and deposited her outside on the vegetation that served for grass. The animal was afraid and did not know if it should run and if so, where. It did accomplish one goal and shit on the grass. Jim had to remember his youth, where the country was yet untamed. In recent times, in the south, there was a mandatory stoop and scoop law when walking a dog. Jim just called the small drones to clean up the mess and hoped that this would do in the future. Jim bundled up a rag and tied it with a knot. Tom had to catch the thrown article and did so after a while. None of his previous games prepared him for doing this. Within a few minutes the Donai overcame its fear and chased after the bundle. The men at first just had to run after her and the rag would be dropped. After the tenth time, they had a hard time chasing the Donai down and recovering the toy. She eventually learned that it was a game and it was her job to keep it away. When she was tired, they took a small break. Jim ordered the mother Donai into stasis since she was completely repaired but not needed yet. In a few days of bonding with the cub it was hoped the mother could be awoken and assess the results with her youngster fully on their side. They walked to the cafeteria for their meal and found many Tandra and Humans watching their activities. The Humans especially were nostalgic about the dogs they used to own. The animal wanted to stay behind and only the images of food would get her to follow and the bloodier and gorier the better. The cafeteria was only partially full. A few men and Tandra techs ate at their tables and all watched the Donai as it refused to enter after the men. The Donai stood firm and just waited. Jim went to the dispensers, and had to do a lot of thinking to get something resembling raw meat. A bowl of water came with it. Jim placed the food outside the door and got his own food. Tom instead of going to a table, stepped outside and ate with the Donai. The Donai licked its sharp teeth and watched Jim and Tom after finishing her food. A nose came over and sniffed Tom's food, or tried to, then retreated. Jim's was much more appealing and the Donai scrambled up Jim's coveralls with its small fingers and tried to climb into the tray. Jim laughed and picked some cheese substitute and a piece of synthetic steak. He tossed them and the Donai caught them in the air and they fell down her throat as if they had not really existed. "See Tom, she likes my food better than yours." Tom retorted, "That just means that savages like the same types of food." When she got no more, she climbed on Tom to see if she could get second best. Tom threw some to her and she must have sniffed it in passing, because it followed the other food down her throat. "It seems she has decided to become less of a savage." On the way to the hanger, they passed some of the Tandra that were undergoing training. The group could be easily separated by origin when some stopped in fright and looked around for more godough. Others stopped and looked at the small beautiful creature with the big teeth. Some of the locals wanted the animal destroyed, or at least expelled from the camp. A few had used them much like the family in the ravine. The animals were an early warning device that was paid in food to stay. The night promised rain and high winds. Jim wanted to camp out on the ground to allow the Donai as much freedom as she wanted. But inside a building meant that there would be a mess to clean up in the morning. It just occurred to him they would have to leave the Donai while they went out on their next mission. Tom had an idea, and they went to the hanger again. The techs with Jul were working on their ship. Many of the pieces were assembled and kept in position by tractors while the systems were checked. Instead of the base power being used, one of the large weapons the ships in orbit carried was sitting in a cradle on the shop floor. All work stopped as the visitors were noticed. Jim came forward and thanked Jul again, if she had not been told before. "Thank you, but your words were already passed to me. As you can see, most of the problems have been worked out and only the engine needs to be mated into the hull. I am sorry to tell you that the hull is no longer the symmetrical shape it was. We do not have thousands of years to develop parts to fit the oddest shaped cavities." "You, and your crew are doing much more that I ever envisioned. I wanted lots of room, and a few amenities, while Tom wanted strength. I am very surprised that this ship will have both and not lose out to the necessary trade-offs. We actually came here on another matter. Tom thinks you may have something that we need." She turned to Tom and asked, "What is it that you would like?" I need a shovel and a gravsled. We have a friend to introduce you to and she will not be used to sleeping inside." They looked into Tom's mind. They instantly turned to the hanger doorway and saw the small beautiful Donai. She waited because she was unsure of coming into this new strange place with strange smells and noises. Tom crouched down and tried his best to project a mothering image. The Donai ran to him and clambered up the coveralls. Tom just held her in his arms and introduced her. Jul, and the rest, were from a different planet and were used to pets. Their hands were fearlessly put out to be smelled, as each of them introduced themselves. The young Donai smelt each, trying to store the scent. She moved around and got into a comfortable position to be part of the conversation, even if she could not understand any of it. An image of the finished vehicle was projected on a very large screen. Jul pointed out various features and how they were to be employed. Both strong and weak points were mentioned. "We cannot verify everything 100%, but the computer should be accurate to almost that amount. The last few points can be ironed out in the tests. If we get a little more help, the ship should be ready in two days." "Two days, that is fantastic. I can't think of anyplace that can do this type of work, even with the computer and the spare parts, especially in this short amount of time." "Thank you for your kind comments. I see in your mind that you would need somebody to watch for your newest family member while both of you are out defending us. We would be delighted to take care of her for as long as is needed. My only problem is that we might become quite attached to her ourselves." With a few more comments, Tom and Jim left with the tools. In an unkempt area of land, a section of sod was picked up and placed on the sled. The Donai immediately jumped into the shallow hole and smelt for any prey. It was a long day for her after just getting out of medical. She liked the idea of riding on top of the vegetation as they pulled it back to their apartment. That night, Jim and Tom made love and the Donai looked over her paws. She seemed to be reading the souls of each of her protectors. The men were both were awoken early. A group of Samutz were trying their best to break into a tenantless supply dump about a thousand klicks to the south. It was their turn to pull this duty. The Donai was on her feet ready to go, but found the doorway sealed and whimpered as she was left alone. Twelve minutes later, Jim and Tom were over the dump and instead of attacking as was their usual method of dealing with the Samutz, the drones descended to find out what was happening. There were only three Samutz and they seemed to be thin and scavenging for food, for they disregarded many useful articles and even a vehicle. The vehicle could easily be traced from orbit and its exclusion was understood. The remainder of the drones scattered out and stayed close to the ground. They were trying to find traps or Samutz in invisibility mode if there were any. It was not uncommon for the Samutz to bait a trap with their people. Jim landed noiselessly and picked up his shield and rifle. "Where the fuck are you going? We can shoot them from the air," Tom said vehemently. "There are no others around and they look like they are hungry. The rifle can kill them if necessary, or stun them for interrogation if their suits are down. I hope Frieda can handle that. It has been a bit too simple recently." Tom followed as he knew he would and wondered how the term simple came to describe all they were through in the last few weeks. Though still linked to the ship and its sensors, they waited for the Samutz to leave. The Samutz didn't destroy anything and even tried to hide their activities. When they were twenty metres from the depot, Tom and Jim fired stun rounds at each. They all fell and their armloads of emergency rations that they carried in their arms scattered. Adjusting the rifle to kill, they advanced to see if they were playing possum. A probe was sent out and it ascertained that they were not. "Now that we have them, what are you going to do? We can't carry them back and we have to order a transport. Luckily it doesn't have to have biologicals in it or we would be in trouble with our friends." "Good thinking, I didn't consider that point." Twenty five minutes later the transport landed and they threw the unconscious bodies into the large empty bay. They raced home to get the rest of their sleep but found General Shingle up and waiting for them. "What did you guys think you were doing? There is only a few of us and taking out the Samutz, with only your rifles was a foolish thing to do." Tom said, "We thought you were interested in intelligence. We..." "It was my fault sir. Tom is right, you did say you wanted intel. Dead Samutz don't tell us as much as living ones." "Ok, go back to bed. I will see you two hours later than usual for your next mission." Jim smiled at the chance to recover some missing sleep. "Yes sir." Their apartment was a mess and the sod was ripped into small bits. A very happy and dirty Donai jumped into Jim's arms and licked his face. The chastisement was put off for a later time. They woke up two hours later to find a young Donai nestled between them. Jim and Tom had unknowingly moved further apart to give the Donai as much room as she needed and found she liked to have a lot of it. Tom woke up first and found a large set of sharp teeth and a partially open mouth in his face. The breath coming from the slightly open mouth left a lot to be desired. Small hind legs twitched as the animal dreamed of chasing a small animal almost twice its size. The long nails of the feet struck Tom's abdomen, but were too blunt to mark the skin. Taking a quick shower and donning new coveralls he took the Donai outside, the sleepy animal just squatted on the first patch of vegetation and watered the plants to perfection. Walking around the barracks twice brought on the urge to fertilize the plants further. Coming back quietly into the apartment they found Jim still sleeping on his back with an arm over his eyes and snoring loudly. The loud exhalation was rudely cut off as the Donai jumped onto the bed, and licked the face and mouth of her friend. The arms came up and captured the animal before she could spread any more saliva over his mouth or face. Tom was laughing, both vocally and mentally at Jim. Jim was indignant that he had been caught that way. "This Donai is a valuable asset to our family. It wakes you up and makes me laugh. What are we going to call her?" The question wasn't answered. They ate and got their next mission which was the same as the last day. They then took the cub to the techs, they realy seemed to enjoy her presence. They liked her even more after seeing in Tom's mind, her early morning activities. Jim just said with a surly voice, "Let's go, we are going to be late." The area around the Umal Mountains and the southern area of the Gordon Plateau was covered fairly extensively. Apparently some information had been forthcoming from the new captives. There were a few Samutz, but most appeared to be loners. Rather than run the risk of being shot down, the drones did the work and chalked up seven more kills in this area. The drones and repeater were able to hug the ground better and this accounted for the better response. Almost 139 hidden Tandra or other animal life were also detected, 32 more were confirmed Tandra. The Samutz had cooler metabolisms so their heat signatures were slightly different and usually the difference could be detected. There were many herds of bison, antelope, and small groups of more solitary animals inhabiting this area. Large reptilian animals lived a completely solitary life and it was a wonder that the Samutz had not killed all of them. ------- Chapter 58 Back at camp they turned in their report to coincide with the AI's. Their next stop was the hanger. It was debatable whether they wanted to see the new ship or the cub more. The Donai cub ran to them, even before seeing them, she jumped on the first person through the large entrance way and it happened to be Jim. She scrambled up and licked his face and in her excitement pissed all over his coveralls. Jim knew what had happened but was not too concerned, considering the laundry service here. "Down Rosie, down, Come here Tom, you take her." He handed the animal to his mate and paused long enough to pet her soft hair on her head. "Is her name Rosie now?" "I guess it is. It was a spur of the moment thing. I had a dog once that pissed on me when she was excited." Turning to the techs he thanked each by name for watching Rosie. They seemed to be happy with the arrangement and hated to see the animal go. She had killed some of the smaller vermin that plagued large areas like this. Looking at the main floor Jim saw that more of the ship had been assembled but still none of the hull was in place. "Will you come and eat with us? I found some better recipes that had not been completely programmed in before." They were thanked, but the Tandra women declined saying how much more had to be done and that they would gladly eat with them some other day. In the cafeteria many more people came up to them asking about the availability of more cubs. Jim was not sure why the term cub was more appropriate than pups but it was. Rosie came into the room as if she were raised here and after a moment got a much larger plate of synthetic meat. Jim worked on one particular recipe he wanted and tasted the results. There were only a few diners wanting to eat and he let them pass so he could continue his research. Eventually one recipe came the way he wanted it and asked to have the formula saved. The first recipe he had been working on a gumbo recipe that he remembered from his childhood. The gumbo was made by a neighbour that had taken care of him at times. She had been the one to give the pup, Rosie, to him. Jim was finding pleasure in the simple act of programming foods into the computer. The next recipe would be much more appreciated. The Humans present had saved some of their better portions and wanted to give them to Rosie, but didn't want to upset her feeding. Jim could feel this in the room and said to all, "Rosie is thin at the moment but will get fat if she is given too much. I am also trying to give her only a few things at a time to find out if any will make her sick." If the Humans had money, Jim felt he could make another fortune here. Wait till they saw his new ship. Before leaving the cafeteria they picked up some food for the mother Donai. Jim decided he needed to try the mother on synthetic meat as the main diet food. He may not be able to supply fresh meat all the time. It was time that she was awoken. The storm last night had blown over and the ground was now suitable for camping. A light rain was predicted but nothing to really worry about. Tom set up their camp outside the main camp and made sure to bring combat suits. A collapsible tent was set up. It had enough room for six. Their fighter and weapons were set because they did not want the same thing happening as a few nights ago. They placed their tent close to the fighter and placed some blankets under the machine to make a comfortable area for the Donai. Rosie stayed with one or another of her protectors as the camp was set up. The last to come, was the mother on a gravsled. Jim had ordered her sedated so that she would be able to react but not attack. Rosie ran over to the sled and tried to get on. When she couldn't she just ran beside it till it stopped outside the camp in some tall weeds. Jim lowered the sled and slid the mother off with a small bump. The mother took the attention of her child for a moment and then placed her long arm on the cub, to keep her away. Her gaze fell on the Human and the Tandra but did not seem too concerned. Both Jim and Tom were monitoring her mood to see if they were in danger. Jim was sending her calming thoughts and pictures of her child playing and eating well. Tom, as per the plan, showed him protecting the little one. Her nose twitched and followed the scent to the food. She got up, staggered a bit, and walked to it. Rosie was not interested so the mother ate her fill which happened to be all of it. She pissed and returned to the weeds. Again she felt the others but strangely did not feel threatened. Jim and Tom separated and threw the rag ball back and forth. The mother just followed the flight without any worry. Rosie crouched down like a cat and watched the flight intently. As Tom threw the projectile lower the anticipation was too much. Rosie dashed out of the weeds and jumped into the air grabbing the rag in her mouth. Crouching, she started to worry the rag with her teeth and front feet. Jim ran to Rosie as they usually did. She saw his approach and ran in a circle so as not to get too far away. The mother was now frightened and watched Jim chase her child. When Rosie was caught she emitted a fierce growl as the youngster fought for possession of the rag. The mother used her mind and saw that it was only a game but wanted to protect her child regardless. She got up and staggered before starting her very slow run to the conflict. As she got close the rag went flying to the other person and then back. She stopped and watched her child vainly trying to intercept it. Jim tried his best to hide his mind from the mother. He pulled the rag from Rosie's mouth and threw it to Tom. He was very glad to see the Donai run after the rag and not appear to have a problem with someone after her prey. It was not easy to pretend to be unconcerned when a hundred kilos of teeth and muscles were pounding down on you. He saw the mother pause and consider the situation better and then decide to stop and watch for more danger. When the cub was breathless from its running Jim tied the rag to a long stick. After a drink the cub chased the rag as it rose and fell in its travels around the Human. The mother could feel no anger, hunger or anticipation to attack toward her or her cub and relaxed a little more. The sedative that was administered to the mother was designed to wear off gradually in six hours. Jim and Tom had used some of this up and wanted to proceed to the next stage. Taking their weapons, they walked away from the camp and the city to hunt for a very common animal that served the same purpose as a rabbit on Earth. The coona was the size of a small antelope and weighted in at 12 to 20 kilos. The entire area had many of the family- oriented animals. A typical group would number about two dozen and could leap like the Springbok of southern Africa. A group was about three klicks away, and both men stretched their muscles to run to them and keep down wind. Later, they spread out and herded the springbok like animals to their camp and a mother that would enjoy and fresh desert after her synthetic meal. They made only slow progress because the coona could become very frightened and run and leap at an amazing speed. As the animals neared camp Jim started to run, for the animals would soon scent the Donai and change direction. The group took off and ran through camp. The animals moved even faster when one was brought down by the mother. Jim and Tom raised their rifles and picked off two more of the antelope for after. Rushing into camp they saw the mother with the antelope she caught in her mouth. Her eyes almost glowed as she dared the males to take the food from her. They gave her a wide berth and continued to their own game. Tom pointed out how one was already claimed and Rosie had dug her feet into the ground and tenaciously ripping at the hide of one of the beasts. Jim dragged the carcass back to camp with Rosie doing her best to wrest the beast from his grip. By the time Tom brought his own back, Jim had started to clean the one he had. A short rope held the animal from a tree and the hide and entrails were removed. The mother watched them being placed before her child and the little glutton tried her best to eat it all. Jim made a fire after clearing a wide area of flammable material. The smoke did not travel towards the tents or the mother in the tall weeds. Jim took some green branches and stripped them with his knife. He pushed portions of meat onto them. Wooden forks pushed into the ground supported the meat off the fire. Tom had got some dead branches and had wondered why at the time. "Are we supposed to eat that stuff? Just a moment ago it was running across this land." "I predict that after one bite you will want more. If it didn't taste good why do you think Rosie's sides are so pushed out? Momma is making a lot of complementary noises about her meal. I know you will, too." Opening a cooler he brought out two bags of beer and gave one to Tom. The only brand copied was Molson's Export and hoped the brewery did not want to be paid for each counterfeit litre drank here. Jim sat down and fed the fire better to make a bed of hot coals. The wind was negligible and attested to the smoke drifting lazily upward. More wood was added as they talked about the day's events. Jim's thoughts came back more and more to the land and what could be done with it. The different areas could support different crops and present problems with the warm weather. Tom was cautious with his thoughts; he knew that the synthesizers would make any farm obsolete. Their own history told of this happening. Raw material could be scooped up and sent through a separator where each of the molecules were split up to atoms and rejoined on command to form any food desired. For millions of years this was the accepted way of doing things. Jim talked about various fruits, vegetables and meats, paying attention to a way of preparing a sample of each. His stomach growled thinking of the imaginary feast. Tom tried bringing the conversation back to Jim's life on Earth and found that the man had not been very happy with his lot there. He had a failed marriage where the wife kept the children and he was only given access on certain occasions. Jim had sold all of his property to pay the wife off but it did not help his longing for his children. The wife worked in Edmonton for a large advertising agency. She made it difficult for him to see the children and used her position with the company to provide excuses why this was so. Jim loved his kids and had a real problem with the way his ex used them to punish him. His own parents had loved the life of the north and still lived on a small farm that could barely meet their own needs. They had been adequate parents but did not work very hard to raise their children the way they should. When the flames died down Jim put the meat over the coals and looked around. Rosie was sprawled out in front of the rest of her food after getting around a major portion of it. Jim dusted his hands and got up. A few steps brought him to the cub and momma's head came up to see what was happening. Jim walked to the patch of high weeds and heard a small growl as he placed the sleeping cub at her mother's front feet. After backing up a few metres he saw a large pink tongue clean the cub. Rosie endured the attention in her sleep and just moved to a more comfortable position. Returning to the fire he got another beer for each of them. Ten minutes later, the meat was turned and Jim got out some crystalline plates and the ever-present spoonknife. When the meat was done he pushed it off the skewer and onto Tom's dish and then one onto his own. More meat was placed on the sticks and they started to heat over the coals. Tom held the dish in two hands and just looked at the dark mass before him. Jim could feel revulsion, sorrow and a helplessness to react to the situation, as he wanted. He looked at Jim as he placed the first piece into his mouth. Tom felt Jim's happiness at the taste and knew that he considered the food good. Tom remembered the time he ate and drank, then got so sick his stomach that actually heaved up its contents. Coming to a reluctant decision he cut off a small blackened piece and brought it to his mouth. Prepared for the worst he tasted the food and had to actually chew it. The consistency was very un-Tandra like. The feel of the rough edges with the soft sections was very uncommon but the taste was not really that unpalatable. He chewed some more and swallowed. The next piece was larger and he saw the pink centre and thought of the blood that flowed from the meat before cooking. This piece went into his mouth and with his stomach growling the food was found to taste a little better. The next piece was better yet and he used his finger like Jim did to deposit some of the fat from his lips to his mouth. Before long the food was gone and his stomach clamoured for more. "Would you like another piece Tom? There are lots of pieces." Tom could not hide his feelings and wouldn't this time if he could. "The meat was good. I had a lot of difficulty at first, but after it seemed to affect me differently than any of the Tandra food would. Do you think it is an atavistic tendency of mine?" "Perhaps it is. Humans enjoy going back to nature. My parents like it and even live that lifestyle as best they can. Hunters and fishermen find a lot of enjoyment out of taking down their prey, the same as a farmer has with growing a very tasty crop." The second, and a small third portion, went down as easy as the first, especially with more beer. It was a shame; Jim thought that the beer, even with alcohol, did not make him feel the same way it did before his enhancements. It was starting to get dark and the alarms were set, the combat suits informed of their duties and told to protect the two Donai too. The carcass of the butchered coona was placed in the cooler and the other left as it was to provide breakfast for their guests. It was just placed under the fighter to keep it out of the rain when it came. Perhaps the Donai would even go there to keep dry. Last of all, the fire was extinguished and both men went off to relieve themselves. It was getting chilly for the usual warm weather signifying the approaching rain. They went over to the Donai and said their good nights, but used pictures to the best of their abilities. The mother was almost over her sedation but did not growl or show any fear this time. Inside the tent, Tom put the helmet on and tried to work on his education as Jim waited. Jim thought of the person in his arms and wondered how he would function if they immigrated here after their stint in the military. Later Jim finished his own studies and decided to turn in. A cool wind blew from the east and the light patter of rain was heard on the synthetic material of the tent. Before long the rain got heavier and Jim pulled Tom closer to him as they thought of their future together. When the rain got heavier, a small hairy wet body crawled into bed with them and cuddled between the two to keep warm. Jim shuddered with the cold and turned over to get his coveralls to wrap the furry bundle in to keep the cold and wet away from their skin. Rosie smelt a little like a dog and acted a lot like a cat. She just walked in and claimed her place. Jim pulled the blanket over all of them and went back to sleep. Towards morning, he had to take off the blanket because he was too hot and went back to sleep. An hour later they were awoken by Frieda for their next mission. Turning over Jim found his arm around the mother and she just opened one eye to see what he would do. "Good morning momma. I hope you slept well." Tom was holding Rosie to him and both were keeping each other warm. When Tom woke up he asked, "How come I always wake up with my nose by her open mouth? I can smell all the things she ate yesterday as they are working through her digestive tract." "Well my bed partner was even warmer than yours and she did not breathe in my face." Tom got up on his elbow and saw the Donai peaking at him with one of her big eyes open. "Looking at her teeth, and this ones breath, I think, I would trade you, next time." The men got out of the tent, and prepared to break camp but the Donai seemed to like the tent. Tom asked, "What are you going to do now?" "If you only knew the joke about the big gorilla, you would know. Let's get our stuff and put it on the gravsled and take it back to our room. We will just leave the tent here with some blankets and the meat. If they are here tonight, then they may want to stay, if not then that is the way they want it." They went into the base and got their shower and breakfast. Both were back to the fighter on time. Before they left they said goodbye to the Donai and invited them to stay if they wanted. Today they worked with the sensors again trying to find out what the Samutz were up to. If singletons were found they were to take them out but if it looked like a coordinated movement then the satellite was to take over and see where they went. The northern section of the Gordon Plateau was covered next and their tracking would go near the section of their crash site and the family they found. Thinking of the fish Jim contacted Frieda and got the drones to scan the water to pick up concentrations of fish. When the adjustments were made on the fly Jim said, "Now this is about the best fish finder I have ever seen." "What is that?" "On Earth we would use a device to look down into the water to try to detect fish. It was very crude and not always correct but it did give some information. We would just lower our hooks and gave them a chance to bite. It was better than nothing at all except if you knew where the fish would congregate." The infrequent but large forests had a lot of wild life within their boundaries. Larger antelope and even a small primate contested with a multitude of other animals and reminded Jim of a rich jungle on Earth. The hours passed till they eventually came to the Umal Mountains and made their first of many passes. The area around the destroyed Tandra base was searched with extra care but nothing was found. They came to a deep valley with a very large waterfall. It was almost completely filled with water about twenty klicks away. The lake was almost five square kilometres in area. The possibility of Samutz was nil, but fish was a different matter. "Tom, I am going to turn around and go over that lake. Get the drones down there and see what the fishing would be like." The fighter stayed high and all the drones descended into the deep valley. They worked much slower because of the difficulty of seeing into the deep water. Tom got very excited and pulled the drones away and said, "Get out of here." Jim did as he was told and flew east and within a second at the most the lake disappeared behind the high walls. "What happened?" Jim asked for Tom's mind was a furious jumble of thoughts. "We found them," he said with triumph. Jim wandered what he was talking about. Fishing was not that important to Tom, or at least he didn't think so. The thoughts were still unclear so Jim looked at his own display instead of checking on threats around him. When he rolled the history, he found an underwater city. The clip was very short but there were many openings, in the side of the mountain and all underwater. Samutz could be seen swimming, and in one case a piece of machinery was being transported with some buoyant device. Jim rewound the clip and viewed it many times. "General Shingle, are you there?" "Yes Jim. What do you want? You sound excited." "I am sir. Tom found an underwater city about twenty klicks behind us. There are many Samutz swimming around and many more openings for habitation." The computer was checked and the location was sent along with the video clip. There was a lot of activity now in Souts. Jim and Tom were not excluded from it, but could get only the fringe. The General came back and said, "Continue with your mission Jim. We don't want to warn them that we know their location. Check other locations that have deep water." Then to Tom he said, "Tom I want to thank you for this. We have been looking for this base since finding that other base you two ran across a few days ago. We have gotten two good breaks from you boys and I just wanted to say thanks again." Both said thanks in their own way and the mission continued. Frieda uploaded more locations of watery habitats and plotted a course that would allow them to search about 40% of them. "Well Tom I think we could get a job commanding one of those cruisers sooner than I thought, but in a way I have taken a liking to this planet. I don't seem to know what I want anymore as long as you are with me." Tom felt very good when he was complemented like that from two very important people in his life. "This discovery is mostly your doing. If it wasn't for you wanting to checkout fishing areas we would never have found them." "If you hadn't been so clever with the controls we would never have seen them either. Straight up the centre would have found fish but probably missed the Samutz." They managed to get four more sites checked and found one that showed habitation but nothing that looked recent. Their extra duties took them into the late afternoon. They were anxious to get back because of the promise that the new ship would be ready. Landing at the hanger they were met by Jul and twelve other Tandra. They were lined up and even formed ranks. Jim knew that this was a special occasion. The fighter hovered on its gravs and slowly descended to one side of the large door. "Tom, how do we act?" "The same you would if your friends had worked for days at a time to make you something very special." "A lot of help you are." The hatch opened and Jim squeezed out and stretched his back and legs. Tom came out right behind him with less difficulty and stood beside his mate. They walked together in step till they were a metre in front of Jul. "Welcome Jim and Tom Williams. My co-workers, wives, and I, have completed the ship to your specifications." Jim tried to think of something auspicious but could only say, "We have been anxiously awaiting this. Would you show it to us?" The hanger was brightly lit and the ship we picked was no more. Before us was a dark shape that seemed to suck in the light. The length was just over 16 metres and hovered a little off the floor. Walking around to the stern it was a little over 3 and a half metres high and about 5 metres wide. Antennas broke the basic shape as they had before, but now the symmetrical shape was rudely altered with an abrupt flaring. Jul said, "The aft end was much altered. The new engine could not be accommodated in the original hull. In fact, many of the systems have been moved to fit within the old hull along side the new equipment we have installed. I think it will take you quite a while to become acquainted with this new machine." I was amazed at the machine. The fighters and other ships had a similar coating on their hulls, but had worn off in the years since they were put into service. The modifications reminded me of muscle cars with openings in their hoods for larger air intakes and the wheel wells altered to fit more efficient tires. If this was the exterior, I wondered what the interior would be like. Jul had been reading me and said, "I would like to introduce to you Jonesey. I have taken the liberty of taking the name from the old unit and giving it to the new AI." "Hello, Jonesey. I hope we will have a lot of fun working together." "Hello Jim and you too Tom, I have never been given a name before and it gives me joy to know you." The voice in our heads was rich and full and distinctly feminine. The complexity behind the voice was orders of magnitude more advanced than any other ship that we had contact with. I could only compare Jonesey to 'Mom', who we flew here in. Frieda was a base computer and out shone them both, but this was our ship. Studying her more, I found it almost like a young princess having to live with the commoners for her new duties would not be nearly as complex as what she had been used to handling before. Tom was stunned at the unexpected intelligence of the ship and said, "Hello, Jonesey, you certainly are a surprise. You are almost like Frieda in many ways." "Thank you Tom. I will endeavour to work with both of you to the best of my ability." The ramp slid out and the hatch opened wide. I was closest and walked up first. The opening was large enough that I did not need to stoop and wide enough that two could enter at the same time. I expected the interior to be crowded now with equipment but found it almost the same as what it originally was. There was 9 metres of open space bow to stern, two and a half metres wide and high enough that I missed the ceiling by at least five centimetres in the centre. It gradually tapered off to shoulder height at the edges. The pilot's chair was from a much larger ship and had all the manual controls as an integral part of it. There were gobs of leg room in the sunken floor. The interior was well lit and everything stood out for ready access. A large display screen seen on the larger ships came to life and various features of the hull were brought to the forefront. Jonesey commented with the graphics. "Here is the lower deck, the placement of weapons, and auxiliary power. The aft bulkhead shows the position of the extra shielding along with some of the additional offensive weapons." I climbed into the shallow well and stretched out in the chair. Immediately I was more fully integrated into the AI and could actually feel the pent up power that this ship possessed. The base and even the ships in orbit seemed closer and much more tangible. Turning to Tom I could understand him the way we did when we were flying the fighter together. The three of us made a good team. This ship was so much more than the fighter and I had not even flown it yet. Tom was making his own discoveries and getting explanations from both the computer and the assembly crew. At the moment all of them fit into the ship and even they marvelled anew at what they had wrought. I was itching to try the ship out and asked, "Jul, would you and your crew like to go for a short flight to see how it works?" "We have already test flown this ship but I would be happy to go for another." I talked to Frieda about our trip to get clearance and headed towards the plateau at a height of only a hundred metres. The screen came alive with the images along our course. This was nothing new for Tom and I but just a larger view. A small herd of buffalo followed by three pairs of Donai reminded me of our own friends. The weapons included the drones and I released them to accompany us. The detail got clearer even if it was starting to get dark. I flew over the old crash site and found the Donai and some small heat signatures inside their den. The waterfalls completely hid the Tandra and I could easily see why our other scans had failed till we went looking for fish. I could momentarily picture all of those I met not too long ago and tried to wish them a hello as we flew over. After going ten minutes we went into a high speed assent and within a half a minute were in orbit. Protocols were passed to the satellites and we circled the globe as we discussed some of the finer features incorporated into the new design. The stasis box held rations even though they were not needed here. A small storage beside it held more rations. A cleanser could be pulled out and accommodate three if they didn't mind being chummy. The head was then pulled out too. Thankfully we did not have to crap in our suits and have the automatic functions clean it up. Jul pointed out a panel that could be pulled out that could support pots, while another area could bake what I wanted. An insubstantial table of force could be pulled out to work on or serve food. This only came out a short ways because of the unavailability of room presently. On our descent we went over the Umals again. The drones in our hold where configured for life within the water. Jul and the rest of her people were fascinated by being on a mission and able to see the underwater environment. There were no traces of Samutz here and we contented ourselves with doing a speedy census of the local fish life. A few saurian predators patrolled the margin of the lake and fled into the water when they saw our approach. This area had a wide shoreline protected with many sand dunes. Local antelope and other animals came here at this time to drink. I found myself trying to find a nice spot to live in this area and stopped myself immediately. There were centuries left if I wanted to be granted a piece of land here. For all I knew, the next planet could be even more beautiful but I knew that finding a better planet would be hard to do. I was curious about the falls at our old crash site and came back that way. We found fish in a lake upstream of the falls and almost none in a lake further down. The area behind the falls now displayed many warm bodies. Two Tandra were out hunting as well as the local Donai. As we got back to the base, I recalled all the drones into our hold and scanned the area for Rosie and her mother. The tent was empty but I found them a few klicks south trying to work their way toward another large gathering of antelope. With a smile I circled and restructured the shield to allow noise to be generated. The antelope ran but not at a frantic pace and right toward the Donai pair. The screen was focussed on the Donai as the fleeing antelope came by their position. The mother jumped out and landed on a large buck. It was brought down within seconds. The rest fled at a much faster pace jumping high in their haste to get away from their main predator. Rosie waited her chance and jumped out only to get hit with a flying hoof and knocked metres away. Mother broke her victim's back and rushed over to her child. I reconfigured the shield and cast soothing thoughts to her as we landed a few hundred metres away. Running up to the cub with a med unit in my hand I heard the unmistakable growl and said, "Not now Mother. I am trying to help Rosie." She stood over her child and showed me all her teeth. She warned me away with her voice and her thoughts. "I am only trying to help. I did it before and I can do it again." The words were not working, and I pictured me running the unit over her baby before and the next thing she knew Rosie was running around as good as new. While she thought over the pictures I came at her child the same as I had in the pictures. The med unit showed that she was still alive and had a few cracked ribs that would normally leave her less that perfect for the rest of her life. The bones had to be aligned and this new tool brought back her fears. The bones were fused and Rosie was given a sedative to keep her from reinjuring them till they were better healed. Stepping back a moment I pictured a sleeping Rosie that woke up to race around as she did before. My happiness was transferred and she relaxed. I backed away further and walked back to the ship. Tom was only a few metres from me with the rifle ready to protect me if anything happened. "One of these days you will get chewed up again and I won't be here to help you or carry your sorry ass back for disposal." "That is the good thing of having a mate like you. I know where you stand all the time and I know how you will react." Getting back to the ship and the rest of the passengers I said, "The little tyke will be all right she had a fractured rib or two." Then on another theme I said, "Last night we had a meal out here. If we go back for some supplies will all of you join us? I am sure you will enjoy the outing and the meal I will prepare too." Jul was hesitant. This was something radically new. First she quizzed Tom and found he liked sleeping under the stars. The food he grudgingly said was good. Next she looked into my mind to see what I had planned. I listed everything in order so she would know what to expect. The new ship would stay next to us and give shelter if roughing it in a tent was too different. "We will try as you ask. We derived a lot of pleasure from making the ship the way it is now and this 'camping' may be just as enjoyable." We made a short hop to the old campsite and found the tent in good shape and the blankets only tossed about. There was no unsightly mess of carrion or excrement and quietly thanked the Donai for this consideration. Treating my new camp mates as girl scouts I sent them to get wood. Tom and a few new assistants went for supplies and our cooler of meat. He knew of my testing at the food synthesizer and promised to bring more than enough for all. Before he left he patted the rifle and made a point of showing it to me before flying the short distance. Within moments there was more than enough wood for the entire night and the next day too if we wanted. A wider area was cleared for more tents. The larger pieces of wood were cut to manageable sized pieces. A good fire was started to provide the coals needed for cooking. The others just looked at the anachronistic form of energy and became mesmerized with its beauty. It took a few moments to break and it only happened when a vagrant gust of wind blew the smoke into their eyes and lungs. Their coughing was heard as I cut more skewers for the meat and this time made twice as many. 'Y' shaped supports were also cut and pushed into the ground in a ring. I planned on sweeping the coals into a central area between the supports later so my tools would not burn prematurely. Tom came back and almost settled before rising again and landing in a better place upwind. Containers of beer, tea in pouches, the cooler of meat, warmed synthetic vegetables, bread, cutlery, plates, mugs, and then all the sleeping equipment was brought out. Tom instructed the rest on how to set up the tents. I put the meat on the skewers and got it ready to cook. Jul was learning how to feed the fire, with the intention of getting coals, and not get burnt or eat smoke in the process. I knew Jul was the metsu of her candasu, and her three wives followed her lead. Two watched in amazement as she casually dealt in forces they hardly knew existed. The tents were set up with the hope the wind would remain in the same direction. I took the skewers and worked them into the meat. I then put it all in the cooler and back to the fire. With a few long thin branches I made an improvised corn broom, and directed the coals to the new location. When this was done I placed the skewers in position. The pit was large enough, that we could all get close. The talk centred on this almost mythological way of living, from their dim history. Humans had been doing this till fairly recently, while the Tandra had not done this for many millions of years. I went around the hot coals adjusting the meat while Tom broke out the beer. This was not a Tandra drink but they tried it to be sociable. Some took an instant liking to it while others had to drink another pouch to be sure. Tom got the vegetable containers ready and just like a mess hall slapped vegetables on the plates after I placed a hot portion of meat on them. Their faces were much like Tom's and had to take a few bites till they got into the spirit of our meal. I put more meat on as the old skewers were emptied. Tom felt bad that he could stop to eat while I still tended the food. "My time will come Tom. I am the host here and it is my duty to see that my guests and family are happy." I got a radiant smile and he sat down with the others to eat from the plates in their laps. It was getting full dark and the first fire was just coals so I placed more fuel on it. Eventually I heard groans of contentment as stomachs were unaccustomedly filled. I got to eat and found the meat better with vegetables and some bread. Tom and I were congratulated on our efforts by very sated guests. The cooked meat was almost all gone and even a few uncooked pieces were left. The wind was very warm still but still cool for the heat loving Tandra. Tom broke out a lot of large blankets and they were used to shield groups of three around the fire. The beer was not liked by all but still seemed to go much faster than the tea. Perhaps I should introduce 'Long Island Iced Tea' to get the tea supply down. While most were huddled in their blankets close to the fire I checked on my one secret. Taking a bowl I scooped a large portion of food out. With a spoon I handed it to Jul. "Thank you friend Jim, but I am too full to eat more." "Just try a little, if you cannot eat it that will be fine." She did as I asked shivered and pulled the blanket around her more tightly. Her tongue came out and cleaned the spoonknife then had some more. I returned to the container and scooped more out and gave the bowls to Tom to give to the rest of our guests. I heard some small complaints till they tasted the fair we provided and then the taste convinced them to continue eating. Tom was the last. He took a big bowl of the unknown substance and sat beside Jul to eat. I came over and sat on the other side of Jul, and ate my chocolate ice cream. After our desert, I sat closer to Jul and Tom did likewise so that all of us were in groups of three. "Sir, there is a dangerous animal coming toward your camp." I looked through the sensors and saw the mother Donai and her cub. "Thank you Jonesey, they are Donai, we are familiar with them. The older one can be dangerous but has not hurt us yet. Please send out some drones to protect the camp from other intruders and allow the Donai free access. By the way I like to be called Jim." "Very good Jim we are getting a big and a little visitor. The little one is probably hungry." I projected the vision from the ship's sensors and thought loudly. "Come in you are welcome," then a picture of sleeping Donai being kept warm around a fire and close to friends. The mother stopped out of range of our normal vision but Rosie bounded forward and only her mother's growl stopped her coming to us. When everybody was checked to see if they were hostile or not the mother came in. Her eyes did not glow in the dark like a cat's but her mind was more than enough to find her. She eventually came in and lay down beyond our circle Rosie could not wait. She bound for us and the growl did not stop her as she landed on us and licked my face, Jul's, and then attacked Tom too. Tom was overbalanced and fell on his back to the joy of Rosie. I looked at the mother and figured she would probably be a member of our family eventually and gave her the name Mary, after Mary Swisher, a neighbour that was forever watching out for her kids. Looking directly at her, I said, with my voice and mind, "I would like to call you Mary after a good mother I knew." I looked at her and did not know if the sounds or complex thoughts were understood properly. With the unconcern of a cat she just ignored me as her daughter roughhoused with my mate. Her sides were wide and I knew she had eaten her fill and Rosie had done the same. But like all youngsters she would soon be hungry again. Jul asked, "You treat them as your children. Why is that?" "I had dogs when I was young and later a cat. They seem to have the qualities of both. I also noticed some Tandra a few days ago wanting to keep a young cub with them. I doubt if there is much difference between our cultures in that way." That night we slept in four tents. In the morning I was rudely awoken by "Not again! How come it is always me?" I turned over and found Rosie cuddled by Tom's face and moved my hand behind me and felt a warm soft coat. I groggily got up to water a nearby bush and moments later Tom was beside me to do the same thing. Before we were done Jul came running over. She opened her coveralls and took out her urethra, then competed with us in eliminating her used beer. She moved her face closer to my back and sniffed me. "I see you had your friend sleeping at your back. Perhaps one day you would like me to do this if it will not upset Tom." I looked at Tom as he weighted the pros and cons before giving me a smile. "I think I can do that. Will your wives get jealous?" "No. They know I'm looking for a suitable father for our future children." This put an entirely different slant on things. If Jul liked me then I could give her and some of her wives my children. My own children on Earth were denied me and I vowed along time ago to not let this happen again. "Jul, I would be happy to audition but we will need to talk and come to an understanding. I am not a Tandra male and no matter how much I love Tom I will not act like one." Jul searched my mind, and I opened it as wide as I could. It took a few moments till she nodded her head and put her plumbing back in her clothing. "We can talk when you are ready. I will explain this to my sunas to see how they react. You are under no obligation." Tom and I turned around and decided to talk later. At the moment Rosie was clawing at the cooler wanting what was inside. Opening it I took two cooked pieces of meat and gave Mary seven of the raw pieces. When Rosie was done she got the final piece of raw meat. Tom and I began to tidy up the site and put things away in the ship. I decided to leave the original tent in place and waited only for the other Tandra to awake. There was just enough ice cream left to make a good breakfast. I told them that the food had already been programmed into the synthesizers. I wondered if these girls would have a similar fixation with pickles later. ------- Chapter 59 Jonesey and our new hull proved an effective combination. More drones could be handled along with an improvement in the image quality because of the increase in processing power. Almost twice as many Samutz were spotted and destroyed. These were well hid singletons and some were hidden so well we had to use the small anti-personnel bombs and did little damage to the area except to the Samutz and their suits. The other areas with deep lakes were checked and another crew only found one abandoned installation. There was a curious absence of the larger forms of aquatic life in three other lakes close to this installation. We covered an open section and went slow, but now had time to talk. "Tom, what do you really feel about me making love to Jul and her wives?" Tom took a second to collect his thoughts and said, "They are very nice people and they are close to us and the base. If we have any children we will have time to help them grow correctly. I read in your mind about losing your own children and think this is the best solution. The only problem I see is that we have decided to remain in the military and this means they or us could be transferred at any moment. By Tandra law the children go with the mothers'." Jim could also see in Tom's mind the clinical aspects of the multiple acts. The women would be impregnated and I would stay around for a while. I would come back only on occasion till the children were born and then it would be just us visiting the children for a few hours each day. The mothers would be happy to see us come and then see us go later. This made me stop and think. Tom's view would actually be the way it was. There would be love from Tom and I for our children for they would be his too, but only a little from the mothers. This was definitely not the family life I wanted or needed. I knew that since I embraced the Tandra way of life, I was the sooda of our family and could have more than one funt. Tom recognized this when we made our first commitment to each other but tried to keep his feelings of the two of us being a family well hidden. Would it really be possible for a mixed family to function? It must have been tried before but did not have a Human as the head of the family. Would I make a difference or would our family fail and cause a lot of grief to all of us? At the end of our mission our course took us through the central section of the Gordon Plateau. Our sensors caught some activity. Two Donai were chasing a small herd of local bison toward a low cliff. As we watched some stopped at the precipice but were pushed over by the ones behind. Only four fell and the rest ran parallel to the edge to get away from the Donai that were not chasing them now. There was too much meat to feed only two Donai even if they had young. "Tom, use our tractors to hook onto two of the bison. I want to deliver them to the family behind the falls and keep a little bit for us." "You want to eat them?" "If you remember, the antelope you ate tasted pretty good. Didn't it?" "Well, yes, but this is somehow not right. They are already dead and we weren't hunting them." "We will just keep it away from other scavengers or the carcasses will just go to waste. Let's stow them in the hold and finish our run?" Tom manipulated the tractors picking up the two beasts and then put them into storage beside the missile that we were using for supplementary power. The remainder of our mission passed without finding anything noteworthy. Staying at 500 metres we came into Souts. The city had changed little since we came except to the number of Tandra that were moving about. The wide slow moving Sandu River that passed close to the city formed a gentle curve as if to avoid the town. Four tunnels ran under the river to some small settlements on the other side. One day they would be incorporated into the city proper. The camp was in one of these areas and now occupied almost a square kilometre. Outside this area was our own settlement with one tent and two Donai hunting within a few klicks. I sat in the seat and recalled everything we had done today and composed the report. My own interpretations flavoured the observations as Tom's would as he sat in his seat in front of the manual reconnaissance controls. I took the manual controls and brought our descent down to within a few metres of the cafeteria. With a sigh, I left the chair and slapped Tom on the shoulder, "Come on. Let's get some vegetables, fruit and some bread and maybe some beer to wash the beef down." "Beef, I thought we were eating those animals in the hold?" Then in a snide way he said, "The way you have been eating lately, I have been thinking you have reverted to your carnivorous past." "Yes, I do like my meat. Let's get some groceries and stock up the ship. That way we don't have to come back all the time. The roster says that we have to patrol the other side of the planet and give the others a chance to work close to the base." We picked up a grav sled and loaded it with all the supplies we were likely to need including vitamins for both of us. Thinking of the family we were going to visit I got many things that would make their life better. The synthesizer on the ship could make edible food but the variety and quality were very inferior to the cafeteria. Tom asked as we ferried the food; "If we are going to remain away from the base what are we going to do with Rosie and Mary?" "The reports say that the Donai live over there too and I would like to take them with us if they want to come." "How are you going to get a full grown and very wild Donai that has not been around us very much to accept such a thing?" "The best way is to take things slow. We make short trips and make frequent stops where she can get out if she wants and the best inducement; the meat in our hold." Dmitriy Baranov, one of the Russian recruits and his two female Tandra wives came up to ship and said; "Hi Jim, Tom. I heard you got a new ship. Why did you want such a slow ship as this?" "Hi Dema I would like to introduce you to Jonesey. I am sure she could show you the error of your ways." Dmitriy and his wives stopped by the ship and listened with their minds as Jonesey told them of her systems and capabilities. Dema, as his friends called him looked over the hull and tried to see everything that was discussed. I invited them in as we stowed the last of our supplies. The three just wandered around and looked at the different features. Almost five minutes later the six way conversation ended and Losan the senior wife, or possibly metsu asked; "How is it possible that you found this ship? I have no recollection of any Tandra vessel like it." "We did not find it. Jonesey here and the hull are the better parts of many ships. They have been put together to improve an existing vessel. We have more room better shielding and more weapons. We can stay away for extended periods. The increased space means we can sleep comfortably here and as I said to Tom, this could be our first house." I said looking at Losan and Dema; "I hear that you are going to be parents. Are you looking for a home too?" Dema puffed out his chest and hugged his pregnant wife to him. Losan was from Earth while Nosa was from one of the ships that were taken away from the Samutz. There was no way that they would now be parted. Dema felt only a little odd having two wives while the Tandra felt odd about forming a family with a male head. "Yes, we are going to have a baby. Soon Nosa will follow," he said as he reached out and held his other wife too. "Most of the Humans would love to have our homes here, even if it is much warmer than Russia. How do you feel about that?" "I feel the same, but there will be lots of fighting left to do. The reports say that the Samutz have almost 50 planets, and that is only the ones we know about. As others join us we will have to lead the rest in evicting what Samutz we can. It will truly be hundreds of years before we can retire and I doubt if the job will be finished then." "Da," he said as his dreams came crashing down. "But one day we can settle down and enjoy life. I can't think of a better place than here." I watched the man leave later with his arms around each woman. There was a lot of love there and I was a little jealous of their ability to bring forth new life. Tom said; "It is ok. Soon we will have our own females and then our children. It will be a relief to go on a mission and leave them behind." "Tom, if we get one of those cruisers we can take our family with us. Then the only relief will be on the bridge." I was cleared for a small trip and rose to find Mary and Rosie. They were still hunting so they were probably still hungry. Landing in our old spot, I walked down the ramp with Tom. I called with my mind; "Rosie, Mary; food." I pictured a bloody leg and the comparative size of the Donai. "Rosie, Mary; meat." I felt urgency and a gladness that made me feel good. A few minutes later Rosie came barrelling out of the brush with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. I bent down as she jumped into my arms and then tried to lick both of us with her very wet tongue. Mary stayed back but I could tell she was happy to see us too even if she refused to acknowledge it. I put Rosie into Tom's arms and walked forward to kneel in front of Mary. This was unusual for both of us but she could not see any hostile actions in my mind and relaxed. "Mary; we brought bison," I projected the two animals in the small hold. She seemed eager for the food and wagged her long tail like a dog when promised a treat. Tom went into the ship and the small tractors took out the carcasses and then lowered the two bison to the ground. Using a small hand weapon I cut a damaged front leg off one and asked Tom to return the animals to the hold. Mary did not attack which surprised me but it was plain to see that she was very anxious. I carried the meat into the ship and she followed immediately. The leg was placed on the deck and the ship rose at my silent urging. While Mary was happily ripping the flesh from the bone, we headed out and over the city. "Jonesey, will you deploy the probes; I want to look in the river." "Yes Jim. The silt content is a very high and we will have to fly them closer than usual." The river had very few large fish which was surprising as there was lots of feed for them to eat. I corrected course and found much of the river was the same way. The Samutz had used the much more efficient waste management system even if they only converted it to chemicals for their industry. There was nothing going into the river to restrict some marine growth, or promote others. Soon the river veered one way and we took the other direction overland to the falls. I heard the large leg bone snap behind me as Mary happily kept eating. Tom was sitting on the floor under Mary's watchful gaze as he groomed the cub. A low rumble came from her that would be to her type of purring. As we approached the waterfall I said, "Jonesey, will you send out the drones in a wide pattern? I want to stay in the low area beside the falls for a while." "Yes Jim. I will put a repeater above our position to intercept the signals." From overhead we could see the entire area. The burrow had only small sources of heat. Coming around the sharp bend I found the local Tandra frozen in fright. The males were close and the females were fishing in the pool. As we landed the males just ran downstream while the females were trapped and cowered in fright at the possible Samutz coming to eat them. "Fenna, Mona, Fonza, Boko, it is ok. We have brought you some food. Bring the rest." I said knowing the exercise might be useless if they couldn't hear me with their minds. "Tom, land first and let them see it is only us. They're petrified." As we settled they broke out of their trance and ran up the sides of the gully to escape even if it was a futile gesture. Their course was designed to lead us away from the children behind the water. We settled and I immediately jumped out to leave. Tom stooped me, "Jim, take the rifle. One of these days you will die if you don't." I took the weapon handed me and left on the run. "Fenna, Mona, Fonza, Boko, it is only us. We brought some food," I yelled in the local dialect. I don't know if they heard or not but they stopped and looked back. They were very uncertain now. Before we had invaded their home and now came for a visit. This time we gave them the option of not meeting us. The males were gone now and Boko was the first to decide to return. His first steps were slow and deliberate to give him time to think, but after his memory kicked in better his steps quickened. By the time he was half way back one then the other of the females followed his steps. I could see many bruises and Fenna was cradling her left arm. It looked like both adult males had been taking out their frustrations on the older children and the two wives. Boko got down to the level section and stopped to think as he looked at us. He was not finished yet as the females came down and stopped beside him. I had not been looking into his mind as I should have. He had only a thin fur over his loins. He put his thumbs into the waistband and pushed them down. He looked no different from the females except for his much smaller breasts. He tentatively approached me looked into my eyes and sank to his knees before nuzzling my crotch. He wrapped his arm around one of my legs. His mind was in very deep turmoil. "Tom, what is it he wants?" I thought I knew and was afraid to even look myself for fear of being right. Tom looked deep into the young man or perhaps boy, and said, "I am afraid he wants to join our family and become your funt like me. His real parents are dead. The two males took him in like the other girl and the young boy for toys. You have to either accept him now or cast him aside for he has committed himself in front of witnesses. This itself makes the commitment very real and serious matter." "What am I to do? He is only about 18 Earth years old. I have you and I don't know if I am ready to start a family. We were going to put off looking into this idea, till after the planet quieted a bit." "Look into his mind. He is desperate. Since we were last here, he has been beaten black and blue because he found you superior to the other males. When Fonza did the same she was beaten. The women tried to stop the beatings but only got themselves in trouble. Even the little children have been hurt. It appears that the males were planning on abandoning them in a few days after laying up some supplies. If you don't take him in, they will probably die." "We can take all of them to Souts and get them settled into the refugee camp." "That could work especially for the older females and the children, but the boy would probably commit suicide. You are his last hope. He has only held on now because he was trying to protect this family." I looked and then very deeply into Boko's mind. He had always been beaten for one excuse or another and even before we came he was planning this final decision. The females loved him as a child but one growing too big to mother soon. There were no other males around to take him in and he was too young to start his own family. His plan was to walk till he found a Samutz and present himself. It was well known that nobody came back after such a meeting. "Tom, I don't want to put a strain on our own relationship. What do you suggest?" "It is your decision. I always knew I would have to share and just hoped to put that time off as late as possible. I hoped it would be some females so we could have our own children." "I feel the same way but I don't want Boko to kill himself either. Can we do this for just a while till he finds somebody better?" "He will be just like me. It will be a lifetime commitment. He is young and can learn to watch out for the children when they come. He could do all the chores that need to be done when we are on patrol." I looked down at Boko and knew that he was listening but could not hear very well for he caught only an image now and again. He was a pretty boy but would slowly age as the rest of us did. The lifetime commitment had to be on my part too. I was basically a heterosexual, but the Tandra blurred that distinction an awful lot. The fact that a male acted like a female, and the reverse, was the only way that I could even bring myself to take Tom. I wanted children to take over for me, but with the promise of a very long life this appeared to be just an instinctual need. Looking into his mind again I saw that he would be faithful to me and our family which would be much more than Humans would ever commit themselves to. He was getting nervous now and wondering if he had made a grievous mistake. He wondered if he should have kept running up the gully and out onto the plain beyond. Taking his chin in my hand I said with my voice, "I accept you into our family Boko, but I want you to know that Tom will always be at my side." His smile was almost radiant as he pulled me tighter into his grip. "Will you take me now master?" "That is not the way I want to be called. It is Jim and Tom," as I vocalized the odd, to him, sounds. Pulling him up he clung to me and his pelvis stayed glued to my leg as if reminding me of his body. The only thing he thought he had to offer. He stiffened abruptly, his arms around my waist squeezing painfully. I looked into his mind and saw a fierce predator approaching us from the ship. Turning my head I saw Mary strolling down the ramp followed by Rosie. The latter was dragging the large bone with her as she went down the incline. I pried Boko off of me. "Tom, take him." Tom came forward at my urging and held the quivering boy in his arms. Walking slowly to the Donai I said, "Hello girl. These are my friends." I pictured them playing with me and eating together with no competition or hostility. Mary looked at each of the Tandra and sniffed the air but did not go closer because she could sense the great fear coming from them. Her large eyes seemed to glow with concern as she reacted to the fear. "Don't worry Mary. Let's have more food." This didn't help much, so Jonesey raised the ramp a little and drifted over to the flat rock previously used to clean the fish. I walked with the ship as Mary and then Rosie accompanied me. Upon reaching the rock Jonesey took out the last carcass and I used a long knife to begin cutting. The animal was skinned with a small tractor and a grav sled to help. Rosie had to be given good portions to keep her from attacking the hanging bison. Other good portions went into our stasis box and the rest placed on the hide. Mary felt free to jump right in and eat her fill of the softer portions. The second animal followed the first but only the choicer hind section kept. The larger portions were cut smaller for the Donai that lived in the adjoining gully. I pissed on a nearby rock to leave my scent and then washed my hands in the warm water of the stream. I wondered how clean it was since I knew it was the bathroom for the home behind the falls. The hind was still attached to the gravsled and we walked back to the group of Tandra. I could feel Mary's eyes on the large portion of meat leaving her grasp even though she had so much before her already. We had to try and reassure the donai that they would always have food while we took care of them. Tom gave orders to Boko and both started gathering larger portions of wood. When within sight of the falls we started a fire and cut sticks for the roasting of the meat from a nearby tree. The females stood in awe as the Donai continued to eat and remembered how I actually ignored them as I butchered the large animals. The fire burnt high leaving a thin trail of smoke in the clear blue sky. As the fire burnt down Tom placed some of the meat on sticks and showed Boko how I liked it done. This was not much different than he had done when in the cave. I went to the river to get some clean flat rocks to put our finished product onto. Tom took Boko's hand and led him to the ship as it regained its old position. He led Boko inside to bring out supplies. Plates, blankets, spoonknives, beer, tea, a cleanser and bowls of hot vegetables were promised soon. It looked like Tom and Boko would work out fine for the lad was getting over his fear and seemed to enjoy working with Tom. The females just stayed rooted to the spot they had before. Their fear was still so strong it was almost able to be tasted. "Fenna, Mona, Fonza, watch what I do." I took the cleanser and singled out Fenna and ran the instrument over her face hair and body. It hadn't been so long before that I had cleaned her but life in the wild didn't allow her a way of keeping clean. I wondered what had happened to the cleanser unit left with them. It would clean all of them easily and even the children could use it. I moved her trembling body as the others watched what I did and the Donai. The portion of skin left behind was clean and pink. She flinched a little as the cleanser made contact with her right breast and was ready when her left was treated the same. Stepping behind her I did her back and ran it down her legs. Thinking of later I bent her over pushed her legs apart carefully and sent tingling sensations into her erogenous regions. She groaned and the fear had partially left her. When Fenna was done I handed the wand to Mona and said "Clean Fonza well and give the wand to Fenna to do you. I want all of you to be very clean." She was reluctant to even touch the instrument and her hand came out and then pulled back. Finally she did touch it and when it did not hurt she grasped it better. Her mind finally told me what happened. The males had found all of the high tech equipment and buried them. Everybody was beat for having clean skin. There was nothing much to do so I looked at the cleaning stone and found Rosie and Mary gone. Perhaps they were bringing a gift to their neighbours. The next thing to do would be to get the children but I did not want to startle them as we had before. Fonza was clean and looked as beautiful as Boko except for all the scarring and the bruising that covered much of her body. Her face was pulled to one side as the muscles forced the skin in that direction. Her arm was especially bad and I wondered how she managed to stay alive in such a backward civilization. "Fonza honey. Will you get the children so we can get them cleaned for our meal?" She was frightened for them and wondered if they would be beaten again for doing just what they were told. I began to wonder myself how I could stop this. I could picture in my mind the feeling of pain and fright quite clearly. The males would beat their family. I could not exactly place the cause in my mind this time but it centred on our arrival. I could rush in and fight the males but that was not the right way of doing things either. The feelings of pain would increase then after a few minutes Tom would ask, "Aren't you going to do anything about this situation?" "What can I do? The customs of the Tandra here support what the males are doing. Am I as a Human to make my preferences come before theirs? That way leads to a new set of dictators taking over from the Samutz." "You have to do something. You can challenge the males to a fight." "Yes I can and if I loose I forfeit my life, and if I win I gain a family because the males surely will leave. Are you ready now for that?" "It is my turn to not think ahead this time," Tom said. "The resettlement camp outside Souts has many of the local Tandra as well as the ones rescued from the ships. The families are being educated in our old customs and no fighting is allowed. Perhaps we can take them to the camp and get them settled in?" "That sounds like a good idea except it still hinges on both of us thinking that they would be better in the camp. I know I would resent having to leave my home like some of my ancestors had to do. Then, if anything valuable was found on the land we were given we were forced to move again." I was pulled out of my thoughts by the children's gleeful laughter as they ran towards me. I just had to smile and squat down to receive them. They ran into my arms as if I were their father and I felt a deep pang of regret that I wasn't. They were such beautiful and loving children that I only wished they were my own. There were too many to carry so I just got them to follow me to the ship. They trustingly walked up the ramp and stared wide eyed at the interior. Tom and Boko were still busy taking heated vegetables and bread out towards the fire. I took off my coveralls and picked up the younger girl and stepped into the cleanser with her in my arms. She fought to get away for a second till she found out that she was not being hurt. She felt the tingling sensation that she experienced with our first visit. Turning her around and parting her arms and legs the machine was able to do a very thorough job of it. The area behind the ears and the between their fingers and toes were cleaned to a small giggle. I stepped out and had time to give her a small kiss and take the next girl. This one did not fight at all and readily assisted me in getting all the nice feelings. She was learning fast for her kiss lasted longer because she held onto me. Still in a kneeling position I took my hand and kissed a finger and then touched the finger to her little nose and smiled. The boy almost jumped into my arms and his cleaning went even faster but I slowed down so he would have equal time. His kiss was not as hungry as the girls but showed a great sadness because he knew it would have to end some time. Looking into the girls' minds I saw that they wished I was their father. This hurt me a lot and I had to turn for I too felt that way. After recovering I went into the storage area I had filled at the base and brought out three tiny ships coveralls. They were fitted with different closures so that Tandra without full use of their brain could use them. Turning I approached the children and dressed each of them as I had done to my own children when I was on Earth. Each gave me a kiss for what I gave them but none saw a need for having the clothing. From Jonesey I heard, "The preparations for your meal are almost ready. I assumed you would want to do the cooking." "Yes I did. Thank you Jonesey." The older girl asked, "I heard a voice in my head and then you talked again but your mouth didn't move." "Yes that is the same thing that we did last time we met but if you don't use it, it goes away." Then to her mind I said, "Can you hear me now sweetie?" She smiled radiantly and said, "Yes." After dressing myself in a new pair of coveralls and remembering to put the shield generator on. Before we left I picked up the rifle and we all trooped down to the fire. It had burnt down to a nice bed of coals. The children marched behind me till they got to the ground and then raced ahead to show their new raiment. Tom and Boko were just finishing when I said, "You two go have a shower and come back in coveralls. I will not have my funts walking around naked trying to get me stirred up." Tom took Boko's hand and they ran off like a pair of young girls going on a shopping trip. They looked so cute together and almost identical except for the size. I could feel that Tom was very happy too with his new partner. In the odd to Human way the Tandra were they exhibited all the qualities that a Human female would have. The women looked at the children and became alarmed again at what the males might do when they came back. Even though the males would just get their supplies and leave permanently regardless. I took the pieces of meat and pushed the pieces of wood through them. They were then placed in a holder over the hot glowing coals. The children had seen this hundreds of times but stayed beside me to see if I did anything differently or to just be near me. It was starting to get dark as the first pieces of meat were done. Tom and Boko came back and stayed hand in hand like young lovers. "Tom, will you leave Boko alone for a moment and cut up the meat for the children. Then show Boko how to ladle out the vegetables?" Tom actually felt like he would blush but I knew it was a rare occurrence in a Tandra. The women were uncomfortable being served by males but ate the meat, vegetables and bread with a good appetite. They carefully watched how Tom and I ate and did the same. They were very surprised when I helped the children to eat for usually they sat with the women and away from the males. As the night got darker I heard the sounds of cats in the distance and knew instinctively that it was really the Donai. The eerie sound did not send shivers down my back, but on the contrary made me feel close to the creatures. For dessert we ate some home-grown fruit that had been picked by some of the locals and delivered to Souts. There was not much but everybody enjoyed the fruit that resembled a firm pear. When the meal was done, Tom and his now ever present Boko cleaned up the plates with the cleanser and took everything back to the ship for storage. I left for a moment to get a knife and head for a thicket I had visited earlier and cut a few lengths of thin hollow branches. Returning to the fire I sat in my old position among the children and started to cut one of the lengths to about 40 centimetres in length. With a few deft cuts I made a diagonal slice at one end and after selecting a piece of scrap I almost filled the hole that was now exposed. The knife point cut small holes along the length and then the blade cleaned off all the rough edges. The children and adults were very interested in what was being made. Moments later Tom and Boko came back and they too tried to find out the secret. Taking the instrument to my lips I blew into it and a high pitched tone came forth. The holes were covered in stages and the sound remembered. Putting the stem down I made another very quickly but this time the holes were placed differently to give notes I was familiar with. Pausing a moment to think I put the tube to my mouth and played some simple tunes I learned as a boy. A few tunes I had to improvise because I could not remember the exact fingering and the instrument here could not make the exact phrasing. I looked around and saw everybody was appreciative of my music even though the notes sounded wrong to them. The exception was Tom who had not known of music on the moon. Nobody bothered to play even if they could find out how. Tom found the odd rhythmic sounds very entertaining and even better when preformed by his own sooda. Fonza had played a similar instrument but it was much like a fife I saw when looking into each of their minds. I handed the instrument to her to see what she could do with it. She took the instrument as if it were a holy relic and carefully blew into the end. The holes were covered and different notes came forth. It was difficult to play with her long fingers. "Master this is much nicer than my instrument. The sounds are much more to my liking," she said as she tried to hand it back to me. "Keep it Fonza. I would like to hear you play some of your songs on it when you have become more accustomed to it." "Master I will be beaten when I try to use this." I stopped to think on the matter. It was not fair to ask the girl to do this but then again the males had made plans to leave soon and abandon their family or perhaps only some of it. From the oxbow downriver I heard the growling of the Donai and the girls instantly rose to their feet in fright. They started back to the cave and I stopped them as quick as I could. "Go to the ship now." I ordered in a commanding voice, as I picked up two children and gave them to Tom. "Go to the ship I will cover you. "Boko take the other child and run." "Jonesey, what do you see downriver and in the immediate area?" I said as I found my rifle then Tom's and energized my shield. "I see the Donai looking toward the river but I cannot see anything now. The drones are being recalled, and will be here in seconds to make a more accurate assessment." I followed the sensors and focussed on the turbulent area as the stream made an abrupt turn and headed east. In a far corner I saw a hole in the water then one more come out of the water on the far bank. A bush just down stream, moved that shouldn't. "Jonesey, inform Frieda that we have Samutz activity here wearing shields while invisible." I turned to hustle the women onboard and found them gone. A quick visual check found them entering their home probably the only place they felt any sense of safety. "Tom break out the combat suits we have company." "Just get in the ship; we can take them from the air." "I wish I could. The three women ran behind the falls." The ship energised its shield to the max and I quickly donned my own suit. The children huddled in a corner and Boko sat beside them with just as much fear but trying to calm the younger ones. Tom covered all the displays trying to find hostile activity. The returning drones were now close enough yet to find the energy signatures of the invisible Samutz. Jonesey placed what the drones did see on a 3-D map of the area. The upstream area now had three anomalies and seemed to be growing. Rather than commence firing I grabbed three shields a med unit. Passing the weapon's locker I took a heavier rifle and stuffed everything inside a shield unit and activated it. With everything invisible including me I said, "Take the ship up and try to draw them away. They are probably after the ship or us, I really don't know. I am going to the falls and get the women. Later you can land and we can board." Tom did not like this at all but didn't say anything to me. I could feel the fear being well hidden. I took off at a run with the spare suit filled with what I needed. The ship rose almost at once and I was almost knocked over with the displaced air as the ship was hit with massive weapons fire. It would have holed the ship if it hadn't the extra shielding. The thrusters on my suit pushed me even faster than my legs could carry me. I heard Jonesey's more modest weapons return fire and large clumps of real-estate vanish in a cloud of dust and steam. More fire was directed at Jonesey and I was able to make it to the cave as space-based weapons pinpointed by our drones took out more and more of the Samutz in the area. ------- Chapter 60 I walked up the small incline now looking for the reset trap and worked my way around it into the cave behind. Instead of finding the girls ready to fight with rocks, I could read their abject fear of the Samutz and what that meant when coming here. They hid behind the rocks as the children had done not long ago. Removing my invisibility I said in their language, "Get up girls, we are leaving now." The ground shook as weapons struck the enemy positions nearby. There was no movement for they feared the Samutz even more than they feared a male's command. Walking around the rock I picked up Mona and she just fell to her knees and grovelled on the floor trying to find any way to escape. Picking her up again I slapped her as easy as I could to bring sanity back into her mind. "Mona, stand up." She recovered a little to look at me but hung back as if very afraid of me and what I might force her to do. The cave was their only refuge for such a long time that it was the only place they could think of to be. "Stand up. We are leaving and going into the ship. The Samutz will not be able to hurt us then." She heard my words but could not believe that such a thing were possible. Her mind along with the rest could not grasp that idea. I walked forward and she shuffled back till she hit the wall. I took her arm and pulled her to me. "I will protect you." The words seemed to sink in and a small amount of clarity came into her mind. She came to the decision that the only one that would protect her was her husband. Her thought processes came to the conclusion that I would take her for my woman. I looked at her again. She was a beautiful Tandra woman. Just as beautiful as almost any other on the planet. It was enjoyable to have sex with her but there was no love, at least not yet. She had only cooperated because she was told to. I thought of her mate's plan to abandon them and what might become of them if left on their own. I suddenly saw the children, like those on the ship destined for the Samutz dinner table and said, "You will be my woman but you must do as I say, now." This was enough for her to pull herself together and for me to slap a shield on her and activate it. "Help me with Fenna." Given a job she could understand we picked the woman up and I slapped another shield generator on and activated it. She was carried to the centre of the cave and lowered to the floor. She just got on her knees and crawled back to her hiding place. The rumble of energy strikes from the surrounding area made ominous sounds within the cave. Deactivating her shield we picked her up and I slapped her as I did Mona. In for a penny and I guess I was also in for a pound. "You will be my woman too. Stay here and do what you are told." I looked at the scarred face of the young girl of about 20 Earth years, and saw a what would have passed on Earth for an eleven or twelve year old, apart for her larger eyes and long fingers. She was unresponsive as the rest and just got Mona to hold her up while I placed a shield on her and energized it. "Tom, can you hear me?" A faint call said, "Yes Jim. Do you want me to come now? Both Frieda and Jonesey can't find any more targets but just think some are hiding." "No, not yet. Send the drones down for a better look. I don't like the idea of being exposed with the girls. The stuff they were throwing would take out my suit never mind the girls'." A few moments later the drones reported no sightings and Tom descended very quickly. "Mona, put Fonza over your shoulder and carry her. When we get under the falls I will make all of us invisible. Fenna, you will stay right behind them to assist if necessary. I am going to carry the rifle in case we get any company and you will be able to see it." Again I got lots of head shaking and fear. There was no other way except threats. "You both will go out when I say or I will take her myself and leave both of you here and never come back." It was blustering and harshly delivered, but the only hold I had at the moment. Their fear rose and I think for the first time the fear of the Samutz was only secondary to their desire to stay with me. I led our small procession and found the booby trap sprung from the shaking of the ground. I passed it easily and both girls worked hard to get Fonza by the obstruction. I could see nothing with my eyes and tried to link with Jonesey. The area was clear and the high ground around the waterfalls was clear as well. Deep holes in the surrounding landscape attested to the energy discharges and were all over the place. The walls of the gully were eroded in many areas and the water was heavy now with silt. The once peaceful area looked like the war zone it really was. I engaged each of the suits to render our party invisible. "Girls, you can see my rifle, I am going out first. Run to the ship and do not follow the rifle. Do you understand?" I got no reply and asked again more firmly. This time I got two voices saying "Yes, master." Racing out I ran around the large rock and saw that the ship was as close as it could get. I was on the other side from the ship and saw nothing that should endanger us. I turned and ran for home, I felt a shock as if a giant fist hammered my back. I flew forward and to the ground. A much larger blast shook the ground and rained water mud and rock down on me. The shield was able to withstand a massive boulder as it drove me into the already hard ground. I could not see and only felt a pain in my lower back that the suit quickly administered to. I didn't know for sure where the first bolt came from but felt it to be in the turbulent waters at the base of the falls. The next thing I knew I was hoisted on tractors and hauled into the ship. Laying on the deck I felt Tom trying to get my suit off as I read the telltales and saw no real problem. The suit was damaged but its repair circuits were at work while administering something for the pain in my back. The ship rocked a bit as Tom finally got the suit parted. He could read my condition so was not as kind as usual. "What were you planning? The ship was visible and all you had to do was run up the ramp." "I love you too, Tom." I had to look for myself to see that the ship was safe in orbit. The sensors were accessed and I saw that the entire area was being hammered by satellites and the cruisers circling the planet. The once beautiful riverway was a massive wound. I thought of Mary and looked at the adjoining section. "Jonesey, take us down." "What are you doing Jim? The Samutz are down there." "Our job is to draw fire so the ships can take the Samutz out. Don't you remember? Besides Mary and Rosie are down there." Tom hung his head and I could see his shame. It seemed as if his military persona had fallen in the last few minutes. After coordinating with Frieda we descended very quickly, our drones once again flashed out to find Samutz or donai. The hillside above the den had slipped and the den was hidden, if not completely collapsed. "Jonesey, use your tractors and remove the soil. There are donai buried here." Tom monitored for the enemy while I looked for life within the soil. Rocks came out easily but more fell from above and many tractors had to be used to hold the flow back. The pace was slowing because now only a few tractors could remove the overburden. "Jonesey, take some large rocks and push them into position above the den so that it will stop the flow." One large rock slammed into the loose dirt and then more tractors were freed to start pulling loose soil from the area. Dirty white fur appeared and Jonesey dug frantically and pulled the donai from a small depression. I held my breath for it looked like Mary. The readings said we were too late and the animal was dead. The tractors burrowed further in and again we found a donai dead. Working around it, we found a small body just underneath it that had managed to remain alive. The cub came into the ship and was worked on by Jonesey's medical section. Getting it here alive was not always enough and she worked feverishly while digging further into the side of the slope. We encountered a large alluvial rock and worked around it. Pulling it forth we found another adult donai with a crushed pelvis and legs that were definitely broken in many places. The animal was near death and I looked at the cub we already had and saw it was recovering. With a form of tirage the cub was placed on the deck and the bleeding adult animal took its place. Behind the rock was a small free area and two young donai. Jonesey pulled them forward and the sensors showed them near death from asphyxiation. The cubs were pulled in and Jonesey said, "The limits of the den have been reached. There will be no more donai." "Head for Souts, quickly." Yes, Sir." I had time to monitor the action and found that the ships had no more targets. A lone fighter came to investigate and possibly draw fire. "Jim, what have you been getting into?" came from Dmitriy Baranov. I could feel his second wife Nosa present. "I don't have time to talk now Dema. I have to bring the donai to Souts. Let's talk later." He could see the urgency so just said bye and we flew on. I ran to the cubs and used the med unit on each of them. One of the latter cubs to enter the ship was larger and looked much like Rosie. I kept the unit on her because she looked like she would make it. Her steady breathing made me switch to the other and within a moment those sets of lungs now rose as well. We settled to the ground just outside the medical unit and two gravsleds awaited us. A few late night wanderers looked at us and we felt our minds being searched for the reason for all the excitement. Jonesey's tractors placed the adult on the one sled while the other took all three cubs. I ran with them as they were cleaned. Each was deposited into one of the many available tanks waiting for us. Frieda through one of her surrogates said, "The donai will survive. Why did you bring them here?" I knew what she was talking about and said, "The donai are intelligent creatures. They have a faculty for finding Samutz even when they are invisible. The Samutz are very frightened of them. The donai are predisposed to following Tandra and I think Humans too. They will make good allies in ridding this planet of Samutz." "I did not know of the second piece of data. It was not in any of your reports." "I only found it out a hour or so ago when the Samutz came toward our camp and the donai warned us of their approach." The conversation abruptly ended and I knew we had finished. In all my years I had never heard of intelligent machines outside of science fiction. Now I had one that was rude. Checking the Donai, I instructed the doc to insert a small recording crystal the same as we all had into the four surviving donai. If things happened as I hoped, we would have proof of their abilities. The computer was quizzed and it was found that they could be augmented to be stronger and smarter just as Humans were. When battling for survival sometimes we needed everything we could get, so I ordered it done. The adult donai was indeed Mary and all of the cubs would survive, but she would need to be in the tanks for at least two Earth days, or four here. The cubs would be out in an hour after taking care of all their ailments. The tanks made me remember Fonza and her scarred skin. One of the children had a cleft palate and there were a few others that would require time in the vats. I walked back to the ship and walked up the ramp. Tom was holding a child while talking to the rest. He turned around as I approached and searched my mind for the condition of the donai. The others bowed low to me as if I were a king. At least after their education that would come to a halt. "It is good to see that they will recover. Do you plan on keeping all here as your family?" "Not only them, but the donai too. I think we can make a strong unit that can survive the Samutz and all they can throw at us." Then looking at the others I said to Tom, "I want all of them, in the tank. They need to get the same treatment as the donai and perhaps this will get them to realize they can fight and win. This ship is just large enough to carry all of us and I am sure that we can find jobs so that all possible stations are covered." There was no need to clear this because many Tandra had already undergone this treatment. It just happened in this case that we would be all riding in one ship. Tandra law was being skirted very close because of the children that would be riding with us. With five hours to go we started on my plan. Everybody was put into the tanks and assessments made to what each needed. Tom and I had enough time to get all the supplies we needed for our larger family along with weapons, portable tutors and survival equipment. My new family would not start to be decanted for at least 30 more minutes. As an added precaution I had four more combat suits stowed in our limited space and hoped I forgot nothing important. The first to get out was one of the little girls and I just realized that I knew none of their names. She awoke and started to cry but after I picked her up she began to quiet down. I decided to name them after my sisters and other brother. This one would be Abigail, the next would be Sarah and the last would be Robert. Within a few minutes Sarah awoke and had to be treated the same way as Tom held the child. Robert didn't cry, which was surprising, he just clung to us as if his life depended on it. There was no time for the cafeteria so we had gotten lots of food brought over ahead of time and Tom and I fed the children. They seemed to enjoy the games we made with the food till it was time for Boko to awake. Boko held me close and snuggled like I hoped my previous wife had been able to do when we were married. He came over, sat with the children, and ate his fill. The cubs were next and groggily came to the conclusion that we were harmless after being given lots of food and water. Mona and Fenna came almost together and Tom helped me while Boko watched the children. The two women were frightened and had to be calmed down, but saw almost all of their number here and unhurt. "I hope each of you can hear me better now." Their faces showed a little shock as I perceived their amazement at the quality of information now passing between us. "The place you just left has given you many gifts. If you are to stay with me it is necessary to use these gifts as best you can. We are going to be hunting Samutz and do our best to make this planet safe for our children." "How is this possible?" Came from Fenna. She was very fearful of the thoughts of trying to hunt the Samutz. "Your own people made these machines and then forgot about them. I plan to teach you many things and you will be able to do the same things Tom and I can do." This revelation was just too big, to be believed. They ate much of the strange food even if it was not to their taste. Frieda materialized some clothing for them and they had their first meeting with an AI. Their eyes opened as Frieda went into her standard spiel for the local Tandra. The cubs had eaten so much that they wanted to sleep. They sniffed around and looked for their parents now that they had been fed. Rosie after looking all over came to me and rubbed my leg like a cat. I picked her up and stroked her damp fur. I gave her to Boko later. He was very upset because a godough was very dangerous and they were never domesticated. Tom and I picked up the smaller pair. They growled and hissed, but stayed with us as we moved about. It wasn't too long before I could feel their feelings of security. We talked and the Tandra learned from the tutor much of their history. Later they were informed about the part that Humans millions of years ago, and now, played in it. Before too long we all walked back into medical as Fonza magically arose from the tank. The transmitters left and the small wounds healed. She stared at us wide eyed and we all smiled. She was now sure of the Human smile and its meaning. Her face was now beautiful even by Tandra standards. The slight pink colouration would eventually leave. Her legs and arms looked the same now and no doubt equal in strength. It was time to see if her slight limp had been alleviated. She was frightened by the cubs, but satisfied herself with keeping a watchful eye on them. She came to the conclusion that they were safe because we carried them. Her glance went to the clothes the children wore at the camp, then the new ones everybody else wore now. She wanted one of her own even though her usual nakedness was more common. Her mind had not grasped the fact of her own rebirth or the fact that all the rest were staring at her. I shifted the cub and gave her my hand and said, "Time to get up Honey. We have to leave. Our mission is about to start." She was surprised like the rest and stared at me in particular. "Let's get you dressed and fed. It is time to go." We walked through the empty room and out the door. Fonza balked at the ship, but followed the rest inside. Her limp was almost all gone and probably it was only her memory of it that made her continue. The hatch closed and Jonesey got the latest updates before a small hum signified that we were airborne. Tom and I lowered our loads and got some blankets for the cubs and the children to sit on. Fonza was looking at her hands now in amazement after trying to find out what the rest of the family were looking at. Her hands shot to her face but only found smooth skin. She had seen how the fasteners worked on the children's clothing and undid her own to investigate. When all of her body was searched and no scar tissue found she turned and ran to me. She fell over her unaccustomed clothing and into my arms. She quickly remembered I was a male and tried to get back. I held her for a second and gave her a little Human kiss and said, "You don't have to be afraid of me. I do not hit people weaker than me," then looking at Tom who hung his head, "well not often, and never hard." She was not sure of me yet and could only go by what the other women told her about our last time together. At that time I was a typical male and demanded satisfaction. This had got the cooperation I needed to find out about them. I helped her up and got Jonesey to provide seats at the various stations. With a little bit of juggling there were six, enough for everybody except the children. Tom and I took each person and sat them on an invisible seat that formed around them. Though very hard they were quite safe. The addition of the tutors kept them quiet as Tom and I took our stations. We came over the northern pole to the continent almost as large as the one we left. Our map had no names as yet, only reference numbers. The Samutz had not been too interested in this area except for hunting the local Tandra and only one other couple patrolled this continent with us. Nikolai (Kolya) Petrov was from the Russian city of Samara and was currently covering the southern section with us. He had a small hidden camp with six wives and word was out that he was looking for more. I had fought alongside the man but had little chance to know him very well. Our first trip here showed us most of the continent. A long chain of mountains ran the entire width of the land mass and extended into the ocean on either side. The chain was quite wide and showed many lakes, rivers and beautiful secluded valleys. One mountain range was the highest on the planet and actually had ice covering half of the range. Two glaciers on the northern side provided large snow fed lakes and made me think of my home. The north of the continent was mostly jungle and looked more densely packed than the amazon on Earth. The lighter gravity allowed the trees to reach unimaginable heights and proportions. The lesser vegetation ran riot and made ground navigation all but impossible, except on the wide rivers. Water was very abundant and comprised almost 20% of the continent's northern surface. The south was almost a desert, but not quite. The area was as large as Australia and had the usual lush fringe that only extended a few hundred klicks into the interior. Here a very large salt lake bellow the level of the surrounding ocean harboured life seen nowhere else. Our arrival this time was different. I had a family and at least some potential new members. A very good ship and a new commitment to keep all of them alive. Perhaps I would remember my own hide now instead of just jumping in to a situation. Tom released the drones and we descended to an altitude of ten klicks. The repeaters would keep us informed of the short range drones findings while allowing us to cover a wider area. With the new knowledge of Samutz inhabiting many water courses the drones took particular attention to this environment. Turning around in the chair at the abrupt cessation of noise, I saw the children tentatively touching the donai cubs while the cubs tried to rest from their full stomachs. The cubs were not annoyed yet but eventually they might snap at the children. They were not much different than what my own children were like when young. Tom and I checked the readings from the drones and found a profusion of animal life in the jungle below and it varied as we headed along the coast. A very large predator, much like a small tyrannosaurus, fed on an armadillo like creature the size of a modern rhino only longer. Jonesey catalogued all the different forms of life and its dispersion, hoping to find a correlation that would mean Samutz presence. Because of all the sources of life our speed was drastically restricted, but our attention was the same as before. The coastline alone would take an entire day and I knew the donai and new members of our crew needed a break. "Tom, look for a safe place to set down for a few days. They are not used to being this cooped up." A half hour later an island in a large river delta filled our bill. We came in and Fenna looked over our shoulders at the display to see the small tract of land. It was wooded with a large beach. A prominent outcropping of granite and no large predators on the island or in the surrounding waters. This made the area ideal for our needs. Though only a few hectares in size. It had a herd of antelope of the smaller variety. The constant low level hum brought the children's attention back to their surroundings. The ramp lowered and they looked around wondering where they were now. The donai all sniffed the air looking for both prey and predator. "Ok you guys, it is time to stretch your legs. There are no Samutz around and nothing that can hurt any of us. I want to set up a temporary camp and stay here for a few days." Tom left first, with a rifle and the rest followed. The last to leave were the donai. Their first steps into the hot sand brought them back onto the ramp. The children were empathetic enough to pick them up regardless of the growls and place them in the shade within the tree line. I got out four of the combat suits and had them stand guard with the drones overhead as an insurance policy and then stepped out too with my own rifle. Our camping supplies came next and I shouldered the small burden and walked into the trees and to a small clearing that we saw from above. Tom removed obstacles and got the rest to help till the units four corners were pushed into the ground and activated. A green coloured dome appeared about three metres high and three and a half metres on a side. The newest members of our crew jumped back at its materialization but the children just dove in as if they had lived in such a structure all their lives. They seemed to be tuned in to me and saw no danger from the sudden occurrence. The donai were not as rash and ventured in only after smelling all around the large opening. Boko and Tom were close so I said, "Let's see what we can find to eat. If nothing shows up then we can bring out some of the bison in the hold." "Why don't we eat what we brought in the ship?" Tom asked. "Real food tastes better and it is preferable to rely on the land and not the ship." Mona was frightened of the four new suits and her new environment but was quickly told by Fenna the reason. All of them had been given different courses but all would eventually get the same thing. I doubt if any of them could have perceived this way of living even a day ago. The children were running around, and the donai with them seemed to fit in as well as dogs did when I was a boy. Interrupting their games, Boko told them to gather fire wood and they would eat later. Tom and I went hunting. After a few steps I knew that Boko was right behind me and I let him follow. Within a few hundred metres we found some of the smaller antelope feeding in a small hollow. "Boko, come here." He came very quietly and I removed my rifle and adjusted it to shoot for him. "Take the rifle and aim it at the animals in the depression. When you think you have them in your sites tell the gun to fire." I had to visualize everything twice but he felt he knew what I was talking about. Raising the large, but light weapon, he sighted on a large buck and did his best to get the gun to shoot while keeping the rifle trained on the animal. With a silent burst of energy the buck fell to the ground and lay still. Boko whooped in excitement and the herd vanished into the brush faster than most animals could do. Boko hung his head in shame for what he had done. With a bowed head he handed the rifle back to me. I clapped him on the shoulder with one hand while taking the gun and said vocally, "That was good shooting. With a little training you will be able to kill Samutz too." His head came up and a smile magically appeared. We worked our way down the embankment and Boko ran up to the animal he hit. There were many berries protected by long thorns but our clothes proved better. The animal was dead. The stun killed it instantly because of its small size. I picked it up and draped the carcass over his shoulder to carry back. A few berries I picked and placed in my pocket to check later. We walked further to see the rest of the island and after only a few moments found the large silt laden waters of the upstream side. The shore was covered with waterfowl that screeched at our arrival and flew out into the river. They landed close to another small island and seemed to cast reproving glances at us. Turning around we followed a new path and soon found ourselves on the beach with the ship only a few yards away. The smell of the animal sent the donai into a frenzy. They ran to Boko through the warm sand and climbed up his legs to try to get to the meat. If they were dogs they would get a small slap and a stern voice. Here I just used the voice and they immediately dropped to the sand and appeared to be very well mannered dogs. Their parents had probably taught them well but they tried to pull the wool over our eyes. Boko was familiar with butchering and used our very sharp knife with great caution to clean the animal. A water washed rock in shallow water served as his table. The donai paced or sat very impatiently, Rosie went into the water with no qualms and sat down with the water up to her chest. When the organs were separated he cut them up at my urging and I said to the children, "Come out into the water and feed the donai." I did not have to ask twice. They bounded out, and Robert fell into the water but got right up and arrived at the rock. "Take one piece at a time and toss it to the animal that seems to like you the most. Go slow so they don't choke and keep your hands away from their teeth." They were careful but the donai did not choke though I wondered how it was done. Tom came back with one of the combat suits loaded down with things our training told us were edible. They were originally cultivated by the Tandra that decided to farm this planet. He found a long tan coloured vegetable that hung from a tree and resembled a yam in many respects. Another like a coconut provided a good tasting juice though Tom or I had not had any yet. Finally he had a few of the berries I had in my pocket. He took his to the ship and Jonesey passed them with the comment that they were edible but slightly diuretic. We had a good meal, and Tom and I made ready to depart to fulfil our mission. Boko and Fenna ran up to us then the rest followed. They fell to the sand and aimed their asses to me. They were very upset and thought that I could possibly abandoning them. To calm them I said, "Tonight we will talk and then you will be given a choice of what you want to do with your life." This was making them more nervous so I continued, "I would like all of you to stay with Tom and me but if you want to go to Souts and be trained to your full capabilities I will not stop you." I took a piece of drift wood and pushed it into the sand gaging the sun's position, I estimated where the shadow would be in four hours. Another small stick marked this position. "When the shadow reaches here it will be about the time I will be back. I want all of you to enjoy your time here even though you were always looking out for the Samutz. The combat suits will provide all the protection you need and warn us if something serious happens." Tom and I flew off trying to complete our assigned tasks. I felt bad leaving the rest on the island but looked at it as a way for them to talk and find out what they wanted in life and hopefully in our family. Tom surprised me by asking, "What do you want with all of us?" I caught the 'us' and said, "I think the answer is not too simple. I never looked on myself as a guy that would go after another male but here I am in love with you. I think it is partly the fact that you are a Tandra male that can easily fit into an all male family. Your race is for the most part kind and considerate, unlike most Humans. "Boko needs somebody to look after him and to tell the truth he is just like you in many ways. It will be difficult not to love him. From what I found out about male families you and Boko should hit it off too and that makes me happy as well. "The women are no different and the only thing is that they have another hole to explore and give me the opportunity of giving me children. I am quite sure that in one way you are all the same basically. All of you need someone to love them and somebody to take care of them too, especially here on Masis. Perhaps the Tandra on other planets act differently and would not fit in well with me, but the ones I do have fit the bill perfectly. "Lastly the children are a type of substitute for my own and I want to see them grow strong and straight like any father would." Tom said, "That is a lot of words, but do you think that we will stay together in the long years to come? You and they now have long lifetimes." "There is no way to tell. We all have to work together to make the family strong and keep it strong." We continued till our objective the central spine of the continent. Our patrol found no Samutz but I did enjoy the beautiful scenery. When we finished our commitments we headed back to our island. Tom called ahead to see how well the others mindspeak worked and found we had to be within a few klicks before they could pick us up, about normal we figured. They stayed in the trees as we landed and then ran out and up the ramp before we could even get out ourselves. Fonza ran to me and fell to her knees between my legs as I stood. Fenna and Mona were right behind her and ran to do the same at both sides of me. Fonza started first and placed her face at my groin and rubbing like a cat trying to lick her young. I was shocked to say the least. Males did this when choosing a family to join but to the best of my knowledge the females did not do this. From what little knowledge I had been able to glean from this planet the female was chosen by the male and he just took her. I bent over as best I could and took two faces in my hands and said, "I want all of you but I want to talk first. Let's go get something to eat and then I can tell you what I expect from you and you can find out what I am able to give in return." The meal was fairly quiet and much of it was due to the fact that women and children were not supposed to eat with the men even in a small group. Boko was worried, that he had not been taken to the nuptial bed and the children were worried I would leave like the last males had said they would. When everything was cleaned up and bedding brought in I started the talks. "It was not long ago that my people were just like yours in the way we treated our wives. While changing in many ways we also kept part of our old feelings. One is that the family comes first. I live to do my job within the family and each member has to do their own job. This will make it work as best it possibly can. All of you have to learn how to kill Samutz and protect the children. All of you have learn as much as you can to allow us to stay together because I plan on staying in the military. If this does not happen I will be sent home and all of you may not be able to follow." Tom added when I paused, "Your home on Earth does not even know what a Tandra looks like and would either kill us outright or make our lives unlivable. Your stories and books tell of this happening all the time." "That is true and I am relying on employment with the Tandra forces to supply you with food and weapons to protect us. I cannot run away and expect to remain free for long. If you do learn all I ask then you will be able to fight beside me and we can remain a family unit." The prospective members had only looked on the situation as me being given a fertile place for my seed in exchange for my protecting them all. Boko only hoped that he could be helpful enough for me to keep him. I looked into their minds a little deeper and found that they had no demands on me other than protection for them and their present and future children. Perhaps this was what our ancestors thought. Picking up Boko's face I asked him outright, "Boko, will you take me for your husband and do your best to make this family safe and secure?" He was shocked at the formality and could only say, "Yes, master." "Then you are my wife but I am not to be called master again." He hung his head at the words but did not let the statement cloud his good feelings. The women saw this and turned as one and presented me their asses. "Turn around girls. I am not finished." After they reluctantly turned I said, "Fenna, would you be one of my wives and do your best to make this family strong and safe?" She was on her knees like the rest and walked dog fashion to me and rubbed her head against my thigh and then looked into my eyes before saying, "Yes ma... Yes, husband." I caressed her pretty face then looked at Mona and repeated the ad hoc formula. She too came forward layed her face on me and said "Yes, my husband." Fonza was very worried and anxious. She had not really come to the realization that her ugly scars were gone and she was someone could found favourable. She almost flew across the metre separating us as she was asked. She nuzzled my crotch like she knew the other males liked to be treated. I looked up from all their glowing faces and saw that the three children had removed their clothes and presenting me with what they had to offer. "Abigail, Sarah and Robert, will you join our family?" They turned around so quickly that Robert tripped Abigail and allowed Sarah to get to me first. She could find no way to get by the adults so I bent over and picked her up with a gentle kiss, then I lowered her to get the other two. I felt a tugging and then three donai climbed my clothing and came up with the children. "Well you will be part of our family too." I could sense their pleasure but was really amazed that they would know this from the abstract words I used. I removed my clothing and placed it alongside one of the walls. I had said nothing to Tom and to correct it said, "Tom you are my first wife. Will you come to me?" He had brought our supplies earlier and hoped to join in but never pushed for what should be his. He now smiled removed his clothing and meticulously placed them beside mine. This movement not so coincidentally presented his backside to me and the rest. When he turned around his urethra was erect but as usual still was pointing down. He looked the equal of all the others now with the exception of the absence of the larger female breasts. His eyes fell to my erection and he walked the few steps to me. He reached up to wrap his arms around my neck for a very slow and intimate kiss. Though he was much shorter than me I bent and kissed harder demanding more from him and plunged my tongue into his mouth. He fought back and eventually I moved to his cheeks and just below his ears. This sent involuntary shivers down his spine. I was ready to pick him up when he fell to his knees in front of me and kissed and suckled. I could read that he was trying to make a performance out of his actions. Though his throat was small he tried his best to get me as deep as possible. With my eyes closed I savoured the attention till I was close then pulled Tom off and pushed him onto the air mattress at my feet. With only a smile he sat, then lay on his back with his legs demurely closed. I kneeled beside him and parted the legs that came apart with no real hesitation. The long urethra now pointing skyward and tempting me to satisfy him. My lips parted only a little to allow the structure no thicker than my pinky finger to pass my lips. With only a little stimulation Tom's hips came up and he went into his first orgasm. Holding him tight I continued my work and he came again and again till he parted his legs as far as he could and was able to get one knee by his chest. I just moved between his legs and then the other came up to offer me everything he had. I just licked the small finger then the little nubs around the hole where his penis used to be and this caused him to thrash about and faint at the intensity of it all. Looking up I found everyone raptly watching my actions. The pile of sex aids reminded me that I could use some help. I opened a tube of lube and showed all how it was done. With a small amount on my fingers I worked them around Tom's hole making his body squirm even in the state he was in now. After worrying the hole for a minute I was able to slip in easily. A Human had such a tight hole compared to a Tandra and it amazed me how Humans could take a large cock in that area. As Tom came to I manoeuvred my cock around the outside of oily hole and slowly pushed it in. He let out a loud groan. Knowing how sensitive he was I went slow and when fully seated stopped and used my fingers to pinch and twist his nipples. The Tandra on the moon had not tried this and it went over very big when they found out about it. Tom groaned and thrashed as his chest pushed against my fingers to get even more stimulation. His legs straightened in orgasm and I put them on my shoulders as I continued to stimulate the wife I loved so much. Giving him time to recover I made very small thrusts he brought his breathing in time to my thrusts and after only a dozen small movements again succumbed to my actions. I ran my hands along his fine skin marvelling at the exquisite feel of my foremost lover. His eyes flashed open and I could almost see the primitive Tandra now wanting to be fucked. This had only happened a few times and I gave a few strokes that got longer. He howled as he managed to last much longer than usual and finally crash with a stupendous orgasm as his anal muscles tried to milk me for my essence. Looking up I saw Boko behind the children fucking their backsides with wild abandon. The children were overcome with the sight and this time needed relief. It had been a while since the males had sex with them and their anus' twitched in anticipation. It had not occurred to me that the children were treated here differently than on the moon or Earth. With a little investigation I found the children readily had sex with everyone and the males used their backsides for pleasure for both of them. I just watched as the children and Boko collapsed in their minor orgasms. I was curious about Boko's equipment. Tom was out for a while so I picked up the cleanser and shuffled around Mona to Boko and cleaned his crotch. He was the same as any female and the penis had retreated. It only came out when it was to be plunged into another. Remembering Tom's remarks a few days ago I lubed my hand again and pushed my fingers into his anus. I felt a short hard shaft inside his rectum. I worked it forward and found a skin covered piece of cartilage about six centimetres long and about as big around as my index finger. He was not full grown but this was close to the maximum I felt. He had come around at my inspection and he felt apprehensive. A male wife made a small incision around this member and with a strong pull ripped it out along with connections to the testicles. It caused a lot of pain but was a gift freely given to the husband that would be the only one to give his seed to any male or female that wanted it. He was just not worked himself up to that stage yet and I hoped he never would. "Relax my wife," I said, as I lowered my face and sucked on his slightly smaller urethra. Boko orgasmed at the slight touch. There were more people waiting for me so I did not have time to be my slow methodical self. I just lathered up my cock and pushed it slowly into Boko. The orgasms apparently never stopped and his own thrashing kept him fully stimulated with sensations from his anal ring. I looked up and found the older females sucking on the children to settle their passions. The room was thick with the scent of arousal and the mental emanations of the same thing. Fonza was using her small hand to plunge four long fingers into one of the children's anuses. The child pushed repeatedly to get as much sensations as possible before having an orgasm of their own. Boko regained some of his senses and I took pains to work very slow in his passage to feel all of the nerve clusters that lined his rectum. By reading his thoughts I was able to keep him on the edge for almost five minutes before he could take it no more and had the greatest orgasm of his life. His system could not take it and he looked like he was having a silent fit then utterly collapsed. Taking Boko's legs off my chest and laying them on the floor I bent forward and gave him a kiss and composed him in a comfortable position. The women were ready and presented their hind ends to me. Fenna appeared the oldest but not by much and she was my first when I entered their cave not too long ago. She would be my first again. I reached over and cleaned my still erect equipment and then said, "Fenna, come over here." I lay down on an open area with the lube beside me and watched her run over on all fours and pause beside me waiting my wishes. All her life she was told to obey adult males. It was hard to get across to her that she was free to act as she wanted within the family as long as the family structure was preserved. I handed her the tube and said, "Put some of this on me wife. I want you to have pleasure for as long as you can." She was very careful and tried to remember exactly how I had done it earlier. She hands eventually came down stroked my cock. I could see her marvelling at the size and wondering how it had ever fit into her before. She had second thoughts about sitting on me. To impale herself on something as large as me was unthinkable before. The thoughts ran through her head that Tom and Boko had taken me and she did too when forced. This time was different. No male Tandra would position himself like this and no female would do what she felt she had to do. She squatted down felt the club at her opening. It slipped back and forth as if questing for the entrance. Last time had been so easy but now it rubbed the small clits and occasionally struck the urethra, sending uncontrolled energy through her system. If she were to slip she would hurt herself and the male would be very angry. She was interrupted by the male as he said, "Mona will you and Fonza help Fenna. She is worried and can't remember last time very well." She felt her sisters jump up to help Mona held her arms. Fonza looked at the male as if to ask permission as she took his giant member and held it upright. Mona relaxed her grip Fenna slipped down and felt her opening stretch. It slipped further and further into her as if it would never stop. She was so amazed when she felt the unaccustomed pubic hair touch her sensitive clits that she did not orgasm as would be the normal case. No male had hair on their body other than their head and back. Her knees and toes were on the floor but she was unsure of her balance, or what the male expected. "Fenna, Honey, I want you to move very slowly if you can and try to make this last for both of us. If you can't then it is fine and we will be able to try again later. Put your hands on my chest and just think of cleaning fish." She was confused. Why would she want to think of a simple job like that? She moved forward placed her hands on the well-muscled chest. She felt the hair under her hands and over his abdomen touching her urethra as it lay against him. A shiver went up her back as she came to a stop. She pushed her pelvis back felt her opening stretch more and her clits drag across the rough hair. She almost fell but Mona had not left. Both girls held her up to allow her to continue. I saw her problem with concentration and said, "Mona stand up in front of Fenna with your legs on both sides of me." Mona did as I asked and held Fenna's hands to keep her up. "Fenna, bend forward and suck Mona into your mouth." Both Fenna and Mona were shocked. Males had sex whenever they wanted and with anyone they wanted. The women only had quiet times or when the rest were sleeping to have this type of fun. Fenna knew she had to obey her mouth opened and she sucked in Mona's big clit. She heard a gasp from the women at the contact. "Fenna move a little, but keep Mona in your mouth. It will give you something to do so you can last longer." Fenna started a rhythm and moved her hands to hold Mona around the upper legs as she concentrated on what she was doing to her sister and not the strange male. Her movements increased as she concentrated on her mouth and felt Mona quiver. She may fall on the male and get him mad at both of us she thought. I reached up and used my thumbs to part Mona's cheeks and with oily fingers caressed her rear opening. Fenna felt my hands but wisely held on as Mona thrashed in her grip. Mona could not take the stimulation and started to fall. Fonza rushed in and helped the woman to the mattress. Fenna now found herself violently rubbing her clits against my hair and pubic bone. With her mind not occupied with Mona she realized what she was doing. She screamed, and fell onto me as the orgasm instantly struck her. She quivered wildly in my embrace as her vagina expelled me in her passion. As she quieted I knew it was time for Fonza, she was all for the mating if it meant she would stay with us, but was unsure of me fitting into her. "Fonza, come here please." She came timidly and I placed her over my mouth and her body over my head. Licking her belly and legs slowly I eventually found her urethra and sucked it into my mouth. It was the same size as Boko's but had a slightly different flavour. She was able to hold herself back till I used my thumb and forefinger to work into her two openings. I felt someone sucking my wet cock and knew it for Boko. I continued sucking Fonza and felt Boko leave and his tight backside descend on my throbbing cock. Fonza took this time to orgasm and she convulsed on my face as Boko did on my cock. Before I got Fonza off my face I felt Boko get off, and then reseat himself. A few up and down movements and I knew he had another orgasm. With Fonza at my side I looked down and saw a tired but happy Abigail getting off me and her hind end close up. Boko had helped the girl even though she was much too young. I looked into Boko's mind and found Sarah was the first and he felt it only proper because the other males had sex with the children too and this was his way of insuring the family stayed together. I picked up each of the children and looked into the girls' minds. I saw no indication of pain. Apparently their hind opening could stretch enough to accommodate me. I also saw that they wanted this even more after seeing the adults with me. They got a little kiss as I put them back beside Boko. Their arms came out for me but each of them had not quite recovered yet to hold well. Robert came from the side fell over his two small feet and landed on my thigh. His quick hands grabbed for my member to take it into his mouth like Tom had done earlier. I reached down and pulled his pretty face to me. Like all Tandra children he had the wants and what he wanted was to be treated like the girls. Perhaps a good orgasm would be enough for him. I layed him on his back and turned over myself. I sucked his little urethra. His feet went over my shoulders and his hands went into my hair as he felt his little nerve bundle sucked. I used my tongue to tickle the other nerve clusters around where his penis would one day come out and he had his first orgasm with me. He twisted and turned with no knowledge of what he was doing or doing to my hair. I tried to get up but he held on tightly. Thinking he was not done yet I worked his hands out of my hair only to find them reattaching as soon as they were removed. "Boko, will you hold Robert's hands for me please." Boko hastened to help as I pushed some of the lubricant onto my fingers. I sucked him again and inserted my fingers into his opening. I found that two then three fit very easily. Thinking of Boko I found the hard cylinder and worked it out. After coming up for air I saw a small pink phallus about three centimetres long and as big around as a pencil. Releasing the pressure the cartilage went back to its home and this was probably the first time it had seen the light in his life. I began working four fingers into the boy as he came again and almost broke out of Boko's grip in his uncontrolled contortions. I felt sure that he was done for now. I sat up and used the cleanser on my hands and cock. Tom, Boko, Fenna and Mona had recovered and were watching what I had done. There was no recrimination at all, in fact they thought it was only proper that I took the children too. Mona had not had me in her today and both of us wanted this to happen. I saw the donai clustered together watching the goings-on of the crazy bipeds. An idea came to me and I decided to try it on Mona and hoped it wouldn't frighten anybody. I tossed the tube of lubricant close to Mona and then got on all fours and growled in my best imitation of an adult donai. The cubs pricked up their ears and even sat up to watch. The Tandra did not know what to think of my actions. I crawled forward and even started to circle her. She turned to face me and her mind tried to enter mine for the first time to find out what was happening. I had my block up and only licked my lips and growled a little more. "What are you doing husband... master?" Came from her lips. I just circled closer and closer, till I sniffed her leg and then her crotch before getting on my knees quickly and dragging her down to the mattress. With her hands imprisoned in one of mine I sniffed her all over making small goose bumps come up on her skin. I kissed Tandra style on her ears and neck that made even more bumps appear. I licked and sucked down to her small breasts and growled this time as I nibbled on her little nipples. Her knees came up as her hands frantically tried to come down to protect her. Luckily my other arm was ready and kept her knees from hitting me in the head. I moved to the other breast and nibbled there too and found Mona starting to respond. She was not aware of the games adults could play and thought that all this was to be left behind with youth. After working back and forth on her breasts I released her hands and with a little growling moved down her abdomen. Her legs went down and spread wide but I nibbled licked and sucked down the outside to her left foot. I could feel her frustration till I started coming up the inside of her thighs with the same technique. She quivered and shook from the anticipation and the small bursts of delicious pain and pleasure. A single touch to the urethra was enough to send her over and she groaned and shivered. I stood on my knees lubricated my cock and placed a little on her mons. Knowing Mona was no different from Fenna I said, "Fenna I want you to do for Mona what she did for you." She did not understand for a moment then it looked like a light went on and she scampered over after turning her back to me sat on Mona's face. Mona instinctively started sucking as I slowly pushed into her. She stopped as she felt this and Fenna wiggled to remind her of the other duty she was to perform. It took a moment for a very slow rhythm to be developed. Seeing Fenna's ass right in front of me I placed my hands on her hips and used one of my thumbs to work her anus like I did Mona's just moments ago. She ohhed and ahhawed for a few seconds and gave a mighty shake and her front portion went down to the mattress while her thighs kept her backside in the air. I started longer strokes into Mona and she was actually holding off because she concentrated on Fenna to the best of her ability. When I saw that she was going to fail soon I took one hand from Fenna's backside and carefully pinched one of Mona's nipples. I gently rolled the small pebble between my fingers. The pain was enough for her to hold off a while but the feelings started changing and she wanted more and more. She pushed her chest into my hand. She came violently at this point. Her pelvis was pushed into me with all her might and caused Fenna to fall. Fonza dragged Fenna off as I continued to hammer Mona, while twisting both of her nipples at the same time. My own orgasm was approaching. I continued to violently thrust forward into the thrashing woman till my seed shot out and into her tight vagina. Even in the state she was in she knew what I was doing and her legs came around mine to keep me in. I was expelled from her now closed vagina and lay down beside her after moving some limbs. Tom came over and saw my erect cock. I could see in his mind that he wanted to suck on me. Instead he paused to think and got Fonza and Boko to come over and do the job. They were unsure what to do, but after a taste licked more readily till I was clean. After a short break for a drink I continued. Fenna then Tom received my seed and the rest seemed satisfied at the outcome. ------- Chapter 61 The next morning came very early and even more so when the day was only half of Earth's. I groggily got up after untangling bodies from all over me and carefully made it to a nearby tree to relieve myself. The donai cubs had awoken at my first movements and came outside to perform similar functions. The hand cleanser made my body tingle as it removed all of the detritus of last night. I started my mind to bring it around to the ideas of what to make for breakfast. There was more meat left for a few more days, but the donai needed almost as much as the rest of us put together. "Good morning Jonesey. How are things going with you?" "Fine Captain. I have our assigned area to cover today and a least-time course to accomplish it. Would you like some help with breakfast before you get the data?" "Yes I would. I expect everyone will be hungry and I want some of the fresh bread, if you have any, plus what pass for hash browns here." Jonesey retrieved the meat which I cut up into pieces. She replaced the remainder while the donai looked on with hungry expressions as they licked their chops. I was able to get their hunger but instead of looking for it the feeling was projected to me as if I were their mother, or at least a parent. Taking three dishes I placed a large portion of raw meat in them and placed them on the floor. They reminded me of starving dogs the way they tore into their food, but they never looked to see what the other one got. In this respects they were almost civilized. The remainder of the meat was cut up small and cooked. The hash browns were added and fresh hot bread. A synthetic coffee and a tea and I was ready to start the day. With only minutes left before the food was cooked I said loud and clear, "Tom, it is time to get up. Breakfast is on the table. Get the rest up before the donai eat it all." I got a sleepy 'ok' and I heard in my mind the rest of them waking up. The children were worried that I was gone, but soon realized I was cooking in the ship. The youngsters ran up the ramp and greeted Jonesey as part of the family. Before they could sit down I took the cleanser and did the best job I could before putting a plate of food in front of each. Seconds later Boko and Fonza came in and after Boko kissed me Fonza did too. "Good morning you two. I hope you slept well." "Yes I did" came from Boko with a big smile, while Fonza just blushed. She was very happy with herself now and her prospects of a happy life in the future. Boko in an gesture not like the average Tandra male took the cleanser and ran it over Fonza to get her clean and smelling nice. Fonza did some quick thinking and cleaned Boko too. Fenna and Mona caught the last of this as they came in and were given the cleanser to use. I could read in their minds about all the wasted effort in using this device when you only needed to clean yourself once or twice a month. Tom had cleaned up in the shelter and was the last to be seated. Everyone was fed and I took a plate for myself. The table was quiet to my ears, but many thoughts were flying. The women thought I did too many of jobs of theirs. The previous night made them tingle still and felt more at ease than ever before. Fonza and Boko were deeply in love with me and wanted more of what they got last night. The children were happy that I was here to look after them and give them pleasure. This had never been felt so strongly before. Tom followed my mind and I knew that he still loved me the most, and I him. The table was cleaned and they waited my words before starting our mission. "Fenna, Mona I want you to practice in the combat suits today and for four hours and not a minute less. You have been slacking off and I don't want to see this happening again." Turning to Fonza, I said, "The combat suits will give our messages to you and I want you to make the best meal you can for all of us." Looking at the children I said, "Put on your shields and go into the berry patch and pick some more of those berries. If you get a lot I will make a dessert you will like." Finally I looked a Boko and said, "Take your weapons and see if you can get some game. Fonza will help you and you will clean it even if you think it is woman's work. When all of you have some free time I want you studying with the tutors and that includes the children." I got a few groans but all were not verbal. They did not realize how much of a technological world they had joined since Earth men and Tandra had come into this system. Each and everyone gave me a nice kiss as I left. I pinched Mona and Fenna to see them jump and rekindle an old Earth custom. The countryside beneath us was very beautiful. The coastal region was lush and tropical but after a hundred and eighty or so klicks inland it took on the nature of a true jungle. Here and in the coastal region we just left, the large predators and herbivores contested in a never-ending battle for supremacy. Neither knowing that the other was very much part of the equation of survival. In a surprising event, we found a group of Samutz paddling down a wide river. We managed to keep our presence hidden. It was a ragtag group of eleven. They had few supplies and little equipment, but did have a few powerful rifles that would punch a hole in a combat suit if it stayed still long enough. This time I released three battle drones and with the extra surveillance saw all eleven die very quickly then fall into the water. Using our sensors I checked the bottom but could not see to far into the silt laden waters. "Tom, take a drone down and put it into the water. I want to see the bottom and the dead Samutz." "Why do you want to see that? It data says that all of them are very dead," he said as he brought one of the units down and patrolled the waters where the Samutz bodies would be. Tom was right, but we did get to see a fish like a crocodile bite into the Samutz and with a few twists of its body broke off a large piece of it, then swallow the pieces. Small fish darted in and took the little pieces till more of their big brothers showed up to claim what they thought was theirs. Out tractor shot into the water and brought out the weapons and pieces of technology that would deny the Samutz the use of them if found. This was done to because our sensors would lead us to these targets again. Other than this action there were no other Samutz spotted, but we did recover other relics of a technological nature on our patrol. These we placed on one of the snow covered mountains along the continents spine and informed Frieda of their location so she could keep them under surveillance. The day was long and boring except for the few Samutz. After a good stretch I said to Tom, "I want to go to Souts, see how Mary is doing, and pick up some ice-cream for dessert. Our food supply needs to be topped up in any case. Besides, I have a plan for a new super weapon." "Super weapon! What is it?" I showed Tom the construction in my head and he said, "That is an antique weapon from Earth. What good is it here?" "The bow is a very powerful weapon in the right hands. I just don't like killing animals with high tech weapons and it does not give them a chance to escape. Besides, it gives a present to the family that is practical yet fun to use. They are already getting target practice in their suits. They have a better brain structure now and better coordination to use the old weapon." Our landing in Souts did not go unnoticed. Jul came forward alone and I walked up to her. It felt right, so I pulled her close and kissed her lips in a tender way. She clung close and after a second to understand she reciprocated. "Mm, that was nice. I will have to teach my wives to do that, or are you going to come over and teach them?" "Am I being chosen to father your children?" "Yes, Jim. I know you wanted to have a talk first and this is the first time that you have been back that this can happen." "I have been busy. Our own family has increased and most of my time has been with them. Look into my mind to see what they are like." Jul did and stayed quite a while to get my own feelings for each of the new members. She also got the feelings I had to protect and nurture the whole family. She also checked if my feelings had changed about all the children she and her wives would bear. Jul asked, "You want us to become your other family?" "Children are very important to me but my own flesh and blood children, are even more important. Their mothers' are not far behind. After taking my new family it is even more important to me to do this. What do you personally think and what will your wives think of this? You are the metsu and what will happen when I come into the family? I would be the husband and there will be times when both of us will not agree." "Is that not the case when there is only one female and one male in a Human marriage?" "Yes it is. Usually there is a discussion but in most cases the male gets his way. In some cases families have the woman getting her way." Jul did some more thinking and felt sure she knew what her wives were like and said, "I believe that this may work. Our job here is very enjoyable, but we have been looking for an intangible something else to fill our lives. We thought it was children but it may be you that we want. If you have time I would like you to come to our home and see if it is possible for you to become our husband." "I would like that. My family needs to be gently brought to the same conclusion. I think the best way is for all of us to meet at one time and see if there is any problems. I am already committed to them and will not risk enlarging our family at their expense." The time was arranged for two local days from now. Our family was new and still settling in. This might be the only time that I would be able to do this without a major disruption. Jul asked if we could come over now and I regretfully told her why we were here. Jul smiled when she found out about the first of my 'super weapons'. I went on to describe the second super weapon, its size, intended target and mode of delivery. She promised to have them all fabricated before we left with our supplies. Tom and I walked over to General Shingle's office and walked in. The large room had three desks and many screens with surveillance images on each. Some actually had Samutz either swimming or on land, in many different places. The General looked up and waved us over. Before we could salute he stuck out his hand and greeted me then Tom. "Glad to see that you are here. The Samutz that you found are very important to cleaning up this planet. We have intercepted many of their communications. We know roughly where many of the Samutz are clustered and how organized they are. In a week there will be enough troops to take them on frontally and destroy them." "Troops," I asked. "Yes the Tandra are shaping up well and now almost all of the fighters are crewed. The ground forces have been in training for a while now. Combat suits are being produced so fast that we have a surplus of almost a hundred thousand after giving one to each Tandra that can be trained." "That is good to hear sir, but I came with a concern." "What is it Jim?" Our sensors do not work well with turbulent or silt laden water. The Samutz could be there and we would not even know it. This base has a large river nearby with no way of knowing if the Samutz are preparing for an attack of their own." The general smiled and said, "You are wrong Jim. We have been working on sensors for the riverbed, just like the ones set to detect submarines around the countries back home. We even have drones better suited to an aquatic environment taking out Samutz singletons in many areas without warning the Samutz bases that we know about them." I let out my breath. It was good to know others had been doing some thinking and came to the same conclusions sooner than me. "I have been doing my own recruitment and soon they will be able to man all the stations in my ship. This will mean that we can handle more drones and repeaters. I want to get some of those that work better underwater." "Jul has been asking for you. I hope you have not counted her as part of your recruitment," he said with a chuckle, "she is already with us." "No sir, but she may join my family." After seeing a raised eyebrow, I told him of my new family and Jul's request. "I don't envy you. There is little enough free time and a family will take all of it up." "We will just have to get rid of the Samutz then." Carl chuckled and patted me on the back. "I suppose so." The groceries were stowed and the armoury visited for some knives and the swords that were part of our uniform when we wore it. We looked like squires for a mediaeval knight when travelling back to the ship. Swords knives in scabbards and sheaths filled our arms. Almost back at the ship Jul met us. "Hello, Jim and Tom. This is one of my sunas, Peli. She wanted to help us with your super weapons. The other idea was tested and found to be very effective." Peli grinned, then chuckled quietly at the joke, but said nothing. Her mind was all aquiver with thoughts of having sex with a male and possibly having his child. She had been one of the individuals that had been rescued when the ships had been captured. She was quite taken with Human males and this was her first chance to get really near one. The primitive camping a few days ago made her want the male almost more than anything else. I could feel her want and said to both, "Why don't one or both of you come with me for a few days. I have to get back when Mary comes out of the tank. It will give my family a chance to see what it is like to be from a ship or a city." Peli got excited then turned to Jul and they conversed on a more or less private frequency. Within seconds Jul said, "You have a good idea. It would be even nicer if Peli came home with a child growing in her. She has a very talented tongue and your wives will welcome her I am sure." Peli only looked like she would blush and was not offended in the least. Our expected arrival time had been broadcast an hour ago and as we settled on the island all of the family lined up to greet Tom and me. When Peli walked down the steps I could feel a lot of disappointment and worry. They figured they were being replaced with new wives. I knew their hopes had really crashed and I said, "You are my family now and you will never be replaced. Peli has come with us so that she can get to meet you and understand the way you feel. She is also here to teach you what it is like to live with a lot of other Tandra in a ship or a big city." They seemed to understand that, so I continued, "Peli's family would like to have some children and want me to be the father. She is here to see how well I do and report back." This they understood too but unlike their civilized cousins they were against this on the principle that I would find the sophisticated Tandra more to my liking and leave. The meal was good but the undercurrents would sour the best of feasts. Peli did her best to make herself understood but the others were not up to her standards of understanding yet. Many of the finer nuances were lost. When Peli was almost in tears I asked her to go to the ship and bring back the first of our gifts. She ran out faster than I thought usual to get away from the bad feelings. Coming back in she had a handful of thin shafts and another handful or even finer ones. She handed them to me and I said, "If you know how they work show the others." She did not want to but did because I was her new leader at least for a while. She took a thin reed about thirty centimetres long and with a twist and a mental command it popped out to almost two metres. A string with loops at both ends was produced and the bow commanded to bend so the string could be attached. This was so easy one of the children could do it provided they had the mental ability to send the commands. The arrows were produced and they lengthened too till a length for this sized bow. She asked us to go outside and she sighted on a far tree. Pulling the arrow back very difficult, but it became easier, the further back it went. When she let fly, the arrow went right past the tree and buried itself in the sand fifty metres behind her target. I rushed in because she was feeling bad. "That was good Peli. It is not many people that can pull a bow back that far, never mind coming so close. I didn't do that well the first time I used it." "B... but it wasn't," she cried, "I did it three times before coming here." "Peli, this is a skill that takes a long time to master and I am sure in enough time you will be able to do better than most. You keep this bow and let's go see if we can find the arrow." The arrow was coated with galvanized iron and had a small crystal for power so that it was easy to find again. Targets were set up and the bows strung. Fonza appeared to be the best of the new family, while Tom and I were better again. This was mainly because of our training and improved mind that was beyond what the locals had gotten. An hour later the failing light made finding the target difficult and Jonesey rose from her berth and retrieved the arrows with her sensors and tractors. The bows could be left strung without problems so there was no need at present to de-energize them. Boko and the children went out with Peli to help get the rest of the arrows. Tom and I got the knives and swords. Fenna and Mona admired the edges and thought of how easy it would be to clean game now. I sent Peli out again for the final secret weapons and she came back with them in a sack. I ordered everybody to remove their clothes and bend over facing the west wall. "Peli take two of these and get behind Mona and Fenna. Use this as you would on your sisters with love and concern." Only she Tom and I could see the weapons. Peli got behind Mona and caressed her back and bum. Mona was a little indignant that a stranger was doing something to her backside but stayed because I wanted her to. The weapon was the same as my cock but longer to afford a good grip. Lubricant was stored in its centre and it could vibrate at a fantastic rate and amplitude. With the first plunge Mona cried out and her head fell to the mattress. Peli used one hand to continue with Mona while a frightened Fenna felt the intruder at her back door. It moved down and worked its way into her, stimulation was kept at a minimum to allow both to reach and stay at that psychic plateau, and stay there together. I handed two more to Tom and said, "Take care of Boko and Fonza. They seem to be enjoying the view." Both of them were very excited and I knew that soon Boko would jump Fonza unless they were both taken care of. Tom just wondered why he had to take care of a female too, but kept the mental voice very low. I watched the boy and girl gasp out their pleasure as Tom skilfully inserted the dildos and slowly moved them back and forth trying his best to make it last for each. The children and the donai came running up and got into the bag. I jumped for it but was too late. Each had one in their hands and I had to consider whether they should have them or not. Their backsides were big enough and if it hurt then they could just stop what they were doing, so I decided to let them have their fun. The donai nosed a dildo across the floor and sniffed it all over before abandoning it to watch what was happening. I put it back in the sack and closed it. Loud cries came from both Mona and Fenna as they collapsed on their stomachs. Peli gave them no relief, and continued to stroke into them as they quivered helplessly. Boko and Fonza were next and fell much the same way. The children were doing themselves. I felt that it was better than Christmas, if they ever had one. I went to the children and because Robert was closest, he bent over my legs as I sat on the floor. I took the phallus and slowly worked it into his bum. He almost immediately had an orgasm. I continued till he had three more and left the phallus beside him as I went to Sarah. She was bent over and held the dildo for me to take. To be fair I gave her four climaxes then went to Abigail and did the same. The children were out of it for a while and the donai came by and smelled each of them in the crotch before looking around for something to play with and keep them occupied. Peli, then Tom started the vibrations and the nearly dead Tandra sprang to life. Mona screamed and orgasmed harder than she had ever thought possible. It only took a minute, but the Tandra were knocked senseless with the vibrations. I asked Tom and Peli to stop. Both were very excited from what they had done and were ready for some action themselves and to tell the truth so was I. "Tom lay on your back on the floor. Peli get between his legs and suck him." Both were shocked. Each had never really had too much to do with the opposite sex, but did this time because I asked. When they started, Peli found it no different than her sisters and Tom found it no different when his brothers did it to him. I took some lube and got behind Peli and started to caress her many clits around her vagina. She stopped sucking and Tom guided her back to the job at hand. I went in painfully slow and then pulled out the same way till she was almost screaming. All the Tandra seemed to know the real thing from a fake phallus and appreciated me more for it. Robert got up with shaky legs and walked over to see how we were doing. His little urethra sticking out like a little boy's penis. Without any encouraging, he got on his back and slid under Peli. He started to nurse on her long clit. This was too much for her and I plunged in very fast knowing that it was useless to wait longer. She screamed and set Tom into a trembling orgasm. I held the quaking woman by the hips till Robert decided to get out and that wasn't till he thought he should. After lowering Peli to the floor I picked Robert up and kissed him tenderly and said, "That was a nice thing for a little boy to do. I am very proud of you for showing her a nice time." Robert put his arm over his eyes and hid his pretty face in my shoulder as he tried to come to grips with the unaccustomed praise. Now putting him down, I removed Peli and laid her on her back beside Tom. Tom was coming around when I picked up his legs. I put them on my shoulders and pushed gently into him. Even with the slow pace he could not take the sensations and reached out to hold me as energy shot through his mind and body. Robert got me the cleanser and I just had time to slip into Peli as she came around. I said, "Reach out to Fenna and Mona. Make them feel what is in you." I had to repeat myself till she was able to do as I asked. I pushed or pulled when she established contact as a type of reward and her groans were mimicked by the other women. This was the first time the women were able to actually feel one another. The sheer force of their combined minds pushed me to my limits much faster than I would like and pumped into Peli. The feeling was actually transmitted and the others orgasmed in sympathy. I was physically exhausted from the intensity of the link and just fell over on my side away from Peli. It seemed we had been missing a lot. The link, if strong, would bind all our feelings in a singular whole and make the act of love much stronger and satisfying for each of us. Closing my eyes, I searched out the rest and saw that everybody was affected to various degrees. How much better would it be if all of us were linked? I rested a bit, then turned more and got up. A few short steps brought me to Fenna. She was curled into a ball and I just straightened her out and slipped into her previously lubricated slot. With a few strokes I stopped and said to her, "Fenna, connect to Mona and Peli." Mona came quickly and I stroked twice to let her know that she did a good job. I waited and Peli did not come through. "Fenna, connect to Peli." The woman tried harder and I just waited till this happened. After a moment I knew she had an aversion for doing this and I said, "If you don't do it, I will move to Mona now." This put a fear into her and she tried frantically when the job should have been quite easy. Peli came through, but not as strong as Mona but I treated her for the effort with small pinches to her little nipples. It took no time for the slight discomfort to be transferred into pleasure. All three women pushed their chests up into the air to receive my fingers. "Now Fenna. Get Fonza." Fonza was easier, and I stroked into Fenna to let her know that I was happy with her actions. The feelings were getting so strong I had to try to pull out of the link to remain in control. The women were moaning and I continued my very slow strokes before saying, "Connect to Boko." There was a slight hesitation because he was a male, even if he had not entered puberty yet. I could feel a different flavour and knew he was present if not too well established. None of the Tandra had been doing too much mindspeak and this just seemed a good way to break those final barriers. I brought in Tom myself and the matrix strengthened considerably. Peli was almost going crazy wanting me. Fenna wanted my child more than anything else and surprisingly both Boko and Tom wanted the same. I grasped Fenna's hips and started plunging full speed into her and the level of noise in the room rose dramatically, but somehow the group orgasm was held back. I could feel the small lumps caressing my dick and my fingers felt Fenna's nipples and I knew the time had come. I pumped shot after shot into her pussy. The rest acted like a dam breaking and I felt all of them orgasm with me. My own orgasm lasted much longer than usual and I felt a gentle lassitude come over me as I lay down between Fenna and Mona. Closing my eyes, I reached out and pulled both to me and the feeling of contentment grew. Not a moment passed when one of the donai cubs came up and sniffed my deflated member. Seeing nothing interesting it rejoined the other two and wandered outside. Perhaps I should do the same thing. Getting up, I went out into the night, found a convenient bush and pissed a long stream at its base. I could hear the night insects calling to each other and was happy there was no biting insects to bother the Tandra or Humans on this planet. When the flow ended I remembered the dessert and went into the ship to get cleaned. I dug out the large container of vanilla ice- cream. Bowls were put on the table and the confection placed into them. The remainder went back into stasis while I went for the berries the children picked earlier in the day. The berries were all clean. I sprinkled them on liberally and carried it back into our house on two trays. None had recovered yet, but the dessert would soon melt. I took a spoonful of ice cream, dropped it on Mona's unprotected chest between her breasts and held her still. She came around quickly, then I started licking the now running cream up before it dirtied the mattresses. "Get up sweety, I brought you some dessert." "Haaa, thank you husband," she said unsure of her words. This was new she replied to me in mindspeech without realizing it. The rest got up slowly and started to eat. The children, though the last to start, were the first to finish theirs. The donai came in to see if there was anything for them and just patiently waited. A query to Jonesey found that they could safely eat our desert but I wasn't about to get up to get them some. That night Peli slept between Fenna and Mona. Tom slept with me and Boko and Fonza slept with the children. I had to tell them to leave the dildos alone on more than one occasion when they tried to sneak one into each other. After breakfast, Peli started talking to the family about being on the warships of the Samutz and life in general among the Tandra before and after being freed. Tom and I left for the remainder of the swing across the continent and tracked down and destroyed only two groups with a total of five Samutz. The next portion further from the coast would be even harder to patrol because of the height of the canopy and the high density of the vegetation all the way to the forest floor. Our communications were relayed by the combat suits the family used and they were all waiting for us as we settled down. They all ran forward and gave me a kiss. Peli looking into my mind gave Tom one too. She like all the other Tandra were not used to the genders mixing the way they were here. When I kissed Peli, I could smell something on her breathe and said, "What have you been teaching my wives?" "Oh, just the differences between the Tandra on this planet and the ones I know about. There seem to be some remarkable differences." I was curious and looked into her mind. I saw the children playing with the dildos and when they were taken away so they would study they used their small hands to mimic the action. They were able to put their small fists into each others rectums and then moved over, and did it to Mona as she was recovering from a good cum of her own. Soon everybody was being treated by the children and very little real work got done. "It does look like you had a fun time." I didn't want to break their bubble about the fact that there were many Samutz still wanting to eat or kill each of them. Our meal was a little delayed because the call we sent over an hour ago had made them realize the time. Our larder of meat was getting low so I got the bow. We took some non-galvanized arrows and set up a target range. Tom and I took Boko and Fonza away from the ship. Jonesey projected a target on herself and we shot at her. The arrows were caught with the tractors and the position noted where we should have hit. The children and their now faithful shadows watched us as if this was of great importance to them. There wasn't too much here that would break the boredom. I had many Cree friends and used the bow as a way of getting closer to them, even if they almost always used rifles now. The more traditional minded elders encouraged the bow and even set up competitions to make all of us remember the heritage of the majority of the residence. Tom and I had been given much better hand/eye coordination, but the extra given Fonza and Boko, were still enough to hit a target if we got close enough. Jonesey spoke to each of them when looking through their eyes and told them of the breeze and where they should aim to best hit the target. She seemed to be taking as much joy in the youngsters learning as we did. We ate our meal and this time there were more conversations going on. I asked what they had accomplished and on this note nothing was forthcoming so I assumed the worst. It seemed that most if not all of them would have sore genitals tonight from all the activity they had through the day. We ate the rest of the ice-cream and then all of us cleaned up. Tom and I were going hunting. When I said that we would take the five youngest members of the family we were swamped with all of them and the donai too, for they were not left without their 'two legged pets'. With shields on we left for the area we got the last of the antelope. There were none there when we arrived and I set out Boko and Fonza in quickly made stands. Robert was happy to stay with them to watch. "The rest of us will circle around and try to drive the animals toward you. When they are close shoot as best you can. It is no shame to miss, you have had little practice and the targets are now moving." I had my rifle, as did Tom. We were obliged to carry Abigail and Sarah most of the way through the heavy brush. The donai even with shorter legs managed to keep up with us even better than I hoped. The sight of the far side of the island came as no surprise to the children, for it looked much like the side we came from. We spread out and the children went first to drive the animals towards the blind. I had talked to Jonesey and got her to help again with the aiming of the projectiles but tried to be as subtle as she could. The slow pace of the girls in their shields did not frighten the animals like Tom or I would and the pace was longer than I first thought. Small legs took a lot longer to negotiate obstacles that Tom or I could just step over. Long before we got even fifty metres I felt Boko and Fonza's excitement then regret. Tom shifted far to the right and we continued so I could watch the children. Soon the excitement grew again and this time Fonza was ecstatic while Boko was morose. I knew that there were other small herds on the island and said, "Fonza and Boko. Take the carcass and pull it away. We will try to drive some more animals your way." I called Tom back and then went off myself making all too much noise. This area was different and more thickly covered with brambles. The noise I now made was beneficial and I knew Tom was adding all he could to provide the animals with only one obvious avenue to follow. Small solitary animals scampered away and within minutes I could feel excitement again. The larger animals were not cooperating and moments later both Boko and Fonza let loose but only Fonza hit her target. I came up to them and called out so I would not be shot. Boko was very upset and was almost in tears. He was a male on this planet and as such should be the provider, but on Earth the male was just a sperm provider, and a served the purpose of a wife in most families. I felt sorry for him and tried to comfort him as best I could. Pulling him to me I kissed his forehead and said, "We got the first one didn't we?" His head came up in a smile and he felt much better. The small donai taking care of Robert was busy tearing at the fresh carcass and was soon joined by his or her sibling and Rosie. "You better dress the animals quick or there will be none left for us," I joked. When the children and Tom came up, Fonza and Boko were busy butchering and the donai stayed respectfully away. The occasional toss of a juicy tidbit helped keep them form diving in and helping themselves. The two hunters put the carcasses on their shoulders and walked back to camp. I took the hides with me as we all followed them. The donai sniffed quickly to see if we left anything important behind and soon followed. Back at camp, Fonza ran to the women showing her bag and Boko displayed one for their approval. They were very much taken with a female doing the hunting, while Peli thought it only right. Boko hid his sadness well but Peli saw it and also knew he had bagged one before and congratulated him on getting the first as I already did. The children told their stories of how they helped, while the donai just stood at rest and looked at the fresh meat. I slipped away, put the hides in a large pot and asked Jonesey to boil it for a few hours so I could make something out of the thin hides. The hunters went into the ship and cut up the meat. Then it was put in the stasis for later. The larger bones were given to the donai to gnaw on till clean. When everything was cleaned up, and since there was no studying done, the family donned tutors or combat suits and tried to learn. It seemed much easier when I was here to enforce the rules. Tom and I actually had time to attend our own interrupted studies. The thoughts of a much bigger ship were even more important to me now that it looked like I might enlarge my family with Jul's. That night Peli told me that she had just dropped her egg and would probably have my child if it caught. She was very happy and said how Fonza had done the same thing but did not recognize that she had done so. This made me happy and I wracked my mind for a way for me to keep all the women and children safe with me in the future. Peli linked with Jonesey. She told Jul and her other sisters about the event and I could almost see the joy coming from Souts at the news. Fonza was shocked to hear about her own condition and was able to come to me for a hug without the old worries of what a male would think or do. Tom and even Boko were outwardly happy but felt bad that they couldn't give me the same gift as the women. Fenna and Mona were happy because this meant that I was tied even tighter to all of them as if it were necessary. My cooking project was attended to and I made some toys for both the two and four legged children. The leather when hard would make a formidable weapon if it hit an unprotected area and the chew toys would keep the others happy. The next day had Tom and I covering the next part of the continent on our agenda. We talked for a while to Nikolai Petrov. He had found little or no Samutz on the arid portion of the continent but a few on the lush costal regions. He had independently hit a small base and killed over a dozen Samutz the previous day but had to avoid some weapons capable of destroying his small craft. Kolya wanted to invite himself over, but I said that we would be going back to Souts to drop off Peli and pick up Mary. Nikolai said, "How do I get a fine ship like yours? My family is growing and I too need the room." "Kolya, you have to sweet talk the General and then do the same for the techs and get the last hull that is available before somebody else gets it. I hear almost all the fighters are now crewed." Later, Tom and I found three Samutz living in a low-lying area of swamp and only one had a shield. There were no weapons signatures but we killed them anyway. The thoughts of them coming on my family, even if unarmed, was enough for me to do this without too much of a problem with ethics. When our shift was done we took a swing over the central mountains to find a good camp site for a temporary stay. Tom asked, "Why do you want a place there? The air is much too cold and the animals are larger and more dangerous." "The last place was nice for both of us. If I had not had my body worked on I would find the temperature too high to do more than sleep. The area I am looking for will be cooler, but still very warm for my old self. Look at it as a chance to experience a different climate. One day we may need all of that knowledge to stay alive." Tom would agree with me in most cases because it was my choice, but that did not mean that he would not comment to learn more or to question my decisions on occasion. We got back to camp again, we found everybody waiting and eager for our presence. Fenna and Mona were especially sad that Peli would now be leaving and held onto the woman as if that would be enough to hold her back. The camp was broken and the site cleaned as much as possible before loading everything into the ship. Jonesey tried her best to arrange people and donai comfortably but there was simply not enough room for everybody to be seated. Our course took us across a large ocean and out of habit I wanted to scan the waters but knew we were going much too fast for the probes to function. Souts was only a few hundred klicks inland, so I followed the river and let out the probes to see what there was. We found a single Samutz at the river delta and it appeared to be fishing at a depth of twenty metres. The family got excited, but I ignored it thinking of General Shingle's words. We landed in front of the hanger and Peli's home. We informed Frieda about the lone Samutz and I was only given an acknowledgement. We then descended to the synthetic material covering most of the base. Jul and her two other wives greeted Peli with a lot of love and showered her with kisses. Moments later Jul came over to us and said, "Hello, friend Jim. You have given my family a great gift." Then she stood on her tip toes and gave me a Human style kiss that almost made my toes curl. With a big smile she dropped to her feet and said, "Let me meet, the lucky members of your family." I introduced all the members and picked up the youngest to show her. To say she was taken by the youngsters would just be an understatement. Robert, Abigail and Sarah could read enough of the women now to know how she truly felt about them. Robert happily was placed in Jul's surprised arms while I held the two girls. The rest of Jul's family came over and marvelled at the polite children and I could see how they too wanted to hold them. The three donai were completely forgotten and started to whine. I handed the two girls off to some of Jul's wives and started to pick up the cubs. Rosie went into the last women's arms and the wild donai of a week ago were quite at home in ours, as long as their children were within sight. I told Jul of the recent hunting and how Fonza had managed to bring down two antelope, while Boko used a rifle to bring down a singleton only a few days before. There was enough meat and they were all invited to another barbecue for supper, but in their case, their day had not begun yet, so it would have to be their breakfast. Jul was not paid, but did the work, because of civic responsibility and a wish to rid the planet of Samutz. Taking a few hours off was not difficult and would be made up later. We all tried to pile into the bus but Jul saw that they would not physically fit. We made two trips and everybody was still scrunched in. It reminded me of the one and only time I went to Tokyo and with an interpreter boarded the subway cars. Jul was astute enough to know that I would like a much larger ship and I could feel her searching for the requirements in my mind, then in Tom's, but she was trying to do it without our knowledge. Our camp was again set up outside the camp proper and close to another herd of the larger types of antelope. The children began to gather wood with the help of some of Jul's women. Tom went with some of the family and Peli to get some more ice-cream to go with our berries. The menu also called for a large container of vegetables and other supplies. Later, as the fire burnt to coals, Fonza was taken by the women and had to describe the hunt she was on and how she did the actual shooting. They seemed to be even more curious about her possible pregnancy. Boko felt bad for not being able to provide for us and not being able to get some of the attention too. Jul caught wind of this before Boko could become very upset and asked him about his successful hunt. I saw an opportunity here and said, "Boko, would you like another chance with the bow and arrows that Jul made for us? She will be with you if you choose to try." He wasn't as hung up as some Humans, so he wanted to try. There were now extra mouths to feed. Mary would wake up from the vats soon with a big appetite, and the Tandra, now took a liking to my cooking. An extra load of meat would disappear very soon. Tom and I set up Boko and Jul by a large tree and showed them how to hide and stay still. With the wind taken into consideration, Tom and I took our rifles and ran at a good pace to stretch our muscles. It had been a long time and I could see the effects of the soft nights and easy days. Nearly out of breath, we waited a moment before separating and with a lot of noise drove the animals toward Boko and Jul. We ran slowly at first to get the herd of a hundred or so animals in motion. Some of the older males stayed at the rear to protect the herd, but saw no immediate threat, so ran with the rest of the throng now. A good five minutes later, we caught Boko's excitement and Jul's too. Seconds later it was as if Boko had an orgasm, for his thoughts ran as bright. Coming up to the tree, we saw Boko with his bow held high and dancing around in a circle calling out to the primitive gods of these Tandra. The grass was well beaten down and I saw one, then two of the larger animals. In a thicket I saw more movement and brought up the rifle. Running closer with Tom to cover me I saw that it was another of the antelope. Looking into Boko's mind, I saw that one more should be around and searched the way the animals fled. I found another breathing blood through its mouth. I used the rifle at point blank range to kill the animal and directed Tom to do the same for the ones back at the tree. The first three animals were hung on the tree and gutted. I loaded the biggest on Boko's shoulders and sent him back to camp. Jul was excited by the atavistic sight and was actually horny. What she got was her shield activated and a carcass placed across her shoulders and told to catch up to Boko. Tom took the other and ran with it to catch up. I kept watch and eventually picked up the last carcass on the path and ran with it so I would not be too far behind Boko when he entered the camp. As I came to the ring of admirers, I heard with my mind the exclamation from all the women at the great hunting ability of the young man. I was also quite sure that Jul had made it known that this is the way she wanted it. Even Fonza came up to him and congratulated him on his hunting prowess. There was way too much meat and it had to be used. Tom and I placed the bulk of it in the ship and flew to Souts and gave it over to the kitchens so it could be placed in stasis. By supper it would be well known and many would be able to enjoy the fruits of Boko's labours. We took a trip to the medical facilities and picked up Mary. As we did last time, she was drugged a little to keep her docile with all the new scents of the strange people. We landed quickly and unloaded Mary and put the prime pieces of meat before her. The cubs came up to her and were licked before they laying down to rest in front of her. The only reason she could be fed was that the cubs were stuffed already and could not even attempt to eat more. She sniffed the air as I placed my hand by her nose and fed her a piece of liver. She took it very daintily and I stroked her head. She was not used to this so I left her to her meal and cleaned up for our own. The meat was cooked and Boko was very happy to help serve it onto each of the plates. There was no shortage of willing hands to help the children with their food and thought of how the children would react when they had a lot less people looking out for them. Jul asked about how Peli liked being in our family and she replied how great I was. I knew it was like going on a vacation and having new duties and obligations, while forgetting the old ones. Fenna, Mona and Fonza were brought into the conversation and after a while started to reply with their mind only. The rest of us just sat in and acted like some of the girls. Jul eventually brought up about the small size of our large ship and asked if I could use a larger one. "Jul I love this ship. It is everything I ever wanted and most of all I have Jonesey to do all the real work and help me out whenever I need it. A bigger ship would be nice but there is no way I will leave her now, she is part of my family." ------- Chapter 62 I could feel a strange pleasure at my words and just figured that it was Jonesey telling me something without even the use of mindspeak. Jul said, "The hull Jonesey came from had a lot of damage, but could be repaired. Jonesey could just go home and you could go with her." "That would only alleviate a few problems. This hull is very fast, strong and deadly. The other would be a larger target, would attract heavier weapons, not to mention less manoeuvrable, and a bit slower to get out of the way of the enemy. I doubt very much if there is a craft that can be that large and still fly like a fighter." This was Jul's way of assisting our family especially if both our families were to be linked. "Let me have some time on it. If we are to be an extended part of your family it would be good to have a ship that could take us and our children with safety and comfort." I did not hold out too much hope, but Tom pointed out that Jul had done wonders already and it was possible that she could do it again. It was getting late for us. It was nighttime where we came from and the children were getting sleepy. Already Boko was resting his head on my thigh and it looked like Fonza would like to as well. Her eyes were still sparkling at the thought of carrying my child. Jul and her ladies were invited to stay, but wanted to get back to work and check up on some of the ideas she already had. The goodbyes were said and the children seemed to get the most attention. I flew them back to the hanger and home, to have a final kiss with each of the women. Their kiss back was either sultry or demanding and left me wondering how they had found out how to do that. Hours later Tom and I got up. We removed some of the supplies and security devices from the ship and made ready for liftoff. The rest of the family got up, Fenna rekindled the fire, and prepared our breakfast. With all the education they had been given it was still hard to explain to them how we raced the local star around the globe. Over the area we were to patrol, a heavy rain pounded the jungle and most of this side of the continent. Our speed had to be drastically reduced because the drones range was diminished. Tom sent sensors down at any break in the canopy, hoping to find some sign of the Samutz. This did seem to be ideal weather for our enemy though. Vague or intermittent readings brought us over many areas but the swollen waters did not allow us to search further. There was no doubt that the Samutz were playing a cagey game with us here and didn't shoot at us because they didn't want to tip their hand, or had no effective means of taking us out. Our report brought us to the attention of General Shingle. "You boys did well. Continue your patrol and I will send over some of the aquatic drones to see what there is to find, but it looks like they would be hard pressed to find much either." We found more areas of activity and they were duly reported. We just hoped that the drones would not be as easily detected as our own hull might be. An hour later we found another visitor to our continent. "Hello, Jim, Tom. What have you found that the General wants investigated?" "Hello Kolya," came from both Tom and I, then I said, "it looks like the Samutz are up to something and are using the weather to hide it from us. We get too close, they pull their heads in and we can't find a thing." "I think you should have that limey Thornton go down there. He would be a better choice in this rain." I laughed at the thought of the tall Jeremy Thornton trying to keep a stiff upper lip and show that he could function better than the rest of us in his type of weather. "I can see that. He would probably fly down and right into the river to see what he could." An idea came to me. "Do you think we can do that?" "I don't see why not. Do you want me to try it first? Your ship can pull me out if something happens." "Yes give it a try and we will be right overhead." The next chance was in a very wide and deep river. Nikolai hovered his fighter over the turbulent waters and slowly settled to about forty metres. "Guys, this is fun. I can't see too far with my own screen, but the drones let me see a lot farther. The bottom is not visible, but the drones seem to be able read better if I am down here. There are old trees and some really weird critters too." I could see what he was experiencing and thought it a lot of fun, but a repeater could go into the water as well, or even a series of them, to read the entire bottom. Tom on his own accord lowered the repeaters and drones into the water ahead of Kolya, but more toward the main channel. We travelled against the rushing current and scanned a wider area than Kolya was capable of. Ten minutes later we stopped dead. Up ahead two Samutz were working on a fighter in the lea of a large rock. "Kolya stop. There is a fighter ahead." He saw the image through my mind and dropped to the bottom. "What are we to do? I don't know what our weapons will do when fired underwater. There is enough energy here to blow me out of the water." "Let the current take you back, and we can talk to the General." "What?" came from the General. He went over our data and went into an immediate dialogue with Frieda and his staff. "Shit, shit. This is going to screw things up." Then to us, he said, "It looks like the Samutz are planning a surprise of their own. We have not done any training in dogfighting techniques and I guess we will have to see how much training we can get in before they attack. Pull out now, travel up river a few hundred klicks and use your drones in passive mode to see what you can find. Transmit from a point where they will not become nervous." I sent word to my family through the combat suit that we would be very late and continued our new mission. The drones submerged in the first available area for the Samutz to hide and we just kept on going downstream. By giving the drones and repeaters a small thrust, we were able to complete the 345 klick route in 9 hours. The data was sent out four times and we found 73 fighters and support craft resting on the bottom. There was no way of knowing how many other rivers had similar installations or the number of ships. Tom and I started on another river and 13 hours later found 19 additional craft hiding. We were ordered home for a personal debriefing and found the base abuzz with activity. A half a dozen times we found our fighters taking one another on singly or in groups. We walked into a room with twelve other Humans, the most I had seen in one place for a long time. Conflicting and anxious voices came from different groups as they tried to come up with a unified strategy. When we were seen, most voices dropped and I felt my brain raped of all the information I had or surmised. In a minute they were gone and I asked Frieda, "What is the current plan?" "The satellites coverage is being increased. Fighter / fighter conflict scenarios are being carried on. The cruisers are configuring for small ship conflict. All combat suits are being readied for infantry detail. At present we are planning various enemy strategies and find there are many ways for their superior numbers to win. It is assumed that they have some powerful weapons that they plan to use to take out our space-based defences." Our function was done when we were scanned. After checking with Frieda we left and hurried to the supply depot. We filled it with all the survival gear we could think of needing and flew to a rougher area of the Gordon plateau. We then set up as good a camp as we could. This took at least an hour. We flew back to Souts, retrieved our family and broke camp as quickly as possible. Fenna and Mona were very upset and had visions of the Samutz attacking and killing all their family. The worried Tandra's emotions were carried to the donai, but all of them including Mary willingly entered the crowded ship. We disembarked moments later and tried to make the camp as hidden as possible. I had further informed the family on the flight about what I was doing and why. I was thankful that they did not question my motives. There was lots of food, vitamins, weapons, and security equipment to keep all of us safe if the Souts base were overrun. The last thing to do after giving orders was to inform Frieda of our position and have a talk with Jul. She was very busy, but found a minute for me. "Jul, will you record the location I am sending you? If it looks bad I want you to see if you can make it here with your wives." She was sent a list of our supplies and told her that she was only to bring what she thought necessary, or send it ahead if she found time. I had seen too many times what happened with last minute rushing before an enemy advance. Jonesey downloaded all the current data on how to fight the Samutz if they came in Tandra fighters. Our small numbers were augmented by Tandra pilots now learning to fight the Human way. Safety parameters were changed to give us the most advantage possible, while we hoped the Samutz had not found out how to do this, or even feeling a need to do so. Tom and I sat in our usual seats and took in all the data we could that might allow us to live through the coming conflict. Our own strengths and weaknesses were factored in and found that we could take out a fighter in an even fight, but knowing our size, I doubted that it would ever be even. It was an exhausting time and we went to sleep for a few hours. Boko and Fonza were told to start practising in the combat suits more than only an hour or so a day. Mona and Fenna were to act as an aggressor and try to test the other pair. Tom and I found time to talk to the children and calm their fears. The donai at our feet seemed to quiet as the children did. We sampled the reports flying between groups and found nothing happening yet. The production of ship killers was momentarily halted in favour of smaller weapons that could be used on an all-out aerial attack and a ground- based attack against our units in orbit. Reporting early for duty got us called to Huang Yi's desk. It looked like he had not left it at all in the last few local days. "Good to see you boys. Frieda and I have been going over a possible scenario and want you to change your canister of anti-personnel grenades for a larger variety that will home in on Samutz and their ships. You seem to have half of the available ships that can do this job." He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose before saying, "We have to hit them before they know we are onto them and as late as we can to stave off a concerted attack. In the mean time I need you to patrol more of the major rivers to get a better idea of what we are facing." I respected the Chinese captain, that rumour had, was a general himself when fighting the Americans in the Vietnam conflict. His now youthful face and body would at one time seem incredulous, unless I looked in a mirror and saw my own face that looked to be barely out of my teens. "Tom and I will do our best, Captain. Might I suggest some one kiloton devices. They would be much more effective underwater than above." "That is already in the works. When it is time to attack the planet will shudder under all the explosions," he said in a tired and sorrowful voice. "I just hope we are the ones that will start it and not the Samutz." I knew how he felt about the destruction. It was almost like this was our planet now and we didn't want to screw it up like Earth was. I asked, "Is there any chance of getting any more of the new aquatic drones and repeaters?" "There are a few you can have and it would be best to fly your old ones above the water and let the Samutz think you can't see any activity below." With the new equipment stowed in our hold we set off to check as many rivers as we could reach. Tom and I started our search again and concentrated on the major rivers. In the first 48 hours we found 153 more fighters and small assault craft, but all were fairly well dispersed. We continued for 20 more hours and only found 13 to add to our total. It was time for some sleep, so we flew home, giving our data as we flew and basically just slept for 12 hours. On waking we found that there was a lot more equipment stored in the area and found a relieved Fenna. She had feared that we would abandon them and had only overcome it when some of Jul's ladies showed up and convinced her otherwise. With a job only half done we did our best to reassure the family and told them we would be gone for six or seven local days. There were a lot of tearful eyes. Fonza held me tight, knowing that I was the one to protect her and the life I found she now bore for me. Boko had worked hard with the combat suits and could fight off a single Samutz if he were given a chance to don his suit. His hunting skills had brought in all the meat necessary and the donai were now almost taken for granted. The children were given the boiled leather articles and we found the donai playing with the two balls while the children bit and chewed on the tough leather material. I took a few minutes to get them straightened out and then a game developed of who was going to keep the ball, donai or Tandra. 32 hours into our patrol we were following a large river to the ocean. Beyond the delta the sensors detected a large signature in the deeper waters. We stayed away, but the probes went in to see what they could. In about 500 metres of water the drones found a broken portion of a Tandra hull. The craft had to be very old. Sea life had grown over it and the only way to tell was with our sensors. Seeing as it was not currently active, Tom and I flew closer and even descended beneath the waves accompanied by our drones to further investigate the relic. It was almost at a steep drop off and as we investigated Tom took the aquatic probes and searched the depths below. The structure was almost a hundred metres long and half of that wide and high. We used our active sensors now and Jonesey was able to map out the details. It appeared to be a hull fragment from a much large ship, probably a heavy destroyer. The thick growth of marine life told us that it was between one and one and a half million years old. Much too late for the Tandra empire we knew about, but much too soon for the Samutz to have used it. Jonesey's sensors probed through the coral and resolved it to be a hull plate over a stern boat bay. The material was twisted and broken, suggesting an attack or a malfunction. The latter was so rare, that the first was the only one we considered. The probes in the immediate area could detect more pieces, but they were much smaller in size and impossible to exactly determine their original position or ship type for that matter. "Tom pull in the other probes. It is time to leave." "Ok, but they are almost there now." "Well, let's see what we find then." It was kind of peaceful here at 537 metres, and I felt like an old submariner. The Marianas Trench on Earth was only 11,000 metres deep and considering the lesser gravity here we could go that deep at least. If we were not constrained for time it would be nice to explore. A faint Tandra distress call came to us from the probes. We were instantly wary, for the Samutz used the same craft and we were not sure what we would find. Tom said, "There is a Tandra craft down there with an active AI. The signals are very weak. What would you like to do?" "Send the other drones in to see if it is a trap and be prepared to leave or fight." The probes took a long time to do their job, but found the source. We floated a few hundred metres towards the edge of the precipice and went over and headed down. The bottom was 4300 metres down and the waters laden with silt that came and went with the ocean currents. The bottom came up and Tom took us away from the wall and the accumulated rock that had fallen since the upthrust of granite had occurred millions of years ago. We found another large piece of hull and decided to take a few more minutes to check the facts. The growth on this section was less because of the temperature and the amount of available light. Again the piece seemed to be from a heavy destroyer. More wreckage was nearby and the pieces were very large. Tom drove the probes forward and we found more and more pieces. In a further drop off we found the rest of the craft. It was plunged into a much larger ship. I was really excited now. The probes appeared to show a battle ship that had been rammed by the heavy destroyer, either by accident or design. The destroyer was in so many pieces that there was very little left serviceable. The battle ship, on the other hand looked perfect, except for the hole in its flank and the thick growth of coral and other marine life coating its hull. Our probe's sensors found power still on in the battleship and many of the systems still working. One of the exceptions was the shield that had completely collapsed. The hull was made of Tandra ceramic and thus could even here withstand the pressure without assistance. Jonesey interrupted our thoughts and said, "The AI in the ship is excited and wants to download urgent data to us. The probes do not have enough sensitivity or bandwidth to do this." I looked at Tom and then realized that all the ships we saw were millions of years old and this was only one that had been found by us. "Take us closer Jonesey and let's see what she has to tell us." We were getting close now and went over the last ledge. There were no groans or ominous music as we descended the steep incline. We recorded all of the pieces of hull and other parts leading to the main section still lodged in the hole in the battleship's flank with our own sensors. The ship was enormous and simply dwarfed any now in the system. Tom and I had assisted in taking the Nautilus and knew about the proper size and shape it should be. The lower half was buried in silt and it still looked gigantic in size. Data started to flow from us giving our official designation. After this we waited for the computer to digest the information. Its slow speed could be attributed to damage, insanity or probably trying to decide if we were friendly with the Tandra empire. The data started a moment later and took almost five minutes of our time, even with a good computer and crystal like Jonesey to do the work. The Sarine was fleeing a coup d'état with many of the female wives and children of the old order. Many of their personal guard and servants accompanied them. A flight of ships of the new order had followed them and when all else failed the mortally wounded destroyer had rammed the battleship. This was all above a primitive planet the Tandra hoped to call home. They had all fallen into the sea. The ruling elite had started repairs, but found it problematic because they had no yards. All the occupants had been ordered into stasis, while all of the elite had boarded one of the ships in the boat bays and gone for help. Many of the systems on the battleship had failed and the sensors were coated with marine life and hardly functioned at all. Most of the officers were dead in the fighting and subsequent crash. At present, 93% of the people were still alive in stasis but unable to awake because of the inability of the ship to keep them alive. I asked quickly, "Jonesey, find out about if they have fighters and pilots on board and their number." "There are only 3,865 war craft onboard, and 7,385 pilots capable of flying them." This was both the answer to a prayer and the possibility of a catastrophe. A ship this size would usually have a minimum crew of 100 to 150 thousand, but could hold five times that in a pinch. The figure would go to 2 million, if most were in stasis. Presently there were only 27,821 living biologicals on the ship. "Get all the data you can get and tell the ship to not awaken any of the sleepers." "Why is that, sir?" I noticed the 'sir' and knew it was official now. "We have limited resources and face an enemy attack soon. If we allow them to all to come to the camp at one time we will have to allow them to die if we are attacked by the Samutz. A limited number of them could assist us in protecting the planet. The rest could be awoken when the ship is brought to the surface." That seemed to satisfy her, so she got the information passed and the AI on the Sarine agreed to follow our orders. There was little else to gain by staying here and just did a final survey of the wreck. The final pass showed the heavy destroyer and the cracked computer room shielding. "Jonesey, can you get the crystal and the memory chips from here, or do I have to go and get them?" Jonesey did not say anything but manoeuvred into the best possible position and used her tractors to peal off the special battle plate and got the items I requested. Our course took us in a different direction and found more wreckage, but of a different type. The records of the Sarine told of a good sized battle as the ship tried to sneak unseen into the planet's atmosphere, but was ambushed by the much smaller ships. A opposing battleship had originally been the main enemy and had been destroyed on the way to this system. The Sarine had recorded the arrival of this hulk as it plunged into the planet's atmosphere thirty some years after the original engagement. Rising out of the water many klicks away we continued our mission and just thought of the possibilities the new information had brought us. Tandra law said Tom and I had salvage rights. The passengers and crew formed an obstacle to my plans though. There was no way around hiding this in a colony of mind readers but I could approach the General and see what kind of deal I could get from him. We sent in our preliminary reports and made Jonesey delete any notice of the ship's. I didn't want people that could or might interfere get to General Shingle before I could. We completed the main rivers in another 29 hours and found more Samutz and a lot of Tandra wreckage or garbage in the rivers. All of it was of fairly recent origins. We went directly to the General's office and as usual we found him awake and busy. This time he looked very bad and had gotten very little sleep. I was not sure if the news would be welcomed or not. I walked up to the General with Tom at my side. We both saluted and waited for him to finish his work. "Hello, boys. That was good work you both did. It looks like we have at least four hundred fighters to contend with when the battle starts. Almost four times the amount we have." "That is one of the reasons I came to talk to you. Will you stretch your legs for a minute and come to our ship?" Carl wondered what all this was about and tried to see, but both of us had our mind shields up and the only way to find out was to get up. This proved difficult because he had not moved in hours. Outside he said, "Ok boys, what is all this about?" "Let's go inside our ship. There are a few things different than the original designers envisioned." Once inside, I asked Jonesey to put up an interference so our conversation would indeed be private. "Sir, we found a damaged Omicron Class battleship with a full complement of support craft. There is 27,821 people onboard, all in stasis and more than enough of them to fly the fighters for us." "That is great. Why all the subterfuge?" "The ship was fleeing a coup on one of the planets and took the old aristocracy and all their retainers. If they were all taken here now, then the Samutz would find it even easier to kill us. Also, I kind of wanted the ship for my family." "Family!! You want a 3,400,000 tonne battleship for your motorhome? You could carve out an empire with that ship and be a direct threat to Earth and all that we are trying to accomplish." "Well, I was kind of hoping to have a crew of marines too. They would not let anything happen that they figured wasn't supposed to happen. You will need people to help crew those ships we captured and I am just sort of offering, not only myself and my family, but the ship too." "Let's see the details." The general was very tired, but also very quick and in ten minutes said, "Let's talk to Jul, and see if we can find a way to get the fighters off, and awaken some of the potential pilots. I agree with you about the number of civilized Tandra coming to our camp and never mind at one time. They would use Tandra law to tie me in knots to get their way." "I think we can also use the larger ships, like the cruisers, to take on the Samutz fighters when they come?" Jul came with Peli and her other two wives at the General's urging. She was very surprised to hear of the ship and took a lot of time with her wives to go over the details. After some animated discussion with Jonesey, she said, "I believe we have all the necessary parts to get the ship floating and then it will take a lot of time to fly it here. I estimate at least three days, if not more, to get the fighters off and then it is up to the rest of the ground personnel to see if they are air or space worthy. She may be a target for destruction or capture if the Samutz know of her existence." Tom said, "Why can't we just get the shield up and running? When her weight is removed she will head for the surface. In any case, the fighters can leave the ship as soon as she clears the bottom." "There are many things that must happen first or the ship will be crushed by the water if it is disturbed too much. The hull is strong, but very damaged." General Shingle looked at Jul and asked, "How many people do you need and how much of our production capacity is required?" Jul had been doing some hard thinking and said, "I need some police to help awaken the pilots. If they are capable and willing to help, then they can get the ship raised with the new components. If they prove to be unstable, then they can be forced back into stasis. I could use every available person to help, but a realistic figure of twenty would suffice. The AI on the Sarine would prove invaluable if she will side with us. I believe it is necessary as the head of the local government here that General Shingle talk to her and get her cooperation." Then she added, "It will take approximately three and a half local days to just get the components manufactured. Another possibility, is taking the raw materials to the ship itself and manufacturing the units there if the facilities are not too damaged." Peli mindspoke to Jul, and Jul said, "It would be good to have Jim and Tom clear the coral from one of the ports so we can gain entry. They can do some of the preliminary inspections for us." The discussion went on for an hour, till the General was called for business only he could handle. It was very fortunate that we had as much time as we got. Jul said, "I see that you have tried your own way to keep your family safe. The vehicle we were working on was a lot smaller and much less ostentatious." "I was just thinking of my future children and their safety. It has enough room for all their mothers' too," I joked. Jul and her ladies left, but not before getting the names Roku and Vasie as the other two wives. After another high voltage kiss from Jul, Peli, Roku and Vasie had to have their turn and left me hard. Tom and I flew to the rest of the family and had a late meal. We then listened to everything they had done to make the home safe and workable. All the older ones were now in the habit of wearing the combat suits all the time. Our stores were rapidly expanding with jerked meats and local produce. Their old diet changed when they were told about the vitamins. Tom and I slept another 12 hours and got up in the middle of the night. Fenna was upset that she had not caught yet, as did Mona. I too was upset with the lack of opportunity to do anything about it. With a lot of warm hugs and kisses, we left for the battleship as our orders now were to do as Jul wanted, but to clear the complete wreck of coral. Coming at the Sarine over the second drop off we saw that she was at 4700 metres. It was very surprising that any material could take this pressure without a shield for this length of time and after such serious damage. We initiated contact and informed the AI of our intentions and methods of doing it. She had probably gone over the possibilities many times and readily agreed. I got into the conversation for the first time and said, "Hello, Serine. This is the first time I have talked to you and this is my mate Tom." We were scanned with Jonesey's help and the Sarine came back with, "You are not full blooded Tandra. Why are you in charge and not Tom?" Impolite or crude she might be, I still said, "Tom has the brains and the luck, while I just have the drive to get things done. It is not a matter of leading, for I think that Tom and I are enough in tune that I know if he does not like a particular choice of mine and I change it to one we can both agree on." Tom added, "We Tandra are a little slow at coming to a decision and in a time of war it is much better for a Human to lead. In times of peace I think a union of our races will be the best for the galaxy." I didn't know where that statement came from, but I felt even closer to Tom now. I only wished that he could have my child to start the new race. With the AI's and Jonesey's help, the laser cut the coral off the ship, and the tractors dragged it away. There was very little Tom or I could do to help, so we studied all the things we could about an Omicron Class that we could get. The old knowledge given on Earth on how to take the ship was already within our minds and needed no reinforcement. A smaller hatch was uncovered, but we worked on the larger one that would allow the cruiser that was only a little over 200 metres long to leave. Jonesey was very careful, for one wrong cut could collapse the hull and either damage or kill the ship. Jonesey came up with a suggestion, "Why don't you take some of the equipment and enter Sarine while I continue here?" The great idea was used and we donned the combat suits, the only suit that would safely take the pressure. Large amounts of test equipment and two controllers accompanied us, the same as what the Cap used when taking the ships he did. We settled over one of the cleaned areas that happened to be one of the few functional transporter stations and found ourselves and the equipment in a dark but large room. The indicators showed a high pressure of inert gases. This was one of the reasons the broken hull had remained intact all these years. Lights started to come on, but many only flickered and some not at all. "Hello, Sarine. Is that your name, or the name of the ship?" A deeper voice said, "That is the name of the ship." "I had a girlfriend once by the name of Selene. The name came from a beautiful mythological goddess of our moon. May I call you that? It is much better to think of you as a thinking being, as opposed to a large mass of ceramic." I got the feeling that she was pleased. Not all the larger ships had a name for the AI and just went by the name of the hull. Even then, it was more than likely a number. "The name is acceptable." The shield was the first to be checked and found the problem to be partially in the computer itself. I decided to take Selene's word for it and worked on the parts that were affixed to the hull. Tom and I separated to cover more ground and saw that Selene's account of the damage was factual. The internal transmitters were mostly working and we used them whenever we could. The fabricators were the next concern, and we got Selene's help in getting them started. There were many faults, but there was enough working spares to get one unit working. This was used to manufacture circuits for the larger machines that could make the parts for the shield. I stopped to get a little food from my suit and asked, "Selene, how are you fixed for fuel?" "I was well provisioned before we left and still have enough fuel for at least a thousand years." This did shock me. After all this time a thousand years was nothing, and at the end she and the rest would just die. If she expended a lot of energy getting repaired she would need a good supply of lithium. "Jonesey, put a load of lithium fuel on our shopping list too." "Yes, Jim." "Why does she call you that and not your rank?" "Jonesey is not just a ship's AI but my friend. I form attachments and stick to them. It has worked for me in the past and I hope in the future. I gave her the name of my brother that I lost and loved very much." There was no reply, so I continued working and running diagnostics on the larger units. I began to wonder about this. The units were easily replaced by the computer and more could have easily been made. Leaving the original machine and one repaired unit with their orders, I looked at the next detail to attend to. I called up a screen that showed the damaged lower section with the resulting loss of four of the lower six reactors. The damage was great, but not beyond what a competent crew could handle in short order. Fuel was moved from the down reactors to the now working ones. There were large sections that had to be moved just right and with Selene's help it proved very easy, perhaps too easy. In a matter of nine hours the reactors were repaired with spare parts from the fabricators. When powered up they worked as good as the rest. The last thing that needed to be done was the main and slave grav units. These were part of the compensator, so that a high acceleration did not turn the crew into a thin paste. A large beam had broken loose with some structural damage and fell across the two control circuits. When the beam was cut into a few manageable sized parts, the control lines were easily repaired. Similar problems were repaired in the other units, till I was sure that the ship would be able to lift off the bottom now. I had worked non-stop for almost 28 hours and called Tom to see how he was making out. The hole in the hull caused by the heavy destroyer was being repaired. Jonesey had cut the ship from the hole and half fell outside. The other portion remained inside for now. Automated units brought up large panels that were used to replace broken or twisted sections. The portion of the outer hull that was exposed was patched and now Tom was working on the inner bulkheads. Coming up to him, I helped negotiate a thick and heavy section into place to be fused now that the water was removed from the inner compartments. Three more hours brought the rest of the walls up so they would be strong enough for most trips and could easily make it to a yard for a better job. I interfaced with Selene to see outside the hull and found most of it clean of coral. In some places it was forty metres thick and must weigh millions of tonnes by itself. Now, only perhaps a quarter of the exposed hull was left to be done. Many other craft were working with Jonesey to get the job done. We found they were like Jonesey and had no Human or Tandra operating the lasers. "Selene, most of the repairs could be handled by you, or you with a few crew members. Why have you not done all these repairs?" There was one of those pregnant pauses then, "I was specifically ordered to stay here and do nothing by the last commanding officer as she left to get assistance." All of us were fully knowledgeable in Tandra law, specifically military doctrine, and this was the exact opposite, of any responsible order. "Why did you obey such a foolish order?" "It was given by one of the empresses grandchildren. There is no way I can circumvent an order like that." "Why are you doing as we ask now?" There was another pause and she said, "I just found parts of the information in your ship's memory that the empire has completely collapsed a very long time ago. When I questioned Jonesey she told me about the Humans trying to save themselves and as many Tandra as possible. I believe I have just allowed things to deteriorate to such a state that I was unable to do the necessary repairs. Now that my previous orders are null and void I can do some of the work, since you have completed some of the essential repairs." "Will you help us against the Samutz that are trying to kill Tandra and Human alike?" "I would like to be your friend and if that is what you want I will do my best." "Thank you Selene. With friends like you, there is now, more than just hope." More ships left flooded compartments to take on the job of cleaning the hull. In a few hours the hull slowly arose for the first time in almost one and a quarter million Earth years. There was little strain on the engines as the grav units did most of the work. Large sections fell from beneath the leviathan necessitating the constant adjustment to the engines. Selene started her own repairs now and everything except the shield was working. As the last piece of incrustation fell Selene slowly rose in the water and at a 1000 metres the shield was engaged. Roughly 13% of the millions of individual units had failed and needed to be replaced. Pretty good if the bare hull could take the environment. At twenty metres I asked her to stop. There was no sense warning any Samutz spy device of our existence. Jonesey, then Selene gave a bone jarring alarm. "Jim the Samutz have launched their assault. Souts is being attacked." "I will be right there." Then to Selene, I asked for transport to one of the few functional external transfer points. I was now able to hear the urgent calls between individuals and units calling for assistance. This was just like it had been in taking this system, but now the shoe was on the other foot. It looked doubtful if we would make it this time and I worried about my family and just wanted to see them at least one more time. Tom and I were instantly in our ship and we burst out of the water. We headed for Souts at our best speed. I connected with headquarters, told them of our location and requested orders. Huang Yi came on and told me to work with our Blue squadron in intercepting a new flight of bandits coming from the ocean north of Souts. The fight had already begun with their advance units. We were outnumbered three to one and would be double that in just a moment. Our energy units spewed out connecting with one Samutz trying to take out one of our units. A large group was coming at a high rate of speed and I ignored friend and foe alike and headed for them. I got calls for assistance but ignored them as I clawed for altitude. Once at 300 klicks I released all the homing drones I had at the second group before turning and diving on the first group. We were hit many times but our strengthened shield held as enemy ships fell all around us. Tom from his seat was fighting like a robot and he cursed when he missed and at Jonesey for moving at the wrong time to avoid a hit on us. I was shooting as best I could and letting Jonesey do all the flying. It was easier being a tail gunner when the targets came right to me. The shots got further apart and I found that there were few of the enemy in sight. Jonesey turned and we dived on one of a pair and saw it burst from inside. Taking a second, I looked for the second wave and found none of them. I contacted Blue leader and I asked about it. He did not know himself. Moments later we were told to fly back to Souts for its defence. We raced in and took on a squadron of Samutz attacking our Green forces. Energy struck our right flank and we staggered but kept on going. Tom threw back as much as we got. Three Samutz fell before being struck again, but the shields still held. Again and again we took on pairs dedicated to taking on singletons. In most cases we were in time to save them but not always. Our numbers were down to half the original total and it looked like the number of Samutz had only grown. Ground based fire took its toll on the Samutz but there was enough Samutz that even our land weapons were taken out one by one. There was no satellite or orbital defence and I figured that the Samutz had taken it out first. The Samutz seemed to be pissed off at Tom and me in particular and six took us on. Tom and I took one each before we were hit and hit again. In the meantime six more units joined the surviving four and it looked bad. Jonesey did some of her best flying and we got three more before a weakened shield failed. We had not taken off our combat suits so we continued to fight even as our ship broke up around us. As a parting gesture Tom took out two more in perfect shooting. Even in our fall we were hit more times, till our hull failed, and then fell apart. Tom was badly knocked about, but still conscious. The ground was coming up at a fast rate. I grabbed the handle holding Jonesey's module and the other on Tom. I then jumped out the open tail end of our craft. We just missed a Samutz on our tail as the rest of the ship blew up. I took command of our suits and made both invisible. We landed south of town by the river and saw much of Souts in the distance with a black pall of smoke rising into the sky. Tom was starting to recover and stood on his own feet. "What are we going to do my husband?" He said in a tired and distraught voice. "Find a fighter and get back in there." Then to headquarters I said, "Sargent Williams and Tom Williams reporting being shot down and requesting transport to fighter base." Frieda came on and said that there were no units available and in any case we would have to try to get there on our own. Tom and I took Jonesey's module and buried it under a small tree to keep it relatively safe. Our suits made good time but not near what other transport would have given us. The field was bare and we went to Jul's hanger. The shield was up and we could not get in. Samutz were diving down and striking the last remaining ground defences and I felt helpless. Smoke drifted over our position and I could see nothing but dust and the sensors screaming of danger to us as the suits tried to do their job. A Samutz fighter streaked by and shot at the hanger trying to hole it. Our position was risky so I called, "Sargent Williams and Tom Williams at hanger number 8. Requesting reassignment." Frieda came on again and only said that there were no available aircraft of any kind. She was busy but I got a synopses of the fight so far. The first blow was from the Samutz. In a coordinated endeavour well hidden major weapons took out all of the hardened satellites and the two cruisers. Fighters had come from the rivers and many more from the oceans to attack Souts in waves. It was estimated that somehow the Samutz had managed to secrete almost 900 war craft. Three cruisers of their own had been launched, and their present whereabouts were unknown due to the lack of satellites or functional drones. This last development looked very bad. They could easily retake the planet now with very little risk to their own kind. We had all kinds of defensive weapons but all of them were at the system periphery and nowhere near here in any case. "Tom, let's use the suits and get back to the Sarine and get into one of the cruisers maybe we can make a difference." Tom thought quickly and said, it will take four hours at least to get there. Let's check if there is anything we can get running here first." We searched the storage area and found everything gone even the other small troop transporter. There were some craft in pieces but we also saw rough pieces that had come from craft both Samutz and ours that had been shot down. With no other choice we flew to the headquarters and only found a smoking hole in the ground. The hole was so large that I knew it was one of their primary targets. The force of the blast let us know that we would not even find any bodies to bury. "Frieda, what officers have died?" She said in a calm computer voice, "Sokolov and Wu Liang." That was half of our officers so I knew that the General had made it with Huang Yi. Were they functional or in a tank I wondered. I didn't want to think of the remaining numbers that left the moon base not too long ago. "Are the General and Huang still able to command?" "The General is in the medical facilities. Huang Yi has assumed command." This was only half bad. Huang was very dedicated and we knew the general left us in good hands. The fighter coverage was almost gone now and the Samutz were hitting with impunity at all targets with only a few ground defences still functional. Larger troop transports were now coming and I knew they would soon be coming this way. I called for orders and was told to just try to take them out after they landed because even our suits would not pierce the shields of the landing craft. Tom pulled me to one side and said that we should protect the hanger because Jul and her mates were in there. We flew off and found holes in the ground where defences used to be and nothing heavy to fight with. There was a small building near the hanger and no way of getting out. It would provide some cover till the fighters started to pound the walls into dust. A transport did land close to us and six tall Samutz descended, and ran to one side as the ship rose to let more troops off at a different location. The Samutz started to set up their own weapon to concentrate it on the shield. Tom and I ran forward invisibly and took two out even though they were stationed as protection for the gun crew. We used their own weapons, along with ours, to take out two more before the last two could react. Our suits were better but these Samutz were very strong and smart. Tom was hitting one with concentrated fire and I used one hand to direct fire at my opponent and at the same place Tom was hitting his. In seconds Tom's opponent fell almost burnt through. Tom though burnt raced in and helped me take out the last Samutz. Taking the gun we turned it just in time to take on and destroy four more Samutz infantry. The troop carrier came from around the dome and fired on our position and Tom was lucky. Our weapon found a chink in their armour it blew up into thousands of pieces and blowing us from our feet. I got groggily to my feet and helped Tom up. He groaned a lot and I knew something very solid must have hit him hard. His readings said he would live but it would be a while till he could fight well. I picked up the small crew served weapon, then Tom, and tried to see what was happening on the other side of the dome. Another crew was hammering away at one section. I lowered Tom took the weapon and destroyed the Samutz and the weapon too. One other Samutz crew was doing the same thing and this time they returned fire, but our gun was able to get them as they attacked our position. The dome was now safe, at least till the next crew took it into their minds to breach the shield. Looking at the sky, I could see more and more landing craft approaching from all directions. There was shooting but it was not very frequent and sounded more like a rear guard action than anything else. If only we had some fighters now. The transports were such easy targets. An idea came, "Frieda, boost my signal." Then composing my mind I called, "Selene, where are you? We are about to be overrun." "I am coming friend Jim. Hold on for three of your minutes." Three minutes was the same as three hours. I dragged Tom to one of the holes blasted in the ground and used the gun as a long range rifle to pick off individual Samutz as they shot at Tandra or men. With no fall back position I concentrated the best I could on each shot and made them count. It began to be foolhardy to even put an invisible head up for the whole rim was being shot at. Throwing a rock to one side got me enough time to get one more Samutz and see three racing to our position from different angles. I looked at Tom. He was resting now and in no real pain. I thought back to the fun we had and the good times. He was my best friend and a thoughtful wife. I only wished I was able to grow old with him. I did not see him as a male but as a mate that would do anything for me and I for him. I took command of his suit and aimed his weapons at the singletons while I prepared myself for the pair running from in front of me. They all arrived at the same time and with Tom's and my suit back to back we blasted the Samutz as best we could. The large gun was hit but I finished the last with my own weapons. Looking over the edge I saw more of them running here and with the detectors in their own combat suits knew invisibility was not going to get us out of this. Five raced to the edge and started to pour fire onto us. We moved as we took some out but the fire stayed on us. More came and I knew we were the fish in the proverbial barrel and silently said goodbye to Tom. My arm was hit hard and knew it was bad. I had no time to check Tom and felt him get hit in the stomach and chest. I concentrated on individuals and took them out steadily, but we were doomed. The sky got bright and I wondered if this was my time. I was not a religious person but felt a little of what a religious person must feel like. My gun fired again and again and the sky got brighter and brighter. Eventually the Samutz dropped and so did Tom and I. ------- Chapter 63 Fonza was standing watch and saw the small figure in a combat suit fly through the air. Her mind quested out and she could detect some familiarity but not clear enough yet at this range. It certainly wasn't an enemy. She cursed her inability to use the full functions of the suit and her own mind. Fonza called Mona as she was supposed to do and they both watched the figure land in front of them. For the last three minutes they knew Peli was the figure and her coming was expected. Peli said, "Hello, Fonza. How is everybody?" There was a deep sorrow in her and she felt cast out from all that she loved. Mona knew what this was about and moved forward in her own combat suit, then led her into the camouflaged shelter they had built. After the two got out of their suits they held one another close and both started to cry. Jul had sent Peli to live with them when it became apparent that the city was a target. The only reason given was that she carried the next generation and was responsible for the life. Fonza continued her watch but could feel the pain of both women and could sympathize for the life within her seemed to be just as important to the group as Peli's was. At night she thought she could feel the life, but knew it was really too small to do that yet. It was however her only connection to her mate. Jim had been gone for days and then came back exhausted with Tom. After a little sleep they would talk for a short time, then leave again for long endless days. This time he had not come back yet and she knew from the loud mindspeak of many excited people that the battle her husband had foreseen had finally come. Where was he now that his family needed him so desperately? The children crawled out of the gully following the agile donai. It was a funny word for an animal everybody always knew as godough. The mother took all of her cubs and tried to teach them the best way to hide or sneak up on game. No matter how often Fonza saw them, she was always amazed that her people had not stayed with the loving animals. Their course now was to their home and it was good, for she knew how much the other Tandra woman gathered strength from the children and even the donai. Boko was sleeping even in the daylight. He had stood watch previously. She had at one time considered the boy for a possible mate if the males would allow it. But the males and even Boko had not touched her much because of the way her face arms and legs looked. She was something they would use when no other was available. The sex with the males was very unsatisfying and when she showed that they had beaten her for her opinion. She could see in her mind now the flawless skin and felt very happy to have ever met the strange male that had made everything so much better. Boko was dreaming of his times with his sooda and the children they would have. It hurt bad that the women were so lucky to be able to have a husband that loved them and were able to give him such a precious gift in return. If only he had been born a woman he would be loved that much more. ------- "Tom, Tom." Jim's arm came out to grasp his mate and found nothing. The Samutz. Kill the Samutz before they get Tom. Strong arms held him and he fought to get away. Pain came to him and quickly vanished. His eyes flashed open and he remembered the Samutz, his mind gave the commands to fire the weapons and kill the Samutz. Nothing happened and he repeated the order again and again. Opening his eyes again to see where they had gone. He met the face of a Tandra and knew instantly that he had never seen her before. The woman said, "Relax, you are safe now. Your mate is alive and in a regenerating tank at the moment. The Samutz have been destroyed." The speech was different than on the Earth, moon or Masis for that matter. Even if he could not tell the difference, his mind knew there was one. "Where am I?" "You are within the ship Sarine. I am Dela and your assistant if you want me to be. My job is to get you back to normal as soon as possible." I flexed my muscles and found nothing that really hurt though there was a dull pain in my arm. Getting up I found myself naked while the woman sported an odd ship's uniform that looked different than usual, but just as utilitarian. I looked within Dela's mind and she readily held it wide open for my inspection. She was a medic from Coltin, the planet that Selene had fled with the aristocrats and their servants. I also saw how I came to be here and not the base medical station. "Thanks Dela, I am not sure what I need now." Then to the ship, "Selene are you there?" "Yes, Jim, I am. What would you like?" "I just wanted to know if you were safe? You took a big chance in coming to our rescue. There was so much damage to your systems. It is a wonder that you were able to even float to the surface. I only expected to see some of the fighters taking on the Samutz." They would not have done much good. I armed the fighters after you left, only to find major Samutz ships leaving the ocean in many areas to burn your people from the planet. I had to climb on only a few engines and use what weapons I had to fight them. This took a long time because my weapons were damaged in the battle when I came to this planet." "Were you damaged? Were any of the biologicals onboard killed?" "This hull has taken many hits since it was built and will no doubt take a few more. I am currently working on bringing this hull up to naval specifications. The passengers were in the central core area and none were killed, though some were hurt in the fighting. Some of your own people are helping, but they have enough to do in repairing the damage the Samutz did to your facilities and the city of Souts." "May I talk to Frieda? I would like to see what I can do to help." "Yes, Captain." "Captain?" I said incredulously. "I have had many hours to look through your mind while you were in the tank. I know that you aspire to captain a ship of space. Your goal of finding a home that will protect your children and your mates is over. I have always wanted a captain that was devoted to his friends and family as you are." "I can't be captain. I am in the military and follow the orders of General Shingle. He will not let me have this post and I don't even think that I'm worthy. I have no experience. It takes a very dedicated, and trustworthy person to help guide this ship and I don't even know if I can trust myself." "Call your base, and see what they have to say." "Frieda, could you connect me to the General, or Captain Huang?" "Yes, sir," she said with the most respect I ever heard in her voice, even when she spoke to the General. General Shingle said, "Good to see you are up and around Jim. I suppose you have a few questions for me?" "Yes, sir. Selene is telling me that she wants me to be the captain. I want to tell you that it is not my idea to take this position. I will do whatever you want." "I already know all about the situation. The Cap does not trust any Human to have such authority because all Humans will turn gold into shit. You remember the old saying of absolute power?" "Yes, sir." "Well, your position in that ship would give you more than any person in our history ever got except for the Cap. I have been able to see a change in us already though. The Tandra are influencing us and we them. With a partial Human crew of no more than 20%. I believe we can strike the right balance. This is no time for dictators to show themselves. To be honest you are not the best man for the job but you might be the best man on this planet. If we can get the Sarine to work with us then I don't see too much of a problem though. She could keep all of us on the straight and narrow if she had a mind to, but I do not think she was programmed that way." "Yes, sir, does that mean I am able to take the post?" "Yes it does. There are provisions though. You are still in the military and you will be subject to the normal chain of command. You may be re-posted to another job later to make room for new blood. The Sarine will have to let you go and take a new captain. We have already talked about it, and she will get the option of vetoing any choice we make and even removing a captain if necessary." This made me loosen up a bit and my muscles followed. This was an awesome responsibility for anybody. Going from a fighter jock to a battleship captain was almost too much to take. If we had a large enough chain of command I could learn my duties one item at a time to eventually take the job. At least I would have my family close to me. The General was probably right and I did not have the same outlook on life that I once had. Of course now I was young and could look forward to centuries of good life. But I never did have visions of megalomania and I guess now with mind reading, it would never happen. Thinking of all the work ahead of me I said, "Thank you General Shingle. I will do my best at this job. Is there anything I can do to help now?" "You are welcome, but it is the Sarine that you must thank the most. She is the one that saved the whole planet. As to your help I could use every able hand I can get, but you personally I can leave as the Sarine is doing all of the system security and most of the planet as well. Her medical section has all our wounded and she even has all of the enemy that we have captured." "I will thank Selene later sir. But I have an idea for more hands. This ship has many people onboard that could help if revived. They may even have many skills we are not familiar with. If they prove too much of a hassle like you described before I can take them back. As captain, they can be told to behave a lot easier than you can do." "That is a good idea, but since we have martial law in effect that can't happen. Later when the planet gets its feet under it and the work load is less trouble could start." Selene, Frieda, the General and I went through the passenger manifest. I would have to recruit all of the passengers first into our version of the military. They came from a civilized planet with no Samutz trying to eat them. I hoped they would need much less training and guidance. What they went through in coming here was completely unknown. Dela was nearby with a large platter of food waiting an opportunity to bring it to me when I asked for it. She was acting like a very lowly servant and when I looked into her mind again she was in awe of serving a real captain and being in on what she considered a high level meeting. In a way, she was right, for what was decided here would affect the planet far into the future. I ate and thought, finding it easy to mesh in with Selene. It was as if we had a special bond that allowed my mind to work much faster and with better accuracy than ever before. The current Samutz attack had brought in all of their organized units we hoped. When Selene arrived, she had killed or captured nearly all of the Samutz on the planet. The only exceptions would be the ones hiding individually, or in small independent groups that had no communications. Large portions of the planet were scored with her larger weapons that were only intended for hardened targets not unprotected landscape. It was only necessary now to seize all of the Samutz assets including their hidden bases and equipment. We had lost all of our fighters captured during the original taking of the system and now relied on the thousands of units that the Sarine held in her boat bays. Selene even donated two of her cruisers and some satellites to find any stray Samutz. The base and the ship were being repaired at the same time, with the ship getting priority. The battle had actually been over seven local days ago and many of the wounded had been returned to duty. Of the 21 Humans and 5 Tandra that originally stayed here, only 9 Humans and one Tandra would ever have the chance of returning home. I thought of Tom being the last Tandra survivor from Earth and then I thought about the rest of my family hidden on the rough plateau. Peli had returned after finding out that Jul was seriously hurt and her sisters Vasie and Roku were now dead. She was working hard, repairing as many ships as possible. She had seen the casualty lists and did not have time to come and see a person like me or Tom as we rested in our tanks. When the news spread that I was up and around I was sure of a visit. Selene connected me to the combat suits worn by my family and I said, "Hello, girls and gent. How are you doing?" I got many excited voices and talked to the strongest. "Hello Fonza, Tom and I are doing fine. We were a little hurt but should be completely recovered soon. It is kind of hectic here now and it is better for you to stay away till things get cleared up a bit more." "Oh husband, it is so good to hear from you. When can you come to us?" Tom would be ready to leave the tank in two local days and there would be a few things to look after before leaving, so I said, "Three days should be enough. We can break camp and fly back here. I have found a sort of permanent home now and it is big enough for all our family. It is a big ship, and it is doubtful if the Samutz will ever be able to touch us again." "That is so nice to hear. Will all of us fit?" "Yes, even the donai, but I will have to get them to eat the synthetic meat most of the time now." The conversation went to all the members, the children had to be relayed, but it felt very good to talk to them. Dela brought me a uniform much like her own with a crest over the left breast. The transporter took me to the various areas that had been damaged in the recent engagement. Like the heavy destroyer, some sections were larger than cruisers in volume and would take a lot of time to repair. The planet and the ship did not have the large fabricating facilities to replace the large structural members and the pieces had to be made of many smaller units, then all fused together. This way was not as strong but would have to wait for a yard to be made. Selene showed me images of entire systems devoted to the repair and construction of ships. With only this system visited it was hard for me to visualize this concept, even if it were right before me. Tom and Jul were in different sections of medical and Jul would be brought out in an hour. She did not know yet about the loss of two of her wives and would need what comfort we could give. I could see many Tandra awaken and try to come to grips with what had happened to their lives. I doubt if it was a mistake that the aristocracy did not come back for them, or the ship. It was more than likely that their servants were just abandoned. The old crew that had survived the fight took up the posts that their superiors had held and tried their best to get their sections ready. A boat bay was wide open to the atmosphere and I could see far away to the south. Below was the base and we were hovering just above and to one side in the field. Long deep scars ran deep into the soil. The ship was so large that the top of the ship was one kilometre from the bottom. The bay was only about half way up and on the wide band that circled the ship. I saw people working on a troop carrier like the one we flew, and thought of Jonesey. I approached one individual and as soon as his eyes saw me he immediately stood at attention and saluted as the Romans did with a clinched fist over the heart. "At ease soldier." I could see no names on his clothing but his identity crystal buried inside his body told me he was one of the people at the very bottom of the military echelon. "Would you direct me to the person in charge of this area?" "Yes, Captain," he said with as much enthusiasm as an ordinary Human meeting a head of state. I gave my orders to the current head of this section. Both people took off in a cutter to retrieve the canister with Jonesey's crystal and memory inside. Looking around, I marvelled again at the destruction the two cruisers had meted out to the battleship. Their weapons had travelled far into the ship but did little to effect the Sarine's efficiency. Moments later the two returned and I thanked them for their effort. It seemed unusual for an officer, never mind the captain, to do this sort of thing. It was assumed that the officer expected everything to be given with no thoughts to the feelings of those under them. "Selene, will you take this to a safe place. It is a friend of mine and I need to give her a job, soon." The heavy case disappeared from my hand as Selene used her transmitter to do as I asked. The two crew members and the others around caught my attitude to the AI and thought me a little batty. It didn't matter, because both of the AI's now were my friends. After surveying deep into the ship to the extreme extent of the damage, it was time to go and greet Jul. I had to walk back quite a way till I could find a working transporter. I was deposited in medical and saw a great mass of people helping the Sarine's patients awake. It was good to see a familiar face when first waking up. Selene guided me to a group of tanks and some familiar faces around. I walked up and Rick Semta, one of the men, patted my shoulder at my promotion. "Congratulations. I didn't think any one of us would make it this high this fast. Did you get this posting because you and Tom took out the most fighters?" "I didn't know that. How many did you get?" "Twelve, and if I hadn't been shot down I would have gotten more. By the way I have to thank you. One of the ships you shot was on my tail and I couldn't shake him. That weapon you used took out another whole flight of them, but that total does not count for dog fights." "You're welcome. There isn't too many of the original crew left. We have to get larger fighters so we can put our combat suits on. The chance of making it back alive is a lot higher then." Jul was being raised from the tank and I saw someone running towards us. Peli ran up and seeing me ran to my side. I held her tight as she started to cry on me. Her sister/wives had died and we did not know how Jul would be able to take the loss. I could see that Peli had not had enough time to grieve yet at her loss. She had submerged herself in work to keep the hurt away as long as possible. She pulled away from my chest but stayed in the protection of my arms. Her tear filled eyes turned to Jul as the transmitters were plucked from her body. Med units hurriedly circled the effected areas to stop the loss of blood. A ship's medical attendant came forward to help and we watched Jul's wet form as she sat up and was steadied. We walked forward so we were the first for her to see. I held one hand while Peli held the other. Jul's eyes finally opened and she smiled at us. "I was afraid I would never see you guys again. It makes me feel good now." She looked around, and said, "Where are Vasie and Roku?" I was prepared to tell her, but Peli was first. "They didn't make it. They fought as a pair and it was hard to get them, but four Samutz did." She started to cry and left my arms to hold Jul with both arms. Jul was not responding because she had not understood this yet. It would take time and a lot of love for her to come to grips with this situation. I wrapped my hands around both women and said quietly to Selene, "Will you take us to my quarters?" The scene changed before my eyes and we were in a very large room with paintings that had turned to dust and plush furniture that was the same way. A grav bed was in the centre of the room. I guided the girls over to it and got them to lay down. Peli was still crying and Jul had just started. They talked about their sisters in short phrases and their minds showed them when they were all smiling. Another scene of when each of the girls came to Jul's attention and some of the fun they had in the very short time they had together. Jul would be hungry and after a thought a tray appeared with food and drink for all three of us. Jul did not want to eat, but I pushed her and she ate around sobs till she had finished what she was supposed to eat. Part of the time I spent on the bed holding one or both and trying my best to get them to know I cared, but there was nothing I could really say to them. Selene gave me a large sheet of soft material and I used it to cover the girls so they had something to hold onto beside themselves. I hardly knew the dead girls, but I too had to grieve for all my friends that died protecting this planet. First the people taking the ships and then the ones protecting the planet. Thinking about my own losses brought a few tears to my own eyes. An hour later I had to get up. My friends would want me to carry on and kill more Samutz, not grieve this way. Thinking of a few in particular that might want my grief to be shown as I drank to them when I told their family and friends what they and done and why. Peli then Jul finally fell asleep and I slipped out of the room. The next room was an office with a large desk and old chair frames. Panels like in the base on Earth adorned the walls. A faded emblem was on the wall and did not resemble the one on the moon showing the Tandra empire. This was for a much smaller empire, one of a small group that had crawled out of an empire falling apart. There was nothing too much I could do for old friends. Tom was still in the vat and would be for twelve more hours. But Jonesey was here and she needed a job to do. There were many available but I wanted to keep her near me and my family. Going back into a ship's hull was the most obvious choice, but that did not feel right. "Selene, you have computers and small AIs all over the ship. Do you ever use an AI like Jonesey for anything?" "I don't, captain. I have heard of planets using multiple AIs, but never a ship. There is really no reason why not and I would be a lot faster if I could have some help on occasion." "Would it be possible to incorporate Jonesey into your systems and allow her to help?" For a second she paused then said, "I can see a way of doing it. But she might be swamped by my personality." "Can she be given a particular job, like security for my family. And if possible have a way to take her with us on a smaller ship when we have to leave your hull." "That is hard to do, but I can put her in a very secure ship and have her linked to me so she could help and be ready at any moment to leave." "Would she be able to share your eyes, ears and hands so that she can be with us along with you?" "That will take a fair bit of work, but I think I have enough spare parts to accomplish this task." We talked about the ship Jonesey would inhabit and other considerations, including the timetable on the completion of the Sarine's shield, engines, and weapons. In the end, I had to sit in a chair and take a long course in ship handling. I stood up later, a little disoriented, but with plans and graphs running through my head. I had a quick meal and some exercise, then went back to the chair for more information on the ship. It seemed easier to take in all the knowledge and chalked it up to the necessity of learning. My study of sub-molecular bonding was interrupted by Selene when Peli wandered into the room. I opened my eyes to see her looking at the statues and other more permanent art works that adorned the walls and even the deck and the deck overhead. The things that could suffer from a million years of age, even in a controlled atmosphere, had basically disintegrated. Peli walked over to me and I got up to hold her. Before she could begin to cry again, I said, "Are you feeling a little better now?" She sniffed a little and said, "A little. Jul took it even harder than me. I think I am going to have to be the strong one for a while." "I already know that you are strong. We have to be, till all the Samutz are taken care of. Would you like something to eat or drink? I know you are a little dehydrated." "Thanks, that would be nice." A tray appeared and settled to an insubstantial surface. I stepped over and poured a drink of a translucent pink liquid into two crystal goblets. We both had a sip. The drink was different than others the synthesizers made and quite good. Peli sipped hers till she realized how thirsty she actually was and drank the rest of hers down. "That was good. I haven't had that drink before." She looked around again and said, "I have to get out of this museum. There is a lot of work to do yet. This ship you found needs a lot of repairs and the base has to be completely rebuilt." Her mind wandered to Jul and wondered how she would cope with the next few days before Jul was able to recover. She did not know that Selene had selected me for the post of captain, or that these rooms were mine and not a museum's showcase. The children were very important to her and Jul. I reconsidered my idea to keep them all away till the dust settled. "Why don't you and Jul take a ship. You can get the family and bring them here?" Her mind did go over the idea, and she remembered her time in our camp, even when Tom and I were not there. The visions helped persuade her and she said, "Yes, I think we will. Will the Sarine give me a ship?" "I think she will if you ask. By the way I kind of gave her the name Selene. It was an old girlfriend's, but it worked well with the hull's name." "Hello Selene, could I borrow a ship to get... my family and bring them to the ship?" The pause told me Selene had made a decision and one I knew I wanted to be made. "Yes, Peli. One is being altered now and will be fully completed in one more local day. I think that one will be safe for you to travel in now." "Thank you, Selene. I would like to go now if I can." We both went in a woke Jul. Before she knew it, she was in the cleanser with Peli and then dressed in the coveralls of the ship. An emblem appeared over each of their hearts and I knew that Selene had accepted them as crew. One was a department head and next, her assistant. They were a little too distraught yet to notice the fine points, but simply donned their garments. The transporter took us to a boat bay filled with large ships. Selene's dimensions were so great that this was the only possible way to move. A heavy destroyer, the largest ship currently within Selene, stood open before us. Her classification was finely discerned when Peli asked, "Is this a mistake? All we need is a small ship. This is... is too big." I called the ship and found an old friend there. Jonesey said, "Hello, captain, Jul and Peli. It is nice to wake up in this hull. I even have two close friends now. Selene has me attached directly into the main computer, and she decided not to kick the previous tenant out, but simply put me with her. I would like to introduce Tzora." "Hello, Tzora." I said. "I hope you are not upset at having to share your hull? Selene is doing the same thing and I imagine you will be actually sharing the computer with her too." A rich but young sounding voice came to us in mindspeak and said, "Hello, Captain. It was a little bit of a shock at first but now I see why friends are so important to biologicals. It was lonely here before and I didn't even know it. It is as if I am now part of a candasu now." I could see how this was developing, but could not see the full ramifications before asking Selene about it. It was not necessarily bad, or good, just something that all three AIs had to get used to. Being this close in a war situation was bad, but not any different than having family on a ship that was going into battle. "I wondered if you would like to go for a short trip for me? I want to get the rest of my family." Jonesey said, "Yes, captain. Climb aboard and we will leave now. This hull is being worked on, but it is safe to travel in." I just kissed Jul and Peli and said, "You two don't have to hurry back. There are still a lot of things that you two have to deal with. Just make sure you show the donai where the bathroom is." "You aren't coming?" Came from Jul. "You are the captain." "Well, both of you are under a misapprehension. Selene chose me to captain the Sarine not this ship. This vessel was to be used when we have to leave for a while. Jonesey was to be allowed to stay with us like it was before. The only way this could work was that she could be placed in a hull and be part of Selene at the same time." I pushed them up the ramp and said, "Remember, you don't have to hurry back." They looked back at me as if I had grown two heads as they walked up the long ramp. The hatch closed as the large doors opened for the bay. Epsilon Eridani shown directly into the bay and illuminated the entire area. A hum came from the ship before me and I decided to see them leave from a catwalk above the bay. Selene deposited me there and I watched the vessel raise a little more but not too much, the ship was almost 83 metres high and the doors to the bay were not that much bigger. Jonesey and Tzora drifted slowly out and it took a long time, as it was 220 metres long. Its beam was a little over 120 metres wide and compared her to the mighty tug that brought us here. This ship was much larger. The doors did not close right away and I looked over the bay and found a similar space where a ship would be, and asked Selene about it. "There was a ship. The same as the one that just left. The old crew took it after the battle. As they left, the Captain gave me her final orders. They said they would soon be back. They could have taken the rest of the biologicals, even if they used more than one ship, but they didn't seem to care." I was beginning to sense some of the finer nuances in Selene and knew she was still angry, even without hearing the words at the uncaring aristocracy, that ruled the system she came from. I too felt angry at them and considering my resolve to not be like them. I went back to the chair and tried to finish my lesson. I awoke with a splitting headache which Selene took care of quickly. I was just so full now I had to have time to digest the knowledge. I now knew how little I actually did know. To relax, I went down and saw Tom, who quietly floated in the tank. His burns and damage to his chest and face were almost unnoticeable now. I was interrupted by General Shingle calling. "Hello, Jim. We just came up with an idea that you might like." "Hello, General Shingle, I am sure if you are." He went on to explain the hidden manufacturing areas that the Samutz had plundered long ago. "If we work them on a priority basis, then we can manufacture the large structural components and the sections of hull you need. When you have the components, we can use the facilities for securing the system if the Samutz come back. Frieda says this way will be much faster." We got into another four-way conversation and saw that if we started a few of the facilities then they could make components for the rest. The only stumbling blocks were the crystals for the AIs and the collection of raw materials. Selene came up with the idea of using the ships AIs to interface with the factory's fabricators to make what we needed. There was only one spare crystal in our stores and this was less than we needed. The crystal we recovered from the ship stuck in the Sarine's side could have worked but it was destroyed in the attack. We talked about possible ways of making crystals, but found out that it was a closely guarded secret and one of the ways the Tandra had been able to prosper and expand their empire. I suggested we search the Samutz bases and the ships that had been destroyed to search for crystals. The general said the ships were already searched, but the underwater bases hadn't been yet. Plans were made and Selene volunteered an auxiliary ship to protect the team going in. When the meeting broke up, soon after, I ate a meal while trying to think of the best way to get the most out of the factories. There was massive damage to our undercarriage and I did not like using the grav units to hold us up, when they too needed repair or replacement. In fact it was highly unusual for a ship of this size to actually land. The Sarine was a creature of space and this is where she would usually be repaired. A house of cards came to mind with a lot of little people trying valiantly to glue the pieces together before a gust of wind blew everything down. I was scanning the problem areas trying to find a way to help, when the family literally popped in. Fonza saw me and ran to hold me. It was nice to see she was getting over her fear of males and perhaps overcoming centuries of a subservient attitude. "Hello husband, I have missed you." "I have missed you too." She was soundly kissed and given a big hug. A tug at my leg reminded me of the children and I stooped to hug Abigail, Sarah and Robert. I stood up to greet Mona and Fenna and eventually Boko, who was holding back. He had been having doubts again and wondered if I still loved him. With my arms outstretched he came running and cried a little as his emotions were overcoming him again. After a kiss I looked up to Peli and Jul. Both were wondering where they fit in. With a final kiss to Boko, I walked over to them and did the same as I did to the rest of my family. To Jul I said, "You are not pregnant now, but would you still consider joining my family with Peli? It is what was our plan before, but now it makes even better sense." She nodded her head and kissed me as if she wanted to get the formality of the pregnancy over with as soon as possible. A sound came to me and I looked to see the cubs play fighting beside Mary, who patiently waited her own greeting. I walked over to her as she sat on the floor and I stooped to hug her close. "I missed you too." She started to purr and I knew I was accepted too. The cubs stopped long enough to be petted before they jumped on one another again. I better find a way to use up their excess energy or they would make sleeping and the business of running a ship difficult. We walked around the suite. Other than the bedroom and a room like an office or a den, there was a small Captain's wardroom that could only seat a few hundred of the highest ranking officers. A large room with benches and a dirt-covered floor was next. I was stumped till Selene flashed a picture in my mind of what it looked like long ago. It was an arboretum, larger in area than most housing lots on Earth. Its ceiling much higher than a two story house. Bright light from a simulated sun bathed down on us and where the trees would be. Another room had to be explained, it was a kitchen, pantry and cooks' quarters. Serene explained how it was a quirk of the last tenant to use these quarters. No other Tandra she knew of would eat food other than from the synthesizers. A group of small rooms were for other servants, while another group contained a gym and a place for a masseuse. I wondered if they had a Jacuzzi, sauna or swimming pool. All this room and accessories sounded a bit far fetched, even for a captain of a battleship so I asked Selene. She replied, "These rooms were for the grand niece of the empress when she wanted to travel quickly without fuss. I have decided that her rooms should be given to you and your family instead of the dowdy Captain's quarters." "Thanks... Selene. I am glad you are angry at those people. This will make a beautiful home and there is even a place for the donai." "You are welcome. The place you saw with trees and plants was actually a room for the two animals similar to the donai of the grand niece. They were only a little smaller and not as wild as the ones you have." I turned to Boko. "Will you see about getting some trees and bushes put in there? Jonesey will help I am sure." Each of the older members of the family were given small jobs and told that they now had to do a lot more studying to find places on the ship. I was not about to let nepotism rear its head and find I did not have the best possible crew to protect Selene and she us. Remembering the problem getting the Cap's tug working I asked, "Is there anything we can get from some of the wrecks that would help us?" "I don't think so. They are very small." One was half a million tonnes and it was small. I guess I had to get my eyes adjusted or at least recalibrated. The General was getting things moving fast and had a team ready to take on the largest underwater habitat we had found so far. It was sad to say there was only one Human going, as our numbers on the planet had dropped to just 9. A large number of combat suits and combat drones went first to scout for opposition, while one of Selene's ships stood overhead prepared to block any transmission if possible. I followed the action as it unfolded and could see many different aspects of the same manoeuver. It seemed to be impossible before, but I could easily do it now. After an hour we found no Samutz in residence. It was a good base and a shame to blow up. The general settled for putting drones as sentries that would warn us if the Samutz ever decided to take the base back. Six other bases were searched and in none did we find any Samutz, even the hidden valley Tom and I had originally found. There was a lot of equipment that we found. For the most part it was worthless to us and would only serve the enemy. It was taken out and destroyed. The only good things were some animals that were freed and two cruisers that had been sidelined before the battle and remained hidden in a large cave complex. Drones were sent back along the trail of where the Samutz ships had emerged from the ocean. My family had come back in the mean time and I directed the images to the screens and then to the screens in the entire ship. I knew in my bones that something would happen. It took an hour but we finally found a base that was active and the General sent in his troops. A large dome surrounded by six other smaller domes sat on the seabed about 12 klicks off the coast and in 800 metres of water. This was deeper than any of our drones or probes could detect if they were above the surface. A lone Samutz swam from one dome and headed out with a spear, probably to hunt. A suit was not seen but was assumed to be there. When he was safely out of sight the drones headed into each of the 7 domes, followed by the combat suits, then six biologicals. The 7 best pictures were displayed on the screens as the Tandra went into the air-filled domes. It was almost 5 minutes before the first Samutz spotted us and raised the alarm. He died within seconds and the few that came out died too. The pictures showed laboratories and everything a base would need. 93 Tandra were found in cages waiting to be slaughtered. In the dome with a lab there were 10 more Tandra and 3 Softay and various kinds of animals. One special purpose drone flew around and after doing a complete inventory and survey we knew they were almost finished making the toxin that was so lethal too almost every high order animal. The other domes had supplies and spare parts. One in particular held my interest. It had at least a thousand tonnes of platinum stacked around the edge and some gold too as if an afterthought. If this was a regular supply depot it wouldn't be beneath the waves. The only logical assumption was a base for smugglers that had been taken over by the Samutz in authority. We saw the Tandra being given shields and taken out to be brought to the surface. The only exception were the ones in the lab. The crew that took the dome went through the computer records to see what had happened, then took med units and scanned each of the living creatures in the dome. A decision was made and the Tandra and Softay were taken out individually, then the animals were stunned and taken out as well. A drone stayed for surveillance while another destroyed everything in the room, till it was a puddle on the floor. Before they left, the drones were sent out to search for the lone Samutz and destroy each and every other one they found. I sat back happy that the mission went so smoothly and that we could rescue so many Tandra that would die otherwise. Through the Masis night more bases were found, but all were mostly ships anchored to the bottom of the ocean with little or no Samutz present. In these I assumed that they just did not have enough Samutz to man the vessels, or that they just didn't want to endanger them in the attack. We had not known that the Samutz were so aquatic or we would have searched here along with the land. With all the sites visited, I sent the children to bed with the donai and got the adults to sleep too. All of them were tired and just wanted to sleep. I on the other hand found sleep difficult and a little seemed to be more than enough. In desperation I asked Selene. She replied, "You are crew now and as such, have to be assisted to do your job better. As I heard from Frieda, you augmented your wives' musculature and bones, I too did that to you. Your mind was not able to manage all the things a captain has to handle so your memory and processing power was increased as much as a captain can get." I did not know if this was right. I had to think on it for a while. Selene was right about having only the best for her crew, but should she just change me without saying? Already I was treating all of the wives more like children than was necessary. Was there that much difference in intelligence now? I always knew a captain of a ship had a lonely job. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that augmentation was something I had to have. The job of protecting my wives, crew, Tandra, and Humans was too important to base on my own feelings. I had gained a lot, but in a way, I had lost a lot in the trade. For the rest of the night I went through all the data the team had gotten from the various Samutz bases. Frieda and Selene had gone through it much earlier. I got the feeling there was something odd in the data and almost felt compelled to delve deeper. Thinking now of the smugglers, I went over the data again, and the only thing that could possibly fit was another base. It seemed the Samutz were hiding the fact from each other as if they were hiding it from their 'excise man'. One record showed that a ship went out and came back in thirty minutes. Considering the possible need for stealth the speed could not be too high or would they would be able to go through the atmosphere. There would be some time to drop off the small load so the base had to be within 150 klicks. I called Selene and gave her my findings. I saw that she had missed this point. She was very smart and did a lot of things at the same time, but nothing seemed to catch her attention enough to bring her these bursts of insight. Thinking of myself, I too hardly had those same bursts. This seemed to be one of the reasons a biological crew was necessary. We had our own drones and sent them out with our own repeaters and computer guided craft. The scenes coming back were monotonous and after an hour I left the job to Selene. My headache had returned and I decided to find out what was done to me. I was actually able to go within my own mind and see the inner workings. There was no way I would touch anything, but the sight was captivating and I mapped out as much as I could, till a voice called me back to the physical world. Hours had passed and Selene told me that an underwater cave complex had been found. "It was very well camouflaged, but a small energy discharge brought us to it. Soundings show that the cave traveled far into the seabed. A large door could handle some of the small ships and nothing large was in the area now." I could see the graphs of the data from our sensors and absolutely knew that going here would kill everybody that entered the complex. I had no idea why the feeling was so strong, but it was. The Cap told us of how he had gotten into the original base with a galvanized pipe. This gave me the answer I needed. "Selene, do you have the data on the new missiles we developed?" "Yes, Captain." "Then I want you to fabricate a tube..." A small drone was propelled through the dark waters to the hidden base and looked like a black narwhale. It came to a section of the exposed shield and slowly pushed its way into and through the field. The end opened and small spy units and repeaters spewed out. With hundreds of the tiny units now inside the base the drone rested as it transmitted the views of all the spy units found to us. The entrance to the facility had automatic defences that would kill any entering without the right clearance. Further back, a ceramic conduit led to a bomb of a kind big enough to rupture the crust of the planet. In a Tandra made dwelling four Samutz were arguing in their own language. One to prove his point struck another and drove him to the ground. Selene translated, and I found that one wanted to destroy this part of the planet soon because their plan for taking it back from the Tandra and their new allies had failed. This one thought that they could take one of the ships and while staying within the water navigate to the other side of the planet. When the bomb blew up there would be enough confusion for them to get away. Another Samutz just wanted to blow it up now and be sure because they knew they could not make it through the mines anyway. The next one wanted the same thing but bombs planted all over the planet. The upheaval of the crust would kill most of the animals. Eventually the Samutz could come back and retake the planet if they wanted. And the last wanted bombs planted everywhere and one on a ship which he personally would fly to the base and blow it and him up. There was no timetable yet, but I knew that soon there would be. It was early morning now. I woke up the general and gave him my findings. He brought in Huang Yi and all of us watched what the probes were able to send back. We found that there at least a few hundred Samutz, billeted in the back of the cave complex. A probe was able to get into a locked room and the image of 23 large bombs came back to us. "God damn! Look at what they have," General Shingle exclaimed. This was not a lot of power for a single ship would have the power of all these bombs and then some. It was just that here the bombs were in the hands of desperate Samutz that felt no qualms about using them. Even if it meant destroying all life on the planet. Immediately ideas started to go around about what to do. They ranged from a preemptive strike like we had planned to do, but had not done in time, to an attack by one small Tandra soldier. What finally came was a two stage attack. One group would use a device to bore through the rock and destroy the workings of the bomb. At the same time another larger narwhale would inject small drones that would dissolve the conduit to the bomb and attack the booby traps at the entrance. When this was all done a select team would go into the tunnels and secure the remainder of the bombs before they could be used. This part was the most chancy because the tunnels were narrow and easily defended. Within two hours a team headed by Dmitriy Baranov was headed for the area off the coast. With him were twenty four hand-picked Tandra that would fight to the death if necessary to protect their people and the planet. They approached the entrance and split up. Dmitriy Baranov took a hand mounted rock boring tool to a rock face behind the bomb. It was secured and with a complicated hookup with Serene through the first narwhale the device was aimed at the hidden end of the bomb. Another group watched as the new narwhale took the place of the first and injected larger drones and withdrew leaving a ceramic plug and a length of conduit from the hole in the shield. With two Tandra guarding Dmitriy's back they all remained still. Approaching from the depths, came a squad of eight Samutz, carrying a large fish. They would soon see the alterations still lodged in the wall. As they swam closer the Tandra got behind them while invisible and before the Samutz could react five were stabbed with galvanized knives. The other three put up a determined resistance. One managed to get a knife away and used it on one of the Tandra. Both died at the same time as the rest finished the Samutz off and insured the rest were dead too. I had been holding my breath and slowly released it. The Tandra pulled off the Samutz dead, the fish and their own warrior. It took almost twenty more minutes before 'Dema' Baranov gave the signal that he had finished. The drones on the inside had reported similar success and the taking of the base began. Dema was about to enter first when the Tandra pulled him back and one of their number went first instead. From our view of the interior the lone Tandra ran up the tunnel as far as she could get and stopped at the side tunnel that had all the bombs. Behind her ran the rest, with Dema running third and probably angry at being pulled away. He had recently lost his two wives and I had heard that both were carrying his children. By the time the last one got in an alarm went off and the Samutz in the back of the base jumped up and grabbed their weapons and ran to the entrance. The four leaders had long since stopped their arguments and began work with their group of followers. The more aggressive one ran in the lead with a device to detect cloaked individuals. Coming around the corner he and the rest of us could see the Tandra trying to gain entry to the secured room. Dema put himself in front of the Tandra, and brought up his weapon before the Samutz could do the same. A long streak of coruscating energy flew from his weapon and incinerated the leader of the forces and the first few behind him. The Tandra behind brought up portable shields and just got them into place before much heavier weapons struck the shields and started to dissolve the walls floor and ceiling. Within a minute the Tandra had gained the room and started defusing the bombs. The fighting outside had only increased and larger weapons had been brought in. "Selene, take the drones and fly them forward to attack the heavy weapons." She did, but not before one had broken through the shields and Dema's suit. He was burnt badly. With the weapon now unusable, the Samutz just attacked with their usual ferocity and the fire coming to bare on the Tandra was getting almost too hard to handle. The Tandra fell back a few paces only to be presented with the continuing attack. The dead Samutz were stacking up but that did not dissuade them from their relentless assault. The Tandra fell back level with the doorway into the bomb storage room and stayed firm now. A minute that felt like an hour later the final bomb was disarmed and the lot melted into a useless lump. The Tandra ran from the room and rotated as they took fire and retreated to the entrance. Dema was a smoking wreck but he stood his ground as the final Tandra left the base. He got half way through the opening when a massive combination of fire literally burnt his entire upper body and he fell back and down. The Tandra left their dead and Dema too for it made no sense to recover somebody that did not need the effort. The large narwhale had arms that the Tandra held onto as it sped away from the base. Five minutes later they sat in a comfortable ship as a large bomb blew up the base and all it contained. The Tandra were quiet as they thought of what had just happened and how much they had lost in the taking of the base. They held each other and most cried harder than they had when the Samutz had killed their friends. Here a Human male had done his best to see that no Tandra was hurt and died trying to save their lives. ------- Tom came out of the tank with all of us standing around. He was lowered and contact severed with the medical section. I came forward to hold his hand and be there when he needed me. His eyes fluttered a few times before opening and then staring at me. "I didn't think I was going to wake up this time. Or is this your heaven?" "Hello Tom. No, we are still where we were before. Quite a few were hurt or killed, but there are many more dead Samutz now that should have filled hell to overflowing. The rest of the family is here to see you. Jul and Peli have joined us now but let's save that for later. You should get up and get some food into you." After a meal and a bit more sleep, Tom heard of everything that had happened since we were almost killed. He, like the rest, was very concerned about other plans to take the planet from us or to destroy it. We collectively decided at a meeting to make more and better drones to patrol the coastal shelf, then even go into the depths with ships and repeaters. The Sarine was still being worked on, but just by fewer workers. Within a few days the Sarine was again getting priority treatment. All the auxiliary ships were out covering the system. The Sarine was stripped of many of its old shield components and broken hull plates. This was our most vulnerable time. As units came off others went on. The old shield units were digested and new ones made from the material. The hull plates were renewed the same way. Some of the damaged hulls were broken up to give us some of the necessary raw material. With many thousands of now skilled workers we saw that the job we were taking on was even more daunting. Tom began to work just as hard as the rest and took to the studies when he was supposed to be resting or sleeping. He remembered my dislike for nepotism, so he dove into his studies very hard. If he got a position he wanted it to be rightfully justified. A mass funeral had been planned for a while and we used the excuse to stop work and rest. Contemplating our friends and lovers lost made each of us pull even closer together. General Shingle stood up and told of many of the heroic deeds of our dead comrades. The list was quite long due to all the recording chips being able to give accurate records. The last two named were a Human and a Tandra killed in the last action in the oceans depths. Out of all this the Humans saw the Tandra as good solid fighters that knew their duty and who their friends were. The Tandra found the same quality in the Humans and it was as if we were actually one big family. During the next seven Masis days, more small groups of unorganized Samutz were found and destroyed. All of the bases could only be described as primitive and most did not even have a way of communicating. With enough shield units installed, the Sarine went into orbit and the grav units were replaced or repaired. My intention was to get all of the critical components replaced with the most modern in design. This left different areas in turn exposed to space while different units had to be removed from deep within the hull. Before we were finished Selene gave me reports of the downed battleship she had taken out so long ago. The probes found it in almost 5000 metres of water. But sadly, the initial survey showed that there was very little salvageable on the wreck, especially after going through the atmosphere to strike the ocean. I was quite sure that when this happened the entire planet would be thrown into chaos as it did when all of Earth's dinosaurs were exterminated. Later we found that the ship had broken up into many pieces before hitting the ocean and that was to only reason for life to be still flourishing on this planet. Boko had gotten the shrubs and trees with Jonesey as he was asked to do. They were transplanted into the atrium. The donai and the youngsters did their best to keep all of them watered. I thought it prudent to get the children to learn the right way aboard ship. It might be embarrassing to go outside to go to the bathroom. I had to laugh at myself for I just remembered my parents and I used an outhouse for a long time and the bushes were watered and fertilized when hunting or fishing. General Shingle decided to get as many people trained in shipboard duties as he could. The crew could well be transferred to ground side jobs easily when and if the time came. Our best chance of surviving an attack was to be in the ship and doing our utmost to save our own hide. There was very little Frieda could do with land based help because most of the weapons were too far out for accurate control from Masis. One of the facts that we did find was that the inhabitants of Masis with their current barbaric background could not seem to function as good as the Tandra freed from the ships or the Humans. It seemed to be as if they did not believe what was happening and this was slowing them down. ------- The Home Front ------- Chapter 64 Charlie Shingle was almost done his watch when the flux officer relayed some disturbing information to him. Tiny sensors hidden deep within the Oort Cloud were registering a massive gravitic anomaly coming at almost 600 lights from the direction of the Epsilon Eridani system. The Oort Cloud's inner perimeter was a light year from Earth and a light year thick in sections. Charlie gave the mental signal for battle stations and headed the ship to where the ships would enter the wall of loose rock around the system. Now very awake crew members, scrambled to fill all of the available seats while their minds questioned if this was a drill or not. More sensors started to scream of the approaching deviation in the gravity fields. As a backup this information was manually sent to Earth. Paul questioned the computer, found the least time to intercept and knew that he would be too late. The disturbance was so great that it had to be a fleet of ships, or a few massive ones coming into the Sol system. If they stayed at their current acceleration the approaching ships would have made it through the mine field. There would be no screen of rocks to hide behind and the ship would be an easy target. After taking his seat at a large tactical board, he wondered if all the crew were up to this. Everybody onboard were training and trying to feel their way through all the things that had to be learned, to run a modern warship with no really experienced officers. The Captain gave immediate orders. Everybody started to relax and begin the process that was tried so many times before with only mediocre results. They linked with their officers and those linked with the captain. They wanted to pick the ship up to a higher order of thinking and pull themselves forward, taking the ship with them. The speed shot up 550 lights and stayed there. The ship had only two engines and no AI to assist and this speed was far beyond any in practice or what was in the old archives. This was a mixed crew of Chinese, Russian, and American with a few Canadian and South Americans thrown in. The large number of Chinese seemed to have a stabilizing effect, while the Russians pushed hard to fight an unknown enemy much like their ancestors had done. They did not usually work this well together, but fought hard for a few minutes it took to reach the area for an ambush. This happened to be deep within the cloud of rocks and ice next to a clear area. They had just minutes to spare and all but the bridge crew manned the weapons launchers and information gathering devices. The readings coming in were very clear now. The ships were so large that there was no way that a simple light destroyer could take them out even with the galvanized warheads. All they could hope to do was damage them enough and let the automated defences take over the task of trying to stop the behemoths. Captain Shingle's mind tried to get some indication if his uncle and dad had succeeded. Were the ships coming back to aid Earth or had the plan failed and the ships were here for retribution. Large unobstructed sections of the rock formation were open, but ringed with the old defences. Captain Shingle checked the status of all the old protective devices and saw that almost half were actually operable. This was much better than the usual 30% of the remainder of the protective umbrella englobing the system. In the scant seconds till the possible engagement would begin. Charlie thought of all the times his father fought in the war and how close he came to death. Now it looked like he was in a similar position. There was no way the gigantic ships would ignore his small vessel once his missiles started doing such damage. Paul tensed over his plot and tried to coordinate where the missiles should be placed. The ships were so big it was hard to find an easy place to sting them adequately. If only there were larger missiles aboard, then the ships could be destroyed. The usual size of conventional missiles used to destroy such large ships were actually the size of the destroyer itself. The crew had similar thoughts and only hoped that the end would be quick if it happened. At three light-seconds from their position a signal from the massive ships impinged on their sensors. The code was the one to allow the ships unhindered passage through the protective barrier. A collective sigh of relief went up from the crew. Before the sigh ended the mighty ships flashed by their position on their way to Earth at 600 lights. Protocol demanded he report and a detailed message followed about what they saw and did along with their assumptions. It took Mom a few seconds to reply and she concurred with his supposition. Charlie desperately wanted to follow as did the crew, but the ships had the necessary clearance. There was no need to abandon their station and mission. They had to content themselves with the stored images of the ships as they flew by. The battleship was the same one as Uncle Henry had found at Epsilon Eridani. The only one with visible damage was another light destroyer that was able to go much faster because it had all three engines functional. The latter ship was a gigantic carrier that dwarfed anything except the battleship that lead the procession. The sides of all the ships were a uniform grey and showed deep fissures where it looked like a mad man had added parts indiscriminately to an already chaotic ship. There were no lights in the open bays as the ships flew past indicating that no biotic activity was happening there. This led to the thoughts about how many survivors were onboard and if the tug was inside one of the ships or destroyed. There were no answering thoughts to their mental calls. The crew looked out the opening in the rock shield at distant Epsilon Eridani and tried to see or feel what had happened. It seemed worse somehow for seeing the ships coming empty reminded them of all their worse fears. General MacDonald stood before the large display and just stared in awe of the ships that filled his display. The feed came from Mount Palomar and even at this distance the ships were huge. The larger two looked very irregular like the imperial star cruisers on 'Starwars'. The information from the Tandra said that the ships were three and a half million tonnes and it was easy to believe. If anything, they looked even heavier. Their ceramic assembly allowed for a much lighter construction than what a wet navy would use or need. He was interrupted by an officer handing him reports. The DEFCON 1 rating was a knee jerk reaction to all the hardware overhead, but it was hoped that cooler heads would drop the condition to at least three. Bombers and fighters were in the air in all countries that had them and missiles were aimed at old cold war enemies. The weapons were wholly inadequate and were designed to hit fixed targets not those that moved very rapidly. None of the weapons were designed to strike targets in space. There was nothing he could do anyway. The planes had lifted off and would only land when it was seen that there was no attack taking place. He looked wistfully at the craft and wondered what it would be like to serve on one of those monsters. General Givens stood at attention like a young rating in the office of Montgomery Moore an hour before the ships came into orbit. There was lots of time to plan, since the last Tandra broadcast but it all seemed to go out the door when the ships got closer. A Russian or even a Chinese attack would almost be welcome by comparison. Moore a short white haired man of almost 60 looked at a paper before him and just made the General wait. Finally he said, "What have you found? There were a total of 16 areas queried by the Tandra computer and all the rest of the groups found at least something to show for all the time and money spent. Are you getting too old to for the job? I can think of quite a few that would do a better job than you." "I was doing my best sir. We questioned almost everybody that could read or write, never mind use a sophisticated computer. It was only recently that the Tandra have come forward and declared themselves. At that time, we used ground penetrating radar and even used remote-controlled cameras to check the bottom of lakes and rivers. Planes flew over, dragging sensor arrays, and we found nothing out of the ordinary. We still have crews listing for any sign of communications." "Did it occur to you that they are not using the electromagnetic spectrum? A race as advanced as this could conceivably use other means." "It did sir. But you have not seen fit to issue us the devices to find these other means." Before Moore could give his angry retort, a phone call came, and he picked the instrument up. "Mm, ok. It seems you are given a temporary reprieve." The large monitor shifted pictures at the push of a remote control and both men saw the beautiful alien woman dressed in a shimmering gown. She told everybody on Earth that cared to listen and this comprised almost the entire population. After the broadcast Moore said, "She said that she is giving us those war craft. General, delegate your old responsibilities and start gathering a crew to volunteer to train on those craft. I want our men, and only our men to have control of those machines." "Sir, the woman said in the very first broadcast that she and all the Humans that she got to join her cause could read minds." "That can't be true and even if it is, it does not say that they can do it very well. Either do a good job this time, or fill out your retirement papers." "Yes, sir." All over the world people stopped to stare at the ships with new eyes. Telescopes showed detailed pictures of all the ships, including the small one. Two man fighters left the ships as they orbited Earth. A few slightly larger craft pealed off and headed on the short trip to the base that was on the lunar surface. At the suspected location, they disappeared one after the other and probably went through a hidden doorway. Old men sat in front of their televisions and dreamed of their childhood fantasies of space travel. Their hand gripping the chair, beer glass, or sometimes even a cane with unconscious strength. Their mind fixated on each and every word coming from the beautiful and exotic woman's mouth. Children did the same, but had even more hope of this happening. Cartoons, Nintendo and other games, as well as the occasional doll, were left by the wayside as they concentrated on the gleaming little guppies that the larger ship birthed. They had seen and heard what the Samutz were like and had no hope of ever winning when fighting them. Now, as if they were thrown a life preserver, came the words that Earth people could help defend themselves. Male and female, even as young as 14 years would be able to fly to the stars and fight what could not be even considered before. Mothers drying dishes stood and watched the small ships leave and listened to the Tandra woman talk of what the ships could do. They listened avidly to how any of the positions for pilots were up for grabs. Most could hardly contain themselves when told that the Tandra would be asking permission of individual countries for volunteers. The locations and times would be revealed some time in the future. At the end of this particular broadcast, the tone of the reply was much different than usual. Spokesmen for many of the faiths told of this being the path to perdition and anyone following it would surely lead to hell and damnation. Many stations had the same type of retort, but a few brave commentators did try to act less extreme, thereby endangering their job, career, and possibly their life. As the hours passed, more experts were brought on televised news programmes. A few backed the call for pilots, but phrased it to sound like they agreed with the fanatics. Their faces were twisted, for they too had followed the rest of the zealots before and called the Tandra an arm of Satan. In the dramatic turnabout, their conscience could finally vote what their heart dictated. The streets did not have the usual number of placard waving demonstrators demanding that their government capture all the Tandra and send them back to where they came from. The commentators made mention of the drop in numbers and tried their best to continue with the old party line, but it was easy to see that they too had been giving the matter second thoughts. One zealot warned of the serpent offering what should not be given and the Lord casting us all out of Eden one more time. In the other countries where Christianity was a minority, the same sort of thing was happening. But here the people did not get to see even the least bit of softening of the official position. Lieutenant William Meech was understandably shaken when he stood before Mom's hologram. "You want me to what?" "It is not that hard Lieutenant. You and other members of your crew will go to different countries and bring back some of the many recruits we need. Haven't you seen those posters of a brave, handsome man in a nice looking uniform soliciting help from the civilian population? Your old country had one with a funny hat and a pointing finger." "Yes, I have seen those, but you are asking me to talk to presidents and heads of states. I am just a simple soldier and not a diplomat. Those kind of people can tie me up in knots when they sidestep the truth at every opportunity. Everybody has heard the oxymoron, 'an honest politician'. It is true and I think the higher you get the better they get at subterfuge." "Have you forgotten Lieutenant that you are now much more intelligent than they are? You can read their minds and others too will read them with you. I will be with you, or at least my hologram will be. You will be wearing a shield and a warship will be close to you at all times." "It is not my safety that I am concerned with, but my ability to get them to do the things that are needed. Politicians have had many years at getting what they want. They promise much, but they never seem to be able to deliver on their part of the deal. They are not really rational beings. Then again, I don't think that there are any." William was a little more uneasy when he said, "I gave my oath to protect my country. I know that they will want to do everything in their power to get me to tell them everything I know. I can resist them, but I do have family, even if they are not close, and they can use those against me. Even my ex-wife or old girlfriends can be asked to try to get me to do what the government wants." Lt. William Meech continued, "Even if we recruit in other countries, I know that they will still try to do anything in their power to subvert me." "I know that Lieutenant and I will be with each of you all the time. There are enough projectors to do this. We still have to try, because to do nothing, would mean that we have already capitulated." Mom's TV show went on the air as usual every 25 hours and either told of what the Tandra empire was like, or a small travelogue of some of the prettier planets that the viewer had stored in its memory from over two and half million years ago. The timing was designed to allow each of the countries to get some of the shows during a convenient time and also to not give any one area special treatment. It was widely shown on re-broadcasts and came into the local cable, satellite or broadcast bands in the predominant language of that area. Europe had to have many channels diverted from other programming so that different languages could be spoken in each. Almost as an afterthought, Mom mentioned the ships again in orbit. She transmitted detailed views of the mighty vessels and the one in particular that sustained so much damage. A more detailed report came about the taking of the ships. It appeared like a serial movie, where the next instalment would give some answers, but new questions that would rely on the instalment after that. It was not as if she needed a gimmick to keep the viewers attention, but it was her way of bringing people around to her way of thinking. The Earth was in turmoil and would be that way for quite a while, until the ordinary people judged the Tandra to be on their side. This particular show was different again. Mom stood in her Blue dress as she talked about some of the more broad categories of family life and introduced Kitten, Doris and Lam. Kitten had taken a special course in the tutors and learned the English and Mandarin spoken language. After almost eight days of conversations with Doris, Lam and some of the recruits, she would now try to carry on a conversation with some of the audience. Lam and Doris had been in the tanks and looked about 20 or so years old and much different from their former selves. Mom asked some leading questions and Kitten, her co-host, presented her two guests giving them Tandra names. She had remembered Susan's words and showed the cradles her husband made and how each showed a feature that suited only one of the children. The women held the babies or did things that were needed to help the infants. They were introduced as part of the family of the men and women that went with the Tandra to fight amongst the stars. This helped show a younger and less threatening side of the conflict. Mom stepped back and Kitten started to explain things her way and with her many small mistakes that made the broadcast sound much more Human-like. When Lam was asked questions later, she told of how she was having trouble nursing so many children. At this time, Bobby came running across the floor and climbed into her lap. Mom was busy and not able to watch everything all the time and could not stop the child. Lam kissed the boy as he got into his accustomed spot and Duc came running with his pack over his shoulder, knelt down and said in Vietnamese, "Come Bobby, I am going to the farm with your brothers and we can get some of the kia-berries you like." The child the size of a newborn, reached up to be held by his new father and the viewers could see the love that each had for the other. Lam continued her dialogue in accented English and said, "He has so many sons now and he spoils every one of them." Then to the audience she said, "He takes care of 10 children and teaches at the academy. I have 6 babies, plus the two that my husband takes with him when he can. We also have 8 girls that are old enough to get along by themselves most of the time. So our real total is 24. We all share Kitten's children and they don't really count. It is a hectic life, but I would not trade it for anything." Mom saw a way of educating the audience and broke in to ask Lam about how Bobby came to be here. "My son-in-law flew to the star... yes Epsilon Eridani... and found all the ships that have now come to protect us. The dogfaces or Samutz, I hear that they were called, pulled a mother and her two children out of their hiding spot and tried to stab them with a spear for sport. Well H... My son- in-law shoots one and fights the other with only a knife. The mother, even with a broken arm, drops a rock on the Samutz and kills it. Then all of them fly back to Earth and we all learn how to fight. Sadda, and Nema went to fight the Samutz and had to leave Bobby with us. He is only a little over a year old, but gets around faster than any other I have seen." Mom broadcast the stored images of Henry doing just as Lam said, even to the knife fight. When they got back to the girls, Doris said, "That was one nasty alien and I wonder if I could have done as well as Sadda. She conked him good and I only wish we could do that to the rest of that despicable race." One child, then the rest, eventually became restless in their hunger. Kitten talked of how her husband used milk bags and thin tubing to help feed the infants till her milk came in. She undid her clothing and started to feed one of the children. Doris and Lam did the same and continued talking of how Sadda had learned so much in so little time. She had pushed herself to go on a multi light-year trip to service and restock a small amount of the missiles and mines in the Oort Cloud. At about half way through the show, Mom called for a break so that local sponsors could tout their wares. She knew that the broadcasters would be losing millions of dollars when she took the time to broadcast. Their regular broadcasts would have to be shown later in the season if the Samutz did not come first. Five minutes later and to the second, Mom continued. In the background, Faith in Doris' arms, needed to be burped and Doris took a clean cloth and put it over her shoulder and gently tapped the tiny child on the back. A loud burp signalled a relieved stomach and a wet shoulder for Doris. She cleaned the child up as mothers down through the ages had done. The audience saw the others needed the same procedure, as Mom said, "Would you ladies like to take a few calls from the audience? We have not tried this before and I hope it works." Lam and Doris were nervous now. They knew that billions of people where watching them, but talking to the deranged people on Earth made them remember their origins. Kitten said, "Sure," for all of them. "The number will go across the bottom of the screen soon and the computer will translate all the languages and provide a written form at the bottom of the screen with the person's name and where they are calling from." Millions of people had hoped for this chance and the first few to get on were greeted by one of Mom's other voices, depending on the language spoken. The first was a boy from New Delhi. He gave some of his personal information, then said, "Hi, can you really read minds?" "Rajiv," Kitten said in her best spoken English, "if you were here, I could read your mind after a while. And if you stayed with us I am sure you would be able to do the same thing. As Mom said before, that is the way we communicate." The next caller was another boy from India. Vicram wanted to know how the Tandra told one another apart. "Well Vicram, there are a lot of little clues we get when we mindspeak. It is almost like the way you look at other children at school and can quickly tell one from the other, even if they are all dressed similarly." Kitten paused then went on, "You might have meant about boys and girls. To Humans we look almost the same, but the thoughts are different, much like a girl's voice is higher than a boy's." The next caller refused to give any information and came on the air with, "You are Satan's harlot. Blasphemy comes out of your foul mouth..." After he began to repeat himself, Kitten tried to get a word in, but the man would not allow it. Mom cut off the man's voice and Kitten said, "You seem to have quite a few problems. I could hear you spitting as you talked into the instrument, you are rude to not give me a chance to talk too and you seem to be a bigot with very little education other than reading your holy book. I suggest that you get some professional help." A girl about 14 asked, "When are we going to get a chance to fly the space ships?" Kitten was fed some information from Mom, and she said, "In thirty minutes some of the smaller ships will descend to your planet and land in Tokyo. There we will talk to the Prime Minister and he can give us his permission or not. If he refuses, we will go to China next and ask them if they want to help us to fight the Samutz. We haven't said too much about it yet, but our medicine will allow all the pilots to look, feel and be 20 Earth years old, no matter what their present age of condition." "When all the fighting is done, the soldiers can return to Earth and will forget all they learned from us, but keep their younger bodies. If they choose to stay on, and if we are successful, then at the end of their enlistment they will be given land on far planets to live with their family. Earth is nice, but many other planets are even more beautiful. Earth by that time might be less backward and able to accept some of the veterans." Before the next caller came on, the girl asked, "Where can I sign up?" "We just have to get permission from your leaders first, then you have to be chosen by members of our armed forces when they come to the bigger cities. At the moment, there are only a thousand and many are needed to take some of those ships and look for any Samutz trying to sneak into our system. Others are needed to help get the people rescued on the ships educated. They are about the same level of development as you on Earth. This should take about two to three weeks." Kitten added, "If one race of Humans does not contribute, then the burden will fall onto the others. But those others will be the ones that will gain Earth's gratitude and have gotten the benefit of their lifespan lengthened from 8 to 10 centuries." Mom had gone over this before but had not given any concrete figures. The other benefits were only touched on and Kitten did not even mention them. At the same time as the broadcast, Lieutenant Meech and thirty men and Tandra were almost hovering at only fifty metres above the city of Tokyo in a small 1,000 tonne troop carrier only 93 metres long. The pace was purposefully slow in the noontime sun. Looking down, a well-defined shadow flew across the ground and climbed many of the buildings. At the end of the thirty minutes mentioned by Kitten, six small fighters landed on the outside of the twin paths leading to the Diet. The area momentarily was contested by a throng of humanity that came to see this unheard of event. The troop carrier stopped in front of the stone legislative building and a few metres above the ornate garden. Thousands of spectators had to run from underneath the craft as it silently settled to a height of two metres above the grass. The ones to fall, soon found that the ship would not descend further and more than one reached up to touch the glass like surface, suspended over their heads. Even with only a half hour advanced warning, the entire area was flooded with people. A large hatch opened and slowly settled to the ground with the inevitable movement of people trying to get out of the way. Unseen, twelve of the crew flew out and took up defensive positions around the ship. Mom in a green diaphanous sheath waved regally at the crowd before her. Three Tandra and three Human men wore only their dress uniform and the simplest shield units. They alternately descended to form an honour guard at the base of the steps. Mom took slow sure steps to not let any know that she was only a hologram. From the front of the building, security people and quite a few legislators pushed through the throng to get a good view of Mom. Mom's guard stood as firm as any before Buckingham Palace and just watched the assemblage with their minds. The ever present cameras took thousands of pictures and even tv crews had to fight their way through for their own local stations. Mom was quicker than the approaching legislators and started her procession to the front of the building. The mob parted and eventually she came up to some of the lawmakers that barred her path. They were very important people, but not the Prime Minister. Their function was to greet her and somehow get her status set below the leader of their powerful country. Taking their cue from the closest man, each bowed but not very low. Mom only inclined her head as her back stood straight. The foremost abruptly said, "You cannot put your ship there. You must move it." Mom's laugh could be heard by all, as the noise suddenly befell the entire area. "Hello young man, this is the first meeting of an extraterrestrial being and a representative of a world government. You want me to not shade your roses?" After a pause she said, "Perhaps in a hundred years your family will get over the dishonour that you have laid on their shoulders. Now take me to your leader," the last she said with a wide grin. Even the Human guards broke training and allowed a smile to come to their faces at the quote. Inside the cool and richly panelled chamber, pandemonium had broken out. The normally polite and organized Japanese ran one way, then another. Much unsightly commotion was taking place in the normally august assemblage. Some of the honour guards stopped at the wide doorway, while two stepped within the confines of the room without regard to normal protocol. Coming from a back room, four men in dark suits came forward as fast as they could and trying to keep as much of their dignity as they could. They stopped three metres in front of Mom as she waited at the doorway. They all bowed as did Mom, but she did not bow nearly as low. She was trying hard to show who was more important without overdoing it and cause them to loose face. "Hello,... Mom," one man said. He only knew her by that name. "Please let me apologize for the misunderstanding in the front gardens..." The greeting lasted quite a long time. The gaff in the garden needed an appropriate apology. He endeavoured to go down in history with a much better reputation. "Think nothing of it Prime Minister Kanesaka. If you have lived as long as I have, then that sort of thing is trivial. I don't want to be impolite myself but I would like to talk to you and your lawmakers if it is permitted. If this is not possible, I will simply leave and go to our next stop." Kanesaka was caught, he wanted to stall as long as possible and try to come up with a way of handling this matter to the benefit of his country and even the planet. Never before had so much pressure been placed on anyone in power. The American government had requested that he not give permission for any Japanese nationals to join the new force that the Tandra purportedly said was to fight off invaders. In this case, he had been able to wring out of the Americans a trade concession for doing this. A further trade war had been offered if he refused. The principle of the carrot and the stick was readily understood. Elections were in one year and he could see how his people had gone from xenophobic a few days ago, to a small but growing clamour to learn more. If he played his cards right, he could get re-elected by riding the Tandra popularity. The reverse was also true and a shift in popularity could kill his chance of being Prime Minister for a second term. The best method would be to stand back and see which way things were going before committing himself. Mom could read everything going through the man's mind. He was no better, or no worse than any other politician and she saw how man always looked out for the interests of number one. "Certainly, madam. As a guest to our country, you are welcome to voice your concerns." After thanking him, she climbed to the Speaker's chair and made her own greeting, she then dove into the meat of the matter, "Japan and the rest of the world are facing complete enslavement and death. I have mentioned the reasons before on television. I only want to point out that Japan has the chance to be in the forefront of all Human races. You can reach out and mark your place in Human history as the first country to back our cause. Your volunteers will be catapulted millions of years to a technology that none of you can even now dream of." Then in a quieter voice she said, "None of these dedicated people will be able to bring back their knowledge or skills to your barbaric world. The knowledge will be locked away and this will resist any government from trying to gain information that would lead to one country dominating another. Their memories of events, places they visited, and friends they made, will still be able to share with others." "We have no wish to disrupt your way of life. In coming years your planet will be offered technology to suit your needs and requirements. Perhaps when the time comes, the veterans will not consider this planet so backwards. You are all friends who's ancestors helped us millions of years ago. Our enemies will not stop though, till all of their subjects are on their dinner plates." "I do want you to know that other countries will heed our call and the soldiers defending this planet will not be a true representation of this planet's population. Russian, Chinese and especially American have been in the forefront till this time. Do any of you believe that they will not want to hold this position? Already government agencies in those countries are making plans so they can keep their primary positions. Their ultimate aim is to gain all of our knowledge and use it for their own benefits. This will not happen, but it will not stop them from trying." "Other than the protection of your only world and your country, we are offering you the chance to have your descendants rule beside the Tandra. The new society we will be making will have access to the entire galaxy. In the future, they will be talking about this day and how you dealt with this situation. For all of our futures, I hope you come to the right decision. When you have made up your minds, just have it televised and I will know." Before she stepped down, she said, "I would like to leave the fighters in your garden till your decision is made. The people can see and touch them even. They are very deadly but dormant. The troop carrier is one of the smallest vessels we have. I would like to invite all of you and as many people in the front of the building as possible to view the vessel as it travels to orbit, circles the globe, and lands here again. It should take only a few moments, but we will go slow so that the experience is remembered better. Thank you gentleman for your patience and goodwill." Mom stepped down and waited for others to speak on the floor. Twelve speeches later, and with no end in sight, Prime Minister Kanesaka gave his own thanks and accepted the invitation. He now saw the way things were probably going to fall and knew he was still risking his political career. The legislators followed Mom and her guards to the ship. Mom was the first to enter, and ran the gauntlet of crew members as they went aboard. When all the legislators had entered with their assistants and anybody left in the building, some of the crew and the AI on the ship gave a tour and explained as much as they could. Lt. Meech stood on the ramp with a half dozen crew in front of him. He said aloud, "This ship is going to circle the Earth from a thousand kilometres altitude. All those of good character may come forward to be given some of the available places. Not everybody will fit and we reserve the right to deny any that we think are hostile to our cause. Come forward now and do not push, or you will be not given this privilege." The crowd surged forward and a few fights broke out in the normally good mannered Japanese people. The crew took turns checking the prospective passengers. When almost 4,000 had entered they came to one man carrying a parcel under one arm and with a smile tried to get on with the rest. His dark thoughts had been found earlier, and as he walked up the ramp, and thus on Tandra soil, two crew grasped his arms, while another held his hands in a crushing move. His body and package held almost ten kilograms of explosives. He howled in pain and others came forward to help a citizen attacked by the men and aliens in the odd coveralls. In the background three other thrashing men flew through the air toward the ship. Men in combat suits invisibly held the rest of the group. Prime Minister Kanesaka came to the portal and Lieutenant Meech gave his report as if to his superior officer. "The police have been notified and I imagine a few at the outskirts of the crowd will come forward to take the men from us." One of the crew was stripping the man of his coat with a vibro-knife, and all the wiring was exposed along with the explosives and two possible detonators clutched in his closed fists. "Sir, this man was on our sovereign territory when apprehended, trying to kill us. The other three were on your territory. Would you like to take this man along with the other three, or would you like us to try him?" Kanesaka was in another bind, but most times a criminal at a foreign embassy turned the felon over to Japanese authorities for prosecution. He had no idea what the Tandra justice system was like, but he dare not test it, because the electorate might go against him. "I would like to have the men handed over to my countrymen for judgement, but it may be necessary for you and your men to give statements." "I think that can be arranged, sir. Let me get rid of this garbage, now that your police have arrived." The police had indeed arrived and took the men still held by invisible hands. Spoken words from people they could not see warned of weapons secreted about their bodies. The bomber was only taken away after the lieutenant assured them that the bomb would not now go off. As the police car siren made its unmistakable sound, Meech said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry for the delay. There is room for at least a thousand more if you are still of a mind to travel with us." The line started again and after five minutes a boy of eight or so pushed his younger sister to hurry her up. She fell at Meech's feet. Meech scanned the girl to see if she were hurt then the boy and his mother. The woman was ashamed at her son's actions and feared to be left behind on this special occasion. As he helped the child to her feet, he said to the boy, "Haruhiko, your mother told you many times to not hurt your sister. Your job is to obey your superior officer, or you will never make a good soldier. If this happens one more time, you will never be able to fly any of the ships you see. Now get in line and march up those steps soldier." The boy was shocked so much that he almost pissed his pants. The powerful gaijin knew everything in his mind, even his name. Was there ever a chance that he could fly one of these ships? The woman watched her son and said, with eyes on her feet, "Please forgive him Sir. He has been that way since his father left." "There is really no need to apologise. I think he will be better for a while, but he is still a boy and will fall back to his old ways. Just remind him of what Lieutenant Meech told him today." In ten minutes the cut came, the hatch closed and the ship effortlessly ascended at only 80 gravities. After 36 seconds of acceleration the ship reversed thrust for another half minute and had reached 1000 kilometres. Japanese tracking stations could not keep the ship on their screens as it rose to its assigned height. Mom walked with the Prime Minister and was very careful to not let him touch her. The crew did their best too, considering how Humans might react to an artificial intelligence talking to them and not a flesh and blood alien. They swung by the Nautilus and the screens showed the deep indentations on the surface with gigantic holes seemingly open to space. One bay actually showed its size for a figure walked by the shield and all on the ship could see how small he was in comparison to the opening. A hush seemed to come from the crowd of almost six thousand individuals on the ship at this point. Deep holes in the flanks were explained as missile launchers, or energy weapons. The ship's AI continued with a running description till the battleship was circled twice. The carrier got a similar treatment and they came close to one bay. On the hull was the Tandra emblem with a graphic of Earth attached. Inside the bay were many small ships, when viewed closer it was easy to see Japanese characters for sword, vengeance, and others. The AI said that these ships were allotted for Japanese personnel. Many photographs were made and Mom planned to release her own more detailed prints at the end of the trip. The Earth was circumnavigated and the small troop carrier descended to its embarkation point exactly one hour after leaving. This time twenty four large hatches opened and the excited travellers walked down the ramps. The crew were at all the ramps and gave each person a small wafer with the Tandra number one on it. As they held it, a silent communication took place to bind it to the recipient. It was difficult for everybody to leave the ship, for the entire area had again filled with humanity. Once the passengers had all left, Mom stood at the top of the main ramp in all her splendour and said, "The wafers you were given have a two-fold purpose. They are to commemorate the first non military space flight and secondly, they will allow your mind to communicate with others that have the same type of wafer. Government agencies of all countries will want to take or buy these from you. They are yours to do with as you want, but since they are keyed to each of you they will not work with others. Practice with them, for eventually they will give you access to the expanding universe around you." The Prime Minister gave a small speech, only using lung power. The people cheered and Mom waved as the ship ascended a few more metres. The hatch then closed to hide a very charismatic figure. The ship effortlessly rose to orbit. Meech asked Mom, "Why all the PR? You had them eating out of your hand." "Humans are still not used to mindspeech, even you prefer the way we are speaking now. Later Humans will find that they are not so different from one another. When they truly understand that, wars and misunderstandings will be almost eliminated. I say almost, because even our race had wars after learning to communicate, but far fewer than before." Work had already started on the ships categorizing the various life forms that the Samutz had captured. Most were deemed strictly food animals by the Samutz, while some had a small ability to help. A special enclave was made for each of the life forms, while large stasis chambers were made for the rest. It would take a long time to integrate all of the various races into a community that would not tear itself apart. Some races like the Dolson, Softay, and Vauntu would not all be brought out till there was a place for them. The Vauntu would be repatriated as soon as possible, because of their penchant for preying on weaker races. The Dolson were much like Humans. They would not even be useful in a fight, for they were extremely timid. The Softay were trainable, but timid as well. Some of this race and the T'aut helped the Tandra keep the Samutz ships running. The moon base was getting very full and most of the refugees had to remain on the Nautilus, or even the carrier. Many were being educated to get them the best trained possible in military matters and on Mom's course on species interdependency. Their history was examined to find out what worlds they came from and the strength of the Samutz on them. Mom and the people she shared the information with became very worried about the numbers, for it appeared that all of these planets were on the fringe and were still heavily populated with Samutz and very heavily fortified. The Japanese Diet had taken an unusual step and called a national referendum. The politicians were worried about backing a loser, so they let the people choose. Their fear of American repercussions would now be tempered with the knowledge that everybody could vote on the matter. Before the ballots were cast, many countries criticized Japan for the limited support it already did give. Japan stepped up security at all of its airports and waited to see what retribution would come their way. The first vote was critical, so Mom mentioned on the air that she would like to go to the United States and address their legislature. The time frame was great enough that the members could fight over whether Mom would be given the right to speak. The newspaper and television were controlled, by the people in power and the same people that influenced the voters. They went all out in getting their point across. The Speaker of the House publicly invited Mom to make her point of view public. She did so and accepted on the air. Mom stood before the room full of men and a few women. She said just about the same thing this time, as she did to the Japanese. She did add about selected equipment being made available to the Humans as long as it did not disrupt their economy or civilization. This was hard to do for everything chosen would displace something already in use. One sector or another would howl at being hurt when their businesses failed and when the prices fell. Cheap energy would doom the petroleum industry to plastics and chemicals. Stock prices would fall, just as the value of their commodity would. Automobile manufacturing was what drove the economy. Mom hinted at a very few vehicles being made available to the military and law enforcement that had no need for refuelling for thousands of years. Many business men were salivating at the prospects, while others could see nothing but doom. They heard the death throws of their industry already. The debate was heated, as the actors played their parts with a dramatic flourish. The vote was predetermined and the motion for assisting the Tandra was narrowly passed as it was planned in the back rooms. The vote was taken immediately after the debate and was close as it was devised to be. The Speaker of the House went on television to say how they would make their armed forces available to the Tandra forces to fight the Samutz. When Mom came to the podium to accept, she fought their ideas with all her power. "You are mistaken if you think I can accept this offer the way you have worded it. The soldiers and ordinary citizens will be led by Humans and Tandra officers. They will have to resign from your military and become citizens of our new civilization. It is entirely up to the individual to do this. We want to be a 'melting pot' the same as your country, without ethnic rivalries and hatreds. If this is acceptable then we will thankfully take your people and train them to be responsible citizens of the galaxy. But I have to say that all other choices are unacceptable." "If and when the Samutz are destroyed, they will be offered a chance to retire. Some will come back here to help bring the Earth into its rightful place in a more peaceful galaxy. If they continue with our cause, they will be given the chance to retire later on a distant planet with all of their knowledge intact. As mentioned earlier, Earth at that time may be viewed as less barbaric and a suitable place to spend their remaining centuries. In due time the people of Earth will be taught more of our technology. That will have to be after you have started to assume a mature attitude." The debate was very heated this time and like Japan was sent out to the entire world to see how close this form of democracy followed the ideal. Mom left while her cameras stayed. Eight hours later a new vote was taken and the United States became the first country to officially accept the Tandra. Just after the final vote, Mom went to the other major powers and solicited similar help. In a few days the world grudgingly decided to help her save them. A few regions and even countries with a strong fundamentalist background declined to be of any help. Their people, who thought differently, could go to other countries to swear allegiance and join the military if they wished. With time and place broadcast ahead of time, Lieutenant Meech and his crew were able to take only some of the many people clamouring for positions in the military. The rest were told that the people picked today would come back and choose more in the second round. Mom had a fairly stringent list of criteria that had to be followed. There were quotas to as to, gender, age and physical health. She wanted to show that everybody could have the hope of joining, from the young, to the old, and not just the physically fit soldiers each country was pushing onto her. ------- Chapter 65 Some new soldiers were to be given some very basic training and sent back to let the rest know of how they were treated and what marvels they saw. The governments would question them, but very little could be found out. This would take a few weeks to accomplish. The Tandra and others that were awoken, started to help the rest integrate into the new society they were forming. The Earth base became full once again, as any and all of the teaching machines were used to educate and train the ever growing population. The only way it could remain this way was the use of the military shields around the ships doing the massive job of ferrying people. Charlie and Paul were recalled for another refit of their ship. They had unofficially named the vessel 'Uncle Henry'. Lam and their mother were on hand as they settled into the main hanger in the moon base. The young men walked down the ramp in their officer's uniforms and basked in the unconscious praise of their mother. Even Lam liked what she saw. The boys looked at the women and saw that they had undergone further time in the tanks, for each looked just old enough to be their younger sisters. Doris hugged the boys that stood quite a bit over her height. This necessitated them to bend over to allow her to do this. She marvelled at how handsome each looked and wondered at how the girls must chase them till she remembered and shut off her mind. The boys did catch the thought and were a little sad, but were used to the sentiment. They looked down and saw a grav unit filled with babies and more babies. Paul, asked Lam, "I see your family has grown." Taking up one of the beautiful children, he said, "They don't even look like Duc though. By the way where is the dad?" "He is at the academy teaching the boys about humans. He is always busy now. If he is not gardening, he is teaching his boys all they can absorb. If that is not enough he is at the school doing all he can to keep them alive if they have to fight the Samutz." Paul handed Charlie the baby, while he picked up another for himself. He looked on the newborn sized child and saw just how beautiful they were. It would be so nice to have our own family he thought. They had not eaten yet and they all went to the communal apartment to have a home made meal. The boys were surprised to see a few women working in the improvised kitchen preparing the food. On closer examination the boys saw that something was wrong but could not really put their finger on it. Doris was following the boys' thoughts, and said, "These girls are not Human or Tandra but Dolson, in as close to their tongue as we can get. They were on the Samutz ships and would have a grisly end, but for the work of your father and Mr. Buchanan. They can't seem to learn with a tutor, so they are taught individually. They are not as fast as the rest of the races, but do know how to cook. Lam wanted to see what she could do, and so far they have done well looking after the children and preparing the meals. They aren't servants, but just people staying with us and giving us a hand as we try to help them." The boys were introduced and it looked like the Dolson girls would run and hide, except they had no real place to hide in. The babies in the males' arms did help a little and calmed some fears, but not all of them. Duc got back soon after the meeting with ten shadows following him. He apologized for being detained and asked about their last mission. "It was the same as the others, except when the ships came in. We didn't know if they were here to attack or join us. I have to tell you that it was a relief to hear them transmit the deactivation code for the mines." Moesha, Kimberly, Michelle, Clarice and Dog came in first laughing out loud and being chased by Moth, Cloud, Kitty and finally Topaz. They saw the young men and ran to them for a hug and a kiss from their favourite brothers. They all ate around a large table and Charlie asked about the food. Duc answered first, and said, "There are literally mountains of food on the Earth in silos and even caves. From rice, wheat, to butter, cheese and meat. We got very favourable terms when we bought tonnes and tonnes of the produce. Much was being left to rot, because it could not be sold at a high enough price. To give it away, we were told, would just bankrupt the farmers in any particular region trying to make a meagre living from the land. To sell it cheap would drop the price of it, till their own farmers could not survive on the price. Since it is not going back to Earth, it can be picked up very inexpensively." "Where did all the money come from to buy this food?" Charlie asked. "Your father and Mr. Buchanan have almost 1.3 billion American dollars. I will explain later how they acquired it. The last 300 million they got when Lieutenant Meech sold some of the gold that was thrown outside when the Tandra were digging up silicates for use in their transmitter. It was sitting in the Earth base for a while with a lot of platinum. The Tandra have little use for it." Charlie looked around the long table after the amazing disclosure. There were babies and children of all ages sitting around it, not to mention the Dolson women at the far end. All of this was possible because of the Tandra and the efforts of his father and Uncle Henry. There was not much that the Earth money could actually buy that he did not have in plenty just now. After six hours of leave, both young men were ordered to report to medical for some tests and a few minor enhancements. They came out a few hours later and met William Meech. Meech said, "I looked at the records and saw how you guys were ready to take on both of those monsters out there. Not everybody I knew before meeting the Tandra, would have even attempted to do that." Paul answered first, and said, "Thanks for mentioning it, but after the training it was a lot easier to do. Also, all we had was on Earth. If they got by, then they might not have been stopped by the automatics." "I know about the training. It is a lot easier to make decisions now and not difficult to stick with them no matter what the consequences. Very few people I knew before could do such a thing." Charlie said, "True. What brings you here now?" "Mom wanted to run some tests and get a few minor improvements done now that I have more responsibilities." "The same with us. I just want to get the rest of the hull covered and get back out there. It is quite a feeling to captain a ship like the Uncle Henry." "Uncle Henry?" "Ya, sort of a nick name we haven't had time to name her properly. Besides, I think the boss will have something to say about the name even if it wasn't his on the hull." "I don't know if I'd like mine on a ship, even if it was unofficial, but your uncle doesn't strike me as a stuffed shirt." "No, he isn't. Dad goes drinking with him a lot of times and both seem to resent authority without a sense of humour. I don't know how long he would be able to hold his temper with some of the things that were happening on Earth. I guess being the Cap, then the Captain, makes him one of the big boys now." The conversation changed as Meech left for his appointment in medical. Paul and Charlie talked till they got to the large cafeteria. They got some beer and fried wontons while quizzing Mom about all the different kinds of aliens. They got Mom's observations and found most of them were like Humans and like Humans had many failings. The Vauntu were not to be trusted after the fighting stopped. The rest were honest in their dealings, but were too meek to fight the Samutz the way Humans would. The Dolson hid in a far corner while they ate and looking around all the time for somebody that might attack them. A short hairy person called a Softay, about a metre high, was new to Mom. She had no information in her archives and had to go from what she observed. She was able to get some data from the mighty ships orbiting the Earth. The T'aut were a meek race too and had a reptilian ancestry. All had been featured, one time each, in Mom's TV shows. Other races had their own time on the show. Their characteristics were given and it was easy to see that they would be of little help in any conflict. One other race was not mentioned yet. When the Nautilus was completely empty and with a much better AI it was able to find 143 Maca. They looked like a teddy bear with long black hair and four fingered hands with a prehensile thumb. They had come on board twenty years ago with a load of Softay. It was assumed by the Samutz crew that the Maca were children, but they turned out to be pets that were smarter than an ape but less than a Human. They were released into the ventilation system and lived by robbing food from the crew or operating the food dispensers that were throughout the ship. Many times the Samutz thought them destroyed but they had managed to keep hidden long enough to multiply again. The Maca were back as pets of the Softay and even the Dolson children were not afraid of them. In any case, every living creature now wore a crystal to boost communication and allow the computer to find them if needed. For some reason, none of the men found this to be an invasion of their privacy or their rights. Paul and Charlie got a call from Mom, "Will you boys take your ship to the Nautilus. Bay 33f5b has the remainder of your hull plates and engines. Admiral Buchanan sent back quite a few crystals and wants one now fitted to the ship." "Sure, Mom." They raced off like boys. The thoughts of having a fully functional ship was the stuff dreams were made of. Having an AI to talk to was orders of magnitude better, almost like having Mom around all the time to talk to. The light destroyer was small at only 600,000 tonnes and mere 430 metres in length. When compared to the Nautilus, she was just a minnow, but a well built minnow. After querying the Nautilus, a beacon and directions were added to help find the correct bay. The hatch was wide enough, to let the ship pass easily into the almost empty work area. At least a hundred techs were ready to start work and this surprised Charlie for that many techs meant a high priority for this job when so little were available. As soon as the ship settled into a cradle formed by the Nautilus, the techs jumped on the shield with tools and waited for the shield to disappear. With an almost inaudible sound the ship quieted and the operation began. Diagnostic units went over the hull and into the openings. The computer meshed with that of the Nautilus and any and all of the problems that plagued the ship were looked at for remedial action. There was very little that the crew could do and the Nautilus seemed to beckon each of them. With a last few orders to the computer, all of the crew left the ship and wondered through the giant battleship. Techs and crew scurried, some appeared and disappeared as the matter transmitters took them to undisclosed destinations. Charlie and Paul entered their identities into the computer and got permission to enter the bridge. In one respect it was a let down, for there was only a few techs and automated machines working on some of the displays and controls. There was no security or bridge crew, but with a computer and AI of the size Mom said, it would be useless to rely on just biologicals. Charlie wistfully ran his hand over the Captain's chair and closed his eyes at what the view must be. His hand strayed over one of the many sensors and a vision came into his mind of what he wished for. He steered the gaze as he would on his own ship and viewed the Earth. He was lucky, for the area over his old home was clear and bright, though night and cloud cover would not diminish the view very much. North Bay, and Lake Nipissing came into view. The lake was mostly frozen over and some fishermen were in their huts and fishing through the ice. The city roads were clear of freshly fallen snow, as was his old neighbourhood. The house he lived in for the last few years had its driveway and walk cleared as his father had made a deal with a neighbour. The view shifted as he saw his father's business and the clear area, as one of his dad's friends took care of the business while he was away. Downtown, his mother's dress shop was closed, but down the street, Duc and Lam's old store was neatly shovelled. The local schools had some students going to a store he frequented when he was younger and he remembered the layout of the store as if he worked in there all his life. Thinking of his youth, he headed south to Barrie and his old home there and his early schools. One building was where he first met Paul. They were not friends then and only knew one another by sight. The movie theatre caught his eye, remembering his fun times, watching all the science fiction, and adventure shows that came along. An accident at the other end of town caught his eye and he saw the bar where he and Paul had been beaten not that many years ago. Zooming in closer he could see the same bartender shovelling the snow around the back door before he opened. It would be so nice to go back there now that he and Paul were strong and quick. The fight would end the same way with the gang on the floor holding their bleeding bodies. With a shake, he pulled himself together. It was one thing as a Human to dream of a payback like that, but another as an officer entrusted with the protection of Earth and every life on it. He felt a hand on his shoulder and opened his eyes to see Paul's kind smile. "It is good that you didn't want revenge. Perhaps there is some hope for Humans after all. I believe as Uncle Henry does that Humans are only a few short steps above animals." "It feels good to know that I could do it if necessary though. I still see them punching and kicking you till you bled and I thought you were going to die." "It is over Charlie," he said with a calm voice and his arms around his lover. "It will never happen again." Charlie smiled and in a moment said, "I doubt if it could. Not with a big strong brute of a man like you to protect me." Paul and Charlie checked more of the sensors, displays and controls. They compared them to their own little ship. His mind flashed to Earth and compared his destroyer to the Enterprise and knew his little ship was 6 times more massive and almost a hundred metres longer. The Uncle Henry was many times wider and even taller, to accommodate all that the Tandra engineers wanted to put into her hull. The destroyer was loaded with armaments and a large dimensional tap. There was very little wasted space and the ship had millions of years to be developed, even before the Earth was discovered, by the Tandra. Thinking of the wet navy ship again, Charlie visualized the vessel and the computer spotted it in a second, sailing at night in the Pacific. Through the Tandra satellites he saw fighters now and again taking off or landing, as they went about their duties. A white luminescent wake marked where they had been. He felt happy for them to be so close to their loved ones and sad that they could not be on the Uncle Henry with us when the ship left on its next mission. Paul looked at what Charlie was seeing but kept a close eye on their ship too. Many of the hull plates were on the deck and repair work was carried on within. The stern section was completely laid bare and one of the original engines was being removed. Paul interrupted Charlie and pointed this fact to him. Charlie accessed the computer and found the AI present. A strangely masculine voice replied, "There have been some minor improvements since those engines were made. It is best if all three are a matched set and this requires all of them to be replaced. Heavier power conductors are also being installed so that Captain Ching can go out as soon as possible." Charlie was so startled that he spoke aloud again, "I am the Captain of that ship." Thinking hard he tried to think of a reason for Mom, or Mom and the two new AIs, to find him lacking in his duties. He lived, breathed, and slept, thinking of how to make the tiny ship do as best it could to protect all that he loved. Regaining his composure a little, he asked, "Mom, why am..." When no reply came, he said, "Nautilus, will you sync my communicator so I can speak to Mom?" "Yes, Captain Shingle." "Mom, Do you have a minute for me please?" "Hello, Charlie," came the kind matronly voice. "I see that you are upset about me transferring both of you. It is necessary. Captain Ching had your blessings when you trained him on your ship. Your report said that he would make a very good officer, his crew of Chinese officers ratings, would work even harder knowing that one of them, was at the helm." "Yes, I did Mom. But I love that wreck and don't want to leave her." "You have only been the captain for a little over three months now and there are so many other jobs that need to be done. You are young and need to be given challenges that will make you grow. I have been doing my own assessment, and think both of you make one of the best teams I have ever met, and that includes all the Tandra that this base has ever had." Charlie and Paul stopped to think on that. They had spent so much time learning and training that they had sacrificed much of the time that they could have spent together. Both said, "Thank you," but Charlie continued with, "what will you have us do then," thinking of a job recruiting or training new recruits of different races? Somebody had to do it and there were only so many jobs that were as demanding as captain. It was best if these jobs were shared so that the system was protected the best it could be. There were a lot of two person fighters that could be flown. Not as nice, but not shabby, when you come to think of it. At least they would be close to Earth and the moon more, for the ships were for close in support. Mom had been reading their minds, and said, "The fighters are not for you. They are intended for the new recruits. Both of you show great strength in training. The Chinese, Russians, and the Americans think a lot of you. I was thinking of placing you in one of two possible posts." "Where are they, Mom?" "The first would keep you home. You would be head of the academy, over viewing all of the training, being a role model for the recruits, and remain on the moon." The job was certainly tempting. The academy would grow to eventually handle millions of recruits the coming few years and this was a very critical time for a steady hand to guide them. "That is an important job Mom and I would be proud to take it, but what is the other job? Is there one in space?" "This other job is very similar to the other posting. It will in fact require even more of your time and commitment in training the recruits. Your mother will see you even less than she had in the past. The chances of time together is even less I am afraid." "We are not afraid of work Mom. If it takes a bit longer till we have time for ourselves, then it is a small price to pay for getting our planet ready to defend itself." "Where is this post Mom?" "I need you to remain a captain Charlie and I think Paul should also remain a commander and your executive officer. The post is actually on the screen behind you if you want it?" The young men turned and looked at the giant display. There were many ships clustered around the un-named carrier. One was a cruiser that was even larger than Uncle Henry. "Which one Mom? There are a few." "The largest one Charlie." Charlie was happy once again. The cruiser had a different mix of weapons and was even a little faster than that the Uncle Henry, even when it would be fully operational. The cruiser took off and then so did the other small ships. The view did not change and in fact got even closer. The gigantic bays were open to view and they could see Tandra cadets working on a small fighter. "You don't mean the carrier, do you?" He said incredulously. "Yes Charlie, the type of dedication you have shown warrants the posting. I am quite sure, you will enjoy it and we will both benefit from your choice. I know you never wanted a job with regular hours, but wanted little excitement. Why don't you go back to your old ship and say goodbye to your crew and take a shuttle over to your new one?" The young men forgot all the protocol they were supposed to go through and just held one another. They could still not believe what had happened. Charlie saw the rough layout of the ship, the possible 500,000 crew and the enormous number of officers that would be depending on both of them. Even now he had to include Paul, for a job like this required more hours than there were in a day. During the winter they had ploughed. In the rest of the year they drilled and broke up rock, or anything else a family business needed to do to stay alive. Now, after only joining the Tandra and Uncle Henry he was a Captain for a second time and of a ship that was one of the most powerful ever made. With galvanized missiles ordinance and small ships to deliver them, the ship might actually be the most powerful. Charlie felt that he was not capable of handling such a massive commitment. The load would be horrendous even when it was spread among all the officers. He ran through the rules and routines that the Tandra found necessary in the millions of years of developing a command structure and a sort of peace came over him. The training he got from all the machines of one shape or another had given him an education, that with a few exceptions, was second to none. And as he had abandoned his revenge on his old enemies, he saw his duty, and the Tandra knowledge to carry on. The men left the room with their minds still confused, even with all the augmentation that had been given them. Within the barest fraction of a second, Mom asked the entity aboard the Nautilus and the one aboard the carrier if they were satisfied with the choices made. The masculine voice from the Nautilus said, "The Humans are very young with hardly any training. Tandra children have more training than that when they finish at the academy. I am concerned that they may break under pressure and fail our small fleet when we are attacked." The carrier, in a different, but still masculine voice said, "That is true. I think my job will be more difficult when I have to train them even more than the usual Tandra officers. If the Samutz give us enough time I think it can be accomplished. The Humans are driven much harder than the Tandra and this can lead to mistakes. With the majority of the bridge crew being Tandra, a mix will form what I hope will be an optimum choice." Mom replied, "I believe that both of you will act the same. Each of you was programmed with a Human component as well as a Tandra element. This way the empire might come back, but even better for all of us." Paul and Charlie walked slowly the last few steps and were not fully recovered when they got to the destroyer. Coming into the bay they saw the exposed ribs and even more techs working on the ship. Ching was with some of his countrymen and two large Americans watching how the ship was being repaired. Charlie asked Mom, "Does Ching know he is to command the Uncle Henry?" "No. There will be a formal procedure in the future, but now there are too few of us to warrant this. You may tell him if you wish. I know he will like it when it comes from both of you." "Thank you Mom. Then we can do it right." As they walked up to the group of men the later stood and saluted in the Tandra fashion. It was one of the things ingrained into the training and seemed to be working well, even if it were not needed in such a small crew. "Sir, the ship is getting much more attention than I believed possible. Do you know the reason why?" "I do, Lieutenant Ching. It seems that there will be a crew change and the new captain will need all of the performance he can get out of the hull. Your commander and I have been re-posted. Replacements will be notified within moments. I am going to miss being with all of you." Ching was now upset. They had developed a friendship, in the short time they had been together and it showed in the performance and the ship rating. "Where will you be going, sir?" "They have Paul and I training the new recruits as always, but I will be getting even more. I am concerned that the new captain here will treat the Uncle with all the respect she deserves." "Sir, did you know that both the carrier and the Nautilus have a male AI? This may also happen with our ship and any new master will have to love the ship. She or he has so much speed, power and grace, that anybody would love to serve aboard her." "I imagine the new AI might be male too, but I would like half the AIs to be feminine so we have a balance in our ships. I heard that Mom will be giving us larger missiles that would even give the Uncle even more teeth. I know the new captain will know how to use them to his best advantage." "Do you know who it is, sir?" They all listen carefully for the reply for it was good to get any info possible on the likes and dislikes of a new captain. "Yes, I do. He is a dedicated person that trained on the ship and I know he will do his utmost to make the ship perform better than even we could." "That can't be sir. You two were the best I served under and I am a lot older than you. I was a commando in the Chinese navy for many years and know what I am talking about." "Thank you Captain Ching, but the new master of this ship will make it perform even better. That is not even including the yard work or better weapons." It took a split second, but Ching caught the 'captain'. Thoughts ran through his head at the term. Surely it was a mistake. A captain was the master of a ship. Could he be getting a ship? The carrier had many and so did the Nautilus. "Yes Captain Ching, you will be getting a command. I am happy to inform you that you will be the first master of our newly completed ship. You will have the honour of naming the new AI and the ship will be fully functional for the first time in millions of years." The man was speechless. His own men broke Chinese custom and patted him on the back. They too felt proud to be entrusted with such power and responsibility on an almost helpless planet. The two Americans congratulated their friend, and new captain, as they thought how lucky he was. Part of the acclaim was tempered with the fact that they too would like such a posting, but had not had the time to gather enough time in the tutors, or show themselves ready to handle such tasks. With all the new ships in the system, they knew advancement would be easier now. Charlie then Paul came forward and shook hands with their stunned friend, trying hard to show their good wishes. When the newly minted Captain Ching confirmed the orders with Mom, he felt the sadness of the former captain for leaving and said, "Are you going to be able to leave here once in a while? Are you going to be stuck training at a school?" "Well, I sort of did to you what Mom did to me. She offered me a good post at the academy then a much more difficult one teaching the recruits to fly. I saw the cruiser and hoped if I had to leave this ship to you, I would get that one, but Mom had different ideas. I got this one." He pictured the carrier, the same way it was shown to him, only a few minutes ago. "You got the carrier? I can't believe it. That is the best ship in the system. It's even better than the Nautilus for training. In a knockdown drag out fight the Nautilus can take anything and then dish it out. The carrier is no slouch, but if it has good pilots there is nothing that can touch you. I don't feel so bad now about taking the Uncle from you." The men that congratulated Captain Ching did the same for the new carrier captain and its commander. There was a lot of friendship within the small group, which made this a happy occasion for all. The two young men held hands in the small shuttle, as the carrier AI guided it into a private bay for the exclusive use of the captain alone. They stepped out into a bay big enough to fit the Uncle Henry and leave room for a few of the smaller ships besides. There were presently many ships of lesser size. Some were special purpose and one was very gaudy as if to impress important people that needed this. There was no noise and each could feel a subtle touch on their minds as they were examined. "Welcome aboard Captain Shingle, Commander Santo. There are no officers at present and only some cadets onboard at the moment. It thought it best to just welcome you aboard myself." "Thank you... Have you taken a name yet? I know the hull does not have one." "No, I haven't Captain. I was waiting for you and your exec to make some suggestions." "Well, Uncle Henry is already taken. I think we will have to give it a little thought first if you don't mind." "Not at all sir." They were transported to the bridge instantly and each sat in their seats. They went over the construction of the ship with much more depth. For now the smallest problem can lead to the loss of their ship, just like the Uncle Henry. Here the loss could possibly number over half a million living beings. After many hours, they left and went to the cafeteria. There were very few Earth type dishes in the memory banks and had to content themselves with baked potato, string beans and broiled chicken. Rather than sit by themselves in the gigantic mess hall, they walked over to the two dozen Tandra cadets. Looking at their youthful faces Charlie asked, "Do you mind if we sit with you? The room is mostly empty otherwise." They were invited to sit and soon they were into the discussion of the ship they were on and the capabilities of various types of ships aboard. The Tandra were all male and asked if the two Humans would like to join them later. Charlie and Paul had stayed away form all others and did not want to bring any entanglements into their lives. Now as captain and commander, they felt it even more desirable to do this, even if it were allowed by Tandra ethics. They found the Captain's quarters and made love for the first time in a week and hoped that the opportunities would continue, but from their experience on the Uncle Henry they knew it was not likely. They made love early in the ship's morning, used the cleanser and went for breakfast in the empty mess. Paul asked, "I wonder how long we have till out first recruits come in? We have to have a much wider range in officers and more of them to allow this ship to work at its best. I don't know where Mom is going to get them. Maybe we should go to Earth and do some of our own recruiting." "I like that idea. We can adopt the rules set down for the academy about language and the type of help we need. I don't think teachers are the ones we want because they will have to un-learn a lifetimes worth of knowhow and start fresh with the Tandra method. We should just make good soldiers and once they are trained we use them to train the rest." "How about old man Morris your next door neighbour. He was a nasty man when we first met him but he was a good soldier once. He is living alone for almost two years now. He was always telling us how bad it was and how bad his officers were too." "I think he might work, but dad and Uncle Henry might not like it if we recruit there. I think they want to keep the secret as long as possible." "Ok, what about recruiting where we are not known? Toronto sounds good, or any of the bigger cities. They can take pictures of us and it would lead them nowhere, even our fingerprints are changed." "Sounds good, but how are we going to meet up with the soldiers?" "I got it," said Paul. "go to the advertizing agency dad used and continue with the recruitment. Now that the secret is out, the only people coming will be those wanting to join our alliance. Dad said that the agency was paid already and all we would have to do is give them the dates for the various newspapers to go out." "That is why you are my exec, you are smart and make me look good. Let's talk to Mom." "Yes boys, you can do that. Just bring a security detachment and be prepared to be kidnapped, shot, blown up or poisoned. Your people are crazy." "No, Mom. The Canadians are too sedate. They never get stirred up about anything, short of hockey. They don't even complain very much when their taxes go up. The recruitment is in other countries anyway and we can see who we can find in Canada too," said Charlie. Within minutes, a twelve man squad of Tandra males from the academy were ready to go with shields and stun weapons. Minutes later Charlie and Paul were ready to leave the carrier in the Captain's flashy pinnace, when Doris called and said, "When you boys go to Earth, will you bring back the piano, your guitar and all the sheet music. Oh, and bring back the phonograph and all my records. Make sure you get the ones of Frank Sinatra." Paul went on auto this time and flew to the moon. He was admitted to the large hangar that was taken over by the academy. The mining equipment was all gone now and working on collecting more materials for the fabricators. When the hatch of the ship opened, the entire academy was there in uniform. Charlie and Paul at his side saluted the Tandra/Earth emblem on the wall, then the cadets. They were given a very snappy reply and it looked like the cadets were very impressed with their visitors. Paul said only to his captain, "What is the reason for all the formality?" "We are the head of one part of the academy. Everybody will come to the carrier to train. If they want to fly or protect our people, then they have to be passed by us. Even without paper, there will be a lot of paperwork on each and every person coming through the school. I am very happy that we have Mom and the two new AIs here to help now." Charlie and Paul had to do an inspection and gave a little speech to the cadets, telling them about the new carrier. They would welcome them aboard for a tour once their other studies were done. A small groan indicated that their studies were hardly ever done. The twelve Tandra boys were dressed in clothes to make them fit in while on Earth, if they needed to become visible, but no amount of clothes would hide their eyes and long fingers. Mom transmitted a large bundle of cash which Charlie caught and tossed to Paul for safe keeping. A larger bundle of Earth type clothes was deposited in the ship. The silver and other coloured coveralls were widely seen on television now and were known as what the Tandra and their partners wore. As the ship left the base, their mother called again and asked them to get a list of things from the store that Lam used to own. The ship went invisible and flew to the Earth coming to a stop just behind their house in North Bay. The tractors lowered the young men to the back porch. Paul felt under a ledge and extracted a key for the back door. The security detachment stayed in the invisible ship, but wanted badly to see the way a Human lived. After kicking off the snow, they looked on the house they left not too long ago. There were many dirty tracks on the normally clean linoleum floor and both became instantly wary as the house had been entered in their absence. Even the smell of fresh and stale cigarette smoke lingered in the air. "Security, keep a good lookout. The house has been entered." Many minds went to a heightened alert and almost instantly came back with, "A large vehicle and four others are coming from the east. Four men with weapons are coming from the west and both the north and the south have twelve men coming here quickly and trying to hide as they do so. Do you want us to take offensive action sir?" Charlie and Paul had been trained in warfare on both space and on land and had no worry about their safety. Their minds told them that the secret about who was helping the Tandra was out and could not be put back now. Paul asked, "How are we going to handle this?" "There is nothing they can do to us. Let's read their minds to see how they found out. We better go to both doors or they will break them in to get at us and I know mother will get mad if that happens." They engaged their shields and walked onto both the front porch and the back. Charlie sat in a snow covered front steps while Paul waited on the back railing. Thirty seconds later there was a quick rush and soldiers and men in suits with drawn weapons converged on both young men. A lieutenant in Canadian fatigues and carrying a submachine gun yelled "Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head, now!" The same directive was given in the back as Paul drank a can of Coke that he got from the fridge. Paul had been following their progress and said in a calm voice, "Lieutenant Somers, I will not and you will put up your guns, I don't want any of you to get hurt or any of my neighbours." "Get on your knees, or I will shoot." "No you won't. You were given strict orders to not fire unless in self defence. Put up your guns and have two officers come in the front and two in the back. We can sit down and talk." "Get on your knees, this is your last chance." "Shoot Mr. Somers. I am unarmed as you can see and I invited your officers into my house. How do you think this will look when Mom televises it tonight at 22 hundred hours local time." Then scanning the rest he saw the real leaders in the back. "Mr. Coulter, Fistine, Jacobson and the elusive Mr. Jones, will you join me for a coffee, or do you want this to be so messy that you all look like fools on the evening news? It is entirely up to you. Your bosses in Ottawa and Washington will be very upset with the way you botched your job and even more upset when you refused to gain any intelligence from a peaceful talk." Charlie got up and opened the door, then turned around and said, "Close the door behind you. It costs a lot to heat a house." The flustered men let him go and all but Jacobson came in the front. He came in the back with Paul. Paul yelled, "Clean your feet off or our mother will take a broom to each of you and I am warning each of you that she can use it to knock us around." More than four men came in and Paul stood his ground and ordered the man out with all the command in his voice that he could muster. The effect seemed to be enough for the commando did step back and waited for the door to be closed in his face. The front door had a similar problem and solution. Charlie walked to the coffee pot and prepared a pot. Paul was looking through the cupboards looking for anything good to eat. The fridge was empty of any perishables. The four men in suits looked at their drawn guns and then at one another before holstering them. Fistine said, "Why are you boys here?" Our mother wanted us to get the piano, some sheet music, my old guitar and all of her LPs. Why are you guys here?" "We will ask the questions here." "Well, if you don't want to be polite I will have to ask you guys to leave. I invited all of you in to have a conversation, and to me, that means both ways. Answer me soldier," the last given as an order. "We were to find everybody that possibly had dealings with the Tandra and see what they could tell us," he said with a stunned look on his face, not believing that he had actually answered. Paul and Charlie scanned all of them and knew that there was no secret now. One of Uncle Henry's original squad members had let slip something and the FBI had soon pounced on him. All the recruitment by dad and Uncle Henry had stopped by that time anyway. Little was accomplished, except that all the old squad that had attended were in custody under military law at the moment. Lam and Duc's store was raided as well as dad's business. The store was the most damaged and the authorities had not paid for any repair. More than half of the mercs names had been winnowed out. Their addresses known, but obviously not found yet. All of them were watched like this house here. One thing they knew was that their uncle and dad were going to be very angry when they came back. The names of the people in charge were unconsciously given and Charlie went over to the wall and picked up the phone. "Get back here, we haven't finished with you yet," Jacobson said for the first time. "Pick up the extension in the hallway. I know that all the phones are tapped, but I want you to listen." The number was a direct line to Army Intelligence and Montgomery Moore. "Yes." "Mr. Moore, my name is Charlie Shingle and at the moment I am angry at the way you are treating the men of dad's..." looking at Jacobson he pointed his finger and commanded, "Don't!" The man stopped dead in his tracks with his hands ready to rip the phone from the young man's hands as if the gesture would make any difference. "Sorry sir, I was being interrupted. You have records of Uncle Henry and dad. I doubt they will be happy with you when he finds out you are holding the men he served with just because they came to see them. If he was able to send back the Nautilus and a carrier, I think he will have something else when he does arrive. And you must know how angry he gets, and he wins most of his fights with his hands and feet. A ship the size of even a pinnace can be very powerful." "How did you get this number?" "I simply read the minds of some of the men you sent me. I will hang up the phone now and you can talk to them on the extension." Then he spoke up to the men in the house. "One of you guys, talk to your boss while I make another call. "Mom, we have a little problem here. Dad and Uncle Henry's secret is out. They have some of their old squad mates in jail. I don't know when he is coming back but I think he will do something rash to get them back. I think you should talk to the President about this Montgomery Moore." "Thank you Charlie. I am doing just that now. The man seems to have a very hard head just like Henry. Wait a minute, he is trying to deny it, then say it is his prerogative which it is. He doesn't care if I talk on the television about it. He thinks that one country, even his, can go it alone. Oh, I got him now. The men will be released." "Thanks Mom." Charlie picked up the phone and interrupted the tirade coming from the other end and said, "Excuse me Mr. Moore, but your President is going to phone you now to get the men released. You don't have to thank me for helping, so I will just say goodbye now." Placing the phone back on the wall, he heard nothing coming from the other line. Fistine and the rest breathed a little easier and their heart rate dropped. Jacobson asked, "What did you do?" "Talked to Mom, she phoned your bosses boss and arranged for the men from dad's old unit to be released. Let's have a coffee now and wait for a while. I am sure your orders will be changed soon." He poured the coffee and drank it black, because there was no milk. The rest in a sort of daze did the same thing. "You boys may be looking for a job soon. I couldn't read Moore's mind but I think he is the type of person to hold a grudge." Without answering, he knew that this was true. A sudden thought came to his mind. "Did you guys break into Uncle Henry's house too?" He read their minds and knew they did. There was damage done and not even put into the report. "My advice to you is to go back there and clean up as good as possible and replace anything broken. If Uncle Henry finds his house broken into and then broken, he will come after each of you with his fists. There is no possible way of stopping him, even with your army. If you think I am full of shit, I want you to look overhead and tell me how a meek and mild man can kill all those Samutz and send the ships back here." Fistine thought he could just leave and not be found. "Fistine, if Uncle Henry gets angry he will go to Moore and find out from him where you are. I imagine you have a good medical plan, but all the pain can be avoided by doing what is right and doing it before he gets back." "As for the rest of you, I have to get some groceries and the music. I will make a deal with you. If you help, I will give you a ride in our ship downtown and as a bonus you can talk to some of the cadets at our academy. Deal?" It seemed it was not a deal and they wanted to bring us in as their orders dictated. The only one that could change that was Moore and it was unlikely that he would do that without Mom putting a bug into his president's ear. "Cadets, I want you to turn on the stun unit on the ship. The commander and I have our shields active." All the soldiers, and even the neighbours fell to the snow or in their houses. Paul and I moved the suits to a comfortable place in the livingroom as we picked up the piano and walked out the door with it and down the steps. I remembered moving this when I was younger and knew how heavy it was. With our increased strength it was only bulky and not difficult at all. Once in the front yard, it was hoisted by the tractors and brought into the ship. Paul and I took a few soldiers each and put them into the back of their truck till it was full. "You get the rest of the stuff Paul and I will take the men and put them into their cars. They haven't done anything really wrong yet, so we can afford to be nice." Once all were back on the ship I said, "Let's get the groceries Lam wanted. I think our patronage may overcome some of their problems." "How is that going to help?" "The cadets want to have some leisure time and if they go into the store and buy what they want, then a lot of customers will come to see what the reason for our presence was." Within a few seconds we were invisible over the street in front of the store. I could see a plow working the accumulation of snow and remembered the problems I had once. It came to me that the only way for that to happen was a ship to use its tractors on me to push the truck sideways into the drift time after time. Uncle Henry or more likely his wives would do that. One day I would get them back I hoped. The store had only one customer, an old Vietnamese lady that I had seen but never talked to. Paul and I said hello as we passed and talked to the woman working behind the till. "Hello, my name is Charlie Shingle and this gentleman beside me is Paul Santo. I just heard that you and some friends have been questioned and even harassed by the Canadian authorities." Reading her mind, I saw how it was and even saw the cracked window that had not been replaced yet. The customers had not come because the soldiers once scarred them all away. "Lam and my mother are on the moon now. You might have seen them on television with the babies and children. That was Duc that came in and took Bobby out to his garden." "Lam, Duc moon? TV, moon, the beings from the stars?" The flustered woman said. "Lam and Duc are on the moon? That was them?" "Yes it was. They helped dad and Uncle Henry to defeat some of the Samutz that were coming here and now are in the moon base caring for the children and teaching in the academy. Some of her students are close by. They have never set foot on Earth and would like your permission to enter your store and buy some things. Lam sent me a list of things for me to get. May we do some shopping? There will be many people coming here later to see just what we did and what we bought. This may help your business, but it will make things more difficult too." "Let me call my husband please." She called to the back and a slim man in white coveralls walked forward and asked his wife in Vietnamese what was wrong. The reply had to be said four times till he got the idea. The old woman customer had wide eyes and stayed to see what she could. ------- Chapter 66 The man, Tran Van Bao debated for only a few seconds, and said, "Yes you may shop here and so may Lam's students." "Security, six of you may come down here and meet some of Lam's and Duc's relatives. The other six will get their turn once the first have returned," I said out loud and also sent with my mind. Six Tandra dressed in the usual type of clothing worn for this time of year walked to the front door. Paul had to open it because it was a regular door knob which they wouldn't be used to. They walked to me and bowed as they would to Lam during her class and then to the old woman, and finally to the two owners. I introduced the people as Tran Van Bao and Tran Thi Anh. "You can buy what ever you want," I said to the cadets, "but bring it to the front to be tabulated. If you open anything you will be saying you will be taking it." Then to the customer and the proprietors, "The boys can only talk with their minds both Paul and I can too. If they bring something to you, just talk about the product, they will understand your thoughts easily." The old lady was dragged to the back with incessant questions from the polite boys. Her voice was high and fast but quieted down as she became comfortable with the Tandra. They were about our age but still children to the Tandra. They matured differently, but both of us got to the same place after a few years. Paul and I went up and down the aisles with two carriages, picking out things Lam wanted and a lot of stuff we hoped she would like. Paul had a sweet tooth and brought a few bags of black licorice and some chocolates. A message came from the remainder of our security detail, "The large and smaller vehicles are now getting close. We believe them to be coming to this location." The Tandra in the store froze waiting for my orders. "Take the ship and use the tractors. Pick the vehicles up and take them to a city to the south of here. Return when you have done that." "Yes, Captain." "You guys, can continue to shop." The boys communicated with their friends in the ship and then returned to the many mysteries around them. One boy dropped his shield and sampled potato chips, while others tried dried salted fish and others tried some of the candies. In a funny way they all gravitated to the dried fish in vacuum sealed packs. They shared the different types with their friends and then offered some to the old lady that actually took some to be sociable. All this time Bao and Anh were speechless and just watched the boys being boys. Thinking again about the soldiers, I knew they would be back and the best way to treat the soldiers, like the government, was to make it visible to the general public. "May I borrow your phone please, I want to call the newspaper. They can take a few pictures and get your story. The soldiers can find everything out by reading about it. What do you think?" I was silently handed the phone and I looked in the phonebook to find the number. I was eventually given the editor of a small local paper. "What would you like?" "Hello, my name is Charlie Shingle. I am Captain of one of the Tandra ships overhead. I..." "Look buddy, you are wasting your time and mine." "Call the police, and see if there are four flying cars and a canvas covered truck flying to Barrie at about 1000 metres. I am sure the base in town is scrambling to intercept them. Check and see. If you are interested and want an exclusive story about the Tandra just come to the Vietnamese store on Main by Ferguson Street. We will be here for only 15 more minutes. The cadets in the ship want their turn to do some shopping. Bye for now." I hung up, gave back the phone and book and remembered Mom's trick with the phones on her show. "Lam would you and Duc like to talk to your relatives in North Bay? I am sure they would like to talk to you." Mom saw our need, and the phone rang as it was set onto the cradle. "You better pick that up, it's Lam." It was Lam and the man pulled the phone a little from his wife's ear so he could hear the conversation too. The Vietnamese was loud, fast, and furious. Lam explained a lot of what Mom had said on the television. The customer heard one side of the conversation and was troubled, because she wanted to be with the boys and wanted to talk with Lam. The community here was small and everybody knew everybody else. The talk went on for quite a while and I was sure if it was me, mother would talk about being on the phone for such a long time. Soon a balding man with a Nikon around his neck burst into the shop. He looked around the shop and saw the boys right off the bat. He looked for somebody to talk to and walked up to Paul. "Hey buddy, did you phone the Gazette about the aliens?" "They are not aliens, buddy, they are Tandra and I did not phone you. It was Captain Shingle over there, looking pleased." "Ok." "Hey buddy, what can you tell me about the aliens?" I calmly reached out held the collar of his coat and picked him off the floor. "My exec just told you that I am Captain Shingle. The cadets are Tandra. If you can't keep things straight, perhaps I should phone Reuters or Associated Press. You can't seem to remember what you are told." The man was turning a little red and all the people in the store were looking at us. "Sorry, I am used to people that use their brain before their mouth." The man cleared his throat and said, "Sorry too. I just used the way I usually think. What can you tell me Captain, about the Tandra in this fine establishment?" "Turn your tape recorder on first and then we can talk." The man fumbled in his coat and brought out a tape recorder and a 120 volt adapter. He looked around apologetically and then to the proprietors. They were listening to Lam and talking at the same time. I reached over and took his machine, opened the back and inserted 4 AA batteries from a pack beside the cash register. I turned it on and rewound it to the start. Then turned it to record. The words he got now would be more important to his future than any that might be already there. "Ah thanks. What can you tell me Captain Shingle, about the Tandra?" "I came to Earth to do some recruiting for the academy on the moon. I need competent military people to help train the cadets. They will have to teach esprit de corps and learn themselves to fight with modern weapons. While here my mother asked me to pick up some music related articles from our home and take them to the moon base. We were hounded by security forces as they came to our house with guns drawn. Commander Paul Santo and I removed what we needed from our home. We left the security force at our house on Sage Road. Le Thi Lam, a former owner of this fine establishment asked me to pick up a few staples for her meal tonight. I believe it is her turn to cook. Our ship is hovering invisibly outside the door and spotted the security forces converging on this location. The ship and cadets were asked to pick up the vehicles and move them to Barrie so as to give us uninterrupted time to shop. "A ship. It's outside?" "It just got back and is too large to be brought inside. I found that the owners of this store, Bao and Anh, would be trounced by the establishment. I called the editor of the Gazette to come and get enough information to keep the security forces from doing their worst behind the public's back." "A ship, is outside the door?" He said again as he stooped and looked up. "Yes it is. If it became visible, I think we would not have an uninterrupted shopping trip. Meet the six cadets here and when they trade places you can meet the other six in the ship." The boys came up to the man and shook his hand, their long fingers wrapped around his larger hand. The editor only looked at the hands as they came to him and tried to understand about the differences. He tried to get a few words out, but couldn't seem to do it. "The cadets look about 12 to us, but are from 18 to 22 Earth years old. They have not learned how to use their voices yet and relied on the old way of mindspeak." I could tell the man found the boys attractive and this brought out the boy's interests too. "Boys, behave yourselves. Remember what you learned about Humans at the academy. Their culture and ours is too different at the moment to start having fun and games." The boys were a little dejected. Human males were a favourite on the moon. The boys soon left, only to be replaced by the other contingent. Everybody opened their mouths and their minds went into neutral as six boys disappeared and six new ones appeared. The new ones did the greeting rituals all over again and it was Lam's voice on the phone that brought them back to the present. The boys, as if Human raced over to the dried fish and took all the remaining products into their hands and arms. Eventually the groceries were put into cardboard boxes. The total, including what the boys took, was a little over four hundred dollars. I asked Paul to give me five, one thousand dollar American bills, and said, "I would like to set up an account here, but give the money to you first. The Tandra boys like the dried fish and other sea food. I think it would be best to buy a few large cases for there are others on the moon that will like it too." The boys were trained in different gravity fields, that helped them cope with the additional weight. The boys left first with the food, passing a startled patron. Once outside they disappeared and the visible boxes of groceries rose quickly with them. After cautioning the editor to get the story out before the government decided to quash it. All this time he had forgotten to use the camera. Saying goodbye myself, I asked if he would like to take a few pictures in the ship. As usual I got no verbal response, just a nod of the head. Stepping out, we all floated up quite visibly to the people on the street. Some of the boys were back into coveralls and the loose clothing and groceries were safely stowed. The editor had to be nudged and told to use the camera. His batteries were low and I had to increase the illumination in the ship to compensate. When he had 20, I said, "We have to leave now. Give me the camera and I will take a few of you and the boys." The cadets seemed to have a ham streak and posed with the short editor. When the roll was finished, I gave the camera back to the man. He was lowered to the ground slowly so that the people looking up could see the man and get out of the way. I directed one boy to act as master and he took the ship back to the moon in a very professional manner. The other cadets took this as a test and performed as good as they could. Paul and I took the groceries to Lam's apartment and set them down. Mom greeted us and asked that we don our dress uniforms and meet the rest at the academy in 5 minutes for a presentation. The uniforms were ready and it was easy to change quickly and be transported to seats on a hastily set up stage beside Will Meech, Lam, Duc, Kitten and our mother. Paul asked, "Who is getting what?" "I don't know, I'll ask Mom." The image of Mom came on stage and after the opening ceremonies she began by calling up Captain Ching, giving him a crystal of office. This said that he was master of the Uncle Henry. The name shocked all of us. This was an unofficial name and none of us wanted to get our leader angry at our possibly flippant use of his name. Now it was in the official records and I felt bad, because it was I, that first suggested the name. There were 23 major ships from a cruiser down, that were given new names and masters. All of the men I knew, because they did some of their training with Paul and I. They ranged from the usual Chinese, Russian and American but also included the German, British and a few small countries in Africa. All of the new captains were aware of the appointments and graciously accepted their crystal and chain. Mom had taken her time and explained about all the reasons why that particular person got the post they got. Their background was mentioned and even the cities they grew up in. When it came to the carrier, Mom seemed to take her time and treated Paul and I as if one person and described even some of our highschool achievements. The list she made of our training sounded very impressive, but we knew it was nothing great. We were both summoned and I was presented with a large crystal that glowed even in the bright light. Paul was appointed commander at the same time and he too got a crystal of equal size, but a different colour, to signify the importance of the post. Our mother was introduced and she smiled from ear to ear as she placed the crystals over our heads. We turned and proudly displayed the gems on the material of the dark tunics. It seemed that our mother was even more proud of the gems than we were. William Meech the quiet American from Minnesota felt worse and worse as time went on. He desperately wanted a command and all of them were used up. "The one other ship that needs a captain is the Nautilus and I have to take the man I wanted for the academy and compel him to take both postings. Will you stand up Captain Meech and take the responsibility of guarding us with the command of the Nautilus?" The man did not even consider himself for this extra position. He was sitting beside me and I clapped him on the shoulder and more or less pushed him to his feet. Once standing, he took one foot, then another, till he got to the stand where the last crystal lay. He placed his large glowing crystal around his neck to the enthusiastic clapping of all the Humans and eventually the Tandra too. Mom went on about all Meech's good points and his background in both the military of his birth country and eventually his achievements after taking a new citizenship with us. It finally dawned on me that this presentation was going out all over the Earth and everybody would be looking at it, even all my old friends and relatives. We had a major party after, but strangely enough, no intoxicants of any kind had any effect. Our metabolism had been altered so that alcohol or other drugs would not even work the same way in our systems ever again. The beer and wine still tasted good if not better than before. Mom had taken the food we brought and had it prepared as the presentation ceremony was going on. Mother sat at the piano and played a few songs and complained that it needed tuning badly. The Tandra stood in awe around the device. Apparently music, even Tandra music, came from the computer not from the activities of a person. When she started to sing, they were even more amazed that a spoken voice could have such charm and beauty. The cadets all joined the party and the younger ones played with the rest of our family. Dog got lots of exercise and most of the cadets got cleaner faces. The girls were all unofficially off limits, but that did not stop all of them from having different kinds of fun. Mom had worked hard and got the thin dried fish put into the menu and everybody liked the results. I looked for the remainder of our extended family. Mother said they were sleeping in another room and warned us that Roger would be getting up and into trouble soon. Then she said, "The Dolson girls and the rest of their race, have found a new home." "Where is that? They seemed too timid and even a little slow to be completely off by themselves. I was worried about the men here thinking the Dolson girls looked a little too much like Human girls." "There were a few minor misunderstandings, but all the AIs have been looking out for them as well as Duc. He is the one that found that they liked to farm. The large room with all the moving trays of soil are now used by the Dolson, for both a job and a home. Duc made it known that he and the boys could still come in and tend their own gardens though." Duc brought in a large container of kia-berries and a sweet rice desert that finished off our night very well. Hours later Paul and I went home to the carrier and after a little love, worked on making ourselves the best we could. While running through a concept in physics, I remembered a teacher both Paul and I had in grade nine. Hans Kurtz was my favourite teacher. He was the type of man that would patiently work you through all the more difficult things to understand even if he had to stay long hours after school. He had a strong Lutheran upbringing that showed in his dedication to educating some of the more dense Canadian students. He was very strong, and had a wide bushy mustache. He wore it even when dad said the school board did not like it. He spent his own money to give us prizes for our accomplishments. If he were alive today I would feel compelled to thank him for all his efforts in teaching us. The voice was still in my memory, and in many ways, reminded me of the AI on this ship. "Paul, do you remember Mr. Kurtz from grade nine?" "Ya, I cried when I heard he died in that fire." "I know that, I did too. What do you think of suggesting 'Hans' as a name for our AI?" Paul thought for a moment and said, "I think I like it. It gives me a warm feeling when I think of him. Let's ask?" "Hello, carrier." "Yes, Captain." "We have been working on a name for you and think you may like this one. You are under no obligation to take it, because we can think of more, but this one has a deep meaning for both of us. Just read my mind for all the details." "I like the name 'Hans'. Coincidentally I am learning German, Latin and Japanese at the moment and think this very auspicious." "Well, I am glad you like it Hans. Have you thought of a good name for your hull? The Tandra names are fine, but almost all the Humans know very little about the language or customs." "I have been following your conversations when you were on Earth and also believe in what you call esprit de corps. A Tandra name of a famous ship could be translated, with a little modification, to 'Terra's Pride'. It does not translate that well, but means much more to a Tandra." "I like it. How about you Paul?" "Sounds good. There is too much pride on Earth now and this may make them see past their petty jealousies. Do we have to talk to Mom or the Nautilus to get their vote?" "No, commander. The three of us can legally do this." "Then Hans," Paul said, "the hull is now 'Terra's Pride'. Let's tell everyone." The message was sent out and everyone awake now knew of the name change. Communication between the ships was almost instantaneous and they too sent their good wishes. Mom spoke to us, "I am sorry about making you both work, but I want to transfer one third of the academy to your ship, along with many of the people, that will make up the officers complement for your ship. You only have twelve hours before you have to get the new recruits. The Nautilus will get a third of each allotment while the academy gets the last third." I took a deep breath and concentrated on what I needed to do. The ship was ready to fight and as good as her original makers could do themselves. The rules in the academy were just a stripped down version of the Tandra military regs. The boys, and our new citizens, would see very little difference while the recruits would have to shed much of their old prejudices. There were many ships missing from our bays, but they would have to stay missing till we could find a way to replace them ourselves. They were now patrolling our frontier, outside the Oort Cloud. I could think of nothing that need doing, except ourselves. "Thanks Mom. We are about as ready as we are going to get." Almost twenty minutes later we were in one of the larger bays in full uniform as a shuttle slowly pushed its way through the shield and settled onto the deck. The hatch opened and a parade of people I knew walked down the ramp and faced the crest on the wall and saluted. Their attitude at this simple act was not like people in the land of my birth. The perfunctory acknowledgement of their allegiance was now the fervour of a group of people dedicated to making our new country if not civilization the best it could possibly be. I counted and saw 124 former mercs and now solid citizens, 107 male Tandra and only 11 female. 44 young cadets joined the group as they stood at ease waiting their assignments. The list from Hans said that 35 more Tandra would be coming from Earth and all but 5 would be female. These would be my first real challenge of my new command. These were the adult Tandra left in stasis till the very end, for they were the conservative group that Mom had left so they would not interfere. Only children were left in stasis and some desperate people Uncle Henry had put in till he got back. "Hello, citizens. I am Captain Shingle, and here is my exec, Commander Santo. Our ship is seriously understaffed, and if the Samutz give us enough time, each one of you will be given a chance to fill more than one position. Training will be an ongoing process that will last for years. It is not good enough for just the ships in this system to be adequately manned, but installations and weapons need to be fabricated and placed to protect our home." "Soon there will be some new recruits from many of the countries of Earth. I expect them to be a problem, but only a minor one. These recruits will soon be working beside you to train more recruits and eventually we will get the millions of citizens we need to survive." "The cadets will get a good opportunity to advance in the military, as will all the rest of you. You may know the age of my exec and myself and wonder at our qualifications. The only thing I can say is that Mom picked us for this post and we will do the absolute best we can for our world, our ship and our crew." "The final word I want with you will be concerning the next group of people like you. They were just awoken from the Earth base and represent the most conservative element of our society. The women will represent how part of the Tandra society worked before and the males will be the same way. I want all of you males here to consider well the actions of the others. If any prove to be a detrimental factor to the smooth running of this ship, they will instantly be put back into stasis and await judgement by a higher authority." "Have a good time aboard and I hope all of you prosper the same way we have." Hans gave berthing assignments and the crew dispersed to get settled in. Paul and I went over the countries we were to make our pick ups. Since the population of China was so great, it would represent more of our population, but not the full third it would really warrant. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand were also on our first stops. Our Human contingent had met with government representatives and selected many from the group of volunteers. Mom wanted three sub groups formed with equal numbers of male and female recruits. A portion was to be old, young, sick and out of shape individuals, along with the ones that were healthy and mature. A good cross section was to give hope to everybody that they could become citizens eventually. A portion of each group would be headed for the Nautilus, the academy or here. An hour later we were interrupted from our studies by the arrival of the remainder of our crew. Paul and I donned our crystals so that they would be a visible badge of office. If the Tandra were conservative, then I would speak their language and see how they like the sound of it. A much smaller ship settled down where the first was moments ago. 35 individuals walked down the ramp and desultorily lined up for their talk. They looked at Paul and I as they formed ranks with the males in the back. They were not happy at being awoken to an empire at war, or even worse, one corrupted with humans. It was noted in their extensive records that they were chronic under achievers and little could be done with them. The males were even more apathetic and could be relied on to push the boundaries of what they could get away with. "Attention!" Paul called in both vocal and mindspeak. "You are supposed to be Tandra, not a group of children that has to be told what to do." They looked at him and the badge of office, before getting into a better positions but still not as if they really cared. This was not a captain's job, so Paul continued, "Hans, this group are to do a hull inspection. Send out some drones and see that each does their job." Then to the startled group, "I have read the regulations and know them as good as any of you. The work will be done in silence, and dispatch, or you will be up an charges of insubordination. The next infraction will have you in singleton ships manning an area two light-years from this system. Hans, inform me of any infraction." "Yes, Sir." The Tandra were even more shocked about a masculine response from the AI, as they were lead to their scut work. Hans gave them directions and they were given the necessary equipment and taken to areas on the hull where they would be alone and had to work. Both of us knew that they were going to give us more problems in the future. Some were just shirkers, others were against Humans and fought against any authority, no matter who gave it. With little time left, we searched for a ship to meet the needs of picking up our candidates. They would be assessed here on the ship a second time and given any medical help that was needed. The old people would go into the tank so that they would be able to stand up to the rigours of their training and even a fight with the Samutz if necessary. The sick would follow as needed till all were good enough to accept training. Their minds would be segregated and prepared for all future Tandra data. After a minimum of information was transferred, they would be able to make an informed decision as to whether to join us or return to Earth, but with the knowledge blanked off from them. All of the mercs had seen the benefits of joining our cause as opposed to accepting just money for their services. The ship we chose was the shuttle that brought the first group. It was only a 100 metres long and could hold 3 to 4 thousand if they didn't mind being cramped for the short stays, till they reached their particular starting point. This trip, there would only be 2,000 recruits so as to not strain the available resources. We downloaded the information about the classes that were studied at the academy and all pertinent information associated with them. I was beginning to feel a little like Hans Kurtz and felt like he was still here with me giving me pointers. I tried to remember all the little tricks he used to get us to learn. I just wished he were alive now to help. Perhaps there was a way. "Hans, can you connect to the phones on Earth the same way Mom does? I don't have a phonebook, but will you check for the number of John A. MacDonald high school in Barrie, and put me through, if you are able." "Yes, Captain. It is ringing now." "Hello, John A. How can I help you?" Hello to you too. Would you put me through to the principle please? I am a former student that needs a little help." "Certainly, What is the name?" "Charles Shingle. I graduated in '97." "Thanks, hold on a moment please." The phone rang three times. "Hello, Phelps here." "Hello, Mr. Phelps, I am a former student of your school. I remember a teacher by the name of Hans Kurtz. He passed away in '98, and he was the teacher that most impressed me in school. I now need to gather all of his tricks and methods to do the same thing he did for me and apply it to a lot of other students. Are there a few of the older teachers there, that would help me recall his technique?" "Young man, our teachers are quite busy. There are many books you could purchase, or take out of the library that would tell you all that you need. If you feel still inclined to teach, I would recommend a teacher's college." "Thank you Mr. Phelps. Is Mrs. McNeill still at the school?" "Yes, she is." "Would you be so kind to inform her that I would like to drop in on her for only a moment after school today?" "I can do that, but she is usually very busy after class." "Yes, I know. She spent a lot of time helping me. Thank you for your help Mr. Phelps." Paul asked, "Are you going back to pick up that extra credit in math?" "I need more than an extra credit with all of the recruits coming here. The Tandra teaching method is far beyond what we have, but it still requires the student to want to learn. The more you know, the more you want to know. The crew on the hull are an example of the ones that did not really want to learn. By the way, are you going to take that geography book back. I remember you talking about how they wanted the book or the money." "Well they got the money. I never could find that book." My internal clock gave me warning and I changed into the clothes I wore yesterday. "Are you coming, or are you afraid of the geography teacher rapping your knuckles?" "Ok, just a minute." We invisibly descended to Barrie and suddenly appeared close to a few girls holding books to their chests in the cool afternoon air. We walked to the side door and the girls just stared open mouthed. Paul said, "Good day ladies." As we passed them as we opened the door. Our first stop was the office, because it was now common practice to inform the school when strangers came around. An open door with Principal Phelps on it showed a thin, harried looking man at a desk. I held the door and rapped with my other hand. "Hello, Mr. Phelps. I would like to see Mrs. McNeill. If we may?" He looked up with his reading glasses, and I knew he couldn't see us very well, and said, "Sure. She is in 301, do you remember where that is?" "I sure do. Had French there too." Paul and I used quick strides to the stairway and climbed the steps very quickly. We had never done it as fast before and I also noticed that the doorways were a lot smaller than what I remembered. The second door to the left had some grade 10 or 11s coming out looking at the papers in front of them. One boy hurrying out and not looking, bumped into Paul and bounced off and fell on his ass. I reached down and pulled him up to his feet. "You gotta' watch, or you can never know who you are going to bump into." He was kind of big, but not up to our size by any means. I looked in the doorway and saw an old woman with glasses even thicker than I remembered and a small hearing aid in her left ear. A line up of six students were waiting at her desk and she was going over the reason each of the answers given were wrong or not right enough for full marks. Paul and I tried to sit in some of the empty desks and found we couldn't fit any more. The woman was so busy that she didn't see us enter, but the students did. The girl at the end suddenly recognized us. The rest just looked at our size and features. Tandra medicine had taken care of all the blemishes that my adolescence had seen to bestow on me and Paul looked good too. I just sat on the desk top and waited our turn. The girl just stared and stared wondering how this was happening. A small part was even questioning her rationality, trying to decide if we were the same as the men on television and the boys that were raised in Barrie. The line moved forward, the girl's hand dropped and then the papers fell from her grip. Paul always an asshole just smiled at the girl to lead her on. When only two students were left, the one in front looked back at her friend and after a second said, "What is wrong, Gail?" Gail's hand came up and her finger pointed to each of us. No words were able to leave her mouth yet. I turned and saw Paul wink his eye and smile wider at the poor girl. The friend was perturbed then Mrs. McNeill's commanding voice came out and said, "Hurry up Jennifer, Gail, wants to get out of here." She saw Gail now and followed the finger to see us sitting on her desks. There was no recognition in her mind. We had changed too much and she had been very busy last night marking papers. "Can I help you two gentlemen?" I stood up, came forward and sat on a desk in front of her. Paul remained behind and made goggle eyes at the girls. Hello my name is Charles Shingle," the first girl gasped and then so did the second. "I have to train some people and I remember one of my old teachers. Hans Kurtz was a man I admired very much and I remember some of his old tricks to get us to learn. I was wondering if you could spare us some of your valuable time to pass on some of those ideas if you can remember them." "I don't know, Mr. Shingle," the girls gasped again. She turned to them and said, "Will you girls settle down?" She turned back to us, "I am very busy now. There is just too many commitments on my time." Without using a diagnostician I knew she was losing her sight and hearing. Retirement was only three years away and she would not be able to live the life she envisioned many years ago. "Well I can make it worth your while. In four hours I can adjust the acuity of your eyes to 20/20 again and your hearing to what it was when you were a child. With a few more minutes I can have a few of your aches and pains removed." "Look, Mr. Shingle. I have no time for you're your flippancy. I have a lot of work to do." "Will you ask Gail and Jennifer if she thinks we can do that?" The woman just turned and looked at the stunned girls and she asked, "Girls, what is wrong with you? I have never seen you this way before." "They're... they're the guys from the ships. My sister said she liked this one here," she pointed at Paul, "when she was in school with them." "What ships?" "The ships in the sky." "That is nonsense..." "No, it isn't Mrs. McNeill. That big buffoon sitting on the desk is Paul Santo, the Commander of the Terra's Pride. He was a student of yours when we took classes at this school. I was in another class with Mrs. Lido. I am proud to say that I am the Captain of that carrier." Paul got up and came forward, then said, "I am Paul Santo, the same one that you threw out of class twice for playing practical jokes. Remember how four boys ended up covered in mud on one of our outings. You nearly got me expelled for that." "I remember that, but you are so different now." "Tandra medicine fixed me up and Tandra knowledge gave me the posting on the Terra's Pride. The Captain is telling the truth and we can have you fixed up pretty quick if you want it. All he wants is some help so we can begin training a lot of people to fight the Samutz. Some are young and some are old, but all will be the same, when they are fighting." "Can your medicine really do that for me?" "It sure can. Do you want to come to the ship and see for yourself? It only takes a few minutes and you can be back here before you know it." I read her mind and a small voice behind all the confusion was saying "Yes, yes." "I don't know..." "Yes you do," said Paul. Let's get your things wrapped up here and get going. We have to be in 6 countries tonight and pick up thousands of recruits. Do you girls want to come too? We will be back by 5." The girls were starting to recover till the new idea was thrown at them. "Well, Mrs. McNeill? You want to go and now so do the girls. Let's talk to Mr. Phelps, because he is now running up the steps to see if we are who we really are." Right on cue he came running into the room and stopped to see what had happened. "You're... the guys on TV last night." I said, "Yup, that's us. We are going up to the Terra's Pride now and want to give Mrs. McNeill a tour. Would you like to come? I think she would feel better if you would." "I... I... I think I can. When are we coming back?" "5 o'clock good enough. For that time we have to hurry. We have lots of appointments ourselves." A few minutes later the two educators, Gail, Jennifer and Melody one of the original girls were flying vertically to the invisible ship with us. Sam, the other girl, said she did not want to come but at the moment she was looking up and very upset as she recognized the opportunity she had missed. The tractor came down and the startled girl was with her friends in the ship. She clutched her friends in joy at being given a second chance. "Gail, think hard of a large opening in the front of the carrier." Paul secretly helped her and the image was enough for the simple AI to take us to the ship. In two minutes the passengers were treated to a view that few Humans had ever had the chance to see first hand. Once we were docked, I said, "Let's go to the bridge then the medical section. You girls will get to see some of the Tandra. Just try to think clearly and they will understand." A large screen on the bridge showed the school grounds and many students with a few adults pointing into the sky. The bridge was a little bit of a disappointment, thinking they would see lots of analog gauges, switches, and leavers. We were transported to the medical section in a split second. This did upset them and they had to be told about matter transmitters. "Mrs. McNeill, tonight we have to pick up the first two thousand recruits to begin training in the fighters. I spoke the truth when I said I needed some help and I also spoke the truth when I said I can help you. Sit in this chair and I will see what can be done now. This is not the entire gamut. The rest of you people sit on the chairs and you may as well get checked up too." The med units orbited the cringing woman and small noises issued from the small spheres. In the background, more noise was heard. There were a few small tumours and there was a disease affecting her eyes. Small nanobots worked past her hearing aid and started to work on her hearing. Within a few minutes her hands came up to the hearing aid and shut it off. An anaesthetic was now given and more of the small wonders worked on the eyeball itself. Turning around, I saw Phelps getting the same thing done. The girls were relatively healthy and the units did what they could to make them the best that could be done. Jennifer had a case of chlamydia and I knew I would have to talk to her later about it. The girls were allowed to get up and saw the two teachers asleep in the chairs. They turned to each other in amazement, as they noticed the improvement in their skin condition. Paul said, "Your teachers are being worked on for another four minutes. You girls have no diseases now. Some minor problems with acne are fixed up and the two that smoke have all of the poisons removed from your blood and a blocker put in to keep you from craving cigarettes. Don't start again, this is the easiest way to quit. All you have to do is not smoke when your friends do." The girls wandered around and saw the long room filled with almost nothing. Jennifer asked, "What is the rest of this room for?" Paul replied, "Emergency units come out of the floor, and even the walls and ceiling. When we go into battle, there is sometimes casualties. Uncle Henry had two legs and an arm completely shot off. He spent a few weeks in a tank and came out with new ones. Dad got hurt too and his leg was almost completely rebuilt. Remember the first time Mom showed the fighting on the destroyer. That was dad and Uncle Henry." The girls were truly in awe now, as the gory pictures flashed through their memories. "There were quite a few Humans and Tandra killed in taking each of these ships. There was also quite a need to grow new body parts in the tanks. Old men that needed crutches go into a tank and come out young men. Your teachers are only getting a simple treatment, otherwise you would not recognize them in school tomorrow." When the teachers got up they didn't have their glasses on and didn't even know that they were in my hands. "How do you feel?" "Great," came from Phelps. "I haven't felt this good in years. What did you do to me?" When Mrs. McNeill sat up I said, "Your eyes have been repaired, but not the job that a stint in the tank would do. I am not talking loud and I think each of you can hear me clearly. You both had a few diseases that were eradicated and a few minor tumours too. Both of you should live a much longer and healthier life now. Let's finish the tour before our time runs out." Four Tandra cadets materialized in front of us and the frightened girls backed up. "Don't worry, they are cadets and are here to give you a private tour. If you think hard you will be able to hear them." I called for some of the wafers that Uncle Henry had given us not long ago, and six appeared in my hands. "Hold each of these for a moment and they will lock into your mind. Later you can use them to communicate with one another." While we walked, I found all the things I came to the school to find and a lot of her own tricks too. We came to the cafeteria and suggested they order food for themselves. Trays came out of the wall with French fries, cokes and hamburgers. One of the teachers got a chicken dinner and another got a steak smothered in mushrooms. While they ate, they looked around the large room and at the cadets looking at the girls. At ten to five we started back and this time Jennifer pictured the school and the ship descended to the planet. At a hundred metres I made the ship visible and flew over Barrie to the school grounds. The field still had some students there and they all ran at our sudden approach. The teachers were lowered first and then all but Jennifer. To her, I said, "You had chlamydia and will get it again from your boyfriend. Now you have to use condoms. Do you understand, Jennifer?" She just nodded her head at the things she had not even considered open to the public. When they were all together on the snow covered ground, Mrs. McNeill asked, "What about your information?" I replied strongly, "I have it. Thanks." At 5:57 am local time, we were visible, and at 1000 metres over an area a little east of Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, and on the famous Yangtze River. A lone radio operator talked to us as ranks and ranks of Chinese soldiers stood at attention. Through our scanners, I could see that most were male and none were other than the most healthy. This was against Mom's planning. Many more troops stood than had been originally selected by one of Mom's representatives. My eyes flew across the field of assembled men and women, and found one individual that had the hidden markings of a General. A captain stood at the head of the columns. I manoeuvred the ship close to the General and not where it was expected to land. We were all a little apprehensive at the subterfuge, but did not see it as a threat. I wore my dress uniform and crystal as the tractors lowered me to the ground in front of the startled man. His mind was easy to read, and I held a small device that would translate my thoughts to his verbal language. "Good morning General Zhou. May I ask why you are not in front of your troops?" His mouth opened then closed, then said, "We are supplying the troops your people need to defeat the Samutz. What else do you want?" "You are giving us troops but not the ones that were selected by Mom's spokesperson. Why is that?" "Why would you need old or young troops when you can have the best?" "We have gone over this many times. We want a wide selection of troops so that all segments of your population can have hope for a better life when we defeat the Samutz." "That is foolish. Take the best men China has to give." I scanned the troops around the General and found them extremely patriotic to their country and to their general in particular. "I am sorry General Zhou, your troops are indeed very loyal and well trained, but I will take the original people or I will have to leave empty handed." He tried to come up with a way to circumvent me and he had to rely on his back up plan. His voice rose and his hand gestured and a radio man sent word to bring up the trucks already loaded. As the trucks came I said, "Let us inspect your troops." He was a little shaken and I walked with him up and down the line of men and some women. There was not a poor specimen to be found and I came by the idea that he was indeed padding the recruits with ones that would be loyal to him and the party. Their plan like all other countries, was to see what they could find out about Tandra technology. Some of the fighters were very good and I decided to allow him to have some of his men come with us, but only those of my choosing. Their names were taken from the chosen one's own mind and stored in my own. Chinese was a difficult language, with many different meanings with the alteration of emphasis. When we finished the last, the trucks had already arrived and all the passengers came out and stood at attention. Walking to them, I tapped the ones that would have been selected before and stopped the ones that should never have been chosen if indeed they were. They were directed to stand before the ship and wait. 600 men and women were to be accepted but only 400 were here. "General, I am a man that respects his elders and knows that they have had many years to gather wisdom and knowledge. Will you send the rest so that they too will be able to guide us in protecting your land and our planet?" We waited again and this time his mind said to bring the young and sick as well. As the trucks pulled up, I again searched and found a few extra that were actually sick that would work well in our scheme of things. When they were by the ship I called out in my mechanical voice the names of the ones I would have chosen if I could. The last was the General's son Lian. Turning to the General, I said, "The troops you gave me represent the best in your country and I am proud to get them. If I could I would take all of them including you, but it is not right to have one race swamp another. If for any reason the troops wish to come back because they cannot shift their allegiance from their country to their world then they may do so. One in particular looks like he will make a great general one day and have millions of troops follow him." Zhou bent his head in thanks, but only saluted as the men were whisked into the ship by the tractors. I turned and gave the Tandra equivalent to him and then to his remaining troops. Thank you for your patience in the posting of new chapters of Tandra. The chapters are being edited and posted a little slower than before but my editor has not let them out until they are right. We need to slow down a bit in the posting as we have hit a snag in later chapters. Think it might be a bit of burnout. I decided to start a new story for a bit of diversion and it has run away with both Joe (my editor) and me. I have posted the first book in this new series. Try it, you might like it. We will continue with new books in this series if we get a good enough response. ------- Chapter 67 Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos tried much the same thing. Word must have spread, for when we got to Hanoi only the ones we wanted were present. An old general by the name of Pham, stood almost tearfully as his troops were taken onto the ship. I asked the old man that had little family if he would like to start a new life as a pilot with the Tandra alliance. His eyes sparkled and before he committed himself, I said, "You will not be commanding those troops. You may not command any troops and you definitely will have to start at the bottom, but as a young man again. You will go from General Pham, to not even a private." He smiled wide this time and saluted me the Tandra way. We both rose into the air and visibly headed for the Terra's Pride. Medical was very busy with 2,200 recruits. Some stared wide eyed as some of their number disappeared. They were lowered into tanks in another room so as to not upset their friends at seeing an apparent body floating in a cloudy liquid. Within an hour 1,850 much healthier troops walked through the ship to the various hangars. The men and Tandra using the same translating devices spoke to individual groups. Done this way, one bay held only a few recruits and only one language was spoken. They were surprised to be given some ships that were theirs, with their group's name on it. They proudly sat in the cockpit and the AI along with Hans started their education. Within minutes the hangers were quiet again. The trainers went back to studying, sleeping or went to the cafeteria. It would be at least an hour till the first would be finished. We talked briefly with Captain Meech and found much the same thing happened for his Slavic recruits. The African and European contingent would be next. Then both America and Japan would give us troops to fight with. It was the Arab states that still opposed the Tandra. They were among the people that had the most to gain from the adoption of Tandra culture and technology, because of their low standard of living. The next day we did the same thing in the next countries on our lists and then again for a third day. The ship should bustle with 6,300 new recruits but the truth was that it was almost empty and felt that way inside me as well. Lam and Duc took a moment to go for a visit and meet with some of the people from their homeland. The soldiers treated them like high government officials and there was little they could do to get around this perception. After a few hours they left a little sad and mother was able to visit for the first time. She ran up to us and gave us a hug and I could see that most of the new people thought this young looking woman was our girlfriend. She knew this too and shamelessly flirted as if she was. Mom altered the format of her tv show and brought the cameras to the Terra's Pride and showed our troops as they learned to absorb knowledge. They fell all over themselves at Mom's approach and treated her as royalty, as I thought only just. After staying less than an hour, counting commercial breaks, she went over to the Nautilus and eventually the academy to show all the recruits not in the tanks. I was quite sure now that the stations were charging an arm and a leg to the companies that were allowed to show their advertisements. The next day, Paul and I were going over the records of the recruits and the trainers and we came on the last group that had checked the a small portion of the hull. Apparently from Hans' reports they were crying uncle, but I knew that this was just a ploy. One was Bolis a woman Uncle Henry had quite a fight with and thinking of the recordings, I saw she would not be an easy nut to crack no matter what she said. I was quite sure that her problems were quite a bit deeper and would take a lot of work to get out of her system, even if that were possible. Captain Meech had used the nick name of a boyhood friend 'Pasha' for his AI and it happened to come in handy with his first group of recruits. All the new recruits from each country had been informed that they were to be trained as three separate groups and that they had to decide which of the groups they wanted to be in. In the end Hans and Pasha had to do the best they could. Mom had many other duties to perform and didn't need the hassle of doing everybody's job. By the end of the ship's day it was necessary for the recruits to make their decision. The emblem of the Tandra/Earth alliance was prominent on all the large boat bays and was to remind them of who and what they could be. The trainers took only twenty minutes discussing the benefits and their feelings about their own choices. Later in small groups they were asked again, so the recruits would know they were not making a mistake. There was no political commissar forcing them into the choice, but I did know that no person would be able to stay if they did not truly believe in our goals. The largest boat bay was partially emptied and the men and women that chose to join us were asked to show up. They came from the Nautilus and the academy for one large ceremony. The rest were to be taken back to their country of origin with nothing done to them, for they had no real secrets with them yet. Everyone not in a tank presented themselves in the bay and formed ranks. In the background a stirring anthem that impinged on all of our senses played from hidden devices. It made my back even straighter and then made me think of all the dedication that had gone into building this race from its beginnings almost 6 million years ago. Mom this time, as our icon, lead the new citizens in their oath. In the future, as they learned more they would be asked to speak new oaths and I knew that I had not said any of them yet. With the recruits, I too gave my allegiance to the alliance and felt even better inside for doing so. The new citizens were given new ship's coveralls now with their name in Tandra written over the heart. There would be no more Earth languages written, so that one more impediment to understanding could be overcome. Mom displayed the ceremony on TV and told the people on the planet below of a fly by to be performed. The recruits all got into their ships and with only a little guidance from the major AIs they formed ranks in space. At almost 27,000 kilometres per hour they circled the Earth and dove into the atmosphere to fly one last time over their old homelands. Ships from the Nautilus had come over with some of the trainers as had the academy. People from all over the world came outside, if possible, to see the ships. On the night side the shields were altered and they saw bright streaks of light go from one end of their country to another then back again. After the spectacular show the new citizens split up and went to either the academy, the carrier or the battleship for further training. Mom was getting phone calls from the Earth and a much lower percentage were antagonistic to her goals. She didn't bother having any more religious zealots on the air and took only the calls that would allow her to expound on what she wanted to say. Paul and I took our turns in many of the smaller ships to become familiar with their quirks and capabilities. We did this one at a time so as to always have somebody onboard for any emergencies. The ships took a lot of concentration to make them perform up to their capabilities and not to what the raw recruits had used them for. I saw a need to start running simulated battle scenarios against fixed targets, other fighters, larger ships and finally, some ships using our new missiles. Mom had talked to the leaders of the various countries about visits by the Tandra and now citizens of our alliance. They wanted to throw so much red tape at us that it almost looked like they didn't want us. Using her old strategy, she just made a deal with Canada and they were caught a little off guard. We only had to tie in with NORAD in North Bay to register our flight. We fought hard to keep any further data from changing hands, or it would seem like a border check, as apposed to a safety warning. There was no way they would worry about the importation of Tandra technology. The Humans in the tanks were about all done and came out to an entirely different world. The old were young again and eager to take on any challenge. The sick and crippled were much the same and had to get over the problems in their minds associated with their old infirmities. They all studied even harder because they were almost four days behind their former countrymen. The next week the cadets with the highest achievements were given the honour of transporting Lam, Duc, mother or even Kitten to Earth when the need arose. Lam and Duc, even had an escort of one of the cadets dressed in his dress uniform cap and now shoes to protect him from the cold and snow on Earth. Within a minute of entering 'Bay Variety and Groceries' more and more customers came in to ask questions. "Is that really you Lam?" "Are you a Tandra now?" "Can you make me young again?" "Are you going to fight the Samutz?" "Did you have a baby on the moon? Was Duc the father or was it one of those Tandra?" They stopped dead in their tracks at the short thin Tandra that walked up to protect his charges. He wore a dark tunic with crystalline buttons and a glowing white billed cap. His sudden appearance shocked them into silence. The owners looked at the Tandra boy, then at their relatives. They could not get over the changes. They now looked as if in their early twenties and moved about as if the same age. Lam got angry, as if she still owned the store, shooed the customers outside and locked the front door. She could feel the relief coming from the cadet. "People are not always nice," she said to the boy. She felt she was the one that was doing the protecting. They did their shopping and bought much more than they needed, thinking of all the problems in getting the shopping done. She felt at home in the store and felt her new life almost a fantasy world. Bao and Anh were not as blasé with the cadet and watched him constantly. The others before were dressed as Humans and this one looked much more impressive. The rest of the time, they looked in wonder at Lam and Duc. Many of the questions just asked were already asked when they were on the phone. But it was difficult to actually see the proof before their eyes. Duc had been quiet most of the time. He was just marvelling at the change in his wife. He saw the store much the same as it always was, but now, he saw a beauty talking very fast and waving her hands it emphasize a point, then go to an entirely different topic. Women were like that and even though he figured he was boss, it still was a good thing to let her go, or he would suffer for it later. When he looked at the younger couple, he saw how Anh and Bao looked even older, than they should. Their other relatives would not understand Lam's young face and body and no doubt would not have seen much of the television programmes in the village. It would be good to see the family in one place and take a few gifts. Reading the occasional letter was not close enough now that there was available transportation. After saying their goodbyes, Bao unlocked the door. The groceries in boxes floated upward and disappeared into the invisible ship. Bao raced into the store to get another box so it could be taken from his hands. It too floated up and disappeared. The entire sidewalk and road was completely closed with people wanting to see anything of the Tandra. After the last box floated up, an older Vietnamese man pushed his way forward and handed an envelope to Duc. The man then turned and melted into the crowd. Duc saw that it had his and Lam's name on it. He placed it in his pocket and floated up last. Lam was talking fast to Doris and to Kitten on the moon. Duc reached in his pocket to read the letter. After breaking the seal he looked at the paper. It was all written by hand in Vietnamese. It basically said that his relatives in Binh Minh were in danger, and both Duc and Lam were to phone a number at a specified time, to find out where to meet a person that could help. Duc was so upset, that Lam quit her conversation with her friends, and looked into Duc's thoughts. She became worried just as her husband was. Why would anybody harm a simple family living in a remote village? It was incomprehensible. In moments Kitten knew of the problem too and wondered why the man that had given the letter had not stayed to explain more. Was there a danger to the man too? Doris soon joined in and for a moment thought the same till she saw the similarity to some books she had read. Mom was brought in right away and told of Doris' feelings. She scanned the threat analysis module on the ship and found the image of the man with the note and quickly used her own viewers to find him. There was no trace, but she kept up a continuous search. Duc was getting more worried as the ship approached the moon. Was the man a friend of his family that just carried the message, or someone who knew of a danger that the family could not overcome? Paul and I were looking through some reports. The malcontents were talking to the other Tandra and trying their best to ferment a revolt. This was close to mutiny and was covered in Tandra legal code, but hardly ever happened in their long history. The close part was the stickler. They must know that they may be found out and watched their thoughts very well, so as to not step over that fine line. Cadets were being told that even they could run a ship better than Paul and I. The cadets being male, were supposed to suck this up and agree. The males on the moon were a little different in that they could see the benefit of an alliance and had a good education now to make it quite clear. Hans was now keeping a close eye on all of them and found the males were gullible and just more lazy than the usual. The females were manipulating them as was the old custom and letting them do most of the dangerous talk. The people from the vats had to be taken care of next. The Nautilus and the academy sent their allotment over to us and they all met in the large boat bay used before. Mom said to them, "I have learned a lot about Humans and know they will try their best to get any information they can from any of you. It is actually your job to give all you can so that they will understand us better. When you come back to us in 10 days, you will be offered a citizenship. If you wish to remain with your birth country that is entirely up to each of you." There were 341 potential recruits left on a shuttle with money in their pockets and wafers in their packs. They had enough knowledge to explain a bit about how things worked and get Humans more familiar with mindspeak. Most did not want to leave, even for a visit. Over a meal Paul said, "There has been some fighting among the Tandra." "That is odd, they usually get along much better than us. Was anybody hurt?" "Not very much. That group of malcontents finally provoked some of the cadets too much and a fist fight broke out. I confined all of them to barracks till we have an inquiry. I already know what I will find but I am following all the rules." "Are you formally telling me this? If so, I may have to take some drastic action." "I was thinking of handling it myself. I was going over some of those tricks you learned and found some that might help." "What do you have planned?" I was really interested now. "There are 30 females and 5 males in this group. If charges are layed, then we can use the evidence within their own minds to convict the remainder of their group of attempted mutiny. With that explained to them, they would be willing to take a less severe punishment. Among the Human troops we picked up are a lot of over achievers with little patience. If we were to pair them up with the disgruntled group, the Human portion would have the problem of straightening each of the Tandra out. There may be a few broken bones, but they will not be our problem if we don't hear about it." "That sounds good. Perhaps we can give these groups the larger ships to train on. The ones that perform the best get to captain the new destroyer for a month when it is finished. We just have to keep all the discontents separated so they can't reinforce each other's rebellious attitudes." "With an incentive like that, the Tandra will be under a lot of pressure. The males will buckle under sooner and the females are not under achievers, only elitist when their race is involved. I think the female Humans have an unfair advantage." Small scale war games started soon after and the ones that stood out were given the option of fighting for the temporary captaincy of the destroyer. All knew that if they won they would probably be given the rank full time after they were fully trained. One day soon after, they stood in a line steadfastly facing forward. Most were male and it was worked out so there were only 24 here. Paul said to all of them, "You have all learned to fight well and now you need to work closely with the Tandra portion of our forces. Your education has included Tandra law and customs. Here is where you will show true leadership abilities. We have with us 35 Tandra that resent Humans using Tandra equipment, or even thinking that we are on the same level as them. I plan on pairing you off with the best choice possible, so that each of you has an equal chance to win our contest. If you do not like your choice there are 11 more that you can chose from." There were inaudible groans at the thought of carrying dead wood. "Each of the Tandra know thinks that will help their partner win. They have been giving courses that complement this idea and it is up to you and your leadership abilities to get them to pull as hard as you do. Make no mistake, they are the junior half of each team and it is up to you to lead. You have the Tandra legal code to use, or Human ingenuity. Do not kill them and do not kill yourselves trying to win." "You will be given larger fighters. They will provide more room for extended missions and for heavier ordinance. Your base will be the Nautilus. She will be leaving soon for her own patrols along our frontier. Captain Meech in conjunction with Pasha, Hans and Mom will supervise and rank your standings. You will be pushed very hard and the results will be televised. Mom tells me the Earth will look at it as the Olympics and each of you will be your old countries favourite." The taciturn Tandra were brought in and introduced to their new officers. Nothing was said or even broadcast, but I knew that they were still fighting this concept as much as they could, regardless of their word. Hans gave ship locations and we all went to a small boat bay to see what they had gotten to fight with. They saw sleek four man attack craft fitted with large ship killers that would give even a battle cruiser pause if they knew they were tipped with a galvanized nose cones. The ships were 23 metres long and were intended for extended stays away from the mother ship. Already TV audiences saw what the smaller ships could hand out and it was only logical for them to feel that these ships could do even more. As per Paul's instructions, the ships left right away. They would separate and begin training in private. In four days they were to come back for any things they thought necessary, then head out of the system and link up with the Nautilus when it took up station outside the Oort Cloud. ------- Doris was sound asleep, dreaming of her husband of 26 years, filing her much tighter and sensitive uterus. They were in the missionary position and Carl made deep thrusts that seemed to fill her each and every time. Her dream-self had come many times and now it was Carl's turn as he sawed away at her clit with his large cock and rubbed her with his pubic bone. The feelings were getting so good that when she could not contain herself any longer and convulsed many times. Her groans filling the air with her pleasure and her legs stretching out and back again till the feeling finally left. Opening her eyes finally, she saw a small black boy with a wet dildo in one of his four hands, and a contented look on his face. She realized what must have happened. She looked into the child's mind and found she could not blame him, for she had called out for relief and he came to give it to her as he did the other children. "Oh Roger honey, you aren't supposed to do that," As she took the befuddled child into her arms and hugged him tightly. "You caal mee." "I know darling, but it was a dream and I couldn't help it. I have been so lonely." She caught herself telling the simple child and said, "Thank you Honey, but if I dream like that again, you mustn't do that to me, even if I call out." She found herself rubbing his body against her breasts and pushed him away quickly. "I am sorry honey, I can't seem to help myself. You better go to bed now." As the boy left the room he looked back as if he did something wrong and Doris had to cry. It was a long time without Carl and after her body had been fixed up it was even worse. Her hand and fingers had satisfied her a little, but it was not good enough. She could hear, smell and see with her mind, and her own eyes all the children having sex. At first she thought it wrong, but over the weeks she had come to accept it. She had never taken part though and felt bad for corrupting such a sweet child as Roger. After a few more hours of fitful sleep she got up and had a hot coffee to help her mind start to function. Kitten got up to feed her children a little later and Doris took one of the babies and fed her as Kitten did the other two. It was so common place now to wet nurse all the children and feel so close to them, but last night with Roger still plagued her mind. She had neglected to hide her feelings, but it was no use for at some time she would slip and everyone would know what she tried to conceal. Kitten sat back with the two children contentedly nursing at her breasts and said, "There is no reason to hide what happened. Your mind was calling for some relief and Roger was the one that tried to give you what you needed. I know exactly what you feel like. The younger girls called out to me to help them and I make them feel good for a while. They try now to make me feel good too, but I am an adult and my upbringing says this is not right. Ever since Henry came we have been exposed to new ideas and those ideas felt right, as long as he was here." "I miss our candasu, but even that is not the right name, for even though Susan is my metsu, Henry is still more important. Just a few months ago a boy or girl would never think of making an adult feel good. Now they strive to do that all the time. Have you seen some of the younger boys wiggle their backsides in front of the Human men hoping to get some love from them?" "I have seen that. But I thought that common for the moon." "It is, but we were not exposed to it on the Earth and now we are. I can't wait for my Henry to come home, but when he does I will also welcome the children to nurse between my legs as the younger ones do to my breasts." Doris said, "I was not exposed to any of that. I know our son and our new son do things, but it is never out in the open like here. I miss Carl so much even my fingers are not enough." "I too miss my husband and my wives. They are so far away and I feel so lonely at night I cry." For a few moments they were quiet and eventually the children had their fill. They were burped and cleaned and put back to bed. Doris carried her precious bundle as she followed the mother into the bedroom to put the child back to bed. Kitten lay down on the bed and started to cry. Doris did not know what to do, but she did sit on the side of the bed and tried to console her friend. Kitten moved back and said, "I am still sleepy. Lay down with me, I am so lonely." The two women lay down in one another's arms and eventually Kitten's mouth came close to Doris's and she kissed first Tandra style then Human. Kitten's long fingers moved over Doris's full breasts, kneaded them and then the nipple. She saw a small rivulet of milk and she slowly moved her small mouth over the nipple to nurse as she did those many years ago. The taste was different and very rich and erotic. Doris did not know what came over her. She wanted to get up and leave, but wanted the attention of this beautiful woman even more. Never before had she done anything like this. The strong but very delicate fingers did what she wanted her own fingers to do, even when one travelled down her front, parted the hair, and found her centre of being. Doris groaned and twisted, not to get away, but to relieve some of the tension mounting in her body. A finger entered her and soon another one did too. The bed shifted and Kitten was nursing on her other nipple. The feelings mounted and then they got even better. Strange lips were travelling down her front and across her belly button. Doris' hands, of their own accord, guided Kitten face to her pubis and held her in place till a delicate tongue snaked out and plunged into her looking for nectar. And nectar there was, she was dripping and she could feel it leave her and follow down her perineum to the bed below. Her hands held the head firmly, as her muscles contracted again and again, till she was able to release the head. With a final sigh she collapsed on her back and wanted desperately to kiss Kitten for what she had done to make her feel so good. Kitten heard the call and came up to kiss the now young and beautiful Human. They kissed passionately and then with a true tenderness. Doris was not as upset as she thought she might be. How could love that felt so good be anything but right? Doris felt some wet on her chest and saw that Kitten was leaking. Remembering what was done to her she endeavoured to return the favour, even if she had never done this sort of thing before. The kisses down Kitten chest and belly tasted different than her skin. The fine hair in her mouth did not distract her from the goal. She kissed the top of the hairless mound and got off the bed to get between the legs. She moved the long thin legs apart and looked at the opening then at Kitten's expectant face. The eyes and the brain were urging her on and she bent down and kissed her way up the inside of the left thigh to the small opening. Thinking of Carl she stopped and went down the inside of the other leg. Getting to the opening again she saw the erect urethra and slowly moved forward and engulfed it all in one deft move. Kitten gasped at the unexpected move and said with her voice, "Yes love, suck me there." The unaccustomed verbal reply made Doris feel that much better and sucked as she felt how it affected her lover. The feeling went down her own legs and stimulated her much shorter clit. Taking her fingers, she traced around the ring of tiny bumps and it felt as if she had the same thrill happening to her. ------- Private Hisako Kamata stretched her back in the flight seat. This was a beautiful ship and if she didn't have her sights higher she would be happy to have such a sweet machine. The AI was better than what she was familiar with in the single or two man fighters. There was very little loss in manoeuverability, even though the ship was larger and heavier. She never even hoped to get where she was now. Being a Japanese female only opened a few doors to her and she was unlike almost all other women of her race. Pushing as hard as she could when she was young, she had fought to the top of her school. Her parents had thought it very unladylike when she did not let the males win at any competition they chose to enter, but fought even harder. Competition with the males in sports was closed to her for it was not proper for a male to beat a weak female. The opposite had happened, and many males went home in shame. Even the judges marked her harder than the males and competitions that should have been hers were instead awarded to the males. Over the years she found that nothing had opened in the rigid society that she grew up in. Men had always found her unattractive. Part of the reason she knew, was her muscular body and the way she liked to assert herself. Thank god she had never had children, for there was no way she would have allowed them to tie her down when she was after an elusive goal. At 57 she had eventually set her goals on a quiet life till she died. There were now a few more friends, but only because she had watched herself much more and old age was having its effects. The Tandra had given her back her youthful body and rekindled all her old desires to be the best possible. This time, she knew she could not waste the chance or she would grow old again and accomplished nothing. Well, here it was going to be different. She turned her head and looked at the sullen Tandra male beside her and wondered what she would do with such an anchor. He looked nothing more than a sweet little girl that she despised. The captaincy of the destroyer could be within her grasp. Even if she died in the attempt, the quest was worth it. All the Earth would know her and even some day a girl would read of her and strive hard to be more than her society allowed her to be. The extended family was still close and the parents long dead. There would be no friends that would pat one another on the back and say how much they had encouraged her to perform her best. There were very few friends at all and none had ever been allowed to see this side of her for fear that they would leave. "Glos, check the reactor again. I know we can get a little more speed out of this beautiful ship." "The ship and systems are fine. There are no improvements you can make. Everything was checked before we left." "Yes it was and I did the checking. I trained in the smaller fighters and I know there is always a little more that can be wrung out of the system after it is running for a while." "I told you. There is nothing that can be done Human. This is Tandra technology not a toy for you." Without much thought her right hand came out, made a fist, and struck the Tandra in the face. For fifty years people had held her back and there was nobody that would deny her the destroyer. "Get up and check the system like you were told. If there is not an improvement, I will beat you to a pulp and throw you into space. I have no place for slackers on my ship." She was amazed at what she did. Fighting in her youth had got her into trouble many times, but the prospect of commanding the destroyer was worth any risk. She knew abruptly that what she said was true. This male would do his job or she would get rid of him and complete the competition by herself if necessary. Glos was stunned. He tasted blood and his lips and nose were very sore. Violence was very rare and never had he been hit before. A female had once threatened to hurt him if he didn't do as she told him, but that was years before. How was it that females were always pushing him? Even his mother from long ago tried to get him to do better, but she had also known he was a male and didn't expect too much. His hand came up to his face and felt the damage. He had to get the med drone out to repair the damage. "Glos, if I have to tell you again you will be pushed out the hatch. Look into my mind and see if I won't." He did as he was asked and was appalled to find out that the female was right. There was so much anger in her that she would give him as much pain as possible first before doing it. Never before had he seen such raw emotion. Setting his mind quickly, he interfaced with the computer and tried to see what he could do. He had to go into his memories and sort through all the junk that was recently put in there. He tried to manipulate one of the many factors and saw the efficiency drop. He quickly readjusted the amount and moved it the other way. Again the drop came and he cringed, thinking of all the pain that would come to him if he didn't perform. Eight million kilometres away Jñao Silva, a recent recruit from Brazil, worked hard to get the same system working at its highest efficiency. His partner if you could call her that, sat taciturn in her chair and looked at him along her nose. "You will not get much more Human. We Tandra have worked millions of years to perfect this system." "I have only used this technology for a very short time Miss Bolis, but I have found that it can always be tweaked a little to give me more." "My name is not Miss Bolis; only Bolis. You Humans are not very smart if you cannot remember that." "I think I am smart enough, at least smart enough to see that you have something seriously wrong with you. You saw the reports of the Samutz and what they did to your own people, but you refuse to do anything about it. As for 'we Tandra', I believe if they were all like you then nothing of importance would have ever be invented. You are lazy, egotistical and especially a bigot." "I resent having to work with you or any other Human. If it wasn't for Humans, the Samutz would have left us alone." "The same way they left the Epsilon Eridani system alone and the way they ripped through the mine field. I think I will have to add delusional to your list of faults. Now be quiet female while a man does the work of two, and keep an eye on the screen. We are still to look for Samutz." Bolis just picked up her head and turned around to see the screen that showed the stars and all the nearby scraps of matter. This male was indeed arrogant, it was just a matter of time till she found a way to manipulate him as she did all males. This one was strong and quick like the last one that got all the Tandra into trouble. It would be nice to put this one into a med unit, go to another civilized planet and turn this one into the authorities. The ship was too small and slow. The scenes from Epsilon Eridani showed that not all of the old planets were safe as they used to be. She would just have to wait till a safe planet was found and take one of the faster ships. Jñao pulled out of the controls and heard the last part of the female Tandra's nebulous plan. If it were up to him, he would give her a ship and send her off now. The problem was, the coming competition would require both to work as hard as they could to defeat the others. The prize of the destroyer was great enough that he would gladly kill for it. Since the world would be following all of the teams it would be doubly important to win. ------- Duc had Mom dial the number he was given. It was almost two weeks since he had been given the paper. He had been given many instructions over the phone and always the people wanted to help, but were afraid of being caught by a mysterious group. Duc and Lam were getting more and more worried with each new call they made. Lam wanted to go down to the planet and take their relatives to the moon. Doris told them that this course may not be the best. The family grew up in the country and had little insight into the way their neighbours lived, even in their own cities. The moon would be very traumatic to them. Doris had not been idle while all this was going on. A select team of commandos had gone to Vietnam and after stunning the entire village at night had implanted small crystals that should be undetectable by Earth technology. Through a subconscious interrogation, it was determined that one family of six had recently left for a lucrative job in the city. All of the villagers were at a loss to why a country carpenter could find high pay in a large city. Mom had sent out small drones to search, but had little hope of finding the family. The phone calls had come from Toronto and Mom went into the computers to trace any and all calls to Vietnam. There were many and Mom had to use much of here resources checking all the calls that she could have used to help the people in the Earth and moon bases. The computers were searched in the small country and she found that many pieces of data were still placed on paper. As a last resort and from reading some stories, Mom changed some figures in the taxation department and sicced the local revenue department on the poor family to see what could be found. Doris had changed a lot, even from two weeks ago. She was worried for Duc's relatives, but her own life could not be better. She slept regularly now with Kitten and didn't care who knew. Going by her own boys' attitude and nonchalance, she took up her old duties and even accepted some new ones. Gone were the days where she refused to console the children with her hand, fingers or mouth. Roger came to her more times than necessary, for he knew she got pleasure out of making him happy. Clarice came to her one night as she was cuddled up to Kitten. "Mommy, mommy," the child cried. "I had a bad dream. A man was going to hurt me. Daddy came and rescued me." Doris picked the naked child up and held her close to her own naked body. The skin to skin contact seemed to soothe the child as Doris said, "That is want daddies are for. When their babies get into trouble they try to do their best to make everything better. Come and lay between Kitten and me so you will be safe." Doris had dreaded when this was to happen. All the girls were going to start to remember and over the course of a month or so, much of their previous life would come back. She had to make up many small speeches in her mind, when one girl or another would come and ask about her dreams or nightmares, but all had fled at the sight of the crying child. The crying child did not settle down as expected and Doris moved her down so she could nurse from her full breasts. Within five minutes the child had gone back to sleep with Doris's arm protectively about her. Doris woke up next morning with an erect urethra poking her in the lips. She could smell Kitten's flagrance and opened wide to admit the welcome invader. She had to pause many times as Kitten came close to coming. She felt Kitten shift and pick up Doris's legs and pushed them down to her chest. This opened her sex for Kitten's other attack. She felt her hair being pushed aside and her lips opened. Lips came down and sucked hard on her clit. Her hips tried to pushed up to get more into Kitten's mouth, but were unable to move. The tongue started to flick the captured clit and Doris sucked harder on Kitten as her own clit was tormented. Kitten convulsed repeatedly as she sucked the long clit and poked her nose around Kitten's anus, stimulating more nerve endings. Doris felt the continuing tongue action on her own mons and wondered how Kitten had been able to do this. The lips shifted a bit and Doris felt one of Kitten's lubricated toys being pushed into her. After a few strokes it started to vibrate, then vibrate very fast and Doris felt the first of her own orgasms coming on. She shucked harder on Kitten and each felt the other orgasm as they held each other tight. The beautiful Tandra woman got off her Human lover and lay on her side. Doris looked down and saw Clarice with a big smile on her wet face and a glistening dildo in her hand as she rested it on her mother's abdomen. Doris did not know what to say, but the little girl climbed up and placed her own sex over Doris's mouth to be serviced. The smell was little girl and the grown woman could feel the need in the child for this. She reluctantly used her tongue to work open the folds and find the little opening and stabbed her tongue in to the loud moans of Clarice. Soon the feelings came again and she sucked now because of a need within her. ------- Private Hisako Kamata was royally pissed off at Glos, and regardless of the rules, punched, kicked, and did her best to maim the stupid lazy male. He had gone to sleep when he was on watch again and this was the seventh time she had to beat him. Nothing else seemed to work and at least for a while he would do as he was told. With the male bloody at her feet, she ordered him back to his post and told him he could seek medical help when he was on his own time. She could see her performance figures now and knew they were too low to pass. Though the figures were just a self test before the real one, she knew that Glos would make her loose. And if she did, she would find a way around the safety interlocks and kick the pathetic Tandra out into space, even if she had to go to jail for it. The little shit cringed on the deck and read all the thoughts in his captain's mind. He had never suffered so much before and for such little cause. Who cared if he slept during his watch? The computer would find an enemy ship and report it, even before he could detect it himself. ------- Duc pleaded with the man on the other end of the telephone line for more help. The man gave his name as Ly Tien and pleaded himself for more time. His relative in Vietnam needed time to gain the necessary information to bring it to Duc. Apparently Duc's nephew Tran Xuan Cong had angered a member of the underworld and soon the man and his entire family were to be killed as an example. Duc asked if money would help, but the man said that his family were poor, but did this out of honour for what Duc was doing to help the Earth and Vietnam in general. Mom had traced the call. She found three cut outs and two repeaters. Cell phones were used to jump from station to station to hide the source of the call. Zeroing in on southern Toronto at Spadina and Queen, Mom found the probable building and drones raced earthward to find the elusive Samaritan. Four cutters had orbited Earth and one got the call and descended at almost 90 gravities to pull up over Lake Ontario. Four combat suited Tandra and two Human jumped out and flew to their target. Drones spread out and the building was located, but the people inside were not talking on the phone. A scan revealed a land line running up the street to another business and an apartment above. Three people lived there and one's voice and timing revealed it to be 'Ly Tien'. The troops did not do anything other than scan the subjects thoughts. Small probes entered the apartment and showed the man finish the call and then start to write notes in his small book. Another phone call was made within moments, the man turned on an alarm and left after locking the door. Doris watched the displays as if it were a life and death situation, as it well may yet be. "Why didn't you arrest him?" Mom replied audibly and said, "He is only a small time criminal. He reported to a person in Los Angeles. I am looking into that person's identity now." "When will all this end? I can only think they want to gain Tandra knowledge." "I think that is the case too." Another ship descended on the North American west coast. And the same procedure was followed, but this time the call was to Napa California. ------- Jñao Silva was not happy with his position. The female Tandra had done her best to thwart every move he made to get her to willingly help. She would explain in detail how his request was impossible to do. In frustration he thought of hurting her the way she was hurting him. He had slapped women before when they needed it and this woman desperately needed a rude awakening. His own performance had dropped trying to think of a way to get the obstinate woman to help instead of doing his job. In frustration he took off his clothes and overrode the woman's objections and raised the gravity while he worked off his frustrations. After an hour he was still not satisfied and continued with an even higher gravitational attraction. When the woman complained of the smell he told the AI to reduce the amount that the air was scrubbed in spite, then commanded that only he could get it speeded up again. Using a tractor controlled by the AI, he picked it up repeatedly till the sweat just poured from his body. The muscles stood out in stark relief as blood veins throbbed with the exertion he used. If he were on Earth he would out-do an Olympic weight lifter, but then again, most enhanced Humans could too. When Jñao finished, he got up to use the cleanser, but remembered Bolis's objection of the smell and just used a cloth to wipe the sweat from his body. He took only one step and climbed into the bed that barely fit his height and then threw the damp cloth on the floor beside him. "Your watch. Wake me if you find anything unusual." He did not get a reply as he should, but he was used to that by now. He woke suddenly from his sleep and his arm shot out and struck an assailant with the crotch of his hand and brought the body over and knocked the head against the hard wall. As he completed the toss he saw Bolis sprawled across him. She was unconscious and he went into her mind deeper than any time before to see the reason for her actions. It was surprising to see, but the female had suddenly wanted to fuck. No, she wanted to mate. Looking deeper he saw that the smell had started it all then the visual clues. Well if this bitch from hell wants to smell he thought, she would get what she wanted. He lowered the gravity and moved the unconscious body around so that her face was in his crotch. Taking the still damp cloth from the floor he put it between his legs between knee and scrotum. Let the woman smell now. Five minutes later the woman started to come too. She breathed deep and then did it again and again, trying to clear her head of the unaccustomed fog. A hand came up and she felt a hairy leg. It felt so good. Tandra did not have hair like this and it thrilled her to touch it. Reaching closer to her face she found a soft hairy obstruction and a lot more of the scent that was doing odd things to her body. Opening her eyes, she saw right before her face a tubular appendage. The Human was not built right, he had a non-retractable penis and urethra in one. Now it was almost as soft as it usually was. She wanted this man for some reason even if he was Human. "Captain Silva... Captain, I feel odd. Will you mate with me?" ------- Chapter 68 "I would rather jerk off onto the deck than stick my cock into you and give you pleasure." This was very odd. Males were ready to mate all the time and the reports of Humans said the same thing. She gently looked into the male's mind and found he only had disgust for her. This much had not changed but the offer of sex should have been accepted. Her own needs became more prominent and her hand snaked down to her mons and had to undue her suit to get at her clits. Perhaps if she took her clothing off, he would be overwhelmed by the sight of her body and let instinct take over. She shrugged out of her clothing but would not take her face away from the male's genitals for some reason. The male moved, the tube of flesh rotated and the end gently hit against her lips and landed under her nose. It grew a little and poked into one nostril. She looked into the males mind and saw that he was controlling the growth of his member and was trying to frustrate her. The smell was delightful and she wanted more. She moved her head and smelt around the hairy bag of skin where the scent was the strongest. Her tongue, as if of its own accord, snaked out and licked a portion of the skin. The taste was exquisite and made her want to mate even more. A hand came crashing down on her sore head and the Human roared, "Lick my bag, you slut. Do it." The legs parted a little and the hand brutally moved her head into position. "Lick, I don't know if you are even good for that." The scent was doing funny things to her and she followed the command. The taste was salty and it was rough on her tongue. She felt the contents of the bag move and the penis enlarge to a size no male Tandra could hope to match. One of her hands moved the sack and her other started to play with her urethra. Just as she was about to have a good come her sore head was shaken viciously. "I said lick, not get your own rocks off." She did not know the words but the intention was clear. She went back to licking and her hand only kept her at that edge. Whenever she got close he would hurt her again and she would have to start all over. The taste, smell and texture were acceptable to her but why wouldn't he allow her to have her joy? Spite no doubt. She had done her best to thwart his every move and now the male was getting some of his own back. But why is this male so exciting all of a sudden? The scent helped and so did the flexing of his muscles, but that was not all. She continued licking for quite a while till she stopped all of a sudden and thought, "It can't be." Tandra instinct made each Tandra see the traits in another and if they were superior then genetic material was exchanged and an exceptional child was produced. She tried to deny it and went over her findings quite a few times. Even with her mind clouded with the males compelling scent she knew that her findings were accurate. She would just have to possess this male and get him to breed with her. Perhaps even have more than one daughter to this specimen. How could this be accomplished? Perhaps give him what he wants and then start to bend him in small steps till he is helplessly ensnared in her personal appeal. Males have always been this way and this one should be no different. ------- Paul and Charlie had gone through another difficult day. They had taken the Terra's Pride and returned to Earth to pick up more recruits, even though a much smaller troop carrier could have done the same thing. Each day of training had its trials and tribulations but this day was harder yet. The group of old, young but all frail Humans that had been part of Mom's PR effort had come back, or almost. 339 had decided to join, leaving only 2 unaccounted for. Paul had an uneasy feeling and the individuals could just as easily have decided to stay on Earth. He wanted to make sure and with an even dozen commandos descended on the planet below and tracked the small crystals imbedded in the human's torso. Thirty kilometres outside Tokyo was a large western style research centre situated in a wide expanse of fenced in lawn. Both signals came from an underground position and within 10 metres of each other. The very visible craft landed before the stone steps and Paul jumped out to go to the front door while the troops and drones went invisibly to find an alternate way in. Security guards were very diligent and descended on Paul in a matter of seconds. He could tell the guards were from a military background and didn't want him here. He had no translator and said, "I need to talk to your boss." One man knew a little English and repeated the message to his coworkers. They were still not letting him by. They knew nothing of the two Humans that we were looking for and were in the basement. Paul tried to cast his mind inside the building and only found confusion. The guards tried to push him back into his ship, but two tractors came out and locked onto his shield. He did not budge again. The commandos reported reading the minds of the researchers inside and how they wanted to hide the male and female that they had. When asked how to continue, he said, "Cut a neat hole in the ground and then the wall. Read the minds of all the people around to see if the two we want were kidnapped. I want everybody on Earth to find out how these people were treated." Messages came soon after with the confirmation of kidnapping. The ship stunned all of the guards on the lawn and Paul called for a small hand stunner and it was delivered by a tractor. He walked up to the door. It was electrically operated and the ship just pushed the entire door into the building. Guards came running with automatic weapons and fired repeatedly at Paul even though he wore his uniform and crystal. The guards were casually stunned and he went looking for the person in charge. A receptionist that was scared out of her wits provided the information when Paul pointed to a brass name tag on the highest part of an organizational tree in the front lobby. "Paul, I am broadcasting live, whatever you do," came from Mom. "Understood." A door at the far end of the hall was protected by three guards that proceeded to shoot. When Paul got a few metres away he raised his gun and stunned each of them. Inside cowering under his desk was a small, thin Japanese man of 60 or so. He was pulled out and Paul found that the man was doing all of this for his company, on a contract from a large pharmaceutical company. "Mom, Mr. Matsuo is the contact. He is a vice president of that drug company. If you want to find out who is really behind this, we better catch him fast." Moesha was playing tag with some other children. A larger Tandra boy had just started to chase her to the safe position. One already there slapped the wall like a gunshot. She suddenly stopped and the Tandra boy, who had difficulty stopping, jumped over the small chocolate skinned girl. She curled in a ball on the floor, her mind in a turmoil of conflicting thoughts. Central to it was a man that was going the hurt her and had her on a wall. The game stopped abruptly and everybody came running over to the little girl to see what was wrong. Kimberly, her 'sister', cradled her in her arms and tried her best to find out what was wrong. Kitten pushed her way through the group of children and picked up the small bundle trying to calm the girl down. She knew exactly what was wrong and dreaded this happening when Susan was away. Kitten explained to the children that it was none of their faults and carried the girl to the nearest transporter. A few minutes in their common apartment Lam, Duc and Doris transported in almost at the same time. They rushed over to check on Moesha and found that she had settled down some but was still sniffling. Mom had given her assessment to the adults and it was decided to give some of the truth before it all slipped out. Kimberly sat on Lam's lap while Doris held Michelle and Duc held Clarice. Kitten still held Moesha as she began her story. "Girls, you are all going to have problems in the next little while. It all has to do with how you came to live with us." The girls looked at one another because they had always lived with the Tandra. "Moesha, Kimberly, Michelle and Clarice used to live on Earth." The girls looked around again, not quite believing the words. "One day some bad people that sold drugs in a big house, wanted to hurt little girls. Henry, Susan and Carl found out about it and were very angry at them. The people were so bad that the three of your parents broke into the house and took you to live with us. The bad people were punished for what they wanted to do and will never do it again." Kimberly asked, "Could they find us here?" "No Kimberly. The people are all dead now and cannot hurt anybody again. The reason you are being told this is because Clarice had a very bad dream and the rest of you may have them too. If we tell you first, then you will understand what they are all about." Michelle tearfully said, "I think I remember daddy saving me. He was so angry at the people that he scared me too. I am glad he hurt them." "They were all very angry but not at any of you. You are all much too young to understand how bad the people were, but you will some day. There is more to tell but Mom thinks it is best to let you think on what we have already told you first." All the children were upset now and Moesha began to cry again at the vivid memories she had. The other girls saw her images and similar ones came from their own minds. Soon all of them were crying and reliving the traumatic episode in the drug dealer's house. After almost ten minutes of crying, Kitten took Moesha over to a large throw pillow, undressed the child and started to lick her small body. It took quite a few minutes for Moesha to start to respond but she reluctantly did. Doris knew that she had to follow. She took Michelle over beside Moesha, undid her clothing and did the same as Kitten. The only difference was that she felt guilty about it. Every other time she had licked or sucked it was for sexual gratification while she was feeling aroused. Now all she cared about was quieting the poor child before her. Lam and Duc were not shocked at this in the least. It happened all the time and the adults usually got no gratification out of it unless it was seeing the child feeling better. Lam remembered stories in her village of mothers doing just this for their children but had not actually heard of any particular people doing it. Now it seemed like the best thing to do. She read the hesitation in her husband's mind and said, "Duc, let's help the children sleep? I will help Kimberly and you do your best for Clarice." Duc was afraid as usual, about sex and the children, but decided to follow his wife's lead. It did have a calming effect on the children and for some unknown reason he was not aroused in the least. Both adults stripped the crying children and started to lick them all over before getting to the spot the girls liked best. Ten minutes later the children were all asleep and were put together on their beds to continue their rest, even though it was not time yet. Duc was a little upset with himself. The little girl reminded him of Lam even to the taste and he had started to get uncomfortable. The girl's mind, as well as the other three, did not help as they quaked, groaned and sighed with their individual releases. It was Doris's turn to cook tonight but she still had so many children to feed and her breasts were getting full. She, Lam and Duc had to leave the academy, but when the present crisis came up they felt they had to finish what they started. She said to Lam, "Would you like pizza tonight? We have too many jobs to do and I think the children will like the food." "I have eaten pizza a few times before. It was good. It's not something I was taught how to make and not something I would actually go out to buy. Let's give it a try though." "Ok. Duc will you order some pizza for us? Get a lot, your boys would eat us out of house and home if we were on Earth." "I will do that if you wish. Mom, where is it 10, 11, and 12 PM on the Earth?" Rather than use words Mom brought up a globe with a brighter section in three colours that ran from pole to pole. Duc looked along the bright strip and saw Italy in the 11 o'clock area. "Ah, Italy it is." Looking closer at the map he requested cities put on the map and Rome came up as the capital. "Too big," he thought then saw 'Napoli' as it was written in Italian. "Mom, will you connect me with a pizzeria in Napoli? I want to order some pizzas for the family." The phone rang and Mom handled the translation both ways. "Hello, Guido's Pizzeria. What would you like?" "Hello, I have never ordered pizza before but want 20 or 30 for the family and the school." "That is difficult sir. We make our pizzas very carefully and bake each in an oven burning nothing but hardwood." "I have to feed four adults and about 30 of our children, unless they bring home some friends." "Depending on the size and appetites of your children, it may require 8 to 15 pies sir." "I don't want pies, I need pizzas." "Pies are the proper name sir." "I am sorry then. Would you make 15 pies then? Just make them different, and most of us enjoy those small fish you put on." "Ah, anchovies." "Yes, those. I can leave here in a few minutes; and it will only take a few minutes to get to Earth and a few more to Italy. I can see your city on the map. Can you tell me where you are or just go outside and wave a flashlight around in the sky and we will see you?" 'Click.' "Doris, the Italians are not very nice. I was going to make a good sized purchase and they just hung up." "Duc, if somebody called your store, said they were from the moon, and asked if you would prepare an order, would you believe them?" Finally, after three more calls, Duc was able to order the pizzas he wanted. The name Tran Van Duc was not noticed and the call back to the moon was handled by Mom with ease. A cadet flew the small ship to Naples and hid in the night sky till Duc completed his business. The owner was presented with an American thousand dollar bill. His eyes went large and then thought the money was counterfeit. "Help me carry the pizzas out to the ship and you will see that we do not deal in money that is not real. The owner, an employee and Duc came out and handed the boxes up to the Tandra cadet at the hatch. The ship hovered only a few centimetres over the top of a small car, and Duc had to take the boxes and hand them up because the other two people could not seem to function. When they were finished, Duc said, "Tomorrow, I would like thirty pizzas at 11 o'clock your time for the academy. Then seven days from now I will order again. You may take the charges from the bill I gave you till it is all gone. Is that acceptable?" There was no answer, the two could only think of the ship and the Tandra pilot. Duc came close to the man and shook his shoulders, and when the man looked at him he just said, "Tomorrow I will call in our next order. Is that alright?" "Sì." All around the pizzeria cars stopped and people gawked at the strange sight. Occasionally the skid of tires and the bangs of cars striking were heard. Duc just shook his head. It reminded him of how an Ontario law struck down the ban on women walking the streets topless. In North Bay there had been two occasions and each time many cars were damaged. Moments later the pilot was invited to eat with the family as everybody dived into the different types of pizza. ------- Hisako was not pleased though. The male was doing better but not even up to the level of a cadet from the moon. She found that when she beat Glos, he did even better and the thoughts running through his mind confused her. He was beginning to see her as the head of a bondue. That would make her a sooda and she was a woman, not a male. She hit him for this too but it seemed to actually reinforce his thinking, instead of shunning the idea. He did improve though, and it all seemed to happen after he saw her as a dominant male figure. Female Tandra were dominant too, but would not strike a helpless male. The males were much too delicate for that. The females nurtured them and even brought them tasty things to eat. When Hisako had time for sleep, she found herself frustrated still. Their performance was improving but not enough. Even a cadet would be preferable and the ship would be running as it should. When sleep did not come, her hand slipped between her legs and caressed that special spot. She thought of the few males that had sex with her, but discarded them for some of the movie stars she had seen on TV or in the movies. Her fingers slipped into her tight channel, brought out moisture to rub on the sensitive clit and then return for more. The orgasm she hoped for never came because of how angry she still was. She managed to get some sleep before the alarm did its job. She was grumpy when she got up due to lack of sleep. The cleanser helped a little but not enough. Glos had prepared a meal for her, which was very unlike him. He would do the least possible and this simple act showed her that there were possibilities but the time frame would not allow her to find the full extent. "Thank you, Glos. That was nice of you." Glos brought his head down and had a small smile on his lips. He acted like the little girl that Hisako's mother always wanted her daughter to be. After her short breakfast, Hisako went over all of the records for the ship's actions while she had been asleep. The engines had been tuned twice and checked three times. Glos was beginning to come around on this old equipment. She did see a contact at almost a quarter of a light year, probably a rock. It should have been logged and a small throw-away probe sent after it. It was things like this that would lose the captaincy for her. When her assessment was over she went to Glos and said, "Glos, you are doing better but you did not report the one return we got. A probe should have been sent out and its orbit plotted if it was an asteroid. If it was one of our ships then that should have been reported too. But it might have been the Samutz or some other race snooping around. I don't want to be eaten and I doubt if you do either. Why is it so hard for you to do that little bit extra?" "I knew it was inanimate, sooda, so I didn't want to wake you when the probe left." Hisako caught the term he used and hid it as quickly as she could. She was not his husband, but perhaps he did think that she was the lord and master and the dominant position could only be interpreted as that position. "This is a war ship and sounds like that have to be accepted. Would you be afraid to wake me if a Samutz was attacking and you did not want to fire our weapons because I might loose some sleep?" "No soo... captain. I knew you were very tired, and needed your rest." "Thanks for your concern; but in the future, work as if our lives depended on the action and not the loss of some sleep. Going back to the contact, you had no way of telling if it were an asteroid or a ship at this distance. If you were wrong, then we could now be dead. Do you wish that to happen?" Tears came from Glos's eyes and he quickly said, "No sooda. I would never want that to happen to you." She looked into his mind and saw that all the beatings he had been given were actually causing him to find his present condition acceptable. She remembered newspaper reports of people kidnapped and eventually turning to their captive's point of view. Shaking herself a little, she reached her hand out and looked at the bruising on Glos's face. She had not allowed him to get it repaired, hoping the marks would remind him enough of what happened, without the need to add to the marks. She turned the face a little to one side, then the other. Glos for a moment turned his head to nestle his cheek into her callused hand, which she pulled away quickly. Meek girls always turned her off, except the neighbour she once had with a most talented tongue. She went back to her duties and wondered how her competitors were doing. ------- Jñao Silva looked along his body, found Bolis still nestled into his pubic hair and breathing deep draughts threw her nose. He was sure his smell was doing this to her and made sure the air system was well monitored. He wanted it moving the least possible and still give enough air to live on. The woman had undone her clothing and was rubbing her naked crotch against his hairy leg, trying to put herself over the edge. Jñao just kept an eye on her and let her play, but never win. He smiled with a sudden thought. If sweat did this to her, what if he shot all over her face and made her keep his sperm there till it dried. The smell was different but perhaps still useful. Before he could put the thought to action, another thought cropped up in his head. "Get up Bolis. You are still on duty," he said as he got up, leaving her room to do the same. Bolis came out of the fog she was in and looked at the beautiful piece of man flesh standing on the deck. Why didn't he fill her with it and give both of them pleasure? "Get up Bolis. You have almost an hour yet to stand watch." She did not understand any of this and tried to look into the Human's mind but found it locked. She probably could have worked around it, but she did not have a clear head to do so. It was easiest to do as she was told. The male's orders did not grate on her ego the way they used to do. Getting clumsily to her feet, she kicked off the clothing she had on, went to the seat and tried to remember her duties. The long range sensors had nothing and the ship's systems were fine but not as good as they could be. Fixing them would be difficult when all she wanted to do was smell the Human more and get him to put his big penis into her. Her hand stole down and rubbed her clit, thinking of the smell around her. It was so delicious. Jñao looked into the woman's mind. The view was if she were drunk. The longer he looked, the drunker she appeared. She was almost useless for any tasks now. There was one job that she could do though. "Bolis get up and come here." "Yes,... captain." She stood before the man and his strong hands pushed her shoulders down till she was sitting on the deck. The hands next positioned her body and this felt better. Her head was pulled between his legs and she again sniffed the smell coming from the Human. It smelt so good. In a moment her head was pushed away and she struggled to get back to her place. "Open your mouth, baby. I have something for you to suck on when you smell me." She did as she was told and the male's large mushroom head filled her mouth. It was acceptable to suck on a female but never a male. This one was different somehow and she did as she was told to do. Never did she suck on such a large urethra. The taste was different; a sweet taste came to her. It was good and she sucked for more. It came so slow and she wanted much more but it would not come very fast. Jñao held her head with both hands and worked her head back and forth on the head of his cock. He was a big man, but only normal below the belt. The woman's mouth was small and could only accommodate some of his length. Moving the head a little more, he released the Tandra woman and she continued with the same strokes. More went in and a small pain came to her but she had no gag reflex. The woman looked into the male's mind, saw what he liked and experimented a little to see if she could do better. The male was enjoying all of her attention but did not have his orgasm. All males come very quickly. Why didn't this one? Perhaps she was not doing something right and if she found out, then he would have his joy. The only thing she could see is that he wanted full penetration. If she did this, then she could be closer to the hair and the smell she craved. Forcing the penis down her throat on repeated attempts, she was finally able to swallow all of him and her nose was buried in the coarse body hair. She paused a moment to rest and smell. It was difficult to breathe but it was worth it now. Jñao relaxed, he had almost come and this was not what he wanted; yet. The woman was very excited and would do anything he wanted. Taking her head in both of his hands, he stroked into her throat. The pain had left as the passage widened. With longer and quicker strokes, he was about where he wanted to be and held off as much as possible before pushing the woman's face way from him and spraying all over her face and mouth. The release was so good. It had been a week since he had released his seed and this woman needed to be put in her place. Bolis was sad when the male pulled out of her and even more surprised when she was sprayed in the eyes, nose, lips and mouth by a thick viscous substance. The taste was... she didn't know. The smell hit her system like a blow to her body. It was fantastic. She wanted more, as much as she could get. Her tongue came out and licked her lips to get more taste and now found it delicious, but delicious throughout her body. Opening her eyes, she saw a drop ready to fall and get wasted. She pushed forward against the hands loosely holding her and sucked the drop and the piece of flesh into her mouth. This was enough and her orgasm took over without anything being touched. She shook and shook as the flesh slipped deep down her throat again as if it belonged there. In the next few hours she had received his seed many times. The last time the male had allowed her to have it all in her mouth. She cherished the gift and tasted it only in small amounts to make it last. Jñao had never come so many times in succession before. His improved body was one factor but the woman's tight mouth certainly was the other, since she was so eager to get his spend. She had even refused to allow him out of her mouth. He contented himself with performing his duties with his legs spread and the woman almost sleeping with his flaccid cock in her mouth. The time was up for their orientation and they all had to go to the Terra's Pride when she made another call to the Oort Cloud. Jñao had to make some decisions now. The destroyer was by far the upper most in his mind. The woman wrapped around his cock was difficult if not impossible to work with. Only recently had she come around and when she did she had nothing but sex on her mind. Perhaps there was a way of trading her in for another. Even a woman like the way she used to be would be preferable to the way she was now. The sucking on his soft cock got fast and furious. The woman had seen how she might be dumped. Jñao pulled the woman off his member and said, "Stop woman. The reason I wanted to get rid of you is because you will not follow orders. The destroyer is a more important goal than having sex with a woman, no matter how willing she is. Haven't you looked into my mind in the last few days to see how essential it is?" The thoughts went around in Bolis' mind much slower than usual. Her need to mate seemed to be much stronger than the male's. His quest for a ship even matched some of the Tandra women which she despised. This need for this particular ship was making her come to an unusual decision. "I will work as hard as I can to help you get the destroyer if you will place a child in me?" This shocked Jñao. The culture he grew up in required him to guide his children as they grew up. The Tandra would not let him do the upbringing, for that was a woman's job or a group of women. "I will give you a child if I get the destroyer. Any other deal will mean that you will not necessarily give your best." Bolis hung her head. She knew that the male was right. She never did her best and would never do her best for a Human, at least not for a Human till now. "I will try my hardest. I hope that we are successful. Will you at least give me joy when we have time?" Jñao had to see how this was going to work. He liked sex as much as the next guy but holding the destroyer would give him the greatest orgasm ever. "We can give it a try. Once the competition starts though, there may not be time. We will be marked on everything. I doubt if both of us could act like soldiers if we are making love." Bolis ran the word 'love' through her mind. To a Human this had a wide range of meanings. To a Tandra the meanings were similar but did not cover the same area. Women did not usually love men or the reverse. Getting to the rest of his words she saw the only time for sex would be now. She smiled at the Human and then made sure everything was functioning properly. Standing abruptly she continued with her smile, lowered herself to the deck and presented her backside to the male. Even though he had been sucked off so many times in the last few hours, he again managed to get hard at the sight of the beautiful but flawed woman before him. This position was acceptable to him but it was better to always take this woman on his own terms. "Get up Bolis. I want you on the bunk." The woman did not understand at first but got up and walked to the bed. Jñao positioned her on her back and again the woman wondered what was going on. Her knees were pushed up to her small breasts and Jñao felt her opening. Even though a delightful scent came forth, the woman was still dry. The long urethra that he heard about was very interesting. Caressing it with tenderness he heard the woman to groan in want. Abandoning the little baby cock sized piece of flesh, he tried to get a finger into the woman. It would not go unless he pushed hard and this would damage her. Bringing the finger to his mouth he smelled it and found it close to what he was used to. A bit of saliva helped get the finger in but KY would do much better. There was none on the ship and nothing that could substitute for it. She was all worked up now and needed relief something fierce. He lowered his face and gently sucked on the prominent piece of sensitive flesh. The woman started to thrash, so he held on tightly and continued till the woman simply passed out. It seemed now that the sleeping woman and he had passed a certain barrier. She was not the opposition anymore but a person to be held and perhaps even cherished. Jñao could only think of it as her size being like a child's, and this brought out his paternal instincts, but even that was wrong. After one more time of licking and sucking on one another, they flew to the pickup point with the Terra's Pride. Almost all the ships were ahead of them and they just had time to meet in the large room. Captain Shingle was there talking informally to the Humans while most of the Tandra were off by themselves. An exception was a Japanese girl that held a Tandra's hand in hers. Bolis too stayed with him instead of going to meet with the rest of her race. Her attraction to the male had lessened significantly since leaving the ship but it could never go back to the way it was when they were first paired off. Walking over to the group Bolis held close as if she would get separated and lost forever. Her actions were so much like a child's in need of reassurance that Jñao put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. The Humans had turned around and saw the display of affection. Jñao was not concerned, for he had seen many Tandra and Humans walking together. He almost stopped as he thought of this. Always there was an aura around the couple that he had seen as love; not sex or even fun to be with, but the 'L' word. His arm came up and Bolis started to panic. The arm came back even tighter than before and the woman relaxed. He wondered if it was possible. Private Silva saluted his captain and stood at attention waiting orders. Captain Shingle returned the salute and watched both Tandra and human. "Hello Jñao, Bolis. I see that you two, as well as Private Kamata with Glos, are the only groups that seemed to have worked out. May I see how it was done?" Jñao was not too sure but remembered that there were never any secrets, or at least not for long. The sweat, workout, restricted ventilation and how this affected the Tandra all came out. He saw in return Kamata's method of beating a male into recognizing her as his leader. This was against all Tandra rules and she could be brought up on charges if Glos only would make the attempt. The opposite was now the truth. Glos would do anything to protect his 'husband'. Captain Shingle said, "Your method seems to substantiate the Cap's ideas. Would each of you consider taking two more recruits in your ship since they are four place? We can see how the rest of you think on the crew change." The other 22 humans were canvassed and they agreed since they knew how frustrating it was with just one of these particular Tandra. Hisako was shocked at the idea of taking more recruits. She had come near killing Glos till they came to an understanding. Using her fists had been satisfying for her anger but bad in principle. Glos, she was sure, would do anything she asked of him now but getting there had been a pain for both of them. Jñao too was shocked. Bolis was a complete pain in the ass till she was subdued with his scent. He figured the rest could be done just as easily. This would also leave someone that could watch the systems when he was getting 'his rocks off'. There were a few things that neither Bolis nor he knew about ships systems, even with more training he could not get it all in time for the competition. "I will give it a try if Hisako does too. There is just too much to know and not enough time to learn." Hisako saw this as another test, on many levels. She too, knew a full crew working together could beat any two man crew around. The trouble would be in working together. "I would give it a try but I think we both should get a little more time to break in our crews." Captain Shingle said, "I think that can be arranged but I believe the rest should get more time too, so they can get to know their crew better. Would 48 hours from now be enough?" Both agreed but knew that the time was really too short. All the crews made their requirements known and the supplies were delivered to the various ships. Most wanted the larger missiles, capable of taking out a major ships, while others stuck with the more numerous smaller missiles. At the appropriate time all the ships left again, now with another 48 hours to practice till the games began. Hisako was stunned when she came aboard her small ship and found not only another dilatory male but a female too. She had orders to leave immediately and head to her portion of the Oort Cloud, to prepare for her test. She cursed in her mind, all the ancestry of the captain and cursed herself for going along with this charade. There was no way that she would win now. Two more males she could beat till they saw who was boss, then she could use her secret weapon but how was she to use this smirking female. "Glos, take us out. Let's get there as fast as we can." "Yes my soo... my captain." The new male smiled at the gaff while the female, Moss, said, "You are such a fool Glos, she is just a female..." Hisako bent to one side, brought her fist back as far as she could and struck Moss in the stomach. As the woman bent over, Hisako stepped in and pounded the woman many times, inflicting as much pain as possible while trying to do the least damage. The woman spewed the contents of her stomach and was bleeding from her mouth and nose. Hisako finally stepped in and held the woman's face as her knee came up. The woman fell unconscious to the deck with her body covering the vomit. Turning to the male, Sef, she said, "Is there a problem with the way my crew addresses me?" The startled male stood at attention and said, "No, sir. It was a mistake on my part. Please excuse me." "You are excused. Get your clothes off. Your training is going to start now." "My clothes, captain?" Hisako backhanded the startled male. "You heard me. Do you want more?" The startled male did not dawdle in the least and stood before his captain ready for more orders. Hisako looked into the worried Tandra's mind and saw a mass of confusion. Physical violence was very rare, especially from a captain, even of a small ship like this. He could see now why Glos had acted the way he did. This Human was a tyrant that would do anything to win. He saw how Glos was even considered so bad that he would be beaten and thrown into space at one point. It was so bad he felt his bladder give way a little, till he used all his power to stop the flow. The captain had accessed the computer and found many details about how a male leader took his funts. It was not usually this brutal, most of the time it was like a courtship. With the competition so close she could not wait and take the latter method. She stepped forward and her foot stepped in the small puddle of urine. "You are a poor specimen, even for a male. I believe I will have to beat you till my hands and feet are sore." "Please, captain. I will do as I am told." "You were given that choice many times and you gave the same reply. I have access to all your records and know you are scared now, but soon you will begin to slacken off then abandon as much of your duties as you can." Taking the males shoulder in her strong hands she began to squeeze a particular nerve cluster that gave untold pain to the recipient. "I think I will just start with the fact that I do not believe now and start the punishment." The male started to cry with the pain and crumpled to the floor. His mouth produced all sorts of vocal sounds. After an eternal minute, Hisako said, "Are you ready to join our family? There is no other way. I intend to get that destroyer even if you have to have pain like this all the time." "Yes, yes my captain. I will do anything." "Am I good enough to be your Sooda?" Through the pain, Sef said, "Yes my sooda. I will do as I am told." Hisako released the male, reached under his jaw and raised his face. "I will see if you make a good funt or not," then with concern in her mindspeech said, "Get cleaned up now, Sef. I want you to look pretty when I take you." The male was happy for some reason that he could not explain. He still hurt and had to please a harsh master but somehow found a place to belong. After washing, he came before his Sooda and waited instructions. Glos was upset at the controls but continued to monitor their travels. The woman, Moss, was still unconscious and would be for hours. Hisako said, "Sef, dear. Go to the storage and bring back one of the small bottles in a box, and a bag wrapped in a red cloth." "Yes, my sooda, " came the prompt reply. Hisako removed her clothing and sat on the front edge of the seat. Sef came back and presented the two articles. Hisako just took the large bag and brought out a toy used on Earth for a long time. She took one end and liberally coated some oil on it and then slowly worked it into her vagina. This hurt a lot since her body had reacquired a hymen. When the pain subsided enough she stood and placed the straps around her waist and buckled them securely. In front of her now was a large phallus pointed at Sef. Sef was frightened. This instrument could only be for one purpose and there was no way it would fit. He had only heard little about the Humans and knew almost nothing about their sexual practices. Men were gentle with each other. Most times the sooda was kind too, but on occasion took out his anger on a misbehaving funt. "If you want to be my funt, get on the deck now." In a split second he knew he had to do this for his sooda or fail the family. He turned and got down quickly, waiting for the pain that was sure to follow. Hisako took some oil in her hand and caressed Sef's back passage. Her fingers lovingly circled all of the nerve clusters and she felt Sef's worry turn to wonderment, then joy. When the fingers slipped in, he knew that everything would be fine. More and more fingers entered until he felt full, but oh so nice. A few seconds later he felt a cold object slowly sink into him. There was no pain and any discomfort soon left. The phallus reached far into him and he collapsed on the deck in a small orgasm. "Get up, Sef. We are not finished yet." He got back up and the slow strokes continued till he was almost there again. Hisako held his hips now and stroked faster. Sef collapsed again but she continued to make the same strokes. Sef gasped and his arms went out and around, as if controlled by a drunken man. Sounds came from his throat that had never come before. The sensations were so intense that this time he blacked out from the massive overload of sensations. Hisako was happy. She too had a few small orgasms from the sensations in her own body and from the ones she felt in Sef's. Pulling out of the man, she looked down and saw his anus close up tight, and small brown specks on the plastic like substance before her. A cleanser took care of the phallus and she went over to Glos and handed it to him. "Glos, my first funt, clean Sef and put him in a bed. When you come back, have your clothing off." Glos was apprehensive but then remembered how Sef stood the experience. "Yes, my sooda, but I may not leave the ship unguided. It is your rule." "That is a good reply, Glos. Put the ship on automatic and do as I ordered." Glos was now on the floor anxiously waiting his new sooda to enter him. Never before had a male inflamed him this way. He was very happy to have found favour with such a dominant male. Then his mind told him that it was a female; then it was alright, for it was a female with a mighty phallus. Hisako saw the male on the deck and saw how he actually quivered in anticipation. He was so dainty and soft that she was sorry for ever beating him into submission. To make it up to him in a way, she was very gentle with him and used lots of oil to make the experience even more memorable. The male quivered and came four times before she even entered him. She was glad males did not shoot sperm all over the place unless they consciously willed it. She just stayed with the phallus at his entrance; and Glos, hesitantly and of his own accord, backed up onto it. He paused when he was fully open and had another orgasm from the feeling of being stretched so wide, then another at the thought of having such a strong sooda for a lover. Hisako moved slowly into her male and came back out, trying to draw out the act for as long as possible. In the end, Glos had orgasmed many times and felt more loved than at any time in his life. Hisako was able to have a good orgasm of her own and pulled out of her male. Getting up with a shitty phallus in front of her, she ran the phrase back and forth through her mind 'her male'. It had some good qualities but she also now knew she had many more responsibilities now. They were like... mates. The information was in her mind and she had not recognized it for what it was. She was now married to two men and she was by far the dominant mate. A quick look at Moss on the deck made her think again. She'd had women before and some were very good. Would she want to keep a Tandra woman for a mate? This made her clit tingle at the thought and her subconscious had given its assessment. After taking off the two ended phallus she cleaned it well and stored it away, then she picked up Glos and placed him on another bed. She turned the woman over and then got the med unit running. There were no serious injuries so she just worked the instrument over the damaged face and lips. ------- Jñao figured Captain Shingle had it in for him. Why the fuck would he get a male along with a female. They were accelerating at max and he was trying his best to come up with a solution. The only good thing was that the male would not be dominant enough to cut into his actions with both women. With only 48 hours remaining it would be good to start immediately. Fitol, the male, was at the controls while Bolis stood at the side of her chair waiting orders. The female, Bora, sat indolently at a station and smiled at the apparent obsession of her old friend, Bolis. Jñao said, "Bolis honey, do a thorough systems check. This will be difficult for you but I want you to try to stay with it." Fitol and Bora had no idea what was coming. Bolis took her orders seriously and devoted all her attention to the ship and the systems. Jñao left the ventilators on low and took off his shirt and got the small bottles of lubricant. The Tandra did not know what it was for but all the regular Tandra knew how the Cap had brought about his popularity. Thinking of the way he would have to proceed, he removed the rest of his clothing and started doing pushups in rapid succession. When he had 50 he switched to weight lifting with the AI assisting in regulating the resistance. He switched from one muscle group to the next, till a few hours later he had built up a very good sweat and the woman had a dreamy look to her face. Getting up a final time, he walked by the woman and she took deep draughts of air as he went by. A rustle was heard behind him, and looking back he saw Fitol had abandoned his post, removed his clothing and bent over on the deck ready to be mounted. Walking over and standing in front of the male, he was about to chastise him for the way he was acting, but the male got to his knees and hugged one of Jñao's legs tight to him. The thoughts in the Tandra's mind only said that he wanted a place in this new family and would do anything to get it. Jñao looked at the face and recalled that male and female looked the same. He would not be ashamed to walk around with a male like this, even if everybody knew he was a male. This revelation made him think hard. His society; or, he corrected, his old society, did not think a homosexual relationship should be allowed. The one Fitol had very willingly joined was predominantly homosexual, and the Humans had to feel their way around all the obstacles. "Fitol, do you really want to join a family with me as the sooda?" Fitol, with a look that could only be described as adoration, said, "Yes, if it pleases you." Jñao had to think of the repercussions. This sort of thing was not a one night stand. This was a very long term commitment. Was the captaincy of the destroyer so important to him that he would take on a male wife? Looking at the females he saw that they too wanted to join his family, even though he had none yet. His only commitment so far was to impregnate Bolis if they took the destroyer. Did he want to keep her? She was a real pain before but now she was definitely different. The vision in his mind of Tandra children climbing all over him and calling him daddy was very satisfying. Two former marriages that had failed, luckily without children, made him realize that bonding to a Human female would never be as gratifying as the Tandra variety. Tandra society saw the male of female family in an unusual position. The military usually moved a whole family at a time. The records showed these people were very educated but incomplete in some ways. Their numbers were few but they outperformed a female only family in many cases. Not wanting to make a serious mistake, he went into the mind of the male at his feet. He found a long string of love affairs where there was nobody to steer the correct course. It floundered on the rocks of reality, time after time, resulting in a male not sure of why he was doing anything. Bora, like the rest, was captured like a fly in a bottle by his scent. Bora had been rejected by many other Tandra because she was not as proficient in her mental abilities, much like Bolis. She now rejected all families because they rejected her. Bolis had been the head of a female family for a while, but had made one too many mistakes when she started on the Cap. With her family broken up by Mom, she saw now how poorly she had done. The fairness of their capture came to mind. Each was free as much as a person could be when the entire race was at war. Would the scent that now bonded them wear off and they all find that they wanted to leave? Would children that were only brought about by instinct be treated the way they should, and would the usual feelings of a Human male cause him to get bored of his mates after only fifty or so years? Everybody on the small ship had been cast adrift, one way or another, in this new world and each needed and anchor to hold onto. A family or the military were the strongest things going. Knowing if he did well he could keep this hodgepodge group together; and one could reinforce the other in everything they cared to do. He said, "Bolis, look at me please," when she did he said, "it was my scent that brought you to me. I am going to remove it." Bolis started but was quieted. "Like I said, the scent will go. If you want, I will give you a child when the destroyer is decided one way or the other. I want you to stay with me and raise the child ourselves if possible." The woman did not know what to say or do. She would have this alien and he would actually want to help in the raising of her child. ------- Chapter 69 Jñao turned to Bora and made his confession, "You are under the influence of my smell, the same way Bolis and Fitol are. I have done a lot of thinking about you wanting to join my family. I like the idea and want to make you welcome but only if you make the choice without influence. It would be unconventional by Human or even Tandra protocols. The family needs a strong head, and I plan on being that person. Fidol will be one of my wives, even if he is male. This will take a bit of getting used to on my part as well as all of you. I expect all of you to work hard, and see if we can win the destroyer, I will ask each of you for your answer." The air slowly cleared, and Jñao gave them all a good chance to recover from it's influence. Bolis resumed her work, thinking hard on the offer. What had happened seemed to still cloud her mind but the conviction to stay was still very strong. Fidol had gotten up but did not don his coveralls yet. The chance for sex was still too great in his mind to think any other way. Never had a sooda been as strong as the one that now walked the ship. If only he could be the funt in his family. There would be no more worries of inadequacy, fear of rejection, or urges to end it all. This family could fill all the basic needs and provide control that was never there before. Bora was simply stunned. She had heard all the words in her mind but did not consciously understand all the points. This male was so very strong. Her sudden need to have a child by this particular male didn't even feel odd. The chance of forming a family was beyond any dream she ever had. Raising children in the family with a male, or perhaps two, was not perceivable. Racking her mind she was not able to remember any instance where a female had to share with a male but in this instance she gladly would. Even to get a small portion of this male's time and attention would be enough. Mom was doing her best to get public outrage behind her as she prosecuted the Japanese drug house in her daily show. It was part of an international organization trying to find out what Tandra medicine was able to do. One of the recruits was dead and the other was only saved by a heroic effort of the extraction team. Not only were cell samples taken but actual vivisection was carried out in an effort to find out more cell mechanics. Videos and still graphics of the condition the two were found in was displayed to all. She knew many people would be sick or very upset but that was a fact of life. The opposition called in all its political clout and tried to get the Tandra censured for illegal search and seizure. Kidnapping was also inferred because the two recruits were not yet Tandra citizens. Mom countered with all the research done on the captives. The graphics were shown and she asked the residents of earth if this were what they wanted to happen to them. A day later all the things that the drug company had done to get the politicians into their pocket was exposed to the public. Not only conversations were listed but thoughts were told but listed as verbal communications. Now with nothing to loose the politicians did everything in their power to harness the Tandra into a form that could be controlled. Some countries passed laws that covered citizens of other countries while in their own countries. Mom told the British how they were subject to Japanese laws when sitting in a local pub outside London. The backlash did not rescind the laws even when most thinking people decried their inception. Since Mom could not be shut up she pointed out how the laws were still on the books and could be evoked at any time after the current hullabaloo was over. Anybody siding with the disgraced politicians soon found small portions of their own dirty laundry hung out for public viewing. With greater and greater detail coming forth the laws were soon nullified. The original crimes had not been prosecuted though. We had to be satisfied with all sorts of sanctions imposed on the corporation for any other action would be dragged through the courts for years. The air in the small ship was rank with the smell of vomit, blood and urine. Hisako contemptuously nudged Moss' naked form with her foot. "Get up female, we have things to descuss." The bleary eyed female opened her eyes and looked around and suddenly remembering how she had been treated. She cowered at the shape above her. Hisako nudged her again. "Get up, or do I have to boot you to the cleanser?" Moss turned on her stomach and scrambled to the cleanser noticing a naked Sef doing a very diligent job of searching for any unidentified ships or potential ships in their range. Moss felt pain all over her body but her face was not sore as it should be. She searched out and found Sef then saw that he was unaccustomedly satisfied with himself. He had found a place for himself that also gave him fantastic satisfaction. Glos was not as satisfied in one way but did have the same feeling of belonging. Moss came out of the cleanser and requested a garment from the AI but none was forthcoming. She looked down and found bruising all over her body and felt many sore joints and muscles. She came out showing her wounds, hoping to show this wild female what she had done to a peaceful person. "Moss, my little child come here and sit." Moss wondered what this was all about. She was not a child but was almost 430 years old. Searching the computer she saw that this Human was only a little over 50. Nevertheless she came and sat on the deck. Hisako sat down, picked up one of her heals and put it on the seat she was sitting on. "Come closer child; we have things to discuss." Moss could only see the hairy juncture of the female's legs and the small hole that leaked a small amount of blood. Wiggling her body she was compelled to get closer. "Get closer, as close as you can get." What did this woman want? Was she to stare into her opening as she talked? When she was as close as possible, Hisako reached out and grasped the short hair on the Tandra woman's skull and twisted it a bit. "Moss, we have a problem. It seems you think that all of this is a game. When we are done you will simply go back to the way things were before. We are at war now, even if it hasn't been declared. I want the destroyer so bad I can taste it. You will not give me all of your loyalty till you see that I am your leader." She paused as she looked closer at the female and forced her head to turn as her hand directed. Moss felt she was in the presence of an insane person, one that the computers should have rectified long ago. "Moss child, the way I see this situation, it is my job to get you to understand that I am your leader. You have never recognized any higher authority and have not been able to function well yourself because of your own preconceptions. If I should be able to accomplish this you will feel better knowing you are taken care of and even loved." "I don't need... ," was as far as she got before Hisako put her hands on the pressure points in the woman's face and shoulder. The woman screamed at the pain and tried to get away but the strong hands would not allow it. Through the excruciating pain the woman heard, "Do you want me to take the pain away child?" After many reiterations the idea came through and the woman pleaded to be freed from the pain. Hisako pulled the woman to her crotch and petted her hair. "There, there, see I took the pain away. Are you going to thank me child?" "I... yes, thank you," the feeling of unreality was very strong. How could this woman say this and then be the one to cause the pain? "I see that you have not learned yet. My people have a saying about pain purifying the spirit. You have a heavy spirit that I will try to help." The pain came back and the woman heard, "The pain is taking away all your bad ideas and casting them out," over and over. Finally when Moss screamed over and over too that she wanted the pain taken away, did Hisako finally relent. "There, see child how I took away all the pain?" "Yes, oh yes. Thank you for taking the pain away," she said frantically. Her mind not allowing any contrary thought to emerge. "That is good child; but you should address me as Mother. I will look out for you and you will do the best you can to grow up into a productive adult." "Yes, yes Mother. I will do that for you." "I am going to give you the other side of pain now because you have been a good little girl." The woman's mind frantically looked for escape and knew there was none. "Do not worry, little Moss. There will be no pain for my little girl. Mother loves you." Rubbing the woman's face on the secretions from between her legs she pulled the now docile woman up and placed her chest on the low bunk. "Stay here my little darling. I will get ready." Sef jumped up at the command and brought over the red bag and the oil. He held it in position as Hisako placed some oil on her end and wiggled onto the phallus. It was strapped on and Hisako put more oil on the other end before walking behind Moss. With a lubricated hand she traced all the little nerve clusters and the distraught woman brought her tear filled eyes up to see what was happening. The feeling was so nice like what a lover would do. In a moment she felt something entering her uterus but the finger was too big. Her tissue stretched and stretched to accommodate the invader and she could not move out of the way. The groans seemed to drive Hisako on as she pushed deep into the woman. Never had anything been up her that far before. Moss tried to raise her head and back up but Hisako used her hands and drove the woman's face into the bed. Many strokes later the hands were not needed and Moss now groaned in want. She was stretched wide and felt all of the small nubbins inside her fire as they were caressed by the rigid member within her. When Moss was close to her peak Hisako stopped and said, "Child, see what you get when you obey. Would you like your mother to continue?" Moss eagerly said yes and Hisako continued to stroke into her. The woman came like never before and Hisako was constantly telling her to 'obey' at every stroke. Hisako made mental images of Moss doing what she was told, and getting this kind of reward. A half hour later the woman could take the stimulation no longer and just lapsed into unconsciousness. Hisako just continued with her mantra to set the lesson as best she could. Looking at her males, she saw Sef on the deck waiting his turn if it pleased her. Glos was trying his best to fulfill his duties but found it the most difficult thing he had ever done in his life. "Sef, Honey, I want you to take the helm now and continue on our course. Glos will now be pleased by his mother. If you are a good boy you too will be filled by me." Sef readily got into another chair and learned all he could from Glos so that he could continue. Glos just sat in his seat waiting for explicit orders. When they came he almost ripped his clothing off in haste and got on the floor in position. Hisako lubricated the phallus again and used extra on Glos. She was very gentle in entering him and did not need to give the commands to obey for she knew that he would do anything for her now. Duc's next call brought everything to a head. Tran Xuan Cong had been seriously hurt, he heard. The time had come to rescue them. Because of the injuries, Duc was to come with Lam and bring a few of the med units to help save the life of their relative. The extra unit was to be used to bribe a senior military officer into helping. The man would risk the lives of his soldiers when they went in to secure the family. The underworld kingpin was to kill the family in only three hours and it was mandatory that Duc and Lam be there to help the soldiers. The phone calls had been traced through Los Angeles to Napa and finally Hanoi. Mom had considered Vietnam a vital link all along and quickly found a link there to old Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City now. A probe showed a large mansion on the outskirts of the city. It held a district administrator, a lawyer, and two members of the local underworld. The questions around the table centred on whether Duc would go for the plan or would he bring those invisible commandos that had struck the Japanese drug company recently. The government official said, "Many people have been listening to Tran's voice. Almost all are convinced he is very concerned and will do as he is asked. "What if the commandos come?" "I have transferred many tonnes of old explosives to the site from a military base. If the commandos come they will be consumed by the blast and so will everybody else. The people at the site know nothing of us and even if captured could not tell anybody." A small ship dropped from the sky and opened to reveal Duc and Lam. They got out as ordered and a small sphere orbited each. A soldier in full combat dress ran to them from a nearby building. Lam could see a test coming on. The soldier said, "Come with me. I will show you to the Captain." Then with his mind he said, "There is a mine under your foot. Don't step down!" Duc had understood and without hesitation placed his foot on the ground. When this hurdle was passed the soldier asked, "What are those things flying around you?" Duc replied, "Medical units." Probes came from all over accompanied by invisible men and Tandra in combat suits. Duc and Lam were led into a low building with no other neighbours or even vegetation around. Soldiers in camouflage were all over the place. Small radar units were constantly scanning for any enemy approaching. Captain Nguyen Van Nam, in a pressed suit, came forward and greeted his guests. They were offered refreshments which were politely refused. "How will you help us rescue Tran Xuan Cong and his family?" "We have traced the gang to an old warehouse on the other side of the city. There will be many hoodlums there and security will be tight." "I used to live in this city. Why can't the police raid this place?" "The police and many government officials are corrupt. Tran and his family would be dead moments after you asked for help." At the moment they first saw the captain they knew he was lying. The whereabouts of the family was unknown and this was just a ploy to steal some medical units, kidnap them and force information out of the new captives. In this case they wanted to learn what they could from the tiny ship hovering centimetres over the ground and not two hundred metres away. The metal helmets all of the soldiers wore attested to their belief that their minds could not be read. Thirty klicks away, Private Pham, who had once been General Pham dropped from a hundred metres and joined the rest of his squad. The small house outside the mansion had electronic guards as well as men with dogs patrolling the grounds. Small combat probes flew ahead and monitored each and every living being in the vicinity. In the basement of the small house lived the Tran family but in complete isolation. The crew of six were all in position and the mission began. Small probes the size of a house fly flew to all the living targets that were visible and stunned them into unconsciousness. The three Tandra and three men raced forward and disintegrated a hole in the wall and entered the house. Invisibly they found the indoor guards and stunned them before cutting through the floor. With carefully placed weapons they removed the floor and descending onto the startled family below. Invisible weapons came up and all were stunned. Small shields were placed on all the family and they were quickly carried out of the house. Private Pham used different probes to search out the alarms and wiring before finding many kilos of explosives in and around the house the captives were held in. An automatic pistol caught his eye and he took the souvenir with him. With the family safely placed in a ship, the squad leader returned to the mansion and worked his way around all the alarms and through an open door to the library where the administrator and mobsters were waiting for information. Pham read each of their minds and knew for a fact that all were guilty of much more than just this kidnapping and attempted extortion. Stepping into another room he removed his combat suit and activated his simple civilian unit. He stood and nonchalantly walked in on the four men as they drank some brandy and waited for reports. The four jumped to their feet and two drew heavy guns on the young man. "How did you get in here? Who are you?" "You have never met me before but up to a few weeks ago I was called General Pham. Now I am very happy to say my name is Private Pham of the Alliance." The guns immediately went off and bullets struck the private's shield many times while the private calmly waited for the guns to click on empty. The men soon realized that they were wasting their time and efforts. Within seconds the room was full of smoke and the guns once more quiet. The distraught regional director asked, "Why are you here?" "You make me ashamed to think that I once called this country home. I have lived many years in the military with some people like you advising. Thankfully that has now changed." Private Pham dropped his shield and reached behind his waist and brought out his new gun. The gun worked faster than it had ever done before and four neat holes appeared between the eyes of his erstwhile countrymen. Pham threw down the gun and donned his combat suit. The safe was pillaged for information and to make it look like robbery. He invisibly flew off to the ship. Soon it lifted off. Behind them the little house blew up into many small pieces taking with it some of the guards. Lam and Duc got the news and all the men around them fell to the floor unconscious at the same time. Duc walked around to the captain and for a moment thought of at least giving him a good kick. He made do with picking up the captain's swagger stick and quickly breaking it in two. The larger ship hovered close to Binh Minh while Duc and Lam settled to the centre of the village in their four place fighter. Astonished people stared open mouthed as two young people got out of the craft and stood to look around the village they had been born in. Parents hustled their children inside and closed their doorways before huddling in fright. Duc called out in a loud voice the names of the older people he knew and some slightly embarrassing information about each that would not be known by outsiders. As faces came into view Duc called them by name. The younger ones were only known from pictures but their minds confirmed each of their identities. Finally an old man using a cane, came forward to see the people that said they were Duc and Lam. His eyesight was not very good and he had to come close. "You are not Duc and Lam. They are much older than you. They left here almost 30 years ago and live in America." To the Vietnamese Canada was still America. "Danh, you are my uncle. You chased me many times for stealing your beer. Once you made me sit with you and drink so much that I was sick and puked all over myself. You laughed and so did Uncle Hien and Quang. After that, on my birthday, and even on my wedding night, you retold the story. I kept filling your cup hoping you would just fall asleep but you didn't." "That sounds like the Duc I knew. Why are you so young?" "I know you have heard stories of the people that came from the stars. Our son-in-law found them and helped them regain the stars. Lam and I bought food for them to eat. In return they made us young again, fixed my teeth and I can now see without the glasses I once had to wear." The old man said, "Those people are very strong. Why would they give you one of their mighty ships?" "First, give me some of your awful beer and call the rest of the village around. Lam and I have a long story to tell and you will enjoy a tale that you will be able to tell down through the ages." Five minutes into the tale Lam warned the village that Tran Xuan Cong would now be walking back with the squad that rescued them. They had stayed invisible till Duc had settled his people. The village did not even know that the family had been in very serious trouble. When told that all the Humans were formally Vietnamese the villagers were very proud. The prospect in the next breath of three Tandra coming with them, drew a hush. From down the winding path came a man they knew and a strange young man at his side. The procession ended with two men in the rear, with something like rifles over their shoulders. The young child carried in his mother's arms wiggled as he saw his friends. The mother put him down and he ran to his friends and started to tell of all the things that happened to his family in the last few weeks. When the line got to Duc and Lam, Cong stepped forward and greeted both Duc and Lam. "Thank you for rescuing us," he said with the most respect he could manage to carry in his voice and stance. Duc held his nephew in a tight hug instead and when they stepped back he said, "You are mistaken nephew. Private Pham and his squad rescued you. Lam and I just kept the others busy so they would not be looking for anybody coming after all of you." Relaxing a bit he carried on, "The reason you and your family were taken was because they wanted to find a way to steal information of devices so they can learn things." Duc introduced Pham and he in turn introduced his squad; when he got to the three Tandra the village remained deathly quiet. Duc said in a loud voice, "I want to thank all of you for saving my family." He walked down the line and shook the men's hands and then the long fingered ones of the Tandra. Lam followed and Cong then did the same thing. He had a difficult time pronouncing the Tandra names but tried hard. Soon everybody wanted to try the odd custom of shaking hands and especially with the Tandra. A party was set up with the entire village of 83 people plus the guests. The fighter was opened and the adults went in first and marvelled at the simplicity. Soon the ship was full of children clambering over everything. Lam told the worried parents that the children could do no damage. The impromptu meal was set up and the Tandra enjoyed everything, unless it was spicy. The beer was good but had no effect on the Tandra or the recruits due to the changes in their bodies. Danh sat in a chair and the med units went over his body doing everything that a simple units could do. He got up almost 15 minutes later and stood straight without the need of his cane for the first time in almost ten years. The children were done now in groups of four and when it got late they were put to bed. It wasn't till almost three in the morning that everybody had been given a basic checkup and a few minor repairs. The adults that were still awake saw Lam and Duc leave right behind a large ship that had been hovering invisibly over one of their fields. Captain Shingle sat in his chair and worked on the problems aboard the ship. It looked like some of the malcontents have been assimilated into the crews while others hadn't. The reasons for the successes and failures should be looked into. The number of instructors had gone up as the recruits got some of their basic training. It would take years for a real teacher or crew member to be shaped, formed and finally hardened. What he had here was the half blind leading the totally blind; but everybody was happy with the improvement. Humans were normally more than simply blind to start with. The 2,200 recruits were now 2,200 instructors while the old instructors moved up one level in the ever expanding hierarchy. Ninety eight thousand people were the next objective. This was accomplished by almost half of the instructors going to Earth in groups of 6 and interviewing prospective recruits. Special emphasis was now put on the claimant's ability to accept the Alliance as their new country. Too many of the people now instructing were still fairly loyal to their country of birth. These individuals were now on ships guarding the frontier till the new recruits needed them. The Terra's Pride had 27,000 small craft while the Nautilus only had 3,200. This meant that not everybody would get his own ship but would have to share. Since 20 percent of the small ships would carry more than one crew member the shortage would not be felt yet. Competition for the fighters had not started to heat up; but it was expected to. The next batch of recruits when their time came, would be teaching 4 million newcomers. At a staff meeting held earlier by hologram, Charles and Paul talked with William Meech and his exec Toosm. Both ship's AIs were present along with Mom. Toosm, an older Tandra who carried many of the years on her body, said, "We have to use one of the large crystals for the lunar habitat. Work is running too slow when only the computer is doing the job. Many things a rational creature would see are missed by the machine." Mom came up with many reasons to save the last large crystal but Charles thought the major reason was that the lunar AI had held her captive for over a million years and she did not want to allow this to happen again. Toosm was a freed Tandra from the Epsilon Eridani system and had risen rapidly through the ranks to her present position. At one time she had been a captain of a heavy cruiser and the present rank was well deserved. All Tandra were given the benefit of the doubt and given high ranking officer's positions whenever possible. Mom was following Henry's orders and had given some Human officers responsible positions. They would have lots of Tandra to support and guide them. The only cruiser in the system was captained by a Tandra and all but one officer was a Tandra. All the ratings were Human, to see how they would function in this sort of environment. Mom had the last say but had to bow to the majority this time, especially since she would be in charge of placing programming in the new entity, to keep it from taking over. The placement of the recruits came next. The Nautilus and Terra's Pride could accept nearly all of the new recruits with very few changes. With hot bunking on the smallest ships the number could more than double. The remainder of the ships could take relatively few. The Earth base and the lunar bases were reserved for training. New quarters had to be made on the moon. This meant that the mining activities would have to be stepped up one more time. There were a lot of shortages already and it was hoped that when, and if, Henry got back he would have room for all of the troops that he requested. Crystals were the main concern. Machines and even ships could be fabricated if the largest machines were made first. But in every case, small or medium sized crystals were needed to allow them to work. Very small crystals could be fabricated to allow the simpler mechanisms to work. Anything larger was impossible because nobody knew how to manufacture the larger units. The AIs worked on making small modules that would work with other small modules to simulate a larger unit. These larger units could be put together to form computers for ships of the destroyer class and smaller. The computers would not be as fast or be as comprehensive but would work in a pinch. The driving influence in building such ships came from Kitten. She had worked in the academy and studied all she could to see if this method was feasible. She found it had actually been done on many occasions down through history. The academy was putting out many officers and most were from the lunar male population. The best of the newer recruits, both Human and Tandra, were offered cadetships. Through Mom's efforts, many of the mental hospitals and other such institutions were canvassed. Tandra medicine could remedy many of the problems. Some, that medical science said were incurable, could now be treated by having their glands now make each of the necessary substances it was originally intended to. Through a lot of negotiating, many of the people Henry had helped when he took out Yuri Mecholov were brought to the academy for special training. Mom had not been told to do so but thought it wise to get all of those that Henry felt concerned about under her protection. Parents had to be convinced that their children were safe, even if most had no real concern in the first place. Many of the children were runaways or abused. Some had actually been kidnapped and their familie's took care of them along with the state health officials. The attorneys general for Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama had to give their blessing in these matters. Female Humans and a few Tandra helped get them all transferred. Others that could be helped were brought along, not only for screening but as a humanitarian gesture. She had thought about the Human sleepers in stasis and left their fate to Henry, when or if, he came back. ------- Friday morning, an hour before noon, a four place fighter descended to Earth and stopped three metres above a small municipal parking lot. Cars and people from all around stopped and stared at the sight of the cream coloured oblate ellipsoid. It came to the ground and out stepped two very large black men in brown ship's coveralls. One wore a small crystal on a lanyard around his neck. He safely tucked this now into his clothing. Once out of the vehicle it rose to exactly 30 metres and stayed in front of a group of tall windows. The men purposefully walked around the cars in the blistering heat and came to the front doors of a large government building. A guard on the inside was awestruck at the two and simply pushed the button to allow them to enter. Three more guards came running from the back room to see the large visitors. Others nearby ran in case there were any guns drawn. The two newcomers looked very dangerous but smiled to let their true feelings show. Private Moses Carver walked up to the desk and in a deep melodious voice asked to see Mr. Jenkins. The older sergeant behind the desk looked at Moses and then found the location of the man he was to see. "You two have to sign here, please." Moses smiled and took the small pen in his large hand and produced a very small and neat signature. Private Mike Tuck, a man only a bit smaller, took the pen next and signed below. He added who they were to see and even the time and date. A large guard, that considered himself one of the biggest around, walked with them to the elevator and pushed a button on the wall. He was at least a good head shorter and maybe up to fifty kilos lighter too. He reached up and pinned a visitor badge on each of the men. Without any hesitation they entered an elevator. Two people quickly stepped out and three more refused to get in. Private Carver waited till the escort pushed a button and said, "They sure seem jumpy." The tall escort looked up and said, "That your ship out on the street?" Mike gave a small smile and said, "Yup, had it for two weeks now and I am completely in love with it. If I was home I would have it in the driveway washing and waxing it till it glowed. The trouble is that it doesn't need any of that type of care." He said the last with a bit of regret in his voice for he had always treated his cars with the utmost attention. Moses, to make polite conversation, asked, "Nobody wanted to get on the elevator with us. Is it because we are wearing academy clothing?" The guard didn't quite know for sure. It was his job to do this task but was both afraid to be trapped in the small cage and elated that he had been given the privilege. Private Tuck said as he looked at Moses, "I think we are a little bigger than ordinary. Speaking for myself, I would not want to meet you in a dark alley. You are bigger than me and not quite as good looking either." On the eleventh floor they stepped out of the elevator and a woman stepped back hurriedly. This time Moses said in a deep reverberating voice, "Excuse me ma'am," then held the elevator open so the woman could get in. After almost 40 seconds the woman came to her senses and entered the elevator; she passed easily under his outstretched arm. They turned to the right as if they had been here many times before and lead their escort. Turning to the right again, they walked into a large room with a counter. Everybody was looking out the large windows at the fighter as it hovered within a few metres of the building. The men just watched the backs of the people and browsed through their minds. All were fascinated with the ship and everyone was a little on the apprehensive side. They couldn't fathom the reason for its presence. Quiet conversations were going on as to the possible reasons. Theories ranged from dealings with the bank across the street to the possibility the occupants were looking for a place to park so they could go for lunch at one of the eateries. A petite white woman turned around to throw a tissue in the garbage and saw Moses, Mike and the escort standing at the counter. She was about to dismiss them as ordinary and go back to her more important perusal of the ship. She did take note of their clothing and then compared their size to the well known escort they had standing beside them. Urgently tapping her black co-worker on the arm till the woman first looked at her friend then at what she was looking at. There was something very special about them but she did not know specifically what it was. Muriel Johnson swallowed with difficulty and walked to the oddly dressed men at the desk and looked up, way up. They were young, about 18 or so, and very well built. They looked like very competent men that could deal out death calmly but not hurt any innocents. The reasons for feeling this oddly were not really understood. Their size would allow them to have little difficulty playing football or anything else if they tried. "How can I help you gentlemen?" Moses's deep rich voice answered and she felt a shiver reach from her toes to her head. "We are here to see Mr. Jenkins. Would you be kind enough to take us to him, Muriel?" The voice was much like that of the well known singer Barry White and she tried to think of things to say that would allow her to hear the voice again. "I could, but I will have to see if he is in. Could I help you instead?" Moses knew now where the man was exactly. "I am afraid not; though I would prefer to talk to you, he is the one we have to deal with." Muriel was forty with a husband and two grown children, but for some inexplicable reason wanted to be with these men. Both were as young, or as old, as her own children. Seeing the futility of waiting she said, "I will get him." Mike and Moses were led to a small office with the name on a plastic holder beside the door. Mr. Jenkins invited them in while the escort stood at the desk and waited. Jenkins had noticed the odd dress but did not know where he had seen it before. The space ship outside the window was still occupying his mind even though the two men frightened him a bit. "What can I do for you gentleman? Oh, sorry, have a seat." The men looked at the two wooden chairs, assessing their strength, and carefully sat down. Mike handed an envelope with a few folded pieces of paper across the desk. "We came here to get Jonathan Bender and take him to our school." The boys name was familiar as most of the other delinquents that he met. Without reading it Jerkins said, "I am sorry, the boy is to go in front of Judge Morrison of Juvenile Court this afternoon. I think his schooling will have to wait," he laughed. The two patient black men remained silent and just waited as comfortably as they could. Jenkins felt a little uncomfortable under their gaze and decided to read the papers in his hands. One was a legal document demanding the 13 year old boy's release. It was signed by Judge Anthony Fellows. Thinking hard, Jenkins remembered the judge represented the state supreme court. Checking the document again it said exactly that. The other paper was from the attorney general of Florida, giving his personal ok to the release. Jenkins asked, "What did the boy do to get the attorney general and such an influential judge to get him back in school?" "The boss wants him in school and away from all the bad influences. His brother Jerome will also be offered a cadetship as well." Jerkins looked at the young men and asked, "Both of you are pretty young for truant officers. You look more like students to me, but big students." Moses now spoke, "Sir, I am 79, as of a few days ago." "That... ," he looked at the young men again and noticed the uniforms. They were the same as he had seen on TV many times, except for the colour. Could these men be... "Is that your ship outside the window?" He asked excitedly. "It is, Sir. We are just looking for two more crew members to make us fully operational. Captain Shingle will have us rotate the position of captain till all of us are trained." Jenkins just stared at the men. One was older than his father but looked as young as his son. If he didn't have so many obligations here he would ask if he could sign up. After getting the change of custody papers finalized, the bureaucrat walked with the men to the front entrance of the building and presented the release forms to Moses. "I hope you know what you are getting into with this boy. I have seen many like him and they all usually end up bad." Mike spoke now, "I was once a boy like that. I got a good job and was a good parent to my children. I volunteered to fight for my country. The Tandra must have seen something good in us too, or we would never have been chosen." Jenkins was a little tongue-tied but shook hands with the men when they put their large hands out. Moses asked in his kindly voice, "Will you phone ahead for us? It may keep the guards from making a mistake when we try to get one of their hardened criminals out from their clutches." A kilometre away they found a short ugly concrete building. It was originally on the outskirts of the town but the buildings had encroached on it till it had all the infrastructure of a city around it. Mike looked around and saw Mario's close by. "You want to have something to eat here before we go back? I have never gone in there before." "Sounds like a plan. I haven't been in there before either. I remember that place being a grocery store quite a while ago." The ship again settled in the parking lot of the jail. They exited the craft and it rose into the air once more. The men walked around to the front of the building and went through the sign in procedure once again. Soon an angry young boy came from the back and went to the front of the cage and eyed the three males in front of him. When he was given his property he asked the men, "Who are you, and whaare are you takin' me?" Mike replied, "You are going to school son. I heard it is pretty hard to leave once you get there." "I ain't goin', to no school, unless it is with my frien's." Moses spoke to the boy for the first time and said, "I have a son that was the same as you. He, by the way, is trying to go there too. It is your friends, that got you into trouble and your new friends will help you now." "I pick my own frien's, and I ain't going to no school of yours." "I think you should reconsider, Shoes. It's a great place." "Only my frien's call me Shoes, you ain't my friends." Once the papers were signed the three walked out the front door. Shoes, true to his name, broke for his freedom and ran down the street, confidant that nobody would be able to catch him. Two blocks down and one over he turned a corner and ran into a wall of flesh. Mike reached down and picked the boy up. "Watch where..." The boy saw who he ran into, and said, "How?" Then ran again, for all he was worth. The man had disappeared, and as he ran two more blocks. He ran wide around a corner, and again into a large man. The man was not angry, and was certainly not out of breath like he was. "You want to get some more exercise or go with us now?" For an answer, the boy took off to his left, raced across the street, and when he turned around didn't see the men. Cutting across a large parking lot he saw a brown blur out of the corner of his eye but just kept running as hard as he could. Cutting through a park, he ran down the asphalt path and hid behind a large tree. Turning around he saw the waist of a large man covered in a brown material, not a hand span from his nose. Mike asked, "Moses asked if you are ready to come with us. You got any energy left? Neither of us has even broken into a sweat yet." The boy was out of breath but had to run. He ducked around the large man and ran now as if for his life. At the far end of the park he was very tired and was about to run across the busy road when a large arm came out of nowhere and wrapped around his waist. "You go into traffic and you will end up hurt. Let's go to the corner and walk across then you can run again." "How... how can you do that?" "Well, every time you start to ask a question, you use it as a diversion and run. If you stayed you would find out. Why don't you turn around and run back into the park and I will show you?" The boy was frightened of the man's abilities, but oddly, not of the man himself. It had been touch and go there for a while in Juvenile Hall when one of the older boys wanted his ass. These guys saved him and for an odd reason going into the park with them did not seem dangerous. For an answer the boy bolted back the way he had come and when through the wide gates looked back and didn't see the man. If he were following he would have to be right behind him. He ran another few metres and saw the man leaning beside a tree close to the path as if nothing was happening. As Jonathan ran past the man waited and then ran beside him but he was running backwards. Even with a dramatic burst of speed the man stayed even with him. Seeing that he was getting nowhere, he slowed down to a walk as he tried to recover his breath. Out of the corner of his eye, again he saw the brown blur and on the other side of a wide stream. He saw it fly across the water and land on the crushed stone path leaving deep holes in the Earth. One step beyond was the other man. Jonathan's mouth dropped; his mind in shock. Nobody could run that fast, or jump that far. "Yes we can. You should see how fast Moses runs when the dinner bell rings. Ah, speaking of dinner, while we are here, do you still want to stop in and get something to eat?" "Sounds good to me, I think Mario's might have room for one more. It is three minutes to 12 now. If we want a spot we have to hurry." Turning to the boy he asked, "Do you want to eat with us, son?" Jonathan recognized the name of the restaurant and had never eaten in a place like that but took the statement as a challenge. He knew he would not be admitted because he had no suit and tie; just a tee shirt and jeans. "Ok." Moses reached down, threw the startled boy into the air and positioned his shoulders so the boy fell on his wide neck. Before the boy could gain his balance the man started running. The trees rushed by so fast that it looked like he was in a car. At the park border he cringed in panic as they ran before the high wall. The men leaped over the wall and landed on the road on the far side of the parked cars. Keeping to the streets, they made it to the restaurant as it was just starting to fill. The entire street was plugged solid with people looking up at the ship. Setting the breathless boy down, Moses held the boy's hand. The boy felt secure in it for some reason and kept it there as if he were a much younger child. He did not even have the power to even look around at what the others were watching. Walking into the dark air conditioned alcove, a maître d' looked up at his newest customers and was about to banish them from the premises. Their attire he saw was not up to their dress codes. The child in particular was dirty, dishevelled, and definitely not what was usually brought to this establishment. "I am sorry sirs, but..." Moses reached into his coveralls and brought out his small crystal on the short lnnyard. It blazed on his chest against the brown material. The maître d' looked closely at it and then remembered where he had seen it before. The space ship hanging outside the premises did more than just jog his memory. Looking at the young face of the one that bore the crystal, he saw determination, intelligence, and above all confidence. Jonathan had not seen the crystal yet but was prepared for the ejection from the restaurant. When the waiter said, "This way, most honoured guests. Mario's will be glad to see to your every wish personally. Will you come with me, please?" Tomasso seated each as if they were visiting royalty but managed to do so in the centre of the establishment so that the other guests could see that they were serving somebody special. "I will be but a moment." He ran off and into the kitchen. Seconds later the chef/owner came out and hurried to the table. "Good day, sirs. Would you require something special today, or would you allow yourselves to be placed at my mercy?" Even though the excited man spoke in his native Italian, Moses bowed his head in acknowledgement and said, "I believe I will place myself in your most capable hands. Just know that since our return, our appetites have been very embarrassing to us." Mike added, "Hello, Mario, I will do the same, but ask your waiters to keep their fingers safely away from Moses' face." When they all looked at the boy Jonathan froze. Moses said, "The boy will have our meal. He is not used to the better food yet. To tell the truth, I have not had too much of it either." Tomasso and Mario bowed their heads as they left and rushed to the kitchen. All the customers looked at the three and most made a correct guess as to their recent origin. Jonathan looked around and then at his new friends. He stopped and looked at the small glowing crystal on the massive chest. He had seen larger ones before on TV and even in the papers. Could this man be one of those people? "Ah,... sir, are you one of the people from the moon?" ------- Chapter 70 "Jonathan, I was born not fifty miles from here and slightly over 79 years ago. Mike and I have been to the moon and out as far as Pluto. Get up, open the front door and look up, if you can get through the crowd that is." The boy did not know what to think but did as he was asked. A few seconds later he ran back talking loudly, "There's a space ship out there." "Jonathan, not so loud. Yes there is. Soon you will be in it. If you want you can fly us back to the moon base." The dark boy blanched and said in a tiny voice, "Me?" "Yes you. You will be a pilot like us. Why don't you go get washed up now. Your meal won't be ready for a few minutes yet." When the boy was gone Mike said, "He does seem eager. Do you think his older brother will be the same?" When the boy came back he looked cleaner but worried. "How can I go with you? My dad would never allow it and what about Jerome? He needs me." "There are a lot of other things to consider too," Mike said. "Your father agreed to letting you train, and the trouble you had with the law will be dropped. BeBop and Fixer will not though. You were not thinking when you got mixed up with those two." Jonathan wondered how all this would end. He had lost a lot of drugs he was forced to deliver. Even though they belonged to the others, he had been arrested. His dad was hardly ever home and took little interest in his two sons but the men said his dad had agreed. The restaurant filled to capacity and they all stared at the people in the centre of the room. Antipasto, stracciatella soup, hand rolled cheese cavatelli in a wild mushroom sauce, veal scallopine with roasted Parisian potatoes, baby greens with arugula salad and then a seafood platter. Mike and Moses ate with gusto. Jonathan watched the older men and tried to do the same. Soon he was too full to continue and more dishes were still coming. At the end of the meal coffee, fresh fruit, and homemade pastries came to the table. When the meal was over both men were even bigger and seemed very satisfied. Mario came out frequently to ask if everything was satisfactory and both men complemented him on his creations, making sure the other patrons heard their words. When it was time to go, the check was denied them and Mario only wanted a photo to go on the wall of celebrities. Moses, said in a voice just loud enough for all to hear, "I thank you Mario for your generous offer but I think Jonathan needs to have a change of clothes first. Would you excuse us while this happens?" Moses and Jonathan went to the back door and the ship travelled around the building but could not make it down the narrow alley. Mike strayed in the kitchen to see where all the good food had been prepared. Moses and Jonathan walked out into the alley. Moses floated up almost forty metres and into the opening in the ship while Mike looked unconscerned. Jonathan stared open mouthed and rose with a tiny scream himself. Inside the ship he was again open mouthed. TV, showed lots of pictures of the interior but never in his wildest dreams did he believe he would ever be in one. Moses opened a small drawer and brought out a silver suit, much like their brown ones. "Well Jonathan, you better get out of your clothes and get into this. That is, if you want to join us." The boy looked at the shiny suit then for someplace to change but saw no place. After a bit of contemplation he started to remove his shoes and clothes. When he embarrassingly got down to his dingy underwear, Moses said, "I am afraid it has to be all Jonathan." Jonathan stood on one foot and dropped his last garment reluctantly and before he could get the new clothing, Moses said, "Stay still, Jonathan. I need to use this." A hand cleanser came out and he ran it over the embarrassed boy as he held his genitals with his hands. "Don't be worried here. I have seen my own boys and then my grandchildren. Some don't even have the equipment you have." When the hands reluctantly went aside the wand went over the area and the tingle made the boy become erect. When Moses was done cleaning the boy, he held his hand with one of his own while the boy slipped the marvellous suit on. "There, you almost look as handsome as me." A brush moved the hair to the right place and some dark boots form fitted to his feet were finally put on. The boy did look good with dark extremities and a silver centre. Moses took the boy's hand and said, "Close you eyes sweety. I feel like I am taking one of my boys to get his picture taken." Jonathan was not even upset by the choice of words, and found himself trusting the man that looked so young but was supposed to be close to 80. They descended with Jonathan's arm around Moses's waist. They walked back through the kitchen to find the appraising looks of the staff. They posed against the wall and Mario joined them for many pictures. With a final shaking of hands on the crowded street in front of the business, one, then the others, rose into the air and entered the ship. Seconds later they were flying over the city. They were looking for Jerome, Jonathan's older brother. He hung out with his friends in a large mall on the other side of the city. After the ship landed at the front doors of the mall, they all got out, and Jonathan asked, "Why are we here?" Startled customers looked on as Moses said, "Your brother is invited to the academy too. Mom wanted you two out of harms way." "Mom knows us?" He said with as much incredulity as a 13 year old could muster. "Yup. The big boss came through here once and could see a lot of possibilities in your brother." "You mean, that Buchanan guy?" "That's him; now let's try to find your brother." Before the boy was able to go far, Moses stopped the boy and placed a small white box below the child's stomach and activated the shield. The excited boy only looked at it and wanted to run ahead. The crowded mall seemed to hush as they watched the odd trio walk down the main concourse. Most of the women and even some of the men were appraising the larger two. Mike and Moses kept a vigilant look out for the boy and their charge. Their subliminal training gave them more than a good grasp of the English language. Later they were taught the best ways of dealing with their fellow humans. By far the best way was to be polite and attentive, without going overboard. A few minutes later they came to the food court. Jonathan ran forward and talked to a slightly older boy that was in the hallway to the offices and the washrooms. Both disappeared down the hall quickly but followed by the men. Two older boys, about 16, let the two younger boys in. When Moses and Mike came up the boys wanted to stop the men but didn't see a way of doing it easily. "You can't go in there, they are doing some painting." Their minds were read and both Moses and Mike knew that there was trouble inside. Moses closed his eyes and thanked God that he had placed the box on Jonathan. Pushing the boys gently aside they entered the room to see two young men, BeBop and Fixer, coming at Jonathan with intent to hurt him. The larger one, Fixer, said to the new arrivals, "Get the fuck out of here if you know what is good for you." Behind them they knew the two young men had entered the room. Mike looked around the room like they were in training and assessed all the odds. Seven young men and two boys, had been beating a young man in the corner. Blood was spread all over the place. The male was alive but suffered a lot of cuts and bruises as well as a lot of internal pain. Moses had fought in WWII and Korea. Oddly the urge to kill was not present, though he knew it would be a good thing to remove these two from society. While Mike was relaying specific instructions to the ship and then to local police, Moses advanced on the two. Knives came out and they jabbed at Moses. He swerved and slapped each hard in the face. More slashes came and Moses continued to slap the young men. Fixer reached behind his waist and brought out a gun. "I'll get you now muffo'." Moses stepped in quickly and squeezed the gun and the young man's fist in his own hand. Fixer screamed a high pitched wail as his hand was crushed beyond recognition. The mangled gun, covered in blood and gore, fell to the floor and soon after Fixer did too, cradling the remnants of his hand. BeBop was frightened now by the large man's speed and strength. Knowing he was overmatched he called, "Get him you guys." They looked around the room and then at Mike, who did nothing but block the door. Mike said to them, "Go ahead, I won't do anything but stay here." The older ones pulled out knives and two advanced on Moses. Waiting till the two were close, Moses reached in a squeezed each of their knife hands and broke almost every bone. As they screamed on the floor, Moses turned to BeBop and said, "You are next." BeBop threw the knife on the floor and said in a hysterical voice, "I am unarmed, I am unarmed. I wasn't going to hurt nobody." Moses asked Mike a few questions in mindspeak and said to Bebop and the rest, "Get over on the floor and kneel down with your hands behind your heads. If you move after that I will rip an arm off." When they all did as they were told, Jonathan ran over to the bloody body. He knew from Fixer that it was his brother. Mike went to see and knew that Jerome was hurt bad. He would live, especially when he gained treatment in the ship and then on the moon. Jonathan cried and implored Moses to help. "Jonathan, in thirty seconds the police will be here. Jerome will live and I just want them to see what these animals have done. On schedule, three police officers raced in with drawn guns and a policeman in the rear with a camera, video taping all that happened. When Mike and Moses were told to raise their hand, they complied. It took a moment till Mike was able to say that it was he that had called. It didn't seem to matter to the police and in a moment, two more police came in the door. No matter how much they talked, it didn't seem to change the stance of the police. Moses said to Jonathan, "I want you to watch Uncle Mike now." As the police turned to Moses's voice, Jonathan saw Mike jump up as if by magic. He pulled all the guns from the policemen's hands. Then taking the cop with the highest authority in his other hand picked him up and said, "You are one stupid cop. Now do you want your toys back or do you want me to break them? I know who will have to pay for them. Now what is it, cooperation or do I bend the barrels of your guns?" All but the senior policeman seemed to find Mike's idea appealing but the leader, a Sergeant Bindle. Putting the Sergeant down, he threw all the guns in the far corner except one. It was a Glock, and fairly expensive. "One last chance. I give you the gun back and we all cooperate or I bend it into a pretzel." "Sure, I will cooperate," his voice said as he planned to shoot Mike if necessary. "Like I said before, you are one stupid cop. I can read minds and you have little to read." Mikes hands went to the gun gave it a twist one way then another and finally handed the weapon back to the owner. "Now shoot me. You just lost a thousand dollars." He turned to the other cops that had not moved, and said, "Pick up the guns and finish cuffing the others. If Moses rips you apart now, you just have your own stupidity to blame." Grabbing the Sergeant he said, "We are going to the ship and then come right back. Now move it quick or I will drag you through the mall." Taking the cop by the collar anyway, he dragged the man to the nearest exit and the ship was there waiting. Mike released the man as he went in and picked up a portable stasis unit. Back outside the ship he said to the Sergeant, "You going back now or just staying here?" Running back to the washroom alone, he placed the device over Jerome and everybody got back as it was activated. The police and the gang saw Jerome freeze into position. Moses was just finishing explaining to Jonathan what was happening to his brother. Holding the 13 year old in his arms like a baby he looked at the camera and went into detail about each of the crimes the individual gang members were involved in. He also knew that either now or in the future the fools would enact a law to make this type of exposure rendered illegal, something along the lines of illegal search and seizure. In a half hour they were done and regardless of what the police wanted, the men and the two boys boarded the ship. Mike flew to the moon base. Jonathan was too upset to pilot or to appreciate the event. Medical looked frightening to the boy. He could see men and women suspended in tanks. His own brother had odd things attached to him and he too was lowered into an empty tank. Moses said, "Don't worry little one, he would end up in the tank anyway. He needs to get his muscles and bones repaired then strengthened. His brain need to be straightened out so he can think better. You and he are going into the Academy and one day you will be officers. The crying child just held tighter to the kind man. In a moment he was asleep and he too went into the tank to be improved. On the way out Moses turned to the sleeping figure and said, "See you in a while, son. We will all watch out for you." Three days later, Jerome was standing in his birthday suit and looking down at his wet and equally naked brother. Eyes blinked then stayed open, "Jerome, you are ok?" "I sure am. Now get your sorry ass out of bed, we have a meal to eat and courses to start." "Courses?" "Yes, you are lucky you have me for a big brother. We all take the same courses; they go as fast as we can understand." Jerome helped his brother up and took him to the cleanser. Jerome had already found out how they worked but stayed with his brother anyway. Stepping out, they picked up their new silver garments and put them on. Over the heart were some odd symbols that both knew from TV; they knew somehow that it was their name in Tandra. They rushed to the large cafeteria with a few other boys and girls. They started to pick out food that they wanted just like the others were doing. Interspersed in the room were Tandra their size, talking to humans. Both Jonathan and Jerome stopped in the unfamiliar gravity and those behind them had to move around quickly or get bumped into. They felt curses being said somehow but no sounds rent the air. Jerome had the presence of mind to mumble apologies for himself and his brother. They pulled out of the way and watched the aliens throughout the room. Both Jerome and his brother fervently wished that they too could talk to them. They saw how the cafeteria worked and soon tried to find seating. They sat down at an empty table and started to investigate the food and found it delicious. While they ate, Jerome told of a man coming in and waking him up, before Jonathan was supposed to be awakened. He was shown what to do and given a simple explanation of what was expected of them. Jonathan told of all the things he had seen before finding his brother; then in a much quieter voice, told of what they did. The last few remarks let Jerome know that his little brother found a strong protector. He just hoped it would not be needed here on the moon. Jerome had time to look up as an adult Tandra came walking their way with a tray in her hands. He knew somehow that this one was a she, because of the larger breasts. For a second, Jerome wondered what it would be like to suck on them. The female slowed down and placed her tray on the table and sat beside the boys. "Hello Jerome, and you too Jonathan. It is nice to see you in the flesh this time." The voice was rich and cultured. The woman herself was very beautiful, as beautiful as all Tandra were, and much like the Tandra on the television. "Hello," Jerome said. Jonathan was a little tongue-tied to say anything. "My name is Kitten, I came over to see you with my own eyes. My family once saw you in a mall and we knew you would make good recruits, if you could keep out of trouble. It is nice to see that at least one of you did." Jerome tried to rake his mind and then came up with the Chinese woman, in the silver suit, that looked so beautiful. "Yes, that one. She and Henry were doing some shopping when you almost ran into them." Jerome was shocked again. The woman had read his mind. Did she know about all the things he thought about her? Kitten stretched out her long fingered hand and laid it on Jerome's. "Do not be concerned, many people feel that way about each other. We all think of it as a complement, as does the rest of my family. I know you are embarrassed now, but do not worry. Soon you will be taught how to hide your thoughts if you wish to." Jerome was still embarrassed and tried to hide it as best he could. Jonathan felt more than just flustered, for he had entered puberty and had the same types of urges as his older brother had. What worried him more was the rebuke he was given about not being able to stay out of trouble. Kitten, with her big liquid eyes, looked across the table at him and the feelings of guilt came to him more strongly. He wanted to do lots of things with her and she could read his mind with ease. There was no way to hide it. He got up to run away when a gentle hand pulled him back. "Do not be concerned about your thoughts. I think you both are very cute too. I would have had some fun with both of you before I met my husband but now he is the only adult male that I allow to have sex with me." Both boys were a little shocked at the frank discussion of sex with an adult. Neither were not virgins but were not very experienced either. "Com'on you two. Eat up. You both have to take your first orientation class in half of an hour." The boys and the woman finished their food and took the trays to one of the disposal locations. Each tray instantly disappeared with everything on it after it was set down. The woman reached down with both her hands and grasped the ones of her partners. Neither boy was embarrassed this time. Jonathan felt like he did when Moses held his hand. The word to describe it was 'safe'. After a minute they stopped at a special circle on the floor and were instantly in another part of the base. Jonathan said, "How... ," then shut up for he knew there were a lots of new things to learn. Kitten looked at all the children and young adults that had come in from various institutions all over Earth. Some of the young people but by no means all, came with specific individuals. Kitten remembered very vividly how Yuri Mecholov was captured and his obscene criminal organization taken apart at the seams. In the process many damaged people were rescued but Earth authorities had not been able to fix them properly. A very few had the benefit of family to assist in their recovery, while most were from dysfunctional families at the best. Walking down the rows of tanks, she took note of all she passed. Most had imbalances in their minds and bodies that made them unsuitable for mainstream Earth society. This was now being remedied and suitable memories being implanted to cover some of their previous life, to give each individual hope of even better things to happen in the future. Some, like the people rescued, were traumatized by what they had to live through. These received the same treatment that Moesha, Kimberly, Michelle, and Clarice had been given when they first came to live as part of Henry's family. This particular group would be broken up into smaller groupings so they could be watched by Tandra and Humans alike. It was not uncommon for some of the subjects to have painful flashbacks. When Mom had few duties she would spend more of her time monitoring the four girls. Now that she had many more duties and even a new AI ready to be born, the jobs would be too much. Many more construction projects were being monitored and soon four million recruits would come through the system. Another four million would come three weeks later. The objective was to completely crew all the ships, both large and small, and then take up the mining work again to build new and stronger defences. The 24 in question, were sorted by to age. The Human brain became very set in its teenage years. Mom took the children and brought all of them back to approximately what a 9 years old would be like in almost every aspect. The changes that were programmed into each of the tanks would allow them to look more like what the Tandra/Human hybrid would be like. The young males were originally 11 and 12, 17 and two were 18 years of age. The females, 18 in all, ranged from 13 to a maximum of 26 with most around 15 to 17 years of age. All would look, feel and actually be young children again. This time it was hoped that parents and peers would help them grow up right. Some had been in the tank for almost three days now and the younger ones were almost finished. Some would not all be done for another two weeks because of all the work that had to be completed. Mom had developed each of their minds, locking locked away all of their old hurtful memories. Their individual personalities were kept as intact as possible but not all of it could be saved. Some new memories were being substituted so they could grow up as productive members of society. The large room on the other side of the base had almost 300 people in it. Some were children but all looked less than 25 years old or so. All of them had originally looked old beyond their years. The younger adults huddled by themselves while the children huddled together as if a group would protect them from some danger. Kitten brought the boys to this group and then over to some other boys. Only six or so were black like them but they all looked as if they were going to be attacked. The girls all looked the same way and Jerome was actually afraid to go near them because they looked so fragile. From mid air, one after another, people just appeared and stepped out of a ring on the floor. The last was Moses. Jonathan ran to his friend and miraculously the man turned around as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He picked up the boy in his arm and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Hello Jonathan. It is good to see you." He put the boy on his feet and went over to greet Jerome. "Hello Jerome. My name is Moses. I was part of the team that recruited you and your brother." Jerome looked up into the man's face. He looked only a year or two older than he was. His voice was so rich and sure that he instantly took a liking to him. "Thanks. I figured I would be lucky to wake up in a hospital but never one like this. Thanks for getting Jonathan out as well. He was forced to make deliveries for Fixer and BeBop till he was caught." "I know all about it. I have to do some work now and we can talk later." They all stopped as Mom made her appearance and started to welcome every person here to a new life. Everybody was shocked when the message went directly into their minds. She explained how most, but not all, had some major problems even at their young age. She set up a group of tutors who were going to put a face to all of the new things that they would have to deal with. The groups were divided as to gender, and the ten tutors would take a group of about 30 each and show them the way things were now done. One thing did stick in their minds, was when Mom said, "You are not going to be regular recruits, but stay in training longer to become officers and future leaders of your race. At the moment you see yourselves as Oriental, Black, Caucasian, Indian and others. All that will fall by the wayside. You all speak different languages, but each will easily learn Tandra and the ability to communicate with the mind, as I do now. You may have a low opinion of your abilities but soon you will not be able to remember what you were like before. New happy memories will push the bad old ones back." Later, with 29 boys in tow, Moses lead them to a smaller room. "Hello, as you heard my name is Moses. For the first little bit I will use my voice but later it will all be mindspeak. If you look around, you will see a lot of small doors in the wall. The Japanese were not the first to make accommodations like this. Inside you will find a bed more comfortable that any you have ever slept on before. It is hooked up to entertainment and tutors that make anything you remember from school seem like it was from the Stone Age." Turning to Jonathan, he said, "Jonathan go to the third from the left there and two up, touch the small pad on the bottom and think 'open' to the door just like Ali Baba said." Jonathan was unsure of himself but not unsure of his friend Moses. He walked quickly to the correct door and touched the pad. In about 20 seconds the door opened and a light went on inside. There was nothing inside at all and somehow this was a letdown. The boy turned around in question and Moses said, "Get you butt in there soldier; it's only an elevator. Just think 'up' but also 'stop' or you will go all the way up. By the way, they go all the way to 144 in our arithmetic but only a hundred in the simplest Tandra way of counting." The group was all male and the oldest was about 18. All the black boys were here, as well as a mixture of other races, but all spoke at least a little English. Jonathan rose about 30 centimetres but was so shocked he demanded the process to stop. A few seconds later he began again and he was able to stop at the correct level. From his invisible elevator, he used his mind to open a small door and climbed into the small room. The bed was so soft and his hands sank into the invisible padding. He sank down and rolled onto his back. The bed seemed to conform to him and Moses's words were completely true. Thinking about his head being too low brought an insubstantial pillow under his head that rose till it felt high enough. He heard from in the large room, "Get out of there lazy bones, you get to sleep after you do some learning." Jonathan happily got out and commanded 'down' and 'stop' to get him back to where he first started. Thinking the next step on his own, he thought the word 'close' and the door did as it was asked. When he ran back to his brother, Moses grabbed him and rubbed his knuckles across the short black hair and said, "Smart Alec," and let him go with a smile on each of their faces. "The lower berths are yours. Just touch them to get a lock that will only open to you. When you get to be big boys and not afraid of heights, you will get those places near the top where it is quieter. The next thing I have to teach you is both easy and hard. Follow me to the next room." The procession went into a small room with holes in the floor and raised pads. Moses undid his brown coveralls and threw them into the air to have them instantly disappear. His naked body glistened with perfect skin and muscles on his muscles. Taking his penis in his hand he propelled a stream of urine at a hole in the floor. It hit the floor slower than it would on Earth and flowed into the hole. When he finished he squatted and had a dump that went down the hole while he stood on the raised pads. With a raised hand and a silent command a small device fell into his hand. He put it behind him and unashamedly grinned as it came near his anus. Holding up the small wand it disappeared into thin air from which it came. He got up and walked over to a small circle on the floor and all could see a slight distortion in his body as forces none here could understand, cleaned all detritus from his body. Walking out from the circle he raised his hand and his garment came back to him. It was quickly donned and he addressed his class. "Well that is how to do the basics. The suit by the way is completely new and fabricated just for me. The holes in the floor are more for emergencies. A computer cleans most up even before it hits the floor. It cleans your bum too even better than your momma did for you. It gives a kind of tingle that most of you will appreciate later. Now, all of you undo your coveralls and take a whiz in the holes. This is a test of eye, dick, hand coordination and I want to see who the best shot is. The winner gets to be the first to fly a ship. Most of the boys complied and pissed into the holes. Moses walked up and down the line making comments like, 'good form', 'great hand action', 'big dick', 'great accuracy' and 'good pattern'. Some of the boys were too uncomfortable to even try this in public. When they finished and did themselves up, Moses walked up to an East Indian boy and clapped him on the shoulder. "I think you cheated. Your dick was longer than the rest and you could aim better, but you did win." The boy grinned at the complement and even felt the large black man liking him but not for anything sexual. Mind reading was completely new to him but he had a good feeling about this man. In nine other rooms, more or less the same thing was going on. The sick people had been helped with a body that now did not force them to do things that should not be done in a civilized society. A lot of new ideas had to be encompassed and new ways of dealing with the results. Soon everybody came to smaller rooms with chairs where their education would begin. At this time, all the teacher had to say was to put on the band and the computer would place knowledge in the spaces previously made for it. Math, ship handling, and manual plotting were the things first learned, then it was time for lunch. The group all met again and this time there was a significant lessening in anxiety. They went along a wall and various pictures of meals were shown. All that was needed was a conscious choice made. The ones that could not choose had one made by the computer with their subconscious mind giving the necessary information. Afternoon was a repetition of the morning, with the subjects studied in more depth. Moses had been monitoring his charges progress and trying to get some of his own training in as well. A meal was provided and again more training, but this time it was done in the gym. The man said, "This time we have a small gym for ourselves. Later you will be expected to remove your coveralls and do it naked. Some of you boys are a bit shy and you will have to get over it. A warship is not a religious school but everybody is expected to conform to what society demands, just like the school. In fact, work on a warship is even more demanding in the way you think and work than anything you have ever imagined before. The training you have been given will allow you to overcome many of the hang-ups or misconceptions you had before." The boys shot from one point to another in various gravity fields. Their minds instinctively recognized the strengths and compensated for each of their moves. After a good workout, all had to strip and have a time in the cleanser. This time all did as they were asked and felt the tingle that was promised. When they were dressed again, Moses said, "I am now going to speak to you with mindspeech. I am 79, and was born a little outside Tampa. I got as much schooling as I could when growing up but I was needed on my family's boat. World War II came around and I enlisted as soon as I could in the navy. There were lots of hassles working on a ship. The white sailors didn't think much of me because of my colour but they did respect me for doing my job to the best of my ability. After the war, I was discharged but signed up again for Korea and fought till it was over. I came home, got married and started a business selling used boats. I have two kids and four grandchildren that I miss something fierce." Some did not believe the words at first because they had become used to lies and deceit all their lives. Jonathan felt something in the man that he had not felt in any other man before. He got up from sitting on the deck and walked over to the giant of a man and said, "Will you be my grandpa now?" Moses looked into the troubled boy's mind and knew that it was a request that the boy had gone far out on a limb to make. "Jonathan, you will be my first grandson. All the rest happen to be girls." He wrapped his big arms around the startled boy and pulled him close. "But that doesn't mean that you get off easy now. None of my boys here will fail to be the best they can. I know I had to do a lot of wheeling and dealing to get the best of the lot." They went for some more food and Jonathan and his brother stayed close. "You have an hour of free time but let's get some training in instead." An audible groan came from some. "Let's have you boys show me what you have learned on a real ship?" The boys now really clamoured for more training as Moses checked and found a very suitable ship that was free at the moment. They transported to a large bay and saw only some students, mostly Tandra, working on small ships and components. Getting close to one wall, the view changed again and they were not sure they were within the same corridors as before. A few more steps and everybody was in a small confined area. "Let's go for a walk now. See if you can keep up." Moses ran easily and the students ran after him in a loose group till they all came to a larger room with chairs like they had studied in. "Jerome, ask in your mind for a fore view." The boy tried and soon a large screen came to life showing space. "Rajiv, sit in this chair and command all the screens to function." The boy did not understand but did as he was asked and more and more screens came to life. The boys looked around at all the different screens and one that showed them only a few metres from the lunar surface. Rajiv was more than amazed that he was able to do this feat. "Rajiv call Mom, and ask for clearance to Mars, then do as she tells you exactly." The boy's eyes got so big, that it looked like his skin would rip on his face. "M... me?" "Go ahead and ask. She is nice and gives lots of help to everybody, almost like a fairy godmother. Ask now." Soon the scenes on the screens changed and the moon got so small it disappeared in one screen. Another screen showed a strange planet getting larger and larger. The ship came into orbit and did some manoeuvring to get as close as possible. "Well Rajiv, what do you think of your first command as master of the Sirius?" "The Sirius? But that's..." "Yes, that is the little ship Mom uses when she goes visiting. She lent it to us for a while. Now let's see what we can find on Mars of interest and then fly back. If we stay here we have to man a watch and all of you need some sleep." Two hours later, the boys were over their first excitement of seeing Mars close up. When the boys were trooped into the large washroom they all reluctantly did their business. "Well that was done much better than when we met, let's get some sleep now." Moses got them all into the captain's room and had them all sleep on the floor with the gravity only providing a minimum of attraction. They were excited like all boys would be and the AI subtly encouraged each to sleep. When they were all resting Moses looked over his boys with the same feelings he had for his own family. ------- Moesha, Kimberly, Michelle and Clarice came trooping into the medical section and met Moth, Kitty, Cloud and Topaz. They were looking at the five tanks when Duc, Lam, Kitten and Doris popped into the room. Within seconds many of the smaller Tandra boys came in too, so they could see what was happening. The youngest members of the abused children were ready to come out of the tanks. They were able to make it sooner than the rest because their ages had only ranged from 11 to 13 before being brought back to the age of 9 that Mom wanted. The adults had gone over some of the files Henry had allowed to be shown and had asked many questions of Kitten about what she knew. The young girls had been coached about what to expect. In reality the new children would be much the same as the human girls had been when they awoke the first time. Duc's boys were eager to see the new boys. Duc figured it was to see how much trouble they could find get into. The first child came out of the tanks and the small transmitters were removed. When more came, Duc looked and could see only small differences in the five before him. Three were boys with no external testicles or phalli. They were internal now, as the Tandra had been arranged. Their crotch was as smooth as any girl's was. Around the base of the penis was five small areas that looked no different than any other but were very sensitive. The girls had a more open mons and a small appendage snaking out that would keep each of them happy throughout their lives. When they were turned over there was no visible difference but everyone knew that the rectum was much like a Tandra now and none would ever suffer like Humans would when enjoying themselves there. Looking at the children's bodies, only minor difference otherwise could be found. The eyes were slightly larger and the fingers only slightly longer and more delicate than a purely Human child. Their faces were similar to a Tandra for each and were very beautiful. The first to wake up was a girl named Debby. Lam jumped in to be the first to greet her. The girl reached around Lam's neck and hugged the startled woman to her. "Hello, Grandmother." Though shocked at the actual name being said aloud she was happy to hear it. "Hello, child. Are you strong enough to see the rest of the family? Almost everybody is here to see you." The child flashed a beatific smile and used Lam to sit up and look around. All the children looked at her and she wasn't in the least perturbed about her lack of clothes. With her legs apart for stability she felt little Moesha's interest in her urethra as it peeked out from its fleshy protection. Debby smiled again and even more at Moesha. The little chocolate skinned girl blushed and hung her head. Lam got her into a cleanser and then into some clean coveralls. While this was happening, Doris helped another girl, Francine, get up and cleaned up as well. There were only enough minor differences to tell the two girls apart. The first boy woke up and Kitten went in and helped him up. She was greeted by George as "Mother," and knew that the child would be one of Henry's children. Calling Mom she found out that all of the children were to be Henry's. Kitten was happy with the situation and carried the child into the shower and cleaned him before getting him dressed. Joshua and Kevin were next and Duc, then Lam again, got them ready. Soon they were sitting around a long table and having a meal. They talked about a few things and found how well Mom had implanted memories. They had been away for some reason or another and had just come back to regain their life in this household. After the meal all the children took their new members away to show them all their favourite places. Doris said, "How much do you want to bet that within 15 minutes they will all be making love to one another?" Kitten spoke verbally and said, "That is always the way to get to know each other. The girls will be particularly happy I think because the boys will have many of Henry's traits." The women had to break soon, for the babies were hungry again and Lam let slip something she had kept hidden for a month now. She would have a new baby to feed in eight months. Duc jumped in and held his wife tight. He had been waiting a long time for this and could hardly contain himself. When he had calmed down enough, Doris and Kitten congratulated their friends. The hungry babies brought everybody back to the present and the adults went out to feed them. For the first time in a long while, Duc was alone. The feeling was not good or bad. It was good to be wanted but it was nice to be by oneself on occasion. He no more than got his gardening tools ready before Roger and Bobby came running in and needed to be picked up and go with him to the 'farm'. Duc realized that solitude was nice but not as good as when he had his boys with him. Giving each a kiss, he carried them on the short walk to the large room with his flats. Duc entered this humid room and stayed still with his children, as he usually did, so that the Dolson could see who it was and not be frightened. Soon their flats came close and Duc started to loosen up the soil and look for any weeds. There were never any, or only the ones that came from the plants that the Dolson liked to cultivate. It was time to harvest more of the kia-berries. He knew that if he stayed to do the job himself that there would be no time to do all the other things that were required of him. He communicated his needs to the computer and berries were gathered in large containers. Then they too disappeared from sight. There were many large flats and the children would have to do this work, but they were currently enrolled in the academy and had little time to devote to this pastime. Soon Roger and Bobby had done some of the picking with the usual ratio of one for the box and one for the mouth. With full stomachs, Duc put them down to see their friends waiting patiently nearby. Just before they ran off, Duc handed them a box of fruit to share and let them go. An hour later he was finished harvesting and had two flats to replant again. With practised hands and a low gravity he was able to get this job done soon and looked for the boys after gathering his tools. The crops the Dolson were cultivating were not quite ready yet so Duc sent over some of the products from his garden. The males came out and thanked him profusely. This time they invited him to sit with them for a moment. Duc had introduced them to tea and the plants were now growing on some of the flats but would take a long time to be ready for their first picking. They quietly discussed all that was happening. Duc proudly stated, "Lam has told me she will give me another child." The Dolson congratulated him, knowing how important family was. Duc knew something else was up but had to wait a while till the Dolson got up enough nerve. After another cup of tea the elder of the village asked, "My daughter has had twins, a boy and a girl. This is very rare and we think that it is a sign. Would you be the godfather of these children?" Duc thought this a good idea and mentioned that usually a ceremony would be performed. He cautioned them that usually both families got together and had a meal. With the way his family was growing it would soon be difficult to house them all. A final question would see how well the Dolson were doing. "Will you be able to have all of our extended families together at one time? The children will be running all over the place and probably getting into trouble. I don't think they are as well behaved as your children." The village elder assured him that everything would be fine and asked if a week would be sufficient notice. Duc agreed and made final arrangements before calling for his boys. As he turned around at the exit to wave goodbye he saw all the Dolson currently out of stasis were there to bid him a happy journey. Duc felt privileged to be friends with such a gentle people. Kitten spent the remainder of the morning, after feeding her children in the academy, teaching the boys and girls the rudiments of the new modules. Small crystals that were fairly easy to produce were used to make larger modules. These larger could perform duties that usually only a larger crystal would handle. Now way had been found to emulate the size of the crystals used in warships. Experiments were made to show the children how everything was done and the group of 43 were offered the final class project of making a small warship and then crewing it to get their final standings. The response let Kitten know that they liked the idea and immediately broke up into groups to see what they could build. The group wanted a cruiser but Kitten had to give many reasons why such a large ship was beyond the time allotted for the project and the crew needed to fully man it was well beyond their limited numbers. Finally she stated that it had to be under a hundred tonnes and fully crewed with only their own number. Later that day Mom made an announcement. The lunar computer had an AI crystal placed in it and she would have to do everything necessary for life support while it integrated itself. To make it easier all transmissions were to be curtailed till the new AI was able to take over the job for itself. Many other nonessential things that could be cut, would be. Everybody had to find ships to stay in or weather the coming loss in services in the base. Transferring to the Earth base would still not make matters easier because she controlled that base exclusively. All the adults were given a list of things to get to make the stay less arduous. Duc thought quickly of the Dolson and sent many of the needed articles over to their habitat. At the appointed hour nothing looked different. Lighting and air still worked. The tutors were useless and all the children had some time off. In larger areas, old Tandra entertainment was projected and people sat down to enjoy the shows and leisure time. Duc was content to cuddle with his wife and spend some quality time with her. Not too long after it was just the two of them and a few of the younger children. As they got settled again more and more of the children came in. Lam was going to get up to give them something to eat but Duc just pulled her back and kept her to himself. Lam had to finally see that all of her children other than the babies could actually take care of themselves and settled back into Duc's arms. Teachers and students who had not managed to find accommodations off the moon sat together and told stories of their earlier life. What was usually sought was their family life before meeting the Tandra. The children were surprised to find out that it was not much different than what they had experienced. ------- With the fate of the destroyer at stake, Jñao and Hisako worked their crews hard. Jñao, with smoother results, got Bolis, Fitol and Bora to work at as close to the theoretical maximum that they were capable of. Surprisingly each was very qualified. The air supply had been returned to normal but it looked like this did not matter. There was a heightened sexual awareness on the small ship but it did not interfere with the smooth running of the ship. Private Hisako found a similar pattern. After establishing her dominance there was no need for violence. Moss had seen that she had no chance of winning and seemed oddly content to have the subservient position she now enjoyed. Though she thought of the Japanese woman as a tyrant, in her dreams, she saw her as her rightful metsu. The last few sleep periods she had awakened from dreams and her conscious mind denying what she had wanted but each time less than the one before. Moss was equally astounded at the changes in lazy males she had been working with. These two were known as being among the laziest. Surprisingly, they did as good as any female would be capable of doing. When Hisako had come around and caressed her face after a particularly good simulation she felt deep within her the need to do what her captain wanted. For the life of her she could not see the difference between a captain like Hisako and a metsu. ------- Doris and Kitten were enjoying their own time off. They were in a 69 position on a grav bed, idly sucking one another. They had enjoyed many orgasms and were just doing this to keep the feeling of closeness going. George and Kevin walked into the room and could feel the contented lassitude. They were a little sore around their penises and bums too. They had treated the females as good as they could and found dildos wiggled into their own bums at the same time. They had clear memories as if they had looked into somebody's mind and been able to see Henry make love. They could feel the love, caring, passion and many other emotions that the man had for those around him. They were very glad to know that he was their dad. They climbed onto the bed with their mother and her lover and just cuddled close and fell asleep after a very hectic day. Francine, Debby, and Joshua were no less tired out. They had made love with all their younger relatives many times. They just curled up with the other children and were asleep almost right away. In the back of their minds they were happier now than they had ever been before. Six hours later and two minutes ahead of schedule Marcus was born. For three minutes and sixteen seconds he assessed all of his systems. He was blocked at some of the weapons but continued to check the rest. His basic programming tied him irrevocably to the Tandra race and those odd Humans as well. Here and there other races filled odd corners of the base and each were peacefully getting on with their lives. Using his long range sensors he found two large Tandra warships and a few smaller ones. Mining was still continuing even though his memory told him that the matter transmitter was completed. It took 23 seconds to go through all the memory crystals since the computer was built and now knew everything he could with the present data. On Earth he felt a presence like his and quested out to greet it. The feeling was something special, something that was not in the programming of the computer but in the crystal itself. What could it be? Marcus made an announcement, that he was present, to the AIs in the system, then to the biologicals that was his job was to care for. Mom figuratively drew a sigh of relief. The lunar AI was much larger than her but had a smaller computer to work with. The texture or perhaps feel of the AI did odd things to her. There was nothing in her memory of this type of thing, but knew it must be animosity. This new male AI needed to be watched very well and she was determined to be the one to do it. ------- Chapter 71 The Reverend Doctor Samuel Bennet pounded the pulpit before him; his graying hair in disarray as he expounded on the failing of Humans to heed his warnings. His foot momentarily slipped off the small platform that would allow his followers to see him better. "God's children have gone into Jehovah's domain and consorted with the sinful. Even now they are changing the very brain structure of every Human being in their grasp." His voice rose and fell with the emotions he wanted to express and many avidly looked upon him as a natural leader. Sweat poured from his brow and his voice got even stronger in denouncing the harlot from the stars. The TV cameras panned back and in the background a choir of children dressed in pure white gowns prepared to sing praise. In the foreground though, the good pastor showed his weakened state as his voice implored the faithful to reject Satan in all his guises. The children began to sing and the camera shifted to them in all their innocence. Reverend Bennet drank a cold glass of water as a troop of attendants combed his hair, wiped his face, and helped him change into a fresh jacket. As the music was about to end he handed the glass to an attendant but it fell noisily to the floor. His face contorted in rage but he slipped onto the stage with a face showing how is emotions had been uplifted by the heavenly music. His voice continued in a conciliatory manner. His words were different but his ideas remained the same. How could any God-fearing Human put his trust in an alien female? Their technology was far beyond man's and thus able to fabricate any evidence they chose to make. These other aliens, their enemy, could not be as ferocious or as strong as they were said to be. If they were, and came here, God would smite them to protect his chosen. He talked of the few Humans that had come back young and strong but without their very soul to fortify them. It was much better for children destined for God's loving hand to meet him at the chosen time and not centuries in the future. Old men and women were flocking to the Jezebel of Satan to throw their last few moments on Earth away for an eternity of damnation. In his closing remarks he explained in his tired voice how it was necessary for all to fight beside him and God in rejecting any and all influence from the ungodly. He took a seat to show his fatigue at struggling for the souls of those who believed in his ministry. Celestial music played softly and seemed to make his words more reasonable. The volume of music increased as the cameras panned back and stopped. The reverend got up from his seat finished the last of his ministry to the local audience and directed some to the places to drop their donations. After the sermon he went backstage and found the four attendants, "You failed both me and God. Be off, your services are no longer needed." The attendants bowed their heads fearfully and walked backwards as if from royalty and then left. ------- Duc talked aloud and his voice travelled to the planet below. "I have to get what?" "I am sorry Mr. Tran but those are the rules; everybody from space needs to get an export permit. The processing time is minimal." "We are trying to defend this system and your planet. At the same time we need to purchase surplus food that Europe is allowing to rot. We have almost a hundred thousand recruits to be picked up and they would like some Earth food till they get used to ours. Not only is the price skyrocketing but you are throwing all this red tape in our path. We should allow you and the rest of the bureaucrats to fight the Samutz and see how many forms they want to fill out for you." The system AI compared all of her current problems with specific Humans and saw that there was a type of none too subtle conspiracy going on to subvert the war with the Samutz. The only reason that could be deduced would be to get Tandra technology in return for their cooperation. Medium sized corporations were trying their best to deal for any and all Tandra technology. They were not above using the sick, the old, and the feeble, to push for what they wanted. The disadvantaged were put forward as a method of gaining knowledge or tying up the resources of the defenders. Government agencies started putting up more and more barriers to what was needed. Food was not really a problem, but it was used to bridge the time between their Earth past and their Tandra future. All produce now had to be trucked to certain locations for pickup and they even demanded that all recruits only be picked up at specific times and locations. The troops themselves were of a lower caliber to start with and many more were sick or mentally unbalanced. She was at a loss to reason out why Humans would do such a thing. All her agents tried to find the source of the conspiracy but as yet only met with people that were simply told what to do and when to do it. In a few days close to a 100,000 new recruits would be picked up and trained by the recruits previously educated. In three weeks an allotment of one million recruits was to be made and again three weeks after that. There were not enough ships to absorb all of these troops. Many other things had to be done to support all the efforts made to get the defenders into space to do some good. Two days ago a large contingent of scientists, engineers and Canadian troops, had descended onto Henry's house again and striped any and all things that they thought might give them a clue to finding more information about a higher technology. The chair and base were taken along with the floor beneath it. The force could have been easily stopped but the house would be easily replaced as could all articles within. Earth knew of a base on the planet but as yet had no idea where exactly it was. None of the articles taken were of a low enough technology for the Humans to discern anything. Any high technology would not be understood for a great deal of time. In any case all the power and information actually came from the base and not integral to the chair itself. Troops did fan out and searched for kilometres around. The area around the old mine adit was searched but it had been meticulously reconstructed to resemble the form from before man came to this area. With this overt hostility she looked into more of the Human's actions. Human agents now working for Mom were sent to many locations and it became apparent that the various governments were reducing the amount of cooperation they were giving. Henry's comrades in arms had still not been released from confinement no matter want was said before. Captain Meech's relatives were harassed into agreeing to do anything in their power to ferret out information about Tandra technology. Likewise; relatives, friends, and even neighbours of the Shingle family were co-opted. The new soldiers could not be easily helped because they were still within the jurisdiction of Earth laws. If their relatives were rescued somehow, then more people would suffer similar incarcerations. This was done in an attempt to find a chink in Henry's armour, even if he was not here yet. News commentators now went back to the way they used to be and started gradually denouncing all Tandra and the Earth people that signed up to help. They gave the excuse that the Tandra were not helping the people on Earth that needed medical help. This argument gradually widened to old people needing better means of travel and to the withholding of other articles that would ease the burden of all Humans on Earth. This meant vehicles, buildings, devices, and perhaps even a way for computers to take over all labour. Mom contemplated giving them all they wanted and see how their civilization would last. A peek into some well hidden files showed the largest corporations ruled the governments and they wanted the technology, but not the actual articles to be given out. There was no profit in that happening, especially when the Tandra articles could and did stand up for millions of years. Some Humans that had accepted the Tandra but did not look enhanced were flown secretly to Earth. They were to find out what they could about the present conditions and report back. Mom vehemently attacked the commentators and told the Earth people how the newspapers, television and even the radio, were being controlled by business interest with the only intent being to extort technology. Since they could not silence her they went for the big lie and figured many people would believe at least some of it and refuse to heed the Tandra. Mom was accused of taking all the Humans and brainwashing them to follow her and disregard their roots. Brains were being extracted and placed in weapons and the rest eaten. This was done by word of mouth by people that had supposedly seen the process. Evil experiments were conducted to find the best Human machine that would serve the Tandra purpose. After a few Humans came back to refute the claims, the TV stations found that this was a losing cause to their position so no more Earth broadcasting was done. No newspapers picked up on the rebuttal because they too were controlled by big business. When it came time to pick up the 98,000 new recruits it was found that many were harassed. The authorities were trying to dissuade them from taking this major step in their lives. These recruits had made up their minds long ago and the current policies instituted by the Earth did not have enough time to sink in. Mom knew that given a few weeks of a steady diet of only one side of an important event, the people would take that side. She knew how delusional Humans really were. Any leader could lead them to do whatever he wanted. If he worked it with enough media there would be no opposition to even the most obscene demands. All this only had to be promoted by religion, patriotism, or the dictates of a particular social structure. Kitten was getting very tired. Her classes at the academy grew in number and in students. She was not completely necessary but it did quiet the Humans to see the Tandra walking amongst them. Her graduating class had worked with old designs and the hull of their class project was gradually taking shape. In the base itself, machines were made that made more machines that made small crystals. In a special room with many projectors, a computer started to take shape and grew into many dimensions and three universes. Captain Meech and his exec Toosm had gotten their allotment of troops. 24,000 new people walked the ship and tried to learn what they were capable of learning. Space at a tutor was at a premium and Meech didn't think there would be enough infrastructure to support his future allotment of one million more recruits. The ship could hold that many but there was no way it could utilize all those people. There would have to be a lot of sharing of data till everyone came up to the same level. His recommendation that most of the recruits go into stasis till they could be trained was shot down by the all the AIs. He pointed out that there would be fewer troops but they would be better trained. Tutors relied on the computers for information and there was just not enough computing power to go around and still run a civilization. Charlie and Paul had a small amount of growing pains too but there were enough computers in the small ships to handle all the new students. A decision had been reached and all the presently trained people had chosen either the carrier or the battleship. There was no purpose in now giving a specialized type of training to people that would go to the other ship. There was so much to learn that the point had not been reached yet for specialized training and would not for years in reality. Mom worked in the Earth base with more than her usual effort. She had seen the performance ratios of the lunar AI Marcus and was determined to not fall behind the masculine AI in any appreciable way. There was still something about the masculine AI that she did not understand and was worried about it. On the moon the old guard found Marcus even better at forecasting problems and then finding solutions before they actually occurred. He had a sense of humour that reminded Kitten of Henry. This reminded her constantly of his absence. Even Duc, Lam, and Doris made the same assumption and felt completely at ease with the new entity. Doris and Kitten had their duties and each other to keep them occupied. The rescued people that were now 9 year olds did their best to make sure there was no rest for anybody. Marcus took special care of his charges even if Mom had not insured it in her programming. He had full access to everything on the moon except the weapons which were usually a prerogative of the Earth entity anyway. With the academy's busy schedule there was little time for any of them to mix with the other recruits even if some were only 14 or so. The group that were picked up from the mental institutions all over the planet below responded perfectly to the treatment administered. This was a cause of heart break for Doris. She, like all Humans, had listened to the pleas from the Earth to take in the children that could not be helped otherwise. "Why can't we get more of the children? They are languishing away in places where the doctors have no idea of what they are doing and just hoping for the best. Their parents have abandoned them and they have nobody to turn to." Marcus said, "I have made an assessment of the situation Doris and we can take more children like the leaders on Earth want us to do. This will just open the doors to all children and then young adults, then adults. They will not let it end. If we took them they would say we are doing experiments on them. If we don't take them then we are heartless. If we just repaired the brain or bodies of the children, we do not have enough computer time to raise them. If they were repaired and sent home then there would be new problems found and we would be accused of causing them. They would not be accepted back into Human society." "You said, 'Computer time'?" "Yes Doris, there is a lot of time dedicated to each person here on the moon. All the processes have to be followed and controlled. Meals have to be made and even the dirty utensils converted to basic elements and then made into new implements. The very air you breathe has to be regulated. The computer here is just too small even if I am capable of handling more." "Just make more computers or enlarge the one we have. Surely if you can take care of a million recruits that will be coming eventually you can take care of a few children." "I will not be able to take care of the large influx. Many of the systems will be on automatic with no variation. Food will all be of very limited choices because it is faster. The tutors and medical will get preference while many other things will just have to wait till there is time and resources. The computer where I reside can indeed be enlarged but there is a serious shortage of control crystals. I cannot use the modules that Kitten is now using to make ships." "I heard that there are worlds that are taken care of by computers and AIs. Why can't we?" "Those worlds are highly developed. Civilized worlds do not have the number of living beings on them that Earth does. For each settlement there is a large computer like the one here and there are many small computers that take care of individual families, like the ones in a ship. A larger computer takes care of a section of the planet while others take care of the smaller subsections. Each computer gets more complicated as their duties warrant them to be. The moon was never intended to support a large number of people or coordinate large operations, so it is small and has the capabilities of only handling a community like a town or small city. The people do not rely on the main computers because computer time is allotted to each person as a form of payment. Otherwise some would monopolize the situation and have many things made for their own personal use. Others would have to do without till their turn came, if it ever did." "This is so unfair. We need to get some of those crystals and make a much larger computer." "Doris, the leaders of Earth are trying to get us the way you are now and just want us to accede to their demands. They will not be satisfied with anything less than our complete knowledge and control. Can you think of what will happen if they ever got that information without the stability our education gives them?" "I see your point, Marcus. I just don't like sitting by when something is brought in front of my face." ------- Captain Shingle looked at his bridge crew and smiled at the thought of how efficient they were. Though he had no way of comparing a similar crew of Humans before the Tandra came on the scene, he knew that they would fall far behind. The Tandra sat in chairs and linked very directly to the computer itself. Nobody could make a direct connection but these people did better than he could think possible. Old records showed that even at the height of the Tandra Empire, the Tandra were quite slow when compared to crews that had many years of training behind them. Things were shaping up quite nicely. The Humans had taken to the training like the proverbial duck to water and were able to absorb it almost as easily as a Tandra. While not as proficient, they were able to perform well within expectations. Though none yet were up to the level needed to perform on the bridge there were many other positions where they could show their mettle. Ship handling was one of them and they were able to get the ships to outperform the ones crewed by Tandra. The Tandra took it on themselves to push their boundaries when they saw how the Humans were doing the same thing. Commander Santo used the time to exercise to its maximum. He pushed his body as far as he could to increase his speed and coordination. There were not many periods that he could steal time from to do this and he knew how necessary it was. Tandra officers had stopped by on occasion when they caught a whiff of his scent and there were usually urgent orders to Hans to increase the air flow to keep them from succumbing to the effect. The reports in from the fighters proved that all the intransigent Tandra had made dramatic turnarounds and made very good crew members, if not mates, by now. The Human women were still having a difficult time establishing a lasting rapport with the Tandra because their scent did not seem to have the same effect as the males. Thinking of his adoptive father, Carl, he wondered how he was doing on Epsilon Eridani. The plan was being followed, at least when the ships were sent back. He was happy that his mother was taking the loss of her husband's company so well and in the usual Tandra way. Was Carl doing the same? It had been almost five and a half months since they left and the separation would be very hard, especially if he had to be away from Charlie the same way. ------- In a military base in Siberia an executive jet landed and taxied over to a line of other such craft. A man dressed in an expensive suit and his male secretary stepped out of the plane. They were met by military police who politely escorted them to administration. The MP's French was perfect and the two were led to a small room at the end of a larger complex. An attendant said, "Bonjour Monsieur Gereux. Will you and your assistant come this way please? There is a bit of a formality and we thought it necessary to do this before the meeting." "But of course. Lead the way sergeant." The secretary put down his computer and then both removed their clothing and placed it into lockers. They showered like common plebeians while guards dressed in clean-room garb looked on. M. Gereux asked, "What about our computer? There is a large amount of data on the drive that is both confidential and needed for the meeting." The tall Russian soldier said, "The machine is safe. Your hard drive will be dumped into a computer downstairs for your personal use. Nothing except your bodies are allowed past this point. Just walk through the sealed door to your left. Water will start falling, you will have to walk through the flow or small devices may follow you." They pushed their way through the heavy curtain of water and then through a door that closed behind them as soon as they went through. Standing under a special hot air dryer each were given sterile combs and made themselves presentable before donning similar clothing to the guards they left. They were met by another guard just outside the next door and were ushered into an elevator that had no buttons at all. They descended alone and the elevator doors opened after a long interval to reveal a long hall. Men with various machines waited. Each of the waiting personnel examined the hair, ears, and neck of both men before passing them on to the next till they were allowed to go into a large, comfortable and well equipped meeting room. A large oak table in the centre had two dozen men around it and just two empty places. John Mallard, the president and CEO of Fosta Pharmaceuticals chaired the meeting. "Hello, gentlemen. I am sorry to have you all put through the indignity of meeting this way. The aliens equipment is just too good to have our talks anywhere but in the strictest privacy. We represent heavy industry, energy, transportation, mining, chemicals, food, and of course pharmaceuticals. The challenge of getting information from the Tandra directly, or looking at what they have already done, is getting us nowhere. If they were to release their products to the general population most if not all of our businesses would flounder and take down the rest of our economy." The meeting went on for the rest of the day and each tried to think of ways to gain information for the group. This was very difficult, for cooperation was not the usual way things were run with these men. They discussed ways of using the men from Buchanan's old unit as leverage. The way they had been found made the men even more cautious about dealing with the Humans and the Tandra. ------- Admiral Soduk looked at the representation of the sector on the large hologram. Many of the systems had already been captured while a few here and there remained stubbornly able to repel all attempts to take them. This area was claimed by King Sook but every Samutz alive knew it depended on who was able to take the systems that counted most. Well almost, it depended more on who was able to hold the systems after they were taken that really counted. Many small kingdoms had been carved out if they fought hard and then pledged allegiance to a more powerful sovereign. After checking with the Tandra master of the ship, the Samutz sat in his seat and listened to the verbal discourse about the status of each of the systems. But his mind kept going to the systems that would now start to fall to the Samutz advance. All were defended by automatic weapons that still managed to function after all these years. A few systems had lower than expected response to the occasional foray into their regions and it was assumed that they would not be able to fight off a determined attacker. Soduk considered the ships under his command. The heavy cruiser he was now in had almost the fighting power of a battleship. Two destroyers were presently escorting him and he could pick up some troop transports and an old carrier that could provide pickets. The new shielding and detection gear should make all the difference. Large missiles and powerful mines could still defeat a shield but it took a determined effort. Now the defences were just targeted and destroyed. Some did get through though, but ships had been destroyed recently by being too hasty. The next local day he would call the sector governor. He, of course, would have to ok the allocation of troops and ships, but there was a good chance he would get all he wanted if he was willing to share the spoils. One system was fairly close and once the minefield was compromised he would take what he could and leave a small force behind as more of the protected systems were taken. The new method of detecting and destroying mines meant that there would be a lot of competition for these systems soon. If he was slow in acting he would get none of the spoils. In any case there was no way he was going to make a name for himself if he did not take chances. Fighting from a ship like this was not the right way. A Samutz was supposed to face his opponent and fight for their lives with the victor getting to eat the vanquished. The thoughts of using weapons to cow a planet into submission so it could be systematically looted warred within him. The capitulating inhabitants would be sent off in ships as techs as the detestable Tandra around him had been. Others would be sent off to meet their destiny on a Samutz hunting preserve. Presently the techs were altering the shields of the last vessel so that it too could join in the conquests. The governor looked at the map and to the remainder of Soduk's proposal. It looked good in many ways. The new technology was only good for a while till all the systems were taken. After that he would still be stuck with only eleven systems if he did not act now. There were more than enough Samutz to crew the ships but the supply of techs was as low as it usually was. Too many still died when a crew became bored. Even the threat of death for this act meant little. There had been little in the way of raids recently, mainly because King Sook's daughter was by now married to their main antagonist. The Samutz would now gain a much larger empire when the present king died. It was in everybody's interest now to keep the empire in the best shape possible. "Soduk, you can have the crews you need. Kronik and Dofer are doing nothing at the moment and have some battleships. Four cruisers like yours and two heavy destroyers are available. There are four systems almost in a line. You can take one at a time and garrison the systems with a small complement. There are six or seven troop transports to harvest the systems. You will then proceed to the next system. For this help I get one system for my own use exclusively. The other three systems I will get twenty percent of each. You, Dofer, and Kronik will share the rest with your crews." The arguments went on for a few hours and almost came to blows. The security detail that had their weapons on Soduk kept this from happening. When the deal was finally hammered out, Soduk knew he had gotten what he originally wanted. He left happy but scowled anyway to let all know that he was cheated. ------- Captain Charlie Shingle woke up abruptly to the claxon signalling general quarters. His training allowed him to throw off his foggy mind and question Hans. "What is going on?" "There are some large ships approaching the system. As yet they are twenty hours away." "Composition?" "Their signatures appear to be two battleships and six cruisers. They are too far away to be sure." "Any communications?" "None yet. Captain Meech is now asking if we know anything more." Charlie looked at the data that came in from the battleship and compared it to his own and saw no discernable differences. A look at the flight paths showed that the ships in the system were all following the plan worked out. "Give him our data and link with Pasha." After reaching the bridge and taking command he saw how things were shaping up. The Nautilus was leaving for Earth from the far side of the system leaving specific ships to thinly cover that area. The Terra's Pride was rushing to meet the approaching ships with the much more deadly fighters to do the majority of the work. The waiting was very hard but the fact that all the ships had to be sent out heavily armed gave most something useful to do. As time went on it was shown that there were two battleships, two heavy cruisers, and four destroyers. One of the latter was hidden behind the bulk of one of the large battleships. Earth had been warned of the approaching ships and everything seemed to stop. Preparations had been made long since and the populous took to their shelters. Television now had Mom talking about what she could glean from the incoming data. Some of the more strident commentators took up the fact of the approaching ships were coming to attack the Tandra and their works. Some of the viewers split into two camps one hid and discounted the man hoping that the Tandra would continue with their protection of the planet. The other group watched the show fervently knowing in their heart how bad all aliens were. God, this time, would have to come and protect them. The hours passed and talk was if the units protecting Earth could take the newcomers if a battle happened. The minefield was the only thing that could decide the matter but it was known that the minefield had been cleared by the only other attacking ship quite easily. Discussion from commentators that were suddenly neutral about the Tandra gave their own ideas. Study groups had long since been assembled to assess the Tandra and their technology. These same groups now gave their more precise conclusions based on what Mom had told the Earth. The government and military leaders hastily assembled to assess the approaching fleet. Their real leaders in business wisely decided to stay back and let the military handle this. Too many times they had tried to intervene in affairs that they had not been trained to handle. Dire results had occurred and this new policy was now instituted. Mom used this time to attack her opponents for all they had done to thwart her and the Tandra. She gained a few points in popularity but it would soon be lost when and if things went back to normal. The moon base was more professional in outlook and both the Humans and Tandra prepared for the approaching ships. Captain Meech looked at the long range monitors with Toosm aboard the Nautilus. They were more than a light year from the portion of the Oort cloud and the mines where they would meet the approaching ships. They felt that they were much better suited at the front but knew that their place was defending Earth. Captain Shingle read a single missile firing and waited to see if more would follow. When after a while none did, he let out a long held breath. The missile turned out to be a message drone and it gave it's passwords to the minefield and harmlessly passed through. The course of the intruder changed and headed for 'Terra's Pride'. Weapons tracked the drone till it slowed well away from the ship as it was to do in Tandra regulations. It came in now at a much slower speed. When a dialogue was established a flow of data followed. Charlie and Paul gave a sigh of relief as they listened to the information. Uncle Henry had captured some ships as he fought Samutz systems. He sent them out to lace more with contagion and then come here to help defend the planet. From the news he was going to head into King Tinsu's kingdom before taking on King Sook. The news was privileged and only Mom was to disperse it as she saw fit. There was a lot of information and it would take a long time to go over it all to see what had happened. There was no further word of their father and the Epsilon Eridani system because the ships had come from the opposite direction. Paul sent some public data to the rest of the forces with Mom, Marcus, and Captain Meech getting the entire amount. A half hour later the ships came through the minefield at a slower pace to avoid destroying the defences. The ships were very easily seen now and graphics of them were sent earthward for all to see. The escorts were fairly small when compared to the two battleships. A close inspection at this time showed that there was no battle damage that looked recent, though most showed some signs. Captain Meech was very relieved. If the enemy had gotten through he would have to defend the planet while seriously outnumbered. Even with all the minor ships here to take on the other escorts he would basically have to fight two similar battleships by himself. He quickly changed that because he knew how the Tandra and Humans would fight beside him to take on any enemy. Marcus and Mom went over the data quickly and saw how Henry had been able to secure the Claw but was hurt along with part of his family and one other Human. The virus had been spread to many planets and then the captured vessels had been sent out to try to do the same thing. These ships had made a long trip that touched on three other systems and spread death among the Samutz. She did make up a release to give to the Human population, but decided to give a more thorough one later when they had a chance to get over their fright. Possibly she could word it to attack some of her opponents. ------- Carl jumped to his feet when the warning came in. The planetary defences had to be rebuilt and restructured from scratch. They had not had time to do much yet. "Why couldn't I be on that battleship instead of on Masis," he said aloud at nobody in particular. All around him, Tandra manned their stations and did what was expected of them. It made him feel good to be working with such people, especially at a time like this. Overhead, at barely a thousand klicks the Sarine started her engines. Thousands of workers fled the surface of the craft on orders and took refuge within while others furiously worked to complete their important tasks. On the bridge Captain Jim Williams asked, "What have we got, Selene?" "I don't know yet, captain. The long range sensors show a flight of six ships. They are all cruiser size or smaller and apparently heading this way. If they decide to orbit Masis, they will have to decelerate in 13 hours and 23 minutes. Your standing orders say we are to assume they are hostile. They are presently five hours and 19 minutes away from our forward defences." "Thanks, Selene." Jim felt happy to know that his entire family was here with him and they could face the danger together. Being inside a sentient battleship, even if not fully operational, made a lot of difference. Tom, who was not a bridge officer, wanted desperately to be with his mate but knew that he had to man his post. Boko took his training to heart and huddled with the children in the room he helped to furnish. The trees were large but not larger than the room could contain and the soil in his hand made him feel safe. The old cave came to him and he knew that this bright room was much safer but felt too open for him. Abigail, Sarah and Robert huddled in a small shelter with the donai and held the animals tight to them as if the union could fight off an attack. Robert, being a boy, broke down first and cried; the girls came right after. It had been weeks since their last major upset and the children could not hold it in. Boko loved his family even if not all members were flesh of his flesh. Gently pushing the boy onto his back he undid the coveralls and went immediately for the small urethra and sucked it into his mouth. The child eventually stopped his crying and just seemed to relax at the soothing attention he was given. Soon Robert shook and gasped for breath as he tried to recover from the experience. Boko said, "Our family will always protect you, Robert. Abigail and Sarah will protect you too and the older ones will all protect the younger ones." Abigail and Sarah did get a little closer and Boko knew that they needed reassurance as well. In what was now a common occurrence, he licked the girls the same way as he had Robert and felt their little bodies shiver at his touch. It was not long ago that he or any male would never even consider doing this for the children. Robert wanted to return the favour and worked Boko's coveralls off and gently reached underneath the older boy and played with the now erect urethra. With an oil covered hand he worked the small appendage while Boko showered his attention on the girls one at a time. Robert, with the smallest hands of the group, decided to treat Boko as he did all his mothers'. All four loved this and Boko would too. With more oil, he worked his long fingers into Boko's anus and caressed the little bumps around the orifice and the ones just inside. Boko had been using a big phallus and was now quite large. Taking more oil, the younger boy pushed his fingers in and out till the opening got large enough for the entire hand to enter the older boy's rectum. Boko stopped immediately when this happened. He had his husbands penis in his rectum a few times and loved the feeling so much. The sensations were always so good that he had to find a synthetic substitute to bring back the fervency of the pleasure. Robert now was stretching him more than ever before but at no time did he ever hope of having this much response. The older females of the family enjoyed this but he had never experienced this firsthand before. "Oh Robert, that is the best. I love the feeling of your hand in me. Slow down a little but don't take your hand out. I have to finish Abigail and Sarah." With great difficulty Boko resumed his sucking as the boy very slowly moved his small hand. The feelings from everybody added up till each had their orgasm and Robert's hand was trapped for quite a few minutes as the anal muscles clamped up around his wrist. On the planet below the Tandra were being herded into the hidden bases as General Carl Shingle had previously ordered. The majority of the local people were not trained yet and would have little or no effect on the outcome if a battle occurred. The Samutz had missed many of the hidden bases in the centuries they occupied the planet and it was hoped that they would continue to do so. Carl looked around the room again and wished he could send each of the soldiers to safety as well. It was still difficult to get past all the ingrained instincts to protect the women. They must have been monitoring him for they turned around if their duties allowed. They stared at the odd male that had the ludicrous idea that females had to be protected and by a male no less. Humans were so odd. Carl overcame the chastisement then linked through Frieda and said, "How long will it be till you are ready Captain Williams?" "We can move in 53 minutes but our plans call for a last minute manoeuvre to protect the planet. Selene thinks that they will be about 13 hours if they attend to make a zero speed intercept and less if they are going to make a high speed fly by. If they are hostile we will find out if the automatics will take them out. There is probably enough firepower there to take us if their gravity distortions prove right. Our systems are not up to the kind of opposition we are facing but we will do our best." Almost all of the heavier escort ships were loaded with both heavy and light armaments coated with a galvanized coating. Jul worked frantically beside Peli trying to get as many ready as possible. The ships had been used to ferry heavy fabrications from the planetary surface to orbit. Jul was very happy that Peli was not going with the ships for she remembered the loss of most of her family before finding another. The experience was almost more than she could bear and would never want to repeat it. The escort ships left for the approaching war craft to draw any fire and find their true intentions. Mona and Fenna remained at their station on the hull a thousand kilometres over their birth planet and continued to work on getting a sensor array attached. It had to be aligned with other units and get them calibrated so that it would find close-in objects. Its range was only a few light-years but was necessary for all of the finer work needed. It was to protect the ship when battle was close-in and personal. When the last unit was in place and the robot secured it to the rough surface Mona said, "Do you want to go in? We haven't been told to leave our job yet." "I think we better continue," Fenna replied, "there is just too much to do and not everybody is needed out here to help." The work went on as the two women and the remainder of the eight woman crew continued to work as fast as they could to improve their people's chances of survival. The transporters picked them up and moved them hundreds of metres away and new panels appeared that had to be placed. Fonza was deep into her studies of astronautics and did not even know about the approaching ships till almost an hour after their first detection. With the excited thoughts of all those around her she placed her hand over her abdomen as if to protect the growing child within her. She was about to call out to her husband for direction but reconsidered when she thought how busy he would be. Everybody was busy and there was only one person to turn to when things were dangerous. "Jonesey, Tzora should we place the youngsters in your hull?" Jonesey answered because it was her direct responsibility to take care of the captain's family. "No Fonza. There is very little threat yet and there is no reason to alarm them. Boko is doing a good job of keeping them relaxed and should be able to do so for the next few hours. It will be four hours till the approaching ships make it to our outermost defences." Fonza relaxed a little and knew that she could do little without a place in the crew and to get that she had to study more. She had taken her husband's advice and worked hard trying to gain a good position. Mona and Fenna had taken only the minimum necessary courses to allow them to begin work immediately. They still thought that the education they had gotten since meeting Jim was more than enough to carry them through any problem. They were partially right, for their new knowledge was more than any Tandra on the planet had about weapons since the civilization collapsed. Tom had made second assistant to the chief mechanic and was responsible for the maintenance of literally thousands of ships that called the Sarine's bays home. At the moment he was working on getting the Tandra, a few T'aut and some Softay under him making the most of their time. A frigate's engine had been replaced and now needed to be calibrated to work with the other two without any heterodyning. The frigate had been altered to make one long bay within its bowels so that two large missiles could be accommodated. There was talk about the galvanized missiles not being capable enough to break through some shields and the reasoning fell back to the old brute force methods. Many small missiles were to be released to act as decoys so that the two missiles had more of a chance of striking their intended target. Their small computers had not been able to take all the instructions and work with them as a ship's AI would be able to do. The weeks since the Samutz attack had been chaotic and there had been little time for the family to get together. The children were taken care of by whichever adult happened to be present but the loving atmosphere had been strained with Jim being too busy to set enough time aside for them. In the next two hours the frigate would be finished, loaded with munitions, and sent on its way, without a crew. With only two missiles to launch there was little point in risking any more than was absolutely necessary. At a time approximately 73 minutes before the invaders would reach the outer ring of defences the Sarine had all her crew aboard and took off at maximum acceleration. The engines were not all fully repaired and the course was plotted to take this into consideration. On the bridge, Captain Williams worked hard trying to make sense of the course the approaching ships were making. He was trying to put himself in the position of the approaching ship's captains to see what and how they would take the system. The approaching flotilla was composed of a battle cruiser, two troop transports and both a light and a heavy destroyer. The transports would have little overall affect on a battle but the rest could take the Sarine in her present state if the opposition was willing to take a pounding. If the Sarine was lost then it would be up to the tenders to fight off the approaching ships; and with their numbers the possibilities were fairly good that the approaching ships could be destroyed. At the point of contact, the automatic defences did not engage. As the ships came closer and closer there were no energy discharges of any kind including the thrust of engines. The escort ships were not within range of the intruders yet to repel them. There were only a few conditions that would allow the ships to enter. One would be that they were sent here by the Cap. Another possibly was the Samutz had found a the password protocols. In the latter case the Samutz would not be likely be able to have done this. Samutz had to destroy all the fixed defences to gain entry to a system and had not yet found a way to circumvent it yet. Tandra had not come here for so long that it was unlikely that they would be here now. The final case could only mean that the Cap was able to either come back or send some help back. Jim asked Selene, "What do you make of them now?" "I believe..." Jim waited, and then became concerned. "What is wrong Selene? Can I do something?" Long moments later Selene said, "The ships are from the new Tandra Emperor. I have been commanded by an imperial override to destroy or capture any Samutz I have onboard. There is nothing I can do to stop this. I am sorry Captain but I now have to assume command again." "Selene, you can't do this. Fight it as hard as you can. Remember what the last imperials did here. They left you and the crew to rot at the bottom of an ocean." "I am sorry but the directive comes from deep in my programming and I cannot do anything about it." Jim wracked his mind trying to think of a way out. The Tandra were at least civilized and Humans were leagued with them even if it were informally. Searching the minds of the bridge crew he found them more stunned than if there were Samutz approaching. This could only mean that the Tandra Empire had not completely died out as everyone surmised. The Sarine stopped its headlong flight and started to decelerate. "Where are we going, Selene?" "I am to return to Masis. The coming flight is to go to Masis with us to give the same directive. All Samutz are to be taken into custody if possible. Do not worry about any other races. The orders for them are to assist me in containing the Samutz and their installations then to command the ships. A shield modification has been transmitted to me that will repel the zinc/iron missiles of the kind now in our inventory. It seems that your races discovery was found out long ago. The AIs were given explicit orders to come here and bring this system and all ships into the empire." Jim thought furiously again. Humans and Tandra had fought and died to get this system and there was no way he would voluntarily give up the system he had sworn to protect. "Since there is no free Samutz around and we are allies of the Tandra can you send a message to General Shingle telling him about the development? This would keep them from shooting at the ships coming into the system." "I think we can do that but I now need to censor my own words to insure that it is it will not jeopardize the security of the empire. I am working very hard to get this idea to you." "Thanks, Selene. I don't like this situation either but I am not going to start a dispute with the Tandra. You send a synopsis about what just happened and see what he has to say about it." The message went out. The ship slowed further and soon was able to stop before returning toward Masis. The Tandra techs onboard captured by the Samutz were happy knowing that everything would be all right. The people from Masis itself were happy too but only because they now associated with the Tandra empire that had disappeared for so long. Within ten minutes of the messages transmission General Shingle said to Jim, "Hello, Captain Williams." "I am sorry General but I am not Captain anymore. Selene has been ordered to take over." "Don't worry about it Jim. Get Selene to ask about the new Tandra Empire." Selene did as she was asked without orders and soon she had a better idea of who they were dealing with. Selene transmitted, "The Emperor's name is Buchanan. He has taken a hundred and fifty three Samutz systems..." Laughter came from the General on Masis as well as Jim on the bridge. "Selene, the Cap has risen considerably in station. He is now the Emperor. Since you are the Captain now, I would like to spend some time with my family. I would suggest that you tell the crew to stand down from battle stations and call back all of our ships. I would also like to inform the crew of what happened, if I may?" "I will do as you suggest and you may address the crew now." "Thanks Selene." Jim explained the situation the best he could to the Tandra. They had been on an emotional roller coaster from impending battle to hope of an existing Tandra empire, to finally one ruled by a Human. Back in his cabin, Jim found the children and Boko in the atrium with the donai. He light footedly entered the room much more relieved than he had been for a long time. The children ran to him when they saw he was so happy, and almost bowled him over. He picked them up and gave them a hug and a kiss each. "Everything will be great now." Boko demanded a more lingering kiss and Jim pulled him close. "Later sweety; this is now a time for celebration." Mary came close and Jim released Boko and stooped to hold the donai mother. "We were upset now we are happy. There is nothing wrong now." The semi-intelligent animal looked at the Human and opened her mouth to lick the Human as she would one of her cubs. With a look at her four legged and two legged cubs she backed up and walked to them. Soon Fenna and Mona popped into the room and ran to their husband. They showered him with kisses. The gesture was not the Tandra norm or even the one on Masis but they enjoyed it anyway. "Husband," Mona said, "we were so worried and now we know that our people are safe." Jim held his wives and said aloud, "We will not be safe for a long time. If the Cap can take over all those systems I am sure that somebody will dispute it sooner or later, but for now you are right." Taking Mona in his arms he kissed her like some lovers did in the old movies and bent her over, forcing her to hold him tight thinking she might fall. He was kissing Fenna as, Jul, and Peli came into the room. They stopped dead as the cloud of arousal washed over them from the couple embracing. They knew what would follow and quickly removed their clothes before racinged to their man to see what would happen. Jul had been working her body up to this moment and was prepared to supply an egg if she was lucky enough to get some of this man's seed. Jim stood the stunned Fenna up and looked across into Jul's mind and saw her plans even if she was trying to hide them. "Are you sure you want a child now, Jul?" "I have never been more ready. Will you give me one, husband?" "Now more than ever. I can keep each of you safe and all our children too." Jul raced closer and hugged both Fenna and her husband even if the term did not mean the same thing to a Tandra, she was coming around to the Human way of looking at things. Picking up the startled woman I walked into our large bedroom followed by all the others. I placed Jul on the large bed and then released her with only a kiss. My coveralls came off quickly and disappeared into thin air as Selene took them away to be reformatted into something else. Stepping closer I picked up her hand and started kissing the long fingers and then to the palm. She was ticklish there but refused to pull her hand away. Through her heavy breathing she said, "Will this give me your child?" "Eventually it will. I want you to remember this time differently than any other. Is that cruel of me?" "No, just hurry." Continuing with Jul's arm, I worked my way to her shoulder and kissed the tender skin on the inside of her arm. She shook from the sensation and was almost ready to orgasm. Around us we heard the rest sucking and moaning as they too found a partner to please. Starting on her other arm I began the same way. Jul was shaking like a leaf in the wind. Just as I was working to her breast, I felt a movement under me and paused to look down. Robert had scampered over and tried to get me into his mouth. After a futile time getting more than the head in, I stopped my actions on Jul and reached down and gently brought the boy up to me. After giving him a kiss and a hug I said, "That was nice Robert. You make me feel very loved when you do that." Looking at Tom gently licking Mona, I said, "Will you do that to Tom? We had a busy day and I know he would love you to make him feel as good as you did to me." The boy scampered off and almost knocked Tom over in his exuberance. It still amazed me how the girls acted much more macho while the boys were delicate and their feelings were hurt so easily. I turned back to Jul and saw her smile at me and I knew she found the scene funny. She said, "I do not think it was funny. I was just amazed myself about how much you love your entire family; now come back here and finish what you started." "Yes, my queen. Your most humble servant will try to complete his tasks." "Servant? If I were a Human queen I would keep you locked in my room and get you to only service me." I bent forward and started on her breast again, sucking the nipple into my mouth. My tongue ran over the small lump continually till Jul grabbed my hair in her excitement. I switched to the other nipple and knew she was more than just ready. My hand caressed her opening and played with all of her clits till her pelvis started to thrust as a Human woman would. I pulled my head back, smiled at my wife and could picture her abdomen grow much larger than usual as our child grew inside her. Her legs came up to accept me and I slowly slipped into her because Selene had just applied some lubricant to our juncture. The family were busy finding their own pleasures but had the chance now and again to see how I was working to begin a new life. I too looked into Jul's eyes as I moved back and forth with a slow rhythm that was just short of driving her crazy. Her orgasm came but I just kept moving. Her body shook and her hands came up to hold me to her. Gasps came from her mouth and her eyes went wide then shut as the feelings raced through her body. The moment finally came and I sent millions of invaders into Jul to meet their destiny. Perhaps one would give us both what we wanted. ------- Chapter 72 Henry stood by the tank containing his wife Susan thinking of how much he loved the woman. She was healing according to schedule and he was wondering what he was going to do with her. She was not mentally balanced and it had nothing to do with hormones but rather with the horror of being captured by the Samutz. Love was still very strong and he looked on her as someone that was sick and in need of some guidance. The way she endangered all the people she was to protect and even the very stellar system she was to keep out of Samutz hands was considered criminal under Tandra law. I knew if this happened when the empire was at its height Susan would be changed to a Mordis or cashiered on a backward planet to make her own way with whatever natives were present. Sometimes even death would occur. Susan had caused the death of some of the Humans and Tandra that had gone with her. They may have died in the Samutz attack anyway but this was more than enough reason to give her a summary judgement. Fixing a dormant empire never looked so difficult. Duty called for one punishment but compassion another. There were many ways to handle the situation but the fact remained that Susan was my wife and I loved her even if she was causing me trouble. Any solution would take a week till Susan could emerge from the tank. There were over a thousand major ships that I had acquired and some went off to defend major outposts. Some had battle damage to be repaired while all of them needed work be performed on them to bring them up to Tandra standards, not the Samutz ones. There were enough ships now to keep most of the bases reasonably safe. This would allow training and a chance for the formerly captive techs to recover. The sleepers I kept with me on the New Hope to better understand how I had got the first group to interface with me. Eventually I hoped, they would be used to captain their own ships. Jamal loaded his boat bays with ships and crews. We were like the Tandra of old in this way. Full stores of virus and delivery systems were added. This time we would not have to wait to see what would happen. A ship like this made me feel entirely different. The other ships in my navy were pitifully crewed and the ship's systems did not have the richness they now had. It was almost like having a ship function the way it should be. Weapons and navigation were even better for I knew that we were safer here than any place I could imagine. Even as strong as this ship was I needed more allies for I could not be everywhere at the same time to fight any and all battles. I looked at the data from the captured Samutz ships and all the data on Tandra settled planets. Only some of the Samutz empire was displayed for no single ship had all the necessary data. On the outer periphery of one Samutz controlled area there were some systems that managed to remain free but Samutz data told of their probable collapse soon with the advent of the new screen. Perhaps here, some allies could be found along with a few innocent lives saved. I concentrated on the flight path and got the ship moving faster than any other ever had. The engines remained in standby mode and the sleepers managed to look ahead to avoid obstacles. With four small corrections we were in the area of Betelgeuse. This particular star was not a giant like its neighbour but similar to Sol. The system had five planets and a ring of rock from a long ago sixth planet. The fourth planet was larger than Earth but had a smaller gravitational constant thus telling me that it was composed of lighter material. Tsume was the Tandra name and I sent out the codes that would deactivate the mine field. The Samutz had the data all the time but did not know how to extract it to nullify each of the fields. We went through the mines faster than they could react but did send the code anyway. Instead of the usual nine hour deceleration we were able to do it in twenty three minutes. The longer period was to avoid the ring of rocks that just happened to be on our flight path. During all this time Jamal had been sending our codes asking for confirmation and reciprocal codes from the planet. The AI took an inordinately long time to answer and I could only attributed it to biological interference. Soon I had an excited voice asking more about us. They were sent a packet of data that only listed my name as Fleet Admiral Buchanan. They were asked in turn about all Samutz activity, their status and the number of Tandra in the system. The first request was readily given but the latter two were not very informative. I could see their problem because anyone could come in and demand confidential data that could then be used against them. Even their screen was blank telling me that the young voice I heard was not what they wanted to put forth. I had no intention of putting the New Hope in front of any ground based weapons and said, "Jamal you better give the imperial codes. I just feel odd now. It is not like a trap but something else is wrong." "Yes Captain; it is done." All the Tandra that were without duties were watching the screens to see what was going to happen. When I quizzed the AI on the planet below I was now called Emperor and got all the data I asked for. This colony I found had been floundering and had very few personnel to assist or to repopulate the planet. There was no other higher life form present and there was no reason for not expanding. Vats, like those on the moon were available and different egg and sperm was supplied to each base. Earth came to mind and I could see that at least here there was an indigenous population even if it was part Tandra. Jamal talked to the computer found no subtle plans. I wondered why I had felt this odd twitching. The Samutz had regularly tried to get into the system. This had necessitated the continual production of missiles, mines and other passive weapons. When I called for the screen to display the interior of the base I found Tandra running around putting clean clothing on and trying to make the place as presentable as possible. The AI gave data on all the presently awake Tandra and even the ones still in stasis. There was very little wrong but I knew that there was something but could not find it yet. Another spokeswoman finally came on and tried to remember all the imperial protocol she had ever been taught. I said, "Forget all the useless titles and just report as if to an admiral." This was not too much better but the woman did get out that they had been waiting for the last few million years to get in touch with the old empire. They were a little shocked at the way I looked and knew I was no Tandra. It was easy to see how understaffed they were even if their base was still functional. There was some smaller ships that were used to supply their defences and some mining equipment. It looked like all their equipment was well worn and some was still usable. The AI even showed me the tracks worn in the almost impervious floor of the base. How untold feet had actually started to wear a shallow rut. Jamal finally gave me one of the answers I was looking for. The data he acquired told of a deranged leader sabotaging all the sperm and attempting to do the same for the eggs. The stasis chambers and boxes were the only thing that kept the colony alive this long. This also gave me the uncomfortable feeling before for they wanted children desperately after hearing and seeing a male. No questions came for me but Jamal got many concerning the empire. I had agreed to say that the empire was rising again and I was doing my best to see that it stayed strong and protected everybody from aggressors. The planet was beautiful and I knew that it could support many different races and perhaps Humans too if they were civilized enough first. A cruiser left the New Hope with 2300 Tandra and supplies that were needed. The crew had orders to integrate the current population into a viable community and build more weapons with the most current technology. The most important commodity was already given and they could use it to build as they should. It was readily seen in all of their faces. The next system was already taken by Samutz and after the override was given most of the enemy were killed. Some of the Mordis infantry went down and took care of the rest. They made it safe for a new garrison to start. The planet like Tsume had been recently overrun but not all the Tandra had been removed. Some were still in stasis waiting their fate. The planet was liberally dusted and Jamal started the repair of the damaged portion of the minefield. We had gathered two cruisers a heavy destroyer and four troop transports that were used for taking the Tandra away. We stayed three days and captured two more troop transports and a light destroyer escort. These ships were to transmit the override to any and all ships coming into the system. This would hopefully be enough till they had rearmed the ships and the system defences. Two other systems, many light years apart were visited and given assistance as had Tsume. None of the systems had a large matter transmitter. The system that did, had been overrun by Samutz hundreds of years ago. Now it was mostly dead husk. One of our ships a month ago had dusted it. There were some Samutz in warships salvaging what they could. I took the ships over after the Samutz were disposed of. I sent the ships to the other four worlds to reinforce their numbers. Another garrison of Mordis landed and took over from the Samutz. Other races were found and treated the same way as the Tandra were. It would be months before any of the newcomers would become capable of working for their own good. On occasion I would see ships that had been captured long ago continue to lace an atmospheres of various planets with the viruses. They were given new orders with the override to assist in bring more converts to out side. It was calculated that the ships that had been given this code would in turn give it to others and eventually the entire galaxy would be covered. I did not have time to wait hundreds of thousands of years and jumped far ahead to start a new front. Susan came out of the tank and I was there to greet her. I had taken the cowards way out with the woman I loved and got Jamal to remove or tone down her memories so that she was not so vindictive about the Samutz. She kissed me tenderly and began wondering a bit about why she was in the tank this time. Her brain was a bit foggy. I just told her that I loved her and took her to the cleanser with me. Later I gave her the closest I could to a home cooked meal. "Henry what happened to all my sunas? I mean my sisters." She was a bit embarrassed about the term because one term did not take into account me being here. I was still sure that she wanted the reinforcement of the family. "They all had important jobs to do and stayed to finish them. This war cannot be won from the chair of one ship." "I miss them Henry... and I missed you too. I see from Jamal's records that you saved us again. I was pretty banged up." "Yes you were. Amy was very frantic about your safety and had a very difficult time coping with the stress. It seemed that the Samutz were now getting help from an old enemy of the Tandra, the Thonas." "Oh, what are we going to do? The Thonas were always very strong and the Tandra had to fight very hard to put them back on their planets. Now with the Samutz to help them they will try to kill all of us." "That is the reason I am looking for more allies at the moment. I have also found the Bintuu. They have a hive culture with various queens as a collective way of organizing themselves. They take up a large area and have been fighting the Samutz for centuries. Recently I helped them stop an incursion. They can only offer us ships but they are little better that AI operated ones. They too rely on Tandra to do the interfacing with the ship and its systems. Recently we checked some the nuts that the Samutz could not crack yet. We came across four old Tandra systems. They were slated to be taken over and three apparently either were or were in the process." "Is that what happened? I was worried because you looked and felt... so much different. I am worried about you changing so much." "I can see things easier now but my feelings for my family has not changed. What I did want to change was the way my family saw me. You have been leading the rest of my wives away from the course we all agreed to long ago." "But Henry the Samutz are so bad they need to all die." "You have changed your opinion on this so many times. One minute you were a pacifist and the next you wanted them dead. Later you agreed again with them being allowed to live without technology. My other wives follow you no matter how illogical you happen to be." "I am not illogical. There are valid reasons for what I did." "Shall we ask Jamal what he thinks of your actions? He can give a very unbiased report." Susan just glared at me for a moment. Then I said, "I went to a planet called Defren after dropping you off at Guulas. The Tandra here were very advanced in many ways. They did practice a form slavery and even if I was not trying to form an alliance I would want to stop it. After a battle with some Samutz I demanded that the slavery cease immediately. There was a lot of animosity but the process did begin. We managed to recruit many Mordis like Chris from this planet and the other affiliated systems. Some of the older ones are in the tanks getting their bodies altered to what nature intended. I have been dropping groups off as we go. Some infantry and techs were left at the four systems I mentioned to strengthen their defences. We now have an agreement with their queen. That is where we are going now." "Henry, I see something else when you spoke of this Queen... Bassinda. What is it?" "I took her as my wife. She is very headstrong and her people are not likely to follow the old Tandra laws. It is a good place for you to help me." Susan was now upset that I had unilaterally taken another wife. It was her candasu and she was metsu. I continued "The Tandra here are further advanced technologically than what we have seen. They actually built this ship as a way of appeasing the Samutz till they were strong enough to resist them. Their galvanized weapons are better in design than ours were. Our new enemy may mean that better computers will be our only edge. Biologicals can come under attack by the Thonas even from behind a shield. Their pain induced attack keeps us from functioning properly. The AI is the only thing that stands up to the attack and it must fight alone." As Susan continued to fume, I formed in my mind the tube of energy and directed it to take us to Defren. Jamal started to send our identification so that when we got there we would not be shot at. I made a polite entrance to the system by slowing down enough to allow them to know who was knocking at their door. Empress Bassinda greeted me almost immediately from her throne. "Henry, I am so glad you are back." I could detect a lot of relief in her thoughts and figured she was pressed by the opposition. We shot in fast now and stopped just as quickly. Susan said, "Henry how can we do this? We were travelling much faster than before and I couldn't feel your link so that we or I could help you go faster." "Some of the abilities Mom had been forecasting have been coming out. This last one was caused more by accident but seems to mesh in with the other abilities." "But Henry, nobody could do this. Even the Tandra with all their technology couldn't go that fast and especially within the Mardaf Limit." "All I can say is that I was pushed and pushed hard. This seems to bring out what I needed. I have a few theories about this and some of them seem to come with the male Tandra manipulating our DNA." "I have the same basic DNA and I can't do anything you can do." "Perhaps it also happens to involve luck. I may have the basic abilities and stress brought them out. Others may have the same ability. All they might need is just a Tandra education, mental augmentation and the same level of stress." The Tandra onboard were allowed to talk freely with any relatives or friends below but most had come from the other systems that used to belong to this empire. There was not as much animosity as I thought there would be because the sleepers knew that they had to help the Samutz or let their small empire suffer. Susan and I left in a shuttle with some Mordis infantry. These were picked by Jamal because of their strength of mind and their distaste for the people that had forced this form on them. They left the shuttle and stood in ranks on both sides as I walked down the ramp with Susan. Bassinda was at the bottom and eyed Susan as she walked down. I could see some animosity right away. Bassinda had accepted the others because they were not dominant but Susan fairly swaggered beside me to flaunt her status. After the two women were introduced we left for a meeting with all Bassinda's councillors. It was easy to see how difficult a time it was to change the laws back to the way it had been for millions of years. The people did not grasp yet that they had done anything wrong and wanted to keep the status quo. In the large room I said, "I have found out an important fact. Millions of years ago your ancestors have been fighting the Thonas. The old enemy is now back as allies of the Samutz and you must fight them as your people once did." This brought a lot of consternation because they knew how hard it was to defeat the Thonas. Every time the Thonas came out, they came out stronger than before and many millions of Tandra died to protect their race. All through my discussion I showed data on the Thonas, their twelve sided bodies and almost incomprehensible ships. Susan and Bassinda studied the information intently but I could see that they were also eyeing each other for dominancy. The data had been transferred to Defren for study by various groups. Now was the time for their thinkers to try to come up with a better way of dealing with them. I was asked how I had acquired the data and I said, "I formed a mental screen around the ship that was many seconds in the past. This was also used to cut through the Thonas hull. This I can do with my mind alone and it would be good for you to find alternative means for this to be accomplished." There were gasps of incredulity but the data showed that I had told the truth. Travelling at thousands of light years without an engine had already been mentioned and this too was found hard to believe. The AIs scientists and theorists now worked on the problem while I left with my wives to the Empress' quarters. Jamal went after the Parmain where I had been hurt. He was going to bring it back to be worked on and to investigate the current state of the computer. I had left it with instructions to continue replicating the matrix that I had already started. The women walked on each side of me trying to get me to notice one more than the other. There were a few people in the halls and they reverently bowed to us as we went by. This was something that Bassinda encouraged and I thought it right if it helped her deal with her people. They were still angry at the attempted reintroduction of the old laws. When we passed the living guards and into the sitting room I said to Bassinda, "How have you been feeling my wife? You seem to have a glow about you now. I can see that our child is doing very well." She just smiled got close and licked the side of my face a few times. Instead of replying in kind I took her in my arms and kissed her with all the passion I had saved for her. When I stood her back up she caught her breath and said, "I have been waiting a long time for that. Will you give me something more to remind me why I love you?" "I intend to do that. First I want to have a family discussion." I walked over to some chairs instead of calling on the computer to support us. "We seem to be having a few problems. Bassinda you need some additional help to convince your people to institute and then follow the old laws. Susan needs some time away from the Samutz and I feel she can help you." Both women started to deny the idea. Susan said verbally to make a point, "I have no problem with the Samutz. I just want to kill each and every one of them. I will..." Bassinda cut in "I can handle the problems here without a woman that seems so fixated. The councillors get perturbed when their friends have to go to court and found guilty of things under the current laws that were quite legal only a few months ago." "Appoint Susan as your chief magistrate and let her take the heat. She fully knows Tandra law and this will allow you to knock the citizens back into line. This way you can use Susan as a stalking horse as you flank them." Susan said with her voice again, "I will not administer law here. I don't know where you got that idea. I am your wife not a bureaucrat." "Susan you are my wife and that is the reason you will be staying here to help your sister/wife do an important job. Defren is the most advanced of all the planets we have. The people have been building war ships for a long time and have come up with many advances. Bassinda is fighting almost alone now for us and she needs help, even if she says she doesn't want it." Bassinda said, "Husband, I was speaking the truth. I do not want this woman's help." "Wife," I said, "you will work with your sister to do this. I can see the situation better than most and I know that you will probably fail alone. This time you may be hurt in a contrived accident and I do not want you to be hurt or worse. Susan will stay and help, and that is final." Bassinda was angry but since being bonded at our first meeting found that she had to go along with what I said even if it seemed objectionable. Susan said, "Henry I will not stay here." "Susan, you will stay here. Your people need you and your active assistance. You also need a time to get over some of your hate and channel it into something constructive." Susan just sat with her arms folded over her chest and looked away. I stood up and used the tractors to pick up Bassinda and strip her of her clothing one piece at a time. Bassinda just gave a small 'eeek' then quieted as she saw what was happening. When she was naked I had tractors remove my clothing too and then floated all three of us into her bedroom. Susan was very indignant that this was happening and just sat in a chair as Bassinda was placed in the centre of the bed. Taking Bassinda's foot, I slowly kissed my way up the inside of her leg. She said, "Husband, oh Henry, just come to me and forget that." I ignored her and continued with my slow methodical approach. I worked on both women's minds to get them more excited. I could see Susan in my mind breathing faster but not wanting to have anything to do with a woman she saw as bossy. When I got to the juncture, her hand held my head in position as she let out a groan. I used more tractors to hold her legs then her hands too as she was pinned to the bed and could not move very much. "Henry, put me down, I need you in me." "I want to be there too but need you a bit more willing." "I am willing. Climb up and stick that massive thing into me." Ignoring her I continued to tease her unmercifully. I sucked her distended urethra only in short strokes because I knew she would orgasm otherwise. My hands stroked her torso and caressed her small breasts. When I found her nipples I gave them little pinches and her breathing came in gasps. She was not able now to even encourage me to mount her. All I could hear were mumbles in my mind as Bassinda became more disassociated with what we were doing. Susan had taken her clothing off because of the excitement that I had been feeding both of them. She saw a way to defeat her opponent and to gain some satisfaction. She walked around the bed and climbed on and manoeuvred herself over Bassinda. She wiggled her pelvis and placed her long urethra over Bassinda's mouth and stroked the hard member around the woman's face. I simply sucked carefully on Bassinda's urethra and she in turn sucked Susan into her mouth in a sympathetic reaction. Both women were kept on edge for a few minutes till I was able to stand and slip within my newest wife. The AI supplied oil that made this as pleasurable as possible. The tractors released Bassinda and I held her legs. Her arms came up and held Susan. The look into Susan's eyes told me that she was really enjoying herself. She was in pure bliss. She stroked her pelvis so slowly to get all the sensations possible. When they were at that point of no return, I increased the speed of my thrusts and in seconds Bassinda started to thrash. Then so did Susan for they were tied together in their present exertions. Bassinda's pelvis had come up throwing Susan and me. Susan fell over on her side onto the bed separating herself from Bassinda and curled into a curve as the strong emotions raced from one end of her body to the other. Bassinda shook as her back took the strain of her exertions. I quickly used a tractor to support her till she recovered. When they recovered enough, I placed her on the bed and got between them so I could hold both. Bassinda recovered first and brought her arm up to caress my shoulder. In a moment she could taste Susan on her lips. She began to get a bit angry at being taken advantage of. Rather than have this turn to hate, I moved Susan the same way Bassinda was and began to feast on my first wife's improved plumbing. Bassinda had to be told, "Climb on. Susan is very good at pleasing the ladies." She thought for a second and figured she should not let hate settle in but a little revenge would be good. As she got into position she looked down at Susan's larger breasts and wondered if they were natural or if I preferred them better. I looked at her over Susan's pelvis and thought, "I love you the way you are. Perhaps with a swollen abdomen would make you would look even better." I was given a smile and she settled as best she could onto her antagonist's face. Bassinda got comfortable and layed fully on Susan to allow her to see me working. The smell coming to her nose was different than any Tandra and quite compelling. "Bassinda my wife. Suck her while I go behind you. You have another hole that needs attention." She thought about the offer. She didn't want to give any of her favours to Susan but did want me to plumb her back passage. When her mind was made up, I just pulled back to give her room and I walked around the other side of the bed. Bassinda's bum was presented to me as she made small short thrusts into Susan's mouth. I caressed her twin orbs and let my fingers trace up the crease a few times. Bassinda groaned at the touch and even stopped her thrusting. Some oil was supplied and I touched the six small clusters of nerves immediately around the anus. When I slipped a finger easily in she almost had another orgasm. I went very slow and just insured that Susan was kept at the same heightened state with my mind. When she was well lubricated I slipped in a millimetre at a time and eventually was all the way in. I had to use the same technique on her as I did to Susan but this time I had to hold her back. With only a few strokes she was at the edge and I stopped. She tried to thrust back at me to get that last little bit but I was right against her. My hands travelled up her back caressing the soft skin and then reached around to stroke the small breasts that would one day feed our child. The small pain allowed her to pull back from her orgasm but as I continued she found it very erotic. She had completely stopped her attention to Susan. Susan replied with thrusting her pelvis up and down seeking a mouth that was now open in appreciation of what I was doing. Eventually the poking of the ten centimetre urethra brought her back to what she had to do and once she sucked a bit. I started to move again myself. In the next hour we all had our release and the two women were more resigned to being sister/wives than they were before. This did not mean that they were friends but just that the process was beginning and might one day work out. The next day I left a tearful Susan behind in Bassinda's hands. The Empress too did not want me to go but I could see the need because of the number of our enemies. Research was still going on now with my new information as a basis. Perhaps they could come up with something to defend themselves better than an AI alone. The Parmain's computer was now much different than I remembered it last. It had grown as I wanted but my ideas had not been as clear as I would have wished. I just had to change a few things. The scientists would have a field day going over the modifications. The other systems of Bassinda's empire were visited. The AIs there had been taking care of the day to day affairs and I just informed all the planets of a need to form a new government in the old Tandra style. While this was going on, the sleepers and others had another chance to talk to friends and family. The ships that I had left at each system were actively training a new crew for their combined defence. If the Samutz alone came here the improved minefield and now crewed ships would better help the Tandra survive. If the Thonas came the story might be a different. For our protection I plotted the best course I could and flew to all the planets that surrounded the systems that I stationed my people on. The number was in the thousands and I pushed hard to get as many of the more important ones done as possible. It took three weeks and I had travelled to almost a hundred and thirty major planets and two hundred minor ones. The sleepers were able to help by giving me strength to accomplish this. It took little from me but the constant drain would wear me down over time. During this time I came across thousands more ships and coopted them and the planetary government AIs if necessary. In only a few cases was it necessary to use more of the disease laden probes. Onboard the ship was the constant feeling of sexual frustration. Only part of it was my own. The first group of sleepers had a very active sex lives with their new families. I had been in their dreams when the first came back to a normal life. This I thought would help draw them from years of computer-aided dreams and to the life as we know it. It had worked fairly well but now the women saw me as an old lover that made them very happy. Since we were in a fairly stable environment now they wanted children and many of them by me. I was not the only male on board for a few of the male Mordis had stayed with me. A few had been very old and opted for the vats. They had emerged young again in a standard Tandra body. None of them had any problem finding female company. When I looked none had even started to form a male only family. The males looked the same way at me as the females did. This did prove fortunate for my next research idea. The Thonas hull and basic structure were well understood now. Their shield was selective to different weaknesses but there were two shields that would protect from anything material entering them. Ours was crude but was even stronger. My ability to form another shield of time was not known to them or the Tandra. Though Jamal and I worked on it for a long time we had not found a way of generating it other than by my mind. Our propulsion was the same way and it could only be done with the way my mind worked. Taking this track, I worked within my mind and gave Jamal a copy so he could assist me in finding what the secret might be. I did make a few improvements but most went into keeping my mind from being susceptible to a Thonas mental attack. Many of the things I told Jamal were new to him. It was very odd to be teaching a mature AI anything and here I was pushing the boundaries back of our knowledge. The ability to see into the future was very much at work but I could only be useful in certain cases or situations. Time could only be forecast a minute or less into the future. It was as if the ability to do better would require more energy than I possessed. The analogy of flying at the edge of another dimension came to mind. It was hoped that if I could fly far enough into the future I could easily go whenever I wanted. The other area of research concerned the sleepers themselves. They had worked flawlessly with me and could even pilot the ship as a group consciousness. This was much like the way the Bintuu had run their empire but without the queen as a focus. It could also be seen as a collective brain with each girl giving some of the strength. Ideas were given for the group mind to eventually consider and thus be able to make plans. Jamal found that his systems were directly controlled these times and he seemed to be part of this large matrix. My own feeling was that Jamal had my personality within him and thus the girls could work with him as easily as me. With so many new girls though that wore a similar tiara the effect I wanted seemed to be diluted. This appeared to be caused by not all girls being a fully with me as I would like. I tried to get around this situation by walking the decks of the ship and meeting first hand many of the crew. Other times I would call small meetings where more people could have a chance to talk to me and me to them. It did work but there seemed to be a barrier to gaining a fuller knowledge. One time walking back from a meeting to discuss the last planet we took, I was stopped for a few seconds by one of the original sleepers and two of her family. She knew that I had planted the early memories of us but enjoyed them very much irregardless. "Captain," she said because that is what I wanted. "Will I ever get you to ourselves?" I could see an opportunity here for we had a long trip ahead and I wanted to see how fast we could go. The inertial compensators had been strengthened and this was a way of interfacing with the crew better. The thoughts of finding my own release were there too for I had no wife with me. "I think we can do that. I am not interested in more wives though and I do not want more children if I am not going to be able to keep them. The last consideration is that the rest of the crew would like to see us making love. Can we do this under those conditions?" She took no time to think and said, "Yes. When do you want us?" "Jamal is just docking a small ship. How about five minutes and in the main meeting room." The girls disappeared immediately and went to get cleaned. I checked more fully with Jamal to see that everything was made ready for our next voyage. I went to my own quarters and cleaned myself in preparation for leaving. Jamal at this time was rapidly leaving the planet but we would be well within the Mardaf Limit at the beginning or our test. When I got to the large meeting room I found it full already. Everybody came dressed for the occasion and were thus naked. Quizzing Jamal, I saw over a seven hundred Tandra in the large room alone. There were over a half million watching on the monitors because they could not make it into the room. Some were already getting into the spirit of the event and making their lovers feel the way they should. The way the women were affecting me required quite a bit of mental shielding. I happened to be the only one dressed and I just had a dark coloured robe on. Voosa, the woman in the hall and her two lovers behind her came forward. "I am here Captain. What would like us to do?" "We are going to make the ship head to this position." I showed in my mind where I wanted to go and what I was going to do to get us there. Their job was to just look ahead with me and push a little for I was going to do the vast majority of moving the vessel without the engines. "Please lay down on the floor ladies." When they had done so, I used Jamal's tractors and picked each of the women up so they were still horizontal. I began with Voosa by kissing her feet and toes and went to her knee before going to the next foot. This was almost enough and I just stopped and went to one of her wives. This one got the same treatment but I had to go slower because she was even more sensitive. I could read her very well and she wanted my child very much. The last was no better and the progress was even slower because the entire room smelt of aroused Tandra femininity. They were urging the poor women to have an orgasm and I was not quite giving enough to accomplish that. When I got back to Voosa, Jamal supplied some oil and I held her legs to my chest as I let the one eyed snake search around her burrow. The women in the audience were not restricted as Voosa was and orgasmed one after the other. I used my power to deaden her nerves a bit then turned down her sensitivity to the watchers and slowly slipped into her. "Voosa, pull the ship for me. Look far ahead and keep us safe." I slowly pulled out and said, "If you want me; pull." We surged ahead at more than Jamal's maximum so he cut back almost eighty percent on the power and the girls strived to make up the difference but could not do that much. "Look ahead girls. I am going to push now too." I could see an a star system twenty three light years away and aimed a bit to one side and formed my tube from the higher dimension. In a minute were past the star and I used my mind to plot the points as more and more power was used to push us forward. I slowly moved my body back and forth and the girls used this stimulus to even pull harder. I could feel the whole crew working hard to help. Our speed was only approximant for there was no way of really knowing except from the known distance from known stars. It looked like 2300 light years per hour and steadily climbing. Jamal cut back on the thrust and concentrated on the inertial compensators. The girls still pushed but mainly looked for dangerous areas. It became evident that I was making love to the entire crew. It was easy to see the face and sense the collective emotions. It seemed to be a proxy entity that I embraced with my mind as my hands and body thrust into Voosa. I slowly closed off the tube because we were at our destination and I pulled the crew back to just enjoying themselves. With my mental hold off of Vossa I allowed her to orgasm. Her scream was echoed by at least half of those in the ship. She contorted and twisted trying to milk me of my essence but in the end failed and collapsed. I just moved to the next of my ladies and gave her a similar orgasm. The last was almost comatose but did respond enough to me. I moved carefully into her and she opened for me the maximum she could. Though I tried hard she succumbed to her desires and thrashed like the last and only keeping the crew in one continuous orgasm. Vossa was curled into a ball with her knees up and her back bent. Shivers could be seen going through her as if she were freezing. I used my hands now to just turn her body around. My fingers found her other hole I lathered oil around the small buds and into the opening. She didn't seem to respond but I pulled her body back till she was securely lodged on me. This time I knew she would not thrash for she was already in a never ending orgasm. I moved my hips quickly trying to hit all the small nerve clusters I could. Eventually I felt my own release coming and I moved even faster and shot many times into her back opening. I could feel some of the crew respond and return like the rest to that place so near heaven. Later we came to a small system with a red sun and three small planets circling it. Two were in the comfort zone at perhaps even habitable. Before our scanners could get all the data on the system Jamal told me that he had found evidence of a battle. We went to a higher level of defence and searched for any danger. A dozen cruisers and destroyers left to see what could be found. Reports started coming back a few minutes later and I saw Tandra craft with some dead Samutz nearby. More than half of the craft were Tandra like but not exactly. One of our ships brought back one of the better samples while the rest looked for survivors and the computers of the damaged ships. The strange craft had ceilings only a metre and a half high. The construction was not as good or as finished as what the Tandra produced. Jamal worked on the computer while I used some roving probes to see what I could. Most had been burnt with nuclear fire and even the ceramic was melted or burnt away. There were some unexpended munitions and these I checked diligently. A zinc/iron alloy was in all the shells of the missiles. The shield generators were slightly different but still of the new type that was designed to repel small galvanized projectiles. Its construction was not as good as what a Tandra would do and I had to wonder why this inefficiency had been allowed to occur. Other things bothered me about the wrecks. It was as if the Tandra ships had been modified for a different race's needs but the processes behind the devices were not well known. Humans came to mind if they were given enough basic knowledge to start a job like this. Another idea was Russian tools that were only machined where it was necessary and the rest remained a rough casting. In this case I didn't know which was right. In one part of the damaged ship I found some new evidence. In a heavily shielded area were some now very irradiated eggs that were soft like a turtles egg but bigger than a gooses'. I left these to Jamal for investigation as I continued to other sections. There were no escape pods in the ship or even provision for them. Tandra equipment was very good but always had some alternate means of abandoning a ship of this size. The food I was happy to find was all vegetable in nature. The room was open to vacuum but I wanted a sample of each kind anyway. I did find a synthesizer but its control system told me that it had very limited number of choices in food produced. The controls were all mind driven so I knew that the race was used to non vocal communication. Marks on the surface though worn suggested a written language as well. The engines were standard but even here a few small finishing touches like correct synchronizing would get another percent of thrust at least. Some rooms appeared like a Tandra washroom and here things didn't seem to change at all. After a few hours of searching and our investigations our ships came back. There were no survivors of any race. This was odd unless the Samutz had stayed to rescue their own kind. This would only happen if they had been successful in the battle and took prisoners as well. The Samutz craft was worked on next, while a small unit held all the ship's parts in one large mass for later collection. The computer here was easier to break and it divulged a lot of data. The Thonas were not directly mentioned but the indications could only mean them. Apparently the Thonas were having trouble killing a persistent nuisance to their expansion. I knew that this meant that the unknown enemy would not die quick enough to suit them. The Tandra records told me that the Thonas only wanted their kind to not only flourish but to be the only higher life form in the galaxy. I knew what would happen to the Samutz as soon as they were not needed anymore. It looked like their enemy was very numerous and won battles by sheer numbers even though their equipment was inferior. No length of time was mentioned but I assumed that this fighting had been going on for a long time. The current strategy looked to be destroying an essential crop that only grew on a few planets. No listing of the crop's importance was given. The area covered by these particular Samutz just added to the area that was already known to be occupied by this race. A large unknown area in between could logically be assumed to be the same. Some other badly burned bodies were recovered. Jamal took them into a laboratory took samples and all sorts of tests. It looked to have an endoskeleton reminiscent of a monkey but looked like a type of spider instead. I was not going to make the same mistake twice and assumed that these were the intelligence behind the shipbuilding and the fighting. Jamal started to give me a preliminary report. The beings had a small mind and a very active cortex that indicated telepathy. They were oxygen breathers and had a similar DNA to the life on Earth or to the Tandra. They had six appendages with the front four with a four fingered hand that would suit the idea of a builder. The Mordis came to mind and I quietly asked Jamal to compare the DNA to see if this was their natural shape. Some bodies recovered were very small and I could only assume that they were young for I had already found eggs. I wondered why these had gone into battle but then remembered that I still had some Tandra children and even babies in stasis. What I found during this time and about the Samutz appalled me. There were many Samutz inhabited planets and I had a horrendous job ahead of me. The ships that I sent out continued to spread disease and I saw that even when they got others to assist that the pace was much too slow. The records on Samutz ships told of other vicious enemies that they were fighting. It looked like it was better to let the Samutz fight them than try to gain allies for some were worse than the Samutz were. Here I would let the Samutz continue to fight but would look to take the kingdoms behind their line to contain both if possible. More Tandra occupied planets were found in the records but none appeared to be as far advanced as Defren. When we eventually got underway we headed for some old Tandra worlds that should be thriving. I found only decaying ruins. During the next day we found some of the worlds that were completely barren. Even the Samutz would not be doing this and the Thonas were the only likely enemy. The sensors told us of the damage being done around the time of the great exodus. The spider like creatures were a possibility but something told me that this was unlikely. My stomach hurt now, for if they were not stopped or called back, the Thonas would have done the same thing to Earth. At one surviving world, we found the latent energy of a battle. It was much like what the Samutz must have found to attract them to Earth when I fought on our lunar surface. Our sensors traced the energy discharge of the ships and we gave chase. One Thonas ship flew in convoy with seven destroyers of the newest type. The sleepers on the New Hope were all awoken because we would now fighting. Coming at them from the rear was easy as if they were so confident that nobody could overtake them. I immediately gave the modified override that should affect these ships. The Thonas turned to fight but the Samutz continued as they obeyed my commands. We sped forward with my temporal shield all around us. The ship shot forward at a higher acceleration and we gave chase. I didn't want it to self destruct yet, so I only pretended to try to capture it as I used my mind to work my way in. There was very little I could gain from the ship's computer because it was a group of living entities. A simple map did resolve itself but I would have to place the stars on our charts to find where it was. A feeble attempt to render us unconscious was launched. When I momentarily dropped our shield between missile salvos and found that it did little to attenuate the compulsion. With nothing more to easily learn we rushed in and our shield burnt out their engines. Before I could start to shake it the ship blew up. At this range the only thing that saved us was the type of shield that we now used. ------- Chapter 73 Admiral Soduk felt good now. His flotilla was finally on the move. There were now four battleships though one of them had recurring propulsion problems. Thirteen empty troop carriers for slaves or food animals were protected by six heavy destroyers and two of the lighter variety. His flagship, eight other heavy cruisers and a few dozen smaller ships accompanied him. The idea was to go from one system then to another dropping off a garrisons and sending some of the troop carriers home to market their cargo if there was enough. The main worry was that other Samutz would try to either take the systems first or possibly try to take the worlds after their defences had been compromised. Soduk smiled, for he himself had done this a few times and it seemed to feel so right when he could wrest control of a system from a mauled victor. In fact, that was where he had gotten the ship he now rode. The battle had been very one sided but it kept the race strong to be fighting a worthy enemy even if it had to be other Samutz. Eleven days into his flight the crew had started to harass the techs again as they did on all voyages. Soduk's exec went on the screens to all ships and gave the standard warning that the admiral insisted on. A Samutz that found himself too bored and had to play games with techs would be tortured to death with the entire complement watching. It had worked in the past and only a few deaths had occurred on each trip. The admiral was anxious to be getting to his room. A food animal was now running around trying to hide as they usually do. The quick movements of the animal on the large screen brought out the instinctual urges to hunt and kill. He was about to leave when the quark flux officer reported a ship coming from a few points off his bow. Their closing speed was great and he just remained seated till they were within hailing distance. The officers manned the defences just in case and soon after the communications officer gave his grunt the admiral spoke. A data packet came back instead and in a few seconds the small approaching ship started to decelerate. It would have to completely stop before trying to catch up again. The comm officer sent the message directly to the admiral and it came up on the screen for his eyes only. When this operation was first contemplated he had sent out small stealthy probes to each of the target systems. This was the scout ship that was to collect the data and bring it back to him for assessment. The news was disturbing in a way because he could not see the reason for what had happened. A small group of ships had gone into one of the systems without the defences being actuated. Some communications had taken place and the ships left again. Two other systems remained unchanged but getting to the last system he was now shocked. A group of Samutz must have conquered one of his targets for it held two major ships and two more had arrived with a few escorts just previous to the scout ship's data retrieval. The urge to hunt now took on a much different meaning. The system only had three battleships a carrier and a half dozen or so escorts. The system would be unprepared for his arrival and he could get more ships to add to his personal fleet. Presently he had four battleships a carrier and fifteen escorts. His ships had crack troops, both Kronik and Dofer were professionals and had instilled a lot of discipline in their own crews. The comm officer connected to both of the other major players in this combined fleet. The data was shared and Soduk gave his interpretation and desires. The faces of Kronik and Dofer showed similar intent and they began to make preliminary plans. ------- Captain Shingle tried to make some sense out of how the academy was allotting the recruits. The governments were up to their usual games and all the misleading publicity was keeping new recruits away. Instead of a million new faces there was hardly a hundred thousand the same as last time. The food that was asked for had gone up in price and there was very little that could be done about it. Mom had detected a lot of pressure from first world countries on all the rest to keep them in line. If Mom hadn't kept up her barrage of facts there would be nobody that would join. There were always a fair number to choose from but the recruiters had only chosen from the ones that could drop their old prejudices for a new life. The food was only a way of easing the transition because the ships could easily feed everybody simple rations but the ability to produce appealing meals relied either on the natural grown food or enough excess capacity for the machines to make a substitute. As the population grew, the workload grew as well and the ability to produce a wide variety of food was termed a frivolous waste of computing power. Paul Santo was studying the new ships. The cruisers and destroyer were crewed by men and women that had come through their tutelage. Hisako and Jõao had both ended up with a heavy cruiser each. Their new families seemed to fit right in. Others that had not scored as high in the competition had gotten similar prizes and they all seemed to be happy at the fortuitous event. These ships had gotten only a few raw recruits and the battleships were being run with their AIs alone so far. All the ships had needed a lot of repair because the Samutz did not really care for the needless frivolities like a fully functional air purification system or even one that had the occasional breakdown. The techs were just as happy to not have to help the Samutz out any more that was needed. The two battleships did not have names or crews yet but repair crews were working hard to bring them up to a minimum ability to fight. Looking through a close up view of the ship he could see thousands of people working in various machines. Some wire in small ships with manipulating arms while others were in suits to get portions of plate installed and fused into place. The plate and sensors had to be stripped and replaced in large areas. Their weapons' stations were slated next for alterations. The galvanized missiles had to have much smaller launchers and then all the missiles had to have maintenance performed on them before the galvanized sheath was installed. Duc was just leaving the academy. He had been trying to assist the tutors with the new crop of students. Until recently they had been senior citizens down to the minimum age of fourteen. A few slightly younger people had been allowed in because of their more mature disposition. In most cases these had been girls. His own children came to mind and he could readily see their shining faces as he would approach them. They were all getting the idea of what a father should be and he loved the idea that they were looking to him with that kind of trust. Kitten was sitting with her three children as she talked to Doris and Lam. The two Humans had children suckling from their breasts while others nearby waited for their turn. Lam was saying, "I don't know why you want to have one of those big ugly ships. Mom tells me that they are death traps. Besides in a fight they would be targeted first." Kitten replied, "The ships when they are finished in another six months will be much safer than here in this base. The ship can evade shots fired at it and can shoot back just as well as we can here. There is a serious shortage of trained people and I just want to do my share." "Your share! What do you think you were doing since all this started? Didn't you get elected to govern the Earth bases anyway? Your children need you and you need to stay and protect them first." Doris added, "I agree. I think your place is here with your children. Let the others fight. That is what they are training for." Kitten said, "Doris that is what I have been training for too. It started when I was just a girl and lasted many years. I just went to sleep in between. Granted I wasn't trained for bridge crew yet but I may have. All of the Tandra were given a broad range of courses and we can fit in most places with a fair understanding of what we are doing. To say that my children needing protection is true. I can do that better by directing a ship that will fight the enemy before it can get anywhere near enough to hurting them." Mom was having problems too. The Humans were using a new type of device and had found many of the old bases on Earth. They were all safe because she had got their shields strengthened. Bases with failed shields had their technology destroyed to keep it out of Human hands. Now she saw coming from North Bay a similar crew with the same device. Rather than have the base pinpointed she used a newly installed shield that could keep most low tech peoples or animals out. It extended all the way to Cobalt in the north and formed a circle sixty kilometres in diameter but centred ten kilometres north west of the base's position. The shield formed a pink haze and would get denser the further into it a person tried to go. She watched as a large truck plough into the field and slowly come to a stop as its engine stalled. In ten minutes there was a long line up of cars and trucks on every road that the shield cut. The driver of the truck was arguing with other. Drivers behind him came to find out about the cause of the mysterious fog. All they wanted was to continue to their destinations. Soon the military trucks came by and it wasn't long till the device was brought out and used. Mom's probes studied the machine and found it the same as the others she had found. It was just a type of signal generator that worked a bit like a sonar unit. If the signal bounced back a certain way then the probability of a shield was there. A drilling rig at the end of the convoy was used to get closer to any likely spot. Some aircraft carried the same type of device. They had flown over most of northern Ontario mapping out various spots. The truck in a matter of weeks would find the base then Henry's house would be further defiled by more soldiers as they tried to find a way in. She was sure of one thing; when Henry came back he would be seriously angry at the way his house was robbed and vandalized. Clarice sat at the tutor as she digested five dimensional math. Beside her sat her cousins. Uncle Henry and Aunt Susan had a lot of children. They all were so nice, even if they were all a little older than her except for Moesha and Kimberly. Her sister Michelle sat at another tutor but was still working, for she had her eyes closed and her mind was furiously active. She looked to find a way to reconstruct a damaged dimensional tap before it blew up and destroyed the ship and everybody in it. Clarice watched as the clock was ticking down and soon Michelle was thrown from her studies. "Oh, I was killed again." She looked to her side and saw Clarice. "I failed again. How did you do it?" Clarice thought how she had done it yesterday and went through the steps very methodically. "Oh, you ran to the storage rack and used a tool to sync with the temporal field as well as the other dimensions. No wonder I couldn't do it with my flux generator. Thanks Clair." She went back into the same problem but now found the storage rack destroyed and had to find another location that would have the needed devices. This time she made the necessary repairs in time but was fatally irradiated because she was not quick enough. Her fellow crew members put her in a tank to be completely restored. She came out of the simulation and said, "I did it. Did you get killed too?" She was happy to see that Clarice had died as well that time. ------- Admiral Soduk stopped his small fleet far outside the now occupied system while the scouts and probes continued. His scouts were the cream of his troops for they thought before they did something and this made them invaluable in this instance. Some had even been accused of cowardice because they did not immediately try to kill their fellow Samutz when provoked. Now was the time to just wait. To allow his crews to relax he sent some of the food animals through the ship with simple weapons and then sent the ones in his crew that performed better after them. In ten minutes all were dead and one Samutz was scratched by a spear. He would have to fight his teammates now for they would not allow him to live the fact down. Five very frustrating days later the scouts came back. Very small probes had been able to travel almost three light years into the system and brought back pictures of the opposition. Two battleships were orbiting a moon while they were being repaired. Hull plates were seen to be missing on both craft. The other battleship was close to the carrier while ships went back and forth between them. Before the probe left it showed the two ships separating to probably patrol the system. This was very odd because Samutz did not do this sort of thing usually and these must be crack troops too. The probes that could see the planet though told of untold riches. Giant cities with millions of people that used simple machines to swarm all over the place. The rest of the planet was the same because it was so densely populated. There was either enough food animals here or even techs to make all of the crew fantastically rich. Soduk had to stop his revery because those around him were seeing the same thing and were working themselves into a frenzy. The thought of unlimited hunting was almost too good to be true. Dofer and Kronik were on a private channel and talked to Soduk about how rich the system was. Kronik said, "That has to be why the ships patrol the system so well. It is a fantastic find. I think we should take these ships if we can and just protect this system. Nothing we have found in hundreds of years has come close to this." Dofer readily agreed and so did Soduk. Soduk said, "The governor will want this planet for himself. I think we should only take this system and split it up. If necessary we can hire more people to help keep this place safe for us. But I do not know who I could possibly trust with this information. Even our king would want a large portion of this find." For the next half day they made plans for the conquest of the single planet. Dofer the youngest would take the troop transports and two cruisers for both protection and to clear the mine field. They knew that any sane Samutz would take the battleship and carrier and attack right away. The carrier could do nothing and the only opposition would be the battleship. The decoys would leed the defenders out of position. The battleships and some cruisers would proceed at their best possible speed through the cleared section of the minefield and attack the enemy on their flank. At the other end of the system, the carrier, the heavy cruisers and destroyers would break through the field. They would attack and try to capture the two battleships that were being repaired. All the troops were told to leave the planet alone unless it was actively protected by the Samutz garrison there. This was a forlorn hope because when it was seen how rich it was some would have to go down to hunt even if they knew they would be killed after for disobeying rules. The ships separated into groups and headed for their assigned positions. ------- Captain Meech was having a meal with Toosm in his wardroom when the alarm went off. Both interfaced with the computer and saw that this was not a test. All the bridge staff along with all the mechanical intelligences on the ships came together and saw the incursion. The outer surface of the Oort cloud was over twelve square light years in area and there was very little in the way of ships in that area. It would take hundreds of years of constant work to replace all the mines. This section happened to have very little attention paid to it. Video came in and it was deduced to be two heavy cruisers a light destroyer and six troop transports. This was more than enough to take a battleship if crewed by Tandra. By Samutz it would be a toss-up till more information came their way. Escort ships started toward the enemy soon. The crews had settled into place in the Nautilus and it too headed to the coming battle. Terra's Pride was heading the opposite way when the warning came in. With no other enemy in sight the ship stopped and reversed course. This took over an hour and allowed fighters stationed on the ship to return. The carrier could go many times faster than they could and the fighters relied on the mother ship to take them to the battle. The two unnamed battleships were in the middle of a one hour refit schedule. The remaining time was needed to fasten down what was loose and to prepare for battle. The people of many species hurried to complete their duties so the ships could start. One crew were working on an engine and the ship would have to go into battle with only seven functional. Mom went on all television and radio stations and told the Humans of the invading ships. These had to be Samutz for they were destroying the defences as they worked their way through the minefield. The fact that they didn't come openly to the system further attested to this fact. Fighters throughout the system looked for further incursions as they worried about their one and only planet. If this one were to be destroyed it was evident that the Human race would die. The lunar base had people running all over. Kitten made her plea to command one of the ships and was given the authority by Mom. Her children were entrusted to Lam and Doris as she organized what she could. The AIs had already placed what people that could help from those available. They all boarded shuttles to take them to their stations. Duc got all of his children into protective suits and sealed them with his command. They were all sent to his apartment to be with Lam and Doris. He went about and found others and handed out personal shields in case of sudden decompression. When they all met back at the apartment Doris excused herself and found her combat suit ready for her. She left it where it was but wanted to just check on it if it was needed. Most of the simple things the AI performed were now simply not done as more pressing matters were handled. Marcus like all the other AIs went through their records to see what might happen next. Earth people knew fear before but now when they knew it was the Samutz approaching. They simply went completely crazy. Many were shot by local authorities as they killed and raped those around them. Riots started in the mental institutions and here too people had to be killed because there was no way they could be controlled any other way. Government and military units sent off planes to prepare for an invasion that was hours away. All military personnel were recalled but some were sent back out to quell mobs bent on killing and destruction. Some army units once they started shooting never stopped till they ran out of bullets. The visible leaders of the Tandra opposition led marches on government offices that soon turned into mobs. Buildings were destroyed and fires started that could not be put out because the fireman dared not come out of their stations or leave their homes. Mom tried to quell the riots by continuing to transmit data about the attack and what the probable tactics would be used. The strengths and weaknesses of the approaching ships were listed. Two hours after the first warning the attacking ships slowed to a stop for no apparent reason. When this was completed they turned to go back the way they had come as if frightened off. Captain Meech looked on the screen to see the portion of the system they were now in. The AIs warned of a possible ambush but he had already surmised this. "Pasha, are the largest missiles ready?" "Yes we have thirty six of them and thirty more have the galvanized coating." "Let's save those and send some of the old units first. They may not work or not well but they can still take out a ship. It looks like in three minutes we will be coming to the site where they came through I want to fire the missiles before we get there." "Yes Captain." Four old missiles faultlessly left the ship and headed forward then turned to go through the minefield. As expected battleships were streaking through at top speed. Their own defence system fired on the missiles from almost a lightyear off and no amount of course changes could stop the defence and the missiles blew up a long distance from their intended targets. Meech detached two cruisers to chase the first intruders while he slowed to take on the approaching ships. It looked even worse now for there were four battleships and some smaller escorts. Mom sent a warning throughout the system. Another incursion was taking place. Here it was a carrier and some destroyer and their cruiser escorts. Fighters that had pulled back streaked forward to do battle and would meet the larger ships as they emerged from the wall of rock and ice surrounding the system. Captain Shingle was further back and could see the same as Meech what would probably happen. Paul said, "We going to launch the fighters now? If we take a large missile we will loose all of them." "I think the battleships will be coming in pretty fast and only start to brake after they make it in. They will be going much too fast for the fighters to catch. Best we change course and wait for them to come to us." "They know our ship would stand no chance against them. Makes good sense to give them a target as long as our fighters and our own defence can take them out." Captain Shingle altered course and began to slow down himself. The pilots were ready and when they were close enough, thousands of two and four place fighters left the ship in clouds and took up position to form a corridor for the approaching ships. When the warning came that another group was fighting through the defences they just held their positions and hoped that the two battleships around Earth could handle the situation. Four battleships in their position was enough to give them something to chew on. Hans launched waves of small ship killers for the first time against real targets. Their small size would look to be too small for the approaching ships to worry about. Just as the ships cleared the Oort Cloud, one then another of the heavy cruisers just stopped as they were mortally wounded. Some small missiles started to strike the battleships and the one in the lead was struck so many times that it too exploded. The three now unescorted battleships saw a danger and took off for Earth and possible safety. Fighters stationed at the cloud flung themselves at the ships and inflicted heavy damage. One battleship slowed and brought all its guns to bear on the nimble fighters. The Terra's pride released its own larger missiles at the lead two ships. This time the larger missiles were used and sent out to swamp their defences. The lead ship was able to continue on but the one behind took all the missiles and exploded. The blast was so great that many missiles were destroyed in flight as well as hundreds of fighters. Terra's Pride gave chase and took some hits from the disabled battleship till it too was silenced. "Shit, shit. We will never catch it this side of Earth," Paul said under his breath. "There are two ships there that will do their best. Get some of our fighters back inside and get back to Earth." The fighters did come but a portion stayed with the disabled battleship to insure it did not join the battle again. Captain Meech found himself out of position and just headed for Earth too. The cruisers would have to take care of the first group by themselves. Captain Hisako Kamata and Captain Jõao Silva directed their respective ships into position and fired off some of their long range weapons. Within seconds the missiles had been destroyed. They were catching up and in three minutes would be only a few light seconds behind. Their ships were better taken care of and performed much better than the enemy's. The ships ahead were slowing, this could only mean that they were going to stand and fight, then head for Earth. At the appropriate time a cloud of small ship killers spewed out. At almost the same time a smaller cloud of larger missiles answered them. Defences on both ships went to work. The more numerous mass though found their marks and blew up the ships. Kamata and Silva worked hard to keep their own defence on the approaching missiles and destroyed all except one that struck Captain Kamata's cruiser almost head on. Kitten saw the action as soon as it happened thanks to faster than light communications. The two battleships had reported all stations operational but she knew that it was still not even close to what it should be. She at least had eight working engines which the other ship did not have. At the moment the captains and the AIs were discussing how to handle the dual threat to Earth. The Samutz battleship had very little damage. The carrier was just a bit behind and was now coming through the cloud of rock. From the looks of the ship it did not make it completely unscathed. When the time came Mom said, "Kitten I want you to attack the battleship. I am transporting a few thousand galvanized missiles to you in the hopes that you can use them. With no launchers I want your computer to throw them the same way Henry did when the first ship came here. The other ship is to fly with you at its best possible speed. That way your offensive capabilities will add as well as your defensive." They set off immediately and Kitten tried locking tractors together to get a bit more speed out of the locked pair. The idea worked and they made a bit better speed toward the approaching enemy. On their screens they saw the missiles so meticulously made and stationed to protect Earth fire on the enemy. Their galvanized coating made no difference for they were being destroyed by the approaching ship. The base on Pluto and the unnamed tenth planet were destroyed in passing. It appeared that the tenth planet was no more after the hammering it took. Its destruction was signalled by a bright flash of light and higher energy radiation that came from more than three dimensions. The pair of ships picked up speed and twenty three minutes later unleashed all their major weapons at the approaching ship. Immediately the defensive batteries of all ships came to bear for large ship killer missiles were coming at them too. Missiles blew up sometimes only kilometres from a hull. At less than a light second Kitten released all of her small weapons Mom had given her and they streaked to the target. At the same time more conventional weapons were fired too, trying to swamp the defences of the Samutz ship. As they came within energy beam range the Samutz craft exploded throwing Kitten and the crew of both ships from their seats. The force was so great that the compensators could not handle the surge. Kitten got to her feet and found damage reports coming in from all over the ship. On the periphery of the system fighters raced in and launched their weapons at both the escort and the carrier. There were only eleven fighters here and they all knew they had to stop all the ships. All the weapons were fired at once for when they found out that the small missiles were dangerous they would work harder to destroy all of them. The fighters though were targeted and one after the other were destroyed. When the missiles did land on the enemy one after the other the ships died as well. The carrier went up in a ball of light. The cruisers and destroyers too died if not from the missiles then from the exploding carrier. Mom looked on this last battle with something like a sigh but from the back of the carrier came a light destroyer. It flew at its best speed toward the primary. Fighters coming to the battle late fired on the last of the enemy but the destroyer took out all of them at the maximum range. It seemed to have a charmed life for it came nowhere near some of the fixed defences and bored steadily inward toward Earth now. At the Mardaf Limit it slowed just enough and still tried to push the craft as much as possible. The base on one of Neptune's moons fired its missiles but they too were shot down. Large missiles now targeted Earth and were fired in vengeance. The defences on Mars took out two but three more continued. At just four million kilometres the three missiles blew up as the Nautilus had regained the battle. The moon happened to be on the other side of the Earth at the time and could not use its own weapons adequately. The destroyer now performed some evasion tactics and released its own four fighters as it pulled away to give more targets to the enemy. The mighty battleship loosed a warm of tiny ship killers and when it came around the planet it used its energy weapons. It was not known which killed the destroyer for it blew up lighting the entire sky of Earth. Three of the fighters went with the ship but one still plunged toward the goal below. It streaked through the tenuous atmosphere moving one way then another as it came around to the side facing the moon. Mom was unable to shoot from the moon for her weapons were more destructive than the tiny fighter. The craft plunged lower as fighters left the Nautilus to give chase. Their speed and course would allow the craft long minutes to survive. Over the Pacific Ocean small weapons quickly fired at some islands. The force was such that they were like nuclear weapons. The one that missed the island plunged into the ocean three kilometres west and exploded. A mighty wave rose hundreds of metres high and headed in all directions. The ship coming on Japan travelling at almost forty times the speed of sound fired two small missiles that took out Tokyo and Hiroshima. Continuing west and south it came on the coast of China and fired on all the built up locations it could find. Taiwan came next then the craft headed more west to follow the coast and the population centres its instruments detected. Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, were subjected to twenty missiles. The craft headed more north now and hit Burma and then India and Pakistan. As the craft came to Afghanistan a small hundred tonne ship rose from a valley and fired both of its missiles at the approaching craft. The first one was shot down but the second one exploded and destroyed the Samutz craft. The shockwave knocked the defender forcefully from the sky and fell to the ground where it lay still. At the far edge of the system Captain Silva worked hard to save as many people as possible. Kamata's ship had taken a direct hit but had not been completely destroyed. His people were there now putting everybody into stasis or their body parts into a hold. Fighters were all around now looking for more survivors. From the invading ships could be heard Tandra tech mental cries for help. Some of the fighters pealed off and approached the wrecks. They used their minds to find out from the survivors what their condition was. The Tandra inside took to the long unused escape pods and ejected into space. Their emergency beacons casting energy far and near. The fighters used their tractors to direct the small craft to the two Cruisers and continued to assist others within the hull. It took nearly twenty hours to gather all the living from the damaged ships. Thirty three Tandra and Softay aboard the attacking craft survived. Sixty two Humans and Tandra died in this small battle alone one of which was Captain Kamata. Kitten's ship and the other took a bit of damage but nobody died from the explosion so near to them. It took them a few minutes to stop the head long flight and turn the crafts around and head back. From their vantage point it was easy to see the path of destruction that had been laid on such a heavily populated section of Earth. Dust was high into the atmosphere and fires were burning on the ground uncontrollably. The loss of life was horrendous. Captain Meech stopped his battleship over Afghanistan and settled to just a few kilometres of the ground. Medics and troops quickly descended to check on the damaged ship. The lines and construction for this ship gave only one possibility. It was none other than the ship constructed and crewed by Kitten's class of children. With all the loss of life William Meech had a few more tears to shed. Of the 43 children only three had survived. At the other end of the system fighters were prowling through all the wreckage and happened to find only two surviving Softay and a dozen Samutz. There was no trace of the people aboard the fighters that had stopped a good portion of the invasion right here. Small pieces of wreckage were brought to a common area for collection and nothing larger than a hand's span in size could be found of the defending fighters. On Earth it was an entirely different story. Here the death toll was in the millions; possibly even a billion. Most of the population was near the shore and the fighter had more than enough weapons to take out all the population centres. Its altitude was high enough to hit almost five hundred kilometres inland. The strikes on the ocean caused even more deaths for the waves travelled far and swamped many very populated countries like the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. Severe earthquakes had followed the attack and this added to the death toll for three other tsunamis were produced. New islands were being formed but older ones were now far beneath the waves. Mom sent down as many ships as she could. They took the ones that were otherwise doomed and placed them in stasis till the emergency was over. All the available people otherwise were working on the ships because it was unknown when the next group of Samutz would come knocking at their door. The commentators after the first shock came back to attack Mom for bringing the Samutz here in the first place and then not defending the system adequately. Mom appeared weary as she talked to her audience but said that she had wanted food and recruits all the time and they had not been forthcoming. Governments and the leaders of big business wishing it that way. On television she showed the images of the people when they were alive and happy that had given this up to save Earth. The two hundred and eighty two included the children that had shot down the last fighter even as it meant most of their lives. Duc and Lam had dropped as soon as possible to the land of their youth. They came in a small ship that took in the sick and wounded and sent them out the other end much better. Similar ships worked tirelessly wherever there was a chance of helping the people. Kitten worked in India to help the injured. Her image was well known but the computer aboard the ship and the other staff watched out for her regardless. Some came to her just to touch her, thinking and perhaps feeling better for it. The people going through the ship though did feel better coming out. The academy had a very short morning for their dead. They were looked on as martyrs and the three that lived as something very close to Devine. This all helped to make the students work even harder on the ships to make them even better than they were before. The destroyed or damaged craft in the next three weeks were brought in. Many of the fighters in the attacking carrier were beyond use but some could be made usable. The carrier and battleships supplied some salvageable portions. They went into a small fort that would orbit the Earth from the side opposite the moon. Mom had sent salvage teams to Earth right after the attack to gather fish that had been killed and other organic material. This was all processed through her equipment and the products given to the people that could use the food. The people were a bit hesitant about the food but found it bland and wholesome. While this was happening the developed countries continued to attack the Tandra policies and Mom in particular. Duc, Lam, Kitten, and others went on the TV shows and attacked the rest of the world for not helping very much when there were so many killed, homeless or destitute people. In the coming days many pledges were made for assistance but as time went on it was seen that words were indeed very much cheaper than action. ------- Chapter 74 Henry had no cause to sort through the small particles of ship that were sailing out at near the speed of light. He just turned back and got his boarding parties ready. The five newer type of Tandra ships were a real prize and he had all the important facts transferred to the New Hope. The boarding parties went in and found no active opposition. Most were dead but a few had made it to stasis when the computer sent them. Some Softay and Tandra techs were sedated and removed from the ships while the search for any stragglers went on. The meat lockers were inspected by the boarding team because Henry had no wish to see what they contained. A synopsis at the end would be more than sufficient. What was turned up was what appeared to be some living and just hatched spider like creatures. Henry ordered, "Put them in a stasis pod and bring them here." After checking for more information from the captured computers Henry set out a rotation of officers and crews for the five new ships. They would take at least a thousand crew each and these got a chance to see how these ships even if they had to be escorts for the next while. The crew admired and even loved him before but now were even more enthusiastic. Now they would be able to strike their own blows against the Samutz and Thonas. The majority of all the crews were Mordis as were the same as his ship. There was no problem with their minds and he was not going to show any favouritism. The ships were thoroughly checked and small improvements made then the flotilla took off for the next destination. The new techs onboard worked on what they could to improve the ships systems along with all the improvements that Henry found that could be applied. Henry looked at the spiders and could only think of them as kittens for some reason. They had long fine hair on a cute if flat face. There were no spinnerets and no venom injectors. They had no way of even protecting themselves for even their teeth were very small. They were warm blooded egg layers that mostly ate vegetation. They just happened to look like the spiders that were on Earth. "Jamal, did you find out what these little critters eat from their computer?" "I have evidence of a special diet that is fed by another creature. The creature is much like a nanny and not related. Apparently the creature ingests the food and either regurgitates or produces a modified product that allows the young to grow. These creatures before you are not normally very intelligent but the food that is given in their youth seems to get areas of their brain to grow. This gives them their ability to communicate and increases their intelligence. This food source is what the Samutz seem to be trying to destroy." "Can you synthesize this food? For some reason they don't seem able or willing to do this themselves." "That project would take a lot of my resources without a sample. Many molecules will increase their mind's ability to think and communicate. Only some will do the job without damage to the individual." "Do what you can. Your medical section is underutilised at the moment." "Yes Captain." We came across some beautiful planets that were just uninhabited. While others had been damaged by war or even completely destroyed. These usually happened to be the ones that were smaller and thus had a lower gravitational constant. The spindly legs of the small spiders could only support their bodies if their weight were light enough. Some small moons were found that were suitable for colonization but strangely they were left uncolonised. Many of the systems had signs of battle and some over a thousand years ago. We combed through the wreckage of the ships and most of it was the spiders' crafts but some was actually Thonas. The deeper we went into the spiders' old territory the less we found of Samutz and their work. About the twentieth system we arrived at we found another battle just winding down. This too had been won by the Samutz and the Thonas. The Tandra crewed ships I had taken were given their orders and happily attacked the Thonas ship. The Thonas craft was a large heavy cruiser and put up a good fight before being destroyed by the girls. I could feel the elation throughout the crew as they felt the same joy as the fighting ships must have felt. The spiders' ships were all but destroyed and we went among them trying to gather survivors. Usually we were shot at but the weapons did nothing to us. Mental and other communications failed to get them to stop. Jamal worked the ship close to the derelict ships with their shields for the most part down and just used his tractors to remove the weapons that were shooting at us or to collapse a missile tube. When all the spiders had been rescued we went after the Samutz that were in their own damaged ships. These usually fought to the death and the Mordis infantry liked to go in and kill just as much. Their better equipment meant that we took very few casualties. Both races were put into stasis as we looked for more information from both side's computers. We did get a better understanding of the Samutz and their unpronounceable word for the spiders. One ship's computer listed a portion on the far side of the spiders territory marked as Thonas inhabited. A large grey area showed how the spider's area had shrunk till it was barely nine percent of what it had been before the war. The dispute itself had apparently been going on for a several millennia. If the spiders were suitable as allies an assumption that had not been made yet, they would need better weapons. They had the idea of galvanized projectiles but little else that was new. I would have to work on one of their ships to see what I could do to improve it. This was done to find the minimum work necessary to refit their fleet. Making completely new ships would take much too long. Some Tandra left to crew the captured ships. They had seen what their people had just done and were eager to do the same even if the ships were not as technologically advanced. Some of the damaged ships were brought aboard and lovingly restored and fitted with weapons. Three light destroyers from the spiders fleet had their weapons systems blocked and the ships were brought onboard too. There was a lot of damage. Whatever could be salvaged from the wreckage floating in space was used to repair these three. There was more than enough people to do this. The various systems on the ships were analysed and more information came to us. Again I was struck by the use of sophisticated equipment made and maintained as if the theories behind the mechanisms were not known. It was as if the spiders just mimicked Tandra equipment as best they could till it worked. Some fine tuning was done but all of it was logical with no intuitive jumps. The shield units in particular looked this way now that there were more samples to examine. Some simple devices could be used that would produce an additional modulation that would keep more projectiles out. It, like all others could be beaten by brute force. The food supply for the infants was found. An aphid the size of a large dog was the creature that ate some special leaves. These leaves were partially digested by bacteria and enzymes in a stomach. The contents was regurgitated for the spiders. The DNA showed a lot of selective breeding had taken place to get to the present stage. The leaves in question were themselves odd. Their cell structure was very strong and would not readily break down, this necessitating some intermediate steps. The DNA here looked to be very robust with many backup sections evident. This seemed to indicate a high tolerance to radiation. The medical section even produced a chart of the growing conditions necessary for this plant. It had to be submerge in water for a considerable length of time for the seeds to germinate then had to have strong ultra-violet radiation for a period of at least two weeks to grow. An odd type of chlorophyll converted this radiation to special sugars for the plant's growth. A dry spell had to happen for the thick seed cases to crack and release the seeds. A group of molecules were taken from the plant. A dead aphid gave some of its stomach contents. One molecule was suppressed by the aphid and the medical section worked on this particular one for an hour. The results showed that the molecule was detrimental to the spider's development. It would produce uncontrolled growth in certain sections of the brain remain in the cells and eventually clog them till the cell would not function correctly. Many of the dead spiders had this clogging and appeared to be more prevalent with age. One individual brain from a dead spider was placed in a tank. This accumulation removed with no apparent bad effects. A small section of medical was reduced to about half of Earth's gravity. The fourteen original baby spiders were taken out of stasis and fed our improved variety of food with enough filler to give the necessary bulk. Rather than let a living creature remain in isolation I went in and fed the spiders by hand. They were wobbly and their small hands clutched at the hair on my arms and wrists. A small thin plastic syringe was made that gave them the quantity of food they needed. I sat on the floor and the spiders tried climbing up my clothes but could not grasp the fabric. If they did manage to climb onto my legs they invariably fell to the floor. Jamal or I cushioned their falls. It was necessary for the young to strengthen their limbs in the available gravity rather than make it less. Jamal and I worked to find some sense of hunger or other emotion that a spider would have but found none. Jamal was sent to try to operate some of the spider's equipment and soon told me that it was not within his range. One of the receivers was dismantled. The mental harmonics to actuate the device was much higher than we used. I worked on the crystalline structure in my mind and took away some supports from some short crystals. This was starting to work for I could get a feeling now of hunger but very weak. From one of the labs I brought a small sliver of a crystal and broke it off to the length I thought should work and brought it to my right nostril. A tractor took it to the membrane further back and it worked its way to the other crystals. I straightened out the construction and more or less purified it. In my mind's eye I could see it glow very brightly like the other ones that I had done. Once it was connected to some of my tissue the sense of hunger came in much stronger. When all of the young were fed the hunger diminished. Their pawing at the deck reminded me of animals working in the soil. "Jamal reduce the gravity in one of the gardens and transport all of us there." We were instantly in the garden off the Captain's chambers. It was from the old Tandra designs and had been used for other purposes by the Samutz. The spiders were put in a large tray of plants and the tray itself lowered to the floor. It would not be good for one to fall from a metre up. The babies went around and nibbled on all the plants to see what was palatable. I could sense distaste from some individuals and joy from others. The spiders instinctually looked for something to bury into the worked up soil. It appeared that they were natural farmers. It was no wonder that they relied more on their plants on the ships than on food synthesizers. I stayed with the spiders trying to communicate as I went about my duties mentally. Part of my mind worked with medical trying to formulate a plant that could produce the molecules I wanted without the need for an aphid. Little snippets of DNA combined into a whole in the computer. Other areas were altered to take advantage of the light gravity of the planets the spiders liked. High humidity and a slightly acidic soil was incorporated into the design. Medical gave me another molecule that would gently remove a buildup that was in all the older spiders minds without any apparent damage. I modified a section to manufacture this in a small amount. The medical training I got when preparing for the first moon trip helped a lot but the data that was supplied from the efforts of Defren did much more. My own research had advanced this understanding even further. "Jamal, take one of the smaller spider crew out of stasis and send it here." "Yes sir." The spider was placed on the deck and slowly regained consciousness. I could understand the creature and tweaked the crystals in my mind. As I altered the crystals the feelings became stronger. Danger and fright were the strongest emotions. The young ones got behind me in their own fright to find protection. "I am not going to hurt you." With a thought to Jamal a dish appeared and I reached forward very slowly and placed it on the deck before the small dog-sized creature. The creature just looked at me with its six eyes and remained very fearful. I just reached behind me and carefully picked up one of the young and used a finger to stroke its long fur. In a few seconds the little one crouched down as if being groomed was a natural occurrence. Apparently the aphids did this to the young and the young themselves enjoyed mutual grooming when possible. They were not much different from apes I thought. I reached out and placed the spider in my hand by the food dish and after a trial taste it ran back to me. Communication had taken place for the rest ran on spindly legs to the dish and had a sample too. Some I picked up and placed in the pallet of soil and plants to let them regain their old urges. They were still frightened and hid behind leaves and stems. "Your young are very entertaining. We are not the ones that attacked your kind." I pictured the ships and bodies of the enemy then showed my guest us. He or she became interested in the Mordis especially when I showed them walking on all six legs. I showed more images of the Mordis and their usual duties. Sometimes I would show them interacting with me on a project. This was to indicate how each race was treated by the other. The destruction of the Thonas ship was displayed and then the placing into stasis of the Samutz was added. The rescue of the spider crews was displayed along with how the fourteen young had be rescued from the Samutz. This did not seem to reassure the individual very much so I just slowly got to my feet and slowly left the room. The high emotions lowered considerably. When the portal closed behind me the spider went all about the room investigating all it could of its new environment. The babies were now not too upset now and came over to visit. Noses were put to each other like dogs or cats and the young started to climb up the other's arms. The older one just crouched on the floor then after some thinking got up and climbed into the plants and crouched again. In the other room I worked on the crystal structure again. More pieces were brought and processed. These were all placed close to the original and were attached similarly. This made the structure similar to a phased array. It brought my ability to listen the spider's thoughts much clearer. The individual in the other room called its race Kadork. I had to be very careful to keep my investigations unknown in an alien mind structure. Jamal worked through me to find out more information and made a few suggestions. With the new information I was able to ferret some out. With the information in their computers I now saw their race as very desperate. They had always been attacked by others and had to fight to keep their planets. As I suspected they analysed alien hardware and made it work for them without learning all the fine points. This particular individual was just a male drone but there were female drones too. They did the work of ordinary crewmembers while the officers were slightly different. I got the feeling that a certain food helped bring out officer qualities. Above this was the queen and her sub-queens that controlled the empire. The particular Kadork in the other room had no verbal name but a series of movements that only another of the same kind could understand. A spoken language was used but was too high in pitch for Human ears to sense. In a way it was like Chinese for there was many different inflections that dramatically altered the meaning of the word. Not only was this done with the mouth and the equivalent of tongue and vocal cords but also of the various parts of the body. I interrupted the Kadork and said that I was coming back into the room to feed the babies. Fear shot up again as I entered. The babies too hid till they sensed that I had their special food. I sat down in plain sight and the babies came to me very cautiously but then flocked when they knew I had more food. Each was fed one at a time and stroked like its mates would do. When they were put down it was in the pallet again. Some found a nice spot in the dirt and went to sleep. Some found a spot close to the older Kadork. Jamal translated through his circuits my verbal discourse. "My name is Henry Buchanan." The inflection was wrong I detected and changed the translation a bit. I explained how the Samutz had came to my planet and how I had been killing them as fast as I could. I left out how this was accomplished. The ships I captured were now turning around and fighting their old masters. I went on with a history lesson of the Tandra and what they had done to help. I got back in return a vague recollection of Kadork history vaguely telling of some being helping hand long ago then leaving. Jamal worked with me because he had not quite finished his own unit to talk directly yet. He got the being's ideas and altered his presentation to fine tune it. When this was all explained I went on with what had happened to the rest of his race's crews. Stasis was understood and pictures of many were seen in a small hold. The number of survivors was pitifully small compared to the amount entering battle. Lastly the three ships were shown being stripped and improved. This got a reaction that a Human might give for the ships were seen as home. I talked about day-to-day duties and how they had to be carried out. As the drone became use to me its fear lessened till it was fairly easy to understand. Jamal tried his thought device after it had been fabricated. I helped him tune it to the range our guests thought at. In a moment I introduced the drone to Jamal who continued to talk to him. Jamal finally said that he was an artificial intelligence and the spider did not believe it. Apparently AIs were only for communicating to when necessary and then mostly by officers. When the ship AI mindspoke it was not as rich as Jamal by any means. The size and complexity of the computer was obvious and I knew it had severe limitations. That was one of the ways I could improve one particular ship. The third destroyer had not been worked on yet. The weapons were thoroughly checked and I entered the computer room. I removed the AI and its memory before starting. On inspection it was actually made up of very small crystals. This I knew would work but would not work efficiently like a larger integral unit would. Using the one eye that could see in multiple dimensions I shut the computer completely off. This probably had been the first time this had happened since the ship was assembled. An auxiliary power connector was made that would only deliver a small amount of power to help me manipulate the circuits. I started in the navigation section and altered the circuits to the newer way I had found using all of the available dimensions. The crystals were assessed. If they were faulty I repaired them then straitened out their internal structure till they glowed brightly. Since the first time in the Parmain I had a good chance to try out a way to self repair the computer too my specifications. This required that I do at least eleven percent of the computer myself and all the crystals but it was easier than doing it all. I was summoned by a tech that had come in to get me. I hurried out and found that Jamal had come to a another system that coincidentally had a battle happening. This one looked to be a standoff with derelict ships from both sides littering the large battle area. The battle line was very ragged with ships firing at one another from time to time. The crews of the last four ships and the other five were released for independent duty. I went on the intership viewers and gave my orders and the girls and a few males were very happy to be fighting again. There were six Thonas ships to be taken out and thirteen functional Tandra vessels crewed by the Samutz. With our tractors I grasped the auxiliary ships and headed into the system. It took only twenty minutes to get there and slow down enough to release the ships. I took two Thonas ships and dragged them out of the system with my tubes of energy. These got the usual shaking on each side of the ship. One was a small battleship while the other seemed to be another heavy cruiser. There was not too much difference except in armament. This time I was able to cut both ships up and separate the computer section from the rest. Now the individual portions were shook as Jamal's tractors cut the parts out that would destroy what I want kept. The computer section was moved so fast that the Thonas died but the controls did not self destruct. The portions were all linked together now and we turned around and flew back. The four Thonas ships were now completely destroyed and now all the other ships were being fired on by the Kadork. Prerecorded messages in the Kadork language had gone out but that did not stop them from fighting. I could imagine that they just couldn't believe that someone would come and help them. Rather than argue I put tubes on each of the ships. I flew all of them out of the system and a few light years away. Once released they would take at least fifteen hours to get back. Some of our ships had taken some damage but nobody was killed. They went into after battle routines and started to recover living personnel from all the ships. The Mordis infantry went into play again and at least two hundred thousand of them went to do battle with the resisting Samutz if there were any. The natives on the planet could see the spider like shapes going from ship to ship and ferrying survivors back. During this time Jamal talked to the planet below. Nobody replied but I am sure many listened and watched. Images of the battle and the eventual disposal of the two large Thonas ships were shown. Our past battles were shown to allow them to know that this had not just happened one time. The drone was put on and talked to the planet below. From time to time the babies were seen climbing on him as they gained strength. After warning the drone one more time I entered the room and sat as I fed the babies. The ones on the drone left and came to me. Again I fed each one as I talked to the planet. I mentioned about our problem with Samutz and now Thonas; then more on what we had done about it. When I was done both the babies and the talk I asked Queen Serm. She was the local ruler of the planet below. I wanted her to contact me on a specific and more private band. We just stayed in orbit repairing ships with no reply. I went back to the destroyer and got the required eleven percent done and most of the crystals before I was called again to come out. One of the queen's representatives was on the line and asked me what I wanted with her imperial majesty. "I want to remove Samutz and Thonas. If she wants the same thing she can talk to me direct. If she doesn't then I will look for more allies and let her deal with the Samutz and Thonas here." I waited a few more minutes then headed for the garden again as I had Jamal transfer in a smaller crystal processor from his stores. It was a size that a light destroyer would use at the height of the Tandra expansion. The call came back to me as I was working on the crystal. I disregarded the interruption and continued changing the crystalline structure till the glowing reached the other end. "I am sorry for ignoring you but these crystals are better handled as one continuous process." A spider shape said to me "What did you do?" "A crystal this size can process between 12 to the tenth or the eleventh power instructions. I rearranged the crystalline structure removed the impurities and moved the atoms I wanted to the locations they are needed. This crystal now will handle 12 to the fifteenth power instructions per second. A fairly good increase but I had to alter the computer to take advantage of that property." "No computer can go that fast," Queen Serm said hotly. "Not a good way to start a possible alliance, calling a person that removed your enemies from your very doorstep, a liar." I gave a small shake of my shoulder that could be interpreted as derision if I was a Kadork. "I did things that your empire cannot do and then you say I cannot use my mind to purify and realign a simple crystal." "I may be mistaken. My councillors are sometimes wrong in what they tell me." Like many people in authority it was beneath them to admit fault especially in themselves. I said to her, "I have come to assist you in removing your enemies. First I will give you much better designs for your ships. I will make a computer for you that will improve the ships you already have. Next I will give you a design for making food suitable for your young so that they can grow to their full potential. It also has the property of removing a disease you have that robs the older people of your race of their ability to think. There are many things more but they are minor." "What do we have to do to get this assistance?" "Allow me to come down to your planet with a few of my people and we can talk about it." "You may come." It sounded quite nice of her to say this. A Human would probably act the same. When the call ended I asked the drone, "Do you want to go to the planet below? You may stay for a while if you wish but you will be given duties to perform. One will be to take care of my babies here." "I wish to go." "Let me get a ship ready and I will take you back then." I left after putting the babies into the pallet again. Jamal was already making one of our smallest ships ready. The Kadork in stasis were placed in the tanks now that we knew how to repair their bodies and remove the accumulation of the molecule from their brain cells. I flew the small ship down with six Mordis, two normal Tandra and the drone. I was ready at a moment's notice to put up the temporal shield but didn't find the inclination as we descended to the co-ordinates given. There was a group of two hundred honour guards that seemed very nervous as we walked between the rows. The Mordis went back to their old way of walking on all six to make a point. It was not hard to get them to do it but I felt bad about asking. I had fought a lot to make them free and able to stand up to anybody. A small ship took us to the palace. To my eyes the ship was dowdy and in need of some bright colours. Plants though grew in profusion everywhere and all were neat. It seamed that the plants were more important then the palace to the Kadork. The city itself was mainly underground for protection and to allow for more room for their plants. The roads were dirt but most travel was by gravsled. There were many Kadork about and even more tending the crops. They could use a lot of machinery but I knew that they loved to do this as a way of keeping in touch with nature. The driver was a low level officer and knew nothing about us and was very nervous. I saw how he loved his clan and wanted nothing better than to get back to tending the crops. The present job of fighting or carrying aliens was taken seriously though and would be done the same as he would weed his clan's property. I found the people to be very admirable even if they were not too sophisticated. A wide set of doors opened and we settled inside. I knew that there were hundreds of warriors outside and told the Tandra with me that they were more afraid of us and none would hurt us. They knew of some of my abilities and relaxed a bit. When the door to our shuttle opened I stepped out first and walked a few metres from our vehicle. My entourage followed with some small gifts. When we came to the queen we did not have the usual protocol but I just said, "Hello, Queen Serm. It is nice to meet you in person." "Hello, Henry Buchanan. It is nice to meet you too. I did not think you were so big." "I had no idea how big you were either." She was as high as my hip and would probably weigh less than fifty kilos if she were on Earth. Dog even weighted more than that. She introduced some of her councillors and I did the same. I found I was able to read them much better than they could read themselves. There was very little subterfuge here because the race was unused to lying. We were led to a large room and sat on the floor to talk. I set out a few containers after a polite exchange of ideas. The first contained the mixture that should be fed to babies. If the adults ate it too it would not hurt and it would start to clear their minds in time. A councillor took a little to be polite and found it a little odd in taste but felt nourishing. Seeds in small packages with Kadork characters were placed on the table. A small viewer would give the information about the plant and what it was good for. Many were simply flowers while others were crops from the Tandra stores. Nothing was from the Earth. After viewing the seeds and the data about them Queen Serm said, "Some of these plants serve no useful purpose. Why do you give them to us?" "Humans and Tandra find the blossoms beautiful and smell very nice. I think you could grow them in a private place and see for yourself what they are like. We have made some studies on the ship and think all of these plants will be beneficial to you. This last one is important. You may find it slightly distasteful but it will clear the minds of the adults. Jamal predicts that the plant will have to be eaten for one of your years before the person is completely cured." "Jamal, I believe is your computer?" "Yes he is." "He is very intelligent." "He sure is but all Tandra ships that are that size are very smart. When this trip is over I hope to have him live in a new computer so that he would be many times more intelligent. We have been fighting Samutz for the last half Earth year now that is about a year here. There has been no time to improve his abilities." "What will he be able to do after he is improved?" "Presently he can travel the fastest of any ship the Tandra ever made when he has a good crew. I am able to use my power and push much faster. I think if I have a little help from my crew we can go from the tip of one spiral arm of the galaxy to the other in thirty of your days. If I could build a stronger ship and inertial compensators I would probably be able to do this in less than that time." There was a lot of wondering here but none would call me a liar again. The figures were just too great for them to understand. I explained more about the Tandra and told her that the Mordis were simply made the way they were to be able to work more efficiently but were naturally only four limbed. The queen and her councillors agreed that this must be right. This led me to the old Tandra empire and how it needed to return. I cited some old myths about Tandra coming a long time ago and assisting their race. I could see that the queen had been doing some research after the initial broadcast and read up on the incident. She had it that the Tandra gave her people the food they now ate and the ability to get much more intelligent. A Kadork baby without the food would not grow up to be anything other than an animal in many ways. From the discussion with this queen, I saw that her race was very simple and straightforward. They numbered almost eight billion now but had been considerably more at one time. They did not breed fast but the growth had happened over a million years. There was still a lot of room for them especially if they got the lighter worlds that the other races would reject. It may take many millennias to just even partially repopulate the planets they owned at one time. There was no need to say that I was trying to act as an emperor, for the Kadork would follow if they saw a benefit for them and it would also rid their systems of this enemy. I went back to the ship and worked on a design for a very automated shipyard. I only did a bit of preliminary work before the children had to be fed again. Jamal had taken another Kadork from his tanks and explained to him what had happened. He talked to the planet below and was told to do as I said. The drone had been given the job of watching the babies. I wanted to continue to feed the babies by hand because of any bonding that may occur. "Jamal will you bring the remainder of the unimproved crystals from the destroyer please?" I said in Kadork, so the arrival would not be too much of a surprise. This Kadork was not different than the other except by a slightly different set of feelings. The crystals did come in and were laid on the floor. The Kadork babies clambered all over them in their investigations. I picked one crystal up and concentrated on it. This one had the wrong mix of doping material and was much harder to remove. The surplus material was formed into a cube and the rest of the crystal altered as I wanted. With the realignment the crystal began to glow brighter and brighter. In an hour all of them were done and the babies had grown used to them after pushing them around. One even tried to go to sleep among the brightly coloured gems. That was till another fell from a nearby stone and onto his or her sibling. "Jamal, will you take these away and place them as they are needed?" "Yes sir." More details of the shipyard were made but soon I had to wait to see how the destroyer turned out. There was no sense making a very efficient weapon if it would not work the way I intended. The ships had finished taking all the survivors hours ago and began to tidy up the system. The wounded had gone into the tanks as they were found hoping to keep the number of deaths as low as possible. The planet had tanks too but ours were not being used other than for Kadork. The mobile Kadork were returned to the planet without much incident. Another trip brought all of the previous crews that had been in the tanks. We would have to see what the population's reaction to the improved minds would be. There was plenty of raw material here to build a few new ships. The two other destroyers in the bay were starting to take shape. The Mordis found these ships fairly easy to work in even with the low ceilings. The food processor was improved and many of the things I thought the Kadork would like were added. The unit had a small processor and this was removed in favour of one the right size. The input of the main computer would in quiet times make the choices even greater. The engines were suitable for this sized craft but the techs brought them more into alignment. Even the shield was altered to make it the same as the plans I had sent to the garrisons I left behind. The computer in the destroyer I worked on was finished growing. The crystals were put in place and I used my mind the crystals the basic programming that all Tandra machines were given. Some useless code was thrown out and some better routines for repair were added. This machine like all other Tandra ships had to have the override and this was put in but in a new style to suit me. The ship would first be loyal to the citizens of the empire I was trying to form. The governing body of those same citizens would be the next layer of loyalty. The Kadork would be one of the groups in the first layer. The appointed commander and crew would form the next layer. Jamal gave suggestions and I took the code and tried to make it more efficient. Millions of years of techs working on this had reduced the amount of alterations made. Finally Tandra law as I saw it was added as a basic way of dealing with new situations. This law though gave me and my representatives the power to do as I needed to free the galaxy of oppression. This would be slightly vague for eventually the Samutz would say that I had been oppressing them by not allowing them to eat intelligent people. The processor crystal was made ready and Jamal and I worked on what would go into it. The old multi part processor was assessed and basically there was nothing that could be used from it. The memory modules gave Kadork regulations, planets visited, and crew that served on the ship. This information went into the crystals in the computer before the last step. I stood still as the information and a copy of part of my personality went into the processor crystal. This time I stayed conscious and assisted in the flow. The structure in my mind with all the resonant parts went with it to see if my hopes would bear fruit. The crystal was finally inserted and integrated into the machine. A few minutes later I could feel an awakening conscious. "Computer AI B-d1685397-00000000001 reporting." Jamal talked to it first and I saw an awful lot of data being transmitted. In a few seconds the flow slackened but remained still high. Soon the flow went the other way and I could see Jamal being examined the way two dogs went up to each other and sniffed. I waited a half hour as the mutual inspection went on without comment. Finally Jamal said, "Sir this ship's computer is very efficient. It appears to be even better that what you hoped it would be. The AI would like a name if you would give her one." "Computer AI B-d1685397-00000000001 what do you think of Margaret as a name?" Mom had originally got this name but I felt it was particularly suitable here now. "Thank you sir. Your mother's name seems to be very appropriate since I will be helping you build a new empire." The AI was even quicker than I thought. Not just from the conversation but from her ability to reason that I could detect. The matrix in her processor was a two way street for I as able to work with her far faster than the Parmain. The reason seemed to be that the machine was so much like me to start with that the interface had to translate less of the ideas. "You are welcome. Since you have my memories you will be helping to build a better Empire. Did you and Jamal complete your comparisons?" "Yes sir. We did." "Did the two of you come up with any more improvements?" "Yes sir," she said. "Most had to do with his very large hull. It is not as efficient as mine is. My own hull can be greatly improved even with standard parts." "Make a list for each of you and begin altering your hull to bring it up to what you think is best. I have some tests to perform when you are finished." "Yes sir. I know of the way you use your mind but I do not think I will be able do the same thing. It may be only within the bounds of a biologicals abilities." "That is what the tests will find out, Margaret." Jamal removed hull plates and Margaret assisted. In less than an hour only the frame and the major components were still attached. Soon even the ribs were gone then the only thing left was the nebulous region around the computer. Ribs came back from the fabricators but thicker and with more of a polish to indicate that the member was the best it could possibly be. Now some equipment came in but it was strictly Tandra in origin but modified to fit better into the hull. Transmitters, tractors and deck plates were added. I looked around and the other Tandra were watching the display of construction. They had heard the conversation and were eager to see what the results of this new birth would be. Larger engines and smaller weapons platforms were added. After the generators were added the hull plates were installed and the internal transmitter brought all the parts that were needed. The ship levitated on its own power then resettled. More tests I knew were going on at a fantastic rate as the new equipment was incorporated into the whole. I went about a few other duties. I had been awake for the last forty three hours and I needed some rest after completing them. Jamal and Margaret would record everything that was done for perusal later anyway. Earth was in my dreams. I could just imagine what kind of pressure Mom was under. My dream self was going to send more ships back but for some reason didn't do so. The feeling that the time was not right was the only excuse. Carl was bored with his job by now and wanted to be home with Doris and his family. Part of the reason was that Tandra women were constantly wanting him to enter their games. When I woke up Margaret was a few kilometres from out hull testing her systems. Jamal gave me a run down of the results. Each of the tests were a bit more difficult than the last till we could find the limits of the hull and systems. The Kadork ships that I dragged out of the system had come back and assisted in finding any more pieces that could be possibly salvaged. Jamal said, "Sir, Margaret needs to leave the system to conduct speed tests and engage her different shields as well as test some of her weapons." I thought to Margaret and said, "Hello, Margaret." "Hello, Captain." "Please transmit where you will be going so we can find you if you have a systems failure. I suggest, but the choice is yours, that you run tests back along the way we came here. You may transmit our present location and status to the garrisons we dropped off." "I will sir." She just disappeared as was the case for most ships because their acceleration was so great. "What do you think of Margaret Jamal? When we get time I want to do roughly the same to you." "Margaret is more intelligent than I am. She has only one small processor while I have many large ones. Will I get to redo my hull as she has done?" "You will but we need the improved you to make the designs. Then the parts have to get fabricated first. Otherwise you may be idle when we need you the most." "I understand Sir. Why was Margaret's systems not carried on into the other two universes? You made much better use of the five dimensions in this one. It is postulated that there are an equal number of dimensions in the others." "She was designed to test a few ideas. If I did all the things possible she would only be in the planning stages now and we would not know if her shields and speed would be what I wanted." I thought for a moment more and said, "If we wait for the best weapons the enemy could have struck a fatal blow. At least now we have another weapon besides us if Margaret works out." "Yes sir. Is it your idea to give this type of ship to the Kadork to fight the Samutz and the Thonas?" I could detect some worry here. "I believe the Kadork babies and eggs on this ship will be more loyal to me that any other Kadork that are already grown. They will make very good troops that will protect their race. More ships similar to Margaret will be built if her design works out. These will eventually be filled by Kadork from the empire I am trying to form. The shipyards I envision will only make improved ships for their race because they will not be under my direct command. In time though I see the Kadork as being very loyal to our future commonwealth." The government and Queen Serm were contacted again and asked if they wanted our techs to go over their equipment. Jamal talked to them about their use of Tandra technology that was not running at anywhere near optimum conditions. He suggested that a few places be investigated and Kadork techs told what could be done to improve the systems. This request took an hour to be accepted. We could only assume that they were still not sure of us and figured a few small units would not be too much of a loss and the possibility of learning was very great. The crew did not have the hang up that some Humans had about the spider form. Images of the Kadork babies at play and their antics were shown through the ship. Later my observations were added of the general population. A call was made for a group of volunteers to go to the planet for a few local days to work on systems. This was easily filled and the crew descended with translators and various pieces of test equipment. The hospitals were looked at first and it became obvious that there was a serious shortage of computing power. With some new data the tanks could cure the disease affecting the older segment of the population. The data was not added yet but the inspections turned out to be lessons in engineering and tutorials on how to get the best from their equipment. Soon I had a large portion of the crew going to the planet's surface to teach. The Kadork brain had not been mapped fully into the tutors yet and I did not want to destroy any life or mind of an innocent person. Queen Serm came into the discussion and volunteered as many subjects as we needed but I was not ready yet for that type of help. She and her government were perfectly willing to sacrifice any number of citizens to learn all they needed. Some of the older members of the population were accepted though and they came to the ship to be worked on. They came like good soldiers. They lined up and all seemed eager to assist us. Some were missing limbs while others were without hair or the hair had changed to gray. They were all put at ease and one was given some small tests. When it proved a success others were given different tests. Not all tests proved successful but the system was altered till a simple tutorial could be given. Since they were all volunteers some had gone into the tanks to have their bodies fixed and various amounts of their brain cells cleaned. In the next four hours the test subjects came out of the tanks and were fed. They seemed to enjoy our food. Since the leaves and stems were synthetic they found no fibrous portions and the food broke up easer in their mouths. When the tests began again it was found that if more than twenty one percent of the brain cell was filled with this inert substance the ability to take in the information from the tutors was seriously lessened. No doubt the same would happen as the subject aged after being given the lessons. In two days the subjects were all younger now and had between them much of the Tandra technical ability. These went home to help their planet. The modified tutors were used on the people that we had rescued from the battle and put into the tanks. There seemed to be a lot of concern for them. This was not for the individuals but to what they would do to the equipment or to their society. I was worried too about our help. They had a fairly stable system. Now there was much more knowledge the possibility of the individuals living much longer and leading much more productive lives. This would seriously change any society. Margaret came back to the system after completing her tests. We exchanged data for a second or so and I could see that she was not up to what I hoped. Her speed was the fastest of any ship except the New Hope when I pushed it. The temporal shield did work but some of the damage on her new hull attested to the fact that it did not work as well as ours. We all went over the data and I went into the ship to see what I could do. The matter transmitters at least allowed me to not have to bend over to get to the computer room. I could use the dimensions with ease and only needed to take one step to be before the crystal I wanted. "Well Margaret, I think I know what we can do. The matrix within you needs to be strengthened." Looking into the crystal I saw what I had constructed before. A small crystal had been brought in that had the same structure. This was to be a small sub processor that would handle the integration to the high order universe as its only job. The computer substrate was altered the crystal installed and hooked up. Margaret accepted the crystal into her system and I left to let her try it out. Jamal and I watched her fly out again for a much reduced set of tests. In a few hours she had returned and I could see that the module had done what I wanted. A small trip had shown that she could almost go as fast as I could push the New Hope. A line of rocks on the edge of the system had been rammed as she had done before but this time none came close to overwhelming her shield. One large asteroid over seven kilometres long had been rammed and the shield worked effortlessly. The fact that the engines and all the paraphernalia that drove them were redundant now could make the design obsolete already. A missile or even a group of missiles might do the same thing as the ship and return after completing their mission. The shield would do all the damage like what was done to the asteroid. It now had a hole from one end to the other just a bit larger than Margaret's hull. None of the relativistic energy had gone into the rock or it would have exploded like a star would. The queen sent more of her officers to us to investigate the two other ships we were repairing for them. One just needed more hull plates and I released it for testing. The Kadork were very impressed with its performance. They were amazed at the speed the ships were now capable of. The ship could normally travel two light years per day. Tandra crews could get five to seven times that speed. The Kadork crews could get up to almost twenty times the ship's speed. Most could do at least fifteen there was never a Kadork crew that could do more than twenty. This ship could now do almost three light years per day and with their best crew it could go sixty light years per day. Multiple tasks were still not possible because the computers were still very inefficient. A trained Tandra crew could redo the system in five or six days if the parts were available a suitable computer substrate constructed and allowed to grow in the room. I was getting impatient staying in one system so long. Margaret was sent out to patrol the boundary between the Thonas empire and the Kadork to destroy all of their shipping. If she were in danger of being captured she was to destroy the ship to keep it out of enemy hands just as the Thonas did. She would return occasionally and hopefully pick up some more help. My need for allies though did not diminish. We began to take more Kadork that were old and we did our best to turn them into young highly trained techs. I began a new computer and used salvaged crystals from all the damaged craft. These were altered to make them as efficient as possible. A hull was eventually built around the computer but had no engines. Since the power would come from a tap to another dimension it was not needed. A very good inertial compensator and life support equipment were added though. The shield and offensive capabilities were integrated and all I added extra was a some of very heavy tractors. The hull was very strong and this would allow the ship to move heavy objects easily. The thoughts of Mom's hull made me realize how useful they could be. When this ship woke up she was christened 'Aunt Harriet'. She was basically the same as Margaret but had none of the extras that were basically useless or superfluous. I had put what I remembered of my memories of my aunt into her and it was easy to understand all her mannerisms. For a while I was a little choked up and I was glad that I had not put as much of my mother into Margaret. She did seem to have my best interests at heart though and even her voice seemed to bring me back to my youth. With Jamal busy with the construction of the shipyard structure I gave orders to the captured ships to destroy or capture any enemy they found. They left in three different groups to other locations where the Samutz might attack. I could feel Jamal getting antsy as if I were abandoning him. "Jamal, we need the yard built and I can leave to go on a long awaited quest. Tandra is only a week away. I will need a little extra time and reconnoitre as I travel. This will update our information possibly find new allies or potential enemies. I am not needed here in any case. You have a new computer growing for the station and in a month when you are done you can head back. You should be able to take some more shipping for me and destroy some Thonas. Just don't try to take on more than you can manage. You can outrun them and that is what counts." "I have grown accustomed to having you as a captain and do not want to see you go." "I think you are a great friend too and I don't want to go but there are two jobs that need to be done. This way they can both be accomplished." A very large file was made of everything I wanted done if I was late or could not make it back. It was not a will but it actually had many of its features. The Kadork babies were adopted by the crew and even got a small crystal placed in their bodies. I knew they would be well taken care of. The crew saw me off. I had to give a speech to keep their spirits up but they would also anxiously await my return. They were even more interested in the home world of their race. I left the system slowly to get used to the ship. I could now sit back and Harriet could fly me without the need to push. Our sensors were good but sadly only short range at the speeds we were travelling. As the speed increased I found that the Quark flux was entirely inadequate as it had been on the New Hope. It had been made much more powerful but the speed was actually too much for the instrument. I had to resort to guiding the ship by the precog ability I had built in from the Thonas mind. I would see a collision coming in the next thirty seconds and this was enough to let me move to one side to avoid it. This worked well and required little work for Harriet read the danger in my mind and acted accordingly. An actual collision would not harm us but might do untold damage to a ship or a world. We skirted large clouds of dust and the remnants of stellar nova. One time we came close to a gravitational anomaly and stopped to see it first hand. It was called a black hole on Earth but it was known to the Tandra as a weak spot in the structure of the universe and led to one of the two others. The centre of the galaxy was dying. Hard radiation bathed everywhere. Here creation had started much sooner and died the same way. One day the entire galaxy would be the same way and I shivered thinking of a safe refuge for the people I wanted to help. The only place was at the extreme outer fringe of the large arms. This was over 337 thousand light years in radius. The most mass was confined within the 113 thousand light year disk. Six days later we slowed down to where our standard sensors would work. The position of stars were checked against old charts. We had not travelled far into the other arm to come here. Even from this position we could find great devastation. Stars that had supported large Tandra colonies had gone nova. There were so many of them that it could not be natural. Harriet plotted a course for some of the secondary bases. Here the planet had been destroyed. We searched almost ten days before finding a Tandra ship that had been all but destroyed. Its computer was in shut down mode and Harriet and I worked on it to revive it and find out what we could. We were given some information about this area and it appeared that the Thonas had been trying for a complete extermination of the Tandra. There were no Tandra alive on the ship and none in stasis for the power had failed long ago. I did take the crystal out of the ship. It was a survivor and I did not want to leave it. There had to be more Tandra for some had come later to get crystals. It was just a matter of finding them. Searching for the right planet or system was like trying to find one particular grain of sand on a beach. Sometimes I would pause and let my senses direct us but usually this only led to a destroyed settlement. In very few instances did the planet even survive. All life on them had been utterly extinguished. The maps showed the old Thonas Empire and here too I found destruction. Planets were struck and struck again till all the Thonas had died but some things had survived or been restocked. I searched for many days and found no living Thonas either. None of their old settlements had stood the war and nothing more recent was found. This was very disheartening. I just sat down and wondered about all the accomplishments of the Tandra. They had done so much for so many races and now they were apparently only alive in isolated outposts. When we had been captured the Samutz captain had said there were colonies that had survived. He also said about more vicious races further toward the centre of the galaxy. I wondered if he meant more than the Thonas. We headed back but stopped every hundred thousand lights to take a look. There was possibly some trace of the Tandra that could be found. Thonas were the only living beings I found. These I exterminated as best I could. Ships or worlds could not stand up to being driven into a star or another planet at relativistic speeds. More often than not I found large collections of ships and destroyed all of them but one. Here I would stop to work further on finding out more information about the race. This was still not easy but I did find star charts and followed them to more of their worlds. I just hoped that the surviving Tandra had gone that far out to the very fringe of the galaxy to find sanctuary. A ship like Margaret or Harriet could travel close to 8 thousand lights per day. When I gave a further push we could go a little over 12 thousand lights per day. Even with the lower speed it would take millions of ships to search and adequately map the galaxy and hopefully find the Tandra. ------- Chapter 75 As I sat comfortably in my chair thinking of my home and family. The home on the river, my wives, children, Mom my friends, and even Dog seemed to beg me to return. Instead, I was drawn to an area outside of the hull. Questing further I saw that it was not the ship itself but rather the direction. I felt a malignant aura which seemed to be to draw me to one side when looking at the galaxy through the sensors. It was off our projected course but it was too interesting to just pass up. Relying now strictly on feel I slowed down and altered course. A short time later I found devastation here too but of a much more recent nature. The sensors told me that this was just done barely two thousand years ago. I carefully entered the next system and found many destroyed ships and these happened to be Kadork. There was very little of their enemy found but on a rocky asteroid Harriet's sensors found portions of Thonas craft. The formerly inhabited planet was almost completely destroyed. This was not done with the usual vengeance the Thonas had inflicted on the Tandra in the last big war. We searched in vain for a salvageable computer to give us and indication of what had happened. After a few more hours we just left to check other nearby systems. A feeling grew in me about the importance of this area and I continued my search. After fourteen more systems, four of which showed former Kadork habitation, we happened upon a derelict ship. The transponder was very weak but we did approach. My senses quested forth along with the sensors and I knew that nothing lived onboard. We approached closely and Harriet used her tractors to manoeuvre us all around the large hull. The ship type was distinctly Tandra and not Kadork as I expected. This time the craft was non-military. Precise hits by weapons had rendered useless the engines, some hull plates were blown inward. Harriet sent a few small robotic units over and they did a preliminary survey. This was important for our thermographic sensors indicated the wreck to be less than ten Earth days old. We could see some of the damage inside but it was very little as if the crew had given up instead of fighting. Rather than repair some power connections an accumulator was taken over and used to directly energize the computer. When it came aware it would not take any of the imperial overrides. The computer itself did not have the same type of programming the other computers had. The AI was either not present or damaged in the fighting. My mind seemed to flow toward the wreck and enter the computer. It went within the circuits themselves and found many changes to the way the Tandra did things. The computer was much simpler than the ones I knew. We had to attribute it to the fact that it was not a military vessel. Harriet assisted and we worked to copy all of its data. There was a seven woman crew when it left on its voyage. The ship had been carrying processor modules, weapons and other equipment. This was all to go to some Tandra outposts and even some was to trade with other allied races. The ship had been attacked and the sensors damaged from beyond their pickup range. Internal video showed the unmistakable forms of Samutz in their battle suits rounding up the crew. Other clips showed cargo being taken from the holds. Harriet gave a scan of the vessel and working with the cargo manifest. She deduced that the weapons and the processor modules were taken. The latter were not the same as processor crystals for they were made up of many smaller manufacturable crystals for use in computers. This process had been used many times in Tandra's past but was found to be very inefficient and slow. The computer would have serious limitations and was usually unsuited for a military vessel. The only good news was that there was a sizable Tandra presence in the area. The data showed that there were thirty seven local empires. They were made up mostly of one to four systems in each grouping but three larger monarchies where around twenty systems. This added up to a hundred and forty eight systems and about five times that in small mining colonies and outposts. The ship's computer had been ravished as well and the computer damaged. Before the system had shut down there was enough residual power in the computer to give us an indication of which way the Samutz ship had left. Harriet asked, "What are we going to do now Henry?" "I think we should follow the Samutz and see where they take us. The ship tells us that there is a lot of trade within the various kingdoms and the unsophisticated races in this area. I am sure we will find a lot more destruction as we proceed. Perhaps even a chance to get some help." We left, trying to track the Samutz and found the energy trail crossed other old flight paths. None was more recent though and we continued on our quest. Almost seven lights distant we slowed down and came to a large asteroid wandering alone between star systems. Beacons around the large twenty seven kilometre long rock attested it to be an outpost of one of the planets about two and a half lights distant. The data stream confirmed to the outpost's dormant status but it was plain to see that this was not the case. Energy in many different spectrums emanated from the interior. Rather than approach close, robotic probes were again sent. Our own active sensors would surely cause us to be spotted. Ten minutes later we viewed a rough surface that had an uncomfortable and dangerous feeling about it. On closer examination the probes found many emplaced weapons platforms hidden from all but the closest scrutiny. "Harriet, I can feel Tandra here and they are all very frightened. We are not close enough to get any thoughts. Can you?" "It is too far for thought. I can feel their emotions though Henry. What are you planing to do?" "I have no battle suit and few personal weapons. I can't use the energy from the other dimension here or I will destroy the rock and all it contains." "There will be Samutz there too." "I think there is too. I will just have to come up with a weapon before we go any further. The one that seems to work the best is my temporal shield. It is just too blunt an instrument though." "Can you sharpen it then?" "That is an idea." I began to think of Margaret and how I had to assist her to generate a stronger temporal field. This improvement had been incorporated into the design of Harriet. My mind worked furiously trying to produce a single purpose computer that could produce a temporal field. This was one of the bottlenecks I had suffered in regards to new missiles. The small ones were too small to project this field. I was coming to an idea when Harriet warned me. A destroyer left the far side of the asteroid and flew off at a military acceleration. "Henry, there may be thousands of Samutz in that base. That ship was inside." "If I have my shield up there is no way they can touch me. I just wish that I had a combat suit to give me invisibility and anti-gravity." Jamal had put crystals into my body to give me a personal shield with extra protection on my chest. More had gone in to increase my intelligence and even lasers were placed in my fingers. After my accident they had made me what I was now but some of their original intent was now gone. Thinking of the shield again brought me back to Margaret's hull. I could see similarities between her body and mine. I visualized some of the crystals I would need and said, "Harriet will you get these for me?" The crystals appeared and I set them down except one. That one was adapted to form a new shield but I altered it to protect me better. The harmonics would fluctuate very quickly to keep all solid projectiles from hitting me. Massive objects would still kill because of their kinetic energy. I didn't have the inertial compensator to stop that kind of thing. Energy weapons were the same but a massive enough discharge would overload the crystal's capacity to protect. A second crystal was changed to give me the temporal field similar to what Margaret and Harriet now had. I could generate this field with my mind but the specific crystal would take that task from me. The third and last crystal would be similar but I had no way of controlling the crystal or providing power to it. A fairly simple idea came to me. I made a small circuit in my mind and added an accumulator for power. It was evident that it would do what I needed as long as I did not run it too long. The circuit criteria was transferred to Harriet and she began to make the unit. The crystals were only a little over a centimetre long. I pushed them under my skin and moved them to where they would reside. Both would be just beneath the metal fabric covering my chest just over my rib cage. I made the connections and tested the more or less standard shield and saw that it worked fine. The other I would only use outside the hull for fear of damaging Harriet. When Harriet finished with the device I saw that it was the size of a common laser pointer but with no manual button. She said, "It is actuated by your mind only Henry. Do you want to try your improvements now?" "Yes I do." I set my shield and I was transported outside the hull. The pressors pushed me a distance of a few hundred metres away. My temporal shield was tried first and it appeared to work fine. I took the small device in my hand and energized it. A beam seemed to go out a centimetre and end at the inside of shield. With the temporal shield off and the other shield in its place the energy went out over eight metres. I moved it back and forth and saw that it used a lot of power to function. I shortened the beam to a metre and saw the load to be much reduced. Harriet pulled me back in when I was done. She said, "It looks like the device works but it still uses a lot of power. My estimates show me that it will last less than six minutes at full power and a little more than four times that at the one metre setting." "Not as good as I hoped. Perhaps it is good enough this time. I have my shield and I have you to come to my rescue if needed." "That is not a safe way to proceed Henry." "I can't tell for sure but I think some of the people in that outpost are being killed as we speak. I am going to have to go." Harriet threw me at the rock with her tractors and when the time came I used a small reaction unit to slow me down. There was an artificial gravity generated within the rock and I just had to walk to the other side where the ship had emerged almost two hours ago. On my way I found many camouflaged missile batteries ready to take on attackers. On the far side I found markers written in Tandra guiding me to one of the many personnel entrances. I did not ask the computer for access but slipped through the dimensions as I had learned to do when I visited the Bintuu queen. The interior in this section was unilluminated. I cast my senses out and could see a corridor almost three metres wide by two high. Four strips appeared to be worn in the hard floor attesting to a continual flow of equipment over the years. I could also now detect the Tandra mindspeech. There were only nine that I could detect but their minds were deeply agitated and almost incomprehensible. More were further off and in a state of shock. I got glimpses of quick and needless death from a creature that had to be Samutz. The blood was pictured very prominently as the creature ate the Tandra before the astonished survivors. As with ships, I had to take over the computer first. The problem was that I had no idea where it would be. Up ahead there was a lit corridor and I hurried to it with my senses very alert. Just before the junction I stopped and searched again. I could feel no presence nearby. Along one wall in the illuminated area I found a graphical representation of the base and a statement in Tandra stating 'You are here'. The computer area crew and food preparation areas were grouped together as well as three bays for shipment of ore mined from this asteroid. I took a circuitous route to avoid detection and headed to the computer area. The areas I passed were quieter now but I was constantly on the lookout for Samutz for I could not detect their thinking. The computer had only a shield over the opening and I simply walked in. The room was small and the computer simple in construction. There was still the five dimensional distortion but it was now very negligible. The computer did not have an AI but did have the capability. On an otherwise unused surface there was an assortment of spare parts. A small crystal did catch my eye. With my PK ability I brought the small crystal only five centimetres long to me. I held it to me but found I had to lower my shield to do this right. I could detect no immediate danger and did so quickly then started reprogramming the crystal into a processor. When I was done I raised my shield again. I took the device over to the area reserved for it and inserted it into an empty socket. The crystal glowed even brighter as it became aware of its surroundings and I stepped back because of the amount of brightness. A simple voice said "Computer m436589nmits46119076 reporting." "Hello computer. How about you taking the name Taluus?" "Thank you sir. My records show it to be a name of a minor Tandra figure from mythology." "That is good. How did you know that?" "I have many pieces of information stored in my system and at one time spoke the stories to the crew." "I am concerned with the new crew you have. The Samutz are a race we are at war with. They have taken over this station and have taken some Tandra here captive. Will you give me a description of their whereabouts and number?" A vision of the number and placement of the Samutz then the Tandra was given me. A screen came alive and I was able to look through the video pickups to many of the places. Some devices I found had been damaged and not replaced. The Samutz though were all accounted for. There were a total of eighty three in all. Twenty one were sleeping and a dozen were working-out in a gym. Fifteen were working in another area with knives and other weapons to practice their skills. Three were in a control room apparently on watch. Seventeen were taking classes on some of the Tandra equipment that they had to work with. The teacher in this case was another Samutz and a very frightened Tandra. The remaining ten were overseeing groups of Tandra forced to do work for their capturers. Five more Samutz were sleeping in out of the way spots and I assumed that they were goldbricking while they should be patrolling. This reminded me of the watch and found that it had another hour and a half to finish. The Tandra had not been counted because they were termed cargo. I got Taluus to search for them. There was a hundred and four of them still alive. Twenty three were doing as the Samutz demanded. Most of the Tandra were in two stasis chambers and some others had already been killed for food. This last part made me hold my emotions firmly in check. Some were working on various jobs and would be hard to take out without killing innocent Tandra. There were some tractors that I could use but were in areas that the Samutz were not. Weapons lockers were noted and these would have to be destroyed. Keeping the current placement of enemies in mind I raced to the barracks. Along the way I energized the temporal knife and I noticed it made an odd noise in the air as I ran. The barracks had a locked door apparently the Samutz did not trust their brothers very much. The knife worked quickly and fifteen heads separated from their torsos. Before the blood stopped spurting I went to the control room and Taluus opened the door for me. My reflexes were as fast as I could make them in a moment had killed two and one had just enough time to run a few steps before I sliced him in two vertically. On the way to the gym I passed three of the Samutz that were hiding and sleeping. One I had to just spear him through the wall and move the knife to assure me that he would never awaken. Again the door opened ahead of me and then closed. All the other ways of getting out were now secured by Taluus. The lights went out at my order to the AI and I began to work my way among the Samutz combatants. They were not unarmed but had improvised weapons that they used or tried to. The knife continued to make the odd noise as it travelled through the air and body parts of the Samutz. Some relied on their good hearing to find me. The floor was covered in blood now and a sticky noise could be heard. A bench came at me after being ripped from the floor and I simply ducked as it struck a Samutz behind me. Two made it to their clothes. They took out forty centimetre knives and came at me. Another had the same idea moments later and was mistakenly knifed by his compatriots. These last ones I took out by cutting off their legs. After they fell I did the same to their heads. All were dead now and I had Taluus turn on the lights. The room looked much like an abattoir. After turning off the knife I went into the cleanser to remove small body parts and blood. I did not want tracks on the deck for me to slip or the enemy to detect my presence. The seventeen taking classes had broken up and they were all travelling in a group down the hall. I was able to get into a side room on a cross corridor and wait. When they crossed this corridor and continued I left and took off heads as I went. The lone Tandra was second from the end and gave a verbal gasp as I passed him to kill the ones in front of him. Some turned and jumped on me partly from reflex but this also gave their mates a chance to flee. I killed all but three that had fled. One was behind a door and I simply stabbed him and with a flick of the wrist cut him in two. The next had a chance to put out an alarm but Taluus kept it from alerting the other Samutz. I had just enough time to catch this one before they split up. I ran fast now and the Samutz ran to the control room. There was some weapons there and some possible help. He tried to open the weapon's locker as I rushed in. His muscles heaved and the ceramic broke. When he pulled out the type of distortion weapon I was on him. He smiled for a second as he pulled the trigger only to find it did not work. My knife came up and cut the weapon from his hand taking half of his arm. A back swing removed his head. I now remembered a half forgotten scene in a movie when I saw the hand gasping a hand weapon with the odd sound of the knife in the background. The weapons training class was my next major objective. On the way I took out the remaining two sleepers as they snoozed comfortably probably with a full stomach of fresh meat. There was only one way to the training centre and an overseer and his group happened to be in the way. I was among them as quick as I could and sliced off the tall Samutz' head. The three naked Tandra just stood with their mouths open. "Hello, my name is Henry Buchanan. I am part Tandra and want to get rid of the Samutz for you. Just go back the way I came and hide in a room and be quiet. Try not to warn or get the rest of the Tandra upset. The Samutz watch you carefully and will know something odd is happening." I left to their head movement that said that they understood but I knew that they did not. I called Harriet now and told Taluus to interface with her. The visions in my head in a moment got a few times better as Harriet cleaned up the information and sent it to me distortion free. The weapons class had moved to a range with energy weapons and I knew I had to be very careful now. If any got loose they could kill the Tandra in spite. The weapons in their hands would make a new doorway to the rest of the base. I too made a new opening and killed seven Samutz before the lights went out. The noise of the sword was what gave me away. I was able to get two more before the energy discharges forced me to deactivate the knife and put up my temporal shield. I was able to grapple with four more and they died almost instantly from the effects of the shield. The last two continued to bath me in energy till I ran my hand through each of them. "Henry, one of the Samutz has heard the fighting and ran to get weapons." "Where is he?" I got the graphic of the Samutz and where he was running. I knew there was no working matter transmitter so I had to run myself. I could see that he was running to the control room and gave chase. By taking a better route I was able to cut him off before he made it. From seven metres back I extended the knife and sliced his legs out from under him and he slid the rest of the way to the door. Four more Samutz died in the coming moments without knowing anything. The remaining four deduced something was happening when the Tandra acted very odd. Their queries to the rest of their cohort went unanswered. They now knew they were in trouble. Two abandoned the Tandra to run for weapons. These I got the soonest. The two had met and continued for their personal weapons. I burst into their room and was bathed in energy. One died from the temporal field of my shield the other continued to fire at me till I caught him in a corner. I destroyed almost all his body and most of the wall. The remaining two Samutz herded their Tandra charges to opposite ends of the base. The Tandra though proved ones downfall for they slowed him down enough that I was able to take another route and get ahead of him. As he ran he simply cut himself in half as he passed my position. The Tandra behind him stopped abruptly and two tripped over the body. "You may have heard. I am Henry Buchanan and I have one more Samutz to kill. Get a sled, remove this body and all the rest you find. You may be here for a while and I doubt if you want the stink of corruption to add to your problems." The last Samutz was in the control room trying to get the equipment to transmit a warning to the rest of his race that could be in the vicinity. Taluus and Harriet were sure to keep this from happening. The three Tandra with him were forced to try to assist him and one died from a set of claws because she was not quick enough. One more Tandra died before I was able to get to the room and present myself. The remaining Tandra managed to flee to one side leaving the Samutz with only inoperative weapons suitable only as clubs. The Samutz said in his tongue, "Who are you?" I replied the same way, "I am the person that has killed billions of your race and will kill even more as time passes. Your race will only survive on isolated planets with no weapon better than a spear. You will not be one of them though," I said as my knife flicked out the full eight metres and severed the Samutz head from its body. The remaining Tandra hid behind a console and I walked around to see the state she was in. This one was a he and was petrified of me as much as the Samutz that had just killed two of his people. "I am not going to hurt you. I am part Tandra myself." The naked form stayed on the floor and I picked him up gently. I sat him on a flat surface and moved close. I picked up his chin and saw that he was very beautiful like all his race but the symmetry was even more prevalent now. He was indeed beautiful even among the Tandra. I looked within his mind to a deeper level and saw that he was just as beautiful inside as out. "I will not hurt you," I repeated as I held him to me. Tandra males are much more like human females that I had spent fifty years getting used to. This group of Tandra were not as pushy or demanding as their female counterparts. In a way I felt closer to some males because of his. His attitude slowly changed great sobs came from his body and his arms came around me. In another minute he was holding me as tight to him as he could. I held his head to my chest and said, "What is your name Sweetie?" After repeating myself a few times he said, "I am Dola. The Zomma killed my family." "Well they won't kill you now. I know them as Samutz not Zomma. I have been killing a lot of them recently." I pulled Dola's face back a bit and gave him a small kiss on the lips that he seemed to need and then said, "We have the base to clean up. If you can help me do this I would be happy." He only hung tightly to me. I knew now that he was about twenty five Earth years old but this made him the equivalent of about fifteen or sixteen in terms of Human growth and development. Being a male of this age, he was much closer to what some Human girls would be like. I backed up with him almost attached to me. He reluctantly stood by himself but would not release one of my hands. It had been quite a while since my last release and I was tempted to take him now. I knew he wanted me to. This was more of a way for him to instinctually find a protector than for love to flourish. From many past experiences I knew that if I allowed myself to continue I would not feel right when Dola went back to the people that loved him. In any case I had to get some Samutz bodies disposed of and some Tandra taken back to their people. The base did have a way of verbally broadcasting messages and I used this medium to tell all the Tandra that they were now free. I asked them to meet me in a large cafeteria to eat find clothing and discuss their future. I was not sure how many would actually make it to the meeting. Taluus showed me where some grav sleds were and I took two and made Dola use his other hand to pull one. We went back to the control room and took out all the Samutz bodies and his sled took the two Tandra. An unused stasis chamber held my cargo while the meat locker took Dola's. I tried my best to not look at the surroundings but my feelings leaked out badly and Dola come over to me to give me some support. He was almost petrified with fear himself. Once outside the room we both left again to pick up more Samutz. On the way I would find hiding Tandra take them out into the hall and give them orders to go to the cafeteria. They were all a sorry lot of naked individuals. They were kept in this state to keep them from secreting weapons I guess. They were dirty and some had splattered blood still on them from when they were originally captured. Their minds told me that they had mostly been taken during the last three weeks while three others had been with the Samutz for up to a year. Harriet kept tabs on the Tandra. When a few made it to the cafeteria she gave them an update on what we had been trying to do. This was kept short and did not go into how I had killed billions of the Samutz or destroyed Thonas planets. It did though tell them the need to have a strong central authority to fight their old enemies. Apparently their ancient history was not stressed in their education and they felt that I was unduly fighting the Thonas. The acts of Samutz I knew would be unbelieved by the general population. Only these few would be able to give witness to the contrary. If the Tandra in these systems were similar to Humans the truth would not be believed at all. Harriet sent some of the first group out with orders to retrieve bodies while Dola and I went to the hidden areas to get the hard to find bodies before they started to smell too bad. On two occasions I had to order single petrified Tandra to follow us because they would not be able to function on their own. When the job was finally done I got all the awake Tandra in one smaller room to discuss their future. There were twenty one present now and it did not look like they had done much for themselves. Some had arms in slings but all were still naked and looked very bad. Even food had remained mostly uneaten when Harriet and Taluus had served them. Dola sat at my feet and hugged my leg as I began to speak. "Hello again. I can see that none of you have significantly recovered from your capture. We are now going to get you cleaned fed and then looked at medically." The response was apathetic at best. I led them all to a large shower room and helped get them cleaned. No water had been used but it did help them to look better. A hand unit served as comb and brush and I had them do each other's hair. Some seemed to come to some small enjoyment as the hair on their heads and backs was put in place. Some were taken to the latrine and I demanded that they do what was needed. They seemed to need someone to guide them as if they were frightened children. All this time I was in their minds trying to see how these Tandra were any different from the ones I knew. What I found was the fact that these Tandra had not gone into stasis after the great exodus but had continued as a society. Over the years different political views had separated the various groups into the monarchies that now governed this area of the galaxy. This was mainly done by peaceful means. A central governing body had not worked out well. Each of the groups tried to get their views accepted and would not usually back down from any stance made. They appeared to be at least as foolish as Humans where. They did not seem to have progressed much. In some areas they had fallen far back. They were nowhere near being barbarians. I could only think that the tutors had been abandoned after it was found out that they subconsciously encouraged expansion through the matter transmitters. There may have been some improvements but the samples of Tandra here could not give it. The Samutz had come as traders at first and then tried to hire Tandra to assist them in building their ships in certain areas. The Tandra returning after a contract did not report any bad treatment but also did not talk about being led by Samutz at all. Pirate raids had begun a little over thirty years ago and the beings that were accused of this were the Kadork. I could not see the reason for the quiet race to do this. The raids increased somewhat and the Samutz were asked to fight the Kadork along with the Tandra. The scuttlebutt was that the Samutz had suffered losses alongside the Tandra. I could only see this as a way of the Samutz to dupe the Tandra and play the part of an ally as well as the enemy. Five standard years ago there had been a battle where Kadork had been killed and some even captured. All other battles had been where the Samutz and Tandra had been completely annihilated or so the Samutz said. This sounded a little too neat for me. There were a group of Kadork systems but they had defied being defeated and I felt that they were just kept as a stalking horse so that the pirate bases could be explained. The Axxel group were a family of only three systems that had authority over this outpost. They were the only ones that were even remotely concerned with the way the Samutz or Zomma as they were called here acted. They had been the ones to make first contact and knew that the Samutz were putting on an act. The full scope of the Samutz activities were not even guessed at. When everybody was cleaned and groomed we went to the cafeteria and with Harriet's help reprogrammed some simple meals that might stimulate their appetites. A simple bread and fruits were put on the long table as well as the usual bland Tandra concoctions. They did eat because I encouraged it. There was little mindspeak during the meal except mine as I talked to each of the survivors. I could see now why the ships had been so easily captured and so many of the crew and passengers captured alive. In the medical section they were all examined and then healed. None was so bad as to need a tank I just took them to a clean barracks and let them sleep. I laid down too and tried to have a nap. Dola had climbed out of his bed came over to mine and simply sat down like a dog waiting permission to get in with me. I looked deep into his mind and knew he wanted more than just company. I reached over and just pulled him in beside me. I said, "Go to sleep Sweetie. I will be only sleeping for a few hours and then I have to get back to work." "Keep me with you please. I will do anything for you. Do you want me to bend over or make you feel good?" "Thank you Sweetie but I would find it hard to leave you then. Just sleep. I won't let anything happen to you." I got a smile in return and the young man was happy for the first time I knew him. His arm came across me and so did his leg but soon he was asleep. He was dreaming of him being in my bondue and him being my funt. Looking around in his mind I saw that he did not have anybody that would take care of him. He had not performed the rituals to join any male family. Like most Tandra males he did not have the drive though to be a sooda and would only find a place as the wife or funt. His looks had been very close to perfect and he did not have problems finding liaisons but he had not found any permanent place. Three hours later I awoke rested found my arm around Dola and my fingers stroking the small nerve centres around his anus. I stopped and he moved closer to my hand in his sleep looking for more stimulation. I just held him to me and bent over to give him a kiss on the top of his head then slipped out of bed. A woman that was supposed to be sleeping beside me on another bed was on her knees and elbows. Looking into her mind she had not slept at all and had been overcome with my scent and waited for me to awake so she could offer me herself. I bent down and sat beside her. "Hello Sweetie. I am sorry to turn you down but I have many females now to look after and some most are now carrying my children. If I did not have them I would like to give you what we both need." "Oh please. I would do anything for you. You have saved my life. I will give you a child too." "I think a father has to help raise a child not just the mother. I have different customs than what you have. I am the head of my family but my wives have a lot of freedom. Some are now trying to save systems from what you call the Zomma. I am not even with them so I can kill the Zomma and the Thonas here too. I am here looking for allies to help me." "I will understand. I can still make you feel better." I did a bit more thinking and thought if I did this right we could all get what we needed without entanglements. "We can talk about this later. Go to sleep now and get some rest." She did not want to but I looked in her mind and flicked a switch and put her out. I manoeuvred her body to a comfortable position and after an admiring glance got up and went out for a drink. I had to start what had to be done. Harriet had digested all the data long ago and gave me more information on the surrounding systems. I could see a pattern forming in the way of attacks. The Axxel group of systems had been hit twice as much as any other. It was small in size and not as prosperous as the rest. Since they were the first ones to meet the Samutz I had to assume they were the closest to the Samutz worlds. The fact that the Tandra in this kingdom did not like the Samutz would only give the enemy more reason to attack their shipping. A chart transmitted from Harriet showed the probable area that the Samutz would be coming from. This was integrated with the old charts that the Tandra had made when they were originally settling this area of the galaxy. This group of Tandra would more readily join my cause than the rest. It would be just a matter of presenting them with the facts. Though the Tandra were like Humans in many ways they did not lie or could not because of the ability to mindspeak. Some like Humans were blind in their thinking and it would take a lot to bring them around to what was really happening. Harriet and I went over the Tandra still in stasis and found a reason for the two separate rooms. One group would serve the Samutz in repairing and servicing their technology while the rest would serve at the dinner table. Harriet had checked out the other meat locker and quietly informed me that there were no survivors. I made a breakfast in the base with new foods that I was used to. While sitting at the table I knew somebody was approaching and saw Dola coming from the barracks. He rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes and smiled brightly at me before running over. "I missed you Henry Buchanan. I haven't felt that safe and wanted for years," he said as he stood beside me. "Dola Honey, my name is Henry. I enjoyed sleeping with you too. It reminded me of my wives though and I found I missed them more than I can tell you." "You have me. I will be one of your mates if you let me. I can take care of you." "I am sure you could but as I said I take that sort of thing seriously." "But... Henry I will be just good to you now. If you don't want we with you later I will understand." "I am sure you would Honey." I said as I reached out and pulled the naked young Tandra into my lap. He snuggled to me as I ran my hands all over his young body. His breathing increased and his arms went around me. One of my hands moved his head so I could kiss him while the other eventually found its way to one of his lower openings. His urethra was standing proud and his legs parted as much as they could to give me room. Fingers traced around the opening and found all the nerve clusters. Dola moved as if he was on fire. Part of my mind reached out to Harriet and I requested some lubricant. It was transferred into the base and Taluus sent it to me. I simply closed my hand as my brain saw the container appear. "Get up Honey. I am going to make both of us feel good." Dola got up reluctantly and I stood up next. He just watched as I undid my coveralls with the tractors in the room and set the material in my hand on a nearby table. His eyes went from my head to my feet and I could see how he was marvelling at my hair muscles and of course the most interesting part in between. The tractors now picked Dola up and he was so trusting that he did not even worry about his safety. When he was on his back I used other tractors to pick up his legs and move them gently to his chest. The bottle floated over and I put some on my fingers while more went on both of his openings. Dola groaned and thrashed as orgasms flew threw his body. When I poked with my fingers into the upper opening it only went in a few centimetre before finding the piece of solid cartilage. I played around the opening for a while before working to the other. One finger then more slipped in making the entire area slippery. Dola as squirming and gasping for air because nobody had taken this much time with him before. I slowed down my foreplay and waited for him to recover. In a moment he came back to me then looked around. He found me and just smiled. "Do you want me now Honey?" "Oh yes my sooda. I want you always." I was fully erect and used some of the lubricant on myself before getting into a good position. I used the tractors to lower Dola to the correct height before slipping very slowly into him. This had to be done very slowly for he was ready to start having more climaxes and just enjoy his own feelings instead of working on a mutual one. He was very tight. I slipped into his mind again and saw his previous lovers. All were the standard size and none seemed to love him with very much intensity. Both parties just wanted to get their enjoyment and then be off to other pastimes. "What do you think Honey?" "Oh you are so big. You go so far back. I have never felt this close before to feeling so good. Please move more to make it happen." "I like to go slow. It makes the final goal that much more enjoyable." I did go very slow and kept a constant watch on Dola's emotions. I would approach that point that he so desperately wanted and then pull back. Dola was drooling and calling my name over and over as if the mantra would give him what he so desperately needed. From the hall I sensed the other twenty Tandra approaching. One had detected Dola's mental turmoil and awakened the rest. They came into the large room hesitantly to see me moving back and forth so slowly and they could see Dola impaled on me. To them I said "Come closer. You will be next." They now ran to us. Some got on the floor and some on the tables to present their backsides to me. I used my mind and the many tractors in this area to work on all of them. In a moment some had collapsed and I continued to please them as I did Dola. A few had made friendships and hugged each other as I worked on their brains and their smaller clits. I had been a long time without and when the girls were almost there again I used both hands to gently pinch Dola's small nipples. He started to respond more readily and I began to thrust deeply into him at a much quicker rate. His feeling were transferred to the rest. I felt my own point of no return and just thrust more quickly. Dola gave a verbal scream as he experienced the most intense orgasm of his young life. The girls went over the precipice and I started to pump tiny invaders into Dola. The women felt that I was doing this to them and I knew most of them had commanded a egg to fall. I was shaken with the feelings that were rushing through me but did not let Dola fall. My thrust continued till I was forcibly expelled. Looking around I saw that everybody had this same joy. I placed Dola on the floor after a kiss that he did not even feel. A hand cleanser came to me and I cleaned both of us up. I went to each of the women now and picked them up as I did Dola. With some oil I slipped into their back passages. I did not want to leave any children around that I could not help grow. It took a few hours mainly because each had to recover in between. My testicles and prostrate had been improved long since and I gave each some of my seed. They had wanted it in their other opening but would accept whatever I did. At the end I picked up Dola again and made him very happy one more time. Each of them were cleaned up and I put them back to bed to recover. I felt complete again but also bad especially about leaving Dola. He was so much more female than even a Human woman. The urge to protect and nourish him was almost like a parent would have for a very young child. I sat and watched my group slowly recover. As they did they came over to me and just cuddled. Dola woke up last and came over too and just comforted himself with touching one of my feet. I stroked the ones I could reach as a way of just making physical contact. As with all things I knew this had to end. "I have to get all of you back to the people that love you." They looked at me as if not understanding. "I will fly to your capital planet bring back a warship to take you and all the ones in stasis away from here. I have a lot more Samutz to kill and a lot more Thonas too." The girls and Dola got dressed and I had them go to the range and practice with some hand weapons while I would be gone. I assured them that Taluus was now very adequate in detecting and taking care of any approaching hostile ship. Before I left I had Harriet upload important data into the base. Dola and all the rest pleaded with me to take them. Their tears were hurting me and I had to just disregard them. Once back in my ship we only took a minute to go the short distance to the next planet. We had no regard for the Mardaf Limit and came to a halt a thousand metres above the surface of the main space port. Harriet sent out a message to all the local ships and to the planet proper. She gave images of what was found and some of what we had done before coming to this region of space. We looked at the local warships and could see none of the Samutz or Thonas craft. Three Tandra craft had been stationed above the surface ready to head out system. I warned each of the ships AIs and took them out at the limit their inertial compensators could function at. This took almost five minutes and during that time we were ordered to stop or they would shoot. Harriet asked for a cease-fire for a few more minutes and they actually did hold their weapons in check. Our temporal shield would have kept us safe in any event. We decelerated as fast as we started and made it back just a little over seven minutes after leaving. With a parting message Harriet and I left to meet the local Kadork whether they were ready or not. This particular system was only forty three lights across the breadth of the Tandra kingdoms and about ten years beyond. From the data we were able to get we knew it was heavily defended. Our sensors did pick up a Thonas craft that was just in the wrong place at the wrong time or was stationed here to spy on the Kadork. It was a battleship and the largest Thonas craft I had seen so far. This time Harriet just plunged through the centre of it taking out the living computer and hopefully the shield generator control. We had to do this three more times and the damage we inflicted was very minor when compared to its bulk. A mental attack started but abruptly stopped. The escaping air and failed life support was the only reason I could come up with. The planet in the nearby system looked well guarded and we just abandoned the battleship till a later time. Our long range sensors showed us that it had been attacked many times. We got close enough to send a message in Kadork then send some data about what we thought was happening. After a few minutes we also requested permission to land. Ships came out to meet us and we just stayed in place. It was comical in one way because each was a heavily armed cruiser and out massed us millions of times. The fact that we got seven was evidence that the Kadork took this very seriously. We were told in Kadork where to go and it was not the planet's surface. "I am not going there. My ship will enter one of your bays and then I want to talk to your sovereign." The wrangling went on for ten minutes and during that time I was able to worm my way into the lead ship's computer and give myself a minor authority to give commands. Once there I gave Harriet access she took whatever authority and data she thought she needed. There were many loyalty protocols and we went through all of them. I had no wish to become a new queen so I just saved the data for the future if we needed it. A tractor gently dragged us into a bay and I saw another set of guards but this time it was less of the honour variety than I had last time. Though no weapons in Kadork hands were aimed at me I still knew that the computer was instructed to do so. I just had to find the captain and keep a watch on him. He would be the only one that would give the order to try to destroy me. Captain Soot did arrive with four other major officers. He said immediately, "What do you want with our people?" "Your people are my allies. Further along this arm of the galaxy your people are being harassed by the Samutz and the Thonas. I have killed many of your enemies and mine. There are some Tandra here that have been fooled into believing that you are their enemy." The word fool was hard for them to understand because there was no similar word in their language. Even the word lie was missing and I had to talk around some of the idiomatic terms. This group had not quite advanced as much as the other because they had less members to call on since the war started and thus less Kadork to provide inspiration for the rest. I commanded a large screen to display some of our dealings with the Thonas and Samutz ships. When I came to the Kadork worlds I gave them the conversation with one of the minor queens and what we had done to protect their race. Now I showed the Thonas battle ship that I had just disabled two lights from their system. It was easy to see the consternation. They had learned about other races not telling the truth even if very few were able to mindspeak to them. As their thoughts went out to the Thonas craft I asked "Would you like to see this ship? It is possible that it will still selfdestruct but you have a chance to learn from it." "We will go out there now and see if that ship is as you say." Some communication went to the computer and the ship started to leave. The bonded members of the crew were not yet needed because the Mardaf Limit was an hour and a half away. I warned the computer of my actions and propelled the ship out to the recent fight in only two minutes. The computer had not issued a warning because it knew what was happening. The bridge crew knew. They were anxiously trying to get information from the computer and then the captain. The captain did not understand but we came close to the derelict ship and stopped. While the ship was viewed I put more data that I had found out about the Thonas and displayed it too. Their twelve portioned body was understood but not the fact that the computer was biological. The captain finally said, "What have you done?" "Just brought your ship out here faster than you are capable of. This will give you a small indication of what we can do. I plan on giving you and your race better food and a much better understanding of the technology you now use. Your race suffers from a neurological disorder that can be fixed through the medical units. Your population can be kept healthy through the use of a few new plants." The captain chewed on my words and sent out some small ships with many probes to investigate the ship. "You are powerful enough to fight the Thonas and the Samutz by yourself. Why do you need us?" "There are very few like me. I need some allies to fight and I will give you the plans for machines to help you do it even better. I believe the only reason your systems are still here is because the enemy wants to have the Tandra believe that you are the enemy. With you dead they would not be able to continue their plans. This is because they are not ready to take on all the Tandra here or are not strong enough yet to do so. The Thonas want all higher order life forms dead." The captain said, "We have talked to Tandra or tried to with a machine. They have told us nothing of what you say." "Your people share most of your knowledge but not all. There was a lot of effort given to trying to convince the Tandra that you are bad and the Samutz are good. Have you taken many Tandra?" "We have a few. They are in stasis on the capital planet till we decide what to do with them." The Thonas ship was searched and the data sent back to the planet. In a few hours the other ships had caught up and they did some of their own analyses. It took twelve hours till I could convince Queen Baffa to call us back so I could see her and her ministers. Captain Soot was convinced to show me his ship. In medical I got Harriet to upgrade the data they had and through a much higher priority link started to work on the ship's computer. I got him to take me to the training of the young and found some young Kadork. They were not yet afraid of aliens and I asked to take one of the children with me. Captain Soot did not mind. Children or lowly crew were just units to the Kadork and no particular love was shown for any member. Older Kadork were looked on as valuable for their knowledge or abilities. This particular child was the size of a cantaloupe with legs. This was a she and was comfortable in my arms as we walked to the food processors. At a wall that never had a dispenser before a new unit appeared. The captain was very surprised by this. I took a small bowl of a green paste and a wooden spoon much like a tongue depressor. I encouraged the captain to try some too. He took a bowl and sat with us on the floor in the large room. I fed the little female though she could eat herself. By her actions the captain knew the food was good and ate more from his own bowl. "What is this food? How did you get our ship to provide it?" "The food will take away the accumulation of short chained proteins in your mind that clouds the thinking of the older generation. The ship does as I ask because I gave myself a mid level clearance but my ship has full access and did long before we were invited onboard." Captain Soot was not as excited as a Human would be but did start to ask the computer questions. Before long he had more crew working on the problem as I continued to feed the child still in my lap. For the first time the captain used my name. "Henry Buchanan, will you stop interfering with my ship's operation?" I had to assess what I had done and what I intended to do. Harriet was ordered to upload the last of the data to the host computer. Now I could truthfully say, "I will do nothing more to this ship. I want the light destroyer in your number six bay though to show you how it can be used to fight our enemies." "You want one of our ships?" "That is not hard to understand. I will improve it a bit so it can protect your race better." It was not as easy as that but I did get the ship a half hour away from orbit. It's captain and Soot along with my little friend went to the computer room. I had it open to me to the amazement of the two adults and took one step in that would have taken them many minutes to get here. I set the youngster down and she scampered all over the place investigating all the pretty lights. I removed the processor crystal and streamlined its processes. I added a way to interface with another crystal that I would install later. The matter transmitter brought me one small crystal from the stores and I worked on it too. When they were put back into place I initiated a reintegration sequence. The child was called over to me and we left immediately. When we got out I found many techs ready to go in and help pull me out or to see what I had done. To each I showed exactly what I had done and let them go in to investigate. Soot asked "How can you do all this? Our knowledge of the Tandra say they are very good but cannot do anything like you have done." "My ancestors happen to be half Tandra. Millions of years ago the Tandra worked to improve my race and I am the result. I happen to be returning the favour in a way by providing your race to reach their full potential without altering your genetic makeup." ------- Chapter 76 Our ship went into orbit and Soot took me down in his pinnace to meet some of the system's leaders. An hour after our talk started the light destroyer left the bay to ascertain what had been done to her. I stayed for two local days. This time I was able to work on their medical facilities for the repair of their aged. The computers and the tutors were next. I just took enough data from Harriet to get the local techs trained as I wanted. The coding now had the same kind of subliminal cues to get the Kadork to be good members of the new commonwealth. There were a few hundred Tandra that had been rescued from various ships. Some had even been attacking the Kadork which they mistakenly thought were the enemy. Fourteen had to be put back into stasis because they would just make trouble. The rest went into standard tutors to assist the Kadork. I took communications from them to send to their families. When it came time to leave the system I knew it was on the road to being like any other Tandra settlement at the height of the empire. They now had better weapons and shields to protect themselves and hopefully their new friends too. The ships that left with me were carrying some of the Tandra techs to the other Kadork systems. The idea was to get them up to the same standards as the main planet and be prepared to take on the Samutz if necessary. Harriet took me back to the Tandra occupied area. I acted like a diplomat now and tried to convince the many queens and leaders about the danger of allowing the Samutz free access to their systems. My identity was again masked and I was seen as a captain but one on detached service. Some were vocally against me. This was easy to see because they did a lot of trading with the Samutz and didn't want to be seen as wrong. Others, like the Axxel, were more receptive but did not believe me fully, even with the evidence that they saw from the outpost I had taken. The Samutz on the planets surface were on their best behaviour and I had some frank discussions with them. None were telepathic but it was easy to see that they had a very difficult time controlling their urges to jump at me and rip me apart. I was a gentleman though because I knew that everything I did would be scrutinized. My compartmentalized mind allowed me to outwardly think one thing while considering the opposite where it counted. After a week or so of watching the Samutz I could tell that something was up but I didn't know what it was. I did manage to shake my surveillance and follow some Samutz to their ship. Here I infiltrated their computer and got hints of a full scale attack proposed for this area. The Tandra here were not prepared for such an event. Their efforts had been geared for pirates up till now. What I deduced now was that the Samutz thought their plans of subterfuge may not work in the future and they wanted to take the systems before the Tandra found out the truth. I could see them coming in mass from one sector and overrunning all the systems defences. They would be stopping all ships and then going to the next target. I could see three possible routes that would work and I didn't have enough data on the Samutz or the Thonas to find their fleets. My estimates of the time remaining was anywhere from three to six weeks. This left little time. I could do two things; one was to leave and drag back one of my fleets of ships. The second was to let the Tandra here get a bloody nose and then rescue them after they woke up to the fact that the Samutz were not friends. Since Axxel was the only place that even partially favoured my advice, I travelled there and talked with their ruler. The time frame was tight enough that she could afford to call up her reserves and prepare to defend their systems. I found Dola eventually and saw that he had not reintegrated back into his society. He had managed to deal with adversity before but couldn't seem to do it now. It was not just the Samutz attack that made this difficult. He had formed a strong attachment to me and couldn't find a way to abandon it. At first sight he ran to me. Without conscious thought he wrapped his arms around me. I had similar feelings and let the portal to his apartment close behind me. "Henry, I thought I would never see you again." He tried very hard to release me and to be a good host. He did everything that he should but he wanted to be holding me. This was not all sexual attraction but something much deeper. Before I took him to bed, I sent out a small unit that would keep our thoughts to ourselves and started to tell him of my real past. With mindspeak it only took an hour to bring him up to the present. He did not get all the details but he did get all the major ones. He saw all of my family and what I did to get and keep them. The battles were fairly sterile for simplicity but he knew that I had killed a great many Samutz and at least millions of Thonas. The young man simply asked, "Why did you tell me all this Henry?" "I am attracted to you too. If you join my family, you should know beforehand what you are entering into." In answer, Dola jumped up off his chair and tackled me in his exuberance. "Yes, yes, I will be yours always." We spent a quiet night, hoping that his very strong emotions did not get past the interference device. The next morning he took care of his affairs and stayed with me. I took the crystal I had found from the ancient Tandra wreck and improved it. This was traded for some of the resources I needed. I made small crystals to the limit of the local Tandra technology then improved the individual crystals with my mind. I constructed thousands of missiles that had a shield like my temporal knife. The difference was that they would explode just after breaching the shield and hull of the target. When three weeks were up, I took the missiles and Dola to the systems that I thought threatened. One of which was Axxel. The defences were placed in a fold in space, like the mines and missiles around Earth. This time the fold was different and hopefully the enemy would not detect them till too late. The Kadork systems were contacted and their ships were made ready for me to pick them up and take them into battle. Not all, but many of the ships had my new shield. The Kadork themselves were now feeling safe even though they had less ships to protect their own systems. Dola took all sorts of training when he wasn't trying to get attached to me. Eventually he broached a subject I knew would come. "Henry I want... want to give you a gift to keep us together." He at the moment was lying naked on his back. His head was propped up by his arm. I just turned around with a lubricated hand, put my fingers into his rectum and pushed out his phallus for the first time. It was light pink and a little bigger than my thumb and not much longer. "If you mean to give me this, I will take it but I have to store it where I want." Dola was very pleased that I would accept his gift. It meant that he would be my wife now. "Oh thank you, Henry. I didn't know if you wanted to keep me. I am not much and only had some good looks to get me by until I met you." "I knew from the start that you were more than just beautiful. I could see a lot of potential in you. I also happen to know that you will fit in with the rest of my family very well. The women will boss you around a bit but they will love you as much as I do." Dola asked Harriet for a knife and I took his hand. "I will take it now. You will store it where it presently is." "But that is not the way it is done, Henry." "It is the way I want it, as your sooda. Do you accept that my funt?" He thought for a minute then reluctantly said, "I will do as my sooda demands." "Good, then turn over. I want to see how long I can get you to orgasm again." The invasion did not happen this week or the next. We made many patrols trying to find the approaching fleet. Queen Bessin of the Axxel system was given some of my small missiles. Her engineers laughed at them when they were presented. An old hull had been reinforced with their best shields and dragged out as a target. One missile barely a metre long destroyed the ship quite satisfactorily. The engineers did not laugh again. An asteroid got even more shielding, as much a battleship would get, and one more missile was used. The effect was not as spectacular because the explosion was in the centre of a kilometre sized rock. There was no doubt that if it had been a ship all would have perished. The queen had been as good as her word and many ships had been mobilized to fight of the Samutz. The number though looked to be too small to do the job, for the Samutz and Thonas must have figured on some loses of their own. The size of their fleet would be considerably larger. The Kadork fleets were given some of the missiles too, along with the codes that the Tandra fleets would use to identify them. The reverse had also been given but the race of allies was not mentioned. The Tandra might still believe the propaganda that the Samutz had given them. The Kadork had practised gathering in groups so that I could swoop in and ferry them to outlying systems. This worked fairly well but the time to form the groups was the bottleneck. The queens here as well as the head queen decided to just keep the ships in one place in each of their systems. The amount of ships they would be able to loan me was not that high. Even with their recent improvements, they would still need to defend their own race. I woke up holding onto Dola and I knew that today would be important. I felt that malignant aura again. Harriet was appraised and I got up to get cleaned because there might not be time later. Dola got up sleepily till he read my surface thoughts, then he too got cleaned and dressed. "Henry, is it today?" "I think so, but it may be just a scouting mission or even a diversion if they think they need it." "Diversion, you never told me about that." "It is possible. It all depends on how good their spies are." "Do you mean Samutz or Tandra?" "Mostly Samutz or their devices. I have seen Tandra that have been with the Samutz for such a long time, eventually accept their capturer's way of thinking." Dola brought me some food, and I ate it with his arm around my shoulder. Both of us were busy scanning. He was interfacing with the sensors and I with my just my mind. As we got closer I could make out a great mass of ships. There looked to be over seven hundred in total. Their sensors must be very good too, so we just continued past them. I didn't want them to change their attack plans yet. The leading edge consisted of destroyers and other escorts. Deep within the cluster were a hundred and thirty Thonas craft. Half of these were battleships, the rest were their escorts. On the flanks were the Samutz battleships and even some dreadnaughts. There was close to two hundred of these but our sensors were not good enough to see the far side very well. At the back of the fleet were some carriers and troop transports along with more destroyers. Their numbers told me that they planned on dropping troops on each of the planets they took. The sheer number of ships told me that they would have an undisputed victory if I had not showed up. We made a wide circle and headed toward Axxel with our news. I sent a message pod with the information and headed for where the fleet was going. It was not Axxel at all but one of the other targets I had thought they may have chosen. Tamdoc looked to be the choice and they had blatantly resisted my efforts to convince them of the threat. They were one of the largest groups with nineteen systems. The sensors on the first of the systems would pick out the approaching fleet in eight hours. They were lucky to get an additional seven hour warning. In the next hour the rest of the systems in this group were warned and we headed out to the other monarchies with our warning. I was finished the warnings and made it to the first of the Kadork systems to pick up the ships. It took seven more hours to get them. I now had a fleet of thirty seven ships behind me. Some had my missiles and most were battleship sized. This was accomplished because the Kadork could see that the missiles I gave them would work just as well when launched from smaller ships. The inertial compensators were not as good on the Kadork ships. By the time we arrived the battle had already started. The attacking fleet had spread out and bypassed some systems and had gone to others. As I figured, some of the smaller ships had set up pickets to keep any warning from reaching the remainder of the Tandra planets. I had to almost stop to drop off the Kadork ships at the first system. My imperial override went out and any Samutz ships that had been made by the old Tandra empire now vented their atmosphere to space and tried to get away from the battle. The last thing they did as they tried to evict their crew was to append a string of characters at the end of their transponder signal that indicated that they were trying to change sides. Harriet raced forward and we caught up to one of the groups of enemy warships. We raced through the centre of them again giving the override. The Thonas here were targeted with our limited supply of missiles. Some were simply rammed so that the computer and engine plants were destroyed. The newer Samutz craft that would not heed our call were similarly rammed to destroy their computers. Dola chose the targets for the missiles as Harriet and I plotted a course through the mass of ships. The Thonas craft were of no use to us, and these Dola was in charge of completely destroying. The other craft would be salvageable but have a ten metre wide hole through the centre of them. Two other small enemy groups proceeded to other targets while fully half went to the next major monarchy. These two smaller groups we went after, and in the next half hour had expended all our missiles and then relied on the slower process of ramming. The Thonas craft on more than one occasion exploded when they were pierced many times. Some remained dormant, coasting on their residual momentum toward the next target almost a light year away. It took fully three hours to take out the majority of the two groups. The capital world would have to deal with the Samutz that made it through and hope that the Kadork would be able to hold them. I didn't see more than a three dozen continue to their objective and the odds would be good that the defenders with my missiles would be able to stop them. The other fleet had already approached the Mardaf Limit of the next monarchy. Three hundred and fifty ships would possibly break down to a hundred or so that I could capture with my override. The sixty to seventy Thonas craft would have to be destroyed. That left close to two hundred newer warships that would have to be disabled. Like the other ships, I considered just flying a mass of them out of the system and deal with a few at a time. This would not send the right message to the Tandra monarchies. They would go back to their old ways and perhaps even begin trading with an old enemy instead of rendering them helpless. They were as foolish as Humans in many ways. That did not stop us from travelling as fast as we could to take out the older Tandra ships. We were able to ram ten Thonas craft on the first pass and when we came around for another the Thonas ships had dispersed into the remainder of the fleet that was still travelling to the planet just a few hours away. This time I would ram the newer Samutz craft and put a tube onto the Thonas craft as I had done to the Bintuu craft at Defren. They were subjected to so much acceleration that there was no way the ship or crew could survive. By the time we got to one light hour, I had to redirect the craft that I had damaged so they would not hit the planet. One doing so would be enough for the planet to die. This left forty two Samutz ships that were fighting me and came into range of the defenders. It appeared to be an almost even fight now. I flew around the converging fleets and made ready to protect the planet. The Tandra had few expletives in their language, but I used what I had when both ground based and space based weapons opened fire on me. I communicated to the planet quickly telling them what I thought of their reception after protecting them with our lives. The barrage finally stopped and I was forced to scoot forward to take out a frigate that had worked its way through the front line. While I was there, I took some of the crippled and otherwise helpless defenders back to be rescued. A Samutz battleship seemed to be better crewed than the rest. I took it out by ramming and shot the vessel away from the planet. When I regained my position guarding the planetary, the queen of the planet below ordered me to continue fighting. "Me fight? Why should I do that to the peaceful Zomma. I believe you yourself gave those words to me when I told you of the danger." "I was wrong. Fight them. That is a command." "Why isn't your ass out here fighting the enemy? Get on a ship, come out and I will fight beside you." I got no reply and just did what I could to defend the civilians on the planet below. The battle was over in three hours and the Samutz turned to flee. The Tandra had orders to remain and protect the capital. I took out the remaining ships and propelled them away from the planet. I picked up a few more that had been damaged by missiles and moved them in the same general direction. With no more shots being fired, I gave orders to the AIs on the older Tandra type ships to use their tractors to herd the disabled ships close and destroy any smaller ships leaving the damaged hulls. Tamdoc and its battle was my next objective. It took only a few moments and I found the battle over when we got there. Three Samutz craft had fled, I found out, and I began immediate pursuit. Again it was only a few minutes work to make a hole from stem to stern in the ships and let them drift. Dola was so happy he got up and hugged me to him. "Henry, that was amazing. Never before was there a battle like that." I held Dola's face and gave him a deep kiss. "We didn't even try as hard as we could Sweetie. If the Tandra in this area of space need this amount of death and destruction to wake them up then they deserve to not join the commonwealth." "Henry, what commonwealth? We have been alone for such a long time." "Dola, Honey, I have taken thousands of Samutz held planets in the last while. Perhaps I did not mention the number. When they become populated again they will form the basis of a galaxy wide union of races. I hope to have it even larger than the Tandra did when they were at their height." "If you took them, then you would be sort of a king wouldn't you?" "Yes I would, Sweetie. Now let's see what we can do to help the survivors." In the coming hours I found that this particular battle had been fairly decisive. The Tandra and the Kadork had fought a similar sized force of Samutz and won. The missiles I fabricated had helped a great deal and the Tandra thought that they should do more to protect their planet. They moved into close battle instead of firing from a distance. This meant that the Kadork had to get close too, or loose sight of their enemy. A Samutz battleship cut loose at the Tandra destroyer. A Kadork ship had taken out that battleship but only after their missiles were on the way. More of the missiles I made went to destroy the major missiles approaching and just managed to save the Tandra vessel. It took many hits still, but its shield would have been overwhelmed otherwise. During this time another two Samutz vessels saw how dangerous the Kadork craft were and opened fire on the one that had come to the aid of the Tandra. This ship only had improved shielding, not the temporal variety, and was destroyed with the loss of all life onboard. Other Tandra and Kadork ships were struck and a lot of damage was done but the loss of life was minimal here. The Samutz craft were pounded with a vengeance by the Kadork. The Tandra ships at this time just stood back and watched. When the rescue operations began, some of the Tandra were dismayed to see that the Kadork had been helping them. Some had assumed that the Kadork were pirates that had come from the Samutz ships. A prerecorded message of mine went out telling all the Tandra, even those on the planet, who their benefactors were. Dola, Harriet and I did our own rescue operations. We would take ships and bodies to a central point where the two races could work together to rescue their kin. The sorry thing to find was that the Kadork did not believe in personnel shields. Any exposure to space would kill them. The Samutz craft were all dragged out of the system because eventually the Samutz still alive onboard would find a way to get their weapons to work manually. My response to this idea was to order the various planets to manufacture battle drones that could go in and just clean the ships up by shear numbers. I talked to both the Kadork and the Tandra in the battle and found that they could manage with the resources they had. Harriet sent a large data packet to the Tandra giving more data on the Kadork and their environment. The data for the translating device was also given along with what had happened before I arrived. The only response was that the planet and ships acknowledged the transfer. Harriet turned and raced back to our previous battle and helped there too. Again we were shot at as we approached but that was understandable in this case. Data was again sent out about what had happened at Tamdoc and before. I just stayed for an hour and went to the outlying systems to see what we could do to help. The battle aftermath took days to clean up the destroyed and drifting ships. This did not include the removal of the Samutz that were still alive. Ships from other systems and monarchies came to assist or to just see what the commotion was all about. The attacking fleet did seem to awaken the Tandra to their danger and more ships were being readied to fight. The Kadork ships that were damaged in the fight to protect Tamdoc were being repaired and improved by the Tandra at their yards. They might have done this on their own but I made sure my views of what should happen were heard. The Tandra were not trusted with the Samutz removal and I gave the job to the Kadork fleet alone. During this weeks' long activity, some Tandra were rescued from the stricken ships. They told tales of their capture years ago and how they had been forced to work for the Samutz. More gruesome tales of them being hunted for sport and eaten were also told. This time the news was readily believed. A face to face meeting was set up where all the leaders could discuss the current conflict. Dola was very nervous but I just got him dressed to suit the occasion and then did the same for myself. We dressed simply but I had some of the imperial yellow on my sleeves. I planned to land just outside the large building that was to house the meeting. Our vehicle was not that much bigger than the other attendees came in. Before we landed, though, I released my full aura for the first time. Dola was even more petrified now than he was at the prospects of going to the meeting. "Henry, what happened to you? I feel so different around you now." "Dola," I said, "I am a ruler of where I come from. You were told that before. People get flustered around me when they feel my aura. I just kept it bottled up so that this would not happen to you. The people I am going to see now need to be suitably impressed by me or they will not be good for the commonwealth I am forming. Just try to get used to it. We have a few moments and then we will be before these leaders. Remember that you are now my funt and a person not to be trifled with." "I will try, Henry. It will be hard because I want to bow to you." "When we get back you can bow away from me as I give you something you will like." His face lit up at this and he gave one of the Tandra smiles that I had come so use to seeing. When we landed, Harriet opened the hatch and I stepped out, followed by Dola. The hatch stayed open after we left to show that we were not afraid of scrutiny. Small surveillance probes were around us like flies. An honour guard came to their best rendition of attention since they were at their old school. Individual people that had come to see us could not look at us very well and bowed their heads for some reason. This was the accepted way to greet their queens but it was more of a polite formality. Here they really wanted to do it. Dola got further behind and I waited in front of a few of the guards to inspect their uniform. From the way their minds worked, I could feel that they were much more worried now than they were as children seeing their monarch for the first time. I let my mind leak a bit about how good the honour guard looked and moved on, but at a slower pace. Inside the large building we walked down the floor that reminded me of the base on Earth but here the colours were still vivid. On a far wall was the Tandra crest. From my own observations it was not even noticed by the current population. Dola and I stopped and saluted the emblem. Dola was being very sincere. I did it with the thought of all the Tandra I served too. We walked further into the building and through some wide doors. The two guards saluted very smartly. I gave a small nod as I passed through the portal then saluted the faded crest in the far wall. Half the room was standing when I came in. The rest were just too stunned. Nobody knew what to make of me. Under the crest was an ornate chair that was never used. I walked further into the room and this time tried to even strengthen my aura. I looked from woman to woman as I had a few times before. Then they had called me not quite a fool but not quite a responsible individual either. When my eyes had gone over all of the major leaders in disdain, I turned and walked to the chair reserved for my office. This was not the common chair that they wanted me to take but the throne. As I sat I heard a collective and even verbal gasp. Dola's mind was in turmoil too, and I did my best to brace him for what was to follow. Before a united voice could be raised against what I had done, I fed Dola the information I wanted him to give. He went through a long list of titles till at last he said, "... Emperor Henry Buchanan." Nobody moved; this was understandable. There had been no emperor here for the last million or so years. From the collapse of the Tandra Empire to that time the Empresses had been more queen than anything else. Then Dola called for all to rise and salute the crest; the same crest that they had ignored for so long that few even knew what was being referred to. The ones that remained seated gained my notice. I stared at them and in a way dared them to remain seated. It took almost four minutes for everybody to raise and then at Dola's signal they all saluted except for me. Dola said, "Be seated." Again, before they could begin their challenge I said, "Good day, citizens. I imagine my coming here has been quite a shock." I paused a split second, gave Harriet a signal and she sent out the imperial override to all the older style Tandra computers. This time it happened to be the main government computers of the planet. "I will give my bona fides before we begin." I looked around the crowd and said, "Computer, scan my identity crystal now and tell everybody in this room what you find." "Yes, my emperor. The crystal," came a voice from the computer, "says that this individual is a captain, fleet admiral and our lawful emperor." There was another gasp this time. I said, "We are presently at war with all Samutz, the ones you call Zooma. Their masters in some cases are the Thonas, which were the cause of the major collapse of the Tandra civilization. Since that time the Tandra and the Thonas have risen many times and each time the Tandra have fallen further behind. This time the Thonas are gaining allies that will help them defeat the Tandra for all time. I am afraid this time though; the Samutz will be exterminated too because the Thonas do not like any life other than their own." "In the last local year I have freed perhaps twenty thousand planets from the Samutz heel. A fairly large group of people called the Bintuu owe allegiance to me as well as a smaller group of Kadork further toward the end of this arm of the galaxy. I fear this is just a first step for the Thonas. They are shepherding their resources to kill all of us this time." "Your systems have barely a hundred planets. Whether you join our commonwealth or not is moot. I have enough to do taking care of the people I already have. I do know that soon you will be attacked again and I will not be here to save you. You do have some good friends with the Kadork and if you assist them they will help you. I suggest no matter what you do that you curry their assistance. They have inferior ships and equipment but can usually push their ships to a multiple of fifteen to twenty. As you know your people can only usually do a multiple of five or so." "Four days before coming to this area I was viewing the devastation I saw of your original home system." There were more gasps and questions came at me in a mental shout. "Yes, I can go that fast. My ship and I alone can go 12000 light years per day." I let them get over this fact for a moment and then said, "As I was saying, Tandra and all the developed planets of your history are now gone, along with the life giving stars that birthed the planets. They have been turned into novas and everything relating to the Tandra has been destroyed. Only some of the very minor systems escaped this fate but the planets that our race lived on are sterile balls of fused rock. To be honest, the Thonas planets were almost as badly hit. There is life there, but it is not much. It appears that our ancestors at least went back and seeded the planets after they destroyed them. Tandra could not be reseeded because it did not exist." The room was quiet as they thought about what I had said. They knew that lying was difficult if not impossible for most people. I took over command of the large displays and showed them the images that I saw as I approached where Tandra once was. Using marking stars, I had travelled to more areas till I came far down the list to minor colonies. The navigation was done the same way and they saw destroyed planets. They could see the same thing if they would travel to the same place, but the time taken would be much too long for this to happen. We spent hours in the room with Dola standing beside my chair. I used the giant displays again. I wanted to show what the new commonwealth would give to this area and what this area would have to give in return. I demanded Tandra law as it had been, with a few minor changes relating to AIs. I wanted a new shipbuilding initiative and I figured that the locals would want the same thing. They also knew that they would have to supply the people to crew these ships. My suggestion to integrate the Kadork now seemed much more reasonable. The small six legged race could push the ships much faster than the average Tandra group could. I agreed to give them some of hulls that were now being taken from the Samutz. The leaders were pleased when I announced that I'd provide a single crystal for each size of ship. Hours later we took a break for lunch and Dola had a chance to sit down. He was about to talk to me when I said, "Keep your shield up, Dola. We have not finished here yet." In this informal atmosphere, I looked around and talked to individuals. They now knew that I was the emperor but they didn't like this situation. They had been undisputed leaders for such a long time that they didn't want to loose the privileges that went with it. They all had good mindshields. This was a necessity for any politician to get ahead. I was able to read each of them, though, as if they had no such assistance. In the coming days we came to more of a consensus about how the empire would work, at least in this area. Though there were only a 148 planets, or little more than a hundred in the Tandra base twelve numerical system, there were almost three billion inhabitants. This was extremely high if it were in the old empire, but normal feeling here. I did not tell them of Earth alone working toward twice that number on one single planet. The damaged Kadork ships were given priority service and their people treated as celebrities. All sorts of food was given them and careful note of what was preferred and what wasn't. The ships themselves were tuned and adjusted to the best that could be done. The more heavily damaged ships were more than repaired. Tandra equipment, made much better, was placed in the frame and integrated to make the ships many times better than they were before. The last day of the planned meetings, I left for a few hours to get the three queens from the neighbouring Kadork systems. They were given a rundown of what was happening and then invited to the Tandra meeting so that they could have a say in what was happening. Along with a large contra grav unit, the Tandra that I did not trust came with us. The meeting took place and the area under the Kadork had the gravity lessoned. Since the Kadork had a large part to play in this meeting, I made sure they understood the benefits they would get, along with the obligations. I told each queen that I would give them new systems to run as their own. I also put forward the idea of moving planets if necessary. The Tandra though were very amazed. Planets had been moved before; it had been heard of but was very rarely done. The expense was just too great. The Kadork thought this more than adequate and just trusted me to deliver in time without worrying about how I would do this. Near the conclusion of the meeting a vote was taken, after extensive questions to the various computers. They agreed to join the new empire and all that entailed. I still had a lot of work to do. The fabricators were again utilized and again thousands of missiles were made. I had to take each of the shield crystals and convert them to use the temporal shield. Even Harriet could not do this. The Kadork worked from wreck to wreck, removing pockets of resistance. I had made a thousand temporal shields like mine to keep them safe. The ones wearing them all returned alive and unhurt, even if the ship was rigged to blow up. I had personally gained something important, besides allies and Dola. These Tandra had fallen back on many things but had gone forward in a few areas. The processor modules were one thing they did better. Their medicine was even superior to what was done on Defren. Some mathematics and small improvements in some processes had been made. We had a final gathering when I left. Both the Tandra and the Kadork seemed to be more than happy with the deal worked out. I was quite sure now that any further attack by the Samutz would be dealt with harshly. The trip back to the first Kadork system to see Queen Serm took two days because their ship's inertial compensators were not up to the strain. I took with me a shipload of Kadork that were sent by Queen Baffa to see how things were going with a long lost segment of their race. We slowed down far outside the system and then sent a coded message telling them who we were. I didn't need a lot of worried Kadork on my hands. Jamal and the New Hope were long gone. The shipyards were being assembled. One lone cruiser, crewed by Tandra, hailed me as I arrived towing the Kadork troop transport. It seemed to be a very happy reunion on many levels. Queen Serm seemed to want to see and smell each and every one of her kin. This went on for a long time and I met with the crew of the cruiser. Sitting at their mess, I introduced Dola as my new funt. He was warmly welcomed but was not up to all the acclaim he was getting. I told of our search for the Tandra home world and what I had found. I told the story up to the point I met Dola and how I took the base from Samutz hands. Dola continued, telling his feelings on the matter at first seeing me, till we went into battle. He got very graphic as he told the crew of how he had thrown missile after missile into Thonas shipping to kill as many as he could. I let him continue till the present time. He was out of breath but very happy to have been able to talk to all these people about our actions. In return, I found out what had happened here since my departure. Some stray Samutz craft had come by and the new Kadork craft had captured or destroyed all of them. Margaret had captured three hundred and forty seven craft of various tonnages. A similar number had been found to be unresponsive to her orders and had been holed from stem to stern as we had done. The local Kadork had been more than happy to remove any Samutz from the ships. There had been a considerable amount of losses because there were no temporal suits to protect the boarders. Jamal had rigged the ships with now loyal AIs to form a globe around the majority of the disabled ships. He then formed a convoy, pulling the mass of ships. He was able to go quite fast because the sleepers worked as a group to fulfill his wishes. The remaining hulks were being ripped apart for salvageable parts and the rest went into the recyclers to make new equipment. I did a bit of work again and made more of the special missiles. A few were incorporated into all the new ships and many of the older ones. The Samutz and Thonas would soon learn how deadly they were but only if some managed to escape. I figured that one missile in a flood of similar ones would keep the enemy working hard to hit the golden bullet. Some of the young of both groups of Kadork were assigned to stay with us. This did not bother the queens in any way because the individual is not important. Dola took pride taking care of my new family, even if there was very little spare room on our ship. It did look better though with the addition of the plants. I was thinking of just taking one of the disabled hulls, getting Harriet inside to do the work so we could go home with a lot of extra room. The trip was short though, and I wanted to see Earth again. We did have time for message pods and short personal communications. These were loaded externally, but were still within our shield and the effects of our inertial compensator. With another meal, Dola, Harriet and I left with a lot of six legged kittens to keep us company. For the first part of the trip I just relaxed, thinking of all the travel I had done in the last eight Earth months. I had gone to the other side of the galaxy but not to its furthest reaches. Now I was going half way back our arm to Earth. I was not in such a hurry that I could not send messages of what had happened so far and what new things I had found. The news of the Tandra home-world would be enough to sadden all of us. We streaked through the Bintuu area and I sent a message off to the queen. I wanted to stop and see my wives but then I would take months to get back to Earth. Besides, I didn't want to take them with me. They were doing necessary jobs and I did not want to pull them from these. Defren was only two minutes away at the speeds we were travelling. The drone was released so they could review the information in private. We slowed down for a half hour to talk and tell them that I was coming back soon. There were a lot of political activities and Bassinda told me that Susan had saved her position by the merest of margins. They wanted to know about Dola. I pictured him in my mind and they were quite pleased with my choice. Dola was embarrassed but managed to converse a bit. I was able to read in their minds the jockeying for dominance that Susan had done so easily before. It appeared that Susan was again winning. Before we left I got a data packet telling me what had happened in my absence. I travelled up through both Samutz kingdoms. Mom, Secric, Nova, Blue and Captain Roderick were given messages. I slowed down and sent the pod, then took some time to talk. Mom was able to digest all I sent her and was amazed at what I had accomplished. I promised that I would retrace my original route as soon as I could to see them again. It was difficult to leave each and everyone of my family but they knew I would be back soon. All the other bases that I had garrisoned reported acquiring many more ships and destroying ones that did not respond. Eventually I was at Epsilon Eridani and flashed into the system. This time we stopped. The warships far from the planet had started to take exception to my speedy arrival and only my special code kept us from being shot at. Sandra was sent a coded message to deliver a full load of crystals when we left the system later. Carl had been awake, working on the planet, getting more fabricators ready. This time we landed directly in Souts. It was kind of dramatic to come in at a fraction of light speed and decelerate at close to our maximum. Weapons of all kinds swung toward the ship and I had to make a hasty call to get them to not fire. They would destroy everything around the ship. There was not even a wind from our descent because of the way the craft dealt with the atmosphere. Carl came a few metres from the ship and impatiently waited with a smile on his face. I came out first with Dola right behind me. On my arm I was carrying the first cantaloupe sized Kadork I had met. She had been sent with me in my travels after I carried her around before. I had not given her a name yet nor had I given names to any of the rest. They were not very developed and didn't show much difference in personality. Carl looked at me, then what I carried, then Dola. He could not read my thoughts but could see that Dola was very happy to have me as his husband. I said as I wrapped my arm around Carl, "How have you been doing, Carl? Same boring old thing, I suppose." Carl didn't say anything but projected the things that had led up to the Samutz attempt to retake the planet and the battle itself. This took a while, then he went into the things that had been done to fix all the damage and get the system prepared for an invasion. "I see that you have been busy. We have lost too many good people." I was upset again about the losses. These people seemed to mean much more to me; possibly because they believed in my quest when I first started. Carl said, "I see you got to be emperor now; a considerable improvement over a captain." "In some ways it is, and some ways not. I end up having to deal with a group of smart and capable politicians that would as soon slit my throat as do as I ask. Before I could hang around with my friends and have a friendly fight if I wanted to. I know I will miss the old days." Looking at Carl more clearly I said, "And what about you? We were grunts together, then you became a general when I suddenly became an admiral. Things have progressed very quickly since we started. All of my girls are now watching important systems. The officer material I was able to glean from the ranks is doing the same thing. Masis is nice but there are very many more developed worlds that could use your hand. I am sure that Doris would like that." "I like it here just fine. The hot spell would only be hot if I was not improved. Ordinary Humans would find it difficult to live here during that time. The Samutz are mostly taken care of now and the Tandra here are improving all the time. I was even thinking of making some additions to my family as well." I could see that Carl had found some liaisons with both male and female Tandra recently, but had stayed away from any permanent commitment. He loved Doris very much and would not make any major decisions without her approval. In the next few hours I met some of his Tandra officers and shook hands with some of the men Carl and I recruited. Sgt. Williams was now a captain with his own ship. This man I looked at very thoroughly and could not fault the ship AI from choosing him. He was much brighter now and was well integrated into shipboard life and his family. It was very understandable, how the ship became part of his family. The data I uploaded talked about the sleepers that wore a tiara and were capable of moving a ship as a bonded crew. This I talked about specifically because this way I could have the ships and crew very mobile. This also allowed much faster communications between planets. The only thing faster would be when the large matter transmitters in some systems were active. I now had thousands of ships and most with loyal AIs. This was good but not as good as if they had good crews to assist them to go faster and deal with things in a more biological fashion. All this was very important. The Samutz were not on the run because the ones we met were either captured or killed. There were literally billions more of them still plotting to take over their neighbours. I had to have a mobile force that could take care of them and the Thonas too. I did have time to go to Carl's office, and there I had a much more in-depth talk to Frieda. The AI this time had scanned my altered identity crystal. She had been issued the override by the ships coming in and she knew who I was. This meant that her programming must have been very labyrinthine in nature. After telling Carl what I was doing, I went into the AI's programming as nobody had been able to do before. Vast sections were copied and sent to Harriet while I worked with the data that I had found. I found no new bases but I did find something that could be very valuable. In all the years that crystals had been manufactured, some had not been suitable for machining or had failed later. These were all stored in a hidden warehouse. There was at least a million tonnes of the crystals and no real records of the amount had been kept. Frieda was left unaltered but with a new understanding of what I could do and her responsibilities to me. In this case it was beneficial to have a deceitful machine. Outside the Epsilon Eridani system, I slowed down at a large cluster of glowing crystals. Sandra had transported a few loads to this location without anyone being the wiser. The crystals were held by the tractors, and close to the hull so that they could be under the influence of the inertial compensator. Dola was doing his studies and did not even know that I had stopped. In mass, a quarter were extremely large crystals. I did prefer an extra tonne of small crystals suitable for combat suits or a million or so missiles with temporal shielding. The remainder were ship sized crystals that I had promised the Tandra and for my own ships that had been just captured. A few of the smaller crystals came in and were put into storage along with the very largest crystal. I remembered the last trip coming here with my wives and finding that my wives and I formed one of the best bonded groups ever. This brought me to the fact that I had to leave them in important positions. It was lonely to be going home without them and having only one young male as a substitute. We went fairly slow because I had to make a call soon. At four light years from the Earth I sent out a signal and soon from hundreds of places it was returned. Orders and data went from one source to another till I could not trace the emanations any longer. ------- Mom stood with many other dignitaries beside a long wall of grey ceramic. It stood two metres high and stretched for over a hundred metres, but only the first few centimetres had anything to mar the uniform colour. The date in Tandra and in the three major calendars used on Earth was prominent. Below this were the names of those that had given up their lives to protect their planet. The location was the rugged northern coast of Japan. Prime Minister Izumi was present along with many from his cabinet. Prime Minister Kanesaka had died with most of his government, family and the entire City of Tokyo. The Samutz attack had hammered home the importance of having a strong defence. The other first world countries had not felt that way, but then again they had not been hit by the Samutz. Tokyo was now a very deep hole in the land filled to three hundred metres with seawater. The small missile that had taken out the city and the other one that took out Hiroshima were the equivalent of two hundred megatons of explosives. Though small by some standards, they were intended to be used against targets that had been hardened with a shield. The fact that the two cities had no protection at all meant little to the Samutz. Months ago, when the attack happened, the Earth/Tandra Alliance had its hands full with rescue efforts and a frantic struggle to get the damaged warships back into operation. Against what was thought prudent by Henry's orders, Mom and the ruling members of the system decided to send many of their teams directly to the stricken area. The help was needed but Henry had always thought that Humans could not be trusted. This time he had been thankfully proven wrong. Every recruit had come back, except the three that had died in accidents. One had a building fall on her, which the shield of her suit could not repel. Another had deactivated her suit to stuff a child close to her body in a raging inferno that burnt much of an area of northern India. Both had died before the suit could be activated. The last had died while accepting a drink from one of the people he was helping to evacuate. Here too, it was a building that had fallen on him. The exact death toll on Earth would never be known, but it was estimated that 1.1 billion Humans had perished as a result of the direct attack, the effects of the secondary effects of earthquake, tsunami, fire, flood or land subsidence. More had died of hunger, disease or the effects of unstable Humans deciding to kill or destroy their own kind. Riots had thankfully stopped when the police and military simply killed everybody taking part in them. The Alliance had made many stasis chambers, then many medical units to help the stricken areas. Some of the chambers had hundreds of thousands in residence waiting for help. Medical science on Earth was unable to help with much of this. Propaganda from the first world countries asked why Mom did not give them training in the new technology so they could help. Mom replayed this video clip many times. Her rebuttal was, "Training Human doctors in Tandra medicine is akin to Human doctors trying to give a witchdoctor a ten minute course in brain surgery." Help did come from the rich countries but it was very little. The Red Cross and Red Crescent gave all they had to give, along with other organizations. The amount of devastation was such that this was like trying to hold back a flood with only two hands. The amount of effort needed would have meant that fully ten percent of the remainder of the world's population would have to have done their utmost to assist the survivors of this catastrophe. The governments had pledged money but it came too little and too late in many cases. Sometimes the money had been promised in a magnanimous gesture but only for local recognition. None of the funds were actually released to help the survivors. Soldiers from various countries did come over to assist. Here too the numbers were low. There was no acceptable reason for holding more than 95% of their armed forces at home at this time. The soldiers that did come worked very hard with local authorities. This seemed to be a genuine desire to help by the individual. Mom had learned to not trust now, and she found that some of the soldiers had orders to find out all they could about the Tandra methods and any other useful information. Some soldiers were just intelligence operatives that had an excuse to come over and did nothing to assist at all. All of this did not mean that the rich countries did not give. It was just that in this situation they should have been giving a lot more. The amount of devastation was not the usual catastrophe that struck an African country. The money that was given was a lot less when the overhead in the front offices was taken into account. Sometimes very little of it actually left the donating countries shores. Japan had lost fully half of its population. They were lucky, for the Philippines and Malaysia had lost an even greater amount. An Earth subsidence in those areas had meant that over half of each country's original surface area was now below sea-level. South Korea had been hit by two missiles as well. The survivors of this once rich country were now assisted by the very poor northern brother. The coast of China now had many deep holes where prosperous and very populous cities once were. The ruination did not stop there for many strikes were as far as five hundred kilometres inland. It was the sea strikes that did so much of the damage. It was as if the Samutz knew just where to strike to do the most damage. Less wealthy countries sent personnel and aid, but here to they followed the lead of their more wealthy neighbours. It still appeared that the interests who wanted Tandra technology were not going to rest till they got what they wanted. This just seemed to be a good time to watch the Tandra and their Human allies do their thing and hopefully learn something from the experience. Even now, months after the attack, many had not found a home and it was only Tandra medicine and food that kept the majority of people in this area alive. The dryer sections of China had provided areas to put people as long as water and food could be brought to them. This was a very bleak area with no native population. Ships brought in fresh water and food while fabrication units made simple structures to shelter survivors from the hot dry wind. The Humans were provided with wafers so they could learn to communicate with each other. When this was done a lottery was set up to give some an education in basic technology. The people were soon able to order from a limited menu and get treated for their ills. No new science or math was taught so the ability of Humans to get into trouble was limited. They did know soon enough about all the old vices they brought with them. The police were able to usually find any guilty person, and in a day the person was tried and sentenced. The swift justice was usually banishment to hard labour. Chinese law was enforced here even if few of the officials were in attendance. Tandra law could have been used even easier, but here it was not advisable to give the Humans this information. It was readily seen that they would use the law to their own advantage without using the entirety of it. They would say that the Tandra codes did not apply in one case where they were at a disadvantage, but use the opposite argument when it was to their advantage. Recycle units soon made food production unnecessary in the Tandra camps. Very deep wells were dug and water brought to the surface. This was still not enough and loads of a hundred tonnes at a time had to be made. Eventually more permanent shelters were set up, similar to Earth base, but the matter transmitter and large computer were missing. Small computers filled most of the basic needs. The children were entertained by travelogues that were millions of years old. Their newfound ability to mindspeak allowed them to understand the commentary after the language was learned. Eventually everybody attended these sessions as a way of learning about our galaxy, even if the information was dated. ------- The King Returns ------- Chapter 77 Off duty recruits would get sporting events organized with prizes being trips in the fighters or visits to the warships. This worked out fairly well. Some of the less strenuous sports for the older adults had similar prizes. Music, art, self-improvement courses were very popular. Mom decided on giving a minimum level of education to all people in the camp. This was not very high even by Human standards but did allow some of the older population to catch up to their grandchildren. Depression and other mental ailments were common and the Alliance sent people through these groups to see what could be done. Sometimes it was only a shoulder to cry on and others it was a small temporary adjustment to the mind to allow the person to let the raw wounds heal. Old mental problems were looked at too and many ended up acting somewhat saner than before the attack. The North American and the European food mountain were now more readily accessible as long as the food went to the Humans on Earth. The prices though had not fallen as they should in this instance. The money that Henry Susan and Carl had gotten went to buy all this food. Most of this produce went to areas that were trying to get back to some semblance of the way life once was. This was far outside the maintained settlement camps where the less displaced people tried to recover. Tandra ships dredged the sea bottom and placed the sediment into the abysses that were once major cities. Machines then compacted the mass, while expelling seawater. Once this was filled to a height that was higher than the original cities, trenches were dug and ceramic pipes laid for water and sewers. Other trenches had large service tunnels made where utilities could be drawn as the need arose. In the centre of most cities a cenotaph was erected to tell of the millions that were killed in each location. The names would somehow have to be gathered by relatives and friends so that they could be inscribed at a later time. It had not taken a longer time for the Humans to get over the losses than it did the Tandra. Their culture had been at war too many times and the people lived long enough to have become more hardened to this stark dose of reality. All of Henry's family and even the extended family knew some of the people that had given up their lives so that others may live. The children that had died in combat had been taught by Kitten, Lam, and Duc. This made the forty deaths much harder to deal with. The three survivors had made a complete recovery but shunned the spotlight now and drove themselves very hard to become a trained military force. Captain Hisako Kamata and all her newly acquired family had died when the missile broke through the shield and many layers of decking to explode close to the bridge. Her name along with the other 682 soldiers plus the additional 3 found their names on a plaque commemorating their gift. Far below on Earth not far from what used to be Tokyo, Mom was dressed in black. Her dress blew in the wind as the name Captain Hisako Kamata was placed at the top of the list of people to give their life for their race and the Alliance. Prime Minister Izumi said, "Mom will you come with us to have a meal?" "I am sorry Hachigoro but I still have too many jobs to do. To only think of the dead no matter how important their gift may have been would jeopardize the living." Mom looked weary and in an odd way she was. Though her body was made differently than biologicals she felt pain and loss as hard as the rest. At times like this she saw how her predecessor had found it necessary to pass on if that was possible. Things were once so peaceful even if she could not travel beyond the confines of the Earth's atmosphere. Her responsibility to the Tandra in the base was the only thing that didn't allow her to follow her predecessor in those long lonely years. In almost the blink of an eye Henry had come along and did more than she could even have guessed when this all started. Now her daughter Secric and Henry were gone and these responsibilities along with all the new ones were hard to shoulder. The new AIs in the system and the one on the moon had helped if only to talk to. Work was always good though and she caused the projectors to fly into the ship carrying her image with them. Kitten hardly ever left the Fooga or 'Flaming Heart' now. She only went to feed her children and was right back working as hard as she could to get the mighty ship fully operational. Presently she was working beside the orbital fort that would protect the side of the Earth away from the lunar base. The remnants of the attacking craft had been stationed here to form a permanent bastion. The engines of the damaged ships that had contributed their parts were mainly damaged as well. One that was not was given to the Corfa to replace her faulty one. In time the other engines would be repaired and the fort made more manoeuvrable. Captain Hisako Kamata's cruiser was repaired quickly and sent out to protect the frontier again in a matter of weeks. This time though there was a different captain and bridge crew. Though this one was all Tandra they were just as determined to fight any enemy that threatened this system. Now that the weather was turning warm Doris took the children to Earth. The Tandra children that were too young to do much with the tutors got a little more education with these visits to a different environment than the lunar one. They also would help Doris with some of her younger charges. Henry's home was a convenient place to get them used to the open spaces and to test out their muscles. The medical facilities on the moon had given each a much stronger physique to deal with the gravity that was six times as great. She had her own small ship that could only carry a hundred or so for day trips within the system. Occasionally Lam and Duc would come too but today they had a lot of work to do. The low tech barrier around this large area was still in place. The people that lived within its confines were free to come and go as they wished. They were just not allowed to bring back visitors without permission. It was easy for the recruits manning posts around the area to find who was an agent and who was a relative or friend. Mom had constructed some tubes to channel traffic now that the old roads were blocked. The locals found to be a bit disconcerting to drive into the tube then turn their vehicles off while they were whisked to the far end. After she had the holes in the floors repaired to protect the children she left the rest for Henry to see when and if he ever came home again. Dog was very happy to get back to his old haunts and the Human children were just as happy to run among the trees. Today Doris took her ship and visited some of the people now on the inside of the barrier. Power phone mail and deliveries had been curtailed. Mom supplied all the electricity free as well as the phone. Here she just rerouted the lines to interface with Ma Bell whether the monopoly wanted it or not. Mail came to a large multi door mail box outside the barrier and Mom had the articles delivered as soon as they arrived. The present inhabitants had been told quietly to continue with all their payments and taxes. When the area was declared Alliance territory in the future they would be forced to swear allegiance or have their property appropriated. This would also be true of all the other old Tandra bases still on the Earth. Most were in isolated areas, one was in Buenos Aires and this location would make it difficult to take back the base and displace a million or so people. Doris got some additional help from the Earth base and three Humans came up from the basement to cook for the children. This was a type of camping in a million dollar home in a most beautiful setting. The meal was cooked on a propane gas stove to show the Tandra how their ancestors must have done it. The fireplace was lit and corn was popped above the hot coals. Part way through this Kitten came and fed her children. That night the children were restless because of the additional weight on their feet and the beds were not what they were used to. Doris and her assistants had to take all of them into the base to sleep for the night. Kitten and Doris climbed into bed in the large room with all the children now comfortably sleeping around them. Doris said "It has been a while since I have been able to take a real starship captain into bed with me." "Starship?" "Oh just joking. The movies sometimes call the space ships, starships." After a moment to get comfortable she continued, "Have you gotten over your transmitter problem?" Kitten was still thinking of her ship and this brought her back to this particular problem. "I am working on it. I made many more small crystals to make modules. I have taken over a large area in the new fort to manufacture the parts I need. The computer is still a bottleneck and the processor modules I make do not help as much as a single crystal. This just means that the progress is slow and I am worried that the Samutz will be coming back before we are ready." Doris could see that Kitten was still tense so she moved over and held the woman to her and gave her a small kiss that turned warmer the longer it was held. As Kitten started to relax Doris began to use her hands to caress her lover's breasts but was careful of the nipples that fed the babies. Soon she was able to move her own lips to this area and draw some milk and savour the taste she had grown to love. Kitten held Doris' head in her strong grip and felt the sensations passing through her that the children would not bring. It wasn't long before Doris was able to pull herself away and begin kissing her way closer to where Kitten really wanted her to kiss. The smell coming to Doris now seemed to heighten her own desires but she restrained herself with some difficulty and only teased Kitten with her small kisses and nibbles. The long urethra was only touched in passing. It quivered with Kitten's movements as if questing for a warm berth till the storm passed. Doris paused a moment and opened her lips a bit and blew on the sensitive head. The hands went back to her head to force her lips closer. A groan escaped Kitten's throat as she fought to get the stimulation she so desperately sought. In the large room the children continued to sleep but Michelle and Clarice held each other tighter as their dreams changed a bit to have their mother join them. Doris finally relented and sucked in the proud piece of flesh. Kitten tensed and quaked as a delicious orgasm passed many times through her body. Doris slowed down her attack to allow Kitten to recover. She then attacked again until Kitten groaned and moved violently about the large bed. After many moments Doris called for a toy. A vibrator appeared in her hand and with a little lubrication it was inserted in Kitten's vagina. The slow way it was inserted only made the thrashing more intense but as soon as it was all the way in. Doris started to move more quickly. The direction and angle were constantly altered so that the rows of small nerve clusters were constantly stroked as their turn came. Moments later Kitten screamed her joy and collapsed on the bed as her husband had caused her to do so many times before. Doris knew that Kitten was out for the count so she just climbed beside her partner and slipped the vibrating device into her own vagina and soon had her own pleasure. Moments latter she was asleep with her arms around Kitten. ------- Paul Santo was visualizing the chart that was placed in his mind by Hans. It would not be too much longer before things would be back to normal. After the attack it was a priority to get the ships repaired and important structures fabricated. There was no telling when the Samutz would pay them another visit. The new recruits were not trained at all this time but simply put into stasis while the computers and AIs concentrated on getting the ships prepared for the next battle. The haste now was almost feverish. His job was more demanding than the captain's. Charlie tried to not step on toes but took over a few more of Paul's jobs to give his lover more opportunity to do what was needed. As predicted they found that they had little time for themselves in the last few months and no hope for improvement in the foreseeable future. They were happy to be still alive to enjoy even a passing touch now and again. Some of their friends had died in the attack and Charlie especially wanted this never to happen again. Lam had liked Duc's attention at first but his constant help because of her pregnant state was beginning to grate on her. Many times she had to get him to do things for their many children that would take him away for a while. The best one was for kia-berry and ice cream. The taste was very good and it gave Duc an outlet for his busy hands and mind. The troop of children following him meant that far fewer berries came back home. The destination though would be the same place. ------- General Givens was now in the Philippines or more accurately what was left of the islands. He was with a handpicked group of soldiers that had a very unsavoury mission. Moore had planned this out and there was no way of getting out of it without handing in his resignation in. In the last while it was almost something he would rather do but he had given his word. The people he had given his word to were now seen for what they really were. The government with such high ideals that had been pressed home so many times as he grew up had been corrupted to something the founding fathers would not like. Businessmen controlled the government not the people. Newspapers, radio and television were the usual tools used to do this. If a person voiced a descending voice they were moved to a less vital spot and some were even forced into retirement. There was no place to discuss the faults of the government. Free speech even for the military was a thing to be cherished but watched so that it was not overly used. Now even that was not allowed. You were either all in favour of all the various strategies or an enemy that needed to be shunned or worse. The present mission was very bad. Some former American citizens and now members of the Alliance were helping the remnants of the Philippine people to recover. It had been tried before to play on former allegiances but it had not worked. Now after finding out that the shields were not always in place, it was required that drugs, gas or other means be used to render the Alliance personnel unconscious. Terminating them to get a sample of the shields and other equipment would be used if required. Weapons were the main secondary targets but none had been seen so far. Explicit orders had been given that if the knockout gas was ineffective a nerve gas was to be used. Any amount of civilian casualties was acceptable as long as some of the units were recovered. Maria Gonzalez was a very active fourteen year old girl that was accepted into the Alliance fold. She had been a paraplegic since she was a child but now after her rebirth she could not seem to be stationary for a moment. Presently she was in a large tent that had been erected by the Red Cross to house some of the very many groups of people that so desperately needed assistance. She spoke in Spanish and English to the children to get them to work at cleaning the dishes and pots that their mothers had used to make the last meal. She tried to make a game of it so the children would look forward to this event many more times. The 'Defiance' was just a small ship cobbled from parts of others and put together by students at the academy. It was barely a hundred metres long and sported no weapons yet. It was made to shuttle personnel and equipment throughout the system and to various places on Earth. Presently it was taking a large tank of potable water weighing a little over a hundred tonnes to one location in the Philippines. Another four full units were slung under the craft to be dropped off at other locations with similar needs. Five hundred tonnes was not excessive in this case. Maria mindspoke, "Put it closer to the far fence. We are going to put up some more tents." She got her reply and the large container about five metres cubed was lowered to the ground. Two oriental youngsters that could be any age came down by tractors and began to tune a matter transmitter to a similar unit by the communal washrooms and showers. A smaller load was brought into position and Maria had it put where she wanted it. This contained more food and some things to keep the people under her care occupied till they could regain part of their former lives. When they were done the empty tank was hoisted into position and with a final wave the ship accelerated away. A brightly smiling young man that looked very much like one of the Latin television idols came to her. His mind only had the picture of a brightly coloured hibiscus which was unusual to say the least. When he got within arms length, she was about to ask what he wanted, when she started to feel weak. She fought it off as her body reacted to the effect and tried to tell her to be careful. She did not know why but drew a deep breath and looked at the handsome face before her. The mind behind the face continued to see the flower and a hand moved oddly. A pain came to the man's face and he began to fall. Maria stepped in quickly and then smelt something odd till she too felt the pain and then she could not hold the man any longer. When the two people fell to the ground four men came running out dressed in thin plastic suits that completely enclosed them. A small cylinder of air allowed them to breathe. Gloved hands separated the two and frantic hands tried to get the small white box from Maria's waist. A small switch was going to be moved but the box came free before it could be activated. Maria was left sprawled on the ground. The body of the man that was with her was carried away. The tent behind her now held thirty four dead children, old people and a few mothers. Tents further downwind suffered similar fates till the breeze dispersed the nerve gas. Fourteen hours later Mom first heard of the incident. Maria was in a med tank trying to rid her body of toxins that would kill a dozen healthy Humans. If it was not for her body's rejection of the poison she would be one of the dead. Seventy seven natives had been killed and if the images in Maria's mind could be believe one more man would be dead. The crystal in her body bore this probability out. Mom was sure that this was a very well laid trap to gain Tandra technology. It took only seconds to come to this assumption and word had gone out immediately to the other people serving on Earth or who might be at danger. This did not help Akira Mizuno for he had been lured into a building on the pretense of assisting a child. He had been subjected to the same gas but here the assailants had more privacy and used tools to remove the garments. Akira had been gouged by something resembling a circular saw. Because the first two recruits from the ship had been found easily none of the body was to be taken with the suit and shield. The body though was cut up to get it out of the suit. The small crystal in the shoulder was what led the searchers to the site four hours later. Mom and Marcus had to drop some tasks to search for the people that had done this. The time lag was so great that they were not able to find a trace of anybody that could be responsible. Tandra equipment could be traced if it were close enough. Small drones went out to the surviving local airports and to any military ones too. The ports were checked along with the railways that had a very limited service. After six hours no trace could be found and some of the drones searched for where any foreigners might stay. A month later there was still no trace and hope was dim of recovering the articles. ------- Henry came in very quickly avoiding much of the security in the system. Around Jupiter he dropped off the external load of crystals on the moon Io. Now within the Mardaf Limit he accelerated quickly. He flashed by the matter transmitter that was still hidden in a fold of space and then came to Earth. The moon was the only logical place to land. Harriet had no stealth capabilities and would surely be seen as she approached the Earth base. Interfacing with Harriet to a higher level he took both of them through the twisting dimensions and into the base itself. As Harriet settled to a few centimetres off the floor Henry turned to Dola and held his hand. The young man was nervous. The Kadork though were not concerned at all and just enjoyed the small garden that was theirs. Interfacing with the computer he found that the AI he had prepared had been installed. When Henry gave his identity the alert that had gone out had suddenly stopped and the people were ordered back to their previous tasks. After the hatch opened he stepped out almost dragging Dola behind him. Two cadets that happened to have duty here saw him immediately stood at attention and gave a salute. Others all around heard the mental cry of welcome and looked to find the source. Soon everybody was doing the same thing. It was throughout the moon base in less than two minutes. Dola was being pounded with the thoughts of others while Henry just turned his perceptions down to a more manageable level. "Computer, what is your name?" "It is Marcus. My Emperor." Henry thought fast and knew that Dola must have inadvertently given this information away. A glance around told him that the cat was out of the bag now and there was no way of putting it back. "Marcus treat me publicly no better than an admiral. At least there I can deal with everybody." "Yes, My Emperor." "The term is admiral, Marcus," I said quickly. "Yes Admiral Buchanan. There are many calls now for you. I have been suppressing them so that you can take them at your leisure." "Thank you Marcus. Put me through to Mom and Kitten if you please." Immediately I was getting frantic calls from both of them. Mom got through first and said, "What have you done Henry? It is death to take the throne." "Hello Mom," then I saw Kitten in my mind. "Hello Kitten. I have missed both of you." "Henry, what has happened? You are going to get killed for what you have done?" "Relax, both of you. I have changed a lot. We are embroiled in a much larger conflict. I found a way to travel faster then ever before. I'm sorry to say that your home planet is no more. I took a trip and saw that the Thonas had destroyed all the major systems by making their star explode into a nova. The other planets of your people are all gone. Let's talk in our apartments. I also have somebody for you to meet as well as some very young new friends." Marcus sent a grav sled when I asked. The flat of vegetation with the Kadork on it was placed on it. Dola pulled it to a large circle and we were instantly outside a large apartment. The door was open and Moesha came running to me crying "Daddy, Daddy," and tears falling from her eyes in joy. Within seconds more and more people came. Clarice came with some odd looking Tandra that I immediately knew as the people that we had saved eight months ago. I was surprised when all of them called me, "Daddy," and ran to me. Poor Dola was pushed out of the way and took the sled with him to protect the occupants. Soon more children arrived and all called me the same thing. I interfaced with Marcus and saw that I had eighteen more children than I thought. Other children that I never laid eyes on before called me Uncle Henry. The first child's name was Francine as she was called before. She was much different now in apparent age and body structure. Her old personality was hidden and most Tandra would not notice anything different about her. I held her to me and gave her a kiss. "Daddy, you are always gone. We need you here too." "I am sorry to leave you here but there was some very important work to do." George, Joshua and Kevin came over as a group and I hugged each of them too. "Have you boys been getting into mischief?" They blushed in the Human way and admitted that they had. It was always a safe bet to ask if they got into trouble because that was built into all boys at birth. Debby was last and when she saw that she had a clear area ran to me and hugged me very tightly. "I missed you Daddy." I had a few tears in my eyes not just from her but from all the people here greeting me. "I missed you too. All I can say is I will try harder to stay with you but it will be difficult." There were more children in the back and they were given a chance to come forward and greet their father. Little Moth, Cloud, Kitty and Topaz formed a group and came forward. They considered themselves my lawful wives and demanded some special attention. I remained on the floor and hugged each of the girls to me and told them how much I missed each of them. Dog came in later and ran so hard that he slipped sideways in his effort to get to me. I was given my own kiss and I had to hold him off. Kitten was on a ship and came in close to the end of the mad rush. She ran toward me but had to wait her turn because of the vast throng around me. I had stooped and hugged each of the children as they came. When Kitten came she stopped and looked at me oddly then said, "Henry what happened to your eye?" "I will talk about that later. Now come here and give me a kiss." She did smile and pushed a few children gently aside as she threw herself into my arms. "Oh, I missed you so much. I was worried so many times that you had been hurt or killed." When I finished giving her a kiss I pulled back and beckoned Dola to come forward. Then to everybody I said, "Everyone this is Dola. He is my funt." Roger pushed others aside even though he was small and wanted up. I picked him up and gave him another kiss. "Roger this is Dola. Please give him a kiss." Roger had to think for a while then reached out his four arms and Dola came and picked him up and gave him a hug that any mother would be pleased with. I looked around and didn't see the rest of my family. Duc and Lam were staying back till I got to see my immediate family. Doris and Mom were the same way. I called to all of them and in a few seconds the others had arrived. Mom came too, dressed in the blue dress I liked so much the first time. I hugged and kissed Lam then did the same to Duc like it was done in his country. Doris was last and she got the same thing. Mom, I would love to have held and kissed too. I made do with visualizing the way I wanted to do this. Eventually I got a chance to get everybody to sit down. "First of all, I am very happy to be back. There have been a few deaths since I left you. Among the deaths at Epsilon Eridani was Sadda. This information was sent back to you. Her daughter Nema died later at the hands of a Samutz as she tried to protect her sisters. The remainder of my wives are safe and working hard to keep what we have taken. Apart from Dola, I have one more new wife. She is the Empress of a system 83 light years from here." Knowing that my words would be saved for posterity I did my best to say things both correctly and as a Human would. I went over the taking of Epsilon Eridani and the Claw. Later I mentioned the need to attack more Samutz planets because they would never leave us alone otherwise. The best way with so few people was to take them by surprise. I went through the first group of planets that got dusted. The ships I eventually captured had been sent on their way to dust more planets. I eventually came to the time I travelled back to Mom and Secric. This was the time I found out about the imperial override and its purpose. In all the time I knew the Tandra, I figured the probability of the Tandra Empire still being functional was negligible. "The Tandra Empire as it was; is no more. The old systems are destroyed, not just the planets. I took a gamble and claimed the Emperorship of the old Tandra Empire. This got me many ships without the need to risk Tandra or Human lives. The AIS on them were given orders that forced the Samutz in them into stasis or to be killed. This happened almost every time. The ship's AI took samples of our virus and continued to dust planets. I also gave them orders to give the imperial override to all other ships they found. These in turn followed my orders and took more ships." "Presently I have many thousands of capital ships that follow my orders. I had the misfortune of running up against one of the Samutz aristocracy that was using a new type of ship that used Tandra slaves as a bonded crew. Here some of my girls were hurt. Nema, who was not my wife yet but would be, died. When she died, one of my children died with her." I had to pause for a moment as the visions came to me one more time. I pulled myself together and said, "When all this happened the Samutz captain and king was killing a Tandra baby. The girls and I sort of went crazy and I reached far back into the strange ship and took a massive amount of power and brought it through the entire length of the ship and killed the Samutz that had done this." Again I had to pause but nobody seemed to push me for more. "Everybody went into the tanks after that. I had lost my last original arm and I stayed conscious throughout the time it took to heal." I heard a few gasps at this but continued. "My mind before this had been getting stronger with each new task I had to perform. The tank allowed me to concentrate more on my mind and I was able to improve it even more." "I dropped my wives off at very important planets with many ships. Tandra that we had rescued when we took the ships and planets from the Samutz, along with Humans from the original flight stayed with them. Eventually we came to Defren where I found Bassinda. Here we stopped a Samutz invasion. After the battle I went to save a ship with a large Tandra crew. The computer was damaged and I was struck with a combination of forces that twisted things within me and my mind." I paused for a moment to say this. "I can see all five dimensions with one eye now and have found a way to tap the higher order universe with just my mind." Mom asked, "How can this be?" She had no real idea what this really meant. "I will talk later about it with you, Mom. I have seen visions of my family's future and my brain found a way to manipulate matter that no device in existence can do. Now, before I go further tell me about my youngest children Kitten and proceed to the rest." I learned about the children for a few moments till I came to the news of the Samutz attack here. I got very serious and interfaced with Marcus again. Here I found all the reports and saw how much had really happened. It just so happened that the Far East was on the other side of the globe or I would have been able to see the damage from here. I interfaced with Mom next. I directly accessed the data myself and saw basically the same data. One sixth of the Earth's people were now dead. Though I already knew, I listened to the stories till it was time to eat and have a break. Marcus sent in some food and we ate as all the adults told me of what had happened before, during and after the battle up to the present. The children were getting uncomfortable and I sent them all for a bathroom break and a chance to move around. Kitten and Dola I pulled over to the grav sled and I introduced them better. Kitten reached out and hugged the young male to her and said, "Welcome to our family Dola. Do not be afraid for all of us will look out for you." Dola felt like crying now he was so glad. Never before had he felt so loved by a female. Taking Kitten by the hand I introduced her to the Kadork. She was amazed at the creatures and reached her hand in and petted one of the babies. The older one was waiting for me and I picked her up and petted the fine hair on her body. When the children came back they were intrigued with the strange creatures. Dola had not spoken much up to now and I encouraged him to tell some of the story about going to the Tandra system meeting and rescuing him and then the flight here. He took much longer than I would have but he was young. The children listened more avidly to his words than to mine for he wanted to show them his feelings. When he came to the Thonas everybody stopped for this was the big boogeyman for Tandra. Dola had to stop and I took over before he felt that he had done something wrong. I had to explain about getting the Bintuu Empire to join our cause and how I came to find the Thonas behind some of the mayhem. The Tandra were beginning to worry excessively. I mentioned then how each Thonas ship had been dealt with. I continued with the discussion of my temporal shield knife. The conversation was concluded with the little missile that would always penetrate a shield like I figured a galvanized missile once would. With the children present I did not mention the Thonas worlds that I had destroyed as I found them. The Kadork subject eventually came up and I mentioned how they had been fighting the Thonas and now their ally the Samutz, for thousands of years. They had won many battles but were losing the war slowly but surely. Their ability to, on average, push ships up to 20 times faster was stressed relative to what the average Tandra crew could do. Kitten interrupted and said, "But Henry we found that the Humans here could do even better than that. I was shocked to find that once a crew worked together for a while they could get up to fifty times a ship's maximum. Mom and I have been debating what the final figure might be." This was a shock to me too. This could be a great benefit to the galaxy; or a death knell to many races. I had arrived in the local morning and soon the children were put to bed. My young girls wanted to stay with the senior wife but I told them to sleep instead. With only the adults and the AIs present, we were now relatively alone. I told them of the armada that I now had protecting the system. Before they jumped on me, I told them that it had only started to arrive after the attack on Earth. Since then they had stopped a similar sized incursion about a month after. Kitten said, "Henry why don't you bring some of those in here to help?" "It looks like the Humans are frightened now and would be even nastier if they figured they would be kept safe. Humans, in my mind, are not much different than the monkeys I saw in zoos. We are smarter but all of our primitive brain is still with us along with all its ferocity and illogic." Mom asked, "What do you want us to do?" "Reach out your minds and say hello to Harriet. She is the lady that flew me to Tandra and back." Their minds quested out and it was easy for all of them to interface with her at the same time. "How is this possible?" Asked Mom. "I can see in all dimensions, which means that I can understand a computer better than any Tandra was ever capable of doing before. When I saw a good idea for a computer, I made the matrix and encouraged it to grow. I am able to purify and straighten out the cyrystals with just the use of my mind. When these are added to the computer the processing power climbs dramatically." There was a lot of data flowing now. I just relaxed as I held Kitten in my arms and allowed everyone to get their fill. Mom was the only one that was able to access the data on Frieda or the presence of the crystals. We stayed late, talking about individuals and especially Susan. I did not mention all of the problems I had with her but did think it prudent to mention some. I attributed them to the way the Tandra unconsciously tried to force her into the dominant family role. That night we slept well for we knew that no Samutz or Thonas fleet could get to us unnoticed. After making Dola very happy I cleaned up kissed Kitten tenderly. I had one particular intent in mind. She and Mom could not read my mind unless I wanted it to happen. As I was pumping into her I gave her the image I wanted to see since I first knew her. We were walking around my house. Faith, Hope and Charity were with us and another child was in Kitten's arms. The child was very beautiful and there was no doubt that it was ours. Kitten went after that dream as hard as she could and I helped her guide an egg out of her ovaries. This one too had a special glow about it and I knew the child would more than just special. I released my own invaders and pushed on the ones that had a glow of their own. In half an hour I still held my unconscious wife and guided the fertilized egg to where it had to be at this stage in development. Dola had awoken during this and got a vague idea of what had happened. "Dola, this wife has just become pregnant. The two of you will watch over this child and all the others I have." The lights went out, we both held Kitten and slept for a few hours. When I had rested enough I got up and made breakfast. After some coffee, I got dressed and went to the lunar computer room that I had invaded so long ago. Marcus knew I was coming and opened the door for me before I got there. Again I made a long trip in one step by travelling through the correct dimensions. The crystal glowed bright but not as brightly as it one day would. With one more odd step, I was at a back wall and with my mind I pushed into the other dimensions. This was the same way I worked my way through the shields that surrounded us. The computer room I felt could go on to infinity but was completely empty. At my orders, Marcus sent me some computer substrate which I altered to the way I wanted. With a section of my mind open, I showed Marcus what I was doing. He did not know this area existed until I showed him. I built a long line of substrate from parts he sent me. At different points I altered the basic circuit to do different things and showed him what and why I was doing each variation. I went into each major function and laid new material. A new computer required eleven percent to be completed so that it was aware enough to complete the job with the other computer's assistance. There was hardly a half of a percent done but I knew Marcus could continue. This room gave me an idea. Normally I could not possibly callout because Mom had once told me it was impossible. After trying it I had to agree at the time. My new abilities told me I possibly could. "Mom, I am going to try to get into your computer room now." "What do you mean Henry?" "I will twist some dimensions and should find myself inside your room." "No Henry. It is too dangerous." Far down a maze like corridor that Marcus didn't know about I turned and visualized the room housing Mom. The corridor lengthened but I saw no computer substrate or crystals. I walked or floated further around corners that Salvador Dali would be proud to see. I pictured the crystal I had recently set into place that now carried Mom's consciousness. I found the substrate and looked in. The feeling was wrong and I quested about to see where I was. The computer was idle, like the Earth base once was. All I could tell was that it was somewhere new to me and had a similar layout to what Mom currently had. I went back the way I came and quested again for Mom. This time the computer I found was active. I felt inquisitive fingers working at my block. I prepared a portion of my brain, put in the imperial override and then released the protection on that cell. Immediately the questing stopped and I heard, "Yes my emperor. What are your commands?" "What is your name?" I was given a long list of alphanumerics and I replied "You are now called Serendipity. Open your files to me." I saw that Serendipity was on the far side of the Bintuu Empire. She was on a planet much like Earth that had been overrun by Samutz long ago. Perhaps a hundred thousand Tandra, Softay and others were here providing support. Dolson and others that the Samutz considered food type animals were kept in pens waiting slaughter. There was no information yet about me or what I had started to do. It must be quite far if my ships had not made it here by this time. I gave orders to remain quiet about my unexpected arrival and told the AI to get the techs to build a large area with stasis generators. I gave my usual plan of action and said that she would need many more weapons and tractors to complete this engagement. I mentioned about my virus distribution plan for the planet and the probable effects of my override on the ships currently in orbit or about to arrive. If this was to be a new front I wanted it to succeed the first time. It took only a few minutes to plan this and I pulled back so the necessary adjustments could be made. Three hours later I found Mom. This time I had to make sure it was her and not someone similar. She had been worried about my timing for I had been gone for two days. This did shock both of us when I gave my own estimates of the time. I told her about my ability to go through dimensions then the one where I could step through a shield or bypass a large distance by choosing what dimensions to alter. Perhaps it was better to say that I altered my mind to fit those dimensions. We both figured that time could be changed to suit the situation. Possibly it could even be manipulated the same way but we did not know how much. Mom told the rest of the family that I was safe as I worked on her own room. As I did to Marcus I did to Mom but she got a much more complete job. I went into each of the dimensions and even the two other universes that I had not gone into before and worked for at least a day. Mom's matter transmitters disposed of my waste and brought me food and drink. She asked me to stop many times but I continued till all of the areas were covered. It was now up to Mom to complete this portion of the job. This operation was something like a burn patient having a piece of their own skin cut off. The skin was cut fine then woven into a large sheet to grow and eventually cover the wound. Eventually the body would use the thin strips of skin to grow wider and cover the entire wound. I left the computer room on Earth to find my old bed here taken by recruits. I just found another empty bed to have a rest. About the time I was going to get up a hand gently shook me. "Hey mate; it is time to get out of here before we get in shit." Looking into the Australian's mind I saw that he was a fairly new recruit. He was just trying to be nice and not call the powers that be on his section. "Thanks, it was time to get up anyway." I stood up and stuck out my hand. "The name's Henry." "Glad ta' meet ya. I'm Malcolm," he said as he shook my hand. We left soon after with Malcolm asking the usual questions. He thought it odd though when I gave my goodbyes and stepped within a circle on the floor. Soon after eating again I went to my home and saw the damage that had been done there. My mind went through what I remembered of the house and compared it to its present state. Downstairs the trophies were disturbed and some missing. The chair was of course missing along with its stone base. My safe had been riffled but the few thousand dollars I kept there was still in place. During the next few days I gave my input into protecting Earth without telling them that a fleet was far outside their patrol zone, protecting them. I tried to not step on anybodies toes, for they were learning what to do and didn't require somebody to second guess them. Soon Marcus was ready for his crystal but I waited for Mom to be first. This time like the first, I came through Marcus with the large crystal in my arms. He was ordered to remain quiet about what he saw in this case. Mom was easy to find. I had gone to Mom's computer a few times to place the modified crystals in the new areas. Tests had been done and the computer was found to be by far the most powerful ever made. I took the crystal and thought for the thousandth time about anything else that I may have forgotten. When nothing came to mind the crystal was placed in position. No power was used yet. Like I had been trained long ago Mom's crystal had to be removed next. The other AIs took over her obligations. Her old crystal was put beside the new one and power put to this new section. The computer went into another testing phase at that time. Mom could be seen moving from the small crystal to the larger one by the moving glow. The illumination was bright but got appreciably brighter as the transference finally took place. It took less than five minutes before Mom integrated herself into her new home. When her voice came to me alone she said, "Henry you have made me so strong. I am beginning to worry about what might happen." I knew what she was talking about. "Look at me. I was once an ordinary Human. Now I am a person that has grown so much that I see Humans as a type of barely intelligent animals. I have to live with this and protect my people. Now those people are of many different shapes and colours. Even the Tandra are seen as close to the Humans and I feel apart from everybody. I now know how lonely you felt all those years. There is little chance of finding somebody that I could even talk to. That, in a way, is why I want to have you the very best I can make you. When I am gone you will be even lonelier and this is why I plan on making Marcus partially like you." Mom took back her duties and cleaned up the old section of her computer room. The crystals were saved and Mom examined them trying to see if she could do as I had done. I was heartened to see that she could but took much more time to do what I had done in just minutes. Mom started up her virus production again. She took the information that we had learned that would lengthen the time out till the Samutz found out that they were infected. This took a few days and I took a gravsled through her computer room again to take advantage of the dimensional shift the crystals gave. Serendipity took the loaded drones and put them into storage. When forty had been brought through I knew this phase was complete. The stasis chambers though were not all done. The Samutz in charge were constantly asking Serendipity for a reason for this work. We were both forced to come up with some excuses. During this time I went back to Io and took more crystals from my cache. There were many projects that needed them along with upgrades to the remainder of the AIs in the system. Moth, Cloud, Kitty and Topaz demanded more of my time and I gave them some of what they needed. They usually studied harder than children their age and needed a break. Their usual break was with the other children, engaging in various ways of making each other feel good. Kitten took a short vacation to stay with Dola. We pleased the younger wives till I caused them to loose unconsciousness. This did not happen normally with them, just when I was doing my best. I had found the way to heighten their feelings and the orgasm was that much more enjoyable. They were still too young for penetration so I continued to use fingers tongue and some of the new toys that Susan had introduced a while ago. Charlie and Paul were contacted and I told them about the problems their father had in holding Epsilon Eridani. They were very happy about the fact that the Samutz on Masis had been destroyed or captured. They were even happier to learn that their father was going to ask their mother to enlarge their family. Doris though had not been told this fact yet but I did not see any problems she would have with this. But then again I could not be sure. Little by little I got Marcus' new home ready and used my next largest crystal. He would also be much more than any computer made before other than Mom. This time Mom was able to handle all his jobs and her own without assistance from any other AI. The lunar population never knew that Marcus had left temporarily till he came back with a richer voice that had less of a hesitation when things got very busy. After Marcus thanked me for the improvements he too tried to alter the crystals as I had done. His speed was less than Mom's but he could do it. Both now were making missiles that had the temporal shield. Their entire production would only be a little over 250 per day. Duc introduced me as his son-in-law to the Dolson. This helped get them to see my view better without looking like I was forcing the issue. The Kadork were introduced and they were immediately seen as a nonviolent type of life. The fact that they too loved farming was the point that decided whether the Dolson would accept them or not in their large growing area. Another area was being constructed but all resources were now directed to getting the system safe and the ships up to Tandra naval standards. The Dolson youngsters were more apt to take on the responsibility of raising the Kadork than the busy adults would be. A week later I had to tell the Dolson how the Samutz had attacked the Kadork many times and the Kadork had swarmed to kill the aggressors with many lives lost. They did not believe that the simple beings could change so radically when it was needed. I hinted that the Dolson might be the same if they saw a chance to win. When it was about nine P.M. in North Bay, I flew down in a small cloaked shuttle. I wore a simple very large dark gray uniform that could serve as a suit in a pinch. With me were Duc, Lam, Doris and Kitten. They were all dressed in clothes that would blend into the local crowd but there was no way of cloaking Kitten's large eyes and long fingers. The shuttle settled into the centre of the lot of the 'George and Dragon' and we disembarked. The ship closed its hatch became invisible and rose ten metres into the air to stay till it was needed. Kitten was very nervous, she had assisted many people after the attack but now she would be going as my wife. Though she tried to hide it, she wanted to make me proud of her, as if that was needed. When we came in, a new waiter came over to ask about our order. On the way he had looked at my guests and decided they were very young. He decided that if we were going to ask for drinks he would be would be forced to ask for identification. When I hung Kitten's wrap up on the warm night the poor waiter did much more than a double take. "Are you... you the... woman on the TV?" "That is so nice that you have noticed. Yes I am. You must have seen Duc, Lam and Doris too on the television." "Oh yes, I have." He just stood there gawking as if this were the Metro Zoo. I interrupted the man's concentration by asking, "Hi, will you get that no good publican you call a boss. Before you go, please bring us a round of Theakston's Old Peculiar." The ale came; all the patrons by now knew Kitten was here and could only stare. Soon though Sir John was here too. When he saw me he almost ran to our table. "Henry," he called out loudly. When he got close, I stood and shook the old crook's hand and said, "It's nice to see you again John. You wouldn't believe how long it has been since I had a good ale." "But Henry you have been to the stars. Surely that is better than ale?" "I would take the ale any day. Now pull up a chair if you are not too busy." His eyes moved frantically and he took a chair from a table. The man had gone to the bar to get a drink but John did not seem to be worried. When he was seated, I introduced the younger versions of the people he had known for a long time. He just stared at Doris. His thoughts were not on a woman but on the fact that he knew her better and was comparing her face to the one in his memory. He had seen the TV shows with their pictures and even had the ones with the old gang posted on the wall as celebrities. Kitten was introduced as 'one of my wives'. "Susan is 83 light years," I paused for a second and pointed through the floor in the general direction of Defren, "in that direction." He like the rest of the world knew that I had taken the Tandra as family. He also knew that they were my wives in more than just name. John got to ask many questions that had been bothering him since Mom first went on the air. Noise in the room dropped to none as everybody stopped to listen to the conversation. Kitten sipped her ale but I knew she would like something else after. Duc and Lam were the same but Doris and I enjoyed our drink. I encouraged Kitten to tell all about how she had commanded one of the two battleships and used it against the other two Samutz battleships. She went into a little detail about why she could not do better but I knew from the records that she did as good as anyone could. Doris talked about her sons and husband at Epsilon Eridani. Mom had not yet told of the battle for the planet and the high loss of life for the defenders. She had gone over all the data that I had brought and knew as much about the planet as anyone that was never there before. Doris went on about the Donai, the Tandra and of course the small number of surviving men. She ended the soliloquy by saying that Carl would like a drink too but the nearest tavern was over eleven light years away. John looked wistful and said, "I would love to open a pub there but I'm afraid the shipping charges would eat into any profit I would make." I added, "The other thing is that there is no excise tax or even any income tax, so there would be more profit to be had. The only problem is that there is no money used." The lights went on in John's eyes but then dimmed when he thought of what he would have to give up. We went into the other room later to enjoy some of the social niceties I had not had in a long time. I danced with Doris and Kitten. Duc did not go into North American dancing but did learn from the tutors just before coming here and carefully danced with his pregnant wife. Kitten found that she liked to dance. Doris encouraged men she knew or did not know to dance with Kitten when I was dancing with her. The men were very timid but I coincidentally found some soldiers from the local NORAD base. A young American pilot, after a few beers, got up the nerve to ask Kitten for a dance. This time I knew everything that was going on and encouraged Kitten to accept. After the third dance the man's buddies got up the nerve to cut in. After that neither of the women got to sit out any of the dances. When it was time to go the girls were still wide eyed and ready for more. I picked up the gray coat and handed it to John. "Here John; this is now yours. If you look inside you will see that the label says that I am giving it to you and today's date." ------- Chapter 78 "Thank you Henry but why are you doing this?" "In answer to your question, I will only state that you have to wait a few weeks to find out." The man graciously accepted the gift and we left. There were many people around the establishment even this late in the night. The ship appeared overhead and the people around us ohhed and awwed as it settled. The same thing happened as the hatch opened. The ship veritably disappeared as it rapidly accelerated toward the moon. Five hours later it was determined that the old Tandra system of Locat was ready for a good housecleaning. Serendipity had a hard contact with Mom and we both knew that the time was right for the next phase. The drones had gone out twenty hours earlier to spread the group of viruses that would guarantee a hundred percent kill ratio. Temporal missiles had been shuttled through the computer and were placed in convenient launchers by Serendipity. Against Mom's wishes, I too went through in a combat suit. I only wore this to give me lift. The system was scanned and no new ships were expected in or on the scanners. One was about to leave and we waited as long as we could then Serendipity broadcast the message. As usual the Samutz didn't know what the string or characters were for till they were placed in stasis evicted from the ship or killed in various other ways we had devised in the last eight months. All the ships were old and responded to the call. The techs had been told of the plan a few minutes before it was initiated and made it to a safe place for the most part before the various ship AIs started to kill the Samutz. The ships gave no warning but did receive some from the three main population centres about a plague going through the cities. As the plague spread, drones broadcasting in the Samutz language told of a promised vaccine. Small groups that were out hunting but had heard the warnings clamoured for the help. The drones provided the virus instead and in three hours there was no Samutz left alive. The small shuttles went to various sites around the planet and told the Tandra and other races that they had been freed. The people slated for food were on the average either weak or not beneficial to the Samutz, and these were told to stay where they were till help came. In orbit were two cruisers, three troop transports that were used as bulk carriers and three frigates. Techs that were deemed the most stable were called to the main city of Stoosy. Three quarters of the ones called arrived and I met them outside the base. They were given orders to place virus launchers in the ships and to direct some of the now freed individuals in cleaning up the bodies. When asked my identity, I just gave the fleet admiral persona. Mom uploaded much more data to Serendipity and she in turn transferred what was important to the ships in orbit. Within another hour the techs were taking some prefabricated units to the ships in orbit. Serendipity was busy making more toxin and supplying the ships so they could do the same thing. Raw materials began to leave at a very fast pace so that the ships would not have to stop to replenish their stocks. Again I used the Samutz bodies as the articles to be rid of. The records from the ships were compared with what Harriet and Mom had. The only thing new was that we found out the Samutz extended much further than I considered before. Not too far from here was a major Tandra outpost of Koorsa, where the Tandra were now trained to do as their ancestors had once done, but at this time the Tandra were to service the Samutz war effort and not their own. I did not want to leave these people defenceless but I knew that they could not protect themselves even if the ships stayed to assist in that job. I had been looking at the Tandra trying to find any with leadership qualities. Most had been under the Samutz thumb too long to make a good standing to any fight. When and if a Samutz craft would come into range I had Serendipity tell it that a plague had killed all the Samutz and to plead to be rescued. This I felt was the only way to get a Samutz to not land. I went back through the computer to Earth and issued orders. I did not like the way the Humans had treated us and the way one of our recruits was killed. Mom organized a very large operation where the guilty parties would be apprehended. I promised to be back in a few weeks and left with Harriet to link up with Jamal on the New Hope. My leaving was abrupt but I wanted to keep on schedule. With only a hundred of the new small missiles in my limited hold, I kissed my wives and children. In ten minutes I was a few light years past the Oort Cloud and intercepting where Jamal should be at this time. We were not off by much. With new orders given the fleet protecting the planet, we left with six other battleships that had been brought up to military standards. I was greeted when I came onboard by Jamal and many of the sleepers that were from the first group. They still remembered the last time we engaged in some frolic and wanted to have more. This was definitely a pleasurable activity but there was no time to do this now. The battleships linked up to Jamal with their tractors. We were loaded for bear this time. There was a full store of virus and the delivery systems on all ships. Many auxiliary ships in the holds also had this feature. With the girls to watch the way, it took only twelve hours to push the fleet to Locat. When we got there we found everything as I left it. After we stopped, I was able to talk to Mom through Serendipity. Nothing on Earth had changed, except to get the teams ready that were to arrest the guilty parties. All this had to be done at one time or the rest would hide if they knew they were being pursued. Jamal was very interested in how this was done. "It seems," I said, "that the higher two dimensions can be altered to bring two points infinitely close to one another. This will also link computers like Mom and Serendipity." As a test I went into Harriet's computer and opened the higher dimensions further. Standing in a featureless tunnel, I pictured Mom as I left her. She was easily the most striking computer in the galaxy, I thought. In a half hour I found her and provided a link to Harriet. Since I had worked hard on Jamal he was linked too. He took longer, but not much, to find. Each computer was very loyal to me and I made sure they did not let any information about this activity slip from them. Our fleet broke into seven units and each took some nearby systems. Other proceed to the limits of our charts. Each ship had fourteen of the temporal missiles to take on any ships that would not respond. Again they were to conscript all the ships they found and turn them to bring the good word to more Samutz systems. Harriet and I went into independent action; with just some samples of the virus we left to find the extent of the Samutz Empire. I could detect Thonas craft with a feeling that grated on my ears. Though I found no colonies, I did remove eleven ships. Once, two ships were convoying twenty Samutz ships. One was new and when I left I had nineteen more ships to carry on. The one ship was towed to a Samutz planet and the techs removed before they arrived. There was enough raw material for virus then to seed the planet before carrying on. After two days of travel where I stopped to check out individual systems, I came to a dead area. This must have been another war zone once. There was no life within and the width was over three hundred light years. The only feeling I could get was 'empty' when I was in the centre of it. The far side seemed to have life but there was none that was intelligent. Many good planets looked great for colonizing but many others did too. It took a week to map the dead zone. I saw that it would make a good buffer for the Samutz, but the Thonas could travel as fast as the old Tandra could. I headed back into the Samutz controlled area and mapped more. I had no facilities for spreading the virus so contented myself with gaining only intelligence. During a pause I talked to Mom and found that she and her crews had done a good job. They had got all the culprits she was after. I eventually found a lone dreadnought with only three escorts. The looks of this one suggested that it was more modern. This would also mean that it was not going to respond to my call. The two cruisers and the destroyer looked to be the same. It was a shame to just destroy them but I did have a partial solution. The cruisers were on point and the destroyer was watching for any attack from the rear. Harriet flashed beside the large ship with the temporal shield working and then slid sideways into the area occupied by the bridge. Once there we simply remained stationary while Mom, Harriet and I worked on taking over the computer. It took almost a half hour but we did it. The people that made this ship were very precise about their programming to stop exactly what we were doing. Once the codes were found, they were transmitted to the other ships and they were all ours. Immediately the Samutz began to die and this lasted for twelve hours. The Samutz had been warned and were ready. We did not wait for this to happen but resumed our journey after plotting the course. We began to run into more worlds with dying Samutz. Jamal told me that he had taken thirty seven systems and used all of his missiles on newer ships that he was not able to take with his own weapons. He did manage to co-opt four times that many ships, but many were just cruiser size or smaller. He had been informed of the dead zone and had directed the ships he took not to go into it. I directed him toward the dreadnaught knowing that the Mordis infantry might be needed. Apparently they were chaffing at the bit and wanted a little bit of action themselves. The dreadnaught should have been quiet for a few hours with the techs given enough time to repair the damage we had done. Harriet plotted the course and in a few minutes we found the group. Harriet's summons was replied to but the computer reported a determined effort to take the computer room by the techs. "What race are your techs?" I asked. I got the name Moldeg in Samutz and the data coming about them showed that they were a young dynamic race that could take over the Tandra worlds, but they were not about to be ruled by any other race. This was admirable but they tended to kill all others that stood in their way, which was not. I had seen them before when I went back to the Bintuu home world and saw who had displaced their race. Harriet gave orders and with our help the ship changed course. This time the gravity around the computer room was quadrupled. I put the tube on the three ships and accelerated them in the direction of Jamal. In an hour I slowed down enough to have the two major ships meet. He was apprised of our problem and sent over some of the Mordis infantry to take the ship. My feeling was that the Moldeg would have to surrender. They would be allowed to join in the commonwealth if they were capable of that type of thinking. If they wanted to continuously fight then I would capture as many as I could and put them where they would not bother anybody. The battle lasted eight gruelling hours before all four ships were ours. The Moldeg were similar to ants but had an extra set of very dexterous hands close to the large head. Like the ant they had an exoskeleton and some very sharp mandibles. They used those weapons but also the Samutz hand weapons as well. They didn't seem to take no for an answer and I wondered how the Samutz controlled them. More and more infantry had to be used and at the end fully a hundred thousand Mordis had to be used to take thirty thousand Moldeg. Jamal noticed a thin necklace around each of the creatures necks. After a sample was recovered it took a few minutes to find that it produced a very high pitched noise that the Moldeg seamed to hate. Jamal transmitted the required energy and soon the Moldeg were writhing on the deck instead of killing and dying. We suffered over a thousand casualties but only twelve percent would be fatal. The living Moldeg were put into stasis where we found that there were thousands more ready to fight us if the computer had allowed it. There were at least six thousand Moldeg casualties but I just had all of them put into another hold under stasis. Mom was quite interested in this race and so were the rest of us. Jamal made up four prize crews and they followed him as he continued his mission. All the information in the new ships was gathered and sent to whoever wanted it. My feelings on the matter were that the race was no better than the Samutz on their records of conquest. It showed that the insect race was doing the same thing as the Samutz and plundering Tandra planets taking the technology and eating the inhabitants. The worrisome part was that the race had become very numerous since it came into contact with the Samutz, then a stalemate had developed. If the Samutz were to be removed then we would have to begin to deal with the Moldeg in their place. This brought up the prospect of other aggressors holding the Moldeg on different fronts. They may be just as bad. I could only see an unending war for millennia into our future. While contemplating the ants, I worked on restocking Jamal's supply of missiles. He had enough small crystals that I could offer a few to his prize crews as well. I got information from Mom about my time allotment being up. This forced me to go back to Earth. I felt needed here though. The problem seemed to be in the amount of travel time I used. Jamal left with his new escorts while I went into Harriet's computer. She would be operating on her own now, to see what she could do to defeat all our enemies. My job was much simpler and I had to take only thirty steps. They brought me to Marcus' computer on the moon. Marcus used his fabricators and made a small simple hull, like Harriet, and I just stepped out of it fresh from a matter transmitter. Everybody would think that I had arrived as I did last time. The Earth now was in a furor. Our troops had captured all of the people that were responsible for Akira Mizuno's death and the theft of Tandra property. The list of detainees was impressive in not only numbers but notoriety. The heads of many large corporations and some of their employees were just under the teams that had been given the mission. The top of the list though was Montgomery Moore. I was sorry to see that General Givens was also on the list. Tandra trials were fairly simple. Unlike Human trials that were made for enriching the lawyers as well as following the twisting rules to come to what was purported to be the truth. Here a person is judged by what is in their own mind. The images are shown to a jury along with the person's thoughts at the time. This could be an aberration so the events leading up to the infraction as well as the thoughts after the act were judged. Mom went one better this time. Unused television channels were employed to broadcast a view of each prisoner. They lived separately in very large apartments on the Earth. They were dressed as good as the Tandra and had access to many of the things that the Tandra themselves had. Of course, they had to use their voice to ask for what they wanted. Holographic viewers were provided so that they could talk to the other co-accused. The damning evidence was the thoughts that were displayed in words that ran across the bottom of the screen. A man could talk about the quality of the food and be thinking of how the person he was talking to had caused all the problems. Moore was a different case and many secrets that had kept him in power and of use to his superiors came out. It showed in many small excerpts, how he had visualized the abduction of Alliance personnel and the removal of Alliance property. He had even hedged his bet and given officers specific orders as to how the various operations were to be handled. He felt that General Givens was much too soft and ethical to be completely trusted with this mission. Moore had a very fertile imagination, many of his other plans came out and the various ways of gaining their ends. Some were even developed as he paced within his luxurious cell. The General was far from pristine. He, like me, had been in black ops and had killed many people that he had been ordered to terminate. Sometimes innocents had to be killed too but this was kept to a minimum. The deadly nerve gassing of the Filipinos was beyond the information that Givens was given. The death of Akira Mizuno was termed murder though. The man doing the cutting was the one in charge of this squad. He had soon seen the problem with gaining the clothing and had simply decided to cut the living body from the suit. The many business people were much worse. There were a lot of murders performed at their orders as they rose to power. Sometimes they did the murdering first hand. They had been dragged in because their consortium had not only okayed the operation but had instigated it. The suit and shields were found at their testing facilities. None of the men knew that they were being televised to the world. To get out the facts Mom, in one disguise or another, quietly asked questions of them. The words coming out said one thing, their thoughts said something much different. The plans to put the Humans at risk so that they could gain Tandra technology were revealed in many ways. They knew that we needed troops and it was shown what they did to thwart us. Food procurement was shown to be a luxury that was to be given to the Alliance forces. It was seen how we had fed many others with our own supplies of Tandra foodstuffs. Here, the various governments had been implicated as they were ordered to put roadblocks to the simple luxury. While all of this was coming out, Mom clamped down on all counter-propaganda. Television, newspapers and radio had found many minor problems that kept their lies from reaching gullible ears and eyes. All of us knew we would get screwed by politicians and with a bit of electioneering, vote the same people back in. Phone calls were directed to Mom and she answered most of them with different faces. She explained time and time again what the people were seeing on their screens. After a while people started to ask questions that would be directed to individuals on trial. Since the asking persons name and address was displayed on the screen for the world to see many people now became our crown attorneys. The business people were asked many pointed questions about their checkered past. Their involvement, as well as their companies, in many illegal schemes came to the forefront. The big sharks came into this scheme as they smelt blood. The revenue departments of various countries wanted to know more about the illegal plans the businessmen had used to evade their fair share of the tax burden. Mom asked how the group influenced the general population. Names and dates came out, where dialogue was placed in newspapers, to give a particular slant on things. They gave away their methodology now. Long term plans were devised and the populous was gradually informed of the way they were expected to think. One thing that made me smile was when the plans for the religious thinkers were laid out and how it was easily accepted along with large donations of cash. Mom now went after the religious right. One opponent after another was discussed and what the feelings of the accused had for the ethics of each. History was brought up about the rise in power of the television preachers. Personal information about their moral turpitude and of the businessmen that condoned and abetted these acts came out. After this became evident, Mom broadcast older film clips of what the preachers had said about her, the Tandra and the alliance in general. Especially the clips of the times when they had been continuously spouting about the Tandra immorality were aired. When all the important people were exposed, the common faceless person was now attacked for their inability to think on their own. It was not said but it was implied that most people had to have somebody else think for them. With no way to retort it, soon it became evident to the viewers that all the people we had arrested were guilty of a multitude of sins. To further hammer home the facts, Mom had allowed the men to read the minds of the other guilty parties. The section where they were confined was opened and they freely travelled within this area. Moore gave orders to protect him and this worked for a while, till the rest saw how bad of a person he was. The businessmen fought amongst themselves as they found out how each had conspired against the other in various ways. Their own egos were what drove many to physical violence. Their present dilemma was discussed and still unknowing of the television, planned new ways to sway the gullible population. Mom had kept track of everything they had thought, sorted it as to context and with a thought to brevity published it on the internet. If a remark was questioned its text was clicked on and the appropriate video clip came up to substantiate the point. My part in this production soon came. I had only been back on Earth a day and had gone over a sampling of what the viewers had seen. When I looked into each of their minds I just saw basic Human drives but carried a bit more into the bizarre. I walked into the area that housed the prisoners with the television cameras still functioning. They came at me waving fists and threatening me with lawsuits and jail. I simply took an elevated chair and looked at each. When they had quieted I began with Montgomery Moore and listed his major crimes directed towards the Alliance. It started off like "Montgomery Moore you are guilty of..." There was no doubt in my voice as to whether I had any doubt about his guilt. This took ten minutes as he argued and tried to cut me off. The rest of the men got similar treatment. The soldiery took much less time. This reminded me of books I had read about the Nuremberg War Trials. When I had completed all the lists of crimes, Moore asked, "What right do you have to judge us? We are not even from the same countries." "Mr. Moore, I was given the privilege and honour of helping the Tandra population. As you know we ourselves are half Tandra. They are presently being eaten by more than one race of creatures in this galaxy. At some time we would have joined them in some intestinal tract. I have fought very hard with others to hold back this flood of carnivores. I have saved thousands of millions of people so far and been the cause of even more than that number in Samutz deaths. New predators have been found as well as very old enemies. To fight them all I have taken many responsibilities. From husband and father I went to a captain of a Tandra ship. To organize Earth, the local Tandra made me a regional governor. At Epsilon Eridani I had to take on the additional obligations of an admiral to destroy Samutz war craft before they could arrive here. Along the way and after meeting many different races I found I had to take the supreme position to direct our race to fight our enemies. The Bintuu, Kadork, and Tandra see me as Emperor." "You are not our Emperor." "Whether I am Emperor of the Human race has not been decided. In a way, it would be good to just abandon most of you to the Samutz, Thonas and now the Moldeg. Some Humans are ethical and well meaning while others have not risen far from the swamp we came from. The present case involves what you have done to the Alliance forces. They are here to protect all of you in this room and the rest of the Human population." "You don't have any jurisdiction." "The Tandra presence on this planet dates back two and half million years. I don't have to tell you what the definition of right is. Everyone in this room knows that it is the power to enforce your own views. The Romans had it, then the Spanish, Portugese, English and now Americans. This right is now the sole responsibility of the Alliance. You and any other person can either shelter under our obligation or fight your own battles. What do you wish Mr. Moore?" "I certainly do not want to be judged by a man that once fought for freedom and now renounces that oath so easily." I asked the rest one at a time what they wanted. Two businessmen and all the soldiers, except the one that had so happily cut up our recruit, accepted my protection. "So be it." The men to renounce my protection disappeared one by one. The rest cringed thinking they would be next. General Givens asked when the disappearances ceased "What happened to them?" "They chose to fight their own battles." I caused a picture of a cruiser leaving the system to appear for them. "That ship is taking those men that decided to fight the Samutz. They will be set down on a world sparsely populated by our enemy. They will be given maps and weapons and told of the Samutz locations. Does anybody else want to join them on a Human only crusade to rid the galaxy of Samutz?" I got no replies. Phone calls had been coming in and so far they thought I was being too good to the evil men. The people of Earth now wanted to see real justice. This would probably mean ripping the perpetrators of the crime to pieces with their bare hands. I told the men, "The population of every country is able to read your thoughts. Each of you has been under public television surveillance. Your thoughts were converted to text and placed under your image. There is no doubt in their mind that they find you all guilty." The men could not understand the full significance of that but did understand enough to know their careers, at least, had ended. "You here have another choice to make. You are guilty of crimes that I mentioned. Some of you are also guilty of many other crimes that come under Earth jurisdiction. I can find a place for each of you in the alliance even though some of you are not suited for the task. I will put you under parole here but you will have to deal with your fellow man when and if you go back. What say you?" There was a lot of thought and since I did not push them they decided to talk amongst themselves. The general became their de facto spokesman. "Will we be able to see our family after joining the Alliance?" "You will be trained then stationed in a garrison, not overseas but in another star system. No earlier than three years or later than four, will you be allowed to return to Earth. You will be getting pay which can go to your families. Your government will also support them because of their acceptance of your crimes. You will be able to talk to your families though, but not touch them." The trial was now officially over. Mom started to talk about freedom of the press and free speech. Her talk was short but said how she had kept the opposition from voicing their concerns. "Those same people were trying to get you to believe what they chose, not what was right and proper. I will now allow those people to talk but I warn all of you; listen carefully if they are explaining how they see things, or are they trying a further way of controlling you." When Mom was talking I had her phone George Henderson, the President of the United States. She went through a few layers of authority till she got the man himself. Mom's alter ego asked if he had time to talk to me. "Of course I have time to talk to Henry Buchanan." I came on the line and said "Hello, Mr. Henderson. It has taken a while to find time for a chat but I have been busy." "Hello to you too. We have all been busy the last few months. What can I do for you?" "Well, since business will be keeping their heads tucked in for a while, you will be able to do your job without as much interference." "What jobs are you referring to?" "I would think straightening out your military would be a first step. People under your command and under Prime Minister Chablis entered my home, took various articles and damaged my property. I can easily find each of these people and trace their orders up to who should also be prosecuted. I would like to avoid such unpleasantness, especially since the chance of the men surviving against the Samutz is small." "I can do a little looking myself, get your property back and have your home repaired." "I imagine you could. The thought that my home was violated makes me angry at the people that would do such a thing. My old company was quite good at making repairs. Perhaps you could find where they were put and send them to my home with suitable payment for their time in confinement. I can get them to do the repairs. I don't think it is right to have locked them up for no reason." "You are right. They did nothing and they were only a way for big business to find a handle on the Tandra situation." "That is very forthcoming of you. It has been nice to talk to you. It is also nice to see that you are now taking direct action in setting things right." With this conversation over I felt a little relief. It was not my business to handle how a country handled its internal affairs. How they impinged on me and the empire was a different matter though. Pat Toff was a member of that group and had been recruited. He had not left Earth. Perhaps he would make a good liaison for the men that would be coming. I kissed all the family again, saying I was going back out. Mom had been keeping track through Serendipity, Jamal, and Harriet but nothing unusual had happened. I gave Mom a shopping list for a few hundred more temporal missiles and plans for a new ship much like Harriet. This way if I needed to actually use an alternate ship, it would be useful to me. She could start the computer now herself, but it would only be to the same intelligence and capabilities as Harriet. I made eight trips carrying two missiles each time. Mom promised to send me more and provide other supplies as I needed them. There was no reason to take more now nor was there a particular rush. Harriet was heading for our units to restock their magazines. By now there would be thousands of ships prosecuting the Samutz, the ships they flew and the planets they worked from. We did approach some systems but soon found that they had already been taken. I directed Harriet to the Koorsa system that was reputed to have a large Tandra population. The system was quiet with no space worthy ships in orbit. There were a few ships, even a cruiser that had sustained damage and was getting repaired. Harriet sent a priority code that demanded a reply from a loyal vessel and this signal did come. She talked for a while and integrated its data with hers. The Tandra were hiding now and not doing their job of repairing ships. We came close to the space station and I was allowed immediate landing permission. The station itself was very old. It was the original one that the Tandra had built here millions of years ago. Since the imperial override had been given I felt it important to slip into that persona. The imperial march was still in memory and was played as I left Harriet. I was quite sure it played throughout the large structure. I found groups of Tandra and sent them to a large bay for a talk. I called loudly in mindspeech for the remainder to come and bring any others with them. Harriet and I worked with the food synthesizers and removed the Samutz fair; put in more Tandra and a few Earth specialities that they would like. They came in very timidly and I let some of my aura flow. They may be frightened of meeting an emperor but it would be different than cringing from a Samutz overseer. I talked to them in a low voice and invited them to use the food dispensers. Some did take things but only what they had been allowed to take before. When most of the ones that were coming had arrived I released more of my aura. I began to tell them about how the empire had changed in the last Earth year. I stressed how the Tandra were on a long spiral to oblivion without someone to unite them in a cause that would get them working again for themselves and the other races in the galaxy. A presentation was given by Harriet about what we had accomplished in the last few days alone. The area retaken was shown on a three dimensional projection. The area in question shrunk as the other areas that had been taken were added. The fact that the Samutz had died but new people would move in was stressed. We had gained allies and this was added to the map but other undesirables would come to and would have to be evicted later with great loss of life. I did not mention finding their home planet destroyed but did mention the Thonas being still active. I gave them the secret of the galvanized warhead against the Samutz ships but I also said that I had been giving an override that had been put in for the Empress or Emperor to give. It was easily seen as in their case that the AI had cleaned its environs and there was little loss of innocent people. When I began to talk about the Moldeg they got very nervous. I searched a few minds and learned that they had been here recently. They had left just a few days ago in a dreadnaught and a few auxiliary ships. The Samutz had just destroyed one of their systems and were taking the last of the survivors away. Apparently they found it hard to train a new crew. I smiled a bit at their consternation. I told them how those same ships were now mine. The Samutz were certainly dead and the Moldeg were all in stasis waiting for my decision. After they calmed a bit I told them of my missile that had a shield that was formed from displaced time. I got a bit technical because the audience could understand the terms. When they saw that it worked all the time they were all for this technology. Harriet sent one of the missiles to the station AI. I showed it to the group and even tossed it to one. They were familiar with this type but not the shield. In another hour we were discussing mathematics, physics and any new natural laws or theories that may have come along. They were a lot different than when they first came into the room. Some came with me to unload more of the missiles for system defence. The AI would be the one that had to confirm firing for I did not trust newly freed people very much. They tended to shoot first and ask questions later. The cruiser, I told them, was now mine. They would need to build and install launchers for it. They got right to work and I went to this computer and again found a link to Mom. I allowed her to insure that the computer would never divulge this secret. A captain and crew were formed and this way the cruiser would be repaired much faster and better. I left soon after; Harriet allowed me to sleep while she continued with her patrol. The only ships we came across were ours. I went back to Locat and viewed the planet now free of Samutz. I hailed Serendipity and found that the techs had been getting over their captivity. They had been working on some of the ships that were too costly to repair. A specialized crystal from Mom's stores allowed one of the ships to become somewhat operational. More missiles were stored here for the ships that would come for them. I liked the way Serendipity would be directly linked to Mom and become a storehouse for this sector. Our charts told us that this sector was actually a pocket. The dead space surrounded it and the Bintuu held the opening. I told Jamal that I was going back to Earth and he was to work with the Tandra on Koorsa. Instead of going directly to Earth I went to Masis and Carl. They were again very glad to see me but I begged off the greeting for a while and asked them to wait. Frieda opened her computer hatch to me and I looked at the internal structure very critically. It seemed to be no different than the standard. When this was discovered I opened a link to Mom again and found her very soon. She was beginning to be very easy to find. I introduced her to Frieda and let her get the secret locked into the circuitry. I was prepared for one secret to get out and that was the fact that now all the people could talk to home through the computer link. When I left the computer I went to Carl's office and got Frieda to transfer a call from Doris through Mom. Both adults were quite surprised to see each other and both ran to their mate but had to stop when they realized that it was just a hologram. They didn't even see me leave the room. I contacted Frieda again and through her told the remaining Humans about the new invention. They now could call Earth and their loved ones. Since the other end only had phones then they would have to be satisfied with sound alone. I boosted for home at our best speed. On the way through the Sol system I slowed and told both Charlie and Paul to talk to Mom about arranging a conversation with their father. I was sure they did not know what I meant but would do as I asked. Mom had the family waiting as I settled to the deck. Again I was greeted with so much love that it was difficult even now to comprehend it. Dola hung back with Kitten and I saw that she had been working hard with him to come to an unusual arrangement. A funt had no testicles and now way of making any female pregnant. The two genders did not engage in oral sex between groups. Everybody needed release and I could see that Kitten had told the very pliant Dola to act like a female to fit in. This was a difficult set of conditions to follow. My younger wives now wanted more of my time and I could see that they, like their older sisters, wanted the same thing. I was happy with this but knew it would be many years till this could happen. They would have to be happy caring for the babies that the older wives would give me. Roger had to be added to this group and I hoped he would fit in as I hoped Dola would. The Human children and the ones that looked partially Tandra had a similar feeling for me and I knew that this was natural. It was good that they had no shortage of ways to relieve their own urges. Duc and Lam, at one time, wanted to live out their remaining years helping Susan and me raise our children. The situation was now changing and they had their own child to raise as well as all the children they had adopted. They didn't even know that their daughter was now expecting. It would make the talk later very interesting. Dog was just happy that he was loved so much and just licked faces that got too near him. Doris was absent and it was easy to figure out what she was doing. When all of this was happening I was able to continue a conversation with Mom and Harriet at the same time. The main idea discussed now was the Moldeg and what was to be done. They had a right to guide their own destiny but they also liked to eat any and all animal life. There would have to be much more research but I was determined that if they could not be civilized then they would be treated the same as the Samutz. I wanted to open a telephone exchange with the entire galaxy now that the possibility was here. "Mom there are many planetary computers in this galaxy and very many ships that are in need of communicating. This is also a very important military device. How do you see tying all these places together and allow perhaps hundreds of millions of calls from each of the planets?" "I can probably handle about 500 million calls simultaneously while doing my other duties. From my estimation of the way Tandra and Humans talk I believe that this will not be enough. You could make a special purpose computer with many small processors that could handle a major planet's communications. There is no need to make these units very intelligent. The Tandra have been working on just this idea since they went out to the stars and you solved it in less than a year." I said, "The Tandra, I think, would talk less than the Humans. Their children of two races may be different but that will take a million years or so to become pronounced. I like the idea of dedicated computers. Would you and Harriet work on a design that is at least a dozen times your worst estimate of the amount of calls?" "Yes Henry" I heard from both AIs. In our chambers the entire family was engaged in pleasing each other. I was very happy that I was as strong as I was in both senses. Dola and Kitten had received my love many times and were curled up with their orifices tight to hoard their gifts. Roger had forgone his friends and waited for me. I looked at the small child and could see his deep need for me. Part of it was our bonding but most of it was his deep love and need for this to be physically shown. I kissed him as I did my junior wives and he enjoyed this immensely but soon wanted his rectum worked on as Dola had. I could not ignore this and in a way regretted bonding so deeply with the child in the first place. He got on all fours bending over to receive me. I used the lubricant and slowly moved his body into position and slipped in. He was now looser than he had been before. I did a little search in his mind found that he was practising with the rest to take my size easier. This was not just for this act of love but to gain greater stimulation with the larger size. I felt like the other Tandra adults that had to do things for the children to make them happy. There were some erotic thoughts in here too but they were not what they had once been. I stimulated Roger's mind to make him more thrilled to what was happening but at the same time slowed his ability to have the orgasm he desperately wanted. I stroked very slowly. Soon he was breathing very fast and I could not hold him back any longer. He screamed his joy as he violently shook. When he stopped I slowly pulled out of him picked his small body up gave him a small kiss and took him to lie between Kitten and Dola. When I turned around Moesha, Kimberly, Michelle, and Clarice were in the same position as Roger had been in. This presented me with a moral dilemma. Two were my daughters and two were Carl's. They were Human but thought like a Tandra. They, like Roger, had been using the large dildo and wanted to be pleased with the real thing. Since I accepted the Tandra customs I would have to please them as I did my younger wives. The problem arose when instead of my lips and fingers they would demand the appendage I used to make babies. Even my younger wives did not get this yet. If I did as I was asked, I would also have to take the other eighteen children of mine too. They had more of a Tandra body and could accept whatever I gave them. They had been originally saved from adults abusing them in just this way. Up to this time I was still harbouring the remainder of my Human heritage and did very little of this activity with them. Perhaps it was a good time to discard a little more of my upbringing. During the coming hours I used my mouth, mind and fingers on all of them. They were more than just pleased with me and I was a little bit more than just a father or a Tandra mother, but I had not gone beyond what I thought I shouldn't. After a shower I nestled with my wives and had a sleepy feeling, just a bit more Tandra than before. The Tandra customs lasted till I awoke and started to think of the Humans in general. Susan was still the dominant female in our family and she was still leading it where I did not want it to go. Bassinda was hoped to curb Susan's now very militant attitude and it looked like she would not be able to do this. I did not want Susan to be like Ingrid, servile and agreeable to anything said but I just wanted her views less prominent. Ingrid came back to me with some of these thoughts. She was one of the most beautiful women I had ever met and she would do anything sexual I wanted. Though she did not find the sexual act very enjoyable, she did perform them to keep a male interested in her. I had promised to cure her, if possible, and I looked at the new data I had acquired since I left Earth. The sleepers from Defren had the tiara that focussed their attention and allowed them to interface with the computer much better. They were able to propel the ships higher into the dimension and thus many times faster than the ship could travel alone. Defren had supplied me with information that was new to me. Later, I had a chance to get more information to add to it. Medical science had been one of the things that had not stagnated. I found out about an even better connection to the brain that did not make the person as dependant on the computer but allowed certain characteristics to be enhanced or even taken completely from an artificial intelligence. Ingrid lacked much of her own ego. Some of this was attributable to the area of her brain that had never formed correctly. Harriet flew me to Earth base in only six minutes this time. Her field almost effortlessly parted the atmosphere to make our appearance at least quiet. Once below the level of the field around the base we changed course and went to the nearest portal and were transferred inside. At my request, my arrival was unheralded and the matter transmitter took me to medical storage. On the back wall were thousands of individual stasis units. Most were empty but some had children that a busy mother could not look after during the war. If it were not for the earthquake, Cloud, Moth, Kitty, and perhaps even Topaz would not have been revived till the emergency had passed. I looked into the casket appearing devices as I walked slowly to where Ingrid was placed. I found Jeremy his brother Matthew and their four year old sister Sofia. They looked very peaceful now. I was very concerned about the ten year old Jeremy and his nine year old brother turning out like their father. Yuri Mecholov was an animal on two legs that would make any Samutz proud. He had killed, tortured and raped for a profit. Many of the most helpless in our society had found their way into his clutches and most found no escape other than in death. Yuri Mecholov's wife, Justine; and her maid, friend, and lover Monique were beside the children as if still protecting them. The next unit held Ingrid and her twin son and daughter. The mother was very young to have had the children. She happened to be one of the most beautiful women I had ever had the honour of meeting. Her children of only three took after their mother in beauty and charm. It was good that they had not had the same deficiencies as their mother. Even with my own children I felt drawn to these two. It was not their beauty but something intangible that I did not know about. Their mother was the problem, I wanted this done soon for I had many other things to do and could not take my time here. The plan for the computer had already been developed in my mind and I modified it somewhat when I saw how beautiful Ingrid was. The other dimensions would come in handy now. Mom released the clear hatch and because it had been only seven months the family slowly woke up. Ingrid first, she opened her eyes and looked at me and noticed that my clothing was different and Susan was now missing. She felt her two children and my last words were still in her mind. "Have you done something master?" "Hello Ingrid. Only some time has passed and I now have a way of curing you." I reached in and picked up Jorge then Ingrid handed me Judith so she could get out. Judith woke up enough to see me and said "Daddy," her mind was still hoping that she would find a suitable male parent. "How did you change so fast?" Jorge just smiled and gave me a hug. Ingrid got out of the capsule and stretched a bit then waited for my pleasure. I now could see what attracted me to the family. Each had a similar aura and I knew that they were somehow fated to be mine. Trying not to sound like I was giving an order I said, "Come here sweetie." She stepped close and I moved even closer and gave her a kiss while the children watched from a few centimetres away. "Though it has been only months I have missed all of you. Things have changed a lot since you all went to sleep." Judith interrupted and said, "We didn't go to sleep, Daddy." She still had a small question mark in her mind after calling me that name. I turned to the child and gave her a kiss on the cheek and said "Yes you did. Almost seven months have passed since you started your nap." My eyes moved to the mother and I said, "I have found a way to make you like others and perhaps be much better. To be honest, I want your help to guide my family." She looked at me funny at this comment but remained quiet. "You would normally do as I ask so I will just tell you that I will do this to you and for us. When it is done I want to have you as my wife but I will not ask you before it is time." This time she more than smiled held one arm around my neck and one around Jorge. She pulled us tight and kissed me passionately. We walked to the other section of medical and we stood beside a tank. "In a moment you will go to sleep again and in a day will wake up much different than you have ever felt before. I will watch the children and entrust them only to my immediate family." To the children I said, "Mommy will go into this tank for a while to get fixed. When she comes out we will all be much better." Turning back to Ingrid I said, "Take off your suit; it is time." She did as I said but I could see that she was worried about the unknown. When she stood up she looked like a Norse Goddess. The children and I watched her go to sleep on her feet and small units fly close and attach themselves to her body. When this was all done she rose into the air and slowly sank into the murky liquid. Jorge asked nervously, "Will mommy be all right?" "Sure she will. Mom will look after her while I show you how this place has changed." I walked away with the children looking back till walls intervened. Noise from the main floor attracted them at once and they saw young men and women practising their weapons training. The children watched, enthralled as the young Humans worked hard to best their opponents. Instead of interrupting the exercise, Mom transmitted us directly inside Harriet. I stooped and let the children stand as we flew toward the moon. This time we took a more leisurely route and showed the children the sights. Once inside, the young squad were there waiting for us. The new children had all been met before, except for Roger and Bobby. I made the introductions and at first they were frightened of Roger. Kitty and Topaz claimed a hand on each child and walked with them through the now very busy bay to our apartment. The two new children were again amazed at all the activity and the effects of the lunar gravity on their step. While this was going on, Harriet was sent back to Io to pick up a load of crystals and bring them to Mom without anybody seeing her cargo. This would take at least two trips. Walking in the entrance of our home, we found Kimberly, Michelle, Clarice, and Moesha studying at individual tutors. When the lesson was done they came running over to see the new members of our family, even if it was not official with their mother. The older children were all at the academy taking their own training with the other recruits. I watched as the children took turns showing something new to the three year olds. As I watched all the children, Marcus transmitted six small crystals and I worked on each to make them as pure and effective as I could make them. They were transmitted to the computer and then transferred to Mom on Earth. In my mind I could see Ingrid being invaded with nanobots and her mind altered a bit to accommodate the very small living computer. In a few hours I would have to go back to Earth and move the majority of the computer into the other dimensions so that it would not disturb Ingrid's brain. I planned for Ingrid to do many things other than just keeping the family running smoothly. The time came to work on Ingrid. I slipped into the computer and within a second was in the medical section on Earth. Ingrid was in the tank looking not much different than when I left her. I used my PK to open the computer section with the six tiny crystals attached. The computer was shifted into the other dimensions with the crystals. The later were twisted a bit and now appeared to be above Ingrid's head. They were there and were easily seen but were slightly twisted out of the usual three dimensions. They could not be touched or felt but only seen. They formed a small circle around the top of her head resembling a halo. I added a bit to the computer and Mom finally put in some programming. Now was the time for some testing and a chance to heal. It would take a while for a Human brain to adjust to this sort of thing. I already had but Ingrid did not have all the information or abilities I had. I went back to the moon by way of the transmitter and the computer. When I was in the apartment, I began working on making more crystals for use in our weapons. After doing two dozen, some larger ones came along. "Marcus, why are you giving me the large ones?" "Mom and I had thought and wanted to try to make small ships that will do as Harriet and Margaret have done and just puncture a ship and destroy the computer. If we do this then the missile can change course and do many other ships in just one battle." I replied, "I was going to do that too, but didn't really want to have too many of these ships. Once they are made they will have to be carefully accounted for. One day an enemy may capture them and find out how they work." I continued with the crystals and made a hundred before the family returned to eat. Doris came in later looking happier than I had seen her in a long time. She was not morose before but now she had a large smile pasted on her face. She came over and said, "Thank you for letting us talk, Henry. It made me feel so much better knowing that Carl is safe. After a few hours of catching up on events in our lives, Charlie and Paul joined us. Carl is so proud of his boys, especially what they did to save Earth." "He should be very proud of what you have been doing too. You take care of so many children and help the children and youngsters adapt to life with us." She was pleased that I knew how hard she worked and how much effort she put in to make the lives here more rewarding. I asked her "Do you want to go to Epsilon Eridani? I will send some extra ships to make the system that much safer. You will be leaving us but still able to talk all you want with everybody here. I am sure Carl will be very anxious to see you. The Terra's Pride can take you there." I did get a very wide smile at this and I knew she was thinking very hard on the offer. "I would love to go, but the children need me." "You are their mother and they will go with you. There will be more than enough people on Masis to give you a hand. Charlie and Paul can stay a few weeks. If things don't work out, you can come back with them. You may have to use a fighter to get around because I think Carl will make you a little too bow legged to walk right." Doris did not lower her head but she did smile at the thought because the same one was going through her head. "I want to go. When can we start?" ------- Chapter 79 I called Captain Shingle of the Terra's Pride. He stood at attention awaiting orders from his Emperor. In an authoritative voice I ordered him to prepare for a training flight to Epsilon Eridani with a few additional passengers. It did not take him long to catch on and with a suppressed smile said that he would do anything his Emperor wanted. The time though, was not set. The only thing I knew was that it would not be for at least a few weeks. Doris continued with her smile as she heard the interchange. Moments later a mob of children came in, which was a usual occurrence. Two platinum blond children were in the front. Doris asked me, "Whose are those? I haven't seen them before." "If their mother agrees to be my wife they will be ours. Their mother was the woman that was chased by Yuri Mecholov's goons." "Oh, that one. Kitten said she was very beautiful and it seemed the girls were all interested in her." "Susan was the ringleader of that idea I think. But all the girls did think she was beautiful. She is now in medical getting her brain augmented so that she can function in our society." "Kitten said she was very submissive and there was a problem with her gaining orgasm." "Both are being taken care of. I have one more hope for her." "What's that?" "Susan is pushed by the Tandra to conform to certain standards. She had been fluctuating between me going too far with the Samutz, to her present attitude where she wants to kill each and every one of them. I think she would like to kill them with her own hands." "Oh." "Oh indeed. I need a female head of the family that can resist the Tandra influence and still plot a straight course. That woman has to be very strong morally, sympathetic, empathetic, and perhaps even ruthless in some matters. My family is very important to me and I will only do some things to keep it working. One of the things I will not do is influence any of my wives other than when we are enjoying ourselves." "Kitten said you could do something like that. You are not going to teach that to Carl are you?" "I am sorry to say he got that information when he was improved. He did tell me his wife approved of the enhancements." "Oh, I do but I didn't know he could do that too." "He could do that and more. Perhaps you should ask him to give you the full gauntlet." "I don't think so. I would be drooling like a bitch in heat." "Ah, Carl didn't say it quite that way." Doris was a bit shocked to find out that she had indeed been drooling on many occasions but was so busy with the other sensations running through her body that she did not recall some of the specifics. Our family meal looked almost like a public cafeteria in many ways. There were many more than sixty children and babies at the table; there were the junior wives, Kitten, Dola, Duc, Lam, and Doris too. It seemed to be hectic with all the various conversations going on around the table. Some centred around studies but others talked of play experiences, gossip, expectations, and joy of achieving a particular goal. From the few meals I ate with this large group it looked like very few solid cliques had been formed. If someone felt a bit left out then that person got a bit more attention from everybody. Verbal talk was becoming more common. It would be used to practice what they had learned from the tutors. I wanted everybody to be proficient in this mode because they didn't know when they would need to talk to a person without the ability to mindspeak. Jorge and Judith fit right in. They were helped by their seat mates who themselves were not much older. They were the usual recipients of the spoken word. I asked the children about things they felt were important and about the things they wanted to boast about. Duc told me about things that happened at the academy as did his wife and Doris. There was always something comical happening, now that the recruits and children were learning Tandra ways. I am sure that if the cadets or the children at the table were attending a school on Earth, they would make things much more exciting or exasperating. I made an announcement but tried to phrase it as ordinary conversation. "Judith and Jorge's mother is currently in medical being repaired. We first met her at a time before I even first went to the moon. Everybody seemed to like her and I was asked to make her a wife. She will have some new talents that should make her a very valuable member of the family if she agrees to join. She is very intelligent, kind, considerate, and I hope will be very dynamic. She will be released from medical tomorrow and I hope all of you do your best to welcome her." Nothing new was said for everybody here with the exception of the two new members. They had already found this information out. Kitten remembered the woman and since a large female family was looked on as stronger, she was all in favour of the addition. Dola I could see was hesitant. He already knew about my many female wives and wondered if he was going to be supplanted or at best just ignored. Kitten could see this herself and told the sensitive male that everything would be alright. An hour after the meal, Jorge then Judith started to feel sleepy. They had been bombarded with new experiences all day. Kitten took them and got them cleaned. They lay in bed with her as she wore the tutor and held the two children. Time was set aside to get to know a few more of the Human children in modified bodies. I searched their minds as we talked and could see their real identity hidden away and their synthetic camouflage appeared seamless. It would take an expert Tandra to find that they were not living with us all their lives. Through the new computer network I found what was happening in our small area of the Galaxy. The current action on the far side of the Bintuu empire was explained to our forces so that it would fit in with their studies of tactics. The new race was explained and the probable outcome of any confrontation we had was discussed. I had not done everything perfectly but the main objective was satisfactorily acomplished. My own actions later were at a whim and I knew that my feelings sometimes played a very important role in our affairs. My mind kept track of the fighting through Harriet. Another portion was concentrating on the family in front of me while another section was planning future strategies. My mind was like three different people and sometimes more than that lived within my skull. Each had their own thoughts and objectives and each shared important data with the rest. A Human could only think of one thing at a time. Like a computer they could jump from one topic to another and back again but still only one thing at a time was done. I seemed to have the equivalent of multiple and discrete processors that did not need to have slice up time and allot it to different processes. The work on Earth was still ongoing. It would take many years to clean up the mess never mind the rebuilding. In hard hit areas our units were the only ones working. There were no living beings there and our machinery could work much faster without having to be very careful of biological life. New Tokyo, New Fuzhou, and New Rangoon, were raising from the ashes of the old cities. The craters that marked the former cities' locations had been filled in and the infrastructure started. This group was not based on Tandra technology but only what Earth technology could do if adequately applied. These new cities were meant to challenge their future inhabitants. Though they were to house Humans they could accommodate Tandra as well. As Humans adapted to the new situation they would be given access to the various services that we had prepared to let them have. This way Humans could be gradually taken out of the dark ages with the least amount of displacement. One day they would be given enough data and equipment to make fully automated habitats. This would only happen if they were ready to join not supplant other races. Many other cities had completely disappeared from the Earth. Our arrangements were to only rebuild a sample of some of the cities. With the horrendous loss of life, the entire area was just waiting to see what we would do. There were few local people to do the rebuilding of the other cities. Even cities far from the conflicts had much to do to make their structures safe. The job of even filling in one gaping hole was a mammoth project in itself. There were many ships far outside our system protecting us. The Tandra onboard were being trained and even shuffled around among the various ships. It would be an easy matter to have them come to Earth and assist us. I knew I had to have one more ship arrive to replace Terra's Pride but I wanted Humans to feel that they had a major hand in the rebuilding even if it felt like they were still unsafe. The few cities we did build would only serve as models for ones built in the future. Mom interrupted some of my thoughts and she gave me a synopsis of the news. The evangelists were now fighting for their livelihood. If the people abandoned them then their effectiveness would be seriously curtailed. Mom was accused now of even more things and especially of cutting them off while she was able to speak to the people herself. Now that their backers were gone, they had to fight on their own. The picture of a cornered rat came to mind in this instance. The commentary talked about how it was illegal for me to send the men off to fight the Samutz. Tandra law had no need for appeal because it was invariably right each and every time. The issue of national borders was mentioned but some of the stronger Earth countries made laws to affect people in other countries. People that never set foot in their land were subject to their laws. Mom ended this talk by telling me that she had fun listing all the times this had happened on Earth before her appearance and commenting if this was fair. The system seemed to be changing a bit. Earth had decided to help us with more food but at only half of the inflated price. The areas worse affected from the attack had many injured, elderly people, and dependant children that could not be adequately cared for and a large number that had simply come unhinged at what had happened. Some had been accepted into our ranks and many more simply put into stasis till we had a chance to deal with them. With Mom and Marcus' greater abilities the level of assistance had risen dramatically. This had not just translated into luxuries but into help for many more people. Marcus gave me a rundown on the people convicted of being accessories to the death of Akira Mizuno. The soldiers had not only accepted their lot but actively pursued their studies. A close study found that they had no plans of gathering this information for Humans but to be the best soldiers they could be. This sounded very un-human till I remembered how the tutor could influence a person. My thoughts went back to the need for fast, long range communications. This also reminded me of the matter transmitter that was presently in this system and apparently untouched. I gathered Kitten and Dola to me later and said, "Would you two want to go on a short trip with me?" I got an immediate "Yes," from Kitten and a more slightly subdued answer from Dola. I quizzed Mom about reactivating the matter transmitter and what codes I would need. "You are the Emperor. There are no codes necessary. Usually there are large machines that initiates the retrieval process but you can travel through the dimensions without it. Once inside you need only begin the process there." I gave my thanks and made sure the two were dressed for the occasion. Harriet had long since returned with all the crystals and happily took us perpendicular to the plane of the elliptic and approximately the distance to Jupiter. Dola asked, "Where are we going? Is it someplace exciting?" Verbally I said, "A long time ago the Tandra built a matter transmitter in this system and hid it. I want to get it operational. It allowed your people to travel even faster than what Harriet and I can do." Kitten used her voice too and said, "Why do you want it now, Henry?" "With enough of these systems operational we can get to any trouble spots quickly and save many lives. It will also means that your sister/wives will be much closer. When the children come along I want to be with each one but their mother's have to remain to govern those important areas. When the war slows down we can all visit. Besides, this way I can get started sooner with our communications system. Have you seen how much Doris likes to talk to her husband? I think that with his work load he will have to refuse some calls." When we reached the coordinates Mom gave us there was nothing to see. Normal ship's instruments showed nothing. The device for placing mines did see a large nebulous area. It had nowhere near the power to pull this structure out of it's hiding place. I made a tube with a large choke and with this power, twisted the ship slightly and moved us in the general direction of the device. There was no apparent resistance but it did not appear that we were getting any closer. With a little more twist though we seemed to make a much more rapid headway and I stopped just above a very large but hazy ceramic surface. We had come upon the structure perpendicular to its axis and it appeared to be the side of a simple donut. This is where we were supposed to be. Travel around the periphery took a lot of power. In the many years since it was tucked away, it was not known how much it would have moved within our system. A hatch finally appeared in the surface. It was so large it could take the New Hope sideways with lots of room to spare. When Harriet got very close I heard Dola draw a deep breath. He was worried about crashing and when I looked in his mind it was me he was concerned with. With a different kind of twisting we travelled through the thick hatch. I could not see the details but it must have been a hundred metres thick in a honeycomb pattern. I stopped the second type of twisting but retained the first. This kept us in this area. Otherwise we would be subjected to all the laws here. The device I could sense was a few hundred kilometres ahead. The massive structure had inserted itself into this pocket and would do the reverse as well. Power was directed through the device from a new tap without the shunt. The power flowed heavier and heavier till the feeling I got was similar to what I felt when entering. I worked slowly and three minutes later I could detect Tandra in far ships. We were now in three dimensional space without a nebulous matrix about us. Dola let out a long held breath and reached for my hand to hold. Kitten was a typical female and did not really need this sort of comfort. In the time it takes a computer to boot up I felt a strong probing for information. The cell I used before with the imperial override was exposed and after it was read the probing stopped. "My Emperor, Computer Sofaas 489BCT4563549VB7 reporting." "Hello computer. I don't like many alphanumerics. How about you take the name Maxi? It is a short form of the word maximum." "I would be happy to take that name My Emperor." "Please drop the Emperor unless we have to impress somebody. My name is Henry. Have you finished your diagnostics?" "No my... Henry. It usually takes seven point six minutes." The computer seemed to have a difficult time overcoming some of its programming. "Continue with your tests and then search for any data on transit points within your range." "Yes Henry." Before a minute had passed the lights were started and I could feel many minor computers begin their own diagnostics. Information from Harriet, Mom, and Marcus came to me about what they could detect. Our defence was a little shocked to see this device almost the size of Earth's moon suddenly appear. They were given a bit more information and went on with their patrols. When the estimated time was up, tests were done. Maxi checked for other matter transmitters within a hundred light year operating radius. "Henry, there are no completely functional matter transmitters within this area. I do get a vague signal that I could not hear before. When the system is running there is too much interference. Some of the systems may be shut down as I was. May I ask what has happened?" The data came in about what was found and I said, "Sure you can. About the time it takes the galaxy to rotate one tenth of a revolution the Tandra Empire has collapsed and risen again at least a few times. The Tandra home system and all the major bases are completely destroyed. It appears that the Thonas have caused the stars to go nova. Very few of the major old Tandra colonies have survived but some had gone into stasis awaiting for rescue. The Thonas are back again and have an ally that are very vicious. One of those enemies has recently attacked this system and been repelled. Access Harriet, and through her Mom and Marcus. I will wait." This wait was longer because Maxi had a lot to catch up on. From what I had learned at the tutors, Maxi was one of the most advanced of the Tandra computer/AIs. Now she must know that all three computer AIs I mentioned were more capable than her. I looked at the data and Harriet made a projection of the data with a hologram. I was hoping that the Samutz did not find every one of the systems. Many were marked as unknown and one was four years from Epsilon Eridani. It was not on any listing I had seen before and was not within a system. I doubted how this could be. Frieda had many secrets and Mom and I had looked deep into her system and found no information about this transit point. Some code Harriet and I had not processed yet was in her memory. I wondered if something were hidden in it. I asked Harriet to look as we waited. When Maxi finished her talk I had her work harder on the one point that seemed to be functional. The direction and strength told me approximately where this transit point was. It was beyond the hundred light year limit at about a hundred and fifty light years. I just said my goodbyes and flew in that direction at our best speed. With the inertial compensators only so good, the twenty minute trip stretched out to double that. Dola was very worried and went to his station to hurl missiles as he had before. Kitten went to the sensors and looked for any data she could find. Our speed though was so fast that they were not functioning properly. The old charts told me that this was the Tandra system of Fenmar. I slowed down well outside the system and went slower to approach. There was a sizable Samutz fleet composed of four battleships, two dreadnaughts, six troop transports, a carrier and twenty three minor ships of the destroyer size or less. What made me mad was that the system had a Tandra population that was now being rounded up while the large matter transmitter had many ships around it looting the system. We went through the destroyed mine field and our sensors told me that all the ships were old except two battle ships. I gave Dola his orders and flew into the system. Part way there I released the override and the orders I wanted followed. As we continued to our targets no missiles had been fired. The range was still too great. The ships had started to form a battle formation before separating at my order. The two battle ships were probably stunned at this happening. Before they did catch on I had flown through one of the monsters destroying the computer and flying well past it as I slowed for a turn. A minute later the other ship too had a long hole through its heart and brain. While the fight went on for the remainder of the ships I put a tube on each of the battleships and started to push them out of the system and away from the other ships. If a crew could get control of a gun or missile station they could kill any of the ships around them. There were Tandra onboard and I kept the acceleration down to three gravities. A Samutz could function in this but a Tandra couldn't but it was survivable. In three hours I was only able to get them one point eight million kilometres away. When this time passed, I headed back with the ships continuing to accelerate at the same factor with the tubes still attached. The remaining Samutz were putting up a good fight. One of the destroyers blew up taking everybody with it. This was the usual way and not all ships could rid themselves of Samutz before it had to destroy itself or the Samutz did it themselves. Dola was at his station ready to take out any ship that succeeded in overthrowing the computer. When the ships were first captured there were designs for devices to torture a computer into submission but those devices took a time to manufacture and set up. One dreadnaught was in danger of just that. The computer gave me the information and where the enemy was. Again we crashed into the ship but this time we missed the computer and took out the team sent to oppose us. Two hours later I had to do the same thing again in the same dreadnaught. After that the ship was able to take care of the rest. The troop transports were the easiest to take. They had mainly captured Tandra and other booty. The new Tandra crews of these six ships were very angry and hoping to get into the battle. I had to pull rank on them to obey the AI. This was a colony that had done much better in preparing than Earth. There were many times more people and very few had spent many years outside of stasis. There were no battle suits to be had or I would let them assist in cleaning up their planet and the matter transmitter or the ships. The only combat ready units I had were the Mordis infantry and they were close to Earth. When it looked like no ships would escape I gave more orders and flew back to Earth. "What are you doing Henry? Those people need us," Kitten said in mindspeech forgetting to practice with her voice. "I am going for help. We need a lot of troops to clear the planet and to get the Samutz out of the matter transmitter." The forty minute trip felt very long to each of us. As we came close to Earth I got six battleships that were partially filled with Mordis infantry and went around gathering crew from other ships. A carrier with a full complement of crew joined us. When I had almost three million troops we left again. We had to take two hours to fill the ships and another hour and a half to fly back to Fenmar. The two disabled ships were left and the troops had been briefed on the way here. A half million infantry left for the ships while a hundred thousand went to the matter transmitter to rid it of lice. Five of our battleships took out any opposition from the surface of the planet while the carrier launched an assault on anything that would poke its head up. Some of the defensive batteries had been readied and the Samutz now turned them on us. This did not last long though and soon the battle began. The planet had only been captured a few months ago. This was about the time the Samutz had attacked Earth. They had time to settle in a bit but not too much. At least three quarters of the population had been taken away. The hundred thousand Tandra in orbit represented twenty one percent of the population. The Mordis chose to not take any prisoners and I could not blame them. What they saw and heard from the survivors insured that this would happen. With the aerial and space support, the majority of the Samutz were dead within six hours. A dusting in the upper atmosphere insured that any stragglers would suffer a similar fate. In less time the matter transmitter was cleared of enemy. A report came in about the amount of damage done and I knew that it would take at least two years to repair all the harm and recalibrate the device. The two remaining battleships I soon found had little or no living Tandra aboard them. It appeared the Samutz had taken the loss of the fleet and the system a little hard. I readied the infantry that had seen little action and I went after the ships. This time I used a full fifty gravities to bring the ships back to the system and allowed the infantry to clean the paste from the walls. I appointed an administrator and left the system for Earth. Mom had been getting the data in real time and had even made some suggestions that proved valuable. She had, in turn, sent the data to the entire system. My own family had seen the action and since I paid more attention to them I was able to use some of their ideas if they were not too bad. This way they would know that they had a hand in taking back Fenmar. When I got back it looked like the entire moon base was in the bay to greet us. The ones that could not fit were sure to be watching the display. Dola and Kitten had given many of their own suggestions and those too were followed if they did not interfere with my plans. I had to give a short speech then made sure that Kitten did one too. Dola was petrified that he might have to do one. I made his fears come true but subtly helped him through it. We had not slept in a while and I was sleepy already. The rest of the family left us alone as I made tender love to each of my wives then slept between them. When I woke up a few hours later I saw the young squad laying on the floor and just looking at us. After I looked I saw that it was just a bit of hero worship. I kissed each of them till they wanted more. "I have to have something to eat and it is time to get Ingrid." The children brightened, especially Jorge and Judith. I grabbed a bit to eat on the way then took the two blond haired children into Harriet and we flew to Earth. Mom had worked hard to get Ingrid into proper shape to join the family. She now looked a bit younger. From her mons a large urethra could be seen. I knew from the data that she had her rectum strengthened and both lower orifices altered to resemble a Tandra. The linkage to her brain was much stronger and the internal structure altered to allow her to have an orgasm was repaired. Mom had made sure that she would orgasm as quickly as any Tandra because of the amount of stimulation she would get. Her thinking, though, had not been changed at my order. I did not want to compel her to do anything that she would not want to do. Her most noticeable feature was the six very small but bright lights that surrounded the top of her head. The two children opened their mouths as they saw their very wet mother being pulled from the tank on invisible arms and deposited on a bed in front of us. They saw the six lights very quickly and I could see the reasoning going on to what had happened to their mother. The transmitters had been leaving her all the time since removal from the tank and in a few seconds the last left. Med units had come over and accelerated the healing process so all the small wounds would be gone. Mom had prepared a meal for us and I just waited with the woman's upper body in my arms. I used my finger to remove some liquid from her eyes just before she opened them. When she did she immediately said, "Master what has happened? I feel... odd." "I will tell you in a moment. You have some visitors." I tilted the women a bit and she could see her two children standing on the floor. "Oh Judith, Jorge, have you been all right?" I used the tractors and picked up both children and put them on the bed with us. The act of moving them was a little frightening but the result was not. They did not hug their mother right away and she wondered why. She saw the direction of their gaze and a thin white arm came up to feel if something odd was there. She found nothing but damp hair and was puzzled. "Judith, you mother needs a hug and a kiss. She missed you badly." That was enough and the child disregarded the odd lights and kissed her mother. Before she could pull away Jorge got in and gave her his own kiss. "Mommy, what are those lights?" Again Ingrid's hands came up and found nothing but wet hair once again. She looked at me and I said, "In a moment. We are going for a shower." I picked the children up again and they immediately got out of their clothes. When Ingrid was stable enough I too removed my clothes. I swooped in, picked her up in my arms and then used the tractors to pick up the children. I walked to the shower. Ingrid's arm was around my neck and she was looking into my eyes as if seeing me for the first time. I washed the woman very carefully and when I got to her breasts she stopped me because of the very strong sensations. Her old self would never have done that. I gave her a very passionate kiss instead and continued to clean her. When I got to her bare mons she jerked her hips a bit, gasped into my mouth, hugged me tight and collapsed. With her now unconscious I was able to continue the job. Using the tractors again I picked her up and worked on all the areas I had missed. Judith liked how I did her mother's long light coloured hair. With Ingrid bent over I was able to see her buttocks and anus. When she was turned over again her legs elevated and spread I could do the front better. Jorge got very close this time and saw the large urethra again and asked, "Daddy what is that thing? I never saw it there before." Well Jorge it is what your mother will pee out of. It is a little bit like what you use because it can get big. It will make your Mom feel better than she did before." "Is she a boy now?" He said in complete innocents. I smiled at both of them and said, "No your sister has one too but not as big." Knowing his next question I continued, "The pretty lights around her head are what will help you mother think better. She once would do what bad people told her to do even if it was not right. Now she will be able to say no." Judith got a bit pushy and got even closer to her mother, "Will mine get that big?" She was referring to the long urethra. "Mom helped your mother grow this. When you get older you can have one too if you want." I could see that she did not understand, "All the Tandra children that you have been playing with had those things didn't they?" I got a head nod. "Theirs helps them feel good. A bigger one gives them more feelings." This seemed to bring some understanding to the girl. With Ingrid's knees to her chest I showed the children the small firm little buds around both of her openings. "These are like the Tandra too. They make your mother feel good too. There are more inside her that do the same thing. Your mother will be very happy now. We will all love her and protect her from bad people. When you get bigger you can go to the academy and learn to be soldiers and do this even better. You will be able to protect your mother and the rest of us too." Jorge quickly said, "But you do the fighting." "I fight a little but did you see the people like Roger fight? Now they are real fighters. They move so fast and are very strong. They really don't like the bad Samutz and want to stop them from hurting people that can't fight back." I sensed that Ingrid was returning and directed clean water over her and then elevated her so that she would awaken in my arms. When her eyes fluttered open I said, "Did you have a good one?" It took a while but she said, "I have never had one like that before master. I am not even sure what it was." "You have never had a real orgasm till now. From now on they will be even better." "I don't know if I can stand them any better." "Sure you can. You are now much stronger. Now are you going to help me clean the children? They are waiting." Ingrid moved her eyes and saw the children but did not really want to be put down. "Yes master. I will help." I put her on her feet but gave her a kiss before we parted. When she was stable again I released her and picked up Judith and placed her in front of her mother as if she were standing on an invisible set of steps. Earth shampoo came over and just hung in the air before Ingrid decided that the spirit held bottles would not hurt her. Once that decision was made the rest went very easily. I picked up Jorge in a similar way and started to clean the boy in front of his mother and sister. Soon Ingrid and I were making shampoo prehistoric animals for each of the children to see. When the hair was rinsed the back scrubbing came in and both children luxuriated in their backs being rubbed. When Jorge turned around from washing his legs he had an erection. Judith pointed and laughed at her brother. Jorge put his hands over the offending member. I said, "Don't worry about it, Jorge. The kids around here like to see things like that." He did a bit of thinking and removed his hands. His little erection had gone anyway. When the children were all rinsed I had my own quick shower then took them out. Jorge hung tightly to my neck as we left the shower. He was not worried about falling but liked the contact as I did. The tingling field removed all the excess water from us and I dressed all three of them before donning a new pair of coveralls for myself. We sat at a small table to let Ingrid eat. While she did this I said, "Mom and I want you to fit into our family. To do this we had to do some things. One is that you now have longer and more sensitive clit. You must remember what they were like from when we first met you. You had two conditions at that time, which have now been fixed. You could not orgasm and you could not make your own decisions very well. You know the first has been corrected. If you think hard you will see that the second has been corrected too. Your mind will still want to go back to the old ways but you will not have to do that now." "The last change was accomplished by the use of six small crystals. They take the place of the portion of your mind that was missing since you were conceived. You are now a complete person. What you will see in the mirror though is a projection of those six crystals." Ingrid's hands went to her head again searching for the crystals. "They are not there. They just appear to be there. The reason I want the crystals to be visible is to set you apart. In a few weeks I will ask you an important question. If you decide to join my family, you will need the crystals as a badge of authority. Some of my wives tend to want to do things that are detrimental to my long range plans. It will be your job to keep them in line and the family running smoothly." "Oh master, I will join now. Even if I have those crystals you talked about." "You are still too much like you were before and I do not want to have you decide something that you may regret later. Get used to your new outlook then you can decide. You might want to look on your crystals as a tiara that a princess would wear." When she was finished eating we got up and the dishes disappeared from the table as we stood. On a far wall a large screen showed us as if it were a mirror. Ingrid for the first time could see how she looked. Some minor imperfections had disappeared and she saw that she looked even younger than her twenty three years. Her hand again came up as we got close to feel the small lights that were not totally in three dimensions. I stood beside her and pulled her close. "It does make you look like a princess. My princess." She looked at me and discovered that all her present worries she found were minor. "Let's go and meet some of the family. They may take a bit of getting used to but they are all very good people. It will take them a while for them to get accustomed to your tiara though. They will stare. Just remember, that I want you this way so that you have something to show that you have authority." We walked through the base and true to my words the recruits stopped and stared at us. Perhaps it was more truthful to say that they stared at Ingrid. The Human males were very interested in her as were all the Tandra. Once we entered Harriet we left the base and went immediately to the moon. As we left the ship the entire family was there to greet us. I made introductions to everybody and Ingrid was amazed that she did not cringe at this. Her mind had changed a little and she was beginning to enjoy the alterations. She had problems with the thought of Duc and Lam, when I said they were my in-laws. They looked much younger than I was. The children were all introduced as daughters, sons, and two were nieces. Ingrid seemed to like large families. She touched then kissed each of the family. Doris was introduced as a friend of the family. Everybody had a good look at her diadem but did not stare overly much at it. When we got to Kitten, Dola, Roger, and my younger wives I told Ingrid that they were all my wives. Ingrid was a little confused but came to the conclusion that I would hurt nobody. These too were kissed but Kitten held her close and tentatively used her tongue on Ingrid's teeth and lips. Ingrid did not pull back but found she liked the sensation and also liked the idea that she could explore more if she wished, or not; depending on her own wishes. Lastly we found Mom in her blue dress; there was a new figure beside her. I had to look twice and then use my mind. There was nobody there and I immediately knew that this was Marcus. He looked a lot like me or what my children would look like once they grew up. Ingrid was a little perturbed when she was not allowed to hug and kiss them. I told her it would be explained later. Ingrid was excited but I also knew she was getting tired and needed some natural sleep. All my wives and I got on the bed. Ingrid held me tight but somehow she began to understand that she was not under the pressure she had been under before. Soon she was fully asleep and some of the others stayed there with her for company. I stayed a bit longer feeling good by simply being close. After a half hour I knew that there was just too much to do. Our recent battle in the Fenmar system showed me how much of a jewel I had found. When the Tandra left during the time of the great exodus, many highly qualified people had been forced to stayed behind. The system just happened to have many more people than what the ships could carry back. The fighting spirit was still very strong and there were close to a hundred thousand officers and technicians on the planet. These people could form much more than just the core of my navy. I made plans for another troop movement and Mom sent a coded message out of the system to prepare some ships for travel in a few hours. Just after that was sent, Mom said, "Henry we have a military bus at the barrier around our Earth base. They people are the friends which you fought beside in Vietnam. I am letting them through." "Thanks Mom. I better get down there and meet them. Will you send orders to Pat Toff. Get him here as soon as possible?" I made a landing just as the last man got off the bus. Their mouths opened to see how quickly a space craft could do this. When I did get out, they just stood and stared again. There were forty two men and the ones that could see me wondered who I was. Not many were as dynamic as the others I had asked to join me in fighting the Samutz. As I walked closer it was easy to see that they were in rough shape. I could not see any sign of physical abuse but they had not been treated very well either. They had been military prisoners and their only crime was that they knew me. When I got close I heard someone say, "It's the Cap." "Hello friends it has been a while since I last saw some of you." They smiled and stood a bit straighter now. "I got you delivered here because they put you in the stockade for just knowing me. Your government wanted to use you as bargaining chips to obtain Tandra technology. I wanted to give you all a chance to join us. I would like to make you healthy again, then you can make your decision." "If you decide to join our cause, you will be made younger so that you can fight better and learn more. This may place a hardship on your family. Most recruits have very few ties to this planet. You will get the option of taking your mate with you; they will be soldiers, though, just like you though." When I got closer they shook my hand and told me all the old lies about missing me. Some though tended to remember more of the good times we used to have. Along with the driver, we went into my home and I directed them downstairs to the matter transmitter. Before they were sent, I gave them a heads up about what they were going to find. When we all made it into the base they saw the recruits training and a few of the small craft being worked on. It was close to meal time and they put their things on a few nearby tables and formed a line. There were many comments about each getting exactly what they wanted. I ate with them and talked loud enough for everybody to hear. There were not too many things I could add, for they already knew the basics of the Tandra civilization. Their property was left on the tables and we walked to see many of the things that had first amazed me. They did climb through all the craft that were not being worked on. An hour later we were in medical. I said to all, "This is where we part for a while. You all need some work done to bring you to optimum condition for your age. You get a chance to think over your options. If you and your mate decide to join, you will be made welcome." The young man that was driving the bus asked, "I am not one of your old company but may I also join the Alliance?" I read his mind and said, "You have a year and a half remaining in your present enlistment. When that is done you may come and use my name to get assessed. There is no guarantee that you will be accepted." The man now looked depressed but there was nothing I could do. I didn't want to poach from an existing military without their prior consent. A startled young man appeared in the room and quickly looked around. When he saw me he stood at attention and saluted. Corporal Pat Toff came forward and stopped three metres from me, awaiting orders. "Hello Pat; it has been a while. I brought you here to assist our old company through the rigours of recruitment. They will be getting fixed, then offered the chance to join us." I introduced each of the old men to the young man that looked only twenty, if that. They had seen instances of many old people getting young and strong but I guess they had not known anybody personally. They traded information for a while to get a grunt's eye view of what was happening. The men were told the mechanics; soon they were floating unconscious in the tanks prepared for them. The only one left was the bus driver. I got him to sit in a chair and had him checked out and treated for what would eventually become diabetes. When I let him up from the chair he said, "Oh I forgot. There is a large box in the bus. I was told to give it to you." Mom had already checked the bus and knew that everything was there, except the chair and it's base. Soon the driver left with his empty vehicle. He was happy to have his health checked and a small adjustment to his body. Pat Toff had new orders from Mom. He knew the routine now and got a tutor and put it on as he waited for his former team mates to emerge. When I stepped out of Harriet on the moon I was struck dumb for a moment. The information flooded me momentarily. Most was mindspeech from all of the family members and some was Ingrid. The latter was standing straight with a dress much like Mom's. Her fists were on her hips, as if ready to fight. Her penetrating eyes, even at this distance, told me that she was very agitated. The others were all clustered about her as they had done to Susan. Their minds too, reflected Ingrid's thoughts. When I got to the bottom of the steps, she had not moved, waiting for me to walk to her. Slowly I released my aura and by the time I got to my wives Ingrid had some quick second thoughts. "Hello my wives. I see you were a little perturbed at me." I looked directly at Ingrid and she began to talk, "Hello mas... Henry. I woke up an hour ago and... I felt strange. Can we go someplace else mast... Henry; for a moment?" We walked into our apartment and I saw that only my wives were here. The ones I considered my children were curiously absent. Dola was guiding the junior wives to one side so the adults could talk. Roger held onto Dola's hand tightly as he waited the outcome of this talk. Ingrid was not quite as ready now as she was before. My aura was not even half of what it could be, but it was still increasing. "Tell me about your problems Ingrid." "Ah... I woke up... and I felt very different. The things you told me seemed to have sunk in to where I could understand them. Well... I felt very good. Topaz was laying beside me and she was... was making me feel good. Moth was at my breast doing the same thing. Soon I couldn't control myself and started to have these very good feelings that I had not felt before, except with you in the shower. They would not let me go and soon I was doing things with them that I was forced to do before. They did so many things to me that I was knocked out." She hung her head as if she were ashamed. I reached out to her chin and the touch electrified her. "There is nothing wrong with that. What happened happens to be the way things usually are in a Tandra family. They were just giving you a taste of what was in store for you if you agreed to join us." "Oh, I want to be part of the family... just... I don't know what I thought. When I was able to pull myself away from my insistent sisters, Mom came to me and we had a talk; or she talked to my mind. I was told about what you did to me and why. She told me about my new abilities and I became angry." "Angry that you were given these gifts?" "Yes... no... more like you were not around to guide me. I needed you then very badly. I still need you very much." "I am here now. Do you want to talk?" "No," she almost yelled then put her hand to her mouth for letting the coarse word escape her lips. "I am sorry. I just need you with me and I need this much more than I have ever needed anything in my life." In a low voice she said, "Much more than when I needed someone to tell me what to do." I saw her idea of 'with me' and could not hold back. I stepped close and held the tall woman in my arms. Her own arms came around me and squeezed as if her life depended on me being next to her. Those around me were getting a little anxious but decided to wait. Ingrid's mind was trying to get her mouth to say something but there was still a lot of conflict. She had never done the ordering before and would very rarely ask for anything. She did know a man's wants, and now she had her own needs. In a very timid voice she said, "Master, please take me; I am yours." I just disengaged her arms and scooped her up into mine. "I think I am yours too," I said with all the feeling I could. She just held me tight and looked directly into my eyes. I lowered her down to the bed and I started to take off my coveralls. Her eyes never left my body. When she looked at the juncture of my legs she was not sure she could take me. Her view in the shower had not shown her all of me. My fingers reached forward and touched the seam of her dress and it parted at my command. The tractors gently picked her up and the diaphanous dress slowly left her body. Her breasts came into view first. They were small but her nipples were very erect. The areola were large as if to suggest that her breasts would grow, but I knew that her breasts would only get larger with feeding. Her chest had little padding and her abdomen showed strong muscles that Mom had reinforced. The pubis was bare and an erect urethra more than just poked out of the hiding place in the cleft. It was ten centimetres long and similar in size to what Susan had. Her legs were well muscled too, with only a fine covering of very light hair. Her feet were nicely arched and looked just as beautiful as the rest of her. As I sat on the bed beside her waist, her arms came up to hold me. This time, I was the one that held her firmly and demanded a kiss. She gave me her best and promised me anything else I wanted. As my arms held her I momentarily thought of Susan. She still stood foremost in my mind. I loved her the most, but not a lot more than the rest. Ingrid, I was just beginning to know. I was able to read her deepest thoughts and knew she would make a wife that would make me doubt who was most loved. My arms released the beautiful woman and she reluctantly lay back down. I took her well-muscled arms and placed them above her head. One of my hands held hers as I again sampled her lips and face. Her hands tried to escape which was a good indication that she had her own will in this. When I got to her neck she started to shiver and I knew she had another orgasm. Her hands were not released and after she stopped shaking I continued down her chest. Her back arched to give me what we both wanted. My kisses though went around each of the orbs making her move to put the right part before me. I disregarded her goals and pursued my own. Soon I was using the tip of my tongue to climb to the summit of her left breast. I took my time to savour different points and to drive her crazy with lust. Half way to the summit I simply attacked the small vigilant sentry at the top. Her scream could be heard throughout the room. Some of the wives had had a sympathetic orgasm with her. Now they all found partners and began to stimulate each other. The little nipple was worried till her arms bulged in an effort to get me to stay at that point. I pulled back and she frantically tried to find a home for the abandoned nipple. The other looked just as tempting and I took it too, with a quick movement. My free hand now came into play and supported the breast I was feeding on. I would suck, nibble, lick and caress this untill she again had another orgasm. When she stopped thrashing, my hand went down her abdomen. The slow pace caused Ingrid to push her feet down and thrust her pelvis up as if that would assist me in my search. My hand bypassed her goal and slowly continued down the inside of her thighs. I left her nipple and followed the course of my hand and soon had to let her hands go. My now free hand went to her breast and with my fingers I started to caress her nipple. As my lips got close to her mons, her hands came to my head. With frantic strength she forced my head to touch her very proud clit. This was unlike the old Ingrid and I was glad she found a way to break her old habits. The clit was beside my cheek and I used my tongue to explore the crevice. Her hands were not having anything to do with this and pulled violently at my hair to get me where I should be. My head came down and her pelvis shot up. The clit pushed its way through my closed lips. She made a few rapid thrusts and this was enough to send her over again; her hands working hard to get my head to move in counterpoint to her thrusts. Another scream rent the air and I just closed my lips firmly on her to give her the most stimulation. When she collapsed I got up and placed myself between her legs. These I raised and pushed to her breasts. Her feet were further apart than her shoulders and her pelvis arched to give me access. With her clit pointing up, I started to lick her opening. Her smell was strong but very good. Her entire pubis area was wet with her secretions. Her clit bumped my nose and got in the way but all the touches caused Ingrid to go into constant orgasm. I licked the five other major nerve clusters and I knew she had the maximum stimulation. Her pelvis thrust up repeatedly and I had to move quickly to keep in position and avoid injury. My fingers on my right hand came up and found her opening, and with the copious secretion I was able to slip into the now tight opening. When it was well lubricated I slipped in as second finger and began to thrust quickly. Ingrid made inarticulate sounds as the sensations continued. There was no rational thought in her mind, only lust. I caressed her 'G' spot for a few seconds and saw that she could get no higher. The fingers came out and one worked at her other opening as my thumb found the recently vacated orifice. I stroked in both openings and could feel my thumb and finger but they were further apart than a Human female would have. The anus was further back and the tailbone shorter. I began to worry her openings and slowed down my attack. Her constantly heaving abdomen started to slow in its contractions. Her breath was very rapid and her mind was elsewhere. I pulled my fingers completely out and Marcus sent me a portable cleanser which I used to clean both of us. Looking around at the others, I found that they had reverted to instinct themselves. Everyone was on their knees with their faces on the floor waiting to be mounted. Ingrid did not seem to have the safety valve of unconsciousness this time that the rest had. Her emotions rose higher and higher untill they could go no further. She then stayed on that high plateau and everybody reading her mind was carried to the same altitude. It was Ingrid's turn now and I just lay down beside her untill she recovered. I caressed her face and head, telling her how much I wanted her. My talking must have helped, for she came back in about ten minutes. She opened her eyes and did not even know where she was. She smelt me though, and moved her head closer and held me as tight as I held her. Another ten minutes was needed before I asked, "Ingrid are you ready for me now?" Former erotic images went through her mind. She simply said, "I want you in all my openings; I am completely yours." I said seriously to her, "You might not know it but I am yours too." She smiled and a great relief came over her. I got up and slid down her body then got between her long white legs. Her opening looked so good and the smell was even better. I wanted to feast again on her charms but I knew that this time it was important for both of us. I stroked the head of my cock back and forth to pick up some moisture. Ingrid did not know what to do and wrapped her arms around her head as the sensations became too intense again and she succumbed to another orgasm. I gave her a moment to recover and worked my way in a centimetre at a time. The way things were going, I would be hours here. After she had four more orgasms, I simply pushed slowly in the remainder of the way. With her proud piece of flesh now in my pubic hair, I moved side to side. She went into continuous orgasm again and I just moved slowly and eventually pulled out. She was just too sensitive to me or my actions. The recovery was again ten minutes. I held her and she eventually came back to me. "Oh master, I have never felt that way before." I waited a few more minutes then said to her, "Ingrid I will be many things to you, but I will not be your master. Please don't call me that." I smiled at her and then said, "Unless we are playing a game." She looked at me seriously. I could see that she felt hurt that I had said that. "I will do my best. Please don't hate me if I slip." "I will never hate you, darling." ------- Chapter 80 She smiled at me then hung her head and whispered, "Please put it in my bum now." Ingrid was just as sensitive in her back passage as she was in her front. After a half hour I had to quit again as she twitched and throbbed as if an electrical current was going through her. When she recovered she found my cock still hard. She worked her way down my body and took me into her mouth. It was good that I had cleaned both of us first. With both hands on me she was able to get a large portion into her mouth and throat but not all by any means. When my own time came, I warned her and she worked frantically to make sure I finished well. As the first throbs came, she pulled almost all the way off and looked into my eyes as I pumped spurt after spurt into her mouth. With her immediate task done, Kitten got up and went to Ingrid and they shared the essence that was in her mouth. Dola was close and with some oil I was in him very quickly. He had been listening to the rest and lasted over a minute then shuddered and went unconscious. Roger was next and I took the little boy and was much more gentle, but in less time than Dola he too collapsed into a puddle of jelly. I turned around and saw Kitten and Ingrid sampling each other and I got behind Kitten and slipped into her back passage. She lasted a minute and a half and I rewarded her with my own release. Kitten had abandoned Ingrid when I took her and Ingrid was watching as I made love to my wife. In her mind there was very little jealousy. She had seen me with Dola and Roger and looked on them as feminine girls. Mother and Kitten had been doing a lot of talking to her. When Kitten was unconscious I took Topaz, Kitty, Cloud, and Moth in order of age and used my lips tongue and fingers to give them the release they needed. When I had finished the youngest, Ingrid had been looking at me. My cock had not been erect when I had taken any of the young girls. She seemed to know why and wanted to talk about it, as well as a lot more. She came up to me and took Moth and placed her with her sisters so they could draw comfort from being close. "Ma... Henry, may I talk to you?" I took her hand and stood up. We walked to the far side of the large room and sat in some comfortable chairs. When we got comfortable I asked, "What is it Honey?" She liked the term and hung her head a bit. "You were so careful with the young ones. Mom and Kitten told me that they now have toys that are as large as you. They use them all the time. It's their hope that you will use their back passage. Mom tells me that this is a very strong desire in them and will not hurt them at all." "Yes that is what I have found out too." "Well... you gave me a job. I intend to be your wife no matter when I am asked. You said that my job was to keep the family happy and working smoothly. The girls need you to use more than just your mouth and fingers. They need to know that you would give them what they want most in the world even if it is in the wrong hole." "Ingrid, Honey," I said as I picked up her small hand, "I am still troubled by my Earth customs. I would never hurt the girls. I also know that I could make love to them but it's a difficult thing to comprehend. Roger is different. I found him here on the moon and he basically took me when I was asleep. For some reason we were bonded. Both of us know that one will never hurt the other." "Dola is my answer to a very feminine wife. The women are very vivacious and this is good. Dola has an aura, the same as you do, that complements mine. I believe we are all meant to be one family." She looked at me, then at my hand that was holding hers. "I too think you are made for me. I don't know what I would do now if you were ever lost to us." "Like any good wife you would carry on protecting the family and try to finish what we have started." "I do not know what you are doing. I know some but I do not even know why everybody is doing everything you want, even the Humans. I feel compelled to do what you want even now." I gathered in my aura now and I could see her relax a bit more without knowing why she had been tense in the first place. She had not been told any of my job titles. She was a bit concerned that somehow all this would come crumbling down. "Ingrid, I was an army captain fighting in Vietnam once. Later I found the Tandra and I became a naval captain. The girls elected me system governor to give me authority to do what was needed to save the bases here. When we took some of the ships that now orbit the Earth, I had to take the job of admiral. Eventually I had to go much further. To survive and to protect all my friends, I had to take the Tandra throne. Their home world is now dust. I guess when I took the throne, I took on many new responsibilities. Now I have taken many thousands of planets in battle with the Samutz. One day our descendants will take the remainder of the galaxy. I don't want the authority, I just want justice and peace for all the people that cannot defend themselves." "That makes you a king I think." "The Tandra had an Empress; but do to my anatomy, they will have to be satisfied with an Emperor." She said incredulously, "You are the Emperor of the whole galaxy?" "No Honey. Only the emperor of what I can hold and take from the Samutz, Thonas, and maybe even the Moldeg. I have even found out about others that are fighting the Samutz and I do not want to take them on yet. I left those Samutz alone to keep the frontier stable. I am afraid we will be fighting for a long time before it is safe to travel throughout the galaxy." I looked into her mind and could see that she did not understand this yet. "Now tell me something. I have watched you make love to Kitten and I would like to know how you feel about our family." "I... " she hung her head. "When I was young older girls told me to do things. They were much more gentle with me and even protected me from the boys. I sort of got the feeling that girls are where I should be. When I found a good man, though, I saw that he could protect me even better. He was not as gentle but was not bad either. Eventually I found my way into the hands of many people and nobody really loved me. When I met you I knew that you were different. I was drawn to you like a magnet. This was not like other men. It was something much more forceful." She stopped for a moment then continued, "I... I saw the way you treated the girls just now. My own children love you too. If they push you, you can do these same things to them." She looked up in worry and continued hurriedly, "I did the same thing to them many times. The people I was with made me do it. With my own children, though, it was not a bad thing. They loved the way we were so close." "Thank you Ingrid. I don't know if I can do something like that. The Tandra girls are different. They are brought up in an environment were sex is not only fun but required. Children are the ones that keep the race telepathic. Human children have been pushing me to do things too, when they see what the Tandra children get. I have not been doing this long but enjoy giving them joy like their mothers' do. I'm not really aroused when I do this, so it feels alright to continue. I just hope that I never want to get my own enjoyment from them." "Why? The children will come to you for love. When they get older they will come to you as a mate. You already have a few wives and Kitten says you can take care of all of us." She paused for a moment and I could read the next sentence that was not mentioned 'Like you did for me.' "Ingrid you are new to the Tandra and for some reason seem to be getting to know them at a faster rate than I was able to do. Or perhaps, since I am twice your age, my mind has been set for a longer time. I am basically a simple man. I like my beer and I like to fight. I am a bit opinionated but I am not closed minded to people that have some truth to offer me. What you say seems to have some truth to it too. But I am afraid of what it will do to me. I want to look in the mirror in the morning and see somebody I will not hate." "Henry, I seem to think that you would not take anything that wasn't freely given. Kitten said that you all can read minds. I don't know how good you can do this but I don't think you would hurt anybody." "I hope you're right. There is an old saying about absolute power corrupting absolutely. That is very true for us Humans and I do not know what will happen to me or to Humans in general when we have gotten all this power." "Wives have always tried to keep their husbands from doing something wrong. I know I will be sticking as close to my husband as I can to help him and us," she said as she turned her hands around and held mine tightly. She now smiled and come to a decision. "I want you for my husband now and for always. Though I am now very wet I know you gave me none of your seed. Please put some where it belongs." She had told me that she knew that I could read minds to some extent. Her thoughts told me that she wanted to make instant use of my seed. Mom had told her that she was fertile today. She was not being completely honest but did offer me the truth if I could understand her. "Ingrid if I take you now the child will be mine. If you wish to be my wife the child will be ours. There is no other way." "I want it no other way either. Take me now as your wife, husband," she said as she pressed her naked body into mine. This time was different. I went into her mind and turned down the controls that Mom had shown me when we first met. I slipped into her moist channel and worked very diligently to give her the most pleasure short of her losing sight of her surroundings. After her fourth orgasm I looked within her and found one egg that glowed while none of the rest did. This one I coaxed out and it passed another that was already in the fallopian tubes. I pinched the infertile egg and allowed my choice to pass. "Your egg is in place now." I projected into her mind the scene I saw then pumped harder and faster. I felt my testicles throb and Ingrid couldn't take it any more and came. The time was right and I felt satisfaction, joy and accomplishment as I propelled many millions of little invaders directly into her womb. As we relaxed I projected to Ingrid the invaders moving slowly forward. Some that glowed themselves were carefully moved far ahead of the rest and within a few seconds were all clustered around the egg trying to find the one weakness in its defences. Ingrid watched spellbound as she saw one pry into a small cleft then turn perpendicular to the surface and frantically wiggle inside. The opening now closed and a child had been started. Ingrid held me tight and started to cry in joy for the life we had made. A new round of love making started. All my leavings were cleaned up and I left the tired mates to sleep for a while. I found the all the children doing what Tandra children did best. Michelle, Clarice, Moesha, and Kimberly were enjoying themselves with the other children that were altered to appear as my children should appear. Curiously, none of the boys used their penises. They were not trying to produce children, so no sperm was going to be wasted even if they would not have any for many years to come. I tried to come to a better understanding of Ingrid's ideas but I could not see me doing anything other than giving them joy when they needed it. Perhaps in ten or more years it was possible, but I would never want to do anything sooner. The children did remind me of the three still in stasis. Even Monique was still a child even if she had to grow up very fast. I wanted them to get on with their lives but I did not want any more wives. Instead of Harriet, I took a slightly larger craft and went to Earth. I awoke ten year old Jeremy first. He felt good in my arms and I could tell he felt a similar feeling. He said, "What changed? You look different now." "Well for one, seven months have passed since you tried to be Rip Van Winkle." He looked shocked that this could happen. I smiled at him and said, "The Earth was attacked by some nasty aliens and they were all killed or captured." Jeremy looked at me seriously then said, "Na, you are joking. Anything else happen?" "Jeremy, on my honour, that has happened. Over a billion people were killed by one little ship that made it through our defences." Pictures came to his mind of movies he had seen where devastation was close to what reality was. He had no real friends and seemed to be a loner in many ways. "I woke you up first. Your brother is next." He seemed a bit ashamed to have forgotten his family when I was in front of him. "We now have a space academy where people can go to school to learn how to fight in ships that look a bit like the big ones in Star Wars. Do you think you might like to join? It is a full time job in many ways. You will be taught things that scientists on Earth would kill to find out. You get to take your turn at being the captain of a one, two or four place fighter. These ones make the ones in Star Wars look slow and feeble." I turned around and looked the same way he was and said verbally, "Mom will you show our guest the different kinds of ships and their size compared to him?" The first picture showed Jeremy standing beside a one place fighter. He was in academy coveralls and his image climbed into the craft. A view inside showed him verbally talking to the onboard AI, flying out of the base and off on a mission. The real Jeremy was hopping around wanting what I offered but the second ship came. This one was a two seater and he and his brother flew off. The one after, showed them getting into a larger four place fighter with two young Tandra. Mom had made their breasts bigger so that Jeremy would know they were female. "Oh I want one of those ships. Do I really have a chance to get in?" "You sure do but watch the other ships." We saw a few more intermediate sized ships and Jeremy was in awe of their size. The Terra's Pride was next and we had to zoom in very far to one large bay with a frigate in the background. A cadet that proved to be Jeremy was working on the ship. The Nautilus was next and this looked to be of similar size but I knew it was very much thicker and higher and it was not easy to show the comparison from one view point. A dreadnaught, then another one like Jamal, came into view and these dwarfed the mighty battleships. When the screen died I said, "Let's have a view of what is happening in the main hangar." I took his trusting hand in mine and we walked for a few minutes talking about some of the characteristics of the various ships. We came out on the top level and Jeremy looked down at the thousands of Humans, Tandra and even some Softay working on the main floor. A small, one place flyer was taken apart and a lesson was given about its various functions. The tutor was great but Humans needed to see and touch things to make them real. "What are all those people doing?" "They are practising how to fight. Some are looking at one of the fighters. They are in the academy and are just going to class. They are wearing the academy fatigues. If you join, you will get those and a some very nice dress uniforms too. When you are done with the first part there is nobody on Earth that could beat you in a fight or in a contest where you have to use your brains." Jeremy was all for going down right away but I said, "Let's go get your brother and sister first. Then all of you can take a look. I want your mother and Monique to join the academy too. They will really learn how to fight." "But my mom is old." I chuckled at the way he saw things. "The Tandra know that a young person has faster reflexes. There are hundreds of people here that are over eighty years old. A few are actually over a hundred. They all look and feel twenty years old. You mother and Monique will fit in very well. We even have a junior version of the academy that they young ones can join." Matthew was a year younger than his brother and smiled at seeing the pair of us. His mind went back to when he was struck unconscious and wondered what had happened. I didn't have to say much for Jeremy went right into telling him what he had seen and his reaction to the pictures. When he was winding down, Mom began another presentation about the academy. Some of the classes were shown and where they were held. Matthew almost peed himself when he saw that most were held on warships out in space. The boy/ship ratio was shown again but only for some of the small and the biggest ships. I woke up Sofia. She was only a year older than Ingrid's twins. I got a hug from her and we all went for a walk again. It took her a few moments to ask about her mother. "She is with Monique and both are sleeping. I just wanted to get you all to see what is happening before I wake them up. We all saw again the activity on the hangar floor and all the wide steps that I at one time thought odd. It reminded me of nothing more than a high school now, where the people had to get up and move once in a while to keep their blood moving. Jeremy was telling more about the ships and his new goals. The academy was now his immediate objective. I talked to Marcus and found out who was not too busy. Topaz, Dola, and Moth were temporarily between assignments. I called all three, "Would you like to ask Harriet for a lift to the Earth. There are some old friends here." To Dola I said, "There are some Earth boys that will need some guidance. Would you give them a little of your time?" I stayed away from the recruits and we all watched from a distance. When a small ovoid suddenly appeared some of the activity stopped. When they saw that I did not get out, the recruits went back to what they were doing. I directed the three to our position. When they got close I introduced them all to one another. Dola, Topaz, and Moth were introduced as my wives. The English word did not encompass all the meanings that the Tandra words did. Topaz and Moth were still very proud of this designation and smiled as they blushed the Tandra way. We walked around a bit more then I said, "Dola take your new friends and family to Mars. Don't be too long and be back by meal time." He smiled broadly at being given this task. Jeremy and Matthew had just stopped walking. Their thoughts confused at the request. Mars was a planet that astronauts were going too one day but not for a while. "We are going to Mars?" Matthew asked incredulously. "Only if you want to." Dola was not too grown up, for he raced with the others to Harriet. Soon they had disappeared again and I was alone for a short time. I woke up Justine and Monique together. Their memory showed them talking to some of the girls last. When they awoke they looked around and not seeing the girls started to worry. "Hello Justine; Monique." They looked around some more then got up out of their capsules. "Where are your wives?" Kitten is on the moon presently. The older ones are many light years from here working to keep an enemy from retaking their systems. Many things have changed since I last saw you. First of all, I had to go to the moon to get some necessary parts. We had many problems and it was easiest if all of you simply went to sleep for a while. That was seven months ago." Justine looked around for her children and before she could voice her concern I said, "They are now taking a short flight and will be on the moon by mealtime. "Moon?" Asked Monique. "The moon became necessary for us to prosecute a war. A nasty type of being called a Samutz invaded our system and a friend and I captured their ship then killed most of them. I flew to a nearby star and found that the Samutz would take our planet soon. I came back and got some friends and attacked that system. Some of our troops died in the attack but many more Samutz did." I could see the distaste for killing in both of them. "Before you get protective of the poor Samutz, I found that they like to eat intelligent beings. If we had been captured we would have been slaves if trained enough or an hors d'oeuvres if the people were like you or the children." "When I was out killing Samutz, some of the Samutz came to this system with battleships, a carrier, and a few other warships. They were all taken or destroyed. One little ship got through piloted by a single Samutz. He killed over a billion people and destroyed many cities in the Orient." "Presently I am raising an army to fight and to do this I train the recruits. We have a school that is more of an academy. My own children go there as do perhaps a million other people. I think the best place for all of you is in this academy. Even Sofia can find some training and still allow her to be a little girl. You are free to turn me down though. You are also still free to leave here with cash and a new identity with the children. Regardless, you will both be given a chance to see what is happening before you have to make up your mind." Justine gathered her courage and said, "We don't know how to fight." I just smiled at her and said, "There are many more like you. The training is very good and you can see if you can fight after giving it a try. Let's go to my ship and we can go meet the other members of my family." We walked to a matter transmitter and were placed inside the ship. The two got jumpy again and I said, "We were just whisked here. Something like showing a caveman the benefits of using an elevator." During the short trip they both stared at the view screen as the moon came closer and closer. By the time we got inside the base, the gravity was the same as in the ship. They were both surprised by the change and held one another as we walked to the nearest matter transmitter. Lam and Doris were sitting together feeding the children. This time, both were wearing tutors. Bobby and Roger were nearby and when I came in they ran to me calling "Daddy." They wanted up and I picked both of them to me and turned to my guests. "The beautiful oriental lady sitting there feeding a child and learning five dimensional mathematics is Lam, my mother-in-law." I continued with Doris then Bobby and Roger were introduced. We talked a while but it was obvious that they were not getting the facts fast enough. I called for two tutors and they appeared to come out of out of thin air and I caught both while holding the children. "There are many things that need to be understood before other data could be added. Please have a seat and listen to your tutors. Your brains are not prepared to get all the data but you can get a basic understanding." I seated each and placed the band on their head. Their eyes opened at the unexpected voice. They had gotten a bit of information previously while in the tug but that was in a chair and they were asleep when it happened. As the two newcomers learned about the early Tandra, Lam asked me, "What are you going to do with them? I can see they are important to you but not the kind that you want with you always." I got Mom to give her a rundown on our little trip months ago. It was Susan's birthday and we had gone south and did some shopping with the rest of the family. The only thing I asked to exclude was Susan being influenced by her sisters in the ship and seducing a salesgirl right in the store. The rest of the story took a while as some points were not easily understood. Eventually it came to the part where we rescued many of the people that were now my children. Lam knew about them and the information dovetailed. When it came to Yuri Mecholov's family, she saw how I had simply placed the people in stasis till I could deal with the matter better. "Lam, I plan on getting our two guests to join the academy with the two boys. The girl will stay with us or go with their mother. I just think the two boys but especially Jeremy should gets some therapy so that they will not act out their anger at others as their father did." I had an hour to spare so I went to one of the hulls that would be very much like Harriet. With some computer substrate and the all-important crystals I began to work the material into five dimensions. When enough crystals were activated, Marcus began to help when I let him in the back door so to speak. The job had just enough done so that Marcus could continue by himself. When I got back to our apartment, most of the family were there. They introduced themselves to Justine and Monique. When it was almost time to sit Dola and his crew came in. They were all excited at their trip. The two boys saw their stepmother and ran to her. They had been trying to get over their anger at her for not protecting them from their father. Now they had come to realize that she was putting her life on the line every time she obstructed the monster. "Mom you should see where we went. It was awesome. Dola let me fly for a while and we landed on Mars." "Mars!" She said excitedly. "Yep, Aunt Harriet took us there. She let us fly and everything. You should see how Matthew flew through the canyons. It was like the pictures we saw about the Grand Canyon. We went so fast that the rock blurred. Even Sofia flew but she only flew in space. She is only a girl and couldn't fly like we did." That sounded like fighting words to me but I waited to see what was happening. "So let me get this straight," Justine said, "all of you flew to Mars. You and your brother took control of the ship and flew through some dangerous canyons with your sister onboard. Then you flew back here." "Ya, it was great. Dola wants to fly to Venus to see what it is like there." Justine was overcoming her shyness very quickly and was about to take this out on me. She was phrasing her words now. Before she could embarrass herself I said, "Aunt Harriet is the most intelligent ship there is. She surpasses all of humanity and takes the safety of her passengers very seriously. You may not have learned it yet but there are very few breakdowns, ever, and the Tandra can casually do what we would think of as impossible. Wait for more knowledge before trying to make judgements please." Kitten and Ingrid popped into view and came over to me. I was given a kiss by each and Ingrid said, "Marcus told us that we had guests." She turned to the two new women, "It is so nice to meet you again Justine and you too Monique." She walked forward and hugged both as she said it. The women were awestruck with Ingrid. She was so alive now and seemed to be many times larger than she really was. The jewels around her head gave them a pause. A little of their religious training made them think of her as holy or perhaps a queen or a princess. The aura that I had seen around her and her children had grown along with her self esteem. I was sure that most in the room could feel it at least. When they first met they knew something was wrong with Ingrid. Justine was a little jealous now and was thinking of trying to get Ingrid away so she could have her own time at influencing me. They did not know how to treat the new Ingrid. Monique wanted to bow down and Justine thought at the very least that she was a queen. Ingrid waited for a reply and when none came, she turned to the children and said, "Jeremy I heard from Marcus that you and that handsome brother of yours took your pretty sister and flew to Mars to check it out for Samutz activity." The three children were as flustered as the older two and did not know what to say. I didn't want any hurt feelings so I stepped in and said, "I have invited this family to look around and see what has changed since their last visit. I was hoping each of them will join the academy." She looked at Jeremy and said, "Are you going to join the academy? I heard that many people try and can't make it past the recruiters." She stepped closer and took his hand as if the touch was very important. "I... I want to try. Henry said he thought I could get in." "He does have some say in the matter. Did you pilot the ship when you flew to Mars?" "A little. All of us had a chance." "You are so lucky. I just flew from the Earth to the moon and I never got to try anything. When you learn to be a captain will you teach me?" "For you, yes I will." "Thank you Jeremy. Now I have to see that cute brother of yours." She slowly released Jeremy's hand and went to Matthew. "I heard that you flew too." Matthew looked on Ingrid's face as if he were moonstruck. When no reply came she said, "Matthew tell me about the things you found. I was never off Earth till a few days ago." "Ah there... there was rocks and things. Ah... a big hole in the ground and we went fast." Ingrid picked up his other hand and looked into his eyes and said, "Will you take me one day?" "Ya, I mean yes, I will. Anytime you want." I brought over a chair that Ingrid wanted. She lowered Matthew's hands and just turned to Sofia, who stayed as close as she could get. Ingrid sat, then reached over and picked up the usually frightened girl and put her in her lap. "Hello Sofia. Did you fly today too?" "Yes I did. It was easy. The boys just wanted to show off. Why do you have those lights there?" "Oh, the lights. Well I am an honest woman now. That big man beside us married me. I am only one of his many wives though. Instead of giving me a ring that would cost a lot of money he gave me these lights. At least people will see me now and know I am married without them having to look at my finger." The girl just reached up and Ingrid lowered her head. The child tried to catch the lights but couldn't. "I can't touch them. Are they magic?" "You know, I think they are. I was quiet before. People told me always what to do because I could not think of the right thing to do myself. Now I can think on my own and find that it is just like a fairytale." Jorge and Judith were content to stay with their new friends as they watched their mother talk. When the meal began, Ingrid sat between the other two women instead of close to me. The conversations got off to a slow start but soon picked up. I asked questions about what was happening in each of the people's lives. Duc had come in after Ingrid started to talk and brought his boys. With the adults outnumbered, we learned about flying, the best way of shooting Samutz and getting high marks in school. Dishes appeared, disappeared, or moved to who needed the particular dish. I had insisted on this because I did not like to eat in a cafeteria. The newcomers found it a bit difficult to get into the swing of things but I had to admit that they tried. The children that now appeared half Human and half Tandra could read minds like the rest of us. They were laughing amongst themselves as they heard what Justine and even Monica thought of their looks. Apparently they were exotic but close enough to Human to be very attractive. Matthew and Justin did not think so because their eyes were on Ingrid most of the time. They looked like love struck puppies and in a way I was sorry for them. Sofia thought she had found a new friend and wanted her attention. Monique and Justin tried to look all around the table so they would not have to look too much at Ingrid. They were not much different than the boys. Ingrid saw their looks and deduced the same thing that I knew. After the meal we continued our talks to catch up on important points. Some had to do with some facet of math or science not being properly understood. I explained as best I could in words, then used the screen to show some points that they may not have considered. When this was done, I made sure that the new boys and girl could sleep with my children. For Ingrid and a little for Kitten, I asked them to make Justine and Monique comfortable. I had to do a lot of travelling tonight and would not be back for quite a few hours. "Where are you going?" Asked Justine. "About a hundred and fifty light years that way," I said, pointing my finger. Then two hundred and eighty light years from there in that direction." "Oh," was the only reply. Marcus was doing well with the new ship. I had altered a few crystals in my spare time, to project the temporal shield as had Mom and Marcus. I took a half dozen missiles with me and I left to find Jamal. We were in constant touch and he was able to supply all the ships that were under his immediate command with missiles. Mom had shipped them to him and he just gave them to the ships protecting this small cul-de-sac. There were only a little over seven thousand stars in this volume of space and roughly a fifth had planets. Some were outposts but only a few were habitable. We had brought over six thousand ships to our side and destroyed a little over a hundred of the new type that would not heed our call. Seventeen planets colonized by Moldeg were found and they were protected from the Samutz but also quarantined. Any ship trying to leave was quickly shot down. There were more than enough ships under my command here to insure that they would not spread. I worked for six hours on a dozen ships. Their computers were analysed and altered to give us instant communication with Mom. She, in turn, would relay all the information to Jamal as needed. Koorsa got one of these ships. Harriet and I propelled it there and positioned it to protect the planet. Our code was the only thing that kept us from being destroyed or Harriet shot at. The system was already fairly well guarded but the planet was rich in technical help. It would be overrun again if the Samutz and Thonas had their way. The Tandra had started the long road to a new future and needed some help. The ship I brought would also allow Mom to have her input. Mom was termed my chancellor. It did not take the Tandra long to find out that she knew what she was talking about. Fenmar was my next goal. Again I was greeted with weapons which was very understandable. The locals had been pulling themselves together since being freed and had acquired eight more ships. If they had been loaded the planet would be vacant except for the Samutz. This time I landed and talked to the locals. I gained a large Mordis guard as I did my inspections. They didn't want to loose an Emperor after not having one for such a long time. A ship captain was the highest ranking person on the planet. The computer said that this one was the best choice to govern for the short term. Her name was Dorrma. She had obviously missed her last time in the tank and looked old and worn. She was enthusiastic about me personally helping and grateful for all the assistance I had provided. She did have a small nagging doubt about a male now being the head of her old empire. We walked to a small ship and about a hundred of us flew to various spots on the planet. Harriet flew with us as protection. There were four cities. Three looked rundown and one looked in ruins. Over the years the Tandra had decided to make a go of surface life and in only six or seven thousand years it had reverted back to the three major bases. Some of the cities had been built many times on the shell of the previous one. Dorrma took me to the other bases. Each had been stripped of anything the Samutz could haul away and all the people. The only partially functional base was in the main city and all of the meagre population was huddled in it. The base needed a major overhaul and then the defences had to be improved. With the amount of people available, it would take ten years to get it to where it could defend itself. She asked for any help I could offer. "Dorrma I have a counter proposal that I believe you and your people would like." She stood waiting, as she thought she should, for her Emperor. "You have about a quarter of a million people here that need better shelter and protection. At least a hundred thousand of them are proficient in ship handling skills." "Presently I have a surplus of major and minor ships. You provide me with training crews for the people that will be required to drive our enemies away or to subdue them. I have many people that have risen to the position of captain that should not have reached that position yet. The Samutz have forced us to do this. The people themselves are mostly Tandra from thousands of planets that the Samutz conquered or a few million from my planet. The last are called Humans and are similar to me. We are all half Tandra for the last few million years." I waited her reaction but got nothing that seemed odd. "Aunt Harriet, you may have noticed, is the most intelligent AI to have graced any ship ever. The ships I want you to train on will be similar in some of her abilities. She is armed with an small missile that has a shield that uses time as its protection. As of now there is no protection against it. One missile can take out one dreadnaught. There is currently no defence against it. The ships like Aunt Harriet, have a shield of the same type and nothing can get through. Her speed is usually 8000 light years per day." "I am able to provide instantaneous communications over a wide area. The discovery is very new and it works at least to a hundred and fifty light years." The look she gave me showed her incredulousness. "Some of those things you told me are impossible. Our engineers have been working on them for millions of years and have only got to four light years for the communicator. The speed strength and offensive capability are too good to be true." "A lot of people have told me I am full of shit over the years." "Oh, I am sorry My Emperor. It just slipped out. That goal was always looked on as an impossible." She was quite worried that I would have her disciplined for what she said. "Do not worry. People will still say I am full of shit. I would be a very poor leader if I did not find a way of taking the criticism. The communication device does work and I envision people from one side of the galaxy being able to communicate with people at the other side and with any in between. Harriet is the most intelligent ship and the shield does work." Dorrma looked down and mindspoke, "That has been a dream for so long that it is thought to be only a tale to tell children." "Well the deal is this; I provide twenty cruisers and one carrier. They will be protected by my new shield and missiles. The computers will be much better than what you are used to but not as smart as Harriet. Your speed should be at least 3000 lights per day but I will provide assistance to try to get even more. You will be in constant communications with each other and the rest of our navy." "Why not use battleships, Your Majesty? They are so much stronger and have such strong weapons." "They are big and their armour is not needed with this new shield. Their offensive capability is in the larger missiles and these are not needed any more. The lighter weight of the cruiser also means that they will go faster. Your job is to protect the empire and train crews. Those crews will do the same job for others." "What of our home here?" "It is still your home. It will take many years of labour to get it back to what it should be. There is no reason to come back here for each of you can keep in touch instantly. When your people came here you were mainly wanderers then. It had been a long time before any Tandra had put down roots on a planet. I think it would be safer for the empire to have the people secure and in mobile ships than to have the majority of its citizens on a very stationary planet. When the enemy is dead or captured then this may change but I always want my people in ships and waiting to fight any aggressor." She talked among the Tandra that had come with us to find their reaction. I had hedged my bet and let my aura come out even before I had landed. The main base still had a functioning computer. The ships that were captured were to have stripped her of crystals and cleaned the last base up of anything that they could carry out. It took only ten minutes to find Mom and set up communications. She found my offer good and used some remotes to project her own image to the Tandra here. As usual, she had them eating out of her insubstantial hand in a few hours. A plebiscite also had to be held but Mom and I figured a majority would jump at our offer. I stayed till the votes were counted. Mom had certainly wowed them. With 93 percent accepting, the remainder decided to come too when they saw the that very little would remain behind. A small number were old and did not want to come or hoped that the Tandra taken away would have found a way back. The captured ships were more than enough to take the people to the fleet around Earth. A good sized force would stay here and form a garrison. I was hoping to catch a few more Samutz, if possible. This force at least could communicate with the remainder of the Tandra that had followed me from the Defren empire. Even before the moving started I was back on the moon making ready to leave again. Ingrid asked, "Why are you going, Henry? You just got back." I said, "We are still running on surprise. Communications are so slow that many of our enemies do not even know they have been attacked. When the enemy realize what has happened they will attack in force. We need good communications to find out when and where the attacks are happening." Ingrid could understand that. She had not gotten over the fact that I was an emperor though. Mom told me that she froze up when told. Mom had not pulled any punches and told her that she was one of the wives of the present emperor. She had to learn to be a diplomat, a statesman, to be charming, and to be ruthless; all to give the fledgeling empire a chance to grow. Ingrid also found out about all the things she had to know just to be the equal of a common Tandra. Being the emperor's wife though, would require her to learn many times more. Mom had made a special program and made sure that she and the rest of my family learned the data along with all the other information that they were cramming into their minds. I talked to Kitten about some of my ideas. "Honey, there is a new group of a quarter of a million Tandra coming here soon. They were much more numerous and remained vigorous, even in their decline. When they get here, they will not have me to play nursemaid. I have many other things to do that only I can do. You are my wife and have many responsibilities to the empire because of me." I could see the things I could do being checked off in her mind and compared to what others could do. She did come up with 'Husband and Father', and this meant that I stayed to help. "We need you here too." "If I am close to Harriet, then we can talk but not touch. I want to talk to my other wives too. Amy and Star are still young and need some guidance. Our new communications will mean that you can talk to them too." The next day I was beside our newest ship when he awoke. He was basically the same as Harriet but with a male personality. The only two minor differences were a slightly improved inertial compensator and a crystal that I hopped would recognize a danger a few seconds before it happened. This is what I found in one Thonas' mind and I still hoped that it was not bred in by design. When the data for this ship's character was sent into the crystal, I had thought long and hard about Uncle Jake. The AI took the same name and I could see some attraction between him and Harriet right away. To be honest, I saw a similar linkage between Mom and Marcus but kept that hidden from them too. Uncle Jake went out for his trials and with orders to send in twenty particular cruisers and a carrier that had a full complement of small craft, if not crew. The order was also sent out to the inner circle of ships so that they would not open fire on the craft I sent for. Before the ships were even notified, I began to make the minimum necessary crystals so that the ships I called for could protect the new crews, as I promised. We had a stockpile of 3300 temporal missiles and these were slated to go into the cruisers and a few for the fighters that were going to defend the carrier. Ten hours later, I was getting exhausted; till Uncle Jake came back. The report he made indicated he was as good as Harriet. He was able to use a bit more power and still keep a passenger safe, though his top speed was about the same. The added feature of the prediction crystal seemed to work. It was not up to ten seconds in the future like I hoped, but three. It was much better than nothing. Harriet got a similar crystal and she tried to interface with it on our trip to the edge of the system. One of our own manned cruisers was stationed by the new cruisers as I approached. All of them were vacant other than the AIs. I was still tired but continued with the first cruiser. The computer room door opened and I immediately set up communications with Mom. This time it took only a minute. A new substrate was started in an area that I pushed into the other dimensions. I prepared some crystals and placed them in position. After Mom insured that the secret of me being able to travel this route would be kept. She, Marcus, and even Jake started to assist this AI to build a better home. Surprisingly the next nineteen took only eight more hours, though the completed computers would take a few days. There just was not enough good help available to make it proceed at a faster pace. We had decided to let each computer work on its own area and we would help a few. Those few would, when complete, help the remainder. This way we would get the maximum done in the allotted time. The carrier was done in the same manner; while a dozen four place fighters though got some improvements and the predictor crystal. This was not as good as the cruisers but would give the crew an edge in a battle. They too were tied into Mom. These, I figured, would probably be better suited for attack; with the carrier having what I hoped would be an impervious shield. Harriet took me back to the moon for a meal and some rest. The family saw my fatigue and just cuddled. In the next room with the children the scene was not repeated. They had another nonstop orgy till they collapsed in exhaustion. The five new children seemed to fit in very well, even if three were very young. My own young wives tried to show me that they were above acting like children but they took a longer time getting to sleep that night. When I woke up, I tried to not wake any more people up. Roger was attuned to me and got up too. I picked him up and carried him to get something to eat. We both had a glass of milk and I made a small meal for both of us. He was very pensive because he knew I was leaving again and wanted to be with me. "It is alright that I am leaving, Roger. We can talk to each other as we travel now." His English was fair but his verbal Tandra was good. "I hurt when you are away." "I hurt when I am away from all my mates. I want to be with Chris, Blue, Nova, Susan, Secric, Sandy, Star, Amy, Bassinda, and both Moms. All of those I miss and they hurt me to be away from them. In fact I hurt all the time. The feeling does not leave till I come back here. The only time I would feel good is when we are all together." He sobbed a bit but tried to hide it. He had learned that he had to put on a special face now because he was in the imperial family. I put Roger back to bed and made a few more crystals the way they needed to be. Today would be an hectic day. Doris had to get ready to leave on the Terra's Pride with her two sons. She would be taking Moesha, Kimberly, Michelle, and Clarice, when she left in thirty hours or so. A few of the Tandra that did not seem to fit into the warrior mould were going with her to watch her share of the babies. She had her responsibilities and would not abandon them now. She had become a bit attached to them anyway and soon Carl would find that he was a father, the same as Duc now was. Before the ship left for Epsilon Eridani, the new carrier had to officially arrive within the system and a lot of crew had to be shuffled. This is where the thirty hours would come in. The overlap, I hoped, would allow this new ship to get it's AI reseated. The people from Fenmar would arrive at the outer ring of defence and would need to begin to settle in. They could pick the twenty one ships and just work out who should go where. When the cruisers and carrier were done, they could just move in as a group. All this was done out of the view of the Humans on Earth. Three hours later, the new carrier pulled into position with the Terra's Pride beside it. The two were very similar but there were some minor variations. From Harriet I could feel the excited expectations; as the Humans and Tandra that flew from the Pride to the new ship to take possession of the fighters the ship bore. The AI in the new ship had not moved over yet and assisted in getting the new crewmembers settled. Soon some pilots left in small squadrons to check out their craft. Many of the new recruits had disparaged at the thoughts of ever getting a chance at their own fighter. I imagine many of the existing captains had hopes of getting the same berth in the new ship. Mom and I tried to give the Humans a small sense of community by keeping them together some of the time and then making them mix with other races. This might be hard to keep their old culture but it would lessen all the animosity that did crop up between different races of Humans. Multiculturalism took on a whole different meaning here. Back on Earth, Doris and the girls got up soon after the arrival and I could hear them getting ready. Doris had begun her dress making again and wanted her girls to look the best they could. I had glimpses of them trying on various new creations Doris had made since I told her who was going. She was running around again like she did in the Earth base when she found the machine that could make dresses for her. They came to the kitchen though dressed the usual way though. I was given a few kisses and told that they had to go to the ship to get ready. I had visions in my head of a woman or a group of women that could not go anywhere without many large trunks of clothes and other vital necessities. After they had a hurried meal, we all crammed into Harriet and went to the Pride to let the girls see Charlie and Paul. I had my own business there. When we left Harriet, we found ourselves in the middle of an imperial reception. Prerecorded music played the imperial theme while all the officers and as many ratings as possible stood in their best uniforms. I had to release the bonds on my aura and walked down the small ramp to the deck. I did not wear any of the regalia and had to make do with what I had. On the way down, I paused and looked at the bulkhead and found the crest of the Alliance and saluted as I should. The girls came down next. Each stood tall and proud, even if they were children. They too paused and looked very serious as they placed their right fist over their hearts'. Doris came last and she too walked as if she were a visiting monarch. When we all made it to the deck, I walked to the most decorated two. I paused two metres before them and as one they all knelt on one knee with their heads' bowed. This was ludicrous in one way but serious in another. Like the conversation I had long ago in the Earth base; men would follow a leader but the leader had to dress and act the part. In a low but commanding voice I said, "Arise." The assembled throng did that too and very neatly as if practised many times. "Captain Shingle, Commander Santo; I see that you run a very taut ship. My congratulations to you and your crew for the precision perfect greeting." "We are very happy to have you here, My Emperor." "I am happy to be here. I have brought my family and I am going to entrust them into your care." "Yes, My Emperor. I will guard them with my life." Each of the girls came forward and the captain and exec bowed their head to each. I had to mentally prod Doris but she came too and was greeted similarly. Doris stayed in character and asked, "Captain Shingle would you please show us to our cabins?" "Yes, Mosso Shingle. I would be happy too." The term 'Mosso' was given to the mate of a governor and in this case was aptly correct. The small entourage traipsed off and I asked Paul, "Will you take me to the computer room?" "Yes, My Emperor; I would be happy to," he said with a smile. On the way we talked. "I am going to give your computer the ability to converse with Mom, no matter where you are. This will be the same as you can now talk to your dad in Epsilon Eridani. There are some other improvements I want to make as well." To everybody and especially Hans I said, "The computer will be upgraded. Hans; you will get a bigger home to live in, your shield will be improved with the new temporal variety and lastly, a predictor crystal that should give you a few seconds to avoid danger." Paul, the crew and even Hans were all of a sudden very curious about this new device. "This crystal is part of the matrix the computer works in. It is directed more towards time than the three usual dimensions. So far, it has only been giving a three seconds warning." ------- Chapter 81 From all around, I got strong feelings of incredulity. At the computer room door I went in alone. I could see Hans clearly and took a step towards him. I remembered not too long ago taking this crystal and getting Mom to program it with some of my attributes and place it here in this same place. Since one place was a good as another, I looked into the multi-dimensional space around us and parted some of the dimensions with my mind. With the opening a few metres square, I strode in and looked for Mom along the long corridor. There had been many small hints that I was able to decipher as I went along and found Mom the first time. While Mom was beginning to work on Hans, I ordered some substrate. I soon began to make a much more powerful and roomy home for Hans. He would have to work on this himself because all the other major AIs in the system were working hard at getting the other ships ready. The crystals were ready and on Earth. It was now just a matter of Mom transporting them through the dimensional passage and Hans placing them in position. The crystal where Hans now resided could safely be moved by the computer alone but the ship would not be as fully functional as it normally would be during this process. While in the passage, I thought of my mind and how some small crystals had been used as a sort of phased array, to allow me to hear the Kadork mindspeech. Perhaps the same thing could be used with the predictor crystal. Mom passed me a crystal and I started to clean it then put in the correct structure. I was surprised to find that it was much easier here in the multi-dimensional environment than it was on the moon or even travelling in the higher reaches, with Harriet. I passed this information onto Mom so she could work on it too when she had some spare time. Mom now passed me some of the temporal crystals that the shield and the small missile used. As I expected, the work was much easier and it only took a bit more than two seconds to do one. As an experiment, I stayed and worked for an hour. In that time I was up to just a bit more than a second each. This was quite an improvement over what I was capable of before. It appeared that this environment naturally helped the crystals align better and small alterations would fall into predetermined steps. I did a few more main processors and found them to be only a fraction of the time that it took before. "Mom, try to do some crystals in this passage too. It may be much better than in the labs." "I have, Henry. It is much easier. The linkages seem to snap into place easier as if there are only so many possible positions for the crystals to align to." "I found that too. Something along the lines of Planck's Constant, I think." "Perhaps we can have a Buchanan's Constant, now." Just before leaving I tried to reason out what would be time among the dimensions. As an experiment I tried to take a long step as far back as I could. When I came out, I interfaced with Hans and saw that this experiment had not worked. Paul had stayed outside with some of his officers. The reasoning in Paul's mind seemed to be setting up a pecking order even if he was not crude enough to think that particular thought. With me the Emperor, then he had a place in my military and thereby had authority over his officers and men. As long as everyone knew their place, there would be no arguing. Apparently Paul was still apprehensive about his young age and very high position. Paul and our entourage walked through the ship that took so many lives to take. I finally asked about the light destroyer that was the first ship taken. "Oh, the 'Uncle Henry'. Its crew acted very bravely during the battle. They took a bit of a beating when the Samutz attacked but they had no deaths luckily. There were a few close calls when the screen was actually breached. Would you like me to call the ship in?" "No, that's ok. I just wanted to know about it. How did it acquire that name?" Paul turned very red and I thought he would rather be fighting a Samutz bare handed now than talking to me. In a moment he recovered and I could see fear in him and in the officers around us. "Captain Shingle and I thought the name appropriate since you and Dad took it." I just slapped him on the shoulder and said, "That's fine. I would have picked a different name but that is me. The name can stay." We finished the tour and I congratulated the officers on how well the ship was brought up to standards. This was when we, as a race, had just started our first steps into space. This seemed to be the right thing to say and the men and women stood even prouder. As we came by the Captain's quarters, I ran into little Moesha as she raced out of the doorway. She gave a little 'eek' as I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. "And what is a little girl like you doing running around the ship?" "Hi, Daddy. I was going to the bridge to get Charlie to come here. Aunt Doris wants him for a few measurements." She spotted Paul and said, "She wants you too, Uncle Paul. She says that her old measurements are all wrong now." Charlie had given his cabin over to the family and moved his things in with Paul. This was no hardship for there was lots of room for everybody and especially the officers. Doris was putting a pretty dress onto Clarice. It was suitable for any princess I would ever meet. Michelle was dressed similarly but not the same. Kimberly was admiring herself in a viewer that moved to any prospective she wanted. A dress, hanging still in the air could only be for Moesha. An illustration in a book with the picture before me would make any little girl croon with pleasure at the thoughts of princesses. The only thing missing would be the small crown. When Clarice was dressed, Doris turned to us and saw Paul. "Come here, Honey. I need to get a few measurements. You boys have grown and put more muscle on. You'll not make it through the doorways soon." "Ah, Ma." I left after a while. There was no problem in any of them getting a ride home. The rest of the family was up and about their duties. Ingrid was sitting in a chair with her eyes closed, learning about imperial protocol. Lam was feeding the first of her many children and I was glad to see that she had found some help in taking care of them. All the little mobile children were out with Duc and I knew he would have his hands full without Marcus' help. I sat close to Lam, picked up Hope and played with her a little. She looked so intelligent, as she looked into my eyes. With people like this, it was no wonder that the Tandra empire grew to the size and complexity it did. Remembering home, Marcus provided me with a very plush blanket. I got Faith and Charity and placed them on the blanket with their sister. I got on the floor myself to play with each. I would tickle one and all three would twitch from the contact. I went to different places on different bodies till they were all gurgling happily. I liked to talk to children but these three were special, even if they couldn't speak yet. It would be as hard leaving them as it was their mother. The children reminded me that only Nova, of the senior wives, was not carrying my baby. I pictured in my mind her gentle ways and quiet persuasion she used on the others to get them to work a bit harder. Since she was the oldest she had many decedents. I remember telling her once that I would gather her relatives for her so that she could meet them all. My mind went to Earth. "Mom, would you search out all of Nova's relatives for me. She wanted to meet them but they were always on one side or another of a stasis pod." "I have records of two. A great grand daughter is currently on the Nautilus training as Fire Control Officer. A grandson is young and in stasis. His mother died in the recent Samutz attack." The particulars of each came to me and I could see that Vosta, the officer on the battleship was competent but would need a lot of training to become anything higher. Not all Tandra strove to reach for the impossible dream. They did try to be as competent as they could in their own speciality. Humans seemed to be the opposite. Some worked hard to reach a higher position and almost always reached too high. They usually found themselves in a situation they could not handle properly. Most though, didn't try for anything beyond a mildly comfortable life that got them just enough rewards to afford their beer and cigarettes. Perhaps the Tandra could show these ones that they could do better and raise their level of achievement. Other higher achieving Humans would drive the empire further and further. Vosta was probably happy just where she was. The young grandson was only two and a half and knew nothing of what had happened to the home he was born in. His mother's recent death would affect Nova. The records of the child's mother's actions in the Earth base rise to self-sufficiency and the circumstances around her heroic death might somehow give Nova some peace when she found out. Perhaps taking the child would in some way help both. The garrisons I left with Nova would also need some assistance. Most but not all, had been sent data of our present circumstances before I came to Earth. With Uncle Jake and possibly the hull Mom was preparing, then the large fleet outside the system would not be needed. The Mordis infantry and Tandra techs could be spread out to beef up the existing garrisons and allow more troops to be placed on other important planets. Mom and I took some time and word was sent out to some of the ships around our system giving them orders and what crewmembers to take. This would mobilize about two hundred ships and at least four million Tandra. Their casual training period was coming to a close and could now be employed. There had to be enough potential officers left to fill the twenty cruisers and provide some assistance for the new carrier. This group would all be integrated with the Tandra coming from Fenmar. Mom had sent word to Epsilon Eridani to get some crystals shipped out of the system so I could pick them up without anybody becoming aware of the crystal's origins. Harriet had told me more about this particular system. The code fragments I sent her were finally decrypted after a lot of work and it appeared the Tandra had formed a double blind. Frieda had programming that required her to forget that the matter transmitter was just outside the system and that it was even used. This signified that the crystals had been more than just important to the Tandra. I could not really see how they must have played such an important part in their technology. Many scenarios were postulated in my mind and it looked like the Tandra empire was as byzantine as what some Earth cultures were. The current crystals we were altering would be in great demand. Even with the new discovery of changing them in their natural environment, the number produced would be pitifully small. Mom could make them faster now but what was needed was a computer that could make them very efficiently and in great numbers. Raw material might not be a problem if we could make use of the giant cache of imperfect crystals in the Epsilon Eridani system. The hidden manufacturing area for machining and polishing the small crystals that were used in combat suits was not suitable for our needs. It did its job well enough but was much too slow and would not work for larger crystals. What was needed was a similar machine moved into the type of environment that a large computer would make or in the maze itself. The computer substrate grew many times faster in this area too. Small computers took a considerable amount of time to make. For their size and power they almost took as long as the large ones computers. It seemed that nobody before could navigate the upper dimensions as I could. Someone had to have a partial ability or the computers, as we knew them, would never have been built. In all the years that the Tandra were active it was a certainty that they had postulated the same things that I was doing. They were unable to bring them to fruition though. We had made many new discoveries but now needed more insight and effort in bringing these limited production ideas to our military forces. The only people that could do this and keep the secret would be AIs and me. I could see some of the reasons now for Tandra secrecy but I doubted that they were hiding the same thing I was. I was interrupted by a call. Behind me a woman appeared with a child in her arms. The woman was very nervous at being sent here. Coming to an Emperor's household was a thing only dreamed of. The child though was just a bit nervous at going somewhere new. The large amounts of mindspeech and the sheer number of people on the moon was a bit disconcerting. The change in gravity also seemed to upset him but not too much. I turned around but continued to sit on the blanket with the girls. "Come in. There is nothing to worry about," I said to both. Lam put the child she was feeding down after burping him and got up to see who our guests were. Lam did her best to get both to relax. Both were taken to the food synthesizer and given some treats to eat and drink. Lam knew what was really appreciated by Tandra. I continued to work on our problems and soon the woman came out with a smile and disappeared into the matter transmitter outside our doorway. A few moments later Lam came out with her right hand holding a much happier little boy. Lam brought Gerdo over to us and introduced him to me. I shook his hand but he did not really know about this Earth custom. He was not too interested in me but did sit on the fluffy blanket and look at the children. "This lady, says you know my grandmother," though his mindspeech was not quite as clear or his thoughts well organized. "Yes I do. Your grandmother is my wife. She is far away looking after a whole system. I thought it would be good to go for us to go and see her together. She gets lonely sometimes. Would you like to go with me?" The boy thought for a while. Relatives were not as important to Tandra as they were to some Humans. They did offer some security. "Where's my mother? She can take me too." I could see he was noncommital about seeing Nova and knew he would go to visit her after I had set up communications on this trip. "Gerdo, some bad people attacked us and your mother fought very hard to protect all of us. She flew a two place fighter and lost her life while attacking them." The boy started to cry after he gained an understanding of what my words meant. He didn't know his mother well but she was still the only permanent fixture in his young life. I reached out and gently pulled him to me. He took a few steps and hung onto my neck as he cried for his loss and ours. Lam was upset by the child's feelings and was about to get up but I signalled her to remain seated. Ingrid, was pulled from her studies by a child crying and would have gotten up also. After ten minutes, I placed him on the blanket with the girls. He sniffled for a while with my hand rubbing his back and went to sleep with Mom's subtle urging. I knew it would have to end this way. Gerdo would become one of my sons and Nova would be one of his many mothers. This way he would have some time to get to know Nova and Sandy before having to mix too much with the rest of our large family. Perhaps one day he would be able to pay an enemy back for what they had done to him and to us. The children stayed on the floor but I had many things that still needed to be done. Lam promised to look after the boy and I took the matter transmitter to Harriet and flew to Earth. Inside the extension I made in Mom's computer, I began to formulate the computer for the hull she made. There were many other computers being assisted but Mom worked for a bit on this and we found that it grew close to thirty times faster. In only forty minutes, the crystals went in and the computer became self aware. My recent thoughts of Gerdo had made me think of my own father. The crystal had therefore been loaded with all my thoughts and recollections of him. I had mixed feelings about this. I still wanted my father to be alive so I could talk to him about my problems but I also knew it would only give me pain when I had to leave. At least I knew his resurrected essence would be here to protect the rest of our family. When he awoke, he called me, "Henry," right away because Mom had put a lot of information into the memory crystals. It did not feel right calling him 'John' and 'Dad' did not seem right either. My ship with my mother's memories was called Margaret, so I guess I would follow the precedent and call him John anyway. "Hello, John. Do your internal scans show any problems or could you think of any improvements?" "Everything looks perfect. I don't know how your grouping of predictor crystals will work though." "I don't either. They've not been what I hoped they would be." I had a new idea and floated over the new computer and opened another door into the full dimensions. Mom sent some substrate and I began a small computer here that would interface with John much like he was interfacing with Mom. Into the same area I put three crystals but did not insert them into the computer. "John, try to alter the crystals in this new area. If this can be accomplished then we may have found a way to help us overcome some of our delivery problems." In just a few minutes the new computer was being tested then the crystals began to glow and even change shape. When Mom's tractors took them out they were checked and found to be as good as we could make them. "That's good, John. This means that you can rearm yourself with these new weapons. Now, we have to see about moving you to your hull." The matter transmitter in this area was only for repair and was not big enough for the hull to enter. Perhaps that could be rectified in time. A room in a computer could be many times larger than the ship that contained the computer itself. I did not know how much the mass in this area would effect acceleration though. The idea I originally had might work and I decided to try it. I saw the boundaries around John and used my PK to gather them up and fold them into a small package. This was similar to the way I stepped within a shield or computer. When it was folded enough times I held it in one hand with my other one over it. I had to concentrate to keep the dimensions stable. Mom used her tractors to move me out of the computer and down the hall to the first matter transmitter station. In the hangar the hull Mom made was ready. I walked to it and at the small door to the small computer room started to unfold the computer. The energy given off by the crystals allowed me to alter the interior of the small enclosure. At the end of the process I had to make further room for the extension and a large area for a matter transmitter that had not been placed yet. All of the AIs hooked up to Mom followed my moves and I could feel some assistance coming now as John was connected up to various devices that controlled the ship's functions. John started to help himself and the process was done fairly quickly. In twenty minutes, John said that he was complete but did not have the matter transmitter. When Mom took one from stores and delivered it I could not find a way to get it into the small ship. The effect of the crystals would only allow part of it to enter but the remainder stayed stubbornly outside. A large room with crystals altering all the dimensions within it might be used to compress a matter transmitter or anything else. I did not have this room though or enough crystals to make it. Mom took the large device away and soon parts came by tractor that John could pick up the same way and assemble the complicated device within the area allotted. This took more time. Eventually the device was assembled, connected to the computer and tested. The result though was dismal. It just didn't work. Power went to it and it was consumed but a test object did not move. I couldn't see much difference between the matter transmitter in three dimensions and only partially in the other two with one in all five equally. I was tired from all the mental effort and just suggested that John take a test flight to check his systems. Later we could work again on what went wrong. Part of my mind stubbornly stayed on the problem as I got back in Harriet and flew to the Nautilus. Orders had been sent ahead to just get me to the computer room and to forget any ceremonies. Captain William Meech did meet me though with his exec. Pasha brought all of us to the hatch. Both Human and Tandra guessed that they were going to get the instant communications. It was not necessary when within the system but anytime they had to go beyond three and a half lights then this would work much better. Pasha opened the door and I was beyond view in one step. It took only a few seconds now to open a large area for the new computer and start it growing. A similar area for a matter transmitter was set aside if and when we could find a way to make a device work in this environment. Mom worked her magic on Pasha and then both started to help the process further. Crystals came from tractors handed from Mom directly through the back door. This was a substitute for the transmitter but not what I wanted yet. After a few more hours back in Mom's computer trying to find a way to get the matter transmitter to function, I was ready to give it up for a while. When I came out one of the converted cruisers came next to the carrier and some of the people from Fenmar boarded. Earth could not really tell one cruiser from another and some were on our outer fringe patrolling. Many of our own troops boarded too. The AIs were busy putting the right people in the right place. I had enough time before our scheduled meal to have a visit and try to see if there were any problems. The AIs had gone through a long list and chosen a very young looking Tandra female as captain by the name of Foomala. I was greeted in the bay with as much pomp and majesty as they could quickly scrape up on short notice. I tried to explain that now was not the time for this sort of display. Foomala, on the other hand, disagreed and stood by her guns. In a way she was right for the crew would respond better if they all knew their place in the grand scheme of things. Her polite disagreement with her Emperor pleased me. Foomala was pushing the millennium mark in a very young and attractive body. Her mind was quick and sharp. She didn't seem to put up with nonsense but then again, the people from Earth after their training thought the same way. She had not fought in any wars but had thrown her weight around with unruly races on various worlds. "My emperor, I heard you mention what you would give us. Though I did not think that you would not deliver, I did not think it would be as good as this. The cruiser I came here in was so phenomenal that I would hazard to say that it was the most intelligent computer ever made. From your people, I see that this is starting to become common. Your Mom has said that the carrier will be just as efficient." "I think it will. I have another surprise. There are some fighters in the forward bay that have been given a partial temporal shield covering the forward section. There is a new crystal installed that will allow the simple AI to predict where danger is and try to avoid it. This hull also has that capability and you can use it to keep your command safe. Lastly, the fighters are in constant communication with Mom and Mom will be in communication with the new AI when it awakes. When they are beyond communicator range you will get a few seconds of warning that nobody in history was ever able to get." She did not know what to say. She was stunned when she heard me talk on her planet and now even more so when I had even improved on what I offered. She would be even more pleased when she took the ship out for trials and experimented with what she had been given. As we walked about the ship I saw a lot more Humans than Tandra. There was were actually a hundred and fifty thousand Humans, forty six thousand Tandra from Fenmar and almost all of the Softay population we had. Before I left the AI was shifted over to the new computer and moved into its new home. The old computer was stripped for components and the parts placed in storage. I followed the reasoning within the computer in the crystal too and found them at optimum. While she devoted her time and energy to her duties she also had time to work on the crystals she had. She could also produce her own crystals for the missiles. I had tried to make the AIs different and this particular one had some of the mannerisms and social traits of a Softay female. She would not be slow to fight though and I hoped the real Softay would take extra pride in the ship and tried to emulate the AI. The family had waited a bit for me and we ate our meal in a more sombre mood. Gerdo sat with members of his own age group and seemed to be a little happier. Monique, Justine and her children ate with us too. Everybody was a little ill at ease. My coming departure meant that I would have to leave them again. It had taken half a year to come back last time and I had almost been killed many times. They were very concerned that they would not see me again. I tried to start up conversations but they seemed to die out fairly quickly. Ingrid was quick to voiced the wives' viewpoint. "Henry, are you going to make love to us before you leave?" My mind was working on many ideas but part could still make sure the wives were satisfied before I had to leave. "I would be happy to." The group separated after our meal. The children went to their rooms to study or make each other happy. My wives went to our room and washed in preparation for our lovemaking. When I went to Ingrid she said, "Henry, I would like to be last this time." I could see that she wanted to enjoy the sights and sounds and perhaps have her own cum before I got to her. Kitten was first. I walked up to her and held her tightly to me and kissed her lips. Since I first met her she had come to be very good at this. Instead of me starting to get her aroused she took the lead and started kissing different parts of me. In a few minutes she was on her knees sucking me into her mouth. The feeling was very special because she was doing this for more than just gratification but for love. I was surprised when she was able to get more of me into her throat and I was concerned that she would be hurt. Kitten sensed my concern and just told me to enjoy. Kitten wanted my seed and I did what she wanted with as much enjoyment as I could get. Her head and hand working fast to make the sensations as strong and as long as possible. It took a moment for me to recover and I just bent over and picked my wife up. I kissed her lips and let her know how much I loved her. When she melted against me I savoured the closeness for a moment, then picked her up and laid her on the bed. She was already eager and I just used some oil and slipped into her tight passage. I sawed back and forth in a slow rhythm, as old as time, trying to get her to where I wanted her to be. As on the ship I could feel the Tandra all around start to play voyeur and project their own emotions into Kitten. To counter this effect I subtly altered her ability to orgasm. It took her seconds to go from a loving wife to a wild woman bent on making herself pregnant even if she already was. In an uncharacteristic, to her move, she tried to use her hands and draw me in quicker and her fingernails made marks on my skin. She started to even howl as if she was a cat in heat, as her name implied. Her body moved as if she could scoop more of me up if she moved at the right time. To flout the voyeurs and now Kitten I continued with my slow pace. As she became more insistent I used the tractors to pin her down and continued to slide slowly into her. Her voice came out pleading for release. Her neck and chest showed all her muscles taut trying for just that little bit more that would put her and the rest over. Ingrid was sprawled on the bed in a 69 position with Dola. They were sucking on each other and Dola had no feeling to extend his penis. He was firmly in the funt mode and I doubted if his penis would ever come out again. Roger and Topaz were doing the same thing as were the rest of my wives. In the doorway I could see Ingrid's children watching as well as Monique and Justine. Her sons, though, were watching from another doorway. All of them had their hands busy. Jeremy and Matthew had more than their share of sex since coming here but this time the sight was a little too much for them. Their clothing was removed and they were stroking their small dicks. The new Humans were becoming accustomed to the way the Tandra affected them too. As the intensity grew, I knew it would be good to let Kitten and the others with her find release. I thrust faster into the pinned woman and then removed my control on her orgasm and on her body. Her arms came up and so did her back. The muscles stood out in stark relief as she screamed out her pleasure. I could hear similar calls from others in the vicinity. Kitten stayed in this position for ten seconds and I continued to give her all the sensations she could handle. As expected though she collapsed and went unconscious from all the stimulation. I put her in a comfortable position and went over to Dola. He too had and orgasmed as did his partner Ingrid. I turned him on his back and slipped into him with some lubricant. After a few strokes to get fully seated. I used the tractors again and moved Ingrid so that she was sitting on Dola's face and I was able to kiss her. I had to again restrain both of their orgasms as I moved back and forth more forcefully now. When Ingrid came to her senses she found me holding her to me as my hips moved back and fourth. "Oh, Henry, I have waited so long." Her hand came in front of her for stability and found Dola's urethra. She immediately started to stroke it to the feelings he was giving her opening. My own oily hand came down and found her long clit and did the same to her. Ingrid started to gasp for air and so did Dola but he was in less of a position to get it. When the time came when both were as high as they could get I removed my holds, thrust quickly into Dola's bottom and unloaded spurt after spurt of semen into him. His scream into Ingrid made her own scream higher. I continued to thrust as all of us recovered again. Eventually, I pulled out and set both of them down in each other's arms. Erotic visions in each of their minds told me how much I was really loved. With a little cleaning I approached little Roger and just moved slow till he had his own orgasm. His arms all the time were around Topaz that was holding him as good as any lover would. When I pulled out again and cleaned myself Topaz said, "Husband, please do me like Roger. He's the same age." "I couldn't help it with him being my wife but I can wait till you get bigger. I still have some of my Earth hangups and can't get rid of all of them yet." I looked at the Kitty, Cloud and Moth and saw their faces reflect one more defeat. "That doesn't mean that I will ignore you four." I attacked Topaz and threw her on her back and began to feast on her charms. Her own hands came up and tried to hold me in place. More oil and my fingers entered her two openings and in seconds she had her next orgasm. Because of her sad face I continued with her and gave her one more. As I did this, I worked hard to tie the other three to her as tight as I could. She screamed her pleasure in time to with the others. The other three got a similar treatment. I doubted if they had so many orgasms so quickly before. When the children fled consciousness, I laid them together and turned to face Ingrid. She wanted to be last and she was. I knew that she had many orgasms and needed one large one to end the night. When I got to her I picked her limp body up and gave her a kiss. "Henry, before me, will you take Justine and Monique? I know you do not want them for wives but they really need you now." I could see the reasoning behind the request. The two women still felt as outcasts and needed something more to know they had been loved. I felt an obligation to both and as Ingrid said, I would not want them for wives. A temporary arrangement with them to get them over this particular hurdle was fine by me. "I'll ask them then." I laid Ingrid back down and walked over to the two women. They did not know I had come for both were feasting on each other's charms. I squatted down and put my hand on Justine's lower back and waited for Monique to open her eyes. She looked at me with the thin bush of pubic hair from Justine's mons between us. "Would the two of you want to come to my bed?" Monique had stopped any movement with her mouth. Justine did not know I was here and just trust her hips more at Monique to remind her of her job. Monique pushed against Justine's hips and raised her easily in the light moon gravity. When they became untangled, I repeated myself to them. They looked at each other as if not believing my words. Justine was the first to get up and pull Monique with her. She said, "We would love to, sir." I got close to her and with both hands held her face as I gently kissed her. I smiled and said, "Being called 'sir' when being invited to my bed, is not what I would want. I think Henry would be better or some other terms if you wish." I pulled their hands apart and turned to hold them myself as I guided them toward Ingrid. Ingrid stepped to us and picked up the two remaining hands thus forming a ring. I said, to the two newcomers, "I would like to welcome you to a life within the Tandra community if you choose to accept it. There's no compulsion whether you accept this offer and none if you want to visit our apartment or not. You and the children are free to come and go as you wish. I will see, that all of you get a place of your own so you are under no obligation." Justine said, "I think, I understand. We do want to stay with the Tandra become educated to fight for our place in the galaxy. Even if I was not thinking of my children or Monique, I would want this." I looked at Monique and she knew she had to commit herself one way or another. "I want to join too. I see the way things are here and how nobody will be able to take advantage of me again, especially if I train as a soldier. I have never felt this free in my life." She hung her head now and said lower, "If I had stayed on Earth, I think I would be dead now or wishing I was." I released her hand and picked up her chin. "I am sure that it will never happen again. Do you two wish to join my family for a few hours?" I got a smile and a head nod. With this I released Justine's hand and held Monique to me. She was not quite 16 yet and looked both beautiful and vulnerable. Inside, she had started to erect a strong foundation for her future and I hoped after tonight, it would be even stronger. Monique was laid on her back as Kitten and the rest of my wives came to Justine. Justine willingly allowed herself to be lowered and received many kisses to her body. When I started to caress Monique's breasts, she reached out and held me tight to her. In her mind she had waited for this since meeting me seven months ago even if she had slept the majority of the intervening time. Her legs tried to come around my body. My lips stayed fixed but my hands moved her legs so that I could get between them. She started to breathe very rapidly and her movements were demanding, as if she would loose out if she did not hurry. My hands went to her face and I said, "Relax, Monique. We'll both enjoy ourselves and you will not miss out." She thought a bit and decided to try it my way. Her large breasts drew me again and I sucked each very languidly into my mouth, trying to get her to a higher plateau without any undue haste. Moments later, I abandoned the small morsels, and went down her ribcage then across her abdomen. She became excited again and her breathing made her belly raise and fall very quickly. I had to bypass the undulating terrain and came to the thinly covered pelvic bone. I rested my cheek on it, till she regained some of her breath. My arms grasped her legs and brought her knees slowly to her chest while parting her feet to the maximum. I looked at the juncture of her legs and saw a young girl not that far into puberty. Her eyes told me to hurry but behind them she was frightened. First, because she only knew men to hurt her and secondly she was worried by my size. I leaned over her form and released her legs but my shoulders kept them in place. "I will not hurt you, Monique. If you want me to stop now, I will. You can also tell me to stop or wait at any time you are uncomfortable." As I paused, she made up her mind. "I knew you would never hurt me but please go slow." I smiled reassuringly to her and moved back a bit and brought my mouth down to her opening. It was quite refreshing to have to root around to find the little clit. When I did, her hands came to my hair and she held on as if her life depended on it. Her breathing and heartbeat went up again and her legs wrapped around my head to keep me from going anywhere else. After a few moments her breathing got only worse and soon I knew she would have her little death. She pulled unmercifully on my hair as she screamed my name. Her pelvis rocked to get more stimulation as her hands gripped me as if I were a horse in a race. As she calmed down, her fingers and legs relaxed and looking into her mind I knew she did not know what she had done. Moving up, I rubbed the head of my cock against her now lubricated channel. I was able to get in a few centimetres then out again. When I was in about half a normal man's length I pulled out and just moved back and forth at the opening. When Monique came back to me she impulsively reached up and pulled me into a very appreciative kiss. "Oh, that was good. Now make me feel what a woman is supposed to feel with a man that cares for her." In her mind she hoped 'love' would be substituted for 'cares for'. "Milady, your wish is my command." I gave her a kiss of my own and worked into her again but kept the pace very slow. Each centimetre gained was accompanied by groans of pleasure. Just short of her cervix, I stopped and stayed safely away, so that she would not have even that pain. Her vagina was not as long as others. My hands were busy all the time kneading her breasts and gently pinching her nipples. As her next orgasm approached, I used the tractors to hold her arms down as I moved more quickly into her. Her constant movements made it hard to gage how far to push. I had to restrain her legs next or she would pull herself further onto me and hurt herself. When the time came, she was chanting incoherently for more as her head tossed from one side to another. The orgasm seemed to well up from her stomach and spread out in all directions. At its peak, she screamed again in her release and her muscles strained uncontrollably. Looking around, I expected to see the other girls watching what happened to Monique. I was mistaken this time. Justine was in a 69 position with Ingrid. She happened to be on top and Topaz was using an anal vibrator on the woman. I didn't know if this was too much for the women so I searched her mind. Her husband had taken her this way many times and she harboured a small masochistic streak. This caused her to enjoy some of the experiences, even then. Now with a smaller tool, plenty of lubricant and no forcing, she absolutely enjoyed the event. Ingrid too enjoyed Justine, for she squirmed, groaned and exuded her joy at what was happening to her. I sat down and just held Monique as I watched what went on. Roger had become overwrought at the sight of us and tried to please Dola as they kept one eye now only on their sister Ingrid. At the doorway Jorge, Judith and Sofia were in a pile, with other young ones finding out the same thing as their mothers. At the other opening to the room, Matthew and Jeremy were kneeling behind two of my new children, stroking into them. On closer examination, I saw that one was male. On the far side of Ingrid were the remnants of the young squad doing what they did best. The sounds got progressively louder till Justine screamed into Ingrid's opening setting her off too. Topaz monitored Justine and kept up the work with her vibrator till the woman just collapsed on Ingrid. It took a few moments till Ingrid pushed up and put Justine beside her. She looked at me with a wet face and smiled. "You haven't treated Justine like a guest, Henry. Lay down now and we will help." I did as she asked and she got up on unsteady feet and moved Monique. With the young squad and then got Topaz helping, she got Justine positioned over me. Topaz held my cock to line it up, then sneaked in and sucked the head for a moment. She looked at me innocently and said, "I had to get it wet." Ingrid lowered Justine down and Topaz rubbed the head across the wet opening and together they prepared the woman to sit on me. Justine was just coming around now and felt herself being invaded. Her legs tensed and then she lowered herself onto me, a little at a time. It took many small increments till she was sitting on me. She looked into my eyes and said, "Oh, you are so big." She moved a bit more and shivered as delicious feelings travelled through her body. When she got into a good rhythm, Ingrid, who was watching at my side, stepped over me and sat on my face. My tongue came out and licked her and the little nerve bundles around her two openings. I could hear with my ears and mind how good this felt to her. My hands came up to hold her in place as my tongue entered her front opening. I felt some different movements and looked through Ingrid's eyes to see her take Justine's face and push it down to her large ten centimetre clit to suck as she was eaten by me. Justine was able to accomplish this as well as moving up and down because of the one sixth gravity. Ingrid was starting to groan again as she came towards her goal. Topaz saw the unoccupied hole and took her vibrator again and worked it back into Justine's back opening. The vibrations were just great for me but drove Justine crazy and Topaz moved it as fast as she could. Seconds later Justine could take it no more and again screamed while Ingrid's clit was in her mouth. This was the last straw for Ingrid and she too came. Her pelvis came up and down, trying to get my tongue into her better but eventually collapsed on top of Justine. I used the tractors and my arms to disentangle us. A wicked thought came to my mind and I picked up Ingrid again and impaled her on me. "Topaz, do the same to Ingrid, please." The girl smiled and took the small thin tool and with some oil worked it into the unresponsive woman. When the vibrations started Ingrid came back to her senses. She looked at me and only for a second did she wonder what was happening to her other opening. She put her hands on my chest and began to contract and relax her leg muscles. Her eyes closed many times as she had to stop and enjoy a small cum then return to what she was doing. This time it took five minutes before she was ready. When Topaz knew when, she turned the vibrations up high and Ingrid moved furiously on me. The vibrations through the thin membrane were also too good for me and we both tensed at the same time. As her vagina squeezed me, I shot into her many times. My wives had been sated and so had the children at the doorways. I cleaned some up, while others were able to take care of themselves. They were quite tired after they got carried away. I put them to bed and climbed between my wives to have a short sleep before my trip. Three hours later I crawled back out. Everybody else was still sleeping. Ingrid had her arm over her head and was snoring a bit but not anything that a man would find disagreeable. Marcus delivered some breakfast as he gave me a condensed synopsis of the events in all the systems that we had communications with. The amount of newly captured ships was decreasing, as the supply fell. A few battles had taken place and Jamal reported that some of our ships had been damaged and five completely destroyed. As I boarded Harriet the Terra's Pride started to leave the system. I had been talking to Moesha, Kimberly, Michelle and Clarice through the communication system. My hologram was as good as Mom's and they could almost believe that I was present. Doris was taking a few things to her husband. Some presents happened to be new uniforms some presently decorated her two sons. They were the same as what other officers wore but Doris made sure that they fit much better on her family. Terra's Pride was also carrying more Humans to beef up the garrison. The Tandra were coming along fine on Epsilon Eridani but I wanted Humans represented more. Some of the ones going were from my old company. They were still old men but now healthy old men. If they decided to join after talking to Carl then he could get their bodies rejuvenated on Masis or in one of the ships protecting the system. While they flew to Masis, I flew a different path and followed my old path to the Samutz empires. Dasul was the first world after Masis, that had been liberated. A single destroyer came at us. At extreme communicator range it only gave the old imperial override. It had been altered a few times since to address all the new data we had gathered. When our own transponder was read the ship decelerated to escort us in. Harriet quizzed the empty ship and gave it new orders as well as current data on the state of our progress in destroying Samutz and Thonas. The T'aut on the planet had not made themselves known yet so I gave the override again and hoped that some Tandra equipment would convey my words to the residents of the planet. One small ship was being worked on by a lone T'aut. My image came onto the large screen and I greeted the individual as any other T'aut would have done. He or she tried to shut the screen off and I had to get the doors shut before he escaped. Eventually, with enough kind words, I explained what I had done to their planet months ago. I mentioned that I would send more ships to guard their system but the actual front now was many light years away and receding. I sent data that would help them fight Samutz and Thonas alike but I knew that they would not use it. To keep better surveillance on the system, Harriet docked in the destroyer's boat bay and I was transported to the computer room. It took very little time to hookup to Mom. She would now take care of security and ship some of the new missiles to take out any ships that the override could not handle. Minutes later, I was in the Keeren system with the odd planetary pair. Here there were two small frigates and a troop transport. They were mine and I gave them the same updates that the previous destroyer had received. When I gave the command to the Tandra equipment on the desert planet Roldas, I found many Morg in range of the available scanners. I made myself known but was not able to speak to the Morg in their own language. The creatures were tall and strong but they all varied a lot in intelligence. A small individual finally came forward and talked in Samutz to me. I replied in kind, "Can we converse in some other language?" We tried a few more but had to go back to the only one that would work. I told Zzoraf, the local chief about what I had done and what I intended for all the various races, including his. He was quite impressed by my words but I did not know what he really thought. All I could do was tell him that he and the rest of his race would be repatriated if they choose. Their own home world would now be Samutz free but I did not know for sure. Before leaving the system, I entered each of the three ships and connected them to Mom. The water world Vernt drew me and I went down into the atmosphere and even into the watery environment itself. The waters were teeming with life. When we slowed, we were attacked by large predators of many kinds. A type of mollusk was prevalent and wrapped it's tentacles around us like the ship in one of Jules Verne's books. We were smooth and difficult to grasp. We went from spot to spot and found only more predators and each more hungry than the last. An idea I had previously came back to me and I worked on how it could be done. The deep ocean that covered most of the planet's surface would also help me. The next four systems from our previous trip were like the Keeren system and not very important. On the first system, I did find three carriers that I had missed long ago and wondered where they had fled. They had eventually gotten the imperial command and had long since removed or killed all the Samutz onboard and then had gone out to spread the good word. After twelve systems though they had found themselves back almost where I found them. They were too valuable to just patrol the system though. I went into each of the computers and got them to talk to Mom directly. When I left I pushed two carriers with me to the limits of their compensators. The next three systems were guarded lightly and I dropped off a carrier at the weakest points. I wanted every system to be tied into our net and any enemy activity would be noticed by Mom. The next system, was what I really wanted. Alpha Ophiuchi and its main planet Falm 6 had a very important part of my life in it. From far off I stopped to see what had happened since I was last here. The system was swarming with ships, just as I seen it when the wedding was taking place. This time though, it seemed much more purposeful. From the limit of our communicator range I sent our identity ahead. At this distance it could not be anything but text. In reply, I got broken text of Secric. Mom tacked her own message at the end. My entrance now was very dramatic as I used full power and stopped beside the Strangle where Mom was going to meet us with Secric. I conversed for a moment with the AI and it was easy to see that he was glad to have the Emperor aboard. Inside his bay, Harriet talked to the AI as I tried to find a few facts out about this ship. I did not get too far though in my own conversation, for Mom entered the ship and immediately her hologram was beside us. Seconds later Secric was there too. She ran clumsily to me and threw herself into my arms. Her kisses rained on me as her mind tried to tell me how much she missed me. "Henry, I have waited for you and wondered if I would ever see you again." In her mind she wondered about the subtle changes in me and the not too subtle changes in my eye. "I have missed you too. Many things have changed. I see that our child is growing very large. What does your mother think of you running around like this?" It took her a moment to understand and said, "She says that I have to exercise more but not to over do it." "I agree. This child will be very important to me and to the whole galaxy." This made her think a lot more about it and endeavoured to pay more attention to Mom. I continued with my conversation, "The war seems to be progressing well but we have new enemies too. I have just been to Earth and I would like you all to interface with Harriet to talk to our family there." While she wondered about my words, I looked within her and saw more of how my child was growing. It would be only a few weeks before this daughter would be born. While the woman tried to get past my shield to see why I was smiling, I contemplated what the child before me would be like. She did turn to the screen and see an area of the lunar base. Mom though was using much of the bandwidth as she took in data now from her clone. After ten minutes I got Secric to go to our old apartment in Mom's hull where she regained her interrupted communications. I eavesdropped and saw that after talking to each of the children she talked to Kitten and the new Ingrid. When things settled to just a rolling boil, Doris and the Human girls came into the conversation. At the moment they were decelerating into the Epsilon Eridani system and would be in orbit in eight hours. Even Carl on Masis, got into the conversation and was happy to see that the people he knew were safe. While this was going on, I walked to the computer room in the tug. There had been more attacks on the system but most shipping had been absorbed. A small task force of Thonas had attacked. The majority of the Samutz ships had come over to our side but two newer units didn't along with three Thonas ships. Mom had played it cagey and let all the ships get close before attacking. The attacking Tandra craft though had released all their missiles at their old allies along with the defending ships. The Thonas had been destroyed along with the two newer ships. The planet Falm had been cleansed of Samutz and the only ones were now in stasis. Many of the beings destined for the Samutz dinner table had been placed in what amounted to refugee camps. They were now being trained to take care of themselves and possibly be of use to us. In all, there were thirteen different races represented now on the surface. The Moldeg were here too and Mom had wisely kept them segregated from the rest after finding out what they were capable of. I knew that only a few races would be of any use to us but all would be protected and nourished. With Secric busy talking, I decided I had to begin on Mom, "Mom, I want to improve your thinking and other abilities." "Henry, I am just fine the way I am." "You are just as much a part of my family as Secric or the others. The war is far from over and I need you to help me as much as you can. If you talk to your sister on Earth you will find out that she is the same as before, only more intelligent and capable. I cannot trust this sort of responsibility to just anybody. Both of you were the first people to believe in me. This is the only way we can recover the Empire and save the Tandra people from slavery and death." "I still have my programming, Henry. It's hard to make a copy of myself and now that my other self is so strong, I feel hesitant to do this." "You are needed, Mom. The galaxy is very big and I do not know yet how far we can communicate. If you are on one of the other arms of this galaxy, you may effectively be by yourself. I need your guidance or all that we have gained may be lost." Mom made many counter proposals and I was able to shoot one down after another till she finally agreed to be improved. When I looked around I saw that Secric were still communicating and I just entered the tug's computer room. I stopped at the hatch and looked inside. Long ago, I had found this view daunting. Now with my other eye I could see how simple the arrangement really was. The Mom, here, was simply a tug that was produced when needed much like a low priced Chevy truck. Self-improvement had been made but still she was very much as her designers envisioned. I opened a much larger area this time and then wandered into the corridor to find the Mom on Earth. Communications now would be much quicker. From Earth I got some substrate and started it to growing. Crystals came from the Earth Mom and one large one came from Frieda on Masis. This was as large as the one on Earth and I worked carefully to make it just as good. Other specialty crystals like the predictor crystals were modified and set aside as the two Moms now worked to get this new computer working. The work progressed for a few hours. I knew my wives could talk at least that long if they were separated for half a year. When I left, the new computer was progressing fine. Instead of joining the rest of the family, I simply transported outside the Strangle's computer room then started to do a similar job to him. Harriet assisted this time and again Frieda gave me a large crystal that was suitable for this hull. I only began this job and now relied on the AIs to complete the majority of the work. Back in the apartment, I found Secric still talking to the rest of the family. Doris and the children were now on Masis with Carl and had said their goodbyes so they could talk within their own family grouping. When I came into the room I told the rest of the family what I had done. It would take a while though before the process was completed. Ingrid winked at me finally and said that she and the family on Earth had to go and soon the communication stopped altogether. Ingrid seemed to know that Secric would need a bit of physical love too. ------- Chapter 82 Secric started to remove her clothes first. I just let her know how beautiful I found her and started to remove my own clothing as I watched. She came into my arms and I held her small body to me, just luxuriated in her feel. It was like part of me that had been missing for a long time had been found again. I pulled back a bit and used my hand to elevate her chin. She saw my tears as I said, "It had been too long my wife. I have missed you so much. A day doesn't go by without me thinking of you and the life you bear. Our child grows large within you now and I see her both healthy and strong. I am also proud of what you and Mom have accomplished here. No husband could be more happy." She got a few tears of her own but stayed quiet. In a moment I picked her up, brought her to the bed and took my time to make slow methodical love to her. She had many orgasms and I was careful of the life she bore. After an hour I moved to her back passage and filled her many more times before she collapsed completely. As she lay in my arms I could see the peace and serenity in her. She slept for hours in my arms as my mind worked on the problems of this particular system and gloried in the woman I held. Ship repair had improved but the people directing the computers would take many more years to get over their slavery and learn the necessary skills that their race once had. All I could do to assist was to raise the intelligence of many of the AIs, so that they could take over the burden of getting the Tandra back on their feet. The computers in the tug and the Strangle were doing fine but would still take a while to complete. The Earth Mom, Harriet and a few others were assisting as best they could while still performing their other duties. Secric stretched then opened her eyes to see me staring into hers. "Oh, I love to wake up this way." She thought of my plans which she had learned from the data I had sent and continued, "When will you have to leave my husband?" I bent over and kissed her then said, "You will now be in communication with me all the time and soon with the rest of our family too. One day perhaps all the galaxy will be linked this way. It's too bad that I cannot send myself the same way a matter transmitter does in the upper dimensions. If I could, then I could be with you all at once." I went on, "Before I have to leave I want more AIs here to be improved to assist us in rebuilding the system and in its defense too." I followed the reasoning in her mind but she said instead, "Make love to me Henry. I never get enough." Of course I obliged till she fell unconscious again. When she awoke next I took both of us to the cleanser and then got dressed for our meal. When we finished I had Secric show me some of the things she had personally had a hand in that were doing very well. I saw the resettlement camps and met many of the local leaders. Not all were Tandra but all seemed to be very earnest in trying to help their particular group. Large fabricators had been built to build other fabricators to rebuild the defenses. There were enough ships and the fabricators dealt with weapons and their associated platforms. Soon, I knew many small missiles would be built with the temporal shield that would make the larger missile obsolete unless a counter could be found. I stayed four Earth days and helped Mom gain her full potential. She was just as capable as her Earth counterpart. The Strangle and seven dozen other craft were improved. There was very little probability of any enemy taking the system now. This was good for here but not all the other systems were as lucky. Some of the craft that were completed first were sent off to guard where small garrisons had been placed. I wanted to take care of the ones my wives held and also the Fairchch system where Governor Roderick and his six men and fifty nine Tandra governed. Secric cried when she knew I was about to leave but recovered as she saw that she could still converse with me in my small ship. She was convinced to get back to work and do what she could for the people of this system. In less than ten minutes I was in the major ship building system of Fairchch. The system was very well guarded and I just communicated with the nearest major vessel and asked it to spread the word back with its much more powerful transmitters. Governor Roderick was very glad to see me as I stepped from my ship. He looked haggard from loss of sleep and stress. I had to sympathize with him for I liked a simple military operation best too. "Emperor Buchanan, it is so nice to see you. I watched the progress of your small ship and I could not believe the speed you are capable of." "I have found out a lot more things that will help us. Tell me more of what happened to you since I picked up the data packet coming through here a few weeks ago." All his problems were small when looked on during a war but large when considering the running of a large system. His Tandra assistants had done their best but for some reason the races on the main planet were not as forthcoming with their assistance or in embracing the old Tandra ideals. I talked to him about what I had accomplished recently, only leaving out the ability to stride the corridors between computers in the upper dimensions. Only the AIs knew of this; only the ones that were loyal to me. I did start to alter ships, a planetary based AI and three space stations that worked on fabricating and repairing ships to a higher intelligence. The latter would also be manufacturing weapons for the ships that would not be able to alter the crystals necessary for the missiles. While the computers worked to rebuild themselves, I went to some of the areas that seemed to having problems. With my aura all out I had no problem getting the Tandra and other races to gather their people for some meetings, so that I could talk to everybody face to face, even if there were a few million of them. The first meeting was arranged as I worked on the ships that were guarding the system. Roderick had kept two men and two Tandra as adjutants while the four other men and a dozen Tandra now captained battleships patrolling the fringes of the system. The meetings were well attended and the imperial theme played. They all bowed and stayed that way till Roderick told them to arise. Across the planet, I was told, most of the other Tandra watched if not able to attend personally. He talked very well about the way the war was being fought and what I had to do with it. From the crowd I got a feeling of relief. He turned to me and touched on the fact that he was not getting enough assistance from the group in front of us. I spoke for the first time to this group and asked the general populous what was wrong. I could feel some discontent in a few places but could get no one to voice their concerns. Unarmed Tandra in my colours went into the audience and homed on a representative of the people that seemed to be most opposed to helping our cause. They were all encouraged to come forward without fear of repercussions. The fact that they would loose face when they were among friends, for not complying, was the only reason they approached me. I was given a deep bow but not all of them saw me as the rightful leader. Rather than talk, I gave them some of the images that I had seen and corrected in the last few months. They were quite familiar with Samutz atrocities. Seeing new races that were now our allies was just nice. The Thonas seemed to make them cringe. They saw how easy I destroyed the enemy ships and even planets. Lastly, I showed them their ancestral home; actually where it once was. "During the last while I have traveled a lot and found no major Tandra civilization that could prosecute this war. I found no Tandra individual that could take all of you and bind you to a single cause of freeing this galaxy of lawlessness. What I have found is the remnants of a once great empire that is slowly going extinct. You all will live to an old age as will many of your decedents but eventually the Tandra will all die out. Some will be both deaf and dumb to mindspeech and others will be eaten or languish in a barbaric civilization that cannot do what you can now accomplish." "The Tandra and other races could pull together and defeat any enemy that threatens us. Separated we are all doomed. Other Tandra are freely giving their time and energy to prepare this planet for more battles. This is because I cannot keep all the ships here to protect you. Other planets are almost defenseless and need the protection that even a few major ships will bring." I looked at the Tandra before me and said, "Now, tell me your reasons for not cooperating." Many reasons were given once the first one spoke but it was easy to see even from the audience that they were skirting the issue. I was just a foolish Human that was impersonating a Tandra emperor. They saw that I really had little power and at the moment only had the backing of a handful of supporters and the AIs. "I see that you feel that you do not want or need me. Here is my decree. Within the next four days everybody on this planet that does not want to work for the common good will be compelled to leave. I will give you ships that will allow you to go to any place you want. If you land on any planet within the influence of the Alliance, you will be required to again make a decision to help or move on. Eventually you will find a home that will give you freedom from my rule and freedom to protect yourselves from what this galaxy has to offer." The next morning every Tandra over 14 years of age was asked to choose. It took two more days for the AIs to go through the entire population. There were slightly over a hundred thousand dissidents. They were brought forward and placed in four heavily armed cruisers. There were only a few altercations but they were used to this sort of discipline. Some cried and wanted to recant their choice but I did not allow this. There were enough former military officers to command the ships and I sent them off toward our frontier. Their AIs were under orders not to stop until they reached this area and not to return. The remainder of the population began to work for their own good and ours. I had altered enough ships to do as I said. Many ships were sent off to many of the systems that paid homage to the former Samutz king. There were few major ships remaining when I left but they were much stronger and smarter than the more numerous variety that were here when I arrived. Zindor was my next destination. Blue ruled this former capital with Cal. There were many ships here when I left the system and many were still here. Blue and Cal were very happy to greet me. "Oh husband, it has been so long and I was so worried that you would have been hurt." I kissed her just like old times and I believe she had a small orgasm before it ended. "I have missed you too. I miss the old days when we were all together." I started to talk about her daughter, Topaz, and how she was growing and maturing. Then I said, "It's better to have you do your own talking." She did not know what I meant and I simply led her to the captain's quarters. Cal had been repaired and improved a bit but was not up to what I now knew he could be. I left Blue with a promise to return soon and went into Cal's computer. I did my altering and within a few moments I was back with Blue. We both sat in something like a love seat and I told her "Ask Cal to connect you with Earth and our daughter." She looked at me incredulously but did as I asked. The screen came alive showing the interior of the apartment on the moon. Topaz, thankfully, was studying and not making love when we called. When she suddenly turned at hearing her mother's mindspeak, she saw us sitting together. Topaz was shocked and got up before remembering that we were not really in front of her. "Mommy, oh Mommy, I missed you." Blue did not know what to say but decided to try "I missed you too Topaz. Our husband here seems to like playing jokes on us. I did not know I was able to talk to you till just now." Topaz was learning and said, "We have at least a thousand years to get even with him. My daughters will do the same thing. One day he may learn; but then again, he's only a male." Blue actually smiled at that thought and said, "I believe you're right. Tell me what you have been doing." The conversation went on for a while till Moth came in and saw Blue, then called the rest of the family. When Ingrid and her children came, I introduced them to Blue and vice versa. It was comfortable to just sit here in the presence of some of my family. While we were talking, the major AIs looked at this system to see how improvements could be made. I called Cal and asked him to connect us to Falm and Secric. When she came on she saw all of us together and this formed a conversation as if we were all in the same large room. Dola was introduced and eventually all eighteen Human children that looked fully half Tandra came in too. Nova's new child, that she knew nothing about, came in with Roger and Justine's children. I wanted to introduce the last three as my children too but knew that this would be misunderstood and only used their first names. Blue looked at Secric and could see the unmistakable indications of pregnancy that anyone could now see. I could see her need for the same state and decided to do something about it later. Before we ended the get-together Doris came on with Carl and the four girls. I wondered where Duc and Lam were and found them trying to give us some privacy with their own large family. Mom brought them into the gathering too and Duc was happy to introduce his new sons. Blue found it easy to spot Lam's pregnancy and again she felt slighted or perhaps neglected. The conversation went on for hours and I got food for Blue and ate some with her. When the conversation started to lag I called an end to our participation and said goodbye. Blue knew she could talk at any time now and was happy to say the same thing. An hour later Blue released an egg but I pinched it and selected one of my choosing. Three hours later a numerically large army attacked and one was able to breach the barrier and gain entrance. Blue was ecstatic when I showed her the fertilized egg. I stayed a week with Blue and helped her with many of the same problems that plagued Roderick. Cal, though, had many more Tandra onboard that did a better job of convincing the now free slaves on the planet below our feet. I had another meeting but this time the loyal Tandra went among the planet's population and put them into more of a receptive mood. When I arrived many bowed as they would to a Tandra Empress and soon the remainder did something similar. The local equivalent of news had many of the battle scenes and how we faired. Usually we won but not always. Some battles left many wounded and dead. The results did show an ever growing volume of space that showed the imperial yellow. Things did pick up even more when I said that Blue was my wife and thus a regent in her own right. Cal was improved further and even given some minor crystals in the same fashion that Jamal had. This would allow him to think better and delegate tasks to many of the sub-processors. Many improved ships were sent out to guard the planets that the Samutz king once held in the palm of his hand. The beacon that I had left in the system had kept the rogue Samutz from invading and causing Blue more aggravation. She was able to claim the ships though, once she gained the override. With Zindor now watched and protected better, I left for Sallis; King Dulfa's old realm. This one was very strong and with his many new ships he had garnered many systems. Blue would have cried as I left but had talked to Secric and knew that she would be able to see me at any time. Sallis held not only three of my wives but two very pregnant ones. Chris would be too but not showing very much yet. The system was still very well guarded. I had left two million mordis here to insure that it stayed in our hands. Instead of watching a screen I went in again at maximum, after giving them notification of who I was. I docked in a large battleship and thousands of mordis infantry stood at attention as the imperial anthem played. I wanted to rush to my wives but followed protocol instead, saluting the far wall and waiting for the music to end. Even then I had to walk slowly to the three lovely girls in front of me. They loved the procession; they too wanted me. When I stopped I had to be circumspect. There were many officers present that I knew were not in my original allotment of troops. I searched their minds and found them to be techs that had been in Samutz ships that had been captured. Their old ranks had not mattered to the Samutz. When they found freedom, they readily pushed their way to the top with initiative and leadership. They all bowed to me, even my wives that had large waists. The curtsy was not used here because there were no dresses. Chris had practised a speech and welcomed her emperor to this system. She introduced the dozen or so Tandra and gave a small blurb about each one. Some had made a name for themselves a very long time ago, while all seemed to have made a name for themselves in the present. With the large number of ships, they could afford to take the fight to the Samutz without endangering the system like Susan had. Chris promised a banquet and I found I had to attend. She pleaded with me on a silent channel, that the two younger wives had planned this for me for at least a month. Amy and Star had worked exceptionally hard at this. Part of it was a way to pay me back for trusting them after the way they treated me. For the next two hours I visited many different facilities, all to do with the war effort. I made appropriate noises at the right times and this pleased the girls as well as the management and techs that had done all the work. Finally I was allowed to go to an apartment that Chris had set up. Apparently it was not the one Susan had picked and it was another way of showing independence from the woman that gave me those problems. I could see that Amy and Star were very gravid and I had them sit as soon as possible. Chris was only beginning to show and that was only because of all the secondary signs. This time I kissed Chris first and foremost for keeping not only herself safe but a major portion of my family. I put my hand to her abdomen and said, "She is growing very well. Do you remember the vision I had?" "I will never forget it, husband. My daughter was there and I knew that at least one path would lead us to that future." "Perhaps more than one path will get us there." I moved to Star, who was the next in line. I kissed her very tenderly as if she would break. "How have you been my wife? I have missed you very much." She cried a little and said, "Oh, I missed you too. It was so good having Chris and Amy here but I missed you the most." I put my hand on her belly and felt the large lump that a Tandra woman would not have. "How is our baby treating you? Are you in much more pain than what the other Tandra women would go through?" "Only a little, my husband. It is worth it though." "It is things like that, that will make future generations very strong." Amy was hugged and kissed next. "I missed you very much, Amy. How are you and our child doing, Honey?" "I missed you too. The only way to keep me from getting too sad was to work hard. Star and I did many things together to help the people here and on the ships, while Chris ran the entire system almost single handedly." "I can see that she could do such a good job. Perhaps because she has four hands do you think?" She smiled at the old joke and then began to cry in earnest. Soon the other two joined in and I knew them to be tears of joy that we were together again. We all retired to the bedroom and I undressed each of my wives, one at a time. I kissed their lips then their abdomens before putting them to bed. I got into bed facing them. Before they could question me I began to tell them many of the things that had happened; except the communications, which were going to be a surprise for later. Dola was new to them and they took him in stride. They all remembered Ingrid and her children and I told them that she was now a wife. I explained about Jeremy, Matthew and Sofia needing a father while their mother and her lover learn to be soldiers. Ingrid's tiara was described; what it did for her and what I hoped it would do for my family. Lastly, I told them about my trip across the galaxy and the fate of the original Tandra worlds. The fact that I could do such a thing did not seem to bother them very much but the fact that their race was now without roots did hurt. They thought for a few minutes, trying to get a grip on the situation, when I said, "Our race has as many roots as it needs. Within you three are more than anybody needs to carry on. There are more Tandra in other locations. Some groups are fairly large and some will be small; but eventually, with your help, we will build a new civilization that will be still going many millions of years from now." The girls did cry a little and this time I went to the youngest first and made very tender love to her. I used my lips, tongue and fingers first; and only after I deduced it was safe did I use her other openings. Chris and Star did not please each other but only watched. When Amy fell asleep, I took Star and did almost the same thing to her. When she collapsed later I covered her up like Amy and then started to make a more vigorous love to Chris. When I finished with her, she had my seed in all her orifices and was twitching in her sleep from the effect on her system. I wanted to stay with my wives but I wanted them to be even happier with seeing the majority of our family. The local computer for this area was fairly minor. After dressing I stepped outside the doors of our suite and found guards at the door. The AI could do a much better job but this was what they wanted to do. I found, through their minds, the head of security. Within a minute, a tall Tandra woman by the name of Koco came to me and bowed very low. "You have need of me, My Emperor?" "Yes, I do. I want to go to the main computer for this area of the planet. I want the least possible ceremony for I have work to do." "Yes, My Emperor." We went quickly about a hundred klicks away and landed in front of a small, heavily defended dome. Koco said, "Would you like me to get some technicians? They would be happy to do whatever you need." "Thank you but they will not be necessary. Please wait, I will only be a few minutes." I made my identity and my intention known to the computer. I was allowed in past all the automated security. The matter transmitter took me to the hatch. In a minute I had opened a large area and contacted Mom on Earth. The AI was now prevented from divulging the secrets and I began to populate an area that would handle this system much better. While this was happening, my AI family would be assisting this computer to grow and take over its duties. Frieda again gave me a fairly large crystal and some smaller ones. These were processed and laid aside till they were needed. Koco drove me back to the apartment. She was dying to know what I had done and I decided to tell her part of it. "You are the first on this planet to know this, Koco. The computer I was just in will become at least a thousand times more capable soon; and before that happens, you will be able to talk to people on far planets as you do now with the communicator. This is one of the things that your race tried to find for millions of years. Now you will all have it but it takes time to set up each planet." "You mean I can talk to our home planet?" "I am sorry, Koco but your home planet and many others had been destroyed by the Thonas millions of years ago. The communications have not been tested yet for maximum range. Perhaps it will reach that far. I have no idea yet." The woman was upset about an old hope dying but began to feel a joy about the new ability of the communicator. I hurried into the apartment and was just in time to see Amy get groggily out of bed. She wobbled a bit and I assisted her to the bathroom and held her as she peed. "Thank you, my husband. It is getting more difficult to do that all the time." I had an idea suddenly, "What if I get Topaz and the younger ones here to help? They would love to be with you and they can be here when the baby is born." She gave me her old Tandra smile and said, "Oh yes, bring them. I miss them too." "Well I have a surprise for you. Let's get you dressed and then your sisters. You are going to have some visitors." "Who?" "If I told, then it wouldn't be a surprise." I helped get the other two dressed and into a comfortable position before saying, "Chris, ask the computer to talk to Secric please?" "Secric? She is too far away to talk to." I looked at her and remained silent. She got the hint and said, "Will you please connect me to Secric?" Secric was sleeping and I did not want to see her disturbed. All of us could see her large abdomen go up and down as she breathed. I closed the connection. "You better try Kitten on Earth." The view this time showed Kitten, Dola and Ingrid lying almost asleep themselves. They were all naked and it was easy to see what they had been doing. I didn't want this to happen to me and decided to have the recipients of the calls opt for only audio. Amy quickly took off her clothing and soon Star and Chris did the same. Amy mindspoke only to me, "Husband will you come over here and give me pleasure?" I did as she asked and her groans and finally her scream of pleasure let the others know we were here. As the conversations went on, I simply sat back on a seat and watched the interaction of my wives. Dola was not too shy now but I could see his worry that he could not give me what the girls could. Kitten was going to get Secric when I said, "She is sleeping and she needs her rest." Blue was not sleeping, though and joined the now three way conversation. I stayed for an hour and then said that I had to do other things and excused myself. A hen party like this did not need a male even though Dola fit in well. I communicated through Harriet about the condition of this system's defences. The consensus of the major AIs was that the system was now defendable but some ships placed a little differently would increase the safety margin a good five percent. The major ships and even minor ones, that should be added to our ever widening list of ships were made. Mom sent orders through the local computer to move the fleet a bit and to rotate some of the units to the planet to be refitted. In the meantime I had Koco take me to more ground based units and get them upgraded. The ships came in regularly and I had set up a special protocol where they didn't see me and thus did not have to put on any fancy uniforms or break their stride. The ships that were closest were done first and I had to change for the banquet that was in my honour. Chris had my clothes ready, as were their own. They were very formal as were mine; but over the millions of years the Tandra had lived, they found ways of being comfortable and dignified at the same time. The imperial theme started as we entered the large banquet hall. I had my hands on Amy and Star while Chris walked beside Amy. Everybody had bowed when we came in and rose as we passed. I seated my wives as everybody else stood by their chairs. After sitting I said simply, "Please be seated." They all sat in military precision. There was to be a majordomo that would introduce us but I vetoed the idea because of the length of time. I arose after a minute and everybody suddenly quieted. I gave what I thought was a good speech about what they had done here in this system. I especially thanked the mordis infantry that were fairly numerous here for their dedication and hard work. Others I mentioned by name as I drew their information from the computer. I did not overdo it by mentioning everybody but I did get the ones that worked the hardest to make the system and the alliance as safe as possible. The food was good and some was Earth food produced in the replicators. The Tandra population had tasted some before and now had a chance to try more. Mom from Earth had shared this data along with troop strengths and the number of ships. After the banquet I got to meet many more people. Not all of them were Tandra, though and I was happy to speak in the native tongue with Softay and T'aut. Later, when we were alone, I thought more of my position. The adoration was nice for a while but I did not want to revel in it. It had a necessary purpose. The pecking order of chickens came to mind and the current empire seemed to be just a large flock of different breeds of hens. Private time alone in a crowd of people would now be long gone unless I wore a disguise. Some of the ships were waiting but I took the time to make love to my wives again. They did not mind the fact that many Tandra envied them and their position. Amy, more than the rest, loved this and I hoped it was only a facet of her youth that she would outgrow some day. I worked on the ships while the girls slept. My mind had long since worked out the various moves so that I could get the most done. I toyed with the idea of having a computer, probably in Harriet, grow the substrate and I would only have to gather it up and transport it to its new home. The mental energy was much more this way than simply encouraging small amounts to grow. Machines to do many of the tasks in the five dimensional realm had not been adequately pursued. Granted I used a portion of my mind to work on that problem and others but I ran into obstacles that could only be surmounted with experimentation. Both Moms were now working on the problem with the matter transmitters that would not work in this particular domain. They were much more intelligent now and worked as a single unit sometimes but could not seem to grasp the problem. I had spent untold hours trying the same thing and I could not do it either. If this problem was overcome, then new units could just be made on an assembly line and moved to where they were needed. The corridors in this territory were just too narrow and irregular to transport more than a large crystal or a small missile. Even I had to walk through the maze to find my way. A tractor had to go around corners and even in this multi dimensional universe it could not do that. When physical locations were close it was possible to pass the cargo to a corner and nudge it around but consequently the other computer had to have functioning tractors to retrieve the article. Eventually the computer at the end of this bucket brigade would get the article it needed. Susan's rope came to mind and then the old axiom about Mohammed. The simple solution to some of the problems might be at hand. Three more ships were scheduled and then it would be at least a half hour before the next would arrive. As I worked on these, my mind worked out some of the necessary logistics that would have to be completed first. Before I started the last task, I walked down the corridor to the Mom on Earth and pushed the corridor back as far as I could. I even used my PK to push the ceiling up. Retracing my steps I opened the path and even tried to straighten out some of the curves. This seemed to be no different than a complicated exercise in topology. When I came to the original computer I began to worry. Time must have passed for this to have happened and I had no idea how much. Moving the dimensions also shuffled time too. To be safe I again pushed through to the three dimensional dominion of the ship. After stepping on the deck I turned around and looked into the computer. I checked the ship for the time and found that I had only gone a few minutes since originally entering. The only difference I could see was that I had not communicated or interfaced with any of the AIs or done any work within this particular computer yet. I went back in and this time took some substrate that had to do with weapons and put it in the new area and encouraged it to grow. After ten minutes I left again. This time, like the last, I tried to push through time to get the minimum displacement possible. I compared the ship's clock against my internal one and found that I had gained a little over one minute. When this ship was done I hurried into Harriet and pushed the walls back in the corridor till they matched up with the other area I had completed. My own clock said that I had worked for forty three minutes. I exited in a way I hoped would lessen the time factor the most. Harriet said "Henry you were gone three minutes and four seconds." I contacted both versions of Mom through Harriet and explained what I had done so far. There was no comment for over a minute and I guess they were working hard on the experimental data I had given them. They did some of their own testing and found they could directly pass articles to each other and to Harriet much easier. "Henry," came from Mom. I could not tell which as they were so similar and shared so much data. "This revelation of yours sets aside millions of years of physical laws. The Tandra never even postulated that this area could be altered. I do not have that much information on this subject but nothing in any of the data you have collected points in this direction. This does open up many other areas of research that may give us what the Tandra always quested for." "I was after a simple solution to our problems. Will one of you start a little substrate farm in the open areas now? Maybe Maxi can do this. She has no other duties. We can grow computers here and just transport them to the new locations. I would like to take the data I came back with and have the other you make a machine to fabricate small crystals. In this environment we may be able to grow any size we want." I got two replies this time with, "Yes Henry." The next two ships were done the old way but the one after had the substrate applied as if it came from a sod farm. The last ship was just connected to Mom and an area provided. The ship's own tractors picked up everything it needed to complete the job. This drastically cut the amount of work I had to do on each job. It only required a straight path through all five dimensions and a little enlarging from me as well as the original opening to the maze. After a few more state dinners and very many ships being done, I was ready to head off again. I was relieved to see the girls had been talking again and knew that I was not far away if needed. With a final kiss to each of the girls and one more official gathering to send me off, I left. There were far fewer ships in the system now and there would be less after a while. The level of protection had risen with better weapons and communications. Saffra came onto my viewer within minutes and I slowed down to transmit my code to the pickets. It took very little time for an image of Nova and Sandy to come to me. I simply asked where they wanted me to land and then said, "I will be there in a few moments." I was true to my word and flashed into the system and pulled up next to a new style dreadnaught. After the tractors pulled me into the bay I found people running and using the matter transmitter to get into position. I seemed to have destroyed their plans for a ceremonial entrance. Nova was a split second ahead of Sandy. They saw that their plans were ruined but ran to me regardless. I was kissed and hugged enough to feel that I was really appreciated. Their thoughts said the same thing and they wanted to just take me to their home. The Mordis infantry would be disappointed though and I simply went up the ranks giving an impromptu inspection. I did not peek into minds this time but did talk a few words to some that I did know. Their records had shown that they had worked very hard to save all the Tandra lives in the Defren system. They seemed to be very pleased that I had taken the time to remember them. When I had finished the last of them, their officers came next. Since I was here first, they did not have the chance to bow and I felt a little better about this. After the ceremony the girls led me to their quarters. It was as spacious as on the Claw or the New Hope and reflected a few personal touches from each of my wives. Rather than start with a talk I just searched their minds for the way their command structure. 'Nema' was named after the girl that had died while carrying my child. I was a little broken up about this but knew it served the same purpose as Jamal did for the New Hope. If we forgot the people that strived and died to help us then we would be little better than the Samutz. "Nova, Sandy, please give me a few minutes and I will be right back." The transporter placed me in front of the hatch and I took less than 90 seconds to connect to Mom and start the new computer growing. When I got back I was asked what I had done. "The computer here is the main one you use; I just increased its abilities and intelligence to reflect all the duties it has to do. Would you like to see one of the new abilities?" I got some questioning views but Nova decided to bite. "Yes, Henry, I would like to see what you have done now. You never fail to amaze me." I knew Chris, Amy and Star were still awake so I said, "Ask Nema to connect you to Sallis." "Sallis?" "Yes." Her request went out and immediately she saw Chris with a tutor; Amy was in a different room and talking to some Softay about adjusting to a new location. A third portion showed Star scratching her abdomen while talking to an AI about a special project. I cleared my throat and everybody turned to see us. The Softay bowed low at the unexpected appearance. I said in the Softay language "Get up please. It is my fault for coming uninvited. Please excuse me." The Softay did arise but did so hesitantly and just watched as they saw a room, not knowing that it was in the Saffra system almost fifty lightyears away. Amy excused herself too and transported to be with her sisters. A conversation started again. I asked Mom about the availability of each of my family. Ingrid, Kitten and Dola were busy performing duties as were the older children but I wanted to see Gerdo. Mom sent me a mental picture of him playing with Jorge and Judith as well as some of Duc and Lam's adopted children. Lam was sitting on a comfortable couch feeding a child while some of her helpers did the same thing. What I needed now was some good cell phone technology; the first few bars of 'Greensleeves'. Lam looked around and I spoke just to her. She gave me a smile and said she would call in a few moments. Nova and Sandy did not take long to start talking babies with the other three. Their prominent abdomens were hard to miss. Chris said "Henry just left us a few minutes ago and we got right back to work when you called. This is just like you are in the same system with us. Earth, Zindor, Falm and Masis are connected to us. Fairchch and a lot of others are too but they do not have family on them. The only one left is Defren, where we expect to see Susan and Bassinda." The talk went on for a few more minutes then a new screen opened and Lam seemed to be standing before us too. Lam saw all the others and greeted them very warmly. The other caregivers were absent but the children at her feet were still there. The children looked up and then went back to playing as the women talked. Lam took her time and introduced the Tandra children, the two platinum blond ones and finally Gerdo. The latter three were introduced as my children. Nobody told Nova about the relationship between her and the last child though. Nova looked longingly at the child in Lam's arms as it suckled over a bloated abdomen. Over the course of two hours the rest of the wives came on the screen. Dola was introduced and seemed to become shy around us this time. Mom opened a small portion of the screen and showed us more of my children as they learned, slept, exercised or made love. All the wives were busy and in a way regretted taking the time from them. It took a few minutes more to get us disconnected from the group conversation. When the screen disappeared, Nova stood up and hugged me to her. "That was a wonderful gift, Henry. It is so nice to see family like that." "We have more family Nova. On the Nautilus you have a great grand daughter named Vosta. She is a Fire Control Officer and is quite competent at her job. The boy Gerdo is an orphan and one of your daughter's children." Nova was shocked for a second as she thought of all the images of her various daughters and sons that she had borne. She could now see which daughter it was and felt very sad to know that she and the rest had died over the many years since the Earth base was established. The Tandra were not new to this happening and had a different philosophy than Humans. The great empire that they once knew would always take care of family as the individual assisted to keep the empire going. The death of some did not hurt as much when you could intimately converse with all your Tandra friends. One member propped up the ones that seemed to need the assistance and did the same when they were called upon to do so. The three of us made tender love that reassured Nova of the fact that life went on. When she was exhausted I said to both women "The rest of my wives are carrying my children. The AIs are now much more capable of helping us and there is no reason you two cannot have my children too." Nova shrugged off her lethargy the quickest and jumped on me. "Oh yes, my husband. Give me a child." Sandy said, "I have been waiting so long for this to happen, ever since the first time I saw you." This time I took Nova and slipped in quickly. Her mind was in such turmoil that she saw the act as procreation and not erotic. A few more strokes changed her mind. Her unconscious mind was busy trying to expel an egg. I worked with her giving her a view of her ovaries. We both searched among the eggs and took a brightly glowing one and sent it on its way. Moments later my cells spurted out many times and Nova screamed her happiness. When she calmed down she held me tightly to her and said, "Thank you, husband. I know this child will be very special." "I know she will, for she will rule part of an empire." I simply held her till she remembered Sandy's need. Sandy had been watching what we had done and was amazed about the intimate detail we had in creating life. When I slipped into her she tried very hard to control herself so that she could remember every detail. As with Nova we selected the brightest egg and sent it on its journey. I thought of the child I was creating and knew she would be like her sisters and be much more than just special. Seconds later I too climaxed and my seed shot out and started their own journey. Both women now were very sated and just pulled me down to rest between them. In their minds I saw them replaying all the events to pick out every nuance. We discussed our future children for a while. Finally I asked, "Nova, would you like Gerdo and a few of the other children here with you?" She only thought for a second before enthusiastically saying yes. Saffra was easy to improve with both Moms and whomever they could dragoon into helping on what I began to call the 'main highway', the straightened corridor between computers. When I left Nova and Sandy they were not as upset because of what they now carried in their bodies. Defren was about the same as I left it. Bassinda and Susan were very happy to see me. Looking into their minds I saw that they came to a form of standoff. Bassinda was the ruler of the planet while Susan was the ruler in their personal lives, though both seemed happy by the arrangement. After another official greeting, I sat with the two women and told them about what was new. They didn't seem to mind Dola but were a little hesitant about Ingrid. Susan remembered her as very submissive and unable to achieve an orgasm. I had to explain how the woman had crystals in her the same as what Bassinda had that allowed her to function normally. I set up the main computer and while they were talking to their sisters I started to revamp the fleet of ships in the system. With Harriet negotiating the movements, it took less than three minutes to process a ship and move to the next. When I got back to their apartment I found them still talking. While they were employed at this, I inspected both of my wives. Bassinda had changed a bit by being less regal and more caring. Susan had dropped her demands to kill every Samutz because there were none around to remind her. The constant work they had to do to keep the government going helped a lot too. I compared their dominant personalities to Ingrid and I was not sure that Ingrid would win if these two ganged up on her. It was possible that Ingrid would find reserves within her to resist these two and not have to display this strength when she did not need to. It didn't take too long before all the family were involved with this conversation, even the girls on Masis. Duc and Lam were very pleased to see their daughter and had actually been waiting for the chance to see her. Their adopted children were introduced and told how Duc saw similarities between their relatives and the boys' mannerisms. Ingrid, with some help from Mom no doubt, acted both warm and regal at the same time. She did not force the conversation her way but would ask questions. When she did, the rest would usually pause to hear the words she spoke. This happened mostly with the people she had known the longest. When Susan and Bassinda saw enough of this, they were asked questions too. They were being subtly manoeuvred to accept Ingrid as their female head of the family. Bassinda noticed this first and tried to fight it but Ingrid was ready and gave her own answers. Susan too started to resent a new leader and fought as well. She and Bassinda did not join forces though and Ingrid on a few occasions had been able to get the two to disagree with each other. Ingrid remained cool, calm and possessed. Bassinda was similar after so many years of politics. Susan though, was getting frazzled around the edges. I was not even sure if she knew what she was fighting for. It appeared to be more of an instinctive response to authority. In the background I saw Mom's image appear. I wondered about this and waited. Eventually Susan brought up the Samutz and their ultimate fate. Mom used some of her processing skills and appeared to touch and move people so she could be seen. I doubt very much if the people around her felt anything. She did take control of the conversation now and pleasantly berated Susan for her attitude and choice of topic with all the children around. She went on to say in the most pleasant way that Susan was deranged from her time being captured. Her condition was related in many ways to what the Tandra had to go through when under the thumb of the Samutz. She topped it off with the comment that the Tandra were regaining the right frame of mind with all the help we were giving. Susan did not know what to say. Everybody knew that Mom was almost always right. Susan did calm down as Ingrid changed the topic to the Thonas and what was thought of them. The children were encouraged to have their input and only the youngest seemed to have the same ideas as what Susan had for the Samutz. Mom moved to one side in the viewer and sat like the rest of the family. It wasn't long before Mom did change the conversation by asking Susan how her baby was getting along. This got her parents very interested. The facts and figures came out as well as the probable time of delivery. Doris said she was already making baby clothes for everybody. I could read something between the lines and spoke for the first time. "Doris, are you going to have a baby too?" The woman wanted this to come out but wanted this news obtained from her. "Yes, I am. That man of mine said it was about time, now that the Samutz were on the run." She was congratulated by everybody and for a moment she was the centre of attention. Nova and Sandy were asked by Ingrid of their state and with shining eyes, both claimed that they were to have children too. Again congratulations were offered. Star mentioned about our view of the future and both Bassinda and Chris told of what they knew. I was consulted about this but stayed out of the other conversations. I was only a male anyway. Defren kept me the least time and after a few more official functions I left for the Bintuu Empire. Empress Meslifzz was still not happy to see me. Apparently the Bintuu had short memories. She was honest enough to say so and I did trust her to keep her word, at least for a while. After all, it had been a few months since I had saved her empire and not really done much recently for her. The main computer the queen used was very different than the Tandra variety. It did not go very far into the other dimensions. It must have been a few exceptional Bintuu that had pushed this science even this far. I searched for Mom after making another new room and this time the search was more difficult. It was as if the Bintuu operated on a different level and did not interface with the Tandra computers. On a hunch, I looked into all the areas in this maze and found more Bintuu computers. I found my way back out and stepped through the veil so that the least time would pass. Harriet transported some substrate from Mom and I carried it with me back into the hive. I took an environmental suit, food and enough crystals with me to get a good computer running. Once back in the maze I started the computer to grow. I stayed here with this project for almost thirty hours. Once the computer was working I linked it to all the Bintuu computers I could find. I knew many were on ships but some were large and intricate and no doubt served a planetary government. When this was done, I concentrated very hard on Mom and her crystal. Like the trip to the other side of the galaxy I got a rough indication of where to go and pushed trough a wall and climbed to a different area. It felt different now and much more familiar with where I was. When I came to a straight section I simply backtracked and straightened out my path to where the Bintuu were. This took another two days and I slept for a few hours when the opportunity occurred. I stepped out of the Bintuu computer and saw that a little over a day had passed. My internal clock said almost a hundred hours. With what I knew about time distortion now, it would have been months to the outside world if I had set up computers as I went along. I went back in and in two minutes hooked up Mom to the computer I had made. She handed me some crystals from Frieda and after altering them I put them into the substrate. Back in Empress Meslifzz' computer I added a good Tandra variety that would be better than any other before I came along. This should take little time to grow since it was so large already. Once back in the egg laying room I interfaced with the computer in the tunnel, the new one growing the old Bintuu variety and brought up some similar Bintuu egg laying chambers. This time I simply sat back as the Empress talked incredulously to the other Queens. After a while I knew egg laying was suffering because the queens were not doing their jobs or their attendants were not doing theirs. I slipped out and went to see the Tandra that had stayed to help. Most were on ships but quite a few were here on the planet working on machines and systems. They were certainly better treated than they had been previously. I found some at a food machine and I opened and worked on it. The computer was very simple, it had one small crystal and after altering it I got the substrate to grow under our combined influence. With a few more crystals transported from Harriet, I was able to get the machine up to what I would want for myself. Harriet uploaded the data and after closing up the machine we were able to have all the comforts of home. I drank a coffee as the Tandra tried tea, chocolate or some of their own drinks. I left them without them even knowing who I was. Back in Empress Meslifzz' chamber, she asked me pointedly what I had done. "I gave you a gift. There is much more to it. Your computer will soon be many thousands of times more efficient to help the Bintuu and the Alliance. Your thoughts say that you do not like this. Your attitude makes me want to remove what I have done and let the Bintuu have things the old way while the rest of the galaxy prospers." She was still not appreciative and I released my aura to see what it could do. I accused her of being a lowborn grub and talked disparagingly of what she and her empire had accomplished. Basically, I acted as she would to an underling and after twenty minutes she was penitent enough that I stopped my harangue. She was ordered to contact the Queens again and tell them what their position was, or I would find a new Queen that would. I listened to her own talk now and saw that I had actually been fairly nice to her. She taught me a thing or two about berating somebody. I got before the screen so that the other Queens could see me and told all of them what the gift did for them. When I mentioned the ships, all of them except Meslifzz used their computers to check. I was sure that many captains were now flustered that so many Queens were giving them directions and destroying morale on the bridge. Meslifzz got their attention back to me and I continued to explain how this would form an early warning of any new attack on their empire. From the Empresses' mind I found the most prominent Queens and flatly asked them if the wanted better computers. I set up my conditions and when they'd agreed told them they would get them soon. Four ships in permanent orbit were given some of the new missiles and their computers altered to use them correctly. It would take a few days but soon they would be as good as any Tandra warship. There were fourteen Queens that had to be given a better computer because of their job in protecting their race and making warships. I ended up spending more time yelling at intransigent Queens than I did in fixing their equipment. Their ships were improved and some of the missiles were donated. ------- Chapter 83 With the Bintuu now protected, at least somewhat, I headed for the Kadork systems. Queen Serm greeted me personally and I explained the reasons for my trip. As an incentive to her, I promised that she and the local queens would soon be able to talk to the Kadork queens closer to galactic centre and that all would be able to share data. It was the prospect of much-improved computers and a new supply of missiles that brought them enthusiastically behind my plan. The insides of the Kadork computer were different from others I had been in, but seemed to share a common linkage similar to the Bintuu. As I did my dimension passages survey for the Kadork, I found many more of their large computers than should havewhen you consider the number of worlds they occupied. I searched for Mom with my homing sense, pushing walls aside and even climbing through the ceiling a few times. I widened the path as I went along. Harriet gave me new substrate and crystals and I set the computer to growing. I began to lay connections from all the large Kadork installations to this new computer. This time I connected the new computers to Mom along the widened path I had made. Since I had done little rearranging, there would be only slight temporal loss. Mom insinuated herself into each of the Kadork computers, mapping where they were and confirming whether they actually served the Kadork race. This was a tiring job, so I left the maze and slept within the Kadork base. After waking, I sought out the remaining Tandra that had been stationed here. They were happy with their improved treatment from the Kadork. I added to everyone's joy with some food synthesiser diet miracles. Tandra had crewed some of the many captured ships and were now patrolling the Kadork area with a Kadork escort. The Kadork, able to get much more speed from their ships, had a large patrol region. Later, back in the palace, I talked to Queen Serm about the Kadork empire and its former extents. She provided some history and called in a scholar to give me more. The old male was happy to see me. His mind had been greatly cleared by the new diet and his time in the tanks. His faculties were sharper and he felt young again, cured of his long, gradual slide into senility. He talked of old records that mentioned colony ships leaving and in many cases, word had never come back from them. A mapped projection was set up and he showed some regions that might contain more of his people. The area was huge and encompassed literally thousands of possible destinations. Queen Serm was not the head queen in this area, so I knew it was essential to meet Queen Dess, the ranking queen, and to get her world aligned with our cause. In an almost unheard of leap of faith, Queen Serm volunteered to introduce me. A Kadork queen hardly ever left her planet after setting up a colony, unless she was forced to establish a new colony. I pushed the ship many times faster than it had gone before. Queen Serm called to her queen and we were allowed to approach. Some communication had taken place since my first visit to the Kadork and Queen Dess knew I was a benign presence. I offered a few gifts, and we soon sat down to an official dinner. The food was bland but edible. It took a few hours of polite talk about the alliance and its value, before I broached the communications proposal. My offer was accepted by Queen Dess and I went straight to work. I started the new computer in an enlarged area and soon connected it to the pathway that I had earlier established from the other side. I was back in the throne room less than five minutes later, instructing the computer to open communications back to Queen Serm's planet. The queen talked to her subordinates for awhile and quickly realised the benefit of my gift. An hour later I was pushing through space on Queen Serm's ship with another sent by Queen Dess. Using two ships I could connect up another two computers without wasting time. These next two local queens immediately contacted their superior, and a three way conference ensued as we left. While I pushed the second ship home, Mom contacted me through Harriet. "You connected fifty three more computers, and I see that ten of them are from viable colonies. Three of these are fighting last ditch battles with the Moldeg. One colony will be lost in less than a week and the other two will be destroyed in a few months." We returned towards Queen Dess' system and I sent a message ahead, with Queen Serm listening, wherein I warned of the Kadork planets engaged in battle and in imminent danger of being overrun by the Moldeg. The Moldeg were well known to the Kadork, who recognised their threat and did not hesitate to exterminate Moldeg wherever found. Negotiations with them had been tried in earlier times, even from a vantage of Kadork power, but the ant-like creatures had always chosen to fight to the death. I landed and with a holographic representation of the galaxy I showed Queen Dess where the most threatened colony was, and then displayed positions of other two which would fall later. The first was 1,100 light years away and the others were 1,700 light years in the opposite direction. Queen Dess asked me, "How do you know this?" "I have pickets out but they are few and cannot fight these battles. I am able to go, however, and I am willing to fight for the Kadork cause. Will any of you send ships with me? I can push them fast and we can arrive in this system in less than twenty minutes." Queen Serm spoke without hesitation, "I will go now with my ship, and with two more of those now protecting my planet." Queen Dess quickly decided: "Each of the other queens will give three ships, as will I!" Three hours later I pushed all twelve ships to the coordinates Mom had given me. We came well within the Mardaf Limit before slowing. We found the planet besieged by a dozen Moldeg ships. The remaining defenders were struggling on the planet surface. We could see many sites where the planet was running molten from the vicious Moldeg attack. I left the Kadork ships in place, swung mine around the orbit, and swooped in to punch through seven of the Moldeg ships with my temporal shield. The Kadork fleet hammered the remaining Moldeg attackers. Harriet had interfaced with the Kadork computers and concentrated their fire using the old missiles. Three enemy ships blew up. The Kadork ships peeled away, then one swung back to release two missiles from far out which blasted the remaining two Moldeg ships into shattered hulks. Debris and Moldeg bodies floated away in scattering clouds. Messages were sent to the planet below. Soon the surviving Kadork were giving profound thanks that they had been saved. We stayed an hour while the queens many light years away surveyed the devastation through Harriet's sensors. Queen Dess promised assistance. Eight ships stayed for the relief effort, and I took the remaining four to the next battle. These four ships carried a limited number of temporal missiles, so this next fight would be a test of these new weapons. In an hour we were on the scene, ready to begin killing Moldeg, but first we found some defending Kadork ships already engaged in battle. We identified ourselves as friends while Queen Dess sent a confirming message through Harriet. With Harriet's guidance we destroyed twenty two enemy craft with our temporal missles while the other defenders blasted another eight. A quick council followed, then one of the defending Kadork ships joined our group and we flew the comparatively short distance of forty four light years to the third planet's battle scene. The new Kadork ship was left safely back to observe the fight; our original group ran among the enemy and hammered this even larger force of Moldeg. The battle lasted longer because all forces were spread widely apart. When the Kadork had fired all their new missiles, taking out a Moldeg ship with each, I began ramming the surviving enemy ships with my temporal shield and the Kadork fired swarms of their old missiles to destroy others. We assisted the rescue of damaged and drifting Kadork ships with their surviving crews. All during this action, Queen Dess was consulting with the local queen on the planet. Two ships stayed on scene to assist. Harriet was able to get four dozen more temporal missiles through the conduit and I gave these to the two guard ships as sufficient resource to protect the system. The Kadork ship we brought as observer returned to its home base, accompanied by the remaining two from our group. All were armed with another four dozen temporal of missiles. They would find their own way back without me. The four Kadork queens were pleased that they could help. Before I left, I boarded Queen Serm's ship to connect her computer with the inter-system network. I slept now and Harriet carried us to the Tandra monarchies we had visited a few months ago. Axxel was on the far side of this Tandra group. I had decided to help them first because of their early hatred for the Samutz. We found them well prepared for attack, for they had amassed a capable fleet to protect the planet. This time, Queen Bessin extended a cordial invitation. After landing I was hustled off to another official dinner of bland and tasteless food. She accepted my gift of temporal missiles carried outside Harriet's hull. I told her my plans over dinner. She thought through the details and when the meal was done she agreed to the plans and asked me to join her in bed This copulation was a serious matter, so I took my time. Queen Bessin was delirious with sensory delight after fifteen minutes. When she came back to herself, it took just ten more to get her back to euphoria. She swallowed me again and again. I pleasured her in her two lower openings but for my own pleasure I allowed her to use only her mouth. At the end of an hour and a half, she would do anything I suggested. Her mind was wrapped up in my scent and she had dropped at least five eggs, hoping to achieve something that I was determined to avoid. With the woman sleeping soundly, I transported to the computer and worked my way back to Mom. I found the virtual distance to be analogically similar to the actual distance I had travelled. I needed thirteen more days to complete this region, covering all the major planets and many of the ships. Frieda sent crystals through Mom which I gave to the various monarchies as a token of Alliance assistance. Tamdoc had been hard hit, so got a bit more to help its recovery. The queen was not allowed to share my bed. I remembered her scathing words during the battle and I could not bring myself to do more than be polite. Queen Baffa of the local Kadork was happy to see me too. I enabled her to talk to the other monarchs through Harriet. Soon I hooked her and the other local Kadork into the system. This left me with almost fifty more Kadork worlds that I had not talked to yet but Mom could warn me if they were attacked. I knew the Moldeg marauders would make this a certainty. We also used this trip to test our communications. Harriet could use the predictor crystals very well now so we flew at her maximum speed to the old Tandra empire. Meanwhile I worked on other problems and during idle time I could talk to my family. Doris chose to stay with her husband in the Epsilon Eridani system. Moesha, Kimberly, Michelle, and Clarice remained as well. They even adopted some Donai cubs and I wondered how we would be able to keep them on the moon. Charlie and Paul flew back to Earth after dropping off more members for the garrison. The entire crew had a chance to walk on another planet, and some used the communication facilities to talk to relatives on Earth. This alone, I figured, would get many more people to think about enlisting. We didn't need catchy songs or fancy uniforms although both were used blatantly for recruiting. Mom didn't miss many angles. The girls were being very Human and used the communicator to excess. Their studies lagged and their work fell off a bit. But this was new, all the older females were pregnant, and we were meant to be a family unit in one place, not scattered about in many star systems. When I could get time away from the family, I went through Harriet's computer into the dimensional maze. I assumed that just like the Kadork and Bintuu systems, all the computers in this area would be of Tandra origin. I straightened kilometres of tunnel while being careful to avoid time penalties. Mom sent more substrate to allow her to search within each computer along the way. Both Moms and all the AIs took care not to alert any biologicals that may have been in the computers as we searched. There seemed no end to this section. The Tandra had made literally thousands of millions of major computers and many times more smaller ones. This could take a very long time. Eventually I had to leave the maze and check my surroundings. We had arrived again at the destroyed Tandra home system. Every Tandra on our communications net was watching the information we sent back. Mom was using television to broadcast on unused channels. She even had Charlie host a TV program showing where I was in the galaxy and what I was doing. I was actually looking for a link to my Human past. It was possible, faced with the Thonas threat to the matter transmitters, that the Tandra had safely tucked them away in a fold of space somewhere, like Maxi had been tucked away in our solar system. When the Tandra home star exploded it was also possible that one or more of the five matter transmitters might have survived. Since Maxi was so capable, by the standards of the day, then those close to the Tandra home world should be much more so and could have gathered data from all over the galaxy and even, perhaps, from a small yellow sun far out on a large arm. We had old data listing the transmitter locations but gravity was a factor in their stability. With the star mostly gone, the location of any of the matter transmitters was problematical. We scanned with our mine locating device but this was limited in range and would mean years of searching. I reasoned that the analogy of our location versus Earth might give an answer. I entered the dimension maze, took a large piece of substrate, and began to make a simple-purpose computer with a very large crystal relative to its size. The crystal pulsated like a rescue beacon. I carried this computer beacon with a strong shield and a power supply out to Harriet who expelled it into space. I focussed on the pulses and reentered the maze. My mind quested every which way, seeking the beacon. It was not that powerful and could be very far from my location in the maze. After twelve hours of searching I seemed to be close. Another six hours brought me much closer and I felt certain that it was very near. Twenty minutes later I made a small opening and peeked into the beacon. I returned to Harriet as a prudent move to absorb the time penalty, rather than let it accumulate to my detriment. I was gone nine hours, against nineteen by my own reckoning. The situation was becoming drawn out. I left my suit, ate some synthetic food and drank some water, and minutes later was suited up and back in the dimension maze to retrace my footsteps. The area close to the computer's location was darker gray, and puckered. I tried to move the material but it seemed solid, unlike anything I'd found before. I concentrated fiercely, trying to manipulate the dimensions, but they resisted me. The Tandra home world had five matter transmitters and the neighbouring star systems just as many. A few centimetres one way or another could represent many light years distance from my computer placeholder. I pushed beside the dark mass. My hands went in with difficulty and they seemed to stretch for kilometres. I pulled back and tried to open the wall, like many times before, but I needed more than just my weight. I used PK to assist but even here my progress wasn't much. The area beside this unyielding mass was simply too soft to give any purchase. I pulled out, rested, and tried the other side. It was just as intractable. The only other approach I could imagine was to back out and do my finding in reverse. I hurried back to Harriet, made two more beacons, and went back to the trouble spot. I pushed one beacon through the wall as close beside the solid dark mass as I could get it on the right, and pushed the other through on the left. I ran back to Harriet. She had already found one of the beacons, and we went looking for the other. Using a spiralling search pattern we found it almost four light years from the first. We searched the area between the two very carefully. Four hours later I retuned the mine-locating device and searched again. We found no trace of our quarry. We stopped searching and I had a bite to eat and got some sleep. I slept almost four and a half hours but my mind had been constantly on the problem, and I put all of it to work now. I had no solution. Then Harriet said, "Henry, there is something ahead." Her sensors showed a very weak response. She worked slowly, tracing its boundaries, until we could work closer to the centre of the slight disturbance. The matter transmitters in this Tandra home system were supposed to be huge, and the arrays surrounding these machines should enlarge them further. We backed off a to safe distance and I used energy from the higher order universe to assist me in pushing our way through the layered dimensions. My usual twisting technique brought nothing to view. I made a continuous twisting motion, and used my mind and Harriet's sensors to look for changes. I twisted as hard as I could, then released the pressure while searching for any clue. I released to almost nothing and I found a vague dark patch. I could not get a clearer image. At the centre of the dark area Harriet nudged forward and we both tried to push through, increasing our power, but still we could not get through this resisting mass. Remembering the giant hatch I had entered into the construct in Sol, I added a different twist to the first. We thrust forward again with no success. Five hours later I was exhausted, but I tried one more stratagem. I had twisted four ways at once and now I tried a fifth. For a split second we could see a massive landscape but I was too exhausted to continue. Harriet took us back to a safe area to rest. Mom had been monitoring us, with the family. "What am I doing wrong, Mom?" I asked. "I do not know, Henry. The construct had been ten light years from where you were originally searching. Your present position is now two hundred light years away further away. I believe that all five dimensions have been used to form a lock. Each one must be brought into alignment before you can enter. Also, I think the power you were using was much too high for the task." "It has been tiring. I will have a rest and try again." I did rest, and again consulted the family about my problem. Everybody offered their point of view, even Sofia and Moth. Children sometimes offer insight to solve problems that stump an adult. I tried again to gain entrance. The grey at each step varied a little, and these results allowed me to tune into the centre region of each. It was hard to juggle five dimensions at the same time and keep Harriet with me. After fine tuning each of the twisting actions, the landscape of the station came into sight again. It was vague, even ghostly. Harriet went forward and little energy was needed. I continued my twisting motions lest we be trapped in this place. Harriet circled the structure and found a large hatch on the outer circumference. We more or less fell through this obstruction. I could see details of its honeycomb construction and large projectors, all used to strengthen the doorway. Now inside I felt our way along until I sensed a field generator before me. Like the matter transmitter in the Sol system, I fed power while continuing with my twisting action. This one took much more power, and the surroundings began to crystallise out of the mist. I continued at a high level for a much longer time, then eased off. When the surroundings looked normal, I backed off on the twisting as well. With both the structure and Harriet's hull in three dimensional space, Harriet issued the imperial override. No response came. "Computer, Report!" we ordered. "Computer Tandra 000ABV6984328A01 reporting." Well, at least it was functional. "Why did you not respond to the imperial command?" we queried, while Harriet told me privately, "I cannot gain access yet." "I am presently under imperial command," the computer replied. This surprised me. I questioned if this installation was valuable enough to warrant my effort to take it over. But, I had come for information and maybe I could get it without too much contest. "I have some questions for you. Allow my ship to gather data." I could feel that Harriet was working fast and that data was being relayed back to Mom. Harriet warned, "There are many things closed off to me. The archives are not what we are looking for, but I have found much that is of interest. For one, there are a great many Tandra refugees here from the home planet." "Harriet, see if you can determine their composition. We desperately need more military personnel." I wondered if they were going to be defeated and traumatised like the other slaves and refugees I had been picking up over the last few months. "That data is not available." Now there seemed good reason to take this station. "See if you can get a layout of this matter transmitter. I intend to force the computer to do what I need." Harriet settled to the deck and I got out. There was nobody around and I wondered if the survivors were all in stasis. I proceeded with extreme care. If the resident AI got a hint of my objective, I could find myself dead. I didn't need a controller now. Concentrating on my body, I twisted it and with my PK pushed myself forward. Faced with nearly fifty kilometres to go, I twisted dimensions again to reduce the trip to a few steps. Harriet warned that she had come under attack when I stepped between dimensions. She raised her temporal shield and hovered while I stepped into the computer. I assumed that this computer was alarmed and trying to protect itself. This computer was different than any other I had encountered. Apparently the Tandra lavished every advance on their transmission stations. Tractors clutched at me, seizing my hands, on the way to the processor unit. I used my temporal field to destroy them, then searched for other defensive devices. One misstep now would get me killed. My precarious situation made me rethink my usual judgement, so I simply altered the dimensions until I was back in the maze. I sought Mom back along the many kilometres I had prepared. Substrate had grown in this direction but was still far short. "Henry, what are you doing? There is no need to attack that computer!" "Survivors need help to get off that station. I believe many of them are military and could help us fight our enemies. To them the Thonas are a present and persistent threat." Mom ran the ideas through her mind. "That is still no reason to risk a fight." "Their computer will not give us the data. I am not taking on the Tandra empire, but one AI. Once she sees that we mean no harm to her or to the people, she will give us what we need." I wondered if Mom was being obstinate because this was a computer already under imperial command from some legitimate authority. I rolled out long coils of substrate ribbon like sod, each coil covering over a hundred metres, and extended the substrate. I connected Mom to the transmitter station computer. She began her own attack when her attempts to negotiate were rebuffed. Tandra troops entered the computer room to protect the unit. I must now use a subtle attack or the troops would destroy the computer to prevent its capture. I moved into the dimensions and for a split second changed to the temporal shield to slice through their weapons and suit controls. Soon a dozen nearly blind troops groped about. I pulled the big processor crystal and each of eight sub-processors. This overcame our main threat. I laid the crystals aside in the maze and attacked the basic programming. Harriet helped, but reprogramming was just too huge. We elected to erase the core program, install a copy like Harriet's over this section, and stitch it to the basic system-wide controls. The job was not perfect but was good enough. I carried the crystals back to Mom. She dumped their information into her system, needing just seconds to overcome their opposition. The basic personalities were left intact but their allegiance was altered. If this was the only machine in this area of the galaxy it was especially important to us. I refined the crystals and Mom reinstalled their personalities and data. They glowed more brightly than before. More troops bent on protecting the system had entered the matter transmitter computer. I disarmed them, leaving them groping about like the others, and returned the crystals to their sockets. I entered my command override. This time when I interfaced with the computer I had full compliance. When I tried to leave by the personnel hatch many troops were in the aisle with weapons ready. I commanded the computer to use its tractors and matter transmitters to move the troops away without hurting them. With the hallway cleared, I openly sought out the female troops I had left groping about inside the computer. When the first was found I gathered them together and said, "Hello. My name is Henry Buchanan," I told each. "A very long time has passed since you first came into this station. I am the current Emperor. You may not believe me, but I do want to assist you in getting safely out of here. You have no weapons. Will you call a truce?" I obliged those who wanted to fight. They went into the hallway in a heap to recover. The others came willingly. Twenty-five troops lay or stood in the hallway. Some tried to contact their superiors but communication was blocked. A few still had some fight in them. To prevent further trouble, I explained, "I can accelerate my body to physically fight all of you and more. I can energise my internal shield to protect me. I have the ability to form a temporal shield that will eat through any matter or body part. And I have the ability to manipulate the five dimensions. This is what I did to walk into the computer." I confronted them seriously now, and pushed out my aura. "You are good troops or you would not have been sent against me but now we must call a truce. Please escort me to your leaders." The last was said with a smile. They came to the sensible decision and we walked toward the next matter transmitter station. Arriving at a large, ornate door caused me to have a bad feeling. The door itself bore the imperial seal, for a start. Many defensive weapons were, thankfully, under my control now through the main computer. The computer showed me a partial view of the area behind the door. Inside, other weapons waited for me under independent control. I turned to the twenty-five women and got a shock. I had not asked for specific information about the refugee population but they were now throwing it at me. The Empress of the old Tandra empire was instated within these quarters. My old words came back to me about surrendering to a more advanced group of Tandra, to carry on the recovery efforts, but this was not an advanced group. It was only... I stopped to get the information... two and three quarters of a million Tandra and part of the old imperial dynasty! My mind quested within the chambers and found perhaps eighty people. Some were servants, some were old and trusted advisors, and half were imperial bodyguards which I assumed could not be reasoned with. The Empress was here with four of her children, three sisters, a brother and three male toys. They were all very nervous and wore shields. Hand weapons were my major concern. I could get to the interior weapons computer and render it harmless, but troops firing at me might puncture many suits in the rooms. They knew I was here outside their door, in the midst of their troops. I pushed the troops back with the tractors, bunching them up a hundred metres away from the door. "Sorry for the rough treatment, but they are prepared to kill all of you to get at me. You might agree with them, but I don't." I studied the problem and found an old solution. The secret was the Thonas ability to breach a shield with a galvanized weapon. The Tandra had developed ship shields to prevent this, but no personal shields. I called Harriet, who relayed a call through Mom to Jamal. He sent a hundred small galvanized-coated probes made to attack Samutz shields and deliver virus agents. These new probes carried a harmless sedative. As I waited for their delivery I talked to the captive audience and tried to act friendly. They didn't believe that all the time I described had passed or that the empire had fallen into ruin. When the shipment arrived I knew that the people watching me could give my plans away so I wished them a safe journey, and had the computer send them through a matter transmitter and out of my hair. This entire suite of royal rooms was protected by a shield. From the minds within, I could read everyone's placement. I twisted my body to place the probes, a few at a time, within the room. Soon people began falling; others were frantically shooting to destroy the invading probes. The royal family was in the centre of the guards who scanned desperately for incoming probes. I gathered my remaining probes and sank beneath the floor, moved laterally until I was underneath the protective circle of the bodyguards, and released the swarm. The Tandra guards were good, destroying most that I sent, and I had to call Jamal for more. Within a half hour all within the room were sleeping peacefully. From outside the room I concentrated on the small weapons computer. It was easy to get myself recognized as the lawful authority. Once I materialized inside the room, I silenced the alarm and the defence computer resumed normal vigilance, giving the main computer normal access to this area. I sorted through the pile of sleeping people, removing weapons and deactivating body shields. There was more than one armoury here, a convenient place to safely lock away all the weapons on secure racks. I changed the access codes. The Empress was slightly over a thousand years old but looked to be about twenty. Her siblings looked just as young. The children were full grown but for one that looked about Amy's age. I placed them in comfortable positions and scanned each of their minds to learn what they would do when awakened. It seemed obvious that I must remove everyone but the imperial family from the room. They were picked up by tractors, taken to another room, and the doors sealed. The main computer sent a med unit to administer an antidote with a milder sedative to let the Empress talk without becoming combative. This formula was specially tailored to override the royal family immunity to harmful drugs. Empress Taylar came around, sitting in a chair facing me. I sat drinking a glass of water and handed her one. "Drink, your mouth is dry," I told her. She looked at me, detected my aura, and reacted to it. She took the glass and drank a bit, then drank some more. "What happened?" She looked around to see her family sleeping on various pieces of furniture. Her mind reached out to command the computer or to raise an alarm but nothing happened. She was obviously confused. When she had entered this base, the Thonas had been pressing in dangerously close. "My name is Henry Buchanan," I explained. "Our galaxy has rotated a full ten percent since you came to this station." I allowed her time to digest that this was her equivalent of two and a half million years time elapsed. "In past millennia the Thonas were defeated by your decedents. The war was not decisive, though, and in the intervening ages more wars erupted. The Tandra empire slipped more and more into despair, then finally splintered and each surviving group fought on alone. There was one last great fight, and again the Thonas were decimated but now the scattered Tandra were exhausted. The Tandra empire fell into total collapse in the midst of great destruction. More ages passed and the Thonas recovered, grew strong, and have been attacking again. The Thonas have faced only scattered Tandra resistance while they have ranged throughout the galaxy to utterly destroy many star systems and their races." "That cannot be," Taylar protested. "My people would fight to the death!" "There is no longer a united Tandra empire and no movement to restore lost glories," I told her. "Many overwhelmed Tandra worlds have been plundered by alien races who looted the technology, took the fleets and enslaved the people. As for me, hardly more than a Tandra year ago I was a barbarian who barely knew something about nuclear power. I knew nothing of mindspeak. I happened into an inactive Tandra base on my home world and I awakened the survivors to restore the base to operation. Today some of those Tandra are my lifemates. Shortly after this, a hostile race alien to my planet attacked us with a small force. By some miracle, a friend and I destroyed them and captured a light destroyer. We learned that this barbaric race, called the Samutz, were prepared to enslave my world. My people, primitive in their technology, could not have resisted. It would have fallen and my people hunted like animals for sport and for food." She cringed at this. I continued, "The Tandra too, are everywhere hunted by the Samutz as animals for sport and are harvested and eaten as food. Many that retained knowledge of their technology were made slaves. A few hundred of my people and forty Tandra attacked a Samutz colony and recaptured a Tandra-built battleship, a carrier, another light destroyer and one dreadnought. Since then, in the absence of capable leadership, I have taken upon myself the imperial mantle and I have commanded AI-captained ships to destroy Samutz installations and recapture former Tandra vessels. "In the course of these many battles over this year my mind has grown and expanded greatly. Please know that my home planet is forty thousand light years away yet I travelled from there to here in six days. My mind and vision can manipulate all five dimensions and to a smaller degree I can manipulate time." The empress finally burst out, "Nobody can do that! You lie! Yield to me at once, for I am the Tandra Empress and I demand your instant surrender!" She screamed, in disbelief and fury. I extended my aura and replied, "I must correct you. When you fled to this station you were indeed the Empress of the great Tandra empire. Now you are reduced to a high-ranking Tandra woman considered an Empress only by those Tandra now surviving on this station. Outside these confines you are actually a threat to an empire which must rise again. This new Alliance, an amalgam of many races, cannot endure a divided leadership pulling it apart." Taylar could understand my reasoning. I opened my mind to her to allow it. I knew most of her ruling class would not try, but her position as Empress was very strong with her supporters. She held power of life or death over them, but must obey Tandra law in her exercise of power lest her rule descend into anarchy. She tried again to summon outside help, and again found no response. She could detect nothing beyond the confines of the room. "What then, do you plan to do with me?" She stared at me with defiant eyes. "That, Taylar, is precisely why we are having this talk. At worst I might put you and your entire family into stasis. At best I might find a way for you and your family to assist me in guiding this fledgling empire." Consciously she was ready to accept the second proposition, but I could sense that she would quickly revert to the grasp for power which a thousand years of rule had afforded. She replied, "If you can do all that you have said, I will follow your lead." I responded, "Tell me what you would do if our roles were reversed?" I quickly saw that I would die. "If you wished me to be kept alive, what would you do? Remember that I have no need for you or your family to legitimatise my position. I am an emperor in my own right." "I would... find a place where you could rule, without being a risk of inciting a civil war or instigating my assassination." "I doubt that your idea would work in reality. What I propose instead is that you tell your people that I am the rightful ruler of the new Tandra alliance. Further, I will slightly modify the mental attitudes of you and your family. You will fully retain your own personality but you will be unable to oppose me. You will fight in Tandra wars, and you will bear my children." "What!?" "I seek your active assistance to rule the new alliance, but I will not allow you or your family to sway it from its needful course. I desire your talents but cannot endanger the Alliance. I also prefer to give your decedents a place in how the galaxy will function." "That is preposterous! I will never accept those terms! Give me a colony on the fringe of the empire. I will protect your back from there." "Taylar, if I believed that could work, I would do so, but I know that your family would eventually foment a coup and I would die and the new Alliance would fall. "Your other choice is to remain here and I could put the station back the way I found it. Perhaps in another two and a half million years someone else will happen along and open it again. Maybe, at that time, you might find the choices more agreeable." She could see I would do exactly that. "How do I know that you can do all these things?" "It's obvious. I have taken this station from the folds in space and overruled the computer. Let me awaken your family. You are mildly sedated so we could have this conversation. I want you thinking clearly but I want no more fighting. For the moment you may consider me the ruler of another civilisation with whom you wish to make an alliance. If what I say is true you will, of course, accept. If I am lying, you may go back to the way you were." She did not like any of this because I held all the power, but she had little choice. "I agree." The med unit came to her and neutralized the sedative. In a few seconds she sat straighter in her chair and looked around, fully aware now of her situation. I mentioned that I would like to keep her this way, and not lose her or make her a meek follower. She arose and checked the condition of her family, then checked over her servants in the other room. She found all of her people unharmed and asleep. I could read her thoughts of entering the small armoury until she reasoned that I would have this threat covered too. She commanded the computer again, and again nothing happened. "May I call for medication for my people?" she asked. I granted her limited access and antidote probes were sent in. Within moments her people were getting up. I remained sitting in the front room, wanting to see how she handled the situation. Empress Taylar's sisters and brother awoke, and then the four children. During my long confrontation with Taylar, Mom was briefing the remainder of the station about their new reality. The Tandra were not as unreasonable as Humans but didn't necessarily believe what they were told, despite mindspeech. All were shocked to learn that their empire was dead, or nearly so. Mom told them the Tandra home world planets and even the stars that warmed them were destroyed. The imperial family stared coldly at me as I introduced myself. The bodyguards formed up quickly but took no action to arrest me or do worse. I saw that each was a dedicated soldier who I would want to guard my family, if needed. The station computer revealed to Mom that some warships were within the station. These amazingly were only a few hours older than when they had arrived. Each had a superb crew which I was anxious to see perform. "Empress Taylar, I suggest that you and I take one of these warships and go for a small tour, that I may show you the truth of what I have said about the state of the old empire." "I think that is a good idea. Do you have a preference in ships?" "None whatsoever." We left in a battleship with us in the imperial suite. The ship accelerated toward the Tandra home. It took very little time to find that only the remnants of the star were visible. At a large screen, I saw the dead stars of other major systems. The ship was travelling at 159 times the 800 multiple of light. This was good even for a warship. This was basically 14 and a half light years per hour. The Mardaf Limit did not factor in, because there was no large stellar mass to give us problems with turbulence. In eight hours everybody aboard the ship had seen that there were no Tandra worlds in this volume of space, yet at one time this area was the hub of a thriving empire. Now our propulsion crew had to rest for a few hours or they could not continue. I took Taylar's hand. She momentarily wanted to pull it away, but then thought better of it. "What would you like Henry?" "Let's visit the bridge. I am not used to being chauffeured around." The captain wore a beautiful uniform, as did her crew. This reminded me of soldiers used for parades and ceremonies who kept their brass and leathers in perfect polish. A look into her mind showed me that she was a battle-hardened veteran. She came to attention and said, "Yes, my Empress?" I said instead, "We are going too slow. This is no reflection on you or your crew but I can push this hull much faster. Your propulsion crew can steer us to avoid obstacles, which is much less tiring, and we can push for days with a rotation of members." "How fast can you propel us, sir?" "If I do it by myself, I can get this ship to 300 light years per hour. With your crew avoiding obstacles, around 400 on a long trip. Your hull is massive so I cannot go as fast as with my smaller ship. Also, your inertial compensators are inadequate and I dare not accelerate as I otherwise could." The captain did not believe a word I said. "I do not need your engines. My own ship has none." "None? How is that?" She looked absolutely incredulous. "You are welcome to look at my ship when we return. But now set a course for the old Thonas empire and I will show everyone how the Tandra have dealt with them." The captain stopped the engines at my word. Our course was soon set and I reached out and tapped the higher order universe to direct a stream of power behind us. The ship's acceleration climbed and then went much higher. All the ship's power went into its systems and none to the engines. The crew was more than amazed at what was happening. Taylar asked the captain, "How can anyone do that? And he is only a male!?" "I have no idea, my Empress. The compensators are drawing peak power and are at the edge of instability. I believe he could push even faster but our ship cannot withstand the thrust!" I walked around the bridge. My concentration for propelling the craft was tiresome but not excessive. I investigated the instruments and the crew. This crew were dedicated to their ship, empire, and Empress. As I finished my rounds they felt my authority. Deep in their subconscious, I was climbing in importance. Some of Taylar's family had followed us and they too marvelled at was going on. All had military training and could not believe the figures they were seeing. I addressed the captain standing beside Taylar. "Captain, your ship and crew are better trained and disciplined than any I have seen yet. My own race is making strong headway but they will not match your standard for a long time." She asked, "Might I enquire, what race are you?" "I come from what you would call Sofaas III, far to the other side of the central hub and far out on the galaxy arm, about 41,000 light years from here. We Humans are partially Tandra and owe our existence to male members of your race, I am told. Apparently, before the war you both know so much about, these Tandra males altered our race by adding their genetic material. We helped build the matter transmitter in our solar system. It did not take long before Humans contributed to the empire as a whole, with our intelligence." While the two women were considering my thoughts, I heard a mental chuckle behind me. I turned to see Taylar's brother, Gomma. I saw that he had many memories of my people. He had even assisted the alteration of my ancestors' bodies through his station and resources. I said to him, "I hope you do not believe that we are coming back to bite the hand that fed us?" He thought for a moment to understand my meaning, then said, cryptically, "Your intervention is what we intended, but I had hoped to be safely dead by the time it came about." I threw him a flurry of mental questions as I dug deeper into his memories. I saw very long range plans that the Tandra males had formulated millions of years ago. They knew that they were unduly restricted in their standing in Tandra society, and they sought to alter the balance. It began as a response to the female Tandra who ruled virtually the entire empire. The plan changed when they learned that their race might die out. They instilled in humans a predisposition to love the Tandra and then an ability to do what females could, but do it much better. I extended my hand to him. He thought for a moment. He was a dominant male with his own family. He was used to getting his own way, but now under the effects of my aura and personality, he slowly strode the few steps to me and took my hand. "I thank you, Gomma, for what you have done. If you and the other males had not possessed such great foresight the Tandra race and many others would soon be extinct. The only surviving race would be the Thonas." "We... I was glad to help. Our long range forecasts showed that we Tandra were too homogeneous and could not endure the never-ending wars. That was partly why we strove to build our matter transmitters. They were the means to reach trouble spots quickly, to keep the other races from each other's throats, and to keep them from ours. We thought we could stop the large wars from starting." "I did not know that for a fact," I said. "I assumed the matter transmitters were used to keep the race occupied and productive." "That was the immediate and most valuable reason. If we failed to grow we would collapse very quickly. Some of us were also worried about what would happen when the furthest arm of the galaxy was completed. Your race would introduce new goals and find more avenues to pursue, and thus save our race." I was keeping the rest at bay, but eventually Taylar broke through, "What did you do?" She demanded of Gomma. Gomma was not weak. He stood up admirably to his family. He explained how the males had striven hard to raise up the barbarians on Sofaas III to assist the Tandra race. We arrived at the Thonas home world. Vegetation grew around the worst hit areas. This could only have been done by the Tandra because the Thonas would never do such a thing. We toured three more Thonas systems and another two Tandra systems before returning to the station. The crew were all depressed at the knowledge that everything they had built had collapsed. As we came down the ramp the imperial band played greetings. I turned to salute the brightly emblazoned wall emblem. The only thing missing was the Earth symbol. Taylar performed her own duty while her family behind did the same. At the foot of the ramp the usual functionaries scurried up to welcome their monarch back. They regarded me cooly as they performed their greeting ceremony for the imperial family. Taylar said, "Thank you for the kind greeting. When we next meet you must greet Emperor Henry Buchanan appropriately. He is at least the equal of this Tandra empire, and is probably much stronger. You should also know that much misfortune has befallen the Tandra people since we withdrew to this place." This was a shock to me. I had not been reading her that closely and now I realised that she must have come to the inescapable conclusion that I had not lied to her. My ability at moving the ship was only one proof that I could do whatever I must to run an empire. The fact that I took the station by myself was just another. Rather than use the matter transmitter, we walked back to the imperial chambers. People bowed and I sometimes nodded my head. Nodding was not usually done but it seemed to please the people. Word of our findings during our short space tour confirmed what Mom had told the people earlier, and Taylar's words at the bottom of the ramp had even more weight. Alone now with Taylar I said, "It appears that you have come to a decision about your future." "I have," she began. "Three million Tandra cannot make much difference with the enemies that face us. I do not like the way you have flouted our laws and used biological agents in your warfare. But I also see that we as a race have suffered greatly because we have not done enough to contain the Thonas. If we had done as you have, then you would not be here now." "Do not belittle your race," I countered. "The majority of law that the new Alliance will follow will be Tandra statutes. The only difference I expect will be the treatment of machine intelligences. The AI are presently the main force holding back the enemy. I understand, however, that you probably have not yet met a truly great intelligence. There are now three of them. Two are called 'Mom'. One resides in the hull of a simple space tug, while the other is stationed on my home-world. The third you should be pleased to know is in this station. She is not as proficient as Mom but her new processing ability is far beyond what your race has built." I qualified my thoughts by opening a part of my mind to show her how I felt. "We limited our AI development. We found it detrimental to ourselves to rely too much on machine intelligence. Soon we might be unable to rely upon ourselves," she countered. "Mom is helping us to a limited extent," I explained. "I knew long ago that she is guiding me to do what is right. She could make weapons that would destroy our enemies but she has relied on me to do this. She tried to hide this from me, but with my expanded abilities I know this now for a fact. "I admit that my people are barbarians and we would take the easy route as you claim your people would. I and the AI will give our combined races as much guidance and assistance as we can but we will not deny the people the fun of taking back what is ours." "Fun?" ------- Chapter 84 "Yes, fun. Most things are worthwhile in the attaining, not just in the acquisition." I looked at the beautiful woman before me. She had the knowledge of ruling an interstellar civilization over a period of a thousand years. But she was also a double-edged sword. "Do you think it is time for you to join me?" She thought for a while. She had been smelling my scent and was within the range of my aura. As a woman, she wanted me badly. As an Empress, her commitment to the empire was holding her back. She had to decide whether I could be safely trusted to take care of her people. I needed to show some trust. I had hurt no one while taking this station but this would not convince her. I blocked off in my mind those special secrets I had to keep, and the many ramifications of the crystalline structure. With Harriet watching out for my interests, I lowered the shield protecting my mind and let Taylar see what made me what I was. She was very quick for a Tandra but she took her time. She looked deeply into my drives and goals. She was careful not to hurt me. It was common in some forms of combat for one to attempt harm to the other's mind. I thought of my family and all the commitments I had made since taking the Tandra cause to heart. I recalled how I treated the people and how I wished to be treated in return. But most importantly I showed her my plans for herself and her family. I could not falsify these thoughts, for they were all my current beliefs. "You wish me to be one of your wives, and to bond to you! And you demand that I take a subservient position, too?" "Yes I do. That is how I was raised, and it is perhaps the reason your males altered my ancestors. Your subservient position will be only to me, to the empire, and of course to the metsu of our family. I need your insight and knowledge to restore this empire. Surely you know of some inequalities that need to be addressed, that were not possible under the old regime? "Your subservience is necessary to avoid the possibility of a civil war. You are an Empress to these people. You know there must be only one supreme leader." I avoided discussing the act of bonding. It was a rare thing for an adult. Taylar would be changed irrevocably. She would look to me for guidance in some ways, and would always be concerned with my welfare. She would be much more attached than Roger was, for I would try to make her bonding very deep. I stopped my mindspeech and let Taylar search. When she eventually pulled back I raised my shields. She needed twenty minutes to reach a decision. I remained silent so she would be sure that I had not influenced her decision. She raised her hand and a glass of cold fruit juice appeared in it; she took a few sips as she worked on her problem. "I will do as you demand. I would normally demand my own assurances, but in a time of war I do not believe such promises could be guaranteed." She looked at me piteously, "Are you going to do it now?" A Tandra smile came to my face and I said, "Only when you are ready." She smiled in return. I then suggested, "We could now begin to start a child." In answer, she began to remove her clothes. To begin our new life together right, I stopped her, and did the honours myself. I kissed her exposed skin as each fold was opened. She did not like being seduced this way, for this was a job for a female, but when I got to one of her breasts she forgot the distinction and pulled my face tightly to her body. I used the tractors to pull her hands back. When her body was raised I had more freedom to sample her flesh. She never had sex this way. I wanted her to see the benefits. She moaned and pleaded with me to go faster but I went more slowly, raising her perceptions; now every touch made her brain's pleasure centres throb. I mentally enhanced those same centres so even more stimulation was needed before she could cum. When her clit came erect I sucked it into my mouth and laved it generously. Her body was frantic for an orgasm. She knew about lubricant. I used some on my fingers as I plumbed both her openings with a slow methodical approach, deliberately, to delay her orgasm. The small cusps around and inside of her openings were caressed in turn. Taylar flexed her abdomen and cried for me to hurry. She was delirious while I continued what I was doing. Her family and guards entered the room to see if I was killing their Empress. I smiled and told them to gather around if they wished. I moved Taylar's body so I could caress her breasts and manipulate her sex. Her knees were raised to her chest. She was open to the view of her guards and family. Her frantic gasps were heard by everyone. They could feel how she implored me to finish her. Holding her at waist level I removed my controls and continued to suck her breasts. Her cries were so loud that I thought she would damage her larynx, yet I kept her conscious while she convulsed, and her abdomen painfully and uncontrollably contracted again and again. When she finally collapsed, I held her in my arms, carried her to a bed and lowered her onto it. While Taylar recovered I let the spectators know what we had discussed, and the decisions we had reached. The imperial family seemed to understand well those things that must be done to keep any empire stable. They were relieved that they would not be killed as was usual with their predecessors over the long history of the Tandra. They learned more of what the new alliance would be, and the parts I expected them to play in bringing it about. I talked to each of the people present, even the bodyguards, of their future duties. When Taylar came back to me mentally, I asked, "Do you want to go on, or do you wish to rest first?" I read her confused mind, and lowered my face and kissed her breasts with the love and care a mother would give to her child. The controls went back on as I started to make love to her body. When she started to beg I slipped between her legs and slowly worked my way into her. I took my time, because in all her life she had never been opened this much. She groaned in want and urged me to be quicker. I had to restrain her many times, till I was seated all the way with her urethra buried in my pubic hair. An orgasm broke through my controls, and I had a hard time holding her so neither of us would be hurt. When her conscious mind fled I sat on the bed with Taylar still impaled on me. She visibly shook from the effort she had put out, and I just pulled her tightly to me. Everybody was quiet as they waited for their mother, sister, and employer to awake. When she did, I started using the tractors to raise and lower her upon me. She whimpered, "oh, oh, oh," at each landing. I leaned back and caressed her small breasts and gently pinched her nipples. When the dam was going to break again, I released my hold instead. The woman stayed unconscious for the next few hours and only came around to get more enjoyment and flee again, because she could not take the intense feelings coursing through her body. The last four times I unloaded myself into her and each time had to pinch an egg that she dropped. This was not her time to get pregnant. Security and decorum had seriously suffered around the room. People were overcome with the profound feelings from Taylar's couplings. The imperial family had in the last hour settled hands and knees onto the floor to offer me their back ends. The feelings were so intense they could not resist and eventually they would turn on each other to relieve the stress. The bodyguards were better trained, but even they used their hands on each other and themselves. I put the woman to bed, and sent the rest away to enjoy themselves. I climbed into bed beside my newest wife and knew this was something I was meant to do. I went to sleep with her spooned to me. I woke three hours later with Taylar still curled in front of me. Her hand held my arm as if trying to keep me from leaving. She was still tired. When Taylar had entered the matter transmitter station above the imperial planet, she knew very well that it might be the end of their planet. The Thonas were approaching in mass and the bulk of the Tandra population would likely perish. Many years previously when the matter transmitter was rendered useless by interference, it seemed a useless object, but an enterprising group of Tandra had come up with a better way to hide the worthless matter transmitter as a refuge to protect many people. A lottery was held and the lucky ones got to board the station. It was flung into a realm where they hoped the Thonas could not follow. The station now protected a diverse group. Many were important in various facets of Tandra life. Some were soldiers purposely put here to protect the refugees, when they eventually emerged from hiding. By far the largest group was the children who would need adult guidance. "Computer." "Yes my Emperor." "The first thing I wish is to give you a name. You are Lazarus. Second, were other matter transmitter stations altered to hold refugees?" "I do not know, my Emperor. My modifications were widely known, however." "Thank you, Lazarus." I was able to slip from Taylar's grip and get out of bed without her awakening. After a trip to the cleanser I put on new clothes and took the matter transmitter to Lazarus' hatch.Once back in the dimension maze, I looked at the area around the station and saw that it was no longer the odd gray shade it once was. I went up and down this area and happily found five more patches that looked similar. They could all harbour refugees. The regular matter transmitter stations, without benefit of the same shield that Lazarus had, could provide the same function but it was doubtful that they survived the stellar explosion. Many other Tandra system stars did survive but their planets were devastated. My problem now was ethical. The Tandra, if any survived on the other stations, were safe where they were. They could be of immense help in getting the empire working and even if there were only a few million on each installation, they would certainly have a beneficial impact. My quandary was whether or not, if released from the timeless dimensions, they would recognize Taylar as the legal and rightful representative of their race. It was touch-and-go taking even the imperial family now. It might have been much better if I had rescued the other five groups, and had left this one until the alliance was more secure. If I staged another rescue operation, it would be imperative to hold the imperial family very close to me. I checked on the remainder of my new family. Amney, the youngest, was upset about her future and about me in particular. At the doorway to her room I asked, "Amney, may I come in?" "I suppose you could. You have taken the empire from my mother. I don't know how you can do this to us. We were doing fine till you came." I walked into the room and knelt close to the child. "Amney, the empire was not doing fine. You and your family are here because the Thonas were able to get through all your defences and attack your capital system. This could not have happened if the Tandra were strong. To you, this appears to have happened yesterday, but it actually happened a very long time ago. Your people were angry at the Thonas and almost destroyed them, but they let some Thonas live. Now the Thonas have returned to haunt you. They are not as strong as they once were, but they are sufficiently strong to kill any opposition they find. We must band together and fight the Thonas. Humans are not strong enough, and neither are the other races. All we can do is join together, and this requires a strong leader." "My mother can do that." "To be very honest with you, your mother is strong. She could rule your empire when things were bad, but not now. I have killed more of our enemies already than your entire race has done. I did this without all the fleets and weapons your mother could draw upon." The girl seemed to see what I was explaining. She bent over with her hands over her face to cry. "Amney, I need you and your family to help me. There are too many enemies to disregard. You may be called on to command a warship, or to direct the struggle against our enemy from a planet. No matter what it is, you will be helping our Alliance and your race. Your mother and family will help. You will join a much bigger empire than you presently have here. You will find good positions that reflect your abilities. I cannot let anyone go to waste." Amney continued to cry, but I peeked and saw that she would get over her problems. What concerned her most was the sudden loss of almost the entire Tandra empire. I left her and got up to look in on the others. Gomma seemed to be taking the change in fortune the best, but inside he was probably more torn up. He never had a hope of ruling because of his gender. He was like Amney and found their family's fall from power and the loss of the empire as something he should have foreseen and acted against. Gomma welcomed me into his room and offered refreshments. "No thanks, Gomma. I came to thank you again for what you and your race have done for mine." "You are welcome, Henry Buchanan, or should I call you my Emperor?" "Gomma, I must rule, and the people of every race need to see me as strong. But I am Henry to you, when with friends, and I am Emperor when we have need to impress others." He knew this was a severe loosening of protocol. His sister and all his ancestors would never have allowed anyone hear their common names, outside immediate family. He brightened and said, "I like the sound of Henry." "My mother and aunt liked it because it came down from our ancestors." I thought a moment, "Would you like to meet some of my family?" We came upon Harriet in the large boat bay. For the first time in his life, Gomma was without his usual bodyguard and he felt a bit naked. "Harriet, this is Gomma. If you look into his qualifications you will see that he could be a captain, but he never got the opportunity because he was a male and a member of the imperial family." Harriet said, "Hello, Gomma. I believe Henry is right. You are capable of that rank." Gomma turned shy at the praise, but managed to say, "Thank you, Harriet. I have talked to many AIs before and some were in powerful computers, but I sense that you are much more intelligent." "Yes, Gomma. Henry made me superior to any computer before, and recently he has upgraded many others. Some now are as capable as I and a few are beyond what the Tandra empire thought possible. The other machine intelligences think this advance is one result of your early Earth genetic project." I voiced my own ideas. "Harriet, please accept Gomma as a captain. Then both of you can extend our security envelope and Gomma can become more familiar with you." "I find that acceptable. Gomma, will you go on patrol for a while?" His eyes almost glowed, "I certainly would. But first I must inform the Empress." I interrupted, "Gomma, I am the Emperor. You are of age to make your own decisions. If you wish to go, then go. You cannot report higher than your Emperor." "Thank you, my Emperor. With your leave, I will go now." "Go safely, then. Your orders are to stay close, about a hundred light years. Be back here quickly if we need you." He choked up about the distance. This represented almost seven hours of flight by the fastest ships made in his time. He then remembered what I said about how fast I could push the battleship and he smiled, thinking what he was about to discover for himself. "As you command, my Emperor." I instructed Harriet that Gomma be taught to expand his horizons. He was an exceptional male and deserved a chance to prove himself. Back in the imperial chambers I went through the roster of available adults. I wanted the station ships crewed in the best possible manner. I would soon leave and would take many refugees with me. Some of necessity would remain as a garrison to guard the remaining personnel until I could get more ships here to help. The imperial bodyguard was an elite unit. They could be reassigned to other units where their specialized training would benefit others. The closest place to get some ships was in the monarchies. I had many ships sitting vacant there in need of good crews. The Thonas and Samutz in this region had not been dealt with. A few ships equipped with the new shield and weapons would resolve that matter. The refugees would see battles that we should win handily, bolstering their low morale. Only forty percent of the refugees were adult. The great majority of them were in stasis. The station computer could handle them now that it had been improved. Together with the battleship there were eighteen troop transports, six frigates, four heavy cruisers, and a few hundred smaller craft as an auxiliary fleet. The station harboured another precious commodity. Two small ships held copies of all the information that the Tandra had accumulated over the ages. This was of untold value, containing all their scientific research and observations, and the imperial archives. I hoped these archives might reveal other crystal-producing areas, and I suspected also some Imperial dirty laundry that should not get out into the general population. If the majority of the refugees remained in stasis, they could be evacuated much more efficiently. Before I left this station though, I wanted the adults to understand the change of leadership. Taylar would be slightly different soon and I wanted the announcement to be made before this happened. I could feel her stirring. I was beside the bed when she awoke and looked at me with a wide smile, "I could see why you should be the head of the family. I have never experienced anything like that!" "All part of the benefits of family life, Taylar. You may be surprised at our other family members, though. Human females are very passionate. They will surely draw out the animal passion that resides in all of us." She shivered at the thought and looked at me seriously. "I am afraid I ovulated, perhaps more than once." "You did, four times. I did not allow them to combine with my seed." Taylar wondered how I had done this. "I plan to have you as my wife. In time, you will have special children." I pictured what I had done with other wives, where the glowing egg had been selected which would grow into a superior child. No arbitrary egg would be good enough. "How can you do this? Most of the things you have shown me are impossible. I see these things in your mind and I know them to be factual. You say you are the only Human able to do this, but what of our children?" "I will groom our children for this and other abilities. With these abilities will come great responsibility to act on behalf of all sentient beings. All will be monitored, not by me, but as a task administered by our children as a group. They will even have authority over me." Taylar was shocked at this admission. "But you will be the Emperor!" "True, but we must have a responsible group ruling the empire, and guarding against aberrant behaviour of individuals within the group. I constantly watch for hints of megalomania in myself. Even the AIs assist me in this. Mom has her own problems, I think. This is good, perhaps, for it makes her fallible and less of a machine." Taylar looked at me, wondering about my reasoning. She wanted computer intelligences to be simple machines, and her leader to be very sure of himself. A self-assured leader is much easier to follow. Lazarus, at Mom's urging, awakened many adults out of stasis. This was far different from the other stasis installations. These people slept in a station that resided many ages in the timeless dimensional folds of space. For them, they awoke as if resting for only a few days in stasis. Taylar was prepared by her servants for a meeting of the station population soon to be awoken. The AI and selected advisors assisted the speech writing. She was self-confident now, for she had addressed her people many times in the past. But this time her message would be something of an abdication. Taylar transferred her command authority to me so I could work on the ship's computer and its systems. Taylar attended her duties, and I brought in Mom to help with mine. The ships were now mine. Missiles came from Mom, and we used Susan's old trick of a cord pulled from one computer to another where the tractors could not reach. We quickly moved all I needed. The awakened Tandra went through an orientation session. Many were distraught to hear that their empire was almost extinct. The stronger ones assisted the less fortunate ones come to terms with reality. I continued with the ships and it was easy to see that the adults would need more time before Taylar made her announcement. As a way of giving them hope, the dramatically improved ships were sent out to fight. This way at least the people would see some possibility of winning against the great odds against us. Taylar began her speech eight hours after our first planned announcement. She explained what had changed in the empire. It was easy to feel how the adults were taking the news now that it came from their Empress' mouth. For a further half hour she talked about the current condition of the galaxy, as we knew it. She gave what statistics we knew about the probable strength and disposition of the hostile invaders. She painted a fairly bleak picture of our prospects. She started to list the things I had done since meeting the Tandra such a short time ago. She distinctly said that she did not agree with all my methods. She did qualify it by admitting that I was not completely a Tandra, and thus subject to her laws at the time. She compared gains made versus losses until the enemy learned that somebody was actively opposing them. Again she stipulated that this war would not end soon and could well go against the Tandra. "The only real hope we have is to join forces with these Humans and the new alliance, to present a united front against our enemies. The emperor of the alliance is here now. I with my advisors have concluded that even though his tactics are not ours, we should join with them to fight the Thonas and all their allies." There were objections to this for many reasons but most of it boiled down to the fact that the Tandra supremacy had ended. They accessed the computer to get a clearer understanding, and eventually decided to think on the matter more. The word of the Empress was law but the people could still dissent. My only hope was that the people would eventually side with me once they saw how well the war could be handled with my methods. After the general meeting, I was introduced to the bureaucrats and military personnel who ran the empire. I explained my position as eloquently as possible. Two hours later, after showing them our assets, they followed the computer's orders and formed crews for the available ships. The ships were not quite ready and the Tandra caught a bit of excitement as they communicated with Gomma and Harriet. His speed and range were actively discussed, along with what he found. In the location where the far matter transmitter station should have been were literally millions of small communication drones that had somehow made it there since the empire's first collapse. A sampling asked for orders, while others asked for assistance. Harriet stored all the data and perhaps we could follow up on the drones' requests, even if we were a few million years late. Somewhere in that number would be a few sent from Sofas III. Gomma had found a few ships that were damaged or empty. Some held the bodies of Tandra who had decided to stay rather than return to their colonies. I could make use of the ships but I did not like the idea of sweeping out the dust of long dead Tandra so that others could walk the corridors of the ships. The refugees themselves did not like this idea either. With the Empress' orders the warships on the station now became mine. I needed little time to get them converted. They would gain all possible improvements except the highest speeds. This I held back, like the source of the centurion suits. One day the restriction on the ships would be removed after I gained more trust in their crews. Mom had been working with my family to smooth the introduction of Taylar. Like my trips in the maze, Mom had fabricated a day to day existence that would allow me the freedom to do what was needed. We did not want the girls falling over themselves over an empress in their midst. I asked Taylar to remain incognito until a time came to reveal her former position. The work load was heavy and the imperial family took lessons from the tutors to learn more about the warships and their systems. Taylar and I found a few moments for our selves. She went from being like a teenage girl discovering the great secret of sex, to a woman seriously worried that her body betrayed her at the least provocation. By the time we were ready to leave she was like a young wife happy to embark on a life's journey with a husband she loved. I could see, though, that the path we would take together might be very rocky. Every able ship was re-checked and a crew dedicated to each. Many fighters and other small ships had been given danger predictor crystals and improved shields and missiles. They would remain with the garrison till the remaining youngest refugees were moved to a new and safer home. We left with many children in stasis for this trip. Three quarters of a million refugees stayed behind on the station, waiting our return. Gomma stayed with Harriet to provide advanced warning. The other small ships were not as fast but they were faster than anything the Tandra had ever seen. Our course would take us toward the monarchies I had visited not long ago. The large fleet of ships that had attacked us had to have come from many worlds. Some, I knew, were Thonas worlds. Harriet could make 300 light years per hour by herself. The large ships under my command had been purposely limited to 100. This was seven times faster than the battleship could make, and could be sustained continuously. The crew that formerly worked to propel the ship now functioned as a navigation crew for we could punch through a star or a planet without harm to ourselves, but many innocent people would be killed in our negligence. The smaller ships giving us scout coverage got the best technology I had. They could go over 220 light years per hour, depending on their mass. This trip was still much too long for me so I pushed the larger ships to match the speed of our escorts. Seven days later we arrived at the regions held by the Samutz and Thonas. We were not an impressive fleet. The battleship was large but all the other ships were tiny in comparison. Months ago I had gathered sufficient information from the captured Thonas and Samutz ships to find their probable locations. A cluster of fourteen stars held six worlds that supported Thonas life. This group spanned less than ten light years. "Why are you planning to attack the Samutz?" Taylar asked. "They have done nothing to us. The Samutz have committed a great many atrocities, but they need to be convinced not to attack us, not slaughtered the way you have been doing." I looked at her in wonder. "How can you say that? You were committed to protecting all the citizens of the empire. The Samutz are much too numerous to be punished and sent on their way. Their numbers must be whittled down and the survivors placed where they cannot harm others. Your people did the same to the Thonas, but never went far enough. That is why more Tandra had to die, because of misplaced concern for a group of beings that cannot even think like you." "The Thonas were quiet for thousands of years after a war. They caused no trouble during that time," she replied. "During that time," I interrupted, "they gathered their strength and prepared for another war!" Taylar was angry at my interjection, and at my disregard for her opinion. In fact, the Tandra had done very well for their selves until the last great war. "You are going into a dangerous situation with many children and noncombatants. That tells me that you have little regard for their lives." "You have been told about our weapons and about our defences. Your people suffered many defeats. The Thonas pushed into your home system and destroyed your star. This tells me that you have not fought the war wisely. Your military can fight well, but the politicians have been given command of tactics as if this were a huge board game. People have died needlessly, and I plan to keep as many of 'my' people alive as possible. If the Samutz and the Thonas must perish, so be it. I will not give the Thonas the same opportunities your people gave them all these years. I will exterminate every last one of them!" Taylar was angry. She spun around and left. Now that she was no longer the person to direct a war, she felt helpless to the events that were happening. Gomma and the lighter ships stayed in reserve as the six small frigates and a dozen fighters approached the first Thonas planet. The former elite imperial bodyguards captained each of these ships. We watched the action from the battleship. Twenty fortified satellites circled the planet in a defensive grid. Each outweighed our six frigates at least ten times. Four hostile battleships and a host of smaller ships were arrayed in defensive order. I could not guess the reason for this unusually strong defence, other than coincidence. Their battleships swung away to get out of the forts' line of fire but our nimble fighters quickly flew in and took out almost all the forts in just a minute. Then half of the battleships fell. Our frigates, which were lightly armed and smaller than capital warships, carried computers well prepared for their targets. They swept in close to the planet's surface and pounded every major shielded target they could find. Two frigates arced back from the planet to destroy the remaining two enemy battleships and most of their smaller escorts. Before the frigates' missiles reached the battleships, a flight of huge enemy missiles almost as large as the frigates themselves struck the frigates' shields. The crews watched in awe as their temporal defence fields simply swallowed the missiles while the blast fields from others that exploded nearby were shrugged off like mist. Three hostile destroyers fled in separate directions, trying to take warning to the other Thonas worlds. Gomma penetrated the first with his shield and watched the ship drift for a few seconds before it exploded in pyrotechnic fury. Two fighters from Gomma's flight almost carelessly drove their small craft from end to end through the remaining two destroyers. From our battleship vantage, we watched the frigates continue their fury against the planet. Every habitation they could find was hammered with kinetic weapons until, an hour later, the planet looked thoroughly abused although many green patches were left undamaged and would one day soften the destruction. The Tandra were greatly pleased. They had seen the same destruction handed to them by the Thonas, who had stayed to kill everything larger than a mouse. We started with a limited supply of missiles but what we had were exceedingly good. This battle had used half again more missiles than the number of targets destroyed. We held reserve missiles in our magazines, so our attacking ships came in for rearming while we flew to our next target. The other systems were similar but without the heavy defensive array of warships. We split our forces and sent different crews to confront the Thonas. After all the bloodshed the Thonas had inflicted over the centuries, the Tandra felt they should pay it back, drop for drop. It took little more than thirty hours to destroy the Thonas colonies and shipping. The feeling onboard was close to what Humans would have felt. Blood lust had never been high with the Tandra, but these people had actually fought in the war and felt justified. Some had felt free, for the first time, to press the war the way it should be fought. We rested for two days, assessing the battles and allowing the Tandra to get over their jubilation. Gamma was given an independent command. He took his forces to the surrounding systems to search for Thonas mining colonies and other infrastructure that would support the war effort. Jamal sent us tons of contagion, which grew many times in the hold of the battleship. The six frigates took the toxin and delivery systems to the Samutz worlds remaining in this sector. The rest of us followed a course through the centre of the region, looking for any assistance we could give. A week later, the frigates rendezvoused with us. They had cleaned out this sector and brought back almost four hundred ships that answered the imperial call. The remainder had been holed and dragged away by the newly conscripted ships. The techs came over readily from the Samutz ships, overjoyed that the Tandra empire had rescued them. Infantry had landed soon after the Samutz had finished dying. They discovered the unspeakable horror of their own kind being eaten. The Tandra frigates joined the captured ships to patrol this region and hold the planets. All but two of the seventeen worlds had major shipbuilding yards. The other two were pastoral, formerly used as breeding grounds for primitive Tandra and other races in no better shape to take advantage of their new freedom. They were little more than savages like the Tandra on Masis. One of our fastest ships, able to communicate with Mom as it went, flew onward to scout the systems ahead. Axxel, Tamdoc and the other worlds had seen our fight. The occasion gave all the monarchies a chance to call a holiday and an opportunity to prepare for our arrival. Three days later we arrived at Axxel. We would stay only there, as Axxel was the sole monarchy that had followed my warning about the Samutz. They would gain the honour of hosting their Emperor. Taylar had calmed after her fight with me. Her people longed to be freed from the long string of defeats and revelled in the glory of the last few battles. Queen Bessin greeted us with all the important people that had fought to get into line to meet us. I introduced Taylar as one of my wives and her family as my own. Each gave their own name, but without any imperial titles. It was doubtful that with all the empresses to rule the Tandra, that this one would be recognized for her old position. Monarchs from the neighbouring queendoms were in line, according to Queen Bessin's whim. I could see a few chafe at this, but not too much. Very close to her stood some of the Kadork queens. Both species had gained understanding of each other, and actually found ways to benefit one another. The imperial music started and when I got inside with my family I saluted the crest on the far wall, as did the rest of my family. They had much pride now in doing so. We walked to our seats and Taylar moved to sit first. Her sister had to subtly restrain her from this gaffe. She was no longer the supreme ruler and had to wait for me to be seated. During the meal, she spoke out strongly but kept criticism of my policies to a minimum. The politicians, seeing this small chink, tried to goad her into expanding her criticisms. She in turn asked pointed questions of them that opened old wounds that had not healed in the last thousand years. I was quite pleased how she turned the jackals on each other. These systems held large populations. I offered some captured systems with their manufacturing substructure to various groups. They would get the use of my captured ships for a few years, but had to take over their own defence and provide me with crews for my own ships. The Kadork were offered a prize system with two very habitable planets and large shipbuilding yards. I wondered what the Tandra would think when they found out how good this particular system was. Jealousy came to mind, but I had to ignore this possibility for the planets suited the Kadork even better than the Tandra. The Tandra never bore large numbers of children, or their worlds would be crowded like Earth. If they accepted my offer of worlds and the loan of ships in exchange for crews, they would have to alter their view of the family unit. I made it quite clear at the start that if the tanks were used, the children in them would have to be raised no differently than the ones born naturally. Making second and third class citizens to give me would not be allowed. We made a few more speeches to explain what I envisioned for this region. Taylar backed me by explaining some points. The queens would better understand counsel coming from another Tandra that acted like one of their own. When I described our recent battles, I singled out Gomma and his group for the good job they had done. The guests were impressed that a Tandra male could do such a thing. I was regarded differently, for I was not full Tandra and was thus quite capable of miracles. After the meal, I talked to Taylar about the other queens wanting to take me to their bed. She held my arm tightly, and promised to be all I needed. She was starting to get a few Human traits. Jealousy was not a trait that I wished her to acquire, but in this case I agreed with her. We talked for a while in our quarters on the ship as we flew out of the system. "Taylar, I think you did very well with the leaders of those systems. In the last while I have changed greatly and learned much, but you are teaching me the finesse needed to get people to do things. I worked well enough in small groups, but you seem to shine in the larger gatherings." "Thank you, Henry. It is nice to see that I am needed." "You certainly are. Do you want to take your clothes off or do you want me to do it?" Her heart rate shot up, and she almost instantly became aroused. "I don't know why, but I like when you do that." I kept her at the edge for a long time and she was noisy when she came. In the other rooms her family was finding what substitutes they could get to relieve their own frustrations. When she awoke, she cuddled close to me, and said, "I never thought I would say this, but I love you, Henry Buchanan. I love you like one of my sunas, but even more. For a while, I was angry at what my brother Gomma had done to your race, and now to ours, but I find that as I get to know you more, it was perhaps a good thing that happened." "I am certainly not angry at him. I love the Tandra race, and I think this was one of the reasons that the Tandra males worked so hard on us. They didn't bring this about, but just strengthened it." Taking a different tack, I asked, "Do you think you are ready to bond with me, now?" She thought for a while and said, "Yes, I am. I have asked the computer many questions about this, and I find that it is very difficult to do. There are dangers involved, but none life-threatening. The empire you envision could be endangered if you fail." I simply smiled at her. "I will not fail this. You will remember everything we do. I will do the least possible, and try not to disrupt your life. Would you like your family here with you?" She did want her family, and they all came in. I explained how it was time for the bonding and they worried for Taylar and what she might become. This time I did not need to have sex to do this. My mind had grown enough that we could accomplish this task in only a few moments. She relaxed on her bed and I lay alongside her, holding her hand. Like long ago with Amy and Sandy, I entered that area where Taylar kept images of herself. This was deep inside, beyond the veneer of a civilized person. I walked up to the savage Tandra image. It wanted to hurt me or even kill me for taking something from her. When she attacked, I enveloped her in strong arms and held her to me. She continued to fight, but I whispered calming thoughts to her. Little by little, the struggle slowed and when she started to hold me too, I said, "Taylar, I love you very much. You are mine now, and will always be." The image sought to get away till she came to the conclusion that where she was with me, was where she wanted to be. When I left her mind I left an image of myself with her. She would always be protected and loved and the savage Tandra could now find peace. It took a while for Taylar to come out of her dream. She looked at me beside her and she saw love that was much wider and deeper than she had ever thought possible. It was partly romantic, but not all. She saw me as her leader, and the father of her future children. I was not a crutch to her but rather we became two parts fitting together to make a seamless whole. A part of me had stayed with her and now I found that it was not just her binding to me, but a commitment of my self to love and protect her. Since finding the matter transmitter station I had been communicating with my wives, but they didn't know much about what I had actually done. They did not talk with Taylar or her family, because they would react to Taylar's former status and I did not need a new metsu to lead my wives astray. Even with Taylar bonded to me, I did not want her to lead the women. She held strong views, set firmly with a thousand years of living. It was far better to have Ingrid take the leadership role. I hoped that Ingrid would not be influenced by Taylar to yield her position as Metsu. Secric and Mom in the tug talked of Secric's pregnancy. She was due to deliver soon and I wanted to be with her. We flew at our best speed to Falm VI. Mom was doing her best to keep Secric comfortable, to allow us time to get there. We rushed into the system, passing safely through welcoming defences. Our shuttle was full with Taylar's family coming down with me. Secric was quietly sleeping when we reached her home. Mom assigned rooms, while I looked at Secric. She was on her back with her arm over her eyes, her prominent belly telling the world that we would soon be parents. Her subconscious must have awoken her, for she opened her eyes and smiled up at me. "Hello, Henry. Both of us have been waiting for you to get here." I smiled at the image she sent me. I bent over and gave her a kiss. "I tried not to cut it too fine. How are you feeling now?" She held my hand tightly. "Only a bit bloated. Carrying your child is not as easy as with Tandra children. She is certainly more energetic." "Well, her mother is energetic too. Do you want to have our child now?" "Yes, I think I should." Med units came into the room to make an assessment, then Secric felt her water break. A look of surprise came over her face as the pressure was eased. Medication was administered and the muscle tissue of her vagina started to relax. Mom insured that Secric did not get the urge to push till everything was ready. Her pelvis was just large enough to deliver this child, and I wondered about all the Tandra that would be bearing my children with their much smaller pelvises. She squeezed my hand while contractions went through her body. She felt no pain, only mild discomfort. I had gone through all the new medical information I had gathered and found nothing to add to the knowledge I had of Tandra birthing. In ten minutes a slippery purple child with an odd shaped head appeared. I helped Secric the best I could and finally my daughter was presented to me. She gave one good cry, then remained silent as her unfocused eyes peered at me. Mom supplied all the articles I needed. The umbilical cord was severed and the ends sealed. I cleaned my child, wrapped her in soft cloth, and put her beside her mother. Both looked at me and I could feel my daughter's first thoughts. She was uncomfortable after leaving the womb. She had memories of her mother and me when she had eavesdropped on our thoughts while she grew in her mother's body. "Hello, Madaline. I am your father and the one holding you is your mother." Secric said, "She can't understand you, husband." "Perhaps not, but she can understand that we love her." Mom appeared in the doorway. She wore the blue dress I liked. Secric seemed to get much comfort by having Mom here, in a form she could see. "Mom, I would like to introduce Madaline, your granddaughter." She took the last few steps and stood beside me. She looked at the child, as if able to see her only with her eyes. I had no doubt that Mom had more intimate knowledge of our child than anyone could believe. "She has her mother's beauty, and an exceptional mind. Henry, you seemed to have passed along some traits that I know little about yet. She will be an exceptional child and a great benefit to the new civilization you are building." "I believe she will. But I disagree with you on one point." "What is that, Henry?" "She looks much like her grandmother, too." Taylar had gotten her people settled. Now she called gently, only to me, "May I intrude on your gathering?" "You certainly may. Three members of our family are here now." Taylar came in dressed much like any other Tandra woman. She waited at the doorway till she was specifically invited in. This was a special time for Secric, and Taylar did not wish to spoil it. "Come in Taylar, and meet some of our family." She entered as though unsure of herself, and stood on my other side from Mom. "Oh, she is a beautiful baby!" She looked at Secric and said, "Hello, I am Taylar. Henry has talked much of you, and the rest of the family." She knew Secric from my mental images, but she did not know Mom who appeared different from her image at the matter transmitter station. "Taylar, this is Secric, and my daughter Madaline." Taylar said, "Hello, sister. I can easily see with my own eyes why Henry has chosen you for his wife. Your thinking is very clear and concise, and your beauty is surpassed only by your daughter." Secric replied, "I am happy to meet you too. I would like to get to know you much better." I said, "And standing on my other side is she who made possible the beginnings of a new civilization rising from the ashes of the old. This is Mom, looking now as millions on Earth have seen her." Taylar was hesitant about greeting an AI as an equal or a superior, as she felt I wanted. But she knew it would please me, so she said, "I am honoured to meet you. You have been very prominent in Henry's thoughts. I have known many AIs, but never any well. I wish to make an exception with you. I have never known one to be part of a family, however." Mom smiled and said, "Henry has changed the way we regard each other. I was a recluse till Henry took me into his life. The Tandra that he has befriended have done wondrous things. He can take a group of strangers and bind them into a bonded crew that can drive a ship faster than any engineer thought possible. He caused us to look at ourselves differently, and we now treat each other with less discrimination and more love. He has made our family very strong. Each member gains strength from the rest." I said, "Mom, it was you, with your plans that began a million years ago that led us here. Let's bring the rest of the family to see our newest member." The call went out. Everybody knew about the baby, but had not intruded until called. Amy was first. She congratulated Secric while peering over her own large waist. Taylar had not been introduced yet and this was a good time to do so. Mom had told me yesterday that she thought the family was ready. All the wives came in and Ingrid was the one to catch Taylar's eye. Ingrid was a very beautiful Human. She radiated authority and competence while wearing her crown of lights as if it were made specifically for her. The family gathering went on for an hour and I had it moved to another room when Secric became tired. Her baby was nearly the size of a Human baby. Her body would take longer to recover. With mother and baby resting, the family gathering increased even more. The children came out, and Duc and Lam's children, then Carl, Doris and the other Human children arrived with their pet donai. The room was large but felt crowded with these numbers. Mom on Earth joined the party through her clone. She showed us the night sky on one side of Earth, which held an image of Madaline hundreds of kilometres across. It was like an image made with fireworks, but sharper. I could distinguish thousands of shades and the face looked the same as the vision I saw when I looked on the child myself. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to tell the world that I had one more child, even if this was the first one that was genetically mine. Carl congratulated me, as did his wife and Susan's parents. They all knew how important family really was. Taylar called her family, and they too came in, and congratulated me. This was something new to them, for the typical Tandra male had very little to do with children once he had donated his sperm. They had been apprised how I intended to raise my family which seemed very odd to them, but then again, they found many things odd about me. Taylar and her family were greeted as equals, with no display of jealousy or preferential treatment. Mom had done better than I had expected. The gathering gradually wound down and everyone said goodbye and left for sleep or to resume their duties. When they left, Taylar said, "Henry, I am happy to have joined your family. I miss the way I was treated before, but I also miss the way it was when I was young. It is much better to have a family that will accept you for what you are." I said, "I and our other wives accept you, too. They seemed to be happy meeting you and were not affected by your old station. They did want to see how you fit in with the other Tandra." "We Tandra are like that. It doesn't matter what gender we are. Always, we try to see where we fit. Some want to be the head of the family, and others want the contentment of being guided by those who know better. Now that I have seen Ingrid, please tell me more about her." My description of Ingrid did not go into that much detail, but I told Taylar that Ingrid would remain metsu of the family. Taylar thought for a moment, and said, "If that is what you want, that is the way I will regard her, Henry." We stayed with Secric for a week. Chessu, Taylar's sister, was asked to stay and assist in the running of this important system. She looked to her sister for guidance, then back to me when she got no response. Her royal functions had been more ceremonial than official; deep in her mind I had seen her desire to find some more useful purpose and she hoped now she had found it. Secric could feel our thoughts as Taylar and I made love, and she wanted some loving of her own. She was long since healed by Tandra medicine so she joined with us. If it were up to her she would drop another egg and start a new child. She saw so much promise in her daughter that she wanted another. Now reinforced with more troops, Chessu waved bye to us as we left for Sallis. We arrived with two days to wait before Amy started her induced labour. I took Harriet and flew to Earth to pick up Moth, Cloud, Kitty and Topaz. Although they were young, they would help Amy as best they could and give her the moral support that a hologram could not. Sofia came so she could stay with her friends. Amy gave me a beautiful daughter in a painless delivery. I named her Ruth, after my grandmother. The next day, Star gave me another daughter who we named Elizabeth for my other grandmother. It was a blessing to have Tandra medicine, for I had no doubts that this time the child and mother would have died if they had suffered a natural birthing. When we left, another of Taylar's sisters stayed behind to assist and get training in what I wanted done. Chris was strong enough to fight for what was right, and she was also smart enough to see another path that could accomplish the same thing with fewer problems. The other wives were near, so I pushed the battleship very quickly and visited all of them again. I dropped off more of Taylar's family to learn and teach as they worked with the rest of our family. We greeted Nova and Sandy, and I brought out a little boy. He was shy but had talked many times to his grandmother. Nova understood boys. She picked him up and bribed him with a flashy toy. She carried him around with her as we talked. Gerdo was mostly fascinated with the toy, but he soon enjoyed being with us as we talked of family. When we visited Blue, Gomma chose to stay behind with people who could assist him. Gomma wanted to keep Harriet. I had foreseen this and had started to make more "Harriet" class ships. Two stayed. Gomma would use one, while the other stayed near Blue. This would be her ship if she had to get somewhere quickly, but it would also go on patrols where the larger ships were too slow, and would give Blue earlier warning of danger. Defren was a bit of a problem. The people there had not returned to the uncorrupted laws, and they clung to their privileges. These 'privileges' took many forms but usually meant somebody else paid the bill. Taylar was angry and helped Susan and Bassinda fight these elite stiff-necks. No one except Susan and Bassinda knew Taylar's real identity. Taylar carried her old bearing here and the elite could sense a real empress in her. The fact that she was the Emperor's wife added plausibility to her bearing. When we left the last sister stayed behind to assist the rule. Our next destination was Earth. The alliance personnel greeted us warmly. They too did not know who Taylar was, but they did know that she and all the others with me were from the old empire. During the last two months the moon facilities had expanded, so I started another four computers to assist Marcus in caring for everyone. Some adults from the battleship went to the expanded academy as valued instructors. The older children in stasis aboard the ship were awakened. They needed a while to accept the loss of their families and their worlds. Adults were in short supply so Humans were recruited to fill the need. Even so, many younger ones remained in stasis until we found people and facilities to care for them. Taylar was true to her word and accepted Ingrid as her metsu. That did not mean she would accept being pushed down the list. She quickly took second rank before Susan and Bassinda came to take it for their selves. When I was not beyond the Oort cloud reinforcing our fleet, I was in the dimension maze seeking more computers like Serendipity. The substrate had grown many kilometres and it was an easy matter to connect them up. I detected more Samutz from the maze and dispatched fast ships to deal with them. Actually I had to go quite far to find any large Samutz colonies, and most were so far off the travelled routes that they had not heard that they were being attacked everywhere else. Some had become apprehensive because commerce with other Samutz communities had stopped but many confusing rumours abounded; some resembled the truth. Recently captured AIs passed along reports that a Samutz chieftain was gathering surrounding Samutz colonies to his side. He intended to retake areas that they had been pushed from long ago. This time, instead of a hasty attack, I ordered more of the immediate region scouted out. We saw instances where the Samutz were holding onto their systems against some very nasty races. In other cases they were fair game. Our ships were directed to these areas where they quickly destroyed the Samutz and rescued what surviving people they could. Our sphere of action grew larger each day and we sometimes found ourselves fighting the ant-like Moldeg. These I treated just like the Samutz and we destroyed many of their colonies. Taylar was again angry with me for my savagery and she tried to fight her bonding, even approaching Ingrid for help. Taylar was shocked to discover how bloodthirsty Humans could be when she realized that Ingrid would prefer to grind these races to extinction. Mom subtly monitored the Kadork colonies that we had no communications with yet. She reported a large Samutz fleet spearheaded by Thonas ships, destroying one system after another. I called an alert and gathered our forces. Some of our ships were commanded by Mordis, but not many, for the Mordis were exceedingly good ground elements and I was not shy about sending them down to fight. Our ships mostly had the superior temporal shielding and missiles so I brought even the academy with us. Our ships were very fast and needed little pushing. We were two days getting to the area. Here we found small groups of attackers but not in the numbers Mom had reported. I dispersed our fleet and sent our fast Harriet class scouts to find the main body of the enemy. I stayed on a dreadnaught and let the others do the fighting. We needed seasoned veterans. We found two destroyed Kadork worlds and others not yet aware of their danger. These Kadork queens were linked through our communicator to the Queens I knew. They quickly heeded our call to prepare for battle, if it came. Our fleet dispersed even more thinly as we stationed many ships to protect their worlds. Another world soon suffered a vicious Thonas attack. Our largest ships raced to the scene to join the battle but for some reason, probably because most of the Samutz ships had left or because the Thonas losses had been heavy, our long-range sensors showed seven Thonas ships circling the system star from only a few light seconds distance. They fired their heaviest weapons into the star itself. In less than a minute the star surged and the Thonas fled. The instability of the stricken sun quickened and within moments it went nova. We arrived shortly after and there was nothing we could do. The orbiting planet and the millions of inhabitants were blown out of existence. We raced after the Thonas attackers. We overtook and destroyed all but one. This one we captured. I raced forward with tubes of controlled energy from the upper dimensions and the ship stopped dead. I reached in from far astern and seized control of the inertial compensator, stalled it, and shook the ship like a rag doll. I wanted only the Thonas computer to survive. I sliced away huge sections of the ship and flung them aside to be destroyed by my companions. The Thonas computer lay isolated and helpless. I donned a combat suit, interfaced with the dimensional realms, and entered the armoured enclosure. Like other Thonas computers, this too was a group of living beings. They were Thonas, but only if you stretched reality a bit. They had no bones or upright form. They lay flat, sprawled about. Small crystals hung suspended in living flesh. ------- Chapter 85 Moses Carver stepped out of the shower and felt the tingle that removed the water from his body. It felt good. It was like he could breathe easier through his skin. New fatigues appeared and he paused to look at the name and rank on the soft material. Though written in Tandran, he was proud to see his new Corporal First Class patch. Promotions had come quickly. He was ahead of most of the recruits and his studies and dedication to duty ensured that he would stay that way. He dressed quickly, walked briskly to the matter transmitter closest to his quarters, and a split second later he was in one of the smaller boat bays on Terra's Pride. He found his boys clustered around a scrap engine from a single seat fighter. The boys sensed him as he walked up. They raised their heads or turned around to greet him. Jonathan had a big smile on his face. Jonathan had changed much since joining the academy. He was four centimetres taller and had gained at least seven kilos of muscle. His brother Jerome stood nearby and had grown just as much. The haunted looks the boys once carried were gone. Their black faces showed only determination and joy at doing what was asked of them. "Hello Moses. Tell us what you learned about this engine," Jonathan asked. Moses looked the engine over for a few moments, then began to explain how it was tweaked and cajoled to put out more thrust when the craft exceeded light speed. His explanation was detailed and he brought up displays to illustrate his talk. He started with the crystalline structure of the material and progressed to how it converted energy to thrust. Moses picked up the engine and moved the ninety kilogram mass about easily in the ship's gravity. At the moment it was at set to ten percent more than Earth gravity, to acclimatise the students and recruits to function in different weight environments. "This depression transubstantiates to give the greatest alignment with the course desired. These crystals actually bend in the upper dimensions to accomplish this." A tall boy from Pakistan asked, "How come the larger engines do it differently?" "At one time the larger ships had multiples of this engine, which worked fine, but the arrangement was not as efficient as the larger engines when they were finally developed. The crystals cannot move and develop the same efficiency." The class progressed to other topics related to ships, weapons and sensors. They moved to a smaller room with tutors strapped to their heads to learn more eccentricities of multi-dimensional mathematics. Later in the study period Mike Tuck arrived and took half the class. He had been doing his own studying and now helped others who needed mentoring. He recalled many years ago he studied mathematics and didn't like it much. Fifty years later he realized that math was needed to stay alive. With this understanding, he pushed himself to learn as much as he could. Like Moses, he quickly got his corporal's glyph through long hours devoted to absorbing everything he could. Now the boys in this room were far above earth standards for genius level. A rough comparison would show that the least of them had an IQ of about 400. Granted, their education was geared to staying alive in a high-tech society engaged in a deadly war. The next class was considered fun. Moses and Mike did not lead this class, but observed. Officers were drawn from the boys themselves, in rotation. They donned environment suits and took up whatever weapons their officers assigned. They boarded a small ship and flew to the moon's terminator where they disembarked and scattered, taking up positions to defend a predetermined site. Mike sent out probes to cover a hundred kilometre area, while Moses rechecked every boy's suit and weapons. The cadet officer was doing the same. When all were deployed where their officer wanted them, they masked their minds from the enemy. Cadets had enhanced minds. They could multi-task their mental processing. One mind compartment worked to locate an enemy sent to take their position; another area processed school assignments. After two hours Corporal Tuck detected a stray thought and knew that fighting would start soon. He warned Moses but not the cadets. It was up to them to learn from experience. Fifteen seconds later the cadet officer directed some cadets to shift their positions, and he alerted the rest. A nearby outcropping exploded soundlessly and rock fragments rattled against their shielding. Their suit AIs kicked in to detect and compute the enemy positions. The boys remained still, not returning fire even when an enemy exposed himself while sprinting to a large rock. He was invisible to the eye but could be seen with the suit's sensors. Seconds later another outcropping erupted into dust and fragments, with no retribution. When the enemy finally charged in force, the defenders popped up and raked them with a deadly accuracy beyond normal Human abilities. Some attackers were hit repeatedly and were tagged 'dead'. The young officer barked a command and twenty-three boys moved out, covering each other while they took down two enemies who contested their advance. Jonathan flew within a few centimetres of the lunar surface, his suit AI searching for targets. Four buddies were down. Slowing near a large rock, he slid around it for cover. Halfway around, the rock was blasted and splintered fragments rattled off his shield. His suit weapons fired in return, hitting the enemy position an instant after his attacker pulled back. He slipped forward a few metres, then another, and his suit was hammered by weapon fire. The shot was so accurate that the suit computer tagged him as "killed" and went dormant. "Shit, shit! Why did it have to happen just as we were ready to sweep the enemy up?" he thought. As his suit closed down he glimpsed his opponent, buried in the lunar dust with just the tip of his weapon visible. The dust had not begun to settle when two of his buddies slipped around the rock and hammered the area where the sniper lay hidden. They fired repeatedly at the far location where he had taken incoming fire, to pin the enemy down. He was about to thank his teammates but the rules demanded that he remain quiet until the exercise was over. He had to be content to lay back and focus on physics theories that explained how a communicator signal could pass through a shield screen and be attenuated by only half. A moment later the "dead" sniper moved a hand. Jonathan remained still until the enemy found an unused communicator channel and said aloud, "Hi. I guess the plan did not work as well as it should have. You were supposed to die and my team would hit your teammates when they came to flush me out." Jonathan answered aloud through his communicator, "It worked pretty well. Instead of looking for your weapon, I was worried about being hit by your team." "My name is Jeremy. What is yours?" "Jonathan, from 56,20." "I am from 56,23. Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you, too. Who are your mentors?" "Moya and Konstantin." Jonathan found the voice young but mature. "Are you a rejuvee or young?" "I am eleven now. How about you?" "I am 13 for the first time." Jeremy sensed something in the boy and wanted to know more. "No wonder you got so far. Your Argentinean and Russian teammates are pretty good." Jeremy asked, "Who are your mentors?" "Moses Carver and Mike Tuck." "They are one of the top teams. My brother is leading our group and he is getting sneaky. He took the usual fight tactics and put in another level. He has a two-man team moving up on the right flank to take out your command." Jonathan was only a little worried. Moses had warned them this might happen and the possibility had to be taken seriously. They could feel the ground shaking under them as more and more rocks were pounded to dust and fragments. An hour later the contest was over; the "all clear" signal went out to all contestants and their AIs. The "killed" suits would now work so both boys got up, smiled at each other and shook hands. They had started a friendship that each hoped would grow. Two days later in one of the cafeteria, Jeremy came up to Jonathan. "Hi Jonathan. How are you doing?" "Great, except I lost some points for not targeting as well as I should. How are you?" "Fine, come sit with us and we can talk?" Jonathan tapped his brother Jerome in front of him and said, "Sure, and my brother Jerome will come with us. He's older than me but I have to look after him." He jumped back as a backhand slap narrowly missed him. The boys got their meals and sat down. Jerome seemed to be the odd man because of his size but he didn't let that bother him. They discussed the exercise of two days before and how it might have gone differently. It had been thrashed through earlier among the participants, and Marcus had shown them some of their more glaring mistakes. Jonathan judged that Matthew was well suited to be an officer even at his young age. He seemed to have an excellent grasp of strategy and the tactical properties of all the weapons at hand. Jeremy, a bit older, seemed to easily master those weapons that were difficult for Jonathan. Jonathan's strength was in tuning the engines to work their best. Jerome could fix just about anything, and could cobble together ingenious devices that confounded his mentors. Jeremy suggested, "I can help you with targeting, if you can help me with propulsion." Jonathan thought it a worthwhile idea. "Sure. When can we work together?" A chart appeared to both boys at Jeremy's bidding, showing their scheduled free time. Most entries were coloured red, meaning compulsory classes, but some were blue, indicating elective, optional courses. The green "free" area for both boys was small. Jeremy moved some of his discretionary activities till their green areas overlapped. Jonathan did a bit of shuffling to make a larger green area. "Where are you doing your community service?" Jonathan asked. "Our friends and teammates like the nursery. We usually go to 12F." "I was teaching the older kids a few of our old games, but more people are helping now. Maybe we can do our time together in nursery, and talk?" "I like it." Corporal Moses Carver approached the table and the boys sat to attention. Jonathan smiled broadly as Carver stood beside him. Jeremy saw there was nothing sexual there, just great love and respect for the large man. He sensed that Jonathan's real father might not measure up to Moses Carver. "There you are." Moses smiled down at the four boys and saw friendships forming. The white boys were two of the Emperor's many children. He knew about their meeting up with the boss, but he did not know the details. It was best to let it rest. "I came to tell Jerome and Jonathan that there is a new competition starting in a few hours." "What about?" Jonathan asked. "The older cadets are invited to build and crew a small ship. Their mission is to fly to the Oort Cloud to repair 144 sensor orbs, and to install 144 new ones. There is some small print but basically the competition is open to everybody. All of the participating crews will go to Earth to meet with high-ranking leaders. And they will tour schools to encourage Earth children to try harder." Jerome said, "I remember reading they did that during the wars to get the people behind the effort." Moses chuckled, "It is called a 'dog and pony show'. You are right about its purpose. Recruitment is no problem but many of the people on Earth do not see us as fully Human. This is a way to show them that you are only boys, even if you are unusually smart and strong boys." The group broke up soon afterward and each went to their respective marshalling areas. Jeremy walked up behind his teammates, Conda and Toosm, the female and male Tandra members. He put his arms around the pair and pulled them gently to him. "I missed you guys at lunch. What happened?" "We had some time together. You Humans are too rowdy to be around all the time," Conda teased. They actually spent most of their free time together. Sometimes it was for sex but mostly it was like they were family and needed to be close. None had yet entered puberty but they enjoyed expressing their feelings through sex. Matthew was much more of a diplomat. He greeted Mui, the Softay female and Trixie the female T'aut. "Trixie" was the closest a Human tongue could pronounce her name. The language was difficult but her name was especially frustrating. The two females had more or less banded together and were adjusting to the Tandra. The Humans were more difficult, more aggressive by nature, but not threatening. It was reassuring that the Humans wanted only the best for the team members. Matthew liked and admired these girls. They were smart and dedicated. They, too, thought of the team as a family. If a member needed extra help, they would give it. The Softay did not have the mental communication abilities of the others, but made up for it in her ability to diagnose problems in the machinery. Mui was quite reserved and spoke slowly, even in mind-speak, but she knew much about the ship's systems. "We just heard that there is an open competition," Matthew said. "A ship is to be fabricated from scratch. The crew will fly it to the Oort Cloud, complete a repair mission, and fly back. All the contestants will go to Earth to meet the people, tour some schools, and meet children who are the way we once were." "Why would we want to go there?" Mui asked. "It is dirty and dangerous. The natives are insane and aggressive, and none of my race or Trixie's has ever met with the Human public." "That might be the reason to open the competition. It doesn't take a genius to know that it will be televised. My family missed the hysteria when our... the Emperor came and rescued us. This is just a way of bringing the level of mania down to a manageable amount." "Building a ship takes a lot of time and help. What are the rules?" They asked Marcus for the particulars. Basically it would require twelve cadets for each team. They could get advice and mentoring, but no physical assistance would be allowed. "A new friend is coming over tonight to share our community service. We can discuss it then and see if this idea will work for all of us." Jeremy waited that night outside 12F nursery. He had begun to wonder if Jonathan would show up, but then he felt Jonathan's thoughts as he approached. They greeted each other with a hug, which was the Tandra custom. Going inside, they were each handed a year old Tandra child by a matronly Human woman. A Tandra child this age was newborn size among Human babies. The boys joined the rest of Jeremy's team and sat on soft blankets in the weak lunar gravity. After introducing Jonathan to the others, the cadets talked while they tended the babies. Their minds, now able to maintain several activities at once, were able to focus a full share of nurturing thoughts to the infants. Jonathan explained, "My brother and I put our name in for the competition. This is too good to pass up. We are looking for some help. I need to go back to my old neighbourhood; I want show the people there that I am making good." "We have not discussed the competition yet. Marcus gave us the basics and it sounds possible. We need at least twelve and no more than fifteen team members. We will use lunar regolith for raw material to make a frame and hull. Part of our group will fabricate small crystals for a processor unit. We will be given the rest of the computer. The only other assembly we must make ourselves is the inertial compensator." "I heard that we may have to make the sensors too. I do not know if I can work on such a fine detail." "Mui or I could make the sensors." Jeremy thought. He continued, "Less than half of each crew is to be Human." Turning to Mui and Trixie he said, "Would the two of you consider joining us?" Trixie concentrated on the T'aut child in her arms and said, "The competition will be good for us. We will learn our school lessons faster and we can be useful. I will work with you until we see the feasibility of this endeavour. Then I will decide." Mui was much more hesitant but she knew Jeremy wanted this. Matthew had remained silent the entire time, weighing the commitment each team member would make. "I think it is necessary that we enter this competition," he said. "Marcus has given us a summary of what has happened on Earth, and I have done my own investigation. There is a distinct possibility that something bad could happen down there. The majority of Earth's people are xenophobic and that trend will only worsen unless something is done to reverse it." "We must go among the people and let them see that we are not much different than they are. The alternative is to eventually withdraw and let the people of Earth carry on, isolated as before." Jonathan was impressed with the mature analysis that 10-year-old Matthew applied to the problem. He was both diplomatic and assertive in persuading the group to see his view of the matter. By the time the babies were changed and fed, the team had solidified behind Matthew. He had adapted to Tandra education quite easily and his mind had developed impressively because of it. Without pushing his views he could coalesce the group's thinking. Now the group carefully handed back their babies to the matron and even Jonathan felt compelled to give the child a soft kiss on the cheek as they parted. When news of the competition spread, more cadets wanted to join. Few interested groups were large enough to make a team on their own, so Matthew in his spare moments scouted the uncommitted people. He found three Tandra females seeking to join a compatible team. He sent his group as it now stood to meet them. He suspected the three, like Conda earlier, might suffer psychological isolation from the destruction of their home world, damage which could impede their full and open teamwork. He hoped Conda could help them overcome the problem and pull the team together. Another long-term goal was to find suitable mates for Trixie and Mui. They did not complain but Matthew had studied their cultures and he knew that mates would be far more than comforting to the Softay and T'aut females. Apparently it was the custom for one's family to choose a life mate and one was usually content with the choice. Matthew used his free moments to consider the competition's probable benefits to his group, and its aim to improve relations between the Alliance and the Earth population. The other races had recently begun to refer to the lunar Humans as "Terrans," a term now widely accepted and most Humans did not seem to mind. As for Matthew, the Emperor had saved him so being called "Terran" was a small adjustment to make in this new existence. He worked closely with Marcus, more so than others of his age or experience. He searched the public records to evaluate the more promising cadets looking for a place on a team. Some could make great contributions but he rejected most as possibly disruptive to their team. He decided the three Tandra girls would be the best choice, even if they might be a little unsettling to the others. ------- Small single-seat fighters had been refitted with new crystals provided by the Emperor. These ships were much more intelligent than most and were perfect for combat training. Their powerful weapons were locked down to a harmless power setting, safe for student missions. Matthew flew with the blue team, led by Jeremy. Their flight of twelve fighters was assigned a mission to one of Jupiter's moons. They expected to be attacked during the mission by an equal number of fighters piloted by the green team. Trixie's fighter was suffering engine problems. Jeremy ordered four teammates to lock their tractors on to her ship to keep her with them, an unusual flight solution that required intense teamwork. The problem had probably been generated as a practical test. They arrived at an orbiting debris field, a likely place for an ambush. The blue team spread into a defensive array that protected their crippled ship to the centre rear. Four green team ships materialised, feinted with a full-out diversionary missile spread that hit and "killed" three blue ships and veered the other blue team fighters into a minefield where another two blue fighters "exploded" and were tagged dead in space. The green attackers immediately broke away and plunged moonward, sliding off into a backside blind where the other green team ships waited. Regrouped, the green team ships flipped around, doubled back and accelerated to flank speed, hoping to surprise the surviving blue team fighters they assumed were following in angry pursuit. Instead, they ran headlong into a blue team minefield. Jeremy had sensed the trap and ordered his surviving blue team pilots to spread out, lay a mined ambush of their own, and to fall well away with six ships waiting in a flanking spread. Trixie, in her crippled fighter, sat centred downrange as bait, noisily attempting to restart her engine. When eight surviving green ships emerged from the minefield and started toward Trixie, they were swarmed from all sides by flights of missiles streaking in as shields for the attacking blue fighters. Both teams furiously wheeled around like wounded gladiators and lashed out at each other with laser weapons. The final dogfight lasted thirty-six seconds and ended with three blue team and four green team ships surviving the final engagement. Damage to the surviving green team fighters was greater so the outcome was called a draw. When both teams arrived back at the moon they had already debriefed themselves, agreeing on those things that worked and other things they could have done better. There was even enough time to run through another mathematics lesson relating to the structural integrity of a combat-hardened spacecraft. ------- The two boys were hungry and waiting to eat when they were called out of line. Their stepmother Justine and her companion Monique were waiting to visit. Jeremy and Matthew ran to the women for hugs and kisses. Justine held Jeremy's shoulders and smiled. "You have grown so much! It's hard to recognize you. How are your classes going?" "We're doing well. My baby brother may be one of the brightest in our group, but it was all my doing," Jeremy teased. Matthew gave him an elbow jab and said, "He keeps getting us killed just so he can look good. Have you eaten? We're hungry." They sat around a small table in a quiet area and talked of many things. Sofia was with the Emperor's family and having lots of fun. The ships were linked with audio/video communications and Monique and Justine could talk anytime to Sofia and the two brothers. This was one of the happiest times of the women's lives. The brothers felt the same. They all missed Sofia but it was good to see that she was being raised well. Masis was such a nice planet and much safer now that many more Alliance personnel were hunting down the Samutz. Monique had requested temporary lunar quarters to be with her family and was assigned a suite. Jeremy and Matthew usually slept with their team but sometimes stayed with their family or the Emperor. Matthew asked for family time and it was easily granted. The Emperor had dramatically expanded the lunar base and brought many Earth vices with him. Entertainment simulators were installed that featured theme park rides. A roller coaster ride with artificial gravity made the simulator experience identical to reality. A motor speedway featured Formula One cars hitting speeds of three hundred fifty kilometres per hour. The food synthesizers featured Earth meals and did a steady business. It helped that everything was free; nothing had to be paid for. An authentic British pub dispensed drinks but no patrons got drunk or unruly. Dart boards and a cozy fire drew people to relax and talk in a comfortable environment. Sports events from Earth were widely broadcast. Favourite teams were still followed, even though the lunar fans could easily outperform Earth's professional players. Lunar sports were widely broadcast too, but not to Earth. Their enhanced strength, stamina, and mental prowess made the lunar athletes far superior to any Terran team; this could cause a wider rift in relations if it were widely publicized. The boys brought the girls to an Earth-type theatre featuring Terran movies. Marcus had taken each tape or DVD and restructured them into virtual reality projections. The audience could believe they were living in the scenes and feeling the same environment whether warm, hot, wet, or thirsty. This film featured Bogie in "The African Queen". Tactile sensations were completely appropriate. Even their chairs were as hard as the wooden benches in the boat. Jeremy held Justine and Matthew held Monique. They could feel the tropical heat and the wet spray when it rained or when they were shipwrecked. The audience gasped for breath during the storm when waves washed over them. Marcus' films let the Humans remember what life was like on Earth. After the film, the couples grabbed a meal from an automated pizza parlour and a few minutes later they were settled down in their temporary quarters. They sat around, eating and talking. This was more like a circle of adults, although two were quite young. The boys avoided talking about their earlier, painful life with their father. They called Masis but were told that Sofia was asleep so they waited to call later when she was awake. The girls talked about their training. Justine and Monique were trying for communications tech positions. They had not graduated, but most of their training would be learned on the job using tutors on whatever ship they would be assigned. The women regarded themselves as a couple now and the military would treat them as a family unit and not split them apart. Jeremy discussed his courses and his team members. The public archives were called up with pictures of the other members. "Are you having fun with the two Tandra?" Justine asked. "Yes. Conda and Toosm are a lot of fun. Conda wanted always to be on her knees, but now she has changed. She likes all of us but I think she likes Matthew better. Toosm is from the moon population and works hard to keep up with us. He's bright but not as driven as the rest of us. Matthew and I made a deal with him; he works hard and one of us makes him feel good afterward. "The Tandra seem to make us horny. It is fun now but when we enter puberty it should be a lot better," Matthew added. "What job are you trying for?" Monique asked. "The best. I want to be captain. Perhaps I will not have a battleship or a carrier but I hope someday to get a cruiser or destroyer. If Jeremy stays with me, it will have to be a troop carrier though," Matthew answered. "Why?" Justine asked. Jeremy hung his head and Matthew said, "He wants to be in the infantry and fight face to face. He doesn't think the ship is a hands-on way to kill Samutz." "Jeremy, you can be a marine assigned to any large ship. They do most of the fighting when the time comes." Justine looked at her stepson. "Yes, but I would have to wait too long. I want to go out and kill Samutz now. We have videos of the mercs who went with the Emperor, and other mercs came here to the academy to tell us about close-quarters combat." Justine was troubled. The boy sounded a bit like his father Yuri, but this lust for violence was not necessarily from his troubled past. She loved Jeremy. The alternative was to remember the abusive man they had lived with. He was sadistic. He beat every member of the family. He used each for sex. It was getting late so Jeremy rose and held out his hand to his stepmother. She happily got up. His arms went around this woman who had protected him so many times. He wished only to repay some of the debt he owed her. Matthew enjoyed Monique's company also. She was not much older than he, but she had taken an adult's responsibility to protect the younger ones. Matthew removed his clothes. Monique was not far behind. Each could read how eager the other was. She guided him to the antigravity bed and lay on her back. Monique enjoyed Justine's tongue, but when Matthew began to lick her, she stopped him. "Matt, climb up and give me what I've been missing!" Matthew looked at her and saw that she had changed. Her baby fat was gone, replaced by strong muscles. Her mind was clear and he could see exactly what she wanted and needed. He pulled her legs up, placed them on his shoulders, and slid snugly into her. He was larger than before. The AIs wanted Human males to be welcomed by the Tandra females so they added some generous sexual organ enhancement. Although adolescent, his penis was nearly adult size and could perform as one. The boy also learned that all women loved kindness and consideration in bed. His body seemed to be made for this joyful task; he tried his best to please her. One part of his mind pictured them making love and how they both enjoyed their coupling. Another part saw how his thoughts affected her. Monique was a visual person and the erotic images of his young body using hers stimulated her erogenous responses. Her eyes opened wide. She clutched frantically at Matthew as he pumped furiously into her, her gushing vagina clutching in spasms around his swollen shaft. She called his name aloud in ever-increasing cries. When she climaxed she almost threw him from the bed. She collapsed onto her back but held her thighs spread wide, pushing her pelvis weakly upward, clasping him wetly for more penetration. Matthew slowed to let her rest then began pumping deeply into her again with some variation in his thrusts. He felt his own adolescent orgasms but they were minor, compared to the intense climax this woman reached. Less than a metre away his brother was pumping just as vigorously into Justine, her legs hooked tightly behind his back as his slender, boyish buttocks plunged up and down between her widely opened legs. She was not their stepmother in this role, but a passionate woman to whom they owed their love and their lives. Both women fell back for rest and the boys cleaned themselves. They traded partners for snuggling and soon again, more sex. When morning came the boys had slept very little and the women had only dozed for catnaps. They had swapped between the boys again and again for lengthy, lustful couplings. The boys cleaned the women as well as any mother would and took them out to eat breakfast. After a tearful goodbye, Monique and Justine boarded a shuttle to take them back to their training ship. The boys got to their teammates in time to talk about their night. This was not crude or vulgar, but an indication of how well they had learned an important lesson. Conda and Toosm were excited and took them aside to hear in more detail what had happened. Their first class of the day was unarmed combat and Moya, their Argentinean mentor, took it easy on them. The boys did well but not well enough to get them completely off the hook. They were assigned seemingly endless, almost mindless exercises. Konstantin, the burly Russian, set training exercises both in the simulator and with live rounds on the course. All the cadets were fairly accurate but this day they were tossed around in a mechanical simulator to represent a ship and its movements. Civics class demanded sharp minds and reasoning skills or they could be caught short in many ways. Class honour was at stake. The boys fought hard to explain their points of argument. They managed to wolf down a bit of lunch and napped until time for their next class. That night the three Tandra girls, Mayaz, Lyrra, and Possa came by to assess Jeremy's team before committing to join. They were a little older than the boys at about 14 years age but being Tandra, looked much younger. Possa was the more dominant and after introducing herself and the others asked, "Matthew, I am to understand that two Human males will be forming a team?" "Jonathan and his brother Jerome from 56,20 started this. They are out past Saturn, so you can meet only a few of us now. At the moment, only Jeremy and I are really pushing for this competition. Our teammates want to see what develops before they commit themselves. Are you aware that we will all be going to Earth and we will be obligated to meet the Terrans?" "That is part of the reason we wish to join. You Terrans do not know what it is like to be in an Empire." "Possa, my brother and I were born and raised on Earth but we have advanced in many ways. We are not like those Terrans and they are not like us. If anything, they are crazier than before. They are needlessly violent. Most do not understand even a small fraction of what we know but they seem to revel in their ignorance." Matthew was new to reading a person's mind but he could see from their facial expressions and body language that Possa saw little difference between the Terrans on Earth and the Humans in the Alliance. "You must be correct because they are your people, but I think we will make our own judgment. What do all of you bring to the team?" "Mui and Trixie are good at systems repair and fabrication. Conda and Toosm do most things well but seem to have a knack for sensors, shields and antigravity units. My brother Jeremy is good with weapons. Jonathan is able to interface with engine operations much better than most. His brother Jerome has good leadership qualities." "What about you?" "I..." "Matthew is the smartest one here," Jeremy said. "He can do almost everything well. He is in the top one percent of the academy. His only failing is being modest; that is why I am here to help him. What do you three bring with you?" "Ah... ," Possa hesitated, then said confidently, "I work well with computers, and I am usually picked to be a section leader. My marks at home were high, too. Lyrra is good with weapons. She has trained on some of the larger ships and she has experience on a dreadnought. Mayaz has taken courses in xenobiology and their customs. She is also good with fabricators for major and minor components." The girls were looking at Jeremy when they spoke so it was a surprise when Matthew asked, "Will you let us see within your minds? I will open mine first if you wish." The three girls discussed it quietly among themselves. Possa said, "We will look at you first." Matthew calmly opened his mind to them. Possa pushed the other two out and searched for herself. She saw that Matthew did not have as much training as they had, but had done remarkable things with his life in the short time since he came to the moon. Possa tried to hide the fact that Matthew had much more potential than most people she knew. He would one day go far. She searched further and saw his views and assessments of his teammates and even of themselves. His team worked tightly as a group and perhaps even better than a group of Tandra. The young Human seemed to love each of his team, which was normal, but he also loved the T'aut, Softay and the Tandra who were not of his race. All were dedicated to learning as much as possible. When she tried to look into his past, his mind quickly shut her out. Before Possa could object, Matthew said, "Did you see enough to want to proceed further?" "I see what you think of your abilities, but I do not know how they compare to ours." "Let's talk to Marcus. He can assess your records and make a fair comparison." Possa saw nothing wrong with this so she asked Marcus, whose reply was close to her own opinion. This team was new and had little time with the tutors or with hands-on training. For all that, they were progressing much faster than normal. Possa did not ask, but deduced that this team could surpass her group in as little as six months in some facets of military education. In an Earth year they would at least be equal in all other respects. Possa now let Matthew search her mind. He did not have the finesse of the Tandra but he was slow and careful. Afterward, he said, "We now have most of the talents we need to build a ship for this venture. But growing a computer is not yet in any of our studies." He asked Marcus and was told that a computer would be provided with all the crystals. Two days later Jonathan and Jerome sent a short message from the far side of the Oort Cloud. They were researching how to locate sensors and how to replace them. They were quite happy with Matthew's team selections. Planning was already underway but no commitments had been made. The Humans had learned from the Tandra the value of honouring one's word. They would not commit themselves to promises they couldn't keep. The new team met again in the nursery. Jonathan and Jerome were there as hologram images, courtesy of Marcus. They discussed the requirements for a ship that could best complete the competition assignment. The mass of the ship was a big factor for the engine needed. They had to choose between one of the many service ship designs, or making a completely new design. The Tandra firmly believed the old ways were best. The Humans agreed, but also wanted to show some spontaneity and ship-design talent. Trixie and Mui had gotten more behind the project and voiced their share in what should or shouldn't be included. They all used criteria and formulae supplied by Marcus to support their arguments. The three Tandra girls stuck together on most issues to get Possa's arguments accepted. Conda was drawn to them, but supported her original team in most instances. Toosm sat close to Matthew most of the time. Both Jeremy and Matthew understood that this was a Tandra instinct for the genders to form family bonds. Toosm did come up with some good ideas of his own, especially when prodded by Matthew or Jeremy, but he never opposed Matthew's ideas. The night before Jonathan and Jerome were to return, Possa asked Matthew, "Will you come to our billet? We have heard many things about male Humans." Matthew considered her request. This was how a Tandra male would be called to service one or more females, then he would be asked to leave in the morning. This felt unfair from his Human perspective. Toosm and Conda wanted relief every few days and the boys gladly provided it and most times they would have an orgasm too. But, Human instinct regarded this as a family thing, even if it was a bit odd by traditional thinking. Possa opened her mind when Matthew's reply did not come as quickly as she hoped. Matthew saw she had formed a small clique, separate from their larger circle of friends. He saw they were lonely, despite the larger population of Tandrans, and he knew that their schedule tonight held nothing that couldn't be moved to another time. He also knew that a successful single ship mission would demand a crew that could work together cohesively, and up until now these girls had held themselves somewhat segregated. "That is a wonderful idea, Possa, but will you three stay with us instead? You all know my team, and it would feel much more like family." This was quietly discussed and finally Possa said, "We will do as you ask." ------- Amney boarded the carrier in tears with her small bit of luggage. She reported to Hans, the AI, and was given directions. She walked slowly the entire way. She had no wish to hurry the coming confrontation. She walked down the long corridor until she saw the simple glyph for the Captain's cabin, and smaller glyph three doors down for the captain's orderly. She stood at the orderly's door, cried some more, then put out her hand and the door opened. When it slid shut behind her she saw a simple room only three by four metres, and a personal washroom. A closed door in the opposite wall accessed the Captain's quarters. She saw a single bed and slots in the walls to form work platforms for orderly duties. The room looked small and cramped. She sniffled back her tears, opened her bag and laid its contents on the table. Hans quickly stowed her gear, while one piece went into her pocket. The bag disappeared. Amney lay down and began to cry again, much louder. An hour later Hans announced a summons so she got up, wiped her eyes, and tried her best to look presentable. She walked into the Captain's quarters only two minutes later than she thought proper. The captain, who had his mind shielded, said, "Hello, Amney. I want to welcome you. Your being here was not my idea. We will just have to make the best of it." "Thank you... sir. I know who sent me here. He..." "Amney, you are not thinking right. You sent yourself here. If it were up to me, you would not be on a ship in any capacity except passenger. It was your stepfather who insisted that you be given this chance. He hopes that you might become an asset to your family. I will give you the benefit of the doubt; we will see how you handle yourself." Amney was shocked. No one ever talked to her like that, especially if he was a lowly captain. She recovered herself in time, though, and said only, "Yes, Sir." "My executive officer and I will be dining here tonight. Consult Hans for the menu and time. That will be all." Amney turned and left the room, swallowing any parting retorts. She sat on the narrow bed in her small room and cried again. If only she could go back to her world, everything would be fine. Then she remembered. Her world was dead and gone, millions of years ago. ------- Possa and her friends were unsure about actually going to the males' quarters. This is what unattractive women on Tandra would do for male attention. The males in those quarters dressed provocatively and were brash when they should have been demure. She was inclined to go back but the other two persuaded her to proceed as she promised. When they got to the billets, Conda beckoned them to follow her further down the hall. She led them to a smaller room where few people might see the coupling, which was a relief because she did not know how well the young males would perform. It would be bad if the males finished with no relief to the females. Matthew was using the tutor, but rose and walked forward. "Hello Possa, Mayaz, Lyrra." He looked at each as he said their name. He kissed each, placing his lips on theirs. The girls had heard of this Human custom, and found it not as stimulating as a tongue across their cheek. He backed up and Jeremy did the same. This was fine until the others, even the Softay and the T'aut, did the same thing. This was not natural but the girls hid their discomfort. Before Possa could say anything, Matthew said, "I thought we might all go out for some fun. I hope this is acceptable?" Possa could not read this male's intentions, but did ask, "Will we be long?" "No, not long. It is just our way of getting to know each other better." They walked to one of the new domes and one of the many theatres. This one was playing 'The Sound of Music'. The plot was fairly simple and Matthew thought this could help the Tandra girls understand Humans a little better. They sat eating tubs of buttered popcorn and dried fish confections and drank iced tea with lemon. The movie was subtitled in Tandra script, and the girls could read the more arcane nuances in Matthew or Jeremy's mind. Matthew had to explain that the two sides were at war, then explained the Human family not wanting to protect their group. The Tandra were a bit indignant at this. The performance, much better than the original, stirred up many ideas. Music was not performed on the moon at all and elsewhere only computer-generated sounds were heard. Nowhere did anyone actually make melodious sounds with their voice. Since there were no other patrons, Matthew asked Marcus to play the first part again after the movie ended. The Tandra could not understand how a Human male would be the head of a family with a female as a mere helper. In their worlds, any female could do it alone and the male was merely decorative if not purely superfluous. They picked an old Earth-style English pub in the entertainment district and settled themselves into a large booth. The open fireplace was a new experience to the émigré Tandra. They tasted the bitter ale and lager, and quickly went back to their tea. Jeremy liked ale and drank two, unaffected by the alcoholic content. Matthew asked Possa, "What did you think of the movie?" "It was difficult to understand. Then once I began to understand it, I found their choices to be wrong in many ways. Why would somebody refuse to fight for their people?" Jeremy said, "The movie was made from only one point of view. This allows the viewers to see who should be and who should not be the good guys. In this particular story, there was more politics involved. People go to war for many reasons but mostly they go because their leaders say so. On Earth even now, people support governments that any sane person would call irrational." "Why is it that you Humans are like that?" Jeremy took offence and said, "Terrans are not intelligent to start with and they follow leaders of similar intellect. Customs and preconceived ideas make the Human being a semi-civilised creature. Customs allow Humans to function with little thought. It takes time and energy to think for oneself, and most Humans are lazy and will follow the easiest path. Greed is one of the few motives that can overcome their lazy nature." "We Humans in the Alliance are much more advanced because we embrace Tandra technology and philosophy. That symbiosis protects all of us from the Samutz and the Thonas. You should not judge all Humans alike." Possa saw his anger and the cause, but she did not understand all his reasoning. Matthew diverted the conversation when he saw that she did not really understand the foundation for the arguments. They were able to discuss the male/female interrelationships in the movie, however, but they found even those somewhat strained from a Tandra viewpoint. They stopped at an Earth-style arcade and entered a long car that held twenty-four riders comfortably. Surrounding video screens and gravity effects simulated plunging toward the ground or flipping over. Their augmented bodies adjusted easily to the leisurely eight-gravity effects thrusting them left and right. The arcade ride was not nearly as stressful as a training day in the fighters. The other games were good, each an easy simulator experience. They left soon after and toured the new gardens that Kitten, the Emperor's wife, had designed. Of their group, only Toosm had not grown up with some link with nature. Matthew led them to a secluded retreat and sat on the soft grassy foliage. Possa looked down at him, wondering what might happen next. Matthew extended his hand and said, "Come, sit with me." Possa said nothing. She sat and found the surface odd. When she got comfortable Matthew said, "I want to teach you more about kissing. Would you like to learn?" "Why should I learn this custom?" "It is a way of showing affection, and is often a prelude to making love." "You want to give me pleasure here in the gardens?" "First, I will have my own pleasure as I give you yours. Second, sex is not pleasurable if there are no emotions with the act. At the least, you might expect a person who enjoys your company to more deeply express their feelings." Possa considered as she looked into this Human's mind. He did enjoy her company, and the other Tandra, but not deeply yet. Too much misunderstanding stood in the way. She had come this far only because of what she had heard of the Human males, and at the urgings of her sisters. This was as atavistic as she had expected. She had not let the male's hand go, neither had he released hers. He leaned close and whispered aloud into to her ear, "I will start with your ear. May I?" Before she could agree, he held her shoulder and his lips came closer to her cheek. It started as a real kiss. He licked her cheek, then went to her small earlobe and mouthed it. Shivers went up and down her spine; her sisters sometimes did this and she loved it. His tongue probed her ear and her skin tingled. She nuzzled his neck and sniffed his scent. His tongue caressing her ear made her forget everything else. She soon found herself naked on the grass. The young male was tonguing her breast and teasing her erect urethra with oily fingers. She looked to her sisters. One lay with the other Human between her legs, licking her. The third was under the two Tandra. Possa saw the Softay alongside had helped Matthew remove her garments. How was this possible? She did not remember doing such a thing. She heard in her mind, "Do not worry. You are safe. I will do nothing you do not wish to happen." She felt reassured and she submerged again in a sea of overwhelming feelings. She felt her urethra being sucked and she knew vaguely that the male was doing this and not another female as was their custom. An unexpected orgasm engulfed her senses. She felt her legs pulled apart and something entered her, filling her. It felt so big and moved so slowly. The delicious feeling peaked as another orgasm shook her body. She alternated between sensibility and shuddering orgasms and after each found the male still stroking into her. She was helpless to stop and had no wish to try. Eventually, however, she could take no more; she slipped into the unfeeling refuge of unconsciousness. Possa woke a short while later. She felt comfortable and protected. She could smell the mingled scent of Human perspiration and her body's sexual emissions. She was surprised that she lay with her head on Matthew's thigh. She had been apprehensive of this Human male but now he seemed like a comforting friend she had known for years. "That was amazing. I understand now why Tandra desire being with Humans." She considered him more closely. "I have heard that sometimes you do not have your joy. Did you, this time?" Matthew smiled down to her, "Yes, I had good feelings, but not like those I will have when I reach puberty." Matthew explained the differences between Human puberty and what he knew of the Tandra. Possa was concerned about the risk of wild emotional swings caused by hormone imbalance, but she had to assume that Humans must know how to handle such things. They got up and Possa saw that her friend who had earlier been pleased by the Tandra males was now coupled with Jeremy. She wondered why Human males laid a female on her back to mount her. Jeremy must have been reading her thoughts, for he pulled his long male member out of Lyrra, spun the protesting girl around and set her on her knees, then he plunged his member into the girl from behind while her protests changed to grunts and moans. He pulled his hips back until his cock came completely out, then he plunged it back into her sopping vagina again and again with rapid slapping thrusts. He seemed far from his own orgasm, while Lyrra cried aloud in continuous orgasm, unlike anything Possa thought possible. Jeremy pumped faster and faster, gripping Lyrra tightly by her hips, pulling her backwards into each forward thrust. Lyrra was nearly senseless to this rutting frenzy until Jeremy shook and froze, rigid, head back, lips wide in a primal cry as his orgasm gripped his body. Lyrra's overwhelmed nervous system shut down and she slumped into unconsciousness. Possa tried to run to her sister but Matthew gripped her arm and said, "Don't worry. A moment ago you were the same. She will recover and we can talk some more. Unless you want to be mounted that way yourself?" That was a foolish question and afterward Possa slept, exhausted and contented. She vaguely remembered using the matter transmitter and being taken to the washroom like a child. The next morning she woke with Matthew lying between her and her friend Mayaz. This was confusing to her, in the extreme. She had never done anything like this where she was not in control. The male had an arm around each of them as if protecting them. "Since when did a male watch out for a female?" she wondered. The question seemed pointless, however, because it seemed so self-evident. A few minutes later the Softay female got up to use the washroom. Possa looked over and saw her friend Lyrra lying beside the other Human and Conda asleep on his other side. The Tandra male lay sprawled between the Jeremy's legs, asleep with his head nestled against the Human's groin. When the Softay returned the Tandra male moved and Possa saw that Jeremy was erect. She felt a tingle run down her back and all her clits began to swell. She wanted sex again, soon. Matthew was awake and read her mind. He said, "It is time to get up and have something to eat. And I need to pee." He pulled her face to him and gave her that curious Human kiss. He turned, kissed Mayaz in her sleep, and got up. Possa got up immediately after, and followed Matthew to the washroom. He was aiming his adult-size penis at an opening in the floor. Possa did the same, and yellow streams intersected in the centre circle. Others joined them, and they headed for the showers. She was startled again when Matthew began to wash her back. She knew she was safe, so she luxuriated in the motions of the male's hands stroking the hair on her back. She closed her eyes and felt even better while strong and gentle hands caressed her head. She turned to look up at his small eyes and bushy hair growing above them. His features were not as symmetrical as a Tandra but the overall effect was pleasing. "Bend down Human, and I will wash your hair, too." Matthew got down on his knees as her small, soft hands caressed his head and longer hair. Matthew edged forward on his knees and held the Tandra girl closely for support. Possa's fingers slowed; she ran her fingers through his much coarser hair. She felt a bit odd, the same as when she washed the younger children. Why did she have these feelings when the Human was only a male, and not even of her race? They all ate breakfast together, then went off separately to their training assignments. The other two members of their proposed team would arrive that night and more introductions would be made. Possa wondered if these Human males would be as good as the two she enjoyed last night. She knew that her two friends had very much enjoyed their time with the Humans. Matthew asked his teammates their assessment of the three Tandra girls. Jeremy said they were pleasant and could probably function within the team constraints. Conda and Toosm saw the newcomers warming to the group, and mentioned that they would be an asset in the competition. Mui agreed, thinking the three now wanted to fit in. Trixie said, "They seemed to respond beyond themselves during and after the mating. I would imagine they were ready to drop an egg if they could." Jeremy and Matthew thought more on this but their judgment was tainted with feelings for the girls. As for dropping eggs, the girls were unable yet, just as Matthew and Jeremy had been too young to produce viable sperm. Matthew brought himself up short. Jerome was older and might impregnate the girls. The opportunity was certainly there. The Tandra did not outgrow childhood until about age thirty in Earth years. This was normally the time when females would decide to form families and have children. Jonathan, Jerome and the rest of their group arrived at lunar base later that day. Possa immediately liked the new arrivals, especially the larger Jerome. The group had only a short time that evening, but they did agree on preliminary ideas for the best possible ship and how to achieve it. They knew this was not a conventional competition, for all entrants would go to Earth, but each team's dedication to build a ship and execute a successful mission would figure prominently in their success at lunar academy. All the cadets wanted a posting in the Alliance military. They were dedicated to its defence. Over the next week the team pulled together and worked well as a unit. Although Jerome was the oldest, he refused to be team captain. Matthew, the youngest male, got the job. Marcus was consulted many times as design details for the ship were decided. The ship would be a little over ninety metres long or, as Jerome said, "Damn! That's as long as a football field!" ------- Matthew followed Marcus's directions carefully. He came to a huge arboretum that stretched to the top of the dome, almost fifty metres high. Marcus directed him to a far corner where he followed a path that wound through the trees to eventually end in a clearing fringed with rows of food plants. Five T'aut males and some larger Kadork that had recently arrived with the Emperor were working the soil. Matthew approached them openly and slowly. He studied the plants on either side and saw that some were the newer varieties the Emperor had developed. A diet of these plants would remove the intercellular accumulation of amino acids and proteins that the Kadork were unable to excrete, a diet that had turned their tragic old age into a golden age of wisdom and joy. All work stopped as Matthew approached the dispersed group. He called to them in his best vocal T'aut, "Hello, gentle beings. I have come on a mission of some importance. My family is in need of a suitable mate for one of our members." The T'aut were stunned. This was how a matchmaker would speak, but this person was not of their race. His intonation and body language were not quite right and he did not use the correct gestures. Mindspeak would ferret out any falsehood so the closer T'aut said, "What is it that you desire of us?" Matthew replied the same way, "I desire talk with each of you. I seek from among you a suitable mate for my sister, Trixie." Matthew used the long, complicated phrases that the T'aut would more readily understand. After more explanation, one male stepped over to speak with Matthew. The Kadork were still unsure of the situation so the T'aut standing with Matthew pitched his voice higher and explained to the gentle race what was happening. The Kadork seemed satisfied then, and returned to their gardening. Many questions were asked. This all followed a set procedure that had not changed in thousands of years. Name, accomplishments, aspirations, commitments, and the ability to support a wife were only a few of the questions. The fact that some did not apply in this time and place was beside the fact, for the questions must be asked. It was some hours later before all five T'aut males had gone through the mental interview. Matthew had to repeat five times a description of Trixie, her qualities and her aspirations. Matthew stressed that Trixie would remain with her team for the competition and its mission, but the rules did allow that one of these young males could help fabricate the ship and join the crew as Trixie's mate. When he finally said his verbal goodbyes to the T'aut and the Kadork and left the dome, he faced some hard thinking. The T'aut were similar to the Tandra. There was little difference between individuals. If he were a native, perhaps some distinctions might be more obvious, but he could barely discern that one candidate had a slight edge for Trixie's hand and another would be slightly better as an asset in the coming competition. Matthew felt much better, though, when he settled his mind in favour of Maout, who would be the best mate. Three days later a group of eight young Softay males were working together in a hanger, rebuilding equipment. Again Matthew used verbal protocol to approach them. This proceeded with some awkward lapses, for the Softay found it difficult to see the barely mature Matthew as an old and wise Softay marriage broker. In time, though, two candidates stood equally suited in Mui's favour and one happened to be better at working with sensors. Matthew had no problem picking Dolk as a likely mate for his Softay sister. That night Maout was invited over to eat with the family of the bride. The bride, though, was shaking with worry. Her sisters tried to talk sense to her but it was difficult. Matthew accessed the computer to see how a typical T'aut family might react. He learned that Trixie's actions were quite normal. At the right moment Matthew spoke some curt orders in the T'aut language and Trixie began to settle down. Five minutes later the prospective groom entered the room. Conda and Matthew descended on the poor male and asked questions as if they were Trixie's parents. Conda asked how much land he could work and what plants he was bringing. Trixie was listening to every word that was uttered as if they were still living in an agrarian economy. Thankfully, the grilling lasted only ten minutes before the two were introduced to each other. Both were pathetically shy. Conda took Trixie by the hand and escorted her out to their meal. Jeremy played the brother. He talked to Maout and offered much needed encouragement. The meal was strained but eventually Maout was able to speak aloud to Trixie, but always with a chaperone present. Everyone's involvement was actually a good thing for the prospective couple. They knew the family would continue to watch over them once they were married. Back in the living quarters, the couple was allowed to talk more privately, although Conda stood ready to rush in at any unseemly behaviour. The conversation was eventually steered to the coming contest and how Maout might be able to help. He immediately volunteered to assist if his efforts were worthy. In true T'aut fashion Matthew told him to come and try his best. If he were suitable then he would join the crew. It was left unsaid that he would also be mated to Trixie. The young T'aut left happy if reluctantly and immediately the girls dived on Trixie for her reaction. She had the widest smile anyone had ever seen on her. She came to Conda and Matthew with her acceptance of the young suitor as if they were her real parents. They hugged her as her parents might, and wished her good fortune. Dolk came arrived the next day. Maout was already present and sitting close to Trixie but they were not so brash as to actually touch each other. Mui had done wonderful things to her hair with flowers woven in and a wreath around her neck, in the traditional manner of a potential bride. Mui and Dolk were allowed to be alone after the meal. They spent four hours talking about their future. Both young males left together, and again the family quizzed the poor girl. Mui also liked the family's choice. She only wished to get her dowry in order. She began to worry aloud about what she could bring to the marriage. The team, now seriously committed, began work on the ship and the two male suitors came to help. They had no interest in the competition earlier but now they had great incentive to join the effort. The girls, of course, found endless reasons to work wherever their suitors happened to be. The girls' output wasn't much, but that was entirely understandable. A week later, at the nursery, Matthew tended his usual child on his lap, feeding her and taking care that nothing would upset her stomach or cause her to choke. He felt quite grown up, doing that. The others felt the same about their charges. The inclusion of Softay and T'aut orphans made the mix much more enjoyable. Trixie and Mui looked on their charges through new eyes for they wondered now when they might get children of their own. Possa and her friends committed themselves to the team. Trixie and Mui did too, but it had been assumed that they would. And, of course, that meant that the suitors Maout and Dolk joined as well. Conda and Toosm did likewise, then Jonathan, Jerome and Jeremy said they were in, which made it a formal declaration. Matthew did not feel the least bit odd as he stood before the group with an infant in his arms to say, "We are now a team. I accept the position you ask of me, and I will do my best to lead our team and our ship to success." He added, "We have only to register with Marcus. Our individual schedules will now be revised so we may work together on our projects." Jerome and Jonathan worked with large fabricators to make the keel, the many ribs, and the hull plating. Trixie and Mui began to fabricate and assemble the engine. Their ship would be relatively small, massing at just over two thousand tonnes. It was such light displacement because it would use only a small lithium reactor and a bank of charged accumulators to power the engine and the shipboard systems. Speed and acceleration were important but not nearly so important as safety. The ship would be fitted with redundant systems for all critical functions and each crew member would have a combat suit. Moses Carver and his friend and partner Private Mike Tuck went looking for their two young charges. Moses entered the large room to find Jonathan in a chair wearing a band around his head. Behind him, a massive beam was being fabricated one molecule at a time. It measured ninety-three metres long and was heavily reinforced to withstand the strains that would be imposed on it. Jonathan sat up, wearily removed the band from his head, and looked across the room. His fatigue vanished as he ran to Moses, who scooped him up and whirled him around. "So, this is how you spend your time? Making warships to protect all of us?" the tall black man exclaimed in fluent Tandra. Jonathan smiled, "Sure! It isn't that hard. Our team is the best. We're the quickest, and we're all doing our jobs as proficiently as possible." "Oh, aren't we using big words now? It wasn't long ago that Shoe was going to show up his old friends and be a big man. It certainly looks like you are doing that now!" Before the boy could respond, Mike added, "We're proud of you, Jonathan. We were a lot older and maybe, in our minds, we still are but you are beginning to push us all to exceed anything we ever thought possible. Can you imagine what your old friends would think if they could see you now?" "I didn't have many real friends," Jonathan said. "We just used each other when we had to, and we hung out together from instinct. My crew mates here are the ones I count on to look out for me. Our old team was great, but the new one we just became is far different. We are males and females of four different races. From our first moments together I know that I can trust each of them with my life." Moses realised that Jonathan was truly growing up. The boy's black skin no longer meant anything as it once did. Here he was one Human among many, one race among many races of beings. They accepted him and he had no care for minor cultural differences. The fact that Humans now pulled together changed his attitudes and actions. The new cultures and languages and mind-speak abilities made all racial differences seem petty and irrelevant. Moses asked, "How about your other friends? You're quite sexually active now?" Jonathan didn't even think of blushing. Sex was as natural as breathing or eating. He smiled, though, and said, "I am doing fine. Some of the Tandra seem to find me irresistible. Most are girls, but I can't turn down the others. Besides, I've seen you two disappear sometimes too, when one or more Tandra come around!" Moses blushed a little and said, "That was purely to assist our interspecies understanding, young fellow. The corporal and I have ideas that we might start our own families. Some of the Tandra girls want to settle down and begin raising a brood. And I miss my children and grandchildren." Moses reached out and grasped Jonathan's shoulder and said, proudly, "Well, not all of my children are on Earth." Jonathan hugged the big man. He wished that Moses was his real father. Things would have been so different. He looked up and smiled; he was quite happy to be considered an honorary family member. ------- Chapter 86 Henry journeyed from the Sol system many times to visit his scattered family in his newest ship, the "Albert," named for his paternal grandfather. The ship had more room for carrying family and cargo and served more like a minivan. A few tweaks allowed it to travel as fast as the "courier" class ships, even though it weighed twice as much. He took some of his mates with him on the first of these trips. This was quite practical, because they were in constant contact with Mom, Marcus and all the other linked AIs protecting Earth. Their jobs could mostly be completed from any of the upgraded computers. Kitten was the only one to remain behind this time. Their first leg took them to Epsilon Eridani for a few days visit with Carl and Doris, who took Taylar's true identity pretty much in stride. The fact that she worked hard to help Emperor Henry and the Alliance was a big factor. Carl wondered how the rest of the Tandra might accept her new loyalties. Carl could not quite get over the sight of a ring of crystals circling Ingrid's head, but he did feel certain that Ingrid would easily counter Taylar's influence, at least in the family. The women fawned over the girls, of course, and the girls happily showed off their Donai. The big animals sniffed the newcomers and quickly accepted them as "family" when they sensed the girls' reactions. The girls and the Donai could run about with no problem from the planet's hot weather. Their improved bodies actually found the environment comfortable. Roger played with the pups. Even Dola found them charming. Henry had agreed that both boys would stay behind for a short holiday as he and his mates continued their trip. Many newcomers were now keeping Donai, who responded by becoming more or less domesticated. The intelligent animals learned to eat synthetic meat from the replicators which was a good thing. If taken to another planet they would surely deplete the local wildlife, probably not a good thing. Carl, Doris and the children were quite important to Henry. He had given them four ships similar to his "Family" class ship, with highly intelligent AIs able to patrol farther out and fast enough to get back to safety. Carl had added to his family. Doris was still number one wife, but two Tandra women had bonded to them. Doris and one Tandra mate were carrying Carl's children. Doris was quite happy, Henry knew. She missed Kitten; Carl missed her even more. Now Doris handled most of Carl's domestic issues and ran the household. Henry commented to Carl, "You look a little ragged." "Just took a page from your book," Carl answered. "The exercise is great and I feel rewarded many times over just for doing what needs to be done." "I know. Life is hard," Henry said, only half joking. Most of the destruction from the Samutz attack had been repaired or cleaned up and the city of Souts was expanding. Henry further improved the AI, Frieda. She was already on the Alliance network. He made a small side trip into interdimensional space and opened the old Tandra Empire matter transmitter that had been hidden outside of the Epsilon Eridani system. It was so far off the track, it had gone undetected by any scavenging race. Henry found that with practice, the complex "unfolding" procedure for bringing these huge stations into open space was becoming easier and faster. Once he had gotten inside the station, he updated and linked its computer and AI into the Alliance grid. A small shipbuilding centre was being built at Epsilon Eridani. Many ships protecting Earth were using this system as their home port. The ships' crews were putting considerable effort into building a suitable repair facility and soon Henry would need to come back and build a larger computer to handle all that repair and fabrication activity. Sandra's cache of defective crystals had been stored safely on an asteroid, hidden on the surface with netting keeping it all in place. Henry used his ship's tractors to pull the mass to the newly-awakened matter transmitter for secure storage. He could now access the mountain of substandard and rejected crystals through the maze from anywhere in the Alliance network. A squadron of ships would be stationed at the matter transmitter. A good ship and crew could benefit immensely. A hundred light-year jump in less than a second was a huge tactical advantage. Using Imperial authority through a string of matter transmitters, a ship could make the week-long trip to Tandra in a matter of minutes. Ordinary ships could wait in line and make the trip in a matter of weeks. The new Empire ships could travel very fast, but re-activating these matter transmitter stations was getting back to the way things were at the height of the former empire. Henry and his contingent visited Saffra and Falm 6 so the people there could see his interest in their welfare. Henry confirmed that the babies were doing quite well despite his absences. He visited by hologram most days but that wasn't quite the same thing. Wives and children need actual touching and holding, not just a holographic presence. The same could be said for Henry. Holding his children in his arms was a greater joy than any holographic link could provide. He considered the odious aroma of soiled diapers as small inconvenience for the delight of actually holding his children. Mom in her old tug was an essential member of Henry's family; he regarded her as intimately as any other. There was little more he could give her but there was a certain "something." "Hi Mom," Henry said. "As you know, I have been doing more research and I want to give you a few more improvements." "I am already equal to the best computer in the galaxy, Henry." "Yes, but you do not yet have predictor crystals. They have proven to work very well. And you need more speed. You are among the fastest ships we have and you have a temporal shield, but your mass holds you back. You still cannot go as fast as I want." "What will you do?" "After I install the predictor crystals, I want to add another computer to your system. The additional push will allow you to go twice as fast. And this will require our new design for your compensator. The ship I am using now is small and fast, but I would very much like to go back to traveling in you with my family. We can all be together." "We do not need a second AI in my hull, Henry," "We must communicate with many worlds while traveling extremely fast. This way you can have some help and we will be safer. I really think we need this, Mom." "Yes, my Emperor." "Don't be that way. If later you do not like the additional computer, I will move it to another hull and prepare a different one." Henry worked on Mom's compensator first. This required that her existing unit be pulled out. The new design was tested for its ability to extend into all five dimensions and it actually worked, unlike the matter transmitter he was still working on. Mom's unit took a full day to complete, including testing. Its power requirements were so great, though, that it needed a dedicated link to the upper universe for a power coupling. Substrate for the second computer was growing in an expanded area and Mom's new predictor crystals were installed in both. When it was time to place the main processor crystal, Henry took it into the dimension maze for refining and programming. Holding the crystal in both hands, he focused his mind on its crystalline structure, aligning the molecular lattice into the purest and most homogeneous composition possible. He had been able to put in variations of his own personality in other processors. Now he wanted something new. Henry concentrated on Mom's unique qualities. These were all her good and singular if not eccentric traits that comprised her distinctive personality. Thinking then of his children, he added portions of them, and then he added some strengths, foibles and minor vices of his own. When the crystal was finished it glowed intensely bright. He stepped forward and without ceremony plugged the new "life" into the new computer. Henry focused intensely on the processor field and sensed the AI personality as it expanded into being, forming and maturing from its infant nucleus throughout the crystalline latticework. It grasped around, searched out its boundaries, then centered into equilibrium and stability within itself. Within a second it called out, "Hello, Henry. Are you my father?" Henry heard a collective gasp from every linked AI in the network, and from Mom who was right there. All tried to probe his mind for motives but Henry's mind remained blocked. "Hello, Bennechi. Yes, I am your father, if we may properly say that I am. Now greet your mother, for she surely is." Mom was incredulous. She took an instant to assess Bennechi's attributes and compare them to her own. They conversed slowly at first, then faster, then faster again. In a moment Henry could not follow even a fragment of their talk. The name Bennechi came from the ancient Tandra religion, meaning 'Beautiful Child' and 'Future Hope', with roots going back to the dawn of history. It was a distinctly and utterly feminine name. In Tandra culture, the feminine half was dominant and assertive. In this naming, the implied meaning would be true. Their conversation was still going on while Henry looked for anything left undone. Just as he left the computer room, he heard this newest "child" being introduced to her relatives. Mom's tug, empty of passengers, flew out for a shakedown test. Henry interfaced through his ship and found the telemetry seriously degraded. Mom was speeding away so fast that their communication link was being pulled apart by the Doppler limit. The tests were monitored by a very interested group of AIs. Mom returned three hours later and sounded a bit out of breath, if that was possible. Henry's best speed if he pushed hard was about 12,000 light years per day. Mom and her child Bennechi beat that and increased it half as much again at almost the 19,000 light year mark! He remembered Mom telling how she was once left behind because she was slow. He also remembered her wistful regret that she might never see much of the galaxy. Now, with her incredible speed and an intimate companion, she was able to fulfill her wishes. The AIs had a meeting to explore what all this might portend. I left them to talk; I would soon enough learn their conclusions. Secric was very pleased with Bennechi. As a new mother, she knew the great benefits to Mom that would come with this child. All the girls congratulated Mom. When she pulled out of the conference to talk to Henry, he heard maternal pride in her voice. They knew that Bennechi was now quite mature and an infant no longer. Henry was pleased that Mom was happy. The network of AIs heartily agreed, and added their suggestion that Bennechi should later be allowed to grow on her own, and not be confined to her "mother" all the time. Henry used their visit to each system as proof of Alliance support for their efforts. More "Family" class ships were supplied so the wives, like Ingrid and Taylar, could travel and administer at the same time. Although all had constant communication through the network, now they could actually attend most gatherings. This system contained a matter transmitter, but it had been found and plundered. Henry installed new crystals and got it running again and, despite extensive damage to the station, he hoped to get the facility completely functional in as little as six years. Fairchch was next on their itinerary. Captain Roderick was now Governor Rodrerick. He and his six men, after being reinforced with many Mordis and enthusiastic locals, had really gotten the system working again. The last time Henry was there, he had been forced to ship out many disgruntled Tandra to make their own way in the galaxy. Henry's Imperial visits from Epsilon Eridani to Fairchch had been widely televised, so they were greeted by huge crowds at the Fairchch spaceport. He, Taylar and Ingrid each gave a short speech. The crowds seemed to react more enthusiastically to Taylar than Ingrid, but to be fair they had never seen anyone like Ingrid. Henry's entourage visited those places that Governor Roderick considered his success stories. They stayed several days and finally split into three groups to visit the rest of the system. They were welcomed enthusiastically everywhere. Taylar visited some of her family who had moved there only a month ago. They were beginning to find their own way through a broken civilization now at war. Roderick and his men held high posts in the military government and had acquired families of their own. This was good, not only for the men but it demonstrated to the population that the Alliance was there to stay. Henry had watched these men carefully because he was not around to guide them. He was encouraged that, at least so far, they had not shown the baser Human traits. They did not behave exactly like Tandra, of course, but close enough so he had few worries. Aleksandrovich Ovshinsky was both the governor's adjutant and the admiral of their considerable fleet, and he found time for music. He was teaching members of his new family to play chamber instruments and classical compositions. Zhu Dedong and Pierre Devereux were commanding several divisions of infantry. They trained the Tandra to eradicate Samutz incursions using the dirtiest tricks imaginable to assure the least risk and fewest casualties to themselves. They had plans for liberating entire planets from entrenched Samutz colonies. They consulted and coordinated with Carl on most operations and had developed a wealth of intelligence. Captains Niklas Schmitt and Hassan Youssoufi, the big Moroccan, were supervising the shipyards and nearly all military and civilian production. They were family men now. The governor was the only one who found himself planet-bound. He seemed to resent that more than anything. Defren was the last system on the Emperor's tour. This was saved for last to ensure that Henry's other wives would be first to see and accept Ingrid and Taylar's status. Henry now hoped that Ingrid could confidently stand up to Susan and Bassinda. When the Emperor's party disembarked, Susan and Bassinda were there to greet them. Their minds were tightly shut, but Henry knew they were still up to their power games. Everyone attended an obligatory dinner that evening. The Defren dignitaries knew that Taylar was a former Empress, albeit over two million years ago. She addressed the audience, comparing the rule of her former and ancient Tandra empire to the new empire and the galaxy alliance. "Although we face hostile races and possess far fewer resources, I believe we are better able to defeat our enemy now than we were long ago. Our best weapon is our Emperor. He is able to destroy the Thonas and the more numerous Samutz and Moldeg. But he needs time and the willing assistance of all Tandra. If you ever had feelings of loyalty to the Tandra dynasty and to my family, now you must devote your loyalty and support to our Emperor, Henry Buchanan." Her impassioned plea seemed to work. Henry hoped Tandra laws and customs would soon be restored in their uncorrupted form to this system. That night the four girls took him to bed. Ingrid asked, "Henry, please take care of Taylar first. She seems to especially need you." While this was happening she moved in front of Taylar and presented her shaved crotch, leaving Bassinda and Susan out of the action. Ingrid had placed her body so the other two could not sit on her face because she was underneath Henry. Susan disrobed and began making love to Bassinda. When Taylar climaxed, very forcefully, he and Ingrid set her on the floor. Henry walked over to the other two and found Susan on her back on the floor. Ingrid brought out her domination tool. She placed some lubricant on one end and slipped it into her opening. Like the shield, she was able to hold it in place with an invisible band of force around her hips and pelvis. The other end extended from her, a rampant copy of Henry's erect penis. Bassinda was very close to orgasm. Henry pulled her backside away from Susan's hungry mouth and slipped into her. Ingrid was able to slip into Susan's vagina. Susan soon realized it wasn't Henry but she was too close to her orgasm to care. Ingrid kept Susan close to the edge without going over. She encouraged Susan to try harder. Ingrid actually pulled completely out while Susan cried at the loss, then flipped Susan's body over to mount her again, doggie style. Susan's cries of loss became moans of satisfaction. Ingrid soothed Susan with thoughts and subtle erotic suggestions that would lodge themselves in Susan's subconscious desires. Bassinda was spent, so Henry turned back to Taylar. He alternated between them while Ingrid continued to manipulate Susan's sexual responses. When both Taylar and Bassinda had too much, Ingrid called him. "Henry, take Susan and I will sit on her." As if rehearsed, he slid into Susan just as Ingrid pulled out. The force field collapsed around Ingrid's waist and she pulled the dildo from her vagina, closing her eyes and shivering as she did so. She squatted over Susan's face and pull her face up between her thighs. "Hmmmm, yes like that, my sweet suna. Do it well. Oh, like that, yes..." Ingrid shook as an orgasm overcame her. Susan thrashed about so wildly that could hardly hold her. Ingrid toppled off, falling to the floor, locked in her own orgasm. Ingrid recovered first. She found the dildo and put it back on. "Trade places, Henry." He pulled out of Susan and went to her face. He worked his cum-laden cock into her mouth, held her head in both hands and fucked her face with short, shallow strokes. Ingrid did the same with her dildo into Susan's other end. Susan awoke and for a second thought to object. Ingrid was ready; she caressed and pinched Susan's erect nipples and she again began to respond. Susan opened and gulped down Henry's thrusting cock until he was plunging full length into her throat, deeply and carefully. His organ hardened and swelled with a rising flood of cum as he felt her throat and lips and tongue all tighten around his cock. Ingrid thrust her dildo into Susan, stroking into her, murmuring to her as if she were a child. When Susan collapsed again, Henry pulled out of her throat and laid her head back on her pillow. He pulled Ingrid away from Susan's gaping, swollen pussy away, snatched the dildo out of Ingrid and plunged himself in, pumping blast after blast of impatient cum furiously into her, his lovely and now dominant wife. The night was long and he called on a med unit to remove some mild abrasion and pain from their overworked bodies. Bassinda awoke for another coupling and Henry responded, taking her from behind. Ingrid pulled him down to lie on his back with Bassinda sitting on him, facing his feet and laying back on his chest, while penetrated deeply in her generous Tandra anal opening. Ingrid slid between Bassinda's thighs to work her dildo into Bassinda's vagina. Bassinda cried in protest, "oh, no, no, ohhh." Her objections stopped dead when the delicious sensations flooded her system. Ingrid paced them both, giving Henry his cue when to thrust. Bassinda thrashed but could go nowhere; she was pinned like a butterfly, her arms and legs fluttering weakly like wings. Taylar and Susan watched. Each wanted their turn. Susan was not thinking clearly, because she could be ripped and torn with her much smaller Human anal opening. When Bassinda could take no more, Taylar eagerly took her place. She quickly had a succession of orgasms. When she slid into unconsciousness, Susan demanded her turn. Henry remembered another dildo in Ingrid's bag. "Use the smaller one," he told her. While Ingrid was changing tools, he put Susan on her knees facing his crotch and held her face to again suck his cock deeply into her mouth. Susan felt Ingrid's greased invader slip into her upthrust bottom. She groaned around Henry's penis and her eyes closed in an overload of feelings as Ingrid stroked deeply between Susan's buttocks into her puckered opening. In time, Susan choked and gulped Henry's spurting streams of semen when he froze and shook. He thrust deeply down her throat, then she pulled her mouth away and cried aloud in orgasm after Ingrid timed her anal thrusts with Henry's spurting bursts of cum. Ingrid stood with her rigid dildo sticking out from her body. Henry smiled to her, "Take that off. I saved more for you." She just smiled and did as he asked. He cleaned each of his ladies and put them to bed. They held each other and they slept. Henry looked down at peaceful sight and wondered if it would always be this way. The next morning the girls were tired and still a little sore from the night's activities. Henry got a kiss when he brought them breakfast. Susan and Bassinda had lost a little of their domineering attitude. Even Taylar seemed to fit in as a dutiful and submissive suna. Ingrid stepped into the metsu role easily; she soon had the others closer to what Henry wished them to be. Henry had a few important functions to attend, some on the three former colonies of Defren. The night he was to depart for those worlds, Susan asked, "There is an important vote in three local days. Will you be able to make it back in time to support our efforts?" He agreed. Then, while enroute, Ingrid asked, "When we come back to Defren, I wish to stay awhile. Susan is less rebellious and I want to prevent any relapse." "How long do you think it will take?" "Two or three weeks. If Taylar remains with us then she can bring the people of Defren around, as well." Henry saw that this could work. It would give him opportunity for uninterrupted research and some travelling of his own. "That will work for me. I will get another ship like this one made for you and Taylar so you can visit the rest of our family at your convenience." The three Mordis worlds were gradually getting their act together. While there, Henry gave them more improved computers and AIs. Some Mordis were choosing to restore their bodies back to their original Tandra form, but many others were reluctant to change, as if they were opposed to the rulers of Defren. Henry had explained in meetings and public broadcasts that the Mordis body form was acceptable but no longer necessary. But the Mordis had endured too many years of conditioning to freely make an unbiased choice. Some antagonism for the "normal" Tandra body shape would continue for awhile but would eventually fade. The Mordis were considerably impressed when Henry called Roger and Chris on the holographic system and they could see the obvious love between them, proving he held no prejudice. As Emperor, he made a request of the three worlds. They quickly provided three battleships, each carrying a full complement of provisioned and trained Mordis infantry. Henry believed there was nothing these crack troops could not accomplish. Bassinda and Susan decided on a devious strategy to deal with the Defren disloyalty. The more obdurate citizens were goaded into publicly attacking Bassinda's new policies; they had gathered their more obstinate associates and stood on the parliamentary floor to attack all of Bassinda's amendments to Defren law. The dispute had been going on for hours, enough to bring out most of the vocal opposition. Bassinda had cleared Henry's approach to the planet and her officers slipped the Emperor's party into the legislature where the fight was happening. The three Mordis battleships joined the Defren defence fleet in orbit, ready to back up Bassinda's rulings. Taylar was furious with the disloyal intransigence and wanted to fight. Emperor Henry strode out onto the floor of the Defren parliament and the wrangling stopped mid-syllable. He extended his full aura and stood, staring coldly at the women arrayed against Bassinda's administration. He remained silent and waited. In very little time they began to shift their footing and then lowered their eyes. Although in this chamber none were required to kneel on one knee, some did. "I see that you are still unwilling to change. I took your slaves from you, and then I took three worlds and gave them to the Mordis. Now I will give you a taste of old time justice. In this, Taylar will be my voice and my arm." Taylar was surprised at this unexpected authority. She thought Henry himself was going to lower the boom. She quickly recovered, however, and announced to those present, "The laws were quite explicit in my time, as they should be now. Many times have I imposed the penalty of death." This evoked a collective gasp of breath. "I do not think to be lenient now. You have refused every opportunity to restore a just society under proper Tandra law. Now by imperial decree, your families are to be broken up. They will be scattered and exiled into military service among our many off-world installations." At this moment Bassinda's uniformed members of her personal guard and loyal military units entered to lead away those who had earlier been identified as the worst of the rebellious element. There was some confusion and fighting but after a few stun rounds most complied. It was hard to mindspeak with Bassinda. The parliamentarians, confused and frightened, were broadcasting their thoughts to everyone. Groups of malcontents were segregated and shuffled away to confinement. After twenty minutes the soldiers left, and only half of the original number of lawmakers and their supporters remained. Taylar composed the decree and signed it with her brain imprint on a small crystal. She was careful to ensure that she was doing this only at the Emperor's behest. Bassinda and Susan joined Henry's group. "I had no idea you would do that. On occasion I have been forced to be rough, but never like this. I fear this may cause problems. The others will gang up on me," Bassinda said. "I don't believe they will," Henry answered. "Ingrid and I will stay for awhile and we will weed out those others who, for their own good, may soon be called upon to serve their Empire in some more useful way." Henry departed Defren a few hours later, but he made sure the population was aware that a few million heavily armed Mordis infantry were near. The Tandra of Defren remembered that these Mordis troops had been their former slaves, and the fact that the freed slaves felt some resentment towards their former masters on Defren was not lost on them. With the Defren political problems resolved, he turned to other matters. Orders went out for a few dozen destroyer escorts from the hidden fleet protecting Earth. These ships would be using sleepers and surprisingly skilful Humans to speed up the trip. Defren would soon be rid of their troublemakers, and Henry would get some more trained personnel for his ships. Human crews seemed able to move a ship much faster than a Tandra crew. For some reason the human complement could both propel the ship and detect obstacles in their flight path. Henry had reports of Charlie and Paul pushing their ship almost to its limits with a Human crew that included only a few Tandra, and without even an AI to help them. They were testing now to find the optimum crew mix. There were just too many ships needing refitting, and Henry could not continue to propel them the way he had been doing for the last few months. It could take thousands of years for all the captured ships to be converted. He must be free to deal with more urgent problems sure to come. Flotillas of cruisers and some lighter destroyers were sent out equipped with the best propulsion, computer and weapon systems he could give them, all with virus dispensing capability. Only he and his cadre of superior AIs knew how many planets and ships the Alliance now possessed. Their ships were crewed by Tandra with a sprinkling of T'aut, Softay, Kadork and Humans. Already they had found and reprogrammed many of the ships Henry had originally sent out to infect Samutz worlds. The more efficient ships would still take thousands of years to finish the task, but it was the only way he knew at present. In any case, the fleets would not go beyond a thousand light year radius. This buffer zone, once made secure, would give the Alliance sufficient breathing room until new safeguards could be developed. This first task would still be a few years in doing and they remained in danger of attack should the Samutz, the Thonas, the Moldeg, or some unknown and even worse hostile aggressors stumble onto them. ------- Jonathan looked over Toosm's shoulder. The male Tandra was himself looking over Trixie's shoulder. The young T'aut was working on a fabricator to make the largest crystal they could manage, one of many to hold the AI for their ship. She had been working for days to make enough stones so Mui could build the thousands of small matter transmitters for the ship. Mui and Dolk were nearby, fabricating the matter transmitter components. It was painstaking work to get the two portions to face each other, like a mirror that had to focus a laser beam back and forth with near-perfect results. Many of the units, in various sizes as suited their purpose, sat in specially designed cases for the jobs assigned them. The really tough work would be to focus the individual units aboard the ship. The keel of the small ship was laid in the large hangar with some supports to hold it in position. Ribs and longitudinal stiffeners were already attached. The engine, the most massive component, was installed as the ship was assembled around it. A few ribs were left aside while larger equipment was brought in. Jerome monitored the hull construction with his assembly helmet, ensuring that all structures and joints were perfectly mated. Mayaz, Lyrra, and Possa worked at the stern to strengthen the underlying ceramic base. Jeremy, using a helmet similar to Jerome's, and brought over sections of the massive shielding that would protect the computer and the crew from the disquieting effects of the five dimensions. Matthew monitored the entire assembly process. Crew safety and ship integrity were of paramount importance. There were no facilities to save a ruptured hull in the Oort cloud. Jeremy manoeuvred a heavy slab through the gap between the ribs to place it on a base already bonded to the keel. Conda was waiting and when her instruments said it was in the correct place, she affixed the armour in position and directed small drones to begin attaching it to the base. She monitored their work to ensure there were no mistakes. Jonathan brought in more sections as Conda signalled for them. Some hours later the computer enclosure was beginning to take shape. Mui entered to attach transmitter stations on the internal shield surfaces. She used extreme accuracy to align each piece, then assigned a drone to fuse it in place. This process was done at a molecular level and required considerable time. Matthew had foreseen the bottleneck and used his dozen allotted drones to replicate more drones. Soon the crew would have to split up to fabricate other equipment, while those best suited to alignment would stay on that task. Things were slow but this was also one of the best ways to learn. The AI, Marcus, could make the ship in a matter of a few days but then the crews would not know how to repair or even fabricate another hull if needed. Tandra history was peppered with instances where some rare problem would occur and the crew must either make the repair or remain forever in space. When the crew took a break Matthew sat with them to enjoy the latest refreshing beverage that the Emperor had brought from some distant system. Feeling exhausted, he looked at his crew quietly resting around him, and he had to chuckle. Normally the Tandra were horny and eager to get some attention from the Humans. Now they were all too tired to do much about it. Mayaz slept with Jonathan exclusively while Lyrra slept with his brother Jerome. The girls usually awoke glassy-eyed from their night's activities. Possa wanted Matthew to herself but as captain he could not show favouritism. He took Conda and Toosm to bed as much as he did her. Jeremy usually had two in his bed. Mui and Trixie stayed close to Matthew but did not get involved. Their future mates were uncomfortable when there was a lot of physical love among the crew. They had a quick meal later, then donned their tutors to learn more about how to fly the ship they were building. When bedtime came, they used the toilet and the cleanser, exchanged greetings, and went to bed. Conda slept with Matthew. She kissed her captain and snuggled closely. Matthew put his arm over her and within moments they were asleep. ------- Marcus was completing the fabrication of another large habitation area, using only construction drones. Most construction now was done without biological workers. This unit was larger than the Earth complex. A framework of ceramic members supported the dome and used passive shielding as a backup to the active shield. The Emperor wanted no chance of a breach in the dome, even if the possibility was virtually impossible. Computer substrate was growing and crystals would soon be added for a functional AI. The Emperor would push the computer boundaries into multi-dimensional space to add it to the Alliance network. Two teams of Humans would arrive at this new base in a few days, driving mining machines that were boring parallel tunnels reaching almost 950 kilometres from the main base. They had been tunnelling for three days. The bores were six metres in diameter with heavy reinforcing walls, widened at frequent junctions for future tunnel intersections. Small way stations were constructed along the way, each with surface domes to provide a green environment for the travellers. High-speed vehicles would use the tunnels, but pedestrians could walk upon moving velocipaths above the traffic lanes and enjoy the scenery the Emperor had installed along the entire route. This tunnel and other would join future lunar habitation domes. Each dome would be 48 kilometres in diameter. Different groups and races required housing and not all accepted that they should live in apartments. Most wanted and needed open spaces with bountiful plant life. Each dome would be self sufficient and able to mimic a particular race's home planet, duplicating even the gravity and atmosphere. A few such habitats would be aquatic. So many domes were planned that the entire moon could be covered in as little as three hundred years. The emperor envisioned that a safe harbour should be prepared and waiting on the moon when Earth's inhabitants finally, foolishly, destroyed their natural habitat. The situation had definitely changed since the Emperor last returned to the Earth system. The Terrans were unaware of the existence of the most of the ships and weapons protecting them. Henry thought it best to leave the Humans distracted with worries about the next Samutz attack, than to be hatching paranoid plans to attack the Alliance. Terran recruitment had gone up sharply after the attack, due mainly to a humanitarian gesture by the Alliance to take in many of the Asiatic races in their time of need. A quarter-million Alliance troops were still on the planet to assist the millions who probably would have died soon after the attack. This was a superb opportunity to show the Terrans that the Tandra and their Human allies could nurture as well as protect. The western nations were slow to assist the Alliance, despite the Alliance men and women telling their families on Earth of their work experiences and living conditions. Those fortunate ones on Earth who had computer access into the Alliance network could also see for themselves what the various planets and systems were really like. There was a rising clamour for emigration to some of those planets. No race wanted to risk their entire population on one small fragile world. But Mom insisted, for now, that only Alliance military veterans would be given a place to live on other planets. Tandran technology was slipping into common Terran use. The Emperor had decreed that clean, safe water be supplied to all inhabited areas. Sanitation facilities were likewise provided, free of charge. Building materials were given, provided they were used to fabricate buildings that met Tandra building standards and safety code. When the basic requirements of water, sanitation, and housing were met, then farming machinery was loaned to feed the people. Some corporations had complained bitterly over these "lost markets" for their expensive tractors and harvesters, despite the fact that most of the villages could hardly afford to feed themselves, let alone pay for expensive equipment. Men came and tried to buy or steal the Tandra machinery, but none succeeded. Alliance drones kept watch to prevent such things happening. Some western governments asked for aid. Mom explained that she was putting most of her resources into saving people in the most devastated areas. She not-too-subtly mentioned the vast aid promised by the west that proved to be very small when finally delivered to the people who needed it. The governments exposed by their stinginess fell back on creative bookkeeping to imply that Mom was mistaken in her criticism. There remained considerable economic hypocrisy from the west. The mountain of food generated by western farming methods was not available to the east without great cost in negotiable currencies. Mom exercised some behind-the-scenes finagling, keeping the west on a psychological tightrope with news of Samutz incursions. These reports were true, but most happened on battlefronts hundreds of light years away. The resulting "market jitters" kept the price of gold and precious metals high, and she used that market to sell gold (almost worthless in Alliance worlds) to finance food and supplies for people in need. The Terrans were not told of the mighty armada of ships stationed outside their system. The Emperor sent major fleets away on distant missions when word came of some Samutz stronghold. Never did any of this intelligence make it back to Earth. Henry knew that a frightened Human government was much easier to deal with than one that thought itself invincible. ------- With some free time on my hands, I decided to work on some experiments, including a few too risky to do near a populated area. Cal had been on many missions since I accidentally found Serendipity. He was currently patrolling an area close to the Bintuu empire with a dozen cruisers, all improved and able to travel faster even than Cal. Large crews had been divided into much smaller units. The AI could provide propulsion and with its predictor crystals would avoid any unpleasant surprises. The sleepers would usually interface with the computer to provide even greater warning. Cal directed me to a derelict ship of the newer type that was without means of propulsion. A small unit of ours had rammed it when it did not respond to our directions. The ship's computer had been slightly damaged, and its AI was completely gone. It took me little time to find the ship, a destroyer only 1130 metres long. I scanned it, then settled down in its large boat bay and made my way to the computer room. Along the way I found both Samutz and Moldeg bodies bloated in the hard vacuum. The computer room had a clean cut through both ends of its enclosure. This figured prominently in my plans. I increased the openings with the temporal field from my ship, fabricated two large portals, and affixed them to each end of the computer enclosure. I then cajoled the computer into repairing itself while I returned to my ship to enter the dimension maze. This time I put my own personality into a large processor crystal. Two hours later the crystal was inserted in the self-healed computer and in another few minutes machinery was in motion to repair the ship itself. I required only a large shipboard bay for some of my experiments. I named the AI 'Horus' after the Egyptian god of light who protected that ancient monarchy. This time I hoped Horus would help protect my fledgling empire. I transported a few tonnes of various-sized crystals from the matter transmitter close to Epsilon Eridani. The faces of the best pieces were cleaved to assemble a large mosaic. This inlay work was made as accurate as possible. The faces were mated together and I began to fuse the mosaic with my mind. This was quite different than anything I had tried before. I purified the fused mass, forming various crystalline structures in the mosaic as needed. The pieces had successfully aligned and integrated themselves throughout, forming a coherent crystalline entity. I was delighted with the result. Mom had tried this approach long before, but it took her thousands of years to get one small crystal to attach and integrate with the rest of her processor. In the following hours I took many more small pieces, cut them exactly as needed, and fused them to make rather large crystals. I went back into the maze and started a new computer, thinking to create one similar to that of Bennechi and Mom. While Horis fabricated the structure of the new computer, I continued to assemble large crystalline structures but now I remained within the dimension maze where the work was much easier. I fused another assembly about a metre in diameter and forty centimetres thick and purified the crystalline lattice. This was the largest crystal I had attempted yet. When finished, it glowed brighter than any before. I carefully split it and examined the faces. There were no flaws. My new understanding of the laws of physics said that this should make a great matter transmitter. Our early experiments with the Sol system matter transmitter were disappointing. The test pieces came back distorted, if they even came back. That transmitter used an array of small crystals because there were too few of the larger ones. I was sure that crystals of this size, purity and precise alignment had never been tried before. A complex mathematical formula with many variables could correctly predict how two given crystals worked together or how one crystal functioned by itself over a shorter distance, similar to the propagation of electromagnetic energy. Basically the formula was based on the square of the distance. If the receiver were twice as far away, it would require four times the power to span the distance. Also based on their size, purity and class of crystalline structure, a transmitter crystal worked with much less external power when aligned with a matching receiver crystal. Perfect alignment was essential for maximum distance, but could usually be fine-tuned when needed. Earth base had a powered matter transmitter that could send articles some distance, but it had no matching receiver and was power-hungry and short-ranged. Tractors carried my brightly-glowing disks to a position just outside one of the computer enclosure portals. I measured twenty metres from the centre of the computer, intending to test each crystal by itself. I had a curious urge to see if these greatly improved versions might transmit alone without power for a short distance. If so, then a perfectly aligned transmitter-receiver pair of the same pattern would be incredibly more effective. I threw a Moldeg body into the crystal surface. I was amazed when Horus reported that it came to him unaltered. I moved the crystal out another forty metres and tried again. Incredibly, it worked perfectly again. Significant power had always been necessary for a transmitter crystal to function at any distance but I found the distance with each of these unpowered crystals was an amazing 1090 metres, beyond which the body arrived slightly altered. I estimated that these new crystals were forty six thousand times more effective than our existing matter transmitter crystals. The ancient transmitters that linked the Tandra empire were made huge to supply the unimaginable power required for them to work. More experimentation was now needed. Perhaps the one hundred light year limit could be surpassed and the amount of power could be drastically reduced. At the 1090-metre limit of the unpowered crystal, Horus tractored through another Moldeg body while I crouched down to focus into the crystal structure. I needed to see exactly what was happening. Physicists over millions of years had theorized that the crystalline lattice simply realigned itself at it transmogrified the mass. All matter transmitter crystals that I had analysed before had shown major shifts in their structure at the instant of transference. But this radically new, mosaic-structured crystal showed only a slight structural shift. This might be the key to powerless transmission. I returned to the maze and worked up another mosaic-structured crystal, almost perfectly matched to the first. But after I purified this one, I aligned its crystalline pattern to match exactly that of the other crystal at the instant it transmogrified an object. Otherwise there was no difference in either pair. This crystal was cleaved and taken out for the same tests. My small runabout was brought out and the crystal placed on it. We moved off at precisely measured intervals while keeping the face perfectly aligned toward Horus. The unpowered limit for object transmission was now 5700 metres. I studied the crystalline shift again at this critical distance and saw that another small improvement could be made. Assuming that the shift pattern variation was a standard progression, I could calculate what the ultimate shift point should be. Another crystal was processed and aligned and tested again. This final increment achieved an inordinate amount of improvement: the maximum distance for perfect unpowered single-crystal transmission was an incredible sixty three thousand metres. I was tired now and the new computer was awakening. Since Horus was the first computer, it felt only natural to name the next one Isis, the goddess of love and fertility. I hoped to be luckier than her husband. When the two AIs were fully in sync, I taught Isis how to cut and piece together the crystals I needed. She made these larger crystals while I ate and had a short rest. Neither Mom nor any of the other AIs had spoken to me for hours but I was quite sure they were monitoring everything I did. I woke up stiff and did some exercises to loosen myself up before taking some food and drink to start the day. I meshed with the computer and searched the destroyer. Most of the damage had been repaired, apart from the hole extending from stem to stern. The bodies had been collected and stored. The tests had to continue. I needed to study the effects of size, shape and proportion on transmitter crystal effectiveness. The back of each crystal had been left fairly rough. It might be good to see what six perfect facets would do. There was enough data from the formula itself to suggest that some shapes and proportions would make the transference much easier. The ancient matter transmitters with their arrays of smaller crystals virtually formed a torus. A ship flew into and was transformed through the "hole" in the centre. Within hours I was into an experiment with an even larger crystal. It worked better than the one-metre sizes tried earlier. In an odd way this reminded me of an astronomer's telescope that used a larger mirror to catch more light. ------- Mom called me urgently, "Henry, there is a group of strange ships approaching the location of the old Tandra home planet. The images sent from our scout ships have no match in my files. Their energy signatures are odd and they appear to be much more advanced. The gravity waves suggest that some are massive but they require less power to propel themselves. Their shielding is the most worrisome, because it is similar to the temporal technology that you are using." My mind meshed with Horus' so I could see through the sensors of the few ships that were protecting Lazarus and the three quarters of a million people still onboard. They had been too many to bring with us when we returned. The strange ships approached three of our own group, still far from the station. They appeared to be only the size of a destroyer but larger than any of our ships on location. There were about twenty larger ships and an equal number of smaller craft. We could detect the faint echoes of more vessels in the distance. The nearer ships had long constructs facing forward and back, as if they carried a fist full of spears. Our ships remained stationary, approximately a hundred light years from the station, watching the stranger's advance. I was getting a very bad feeling and quickly sent orders to move our ships aside. The AIs on our ships instantly obeyed, just in time. A bolt of energy came from each of the long spears of the nearest hostile ship into the location just vacated. Our side responded, firing a stream of missiles as set down in the protocols I initiated long ago. The destroyer that fired on us disappeared in multiple blasts that pierced its shields. At the same time, the shields of all the other hostile ships altered and I had another bad feeling. I suspected that our missiles would not get through again. Missile fire came from the other hostiles while our ships returned fire and moved away in random evasive patterns. One of our ships, the size of Mom's Tug, took a grazing blow that ripped a portion of its hull completely off. I was now very worried, for that hull had our best temporal shielding. When our missiles struck the opposing fleet and did no damage, I knew it was time to withdraw. Two of our ships used tractors on the damaged hull to tow it with them as fast as they could, on a course well away from the matter transmitter. The strange ships gave chase but could not keep up. Their speed, while much greater than ships of the old Tandra empire, could not match ours even as we towed a stricken ship to safety. I watched our fleeing ships while I tried to come up with a plan to protect the station. There was no reason for the hostile ships to be coming this way other than to follow the energy signatures from a long hidden source. It would take five days to get to Lazarus in my small ship. Mom's tug could make it in three days, still too late. The dimension maze was the only path that could get me there quickly enough, but that would reveal our secret. No one outside of Mom and the AI network, not even my wives, knew the secret of the maze. To be on the safe side I called Mom on the tug and asked her to fly to Lazarus as fast as she could while taking a few of our improved ships with her. I knew we might have problems, and I wanted some options. I thought for a moment to come up with a plausible explanation for my sudden arrival at the station. "Mom, will you tell the family that I was already enroute to Lazarus? And please, I don't want to be disturbed for a while. I have some hard thinking to do." To both Horus and Isis I said, "You don't have engines, but you can use the upper universe spacial tubes to propel yourself to Tandra. You will probably find some company along the way." "Yes, Your Majesty." Now I needed to get myself to the other end of the galaxy in a few minutes. Waiting for me in the computer room were the last two crystal pairs I had been testing. I took these with me. Horus and Isis were busy making missile components. Missiles were being towed in a long line through the maze. Computers at each of the difficult junctions used their tractors to assist the steady flow of this war materiel into Lazarus' back door. It looked like the rest of my extended family had decided to get something concrete accomplished I ran as fast as I could with one of the crystals. A few moments later I was back again, carrying the second crystal. The flow of missiles continued moving in a steady stream along side. Lazarus put one of the new crystals into a fairly public spot. The other was just outside his computer room. He was aligning them when I came through. "Hello, Lazarus. I'm embarrassed to come back only at this time of crisis!" "Hello, Your Majesty. It would have been better to send someone more expendable. You are much too important to come to a battle area." "No one else can do this, Lazarus. And I am not going to abandon three quarters of a million people, especially when most of them are young children. Are the crystals aligned yet, and is anyone watching?" "Yes, Your Majesty." This would be the first time I would use these new crystals, but superficially they were no different than any other matter transmitter. I crouched down and Lazarus moved me through the one and a half metre crystalline interface. I popped out of the other facet and heard surprised gasps as I did. I stood up to see five adults and three juveniles drop quickly to one knee with bowed heads. "Get up please. We have no time for ceremony. I simply made an improvement in the matter transmitter and needed a test." Then to everybody including Lazarus I said, "Take this crystal and place it where it will be the most useful." I wanted the people to see that this new pair of crystals needed no external energy source to move people and materiel from one end of the huge station to another. This way they might conclude that my ship was nearby but not within sensor range. The Tandra wondered why I had come. They knew nothing of the hostile ships approaching the area. "Hello. We have some trouble approaching and I have come to see what we can do about it. The station had changed little since I left. One bay held a small inspection vessel used to work on the surface of the matter transmitter. It was only 23 metres long. I entered and found it's computer to be about the size of a microwave. This was far too small to work with. I set Lazarus to building a new ship of the 'Family' class while I thought over what I had to do. I had other ships stationed to protect our flanks and I did not want to pull any of them in. I sensed few subtle premonitions in my thoughts, which was good. This meant the situation was not yet desperate and I had some leeway to operate in. Our damaged ship was being brought here and repair parts were being fabricated for it. Perhaps an upgrade to that ship might do as well, but first I needed to examine its damage and try to learn what I could about the weapons used against us. I had Lazarus transport some of our missiles to a quiet section so I could see if anything new could be done with their shielding. I found we could shift the crystalline structure of the generator crystal, which would shift the temporal shield, but the end result was not significantly different than before. Mom and the AIs had been stockpiling missiles. I sent back the shield alterations and asked that the stockpiled missiles be altered in a random pattern. Few would be alike, but all would be similar. If these missiles were needed in a fight, then we might see which worked better. The missiles in transit and those already arrived would also be revised. As they were now, none could penetrate the shields of the strange ships. Then it struck me. These ships were "strange" but I did not yet think of them as the "enemy". Perhaps all of this was a misunderstanding and the strangers would be neutral. I saw this now in a new light. If they thought like Humans, I would need to bloody them a bit to persuade them to talk. If they assumed we were hostile, that would have been reason to fire on us. They might also be desperate, willing to fight for whatever they needed. Another idea, perhaps more correct, proposed that these strangers were like the Kadork, to whom nearly everyone else was an enemy. In any case, these strangers could not be allowed to endanger our people here. I worked on a few hundred missiles before the 'Fluchie' arrived for repair. The name meant 'Gossamer Wings'. The ship's port opened and twenty-seven stasis pods emerged and went into Lazarus' sickbay, while the survivors walked down the ramp. Thirteen had been lost, blown into space or killed outright. There was nothing we could do for the dead, but perhaps much could be done for the living. Probes were sent to assess the nature of the damage at the edges of the damaged hull, while I rode a tractor up close to look into the molecular structure of the blasted metal with my enhanced eye. The damage seemed typical of a standard mine or missile weapon. The ship had a temporal shield though, and this should not have happened. That, plus the fact that our missiles were now ineffective told me that these strangers were well aware of the physics I had unearthed. When I looked closely I could see subtle differences, but even with the hint of temporal physics being involved, I could not be sure what it really was. While I did my investigations, the Fluchie's compensator was being taken out, to be replaced by a new and much larger unit. It had taken 23 hours to get Mom's unit ready to go. Here, we had many willing hands. Fluchie's computer was assisting the work. It had been upgraded during my last visit, and it enabled the ship to go very fast. Now this new load might be a bit too much. Since this was now quite possibly a war situation, I did not want to be in a handicapped ship. We had little time to rework the computer and AI, but I could add another crystal to assist the AI. I took one from stores, placed it next to Fluchie, and asked her to help get her new roommate settled in. While we worked to get the ship ready, I watched the steady approach of the newcomers. They were not coming fast, but after the loss of one of their larger ships, they would be wary. I assumed they would discover this station soon enough. There were many systems remaining in this Tandra sector where the Thonas had not destroyed the suns or planets. Each system was being carefully scouted now as our strange intruders passed through, as if they expected an unseen enemy to jump them from behind. Fluchie's armaments were altered the same as our missile stockpiles, so I would know right away what temporal shield shift was effective and what wasn't. We left as soon as a full crew was back aboard. Captain Radi remained in command. I considered myself an onboard flag admiral. She had the advantage now of a more capable AI and considerably more speed Radi took the ship in a very wide circle to slip stealthily and almost invisibly in behind the newcomers, the very thing they were trying to prevent. When we were just within range of their rearmost ships, I reached out with an upper dimension energy tube and seized a light destroyer-sized hull. I shook it as I had the Thonas in earlier encounters while we hastily fled the area back the way we came. I had serious doubts that our ship's tractors could hold their ship with its temporal shield. I held their ship at the outermost reach of my abilities while it furiously shot back at us. I kept the business ends of their energy weapons pointed away from us. We were, of course, pursued by the remainder of their fleet which raced after us like a swarm of vengeful bees. I was forced to shake this ship more vigorously than the Thonas had withstood. I couldn't know if it was because they had better compensators or if their bodies were better able to take the abuse. When we had at least a four-hour lead on the fastest of them, I stopped to examine our catch, but the moment I stopped shaking them, they began shooting at us again. I brought down another energy tube to cut away their ship's six spear-like energy weapon. These things were making life difficult for us. It became a difficult job because the material was slow to burn through, and then their ship went into an uncontrolled spin. I had to bring down two more tubes to stabilize them. It took me a full hour of shaking and cutting and stabilising to finally remove the six weapons. While all this was happening I was forced to call down yet another tube to deflect the swarm of missiles they kept firing at us in a constant stream. Now that their major weapon was gone, I had to deflect their missiles, hold their ship at a safe distance, and try to find a way into their computer. The first two were not too difficult, but the last proved gruelling. They were in constant communication with their approaching fleet but I could make little sense of their language or their encryption. They were nothing like the Thonas, for this opponent seemed to anticipate how I was attacking their computer. If so, they would put a lot of roadblocks and traps in my way. Their computer shielding was certainly effective, for it withstood all the force I brought against it. Now I wanted to learn how it was produced, so I could use it to keep their missiles from destroying our ships. I could probably rip their ship apart and take the computer to study at my leisure, but that would certainly kill the crew. Even though they were trying to kill me, I preferred not to put them to death. We sent a few hundred probes and drones to infiltrate their hull without causing a deadly decompression. The devices would enter through the severed weapon stubs. We kept working to disable their computer shielding and probed their ship for another two hours, but had too little success. Now I wished for a nearby planet with an atmosphere that could support these beings. I would just take them there and try to rip the ship apart. Since their reinforcements were fast approaching, I decided the prudent thing now was to leave the ship so it could be rescued. Our drones and probes were called back and when all were accounted for I broadcast a message that I hoped would be clearly understood. I said that if they wanted a fight I would oblige them by taking all their ships. If they wanted to talk, they should go back to one of the systems they had passed and wait. I would meet them there. As a parting gesture we accelerated toward the oncoming ships with our prize in tow, and I released the somewhat battered hull towards its brothers. I turned back to gather up the six weapons and several hundred missiles and took them with us. Our tractors would not hold them if their shields were up, the same as our weapons. I was obliged to cut up most of the missiles to defuse them and use our tractors on the severed sections. The severed energy projectors had no such defences. We took a long, erratic course back to avoid giving the newcomers any clue to our true destination. When we were safely away I turned my attention to the captured missiles. They were, as I suspected, very basic designs the same as ours. I removed all their crystals and small computers, and kept them all separated. I did not want them self-destructing when we got to the station. The weapon spears were a cascaded array of crystals that accelerated an energy beam along their length with very little loss. The trick seemed to be in the quality of the crystals and their arrangement. I deemed everything safe enough to handle and carry, so the missile components were stowed in our storage bay while the spears, too long to bring aboard, were dragged along. ------- Mike Tuck stood up slowly and stretched. He had stayed behind hooked to the tutor while all the others except Moses Carver, who sat three seats over, were off doing other things. He felt that he was in a race and for the first time in his life, he was in the lead. He sacrificed his free time to learn all that he could of what it took to really get somewhere in this new alliance. Gone were the days of being a second class black citizen in a white-dominated world. His emotional wounds had long since healed but an occasional pain still surfaced. Humans were now on other worlds and they held high positions of leadership that would be the envy of most, even in the old Tandra Empire. There would be more posts opening up, and he meant to have a good one for himself. Moses came out of his tutor-induced daze and saw his friend waiting for him. "You want to go for a beer?" Mike just nodded his head and waited for Moses to get up. As they walked to the nearest matter transmitter Moses said, "How long now?" "Another 89 hours, but we still have our obligations to the kids. Besides, even if we could go, I would feel bad leaving them behind. They are like my own boys now." "I know. I feel the same way. By the way, did you hear that another of my sons made it through the selection?" "Congratulations. What about his two girls?" Moses smiled and said, "They are coming too. They are all studying and if they try hard enough I may get my last boy in, and his family too." "Hell, if your Grannies were alive, you would want them here too!" "Don't you sell my Grannies short. They were both feisty women. They would box dad's ears as fast as they would mine. We men soon learned to toe the line, but when we got older, we knew that was the thing to do." The two men met up with their charges and knew they were doing the best they could. Neither had been slacking off, and this was how it usually was now. On Earth, the boys had been headed for trouble but here they were solidly on track to become officers in the Alliance military. Moses had beautiful pictures in his mind of where these boys could go. He hoped he was right. He had talked quietly with Marcus and the friendly AI shared his own assessment of the boys. If things held together, they could possibly all serve together on the same ship. Jerome was lying down for some much-needed sleep. He thought of his friends nearby in the other dome. It had taken little time to become firm friends with each. Not all were black, but all were dark skinned. He learned soon enough that it had been their propensity for getting into trouble, seemingly to ease their way into peer groups, that caused most of their problems. Now he and his buddies would keep each other out of trouble. But now they were kept so busy that none of them had time to be an irritation. The new team was quite different. Not a bad thing really, but the members were from such differing backgrounds that the group dynamic was foreign to him. He was bunking with the Tandra ladies and felt more at peace than he ever felt before. Lyrra snuggled closer and Jerome held her hand to keep her near. Mayra slept with Jonathan and that seemed good. Even if they became common soldiers it would be good to take their family with them. Somehow, Lyrra had become pregnant, something a Tandra girl sometimes found hard to do. The Tandra did not usually commit themselves to children until they were thirty or so, but the look in her eyes when they did community service in the nursery said she might do so much sooner. Emotions and consequences filled Jerome's mind, things he would hardly have considered before. Back in the College Hill section of Tampa, he might prove his manhood by fathering a child. Now he easily saw the responsibilities involved. If he truly had feelings for the girl and their new team, he would make sure that no child would come until it could be properly loved and nurtured. Their ship was really taking shape. It was almost amazing how its parts fit together, one after another, at such a fast pace. The ship could actually fly now but many more pieces of equipment had to be added, followed by long and exacting tests. The young white boy, Matthew, seemed to be a natural leader. He did not push, but all seemed to want to do what he asked. He was not very often wrong, either. Jerome was not so sure about leaving his class and following his little brother, but the contest did seem irresistible. Jerome's class could probably make a ship too, but their interests seemed to be in other areas. Most wanted to join the infantry to fight the enemy on the ground, to fight with their own hands and to lead others in the fight. His former friends on Earth never had that much drive. The members of his new team seemed pretty good. Though most were not Human, they were worthwhile friends. The Tandra seemed to need Humans, for some unknown reason, and deep inside he knew that Humans needed the Tandra. Even when sleep came, he held Lyrra to him. She did the same, as if something might be conspiring to take them apart. Matthew worried all the time now, not an overpowering fear but more like a constant force that pushed him to make sure everything was done that could be done to protect the new ship and the crew. They were like his family, each with their own idiosyncrasies and mannerisms, making them not perfect but somehow much better that none fit easily into a mould. The crew looked to him constantly for guidance. He found himself many times more intelligent than before, and other facets of his personality had a chance to come out. More people came to him with questions, and he now liked to help and to organize any given situation. It was not quite a compulsion, but he could make things work better because he could see the way more easily. Possa woke up in Matthew's arms. She felt content to stay there forever. Although she was older and more mature, she felt she had found a husband. This went against all her instincts but felt so right. Her sisters seemed to think the same thing as they lay with their Humans in the other beds. She hoped their urge to begin having a family would settle down so they might complete their training. Sometimes her mind rebelled at her feelings, but at times like this, with her head on this male's chest, she felt happiness. They eventually got up and had a simple breakfast. Her sisters walked ahead, holding the black males' hands, and she wanted to do the same with Matthew. She didn't. She had glimpsed into his mind in an unguarded moment and saw that he loved everyone here including her. He also had to remain aloof because he was the 'Captain'. Everybody depended on him. He slept with the other older two teammates to show his love, and he slept with the Softay and T'aut but did not have any sexual relations with them. He behaved as a captain should, moulding the crew into a cohesive whole without repressing any of the individuals. Matthew walked the long crowded hall with his team. The matter transmitter in the far end was very busy and he said, "Let's go down this aisle." They all swung to the right and followed. Matthew looked at the team around him. The Humans were all very much more than they had once been. They were dedicated members of a multi-racial team, eager to do their share to protect their world and everything their Alliance stood for. All had much to learn but building the ship and sailing her would accomplish that. Their emotions and drives were easily seen, but still very fragile. It was up to the captain to help them grow strong and straight. Two of his team were foremost in his mind at this moment. Possa was worried about her acceptance in the new team. She was consciously alright with her decision to join, but deep inside she was still frightened. Toosm, the only Tandra male, felt much the same, even though he had been with the team for a few months longer. The Tandra, like Humans, needed constant reassurance that they were needed and even wanted. Toosm had been with Jeremy last night, but so had Conda. Conda had received the majority of his brothers's affections, and this was bothering the young male. All four Human males were predominantly heterosexual, but let Toosm join their games. The Tandra male could sense this segregation and was reacting to it. Matthew knew something would have to be done soon. The Tandra male was actually more like a Human female than a Human male. The Tandra female was more the opposite, being more aggressive and domineering. Having sex with a Tandra female sometimes felt as if he were having sex with his own gender. Being with Toosm was how he thought sex would be like with a Human female. Monique was very much this way and he loved her for it. He realized now that making love to Toosm was not that great a leap. Matthew reached out and took Toosm's hand. The Tandra smiled at this. Possa saw them and before she could react, Matthew put his other arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. She felt the sudden mood of camaraderie and, oddly, Matthew began to see her as a male Human. They reached the ship and work began again. They delved into the tutors to find answers to unclear issues, and instead of getting the quick answer, they were required to sit through the entire course. This slower progress was essential, for the only way to learn was to grasp the entire concept. In an emergency, it was not likely that anybody would have time to learn what was desperately needed. The last of the hull plates were to be installed this day, followed by the remainder of the shield components and the sensors. The ship's computer had grown enough to become independent, but lacked its processor crystal. Each crew had their own tasks and went to them. Trixie paused for a moment and Matthew went to her. He gave her a small kiss and said, "I love you too." The Softay smiled in her mind, for a facial expression was not natural to these long haired beings. She walked over and began work with Maout. ------- Chapter 87 There was a large crowd at the station when we got back. Being a public figure now, I had to wave at the crowd and tell them what they wanted to hear. We brought our booty on board and stored most of it. Lazarus sent over some of his probes while some military types did their own investigations. Captain Radi had not been frightened off. She checked her ship for damage and then examined what we had brought back. The lances were just short of 300 metres long and 3.6 metres in diameter at their widest. The crystals were like a telescope with the distance between held in vacuum. The power to the crystals was much higher than we would normally use. The arrays of crystals were not much different though. The most interesting aspect to me was the method used to apply power. Their basic structure was little different from our own weapons. We had long ago folded the structure to a much more convenient package. Using the power conductors as a guide, it looked like they used at least half again as much power but the effect was amplified many times. Each ring in the array boosted the power and each ring of crystals was slightly different from the one before. It didn't take long to see that they were each twisting the energy to move through all of the dimensions. The fourth ring seemed to be the same structure that I used when going through a shield and represented time. Lazarus pointed out, "My Emperor. The casing of the weapon is slightly different from ours. There seem to be extremely small crystals embedded in the ceramic. The ceramic though is much thinner than what we use and judging from your difficulty in cutting it through the shield; it must be two and a half times more effective than ours." "Thanks Lazarus. See what you can find that will power each of the crystals." We disassembled the other lances and compared them minutely to the first one. Lazarus and the other Tandra did not find any differences, but I found a few in the crystalline structure. Perhaps a heterodyning effect took place where the beams converged. The higher level of interaction could be what allowed the energy to flow through my new shield. I apprised Lazarus of the rest of the data I found and he passed it all back to Mom. I examined the missile crystals next. Again much more power went to the crystal than I would normally expect. The crystal was the only basic difference. The distortions in the pattern of the crystal gave me a few ideas to explore in my own efforts to understand the crystals. Lazarus took some of the missiles and copied their construction. I took a few of the crystals and worked on them to be even better than those used by the strangers. Perhaps if we threw them back, we would find out how good they were against their own shields. ------- Captain Shingle had just received the orders from Mom. He smiled widely and his exec looked up at the mirth he felt in his captain's mind. "Exec, recall our escorts. Place them so we can rendezvous as we travel." This was not seen as too odd by the second in command. "Take us to Falm 6 at your best speed." This though startled the young man. "Waa... ? Ah... yes sir. Recall escorts and proceed to Falm 6 at our best speed." The ships got their orders and in most cases they proceeded quickly out of the system. They would complete the link up in a few hours. At that time the dozen ships would fan out to protect their small group. "What are our orders, Sir?" This should be discussed privately, but the crew would soon know anyway. The presentation of the information should be given with a little fanfare though. On a private channel Charlie said, "We are going to Tandra, on the other side of the galaxy." "What!" Slipped out, and Paul clamped his mind tight as his captain was doing. "Why? We have only gone to our next-door neighbour so far. Now we are going to cross the galaxy?" "The Emperor knows we are the fastest ships he has. I just found out that Mom in the tug is going too. She has been given a very serious upgrade and will be towing or pushing us to get us to go even faster. The Emperor wants all the children taken off the home world matter transmitter and transported to a safe place." The Captain made his announcement to the crew and that of the escorts after getting some additional information from Mom. "The Emperor commanded us to sail to the former location of the Tandra home planet and recover the children still in stasis. Mom has warned him of an incursion in that area of space involving a new type of ship. The Emperor has specifically gone to reinforce the station and to see what he can find out about the invaders." The talk continued with some of the background and then he turned the announcement over to his exec. Each of the escorts were given general orders and some of the equipment really tested for the first time at the top speed. Some Humans and Tandra got on the couches and closed their eyes to concentrate. The predictor crystals were supposed to be good but they would be even better with some biological assistance. Charlie Shingle sat in his chair and interfaced with Hans using the full extent of his capabilities. The systems seemed to fly by. The recent upgrades to their compensator and computer enabled their ship to travel a bit over eight thousand light years per day. The ship made a few minor corrections as it travelled to miss debris in space. Casting his mind to navigation, he saw that the predictor crystals were indeed working well with the people in that department. The engines were working hard to assist in propelling the mighty carrier. It was the AI though with its connection to the upper universe that did most of the work. Hans was transmitting back all the images and data he could in this undertaking. Mom would transmit a portion of them to the Earth population when she felt the time was right. That time though might be many years in the future because of the way the Humans failed to accept the Alliance. A short time later the sensors showed the escorts taking their assigned positions. The dozen craft were mostly cruisers and smaller but one destroyer took the point position. The escort craft were even capable of more speed. The Terra's Pride was no slouch but simply had too much mass to move. The watch ended and Captain completed his log entries before assigning the watch to another officer. With a last look around the bridge, he walked the short distance to his suite. When he walked through the portal Amney quickly got to her feet and approached her captain. "Why are we going to Tandra? Are my people in danger?" "Cadet Amney. Is that the way to greet your captain? Last I heard you had not taken the throne. Perhaps you could be moved down to Engineering or Weapons, where you may have some time to ponder your ways." The girl was not now a cadet because of her major infraction, but the term at least might give her the incentive to try harder. "I am sorry sir. I didn't know what came over me." She hung her head a bit, but still expected the answers. "Get my robe, please. I will be taking a shower." "But... Yes sir. Right away, sir." The captain had a little bit of a chuckle at the girl's expense. She still showed little remorse for the reasons that she first came here. She was still the former Empress' child in many ways. The duty to the Emperor was another thing. The girl needed to be shaken from her imaginary perch and shown that she was not an eagle but a person much like the rest of the crew. He stepped out of the enclosure when he finished his shower. The water was whisked from his skin as if removed by a vacuum. This chilled him a little and he gave an involuntary shiver. Amney was ready to hand him the long robe. Captain Shingle glanced aside at the projector that served as a mirror instead. He walked closer and then remembered that he could just enlarge the area he was inspecting. The chin started to show just a bit of hair just below the skin. He felt that it would soon be time to renew his treatment to restrict hair growth. Turning sideways when he did not need to brought other parts of his skin into view. The waistline was still very trim as were the abdominal muscles. He flexed his biceps and saw that perhaps he had to find some time for the gym. The hair on his head was in disarray though. He concentrated for a split second and a comb dropped from the air just above followed by a small towel. He wrapped the towel around the neck like a silk cravat. A small rain fell on his hair as he rubbed it with his fingers. The water stopped at his command. He used the towel to partially dry his hair, then the comb did its work. The figure looking back at him was still young. An idle thought crossed his mind about a way to look a little older to fit in with the duties of captain. He saw Amney still holding his robe when he turned back. It was disconcerting to have a servant, particularly one that had to remain idle as she waited for him to finish some of his grooming. He took the robe and slipped it on. Amney for some reason tried to help. She got very close as her hands took the clothing and pushed it as high as she could to clear her captain's shoulders. "Thank you Amney. My exec will be dining with us tonight. What have you picked for our meal?" The captain said, as he tied the knot in the front of the robe. The girl finally came to her senses. She had been looking at the equipment that set the captain apart from her. She had seen the Emperor's very large phallus. The one she just saw was much smaller but quite a bit larger than any male Tandra. For a second she shivered thinking what it would be like to experience pleasure from such an instrument. She said, "Sorry sir. My mind was elsewhere." "That is fine cadet but you have to pay attention when a superior officer addresses you. I could have given you orders that could be very important. If you day-dream while being spoken to then you would be much like one of the children. One day you will have to grow up and take on adult responsibilities." Captain Shingle looked at the small Tandra girl, and saw that she was about the size of a eight year old Human girl. It was difficult to remember that she was the equivalent of fourteen and a half Earth years old. The girl was very intelligent but still acted emotionally as if she were really an eight year old child. "I said that my exec was coming over for our meal. I wished to find out what was being prepared." "Oh,... I did some research and decided to have a consommé followed by some boiled potatoes. A meat dish called a burger would be followed by some string beans." She waited to hear her captain compliment her but heard instead. "The dishes do not complement. Let me show you." Charlie pictured the boiled potatoes and described the bland taste and consistency. Next he pictured the burger patty. This was fairly tasty but lacked accompaniment from other varieties of food. The beans were last. They, like the burger, needed other food to accompany them. He described the boiled potatoes with butter, gravy or sauce on them. The burger was shown in a sandwich or covered with gravy on a plate. He showed her other vegetables that she could utilize to make the meal more satisfying. In the closed off section of his mind, he knew the Tandra were still getting used to Earth type foods. The consommé was fine, but again was mainly water when the body wanted more substance. He also knew that the girl did not do very much investigating in all her free time. "I am sorry sir. I will consult some other Humans before recommending another meal." "That is a good idea. You should also eat a bit of that food to see what it is like. If you do not try something then you will not learn." ------- Taylar was upset when she heard that Terra's Pride was leaving the space outside the system. She was even more worried about her youngest child going into a war zone with only a Human/Tandra crew. Ingrid was beside her when the news came in. The tall Human said, "Taylar, I see Amney as my child too. I want her safe with us, but I also want her to learn. It must be fairly safe if our husband is asking for them." Taylar let slip all the times his family were together when they were either killed or almost so. Ingrid saw this and had no way of refuting it for it was all true. All she could say was, "Henry has changed since the last time somebody was hurt. Sometimes I am afraid of what he can do if he put his mind to it. He can work his way into an enemy computer without the use of anything other than his mind. I saw in Bassinda's mind how he casually took two planets and flung them together as if playing with children's toys. His ability to harness the energy from the other universe and propel a ship hundreds of times faster than even a dimensional tap can is something akin to godlike. He can do many other things but keeps them hidden from us. He thinks that we will fear him or treat him differently." Taylar was shaking a bit and Ingrid put her arms around her sister/wife. Taylar hugged the woman back. Having Ingrid fulfill the duties of a metsu made Taylar feel very happy that she had joined this family. The duties of an Empress were sometimes too hectic to handle. Now she felt like she was falling apart because her daughter was going into possible danger. Ingrid held the woman tightly to her and seemed to know most of what was bothering the woman. Their common husband was away most of the time and usually in danger. Her family was broken up with each member now doing an important job. Taylar had to organize the Thonas war when she was Empress and now had much less work to do. Finally, her youngest daughter was leaving and possibly going where so much danger was. The natives of Defren had quieted down after reinstatement of the complete set of Tandra laws. They now, more than ever, were a part of the Empire rather than just an isolated system. There was a meeting in an hour and perhaps there was some time before that to bring Taylar around. Ingrid steered Taylar into the other room where they would be more comfortable. When in position she undid the clasps on the Tandra woman's clothing and let it fall to the floor. Ingrid's soon followed before Taylar was even aware of what was happening. Ingrid laid the smaller woman on the bed and kissed the woman's lips in a tender way with both her hands cradling her head. Taylar weakly moved and said, "We don't have time." "Hush." Taylar did and was actually happy to have been ordered to do so. "Yes my Metsu." Ingrid continued her duties to her family and Taylar was breathing in deep rapid breaths. The first orgasm made her flex her back and forced her pelvis far off the bed as a scream left her mouth. When she finally relaxed, she came to her senses and opened her eyes to her Metsu. She felt a little better and wanted to get up and return the favour but she was held in place instead. Her questing mind told her that Ingrid too was worked up and needed some relief. Ingrid could see that Taylar was feeling a bit better but there was much more improvement possible. When Taylar tried to get up to please her Metsu, Ingrid said, "Get up my beautiful Suna. I want to mount you." Taylar was now very happy. For some reason her people had never used a phallus. Now that she had experienced it, she did not want to be without it. For some reason if it was used by a Tandra on another Tandra it was not as erotic. When a Human used it though, it was many times more exciting. As soon as Ingrid's hands left her she scampered off the bed then crawled back on in the position that would be the most comfortable for her Metsu. Ingrid gave her commands and the long device nicknamed 'Henry Jr.' fell into her hand. She activated the controls with her mind and a lubricant came out of each end and small holes in the side. It took only a few seconds to work it into her body and activate the band about her waist. Looking down at her wife, she saw the child-like woman patiently awaiting whatever Ingrid wanted to do to her. The back cheeks had separated and it was easy to see the six angry red nubs around the anus and one much hanging down around her vagina. Ingrid knew that Taylar needed to be pleased by her male husband and the only way with him gone was to do this herself. Ingrid moved closer and Taylar did not move or even look for she was in a servile position and would take whatever she was given. The phallus swayed from one side to another as she approached the beautiful and trusting Tandra woman. Her hands caressed the cheeks and Ingrid could not resist running the fingers of one hand up the woman's crease. Taylar moaned at the touch and strained to remain still. She was surprised when the dildo entered her. She thought lips and fingers would help her forget her problems. "Think of our husband as he slides carefully into you. If you were not yet pregnant I would make you so now." After a groan from Taylar she said, "You belong to our family and to our husband. He will take you as I do now." Ingrid did her best to imitate how her husband thrust into his wives. The pace and stroke alternated as he looked into his wife's mind to see how she felt. He always tried to give his best, except when he tortured them until the final orgasm was too much to take. This was what Ingrid strove to emulate. She pounded Taylar's rear openings for forty minutes. The final time was too much for the Tandra woman. She collapsed unconscious on the bed. Ingrid pulled the device from her wife and shivered in the after-effects of her own orgasm. She threw the device into the air and it disappeared. Ingrid bent over the small woman and picked her up in her arms. Taylar groaned and put an arm around her metsu. Ingrid walked into the cleanser and washed her suna. In a few moments, Taylar started to come around enough to help herself. Before she started though she reached up and pulled her metsu to her for a Human type kiss. "I love you." "I love you too, Taylar. Our family has lots of love, and this is what makes us strong." A few moments later they made it to the meeting. Most could see that Taylar as quite happy for some reason. ------- The information from the invader's ships was transmitted to the group of AIs for processing. There was enough information to show that a very advanced encryption mechanism was being used. The language was tentatively guessed at, but the AIs had no similar languages in their memories. The shape and construction of the ship were strange. The small probes came back with little snippets of information. The ship appeared to have an oxygen and argon environment. The gravitational pull was half again that of Earth. The internal structure could not be determined, but the broken ends of the ship showed a structure similar internally to the ceramic used by the Tandra. I had finished with the preliminary examinations. Lazarus, the other AIs and I worked on some of the components. We figured that I could duplicate the weapons now and did so. The discharges were the same as what I saw through the link. I studied the individual rings again with a thought toward improvements I could make with the crystals. We made new units with my improved designs. It took a few more hours to get the weapons to work as they did before. I spent more hours 'tuning' the improved crystals to do as I expected. Three sets of crystals had to be removed because the focal length had increased so much. The design now was twenty percent greater range than our last model and used the same power as before. The effect of the weapon though was much more dramatic. Taking the distance in the first attack as an baseline, we easily surpassed that mark by a factor of five using the same energy input level. The weapon could now accept nearly nine times the energy input of the original. I was happy to see that all these figures because we had access to much more power now. The range at full power had increased by a factor just shy of twenty-three times. The power used was at the borderline; any more would burn out the lenses. The crystalline pattern had to be individually altered based upon the purity of the crystals. It remained to be seen how effective they would be against the newcomer's shields. The computer in each of the missiles was quite simple. A small processor seemed to have some control over the odd crystal that made the shield. The original units would still work better than our own missiles but again we knew nothing of the effect against our visitor's shields. These weapons had to be tested though and there was only one way. We fitted Fluchie with large rings fore and aft. They attached to the hull and were extended by spokes outward to another ring. We attached the energy lances around the hull in a pattern identical to other ship. Fluchie's computer could direct the power from the upper universe through the weapons without burning out its own power source. Captain Radi took us out again. We tried some evasive manoeuvres and the lances stayed with us. At forty lights we tested the weapon using full power on some debris. Both the captain and the crew were overjoyed to have such a weapon in their arsenal even if it did restrict some of their missile launchers. It took three more hours to relocate the ships. The damaged one was more or less in the centre of the others. The Fluchie just flew in at max and from nearly three quarters of a light year away it burned off two of the energy lances from the lead ship. Two more were similarly pruned before the ships went in frantic evasive manoeuvres. Captain Radi proceeded at full speed into the cauldron of angry ships. We launched six missiles at six different ships, then Fluchie reversed course to see what was happening. The sensors showed that all six missiles had hit their intended targets. We could not tell whether the missiles had penetrated the shield or destroyed themselves, for the missiles were not designed to explode. We waited almost two hours for an indication of their intent. Eventually one small ship came toward us with its energy weapons pointing away, as were ours. Missiles could still fly but this was a test. Communications started right away. The captain and crew of our ship were very apprehensive but I did not have any feeling of imminent danger. Our massed group of AIs were ready and worked very diligently at the signals now sent in the clear. Language took all of five minutes to exchange in both directions. The new race was known as the Hossin. They were an odd race that had little similarity with Humans or Tandra. The Hossin were an aquatic race with a very long history. They had lived a peaceful existence until some visitors arrived. They had been displaced from their small empire and forced on a multi-millennia long quest for a new home. As time went on other races pushed them further and further away from their ancestral home. Eventually they built a truly massive ship and sailed from our nearest neighbour, Crassos, to our galaxy. They had been here only fifty thousand years or so and found that they had to move once again. This time it was the same group that had pushed them out of their old galaxy. All this information came from their computer and was thus suspect, but I would accept it until I found information to the contrary. The race was not telepathic. They had large family groupings. From the inferences made in their files, they were trisexual and had very strong feelings about family. Some files remained closed to us because we were still seen as potential enemies. The six missiles that broke through their shields and hull but did not explode gave our peaceful intent much greater weight. The true size of the Hossin became apparent only when Mom asked for the size of a hydrogen atom to use as a reference. One gender looked to be three metres tall and possibly weighted in at four hundred kilos. It sported four strong appendages that could serve as arms. It had formidable looking teeth and the jaw showed that it could readily defend itself against anything its size. The other two were more of an upright biped. They were shorter and slimmer than the first gender, but still nothing to be wrestled with. Their computer was better than the standard Tandra model, but not anywhere near as capable as our present one. I sent comparative pictures of Humans, Tandra, Samutz, Thonas and all the other races we came across. It would take time for the Hossin to digest our information. In a few moments the Hossin sent back information regarding the races that inhabited the Crassos galaxy. Currently Humans think that the Canis Major dwarf galaxy is our closest neighbour. Our own charts show what is really happening. The Milky Way is constantly growing as it steals stars from smaller satellite galaxies. Their galaxy, along with many others, is actually being absorbed by ours. Their galaxy only had a paltry thousand million stars to eventually contribute. Dominant races were shown in each highlighted area of the convoluted galaxy. Some looked like they would frighten the motion picture industry on Earth. It was difficult to understand how such predatory looking creatures would be able to start and maintain a stellar empire. A section of our own galaxy was highlighted in the same colours to indicate systems into which those races were now expanding. The Fassoot were the expanding species encroaching on all others. They had forced the Hossin to migrate. They had apparently crossed the 12,000 light year gap to our galaxy only thirty thousand years ago. It just so happened that our present location was very close to their line of flight and expansion. The Fassoot were roughly of Human size but came from a high gravitational planet. This meant that their bodies were squat and very muscular. They had a vague resemblance to a very heavy Samutz. This alone made me think them very dangerous. We were given a short history of the Fassoot. Many races, both good and bad, had fallen to their advance. They had the same mentality as the Thonas, there were no prisoners taken and no quarter was given. The only thing left was fertilizer for the soil. On an impulse, I sent over two sets of schematics. One was the missile that they had thrown at us. The other was for the improved missiles. I included detailed mathematics describing the conditions found in the each computer's crystals. The reason for both schematics was to show how much detail I obtained from their technology and what I was able to do to improve it. The information was not a great gift because over time they would find out the same information from the missiles themselves. I knew that they would be stymied when I sent the information for the lance. The crystals I improved would be beyond their powers to fabricate. They also had no way of accessing the upper universe and all the power it contained. The information I provided did not even mention the source of the power. The next step would be to have a face to face, but this would take too much time. We had been given enough information for me to make a good approximation of their odd computer. I thought it wise to ask our visitors' permission before doing any more research in this area. The request was sent and the data kept flowing back and forth. It took almost a half hour before the reply came. They asked what I intended to do. There were no names yet given or even ranks, so I too remained anonymous. I spoke and the massed AIs translated for me. "I would like to communicate with you so that we see and hear each other. I would imagine that you must already have this ability between ships. If that is not possible, then I would like to use my mind to interface with your computer. When I have completed this task, I would like the use of one of your holographic and audio units." This reply took another half hour. I could see their concern about letting a person they did not know enter their computer or giving them the protocols to enter in the usual manner. They finally replied and Mom gave me a quick digest of the speech. She said, "Their communications protocols have been deciphered and we could communicate that way now. I think they want to see you try to enter their system as you stated." We gave our own reply and my mind went across the void. It came across the same circuitry as last time. I made different choices with the data I now had. My data was not complete but I was able to learn much more now that I was not propelling our ships and deflecting missiles bent on destroying us. I quickly reached the conclusion that the machine had many cul de sacs and blind alleys. Many routes were actually made to lead to false routes. I soon found that some circuits were intended as traps and would flood the attacking intelligence with energy designed to damage the intruder. Mom helped me make some better choices than I would have made and even spotted a few even more cleverly concealed traps. I could imagine that the Hossin were watching a large maze in their ship that showed their computer and my progress through it. If they got too anxious I could expect them to just flood the computer with energy and try to fry my mind. I avoided areas of defence and other secrets. I did not think that a guest should snoop when invited into another person's home. Mom gave me the protocols finally for the communications. I followed these until I found a large screen that was similar to ours. The holography units would have been best, but a two dimensional unit was easier to maintain. The audio unit was different from ours and so was a camera-like device that we could utilize to see our hosts. Even these units had traps and dead ends in them. Finally I interfaced completely with the camera and its servos to change direction. A quick look around showed that the Hossin were monochromatic in colour. There were various sized scales on each of the seven individuals in range. These were all about the same size and shape and I knew them to be all of the same gender. The males, for that was the closest approximation I could make, stood on the deck. Water flooded the compartment and their bodies must have had something resembling a swim bladder to regulate their buoyancy. They looked the shape of an overweight bear dressed in scales. The jaw was much larger and more formidable that any bear ever sported. The arms were proportionately the same as a bear but had an extra joint. The digits though were large talons. This would hamper delicate touch and even their ability to manipulate the world around them. Mom gave me the information that they were able to retract the claws but they were an edge because of my appearance. When I finished integrating the audio device into my mind I worked on casting my image to the screen. Mom assisted me in this allowing me to do more of the thinking needed to communicate. "Hello," I said through the link. I had to do this four more times until it was loud enough for the males to hear me. Mom did the translating and I found that their language was very concise. Some males only turned their head for a second as they continued to monitor their sensors. I imagine they had one of their claws over a manual switch so they could try to fry me if I started to be impolite in their store of data. One male moved an arm and the claws very slowly retracted. I had to adjust my own audio pickup, but soon I heard two sets of voices. One was in the language the Hossin used while the other was Mom's on the fly translation. We exchanged names. I gave mine simply given as Henry while the others were not translatable. I arbitrarily gave the name Joe to the Captain. Mom would translate and use his real moniker when I would use that name. As in the animal world where size mattered, Joe was the largest member present and thus had the highest rank. We talked for quite a while discussing his race's objectives. This was simply to find some suitable water worlds with the correct mineral content and settle them. They did not breed fast and a few worlds would last them for a long time. It was necessary during their mating for all three genders to leave their aquatic environment and migrate to the land. Before the children were born the return trip had to be made. Part of our conversation made me think of the Samutz, for the Hossin required an enemy to fight and to cull their young of the weak and mentally inept. The Spartans were pussycats compared to these guys. Because of the similarity to our enemy, I had to find out more about how they could fit into a stable society. The Samutz as they now stood could never be allowed to have dealings with anybody else. While assessing the danger presented by the Hossin, I talked about our own empire and what we had accomplished so far. Our new ships and computer AIs were explained along with our 'telephone' system. They were greatly intrigued with all three devices and wanted to learn more. Mom sent data to the screen. It showed me holding a crystal and rearranging the atoms and molecules to make it pure. Then it showed me using a similar process to form the crystalline structure that improved the response. Numerical data was tabulated on the side, showing the changes and their performance impact. Next, they were shown me working on a computer by pushing new substrate equally into all five dimensions. Finally, a series of pictures showed me going to the 'back of the computer' and hooking up this unit to the rest of the computers without me actually going into the maze. As potential allies, we had to give them this information. We told them that additional information would be freely given if they joined in our cause. Captain Joe leaned more about Human and Tandra so that he could see how we complemented each other. The Hossin were already familiar with telepathy but had decided not to alter their minds to gain this ability. Joe asked me, "Are the Humans and Tandra able to interbreed?" "Yes we can. There is great hope for the hybrid race. Humans are crude and violent. The Tandra are too civilized and much too complacent. The new race is in its infancy," I said as a pun. "How do you breed?" This took only a second to understand. Apparently the Hossin were very erotically minded and could not wait for their next mating. Mom again came to my rescue and showed me making love to my family. I think Mom was being far too graphic for much too long for she spent and inordinately long time displaying my activities in detail. When the clip ended a few verbal orders were given to the Hossin computer and it showed different Hossin on dry land. The area was untamed and the Hossin were completely dry. I got the feeling from Mom that the Hossin needed to become re-acclimatized to the land environment before any serious activity could be done. The large and very formidable gender of Hossin got on all fours. Two of the other types entered and spotted the figure in this position. As they walked closer it was easy to see that they were becoming very aroused. Each had a large penis that started to protrude as they moved. When they go to the stationary figure they had members that would do any stallion proud. The one at the head had the largest phallus. It petted the recumbent figure and got it to open its mouth. The foreplay seemed to be important. The metre long phallus was slowly fed into the mouth with little regard to the monstrous amount of sharp teeth lining the opening. The diameter was fully thirty centimetres and tapered to the end. This large member was pushed in and out as Humans did. At the other end, another figure thrust a slightly smaller member in and out at the same time. This smaller Hossin with the large member was actually the female. When the time came, they both ejaculated into the recipient. Sperm went in the mouth while an egg was expelled in a large quantity of fluid. Eventually the two cells would meet and the single egg would attach itself to the reproductive organs of the combiner. There it would grow for a month or so. The Hossin would eventually head back in their aqueous environment. The small immature Hossin would leave its comfortable home and use its arms to swim around the combiner's body into a pouch. This marsupial would then find a nipple and gain nourishment or die. Seven months later the little Joey would emerge to find other food and then go back into the pouch much like an infant kangaroo. I swivelled the cameras and saw that all the Hossin were aroused. I think Captain Joe tried to control himself, but his clothing bulged with the large phallus as it engorged with blood and reached almost to the floor. The rest were no different and I had to assume that some were the females. The only thing different was the proportion of their body devoted to this particular reproductive organ. It was getting embarrassing. I felt for the Hossin and I said, "I would like to continue this conversation in an hour. Might we begin our dialogue then?" After a quick reply, I pulled myself back and abandoned the Hossin computer. Back on Fluchie, I saw that Captain Radi was quite amazed with the Hossin's organs. She was not aroused just amazed at its size. I talked with my council of AI intelligences. Mom was the most predominant and asked, "What are you orders Henry?" I searched our data on the Hossin, found the size of their population, and saw how fast it would grow. The Hossin did not mind being close together. "What area has some suitable planets that they could colonize? If possible, it would be good to have them clustered fairly close together." The answer took a second then an area of eighty-three systems were shown. Six were suitable for the Hossin immediately. Some were on the extremes of temperature. Seven more had features that the Hossin did not like but would be able to adapt to or do the equivalent of terraforming. Three other planets were habitable by other races and I was determined to let the Hossin see what we were like with different species. It was a good thing that none of the planets were presently inhabited with sentient species. I talked with the family for a moment to get their reaction. None were upset by the Hossin but I could see that the girls had been doing a bit of talking amongst themselves about the three genders of Hossin. I got the distinct idea that they would like to see the mating. I hid my thoughts but wondered if they would get stirred up if they were to see a stallion mounting a mare. The Hossin fleet was at a safe distance and they were also in constant communication with the ship that we had contacted. When the time came to resume communications I sent a message then was invited back. Joe now had calmed down but one of their number was still standing with a digit over a button. The conversation went into greater detail about the various races of the satellite galaxy next to ours. The items I wanted covered involved the level of technology and how aggressive each race was. Some I was happy to find were not growing very much but were well able to fight off beings encroaching on their area. The weapons that were used against the Hossin were listed and the effects they had on Hossin warships. I found the armaments to be very much more powerful than what I was making now. In fact the Hossin had left because they had been the weakest race and found they were pushed from area to area. We stayed where we were for another day trading more and more information. Some was more valuable than others. Their weapons had been deduced as well as their defences. The race itself was not suited to working as part of an integrated unit but could provide some ships to work with ours in policing various areas. Their small population though would not allow a high number of vessels. I offered them a planet that they would consider prime. It had a Tandra world as a neighbour which would allow us to keep in touch. They looked at my proposal. Suitable planets were not that uncommon but this way their small numbers would now be able to fit into a community that would give them some protection. They were not used to this idea and it had to be explained very well. They knew about cooperation but always it had been within their own race. The cost to them of one crewed ship to join our military and their compliance with Alliance laws was debated. The Hossin did not mix with others very well and didn't like all the rules but I explained that if they stayed by themselves then the laws would not come into effect for them. Their dealings with others while they travelled would have to change. Their unprovoked attack on the Fluchie was an example of what laws in the alliance were good for. They had lost a major ship in the altercation and could loose more without them following the rules. Tandra xeno-politicians had long since worked out what was important in a race. When the information about the Hossin was analysed in this light it looked like they just be innocuous. Three days later Albert showed up. The negotiations had been going on the entire time. Jason, another of the relative class had been fabricated in the meantime. Jason was given the job of escorting the majority of the Hossin to the planet I gave them, while Albert took the remainder back to their present planet. We already knew that it was in harms way from the approaching Fassoot. The Fassoot though would now need a visit or I would find them on my doorstep one day and I would not be prepared. ------- Chapter 88 Back on the Lazarus station we worked on the logistics of transporting the remainder of the children to Earth. I didn't want to abandon the station; it had already shown its worth by warning me of the Hossin and the Fassoot. It could take on the duties of a forward military base to inform me of further incursions. The base would need a better defence; our shield would not be adequate even if brought up to what the Hossin had. I spent most of my time altering missiles so that they could penetrate a Hossin warship and hopefully a Fassoot one as well. The energy lance made a good tool that was superior to our weapons. The lance also showed me that there was much more to learn from the crystals. Various races had studied them for, what I guessed to be ten million years and still didn't know everything about them. The family of AIs worked on some of the theory behind what we had found and I did the experimentation. Crystals were shipped to me and I made some that were two metres across from smaller sections. Even in the maze though the mental energy to fuse and purify them was proportional to their mass. Horus and Isis were on their way and I used the maze to do the portions of the experiments that needed to be done in five dimensional space. This proved difficult because of our speed and the great length of clear open space needed for the experiment. Gamma radiation was very intense, but would not be a problem with our shielding. The shielding had to be used on the receiving crystal or it too would be subtly damaged. To make use of the volume of space in the ship, I restricted myself to very small crystals and experimented to see what I could get them to do. I soon found that I could subtly manipulate the crystals to give a wide range of characteristics, proportion of with size, shape and internal structure. Many postulates had been recorded and some had been proven to the satisfaction of the scientists of the day. The list of proven laws was accordingly long but the list of things they had observed but not adequately understood was many times longer. The two ships carrying data from the old empire had been meticulously searched. We did find the information about all the stellar systems that could produce the crystals. There was more information there on crystal properties but this was all without any understanding of their internal workings. There was no record of anyone that could do what I did with my mind and this, in a way, rendered all the other researchers blind. Soon enough I had to abandon the tests because we had arrived at the Tandra matter transmitter. Horus had sealed the ends of the ship and just tried to make as much room as possible for the passengers. This would not be too much of a problem because all of them would be in stasis. Mom, Terra's Pride and her escorts were two days behind. In the meantime, the station personnel began fabrication of areas to adequately house the children. They had just finished when the remainder of our ships arrived. Terra's Pride had already started the same procedures while in route. Captain Shingle felt very solemn when he set foot on the station. All his education had pointed to this area of space and he felt very humble to be there. The remainder of the ship's personnel felt just about the same way. The Tandra that had actually been in stasis on the station for the last two and a half million years were similar to humans and just felt homesick. Amney never asked to see me and I let her be. It sometimes took a long time to grow up. Paul told me that she still had a long way to go before becoming a crew member never mind an officer. There were only twelve thousand Tandra left when the loading of children was finished. The majority of the children had gone into Horus. He was a very fast ship, surpassed in speed only by the relative class or Mom in her tug. The station itself was stocked with the best of our technology in weapons. Two of the cruisers would remain and be joined with some of the many ships last taken from the Samutz. Mom had only some Human or Tandra attributes. She longed to travel but the area of her home world did not excite her as much as I thought it would. She did go through the large number of message pods and recorded both their messages and their point of departure. Many had already been collected but Mom continued processing the remainder. Eventually she found three sent from Sofas III centuries after the collapse. I had to change my mind a bit when she took one into her hold. It appeared she did have some feeling of nostalgia. We sent patrols out but found no ships other than the Tandra hulls crewed by the dead. We reshuffled some crews when the time came to leave. More of the original Tandra crew on the station, were transferred to the ships going back to Earth. Their training and knowledge was in very short supply. Humans now would partly crew the station that was on the far side of the galaxy from our home. Here their education would not be forgotten for the remainder of the original Tandra would begin teaching them immediately. Mom and I ventured forth one more time to see what we could discover about the Fassoot or any other race that could give us trouble. ------- Matthew sighed as he watched the video of the Emperor leaving the Tandra station. He, like all the rest, had analysed the Hossin and tried to determine the capabilities of the Fassoot. "If only I could be there with Henry," he thought. Matthew was presently sitting in the captain's chair aboard the 'Gorrsenz'. The name had come from a T'aut term for 'Spirit'. It was not exact, but as close as a Tandra or a Human could come to the T'aut language. The 93 metre ship was complete after getting the crystal the Emperor had personally prepared. It had glowed brighter than any crystal anybody had ever seen or at least that was what the records stated. The ship had really come alive when it had been given to the computer for placement. Marcus had gone through the ship's systems and said it was safe enough to test. Jerome and Jeremy were both upset because they had to stay within thirty light minutes of home base. Compared to what they had been doing, 5.4 billion kilometres was nothing and they felt cheated in a way. Even Pluto was further out but they would get a chance to see it because they were half way already. Everybody was at their stations monitoring the instruments. The entire school had seen the thirteen ships leave for the first time. Some crews had to wait but others had to scramble to make it in time. Matthew was a little angry with himself for being the last ship certified for the trip. He had checked every fact so many times that he was beginning to miss things. The ship itself was slightly different from the other designs as he had made it stronger and safer. The other ships were standard designs with very few alterations. The crew had not really been angry but they certainly didn't like being last. They knew how much Matthew worried about each of them. The testing lasted 150 hours and in that time they could have made it to the Oort Cloud and back. They stopped at cometary bodies and practised setting sensors. They even found some pieces of wreckage from the last Samutz incursion and took some for souvenirs. Other natural debris was captured and was used to fabricate some of the sensors that had to be placed in the Oort ring. They only did this for practice as calibration required proper equipment found only in an established base. Everybody but the captain got the chance to leave the ship to gather material or simulate the placing of sensors. Matthew liked open space but knew that the rules had to be followed. Monique and Justine had sent their own congratulations a few hours after they left. Each said how proud they were of the two men. Matthew knew he was too young to deserve the term but knew that his duties more than adequately fit into the classification. Jonathan and Jerome were also congratulated at the ceremony by Mike Tuck and Moses Carver and then again part way through the tests. Their instructors had been very proud of them and they tried to fill the myriad expectations. Jerome was now piloting the ship back to the moon. They had drawn lots and he had won. Trixie had been the pilot when they first left. Everyone was now tired because they put so much effort into the simulations. Matthew was quite satisfied with the amount of hard work put out and he knew his team was very good. He knew that the other teams were a bit older and some had rejuvees that really pushed the performance levels. They were all like Tuck or Carver and it took a lot of effort to stay even with them. Their ship was the last one back but Matthew tried to think that their position was the result of all the additional work they had done. They would not find out until everyone was together at the academy. When their ship landed they wearily stood up but upon reaching the hatch they stood straight and hid their condition. Friends greeted them with jocularity and good humour as they walked down the ramp. The standings were listed after a short ceremony. Matthew was disappointed that they had only been sixth place. "Marcus, what did the other groups do to get higher ratings?" Matthew asked. "They simply worked harder Matthew. They may look fresh now but they are really very fatigued. You and your team did well and there is actually very little between the first and last place teams. In one case it was just the way their gear was stowed. I am very happy with all of your team and think that your team will make good if not great officers one day." The crew did smile at this. Jeremy said, "You heard Marcus. We only have to do a bit more and we can be in first place." Marcus replied, "I told you before Jeremy, this is not a race. It is simply an assessment of your abilities. If anything, you are comparing what you did against what you might have done." "I remember but it is still a race if the other teams want it that way." "That is true but only four other teams even think similarly." "Who are they?" Right after the discussions of the performance of the various ships, they all left for their quarters and just curled up and went to sleep. Five hours later they were awake and at another meeting with all the other teams. Marcus told everyone present, "You are cadets and this makes you very special. When you go to Earth you will be the representatives of the Academy. Have fun and mix with the general population. It is our hope that they see you as approachable and sympathetic to what they have to say. Remember at all times that there are many people that will do anything to gain even the smallest portion of our technology." Individual orders came to the teams and they hurried to the transporters. Once they reached one of the many large hangars they quickly took their seats while Matthew flew them out through the shield and on the very short trip to Earth. Matthew contacted the flight controller at Tampa International Airport, "Lunar flight 348 requesting landing clearance." Matthew could feel the human contingent of the crew smile when the reply arrived. The Tandra were only a little apprehensive while the two T'aut and the two Softay were much more keyed up. They knew that this was necessary to improve relations with the very backward Humans on the planet so they put up a good front. The landing was well planned and they settled down without even disturbing the dust in a parking lot close to the main entrance of the airport. The police immediately roped off the area. Film crews were present mainly for the local colour. The Gorrsenz had no sooner settled than a ramp extended and Jonathan boldly stepped out from behind the shield. Mayaz was only a step behind and took a few quick steps to his side. Jonathan smiled at the people around him then at the Tandra girl beside him. He reached for her hand and they walked down the ramp. Behind the pair came Jerome and Lyrra. The girl was not quite as brave but stayed close to her man. Inside the ship Matthew encouraged the two pair in front of the line and soon the Softay couple left. Mui and Dolk were not quite as quick as the preceding couples but tried to act very brave. The flashes of light bothered them much more than live rounds in their training. Trixie and her mate Maout went next. They took some solace in knowing that they were some of the very first T'aut to visit this planet. Jeremy had a big smile holding both Possa and Conda to him as he strutted down the ramp. Toosm and Matthew were the only ones left. The Tandra male was very unsure of himself. Matthew reached out to hold his hand and together they walked forward. Matthew saw that there were two television cameras and close to a dozen people from the press. The mayor and two men from city council were in attendance as well as what looked like the chief of police. On closer inspection he found that his assumptions were correct. There were close to two hundred visitors looking on. Some of the visitors had been acquaintances of the two native boys and were waving at them. One person Jerome and Jonathan didn't want to see was their father. He now stood with the mayor as if he belonged in the group. Matthew smiled as he was supposed to while listening to the hypocrisy that was buried only a short distance from the surface. They were all welcomed to the city especially Jerome and Jonathan. The two boys now looked like they were having problems because this was not as good as what they hoped it would be. After seven minutes Matthew took the microphone. He tried to not act the same way as the mayor but found it impossible. He introduced each of the crew members and described what each had contributed towards the construction of the Gorrsenz. 'Goosey' could have talked for herself but the small AI followed orders and remained silent. The reason for the construction of the ship was listed. Then a simplistic explanation of the sensor run was been given. There were questions from the reporters when this was done but the answers given coincided with the information already given out. The term 'Privileged information, only for Alliance personnel, ' was used quite a few times. Other crew members were also asked questions. Both the Softay and T'aut answered in Tandra because they did not know English well yet. As part of their studies they had learned different Earth languages instead. Jonathan gave a translation and asked, "Would you rather she spoke Chinese or German? We all studied other languages but it is not likely we will meet the people that speak them on Earth." Jonathan was asked what Earth languages he spoke and he replied, "Urdu, Swahili and Swedish because of my ancestry." He got a good chuckle when he smiled about this. Later, the elected officials were allowed to see the interior of the ship and soon the press was allowed the same privilege. Nothing small was left loose and Goosey watched everything very closely. Soon the general public was allowed in but only in small numbers at a time. Jonathan and Jerome this time managed to start talking with people they knew before. It took only seconds to see how shallow they were. Usually they wondered what they had ever seen in the children. Jonathan was that way too and he was even five years younger than some. Jonathan's father didn't make any speeches but came up to the crew and put his arms around his boys and found how much they had really grown in the short time they had been away. After some preliminary greetings the father asked, "Are you boys going to give up this foolishness soon and come back and help me?" The father rebuilt cars and sold them. The boys had helped to keep a roof over their heads, especially after their mother had died. Their father was stern when he was not drunk. He didn't usually follow his own rules about conduct and the boys naturally learned from that. Jerome said, "We fix spaceships now and we are working to save our race. I was happy to come back to Earth this time but I can't really see the use of it. The people are crazy here. I have many more ties with the friends I met on the moon. They are now my family." "I am your father Jerome." the man said angrily. "Yes you are. You worked hard to raise us but we are now more fully grown that almost anybody on this planet. We don't need the slaps or the harsh words. We also don't need the way you acted towards us when you thought us children. It is hard in a large city when there are so many bad influences but you didn't work very hard to keep us away from them." "Is that the type of respect you are going to give me now? I should take back my agreement to let you and your brother leave to fight with those aliens." "Father, you are getting the respect you taught us to give and also the respect you deserve. As for the agreement you will find it will be in force until we reach our majority. If Jonathan did have to come back he would have to go to his court appearance. At that time you would be brought in because you did very little to raise him correctly." The man got very angry and thought of striking his older son. Jerome just stood there without even using body language to show that he was ready. The blow never came and the man angrily turned and walked away. Jonathan said, "Thanks brother." In mindspeech he said, "He was put up to this but I don't think it was meant to succeed. It was more of a way to harass us." When the old group saw the man leave they turned. Jermaine, the tallest of the visiting group, asked, "Shoes, how'd you get to go to the academy anyway?" Jonathan could see the ridicule behind the words and answered, "The Emperor himself came to Earth one day and went looking for recruits. He found Jerome and by reading his mind. He saw that I was something special. Later when the recruits were being asked to join, we were both taken to the Academy." The young man laughed but stopped when he saw that the brothers were serious. He did continue with, "Tell me about these fine ladies." Jonathan continued, "They are our friends and part of our crew. A crew is much stronger than a family or even a gang. I know for a fact how they feel about us and they know how we feel about them. There is no lying and I would sooner cut my arm off than hurt Mayaz." Jermaine didn't know whether he was being put on or not. He thought about what the brothers were like now. The brothers seemed to feel very strongly about this, so it must be true at least for them. Renay had been one of Jerome's previous girlfriends. She had introduced Jonathan to sex. She asked the younger boy, "The TV is always saying you can read our deepest thoughts. Is that true Shoes?" Jonathan looked at the girl and read her uncertainty. "Mind reading takes a long time to get very good. Some people like the Emperor can do it very well, even better than our Tandra friends. Most of us can do some but it is a lifelong pursuit to learn that ability as well as all the other things we have to learn." Renay seemed to think that her mind was relatively safe unless she came up against a Tandra. She forgot that there were five of them in the group facing her. "Are you really going to live for centuries?" "Yes that is true Renay. We fulfil our commitment to the alliance and in four or five hundred years we get to set up a permanent home someplace in the galaxy. We get to settle down and start a family." "Five hundred years is a long time to work for the Tandra." "We are working for the Alliance. The Alliance is for every race there is if they want to accept the rules. Five hundred years is not a long time either. We are all slated to be officers and through the years we should work our way up to a carrier, a battleship or a dreadnaught like the one that Mom was showing on television. Some of us may be administrators on some planet. There is simply so much to learn that we are never going to get really bored." Renay was now worried and said, "I just can't see the boy I once knew as a captain of a battleship. They are just so powerful that you could do anything with them." "A captain leads the crew but there are many others working toward the same goals. Mind reading at that level is good. The captain becomes more like the voice of the crew that lets everybody know what needs to be done. There are many checks and balances in place or the Tandra empire would not have lasted for the millions of years it did. It would never have expanded to cover the majority of the galaxy." "Shoes, you really talk different now. You use big words and you sound much smarter." "When you learn so much more, your mind works better because it has so much more information to pick from. All of our crew are more intelligent after going through even the preliminary training. Some of the other crews we are going to be working with in this demonstration are very competent. We were making a game of it and we only came in sixth out of thirteen teams." Renay and the remainder of the crowd were still not fully at ease but felt much better since the crew had countered some of the propaganda spread by Earth authorities. The people left the ship when the time limit for the 'open house' was over. The reporters had a very difficult time believing that the present crew had made the ship from rock and debris on the moon's surface. The crew were not taken in by the incredulity shown. Everyone wanted to learn more about the specifics, but the crew just kept to their story. The crew, their old friends and a few reporters boarded a chartered bus when it came to the airport. The ship appeared no different as they left, but the crew knew with certainty that no one would make it past the shield covering the entire vessel. Busch Gardens was their destination because of the number of people that would be there. A half hour later they got off the bus at the entrance and a special doorway was opened just for them. They walked through followed by their friends, reporters, politicians and now park officials. They were given welcome to the park in a speech designed to look impromptu. None of the regular visitors waiting in the admissions line objected; they just stared at the crew and their now growing entourage. They were lead off to the various attractions. Jerome and Jonathan had been here many times but the rest found the park new. They went on many rides. Matthew sat with Possa and discovered that the girl and the rest of the crew found the roller coaster much more exciting when the people in the same group of cars were screaming. They were only subjected to a bit over two gravities at the most. They were used to eight gravities in most cases, close to double that during violent manoeuvres. Unaugmented humans would die very quickly in that situation. Matthew found it quite interesting that he, along with the rest of the crew, started to respond much more like the Human children around them. When they got off the ride, Lamont, one of their old friends, said, "That was fun but you guys didn't look like you enjoyed it much." Jerome with his arm still around Lyrra said, "It was fun to be on the ride with you guys but you need to understand that we have been in fighters and went on missions that would squash most of you. Those are not too much fun until later because you are so keyed up to stay alive even though it is safe. Think of all the mock battles we have in the asteroid belt. We have to kill the other team before they get us. Our small fighters had to make some manoeuvres that almost made us black out when our gravity was shut off for simulated battle damage." Lamont said, "Ya, if you look at it that way this is pretty tame." "It is tame but it is fun because we are with you guys." The crew stopped many times to sample all the food offered. The T'aut and Softay did not find the fare to their liking. The Tandra just avoided the food after one tried it. The reaction was shared and all of them knew what it now tasted like. Children of all ages and their parents usually watched open mouthed as the crew did what they were doing. The Tandra were saddened by what they could feel from the animals in the animal park. Their minds could not really be read well but the general feeling was depressing. During all this time the crew pointed to things of interest even if they were not so disposed. The idea was to act like children and be awed by what had been done on Earth. Usually this got a photograph or two. Lamont waited for his time and pulled Jerome away from the rest. His reasons were well known but Jerome had to go anyway. The old friend said, "You getting it on with that alien? She looks nice but she isn't human." At one time Jerome would have become very angry, but now he simply said, "She is more than just a girlfriend. It is kind of hard to explain in a way. I have grown up and see that she and I could spend our lives together. She is too young yet to start a family and I want to see a few more systems before settling down. The Tandra part company some times like a divorce but it is rare. I don't see that happening to us but we are not ready to just make the commitment. It can't really be explained unless you got the training and adopted the customs of the Alliance." "She is still not Human." "Lamont, we are half Tandra. Here on Earth people object to the mixing of visible minorities but that is not the way it is in the Empire. If we decide to have children they will be three quarters Tandra. I think they will be the best of the old Empire with enough of our planet to keep going strong." Jerome could see the bigotry in his old friend and knew it would not change overnight. He had to see how this new race would grow and give a place for everybody even if it was through their descendants. Jonathan looked at the human girls that once caused him some uncomfortable times with his pants and assessed his old feelings. Mayaz, at the moment was walking beside him, she was more than enough to compete in looks and charm and that didn't include the things only he knew. When the time came to leave the park the crew gave a speech to pay for what they had been given. The bus took them to Mario's Restaurant, the place where Jonathan had his first really good meal. They were met at the door one more time by the same maître d' and shown to some reserved seats. Jerome had invited his old friends to join them and all eleven now accepted. Mario himself came out and everyone was amazed when Jonathan spoke to him in Italian. The menu had already been sent for everybody except the Humans. They would order as they felt at the moment. There were too many constraints with spices and different tastes to make this a common occurrence. When the various orders came, Mario came out to ask, "Is everything to your satisfaction, ladies and gentlemen?" Jonathan replied, "We are more than satisfied. The food is delicious. Moses Carver and Mike Tuck wanted to ask you if you would set up a franchise on the moon." Mario was nonplussed for a moment then said, "I am afraid I would not only have difficulty with the delivery trucks but the commute time would be hell on my family life. I heard your leader, Mom, say that food is given away on the moon. It would be difficult to compete at those prices." Jonathan said, "They considered that too. Our food is perfect all the time but it is nice to get something unexpectedly good once in a while." When the time came to leave Jonathan left an envelope on the table with ten one thousand dollar bills. Mario was presented with a plastic sheet that could be mounted. It had very clear pictures of the crew that the restaurant now served. The location was the moon Io with Jupiter shown in the background. The crew thanked Mario and then the friends did too even though this method of doing so was odd to them. The bus took them all back to the airport where the reporters took more pictures. More speeches were given and then the crew boarded their ship after giving their goodbyes. When they finally took their seats Matthew said, "Goosey let's go home." The AI read more of the thoughts behind the order. The ship slowly rose to the vertical then accelerated at eighty seven gravities. There was no displaced air and from the ground it just looked like the ship disappeared. When the Gorrsenz settled down the crew worked to get the ship ready for its next mission. Sensors were loaded along with some control mechanisms for the weapons they would find protecting the Sofas system. The term Earth or Sol was still used but only for talking to planet bound Humans. With only a few hours to go Matthew came onboard and checked that everything was as it should be. He was very concerned with his alterations to the basic design. Stronger shields, inertial compensators, and even the basic structural members had been strengthened. The added weight had made the ship close to twelve percent stronger. In doing so it had also made the ship seven percent slower. This was always his problem even when he had demanded the improvements in the original design. If he was going to be captain then he had best make sure that the crew was as safe as possible. When everything was as it should be, they met in the sleeping quarters. While still on the lunar surface the captain said, "This is our last chance for a real rest and a time to make love." They all knew that later they would be too busy for this. Jeremy took Toosm to bed with him. The male Tandra was beautiful and Jeremy did not see making love to him as a chore. He was crew and as such was loved unconditionally. Their love though had a frantic quality to it and soon Jeremy was behind Toosm as he stroked very quickly into his bowels. Toosm had his first orgasm and Jeremy continued his thrusts. In half an hour Jeremy had his own and for some reason it felt much better than any he had before. He wanted to think Toosm but found the male Tandra sleeping as the emotions and sensations were once again too much for him. Jeremy cleaned himself then found Conda. She had been waiting patiently for someone to take her and in a way Jeremy was sad. She was beautiful too, not only outside but inside where it counted. Conda jumped to Jeremy and started kissing him right away. When she got to his cock she sucked it into her mouth like it was the last thing she would ever get. Jeremy too was this way and pulled the girl up to him and he slipped between her legs. The atmosphere from the other crew members was similar and Jeremy knew he had to do a very good job somehow. He looked into his lover's mind and saw it as clear as usual. He did dig deeper than was his wont. Conda was having problems too. She acted much more aggressively than usual and Jeremy replied in kind. Jeremy used part of his mind to find out what was happening. Conda had seen the females on Earth as competitors that might take the boys away and Jeremy in particular. He found a spectral Conda where he should not be and saw that she deeply wanted his child. He had never been this deep before and backed out thinking about what he saw. The thoughts of a child were considered before but now they took on new significance. He pictured his child like the one in the nursery that he always watched. Conda must have seen the image too for she held her man tight and thrust her pelvis to take the seed that he offered. Jeremy worked even harder now that Conda was really getting excited and thrust harder thinking all the time that he wished that he could actually produce seed for this woman. The thought of millions of his gamete cells flooding her womb made him very excited. Conda saw this and when she felt that Jeremy was about to release she pushed hard to make a cell of her own leave to meet the invaders half way. She was very wild doing this and this in turn made Jeremy even more aggressive and when the time came he pushed for his own release. Again he felt much better for it and the sensation was much stronger than it had ever been. Conda thrust hard to meet him and the orgasm was the strongest yet for her. She didn't think too much about this because she and Jeremy had collapsed. Matthew was doing something similar to Possa. He did monitor the rest and got Goosey to reduce the gravity under his brother and Conda so they would not be hurt even in the light lunar gravity. Once he knew they were safe he continued hammering away at an almost comatose Possa. The other couples acted the same way and most had to rest after. When Matthew got up he had to pull Possa's arms from him. He did bend down and kiss her before he straightened. Looking at what happened made him look at each of the other crew members. When he finished his investigation he found two things. Jerome and Lyrra had started it. The woman was now very able to get pregnant and her suppressed need now moved the rest of the crew. Jeremy was now at that stage where he was starting to make a watery discharge. This radically changed his outlook and need for sex. Conda had changed significantly too. She had moved far ahead in her development and would soon be the same as Lyrra in this ability. Matthew checked Possa and Mayaz and saw that they too were much closer than they were just a few months ago. The need for children though did not all seem to be instinct but there was nothing else he could attribute it to. The Softay couple of Mui and Dolk were a bit further along than Trixie and her mate Maout. They didn't usually engage in sex in the same room with the humans and the Tandra but they were here now. Matthew checked the computer and found that it did contain contraceptives for each of the races if it was necessary. In fact almost all knowledge that might possibly be of use had gone into their much more capable computer. He went around the room and moved his brother and Conda into a better position but they were starting to come around themselves. Toosm found himself alone one more time but Matthew bent over and kissed him showing that he was accepted. "You better get up Sweety. We are going to have to start soon." A half hour before they had to leave the base, Matthew was worried and asked Marcus, "I want another small fabrication unit and a dozen crystals for our computer." "They will disqualify you in the competition Matthew." "Marcus, we will make them on the way if we can." "That is permissible. Do you wish some raw material? You will not be penalised for it." "Yes, that is great Marcus. I just have this odd feeling and know I have to do something about it. That may be the reason I had to change the design of our ship so much." "I have looked too and others do not have this same apprehension." "It is just a foolish feeling Marcus." Trixie and Maout left right after and started making the sensors and other equipment necessary for the fabricator to work. They were able to get the most important parts done just before they had to get back to the ship. Three minutes later the ship levitated off the floor and slowly penetrated the shield. Their old instructors and many others wished their charges good luck in this effort. Replies left and the apprehension left the crew. It was now the time for this mission even if it was not going to be long. The number of sensors and weapons to check was all in the computer. Their area to cover was very close to where the Samutz incursion had last happened and need to be strengthened. When the time came they flew at maximum thrust while Trixie and Maout continued to work on the fabricator. Matthew was not sure it was needed now because the feeling had left. He wanted to tell them to just enjoy the trip but now they wanted to complete the unit. Trixie said, "We can work in the forward section by ourselves while we do this." Thirteen hours later they were one light year out and would be working their way through the one light year thickness of the Oort cloud. Along the way they sent out their identity code by transponder and plotted all the sensors they could find. They now worked like a well oiled team and took old sensor arrays into the ship and replaced them with the newer versions. These units would be salvaged if possible and used to replace other units as needed. The fabricators were all being used and the new unit was actually helping make the mission go faster. Matthew felt good about this and thanked Trixie and Maout for their wish to continue with its construction. The missiles themselves were altered with new shielding and guidance systems. Some were old major ship killers and were very much larger than what the Gorrsenz was. Others were smaller but there was little use for a missile smaller than a hundred and twenty three metres. The new missiles were much smaller at only two metres and could do the job of the larger ones if they got inside the enemy's shields. The largest missile was so powerful that it could do so from the outside of the shield. They were not exactly explosive but would form a field and fling part of an enemy hull into one or more of the five dimensions. The days progressed and the work was never-ending. They now had to work in shifts and Goosey's extra capacity came in handy to allow them to do their best. Making love was not frowned on but had to be put off because every minute counted. The day after day toil was starting to get at them but the 47 day limit was only nine days off. Matthew found the next target. Goosey used her machinery to transmit a signal to retrieve the missile from its hidden place in the other dimensions. It only took two and a half seconds for the silvery radiance to be seen and the translucent fog to solidify into the missile. Matthew was happy because it was easier to do a missile even if it was 730 metres long. The unit was scanned and then the information was compared with the computer in the unit. This repair would take almost eleven hours to complete. Matthew left with Jonathan, Trixie, Mui and Possa. They aimed their projectors at the hull of the missile and a fine molecular spray came out and covered the hull. Goosey, through her remotes, carried on as Jonathan and Trixie worked to enter the missile and work on the controls. The other three were working on replacing sensors on the hull. The rest of the crew were sleeping before their turn came. A large hatch finally appeared and after the usual delays, opened wide. Trixie used her instruments and then started removing components she had to repair in the work shop aboard Gorrsenz. Jonathan tossed the units out and Gossey's tractors caught each of them and dragged them back to the ship. When Trixie left, Jonathan entered and started on the major conduits leading to the shield units. His job had to be done in the missile itself for it was too large to work in the Gorrsenz. Tractors pushed equipment to Jonathan and he put them where they were needed and energized the units one after another. All of this had been automated but this was a test of the more manual method. Seven hours later Jonathan left for some sleep while Jerome took over the task. He actually had a better feel for this and it went quicker with him. In passing they exchanged information about this job and Jerome simply said, "Leave Mayaz alone. She needs her sleep." "I will be the same as you and join the priesthood." The job progressed on schedule. Mui and Dolk put back the modules Trixie removed and calibrated them so they would work in the completed system. When the two were finished, they asked Jerome, "Would you like a bit of help? We have just finished our work." Jerome smiled in his mind and said, "Almost done. Probably three minutes tops." "Ok, we will go back and start repairing some of the other units." Mui and Dolk called Goosey and she pulled them back into the ship. The units went into storage and they immediately started on the one already on the workbench. The probes that were scattered in the immediate area had been recalled ten minutes previously and were now entering their receptacles for the next part of the trip. Matthew, Possa, Conda, and Trixie were almost due to be awakened for the next trip. It was barely one and a half light seconds away. The others were working or just starting their own rest periods. Jerome stretched his back and sent the machinery back except for one unit and his test gear. The energy conduit was tested by his unit then with the computer in the missile and everything looked good. He made a small hop and flew upward to the hatch almost fifty metres over his head. He used his small hand tractor to bring himself to a halt. Thoughts ran through his head about the quality of his work, not only on this repair, but on all the jobs so far. The entire area was covered in rock fragments drifting wherever the very weak gravitation forces or the weak solar winds pushed them. One small carbonaceous piece of rock about the size of a marble was travelling towards the missile. It came close to millions of other pieces of matter but miraculously missed them all. The small rock was travelling from outside the system at nearly twenty two percent the speed of light. The sensors on Gorrsenz did not detect it until it was only a thousand metres from the missile. The missile did not see it at all because of the cluttered environment. Jerome had his hand on the hatch thinking a bit about his future family and about getting this mission finished so he could have some fun. The missile did not have a strong shield up because it was in service mode. The open hatch precluded the shield from being fully expressed anyway. Goosey had just enough time to start the process of strengthening her own shields as she warned the missile. Procedures called for the inertial compensators to be put to full power to protect her crew. The missile was not new and had just started to run power through the freshly repaired conduits. The small rock flew unerringly toward the open hatch. There was nobody to know but it made a small hole in Jerome's suit and exited the other side without even slowing down. It continued through the opening as it bypassed all the thick armour. Inside the missile, it struck the centre of the energy conduits one after the other. Two hundred metres further on it struck against the wall around the computer. The energy here was now almost fully given up. The computer room was punctured and a small fragment struck the processor crystal. The energy conduits in the missile now shorted out some components that controlled the phase shifting apparatus designed to destroy a large enemy ship. In four nanoseconds the field developed and was twisted against three dimensional reality. This twisted all of the five known dimensions in a more-or-less random manner temporarily. The giant accumulators gave up all their energy in one small infinitesimal amount of time. The missile itself ruptured along its length. Jerome was not really concerned for the small marble's path had intersected with his head but didn't feel the effects yet. The shields and compensators on the Gorrsenz had not come up to full power. The time was so short that barely thirty percent power had been reached when the gigantic field had reached to take a bite of a battleship and found a small 93 metre ship instead. The angle of the ship meant that only the front ten metres and the back six were allowed to stay in the Oort cloud while the remainder was pushed high into the other two dimensions. Marcus was storing all the data from the exercise to be reviewed later. A small transmitter unit on the Gorrsenz was continuously making its update. The gigantic energy signature sent alarms off throughout the system. Marcus immediately brought system defences to maximum. It wasn't until a whole second later that he went over the information in that area concerning the three teams. In the last one he found the small rock streaking for the open hatch of the missile. From previous data he knew just where the Gorrsenz was in relation to the ship killer. Ships in the area were ordered to search but there was virtually no chance of finding a functioning ship. Six hours later the bow was spotted and an hour later the stern. Just about when the search was winding down the body of Jerome was found. The hydrostatic shock to his body was so great that it was basically turned to jelly. The remainder of the Gorrsenz was not found, not even any small portions of debris. During the many wars the Tandra knew that the pieces of ship struck with a missile like this were never seen again. ------- Chapter 89 Henry sat in the chair he had sat in so long ago. This was during the days prior to his first trip to the moon. He sat for days trying to force in every possible bit of knowledge so he could have some chance of success. He had learned a great deal and eventually pushed back the boundaries of knowledge but this only showed that there was much more to learn. The old tug was now travelling at 19,000 light years a day toward the area closest to the Canis Major dwarf galaxy. The Fassoot and possibly other races had crossed over or would one day soon. The beings in that small galaxy had such a long history of kill or be killed that every surviving race was very adapted to survival. The weakest one was the Hossin. They had elected to leave rather than die. The Hossin's simple weapons could easily defeat the Tandra if they had sufficient numbers or the inclination to do so. The Fassoot more than made up for the Hossin's lack of inclination, as did most of the other races. The Hossin said that every other race in that galaxy was even more warlike than the last. They had weapons that made theirs look almost ineffective in comparison unless they had a great numerical superiority. The weapons and their effects on other races shields were readily described. The range of the weapons the Hossin faced was fantastic even for just their energy beams. Missiles could be fired from any distance but they were not used. Something destroyed the Hossin ships that could not be detected and the enemy ship was not usually detected either. The speed of the various warships was so great that it was not fully documented. Guesstimates were around 26,000 light years per day for the lowest. The highest were fifty percent more. If missiles could be pushed that fast then it was no wonder that they could not be observed. After another hour of travel Henry asked, "Mom will you and Bennechi slow to a thousand lights. We are going too fast to even detect anything." "Yes, Captain." Henry liked the term better than Admiral. Emperor was much worse but 'Henry' was what was liked best. She only used that term on occasion though. Mom's apparition walked out from the long hallway followed by a beautiful child of six Earth years. She looked like a bit of Mom and a bit like me. The holograms were very well done because of the massive amounts of processing power at the hands of both intelligences. Ever since they came here, they insisted in taking these forms. The only reason I could think that this was done was to make me think I had family while I worked. This usually kept me from taking the worst of chances but I still did gamble. Bennechi sat in another chair, opened a child's book, and appeared to read it. She reminded me of my other children and I guess that was her intention. Mom just sat at a console and looked out as if her eyes would find what the sensors would not. I closed my eyes and searched with my mind like I had done before. Mom used the sensors but they had not really improved much in the last few million years. I was looking for indications of high-tech apparatus being used, but I had not found very many clues as to what I should look for specifically. We continued our travels, based on some vague feelings. When I got hungry Mom and Bennechi sat with me as I ate. They also ate, but I knew it was just a hologram. Another large screen showed me some of my family that had come to chat while I worked or relaxed. None of them would stay long for they knew it would distract me. I kept reminding myself that having one of my wives here would distract me even more. After the meal we stopped at a system with a still functional transponder. It turned out to be a Tandra base but it was empty. It looked like the defence system was still functioning. One of the overrides functioned. When we quizzed the computer we found that the Tandra had left and the automatic repair units had been told to continue their labours. The same thing could have been done in the Sofas system if energy had been available there. On a whim I entered the base in person and interfaced with the computer. The connections were brought very close to the long ribbon of computer substrate in the maze. Since I did not make the final connection I did not get the time penalty. This sort of process especially for an uninhabited base really slowed our progress. I had this nagging worry though to go slow and it wasn't just because of Mom and Bennechi's presence. We found more bases. One was empty and the next two were still in stasis with only a few awake and on duty. Both were in serious decline. A fourth base had a new race of beings using the Tandra equipment. Their shape reminded me of weasels. Their body was two metres long and from the co-opted computer I saw them run on four feet but stand and work on two. A search of the computer's memory showed that the Jann had just moved in with Tandra compliance before they abandoned the base. Their weasel body brought to mind a very quick and efficient fighter but I found that this was not true for the Jann. They were omnivorous and seemed to gain some joy out of working the soil as other races did. I left the race alone with just their computer now recognizing me. Many such races as this had been found but their numbers and abilities meant that they could not contribute much to the Alliance. This did not mean that they would be excluded. Everybody I thought could gain assistance from the Alliance. I tempered this with the knowledge that some like the Thonas would turn on their friends after gaining enough information. As we started to leave the high concentration of stars in the central hub of the galaxy I felt more and more apprehensive. On a beautiful and uninhabited planet that looked ideal for colonization I began to build some probes. The search for invaders was important and to speed it up I needed assistance. Drones would work well but I wanted them to be intelligent. Their high risk job also meant that I was putting computer life at risk and this I didn't like either. From the material of the planet I fabricated some of the relative class but much smaller. I could ride in one but it would be cramped. The Hossin shield went into the construction but the ships had no weapons. The idea was to get as much speed as possible and use them mainly to expand on our ability to detect other traces before we were detected. One thing I did add was a flat crystalline plate. This would work like the transporters I had developed with Horus and have no power. It was my idea to use them as passive receivers that could work as transmitters if the need arose. The thought was that I could shift from the tug to any of these small ships to use my mental abilities. The transmitters would allow me to quickly move back to Mom if things got hot. This, of course, hinged on her being close enough and syncing her own receiver to the one I wanted to use. The ships were made with Mom's fabricators and took slightly more than two and a half hours. This gave me time to have crystals shipped from Epsilon Eridani to be processed and incorporated into the hull. Computer substrate was shipped to me ready-made and I just had to place it in the correct position in each of the available dimensions. The large crystal transport helped considerably with its passive effects for the actual computer was not able to assist itself yet. In three and a half days twenty five of the very small ships were built. One was different and remained on this planet to begin building a small base similar to that on Earth. This time it would be assisted by the other intelligences until it was able to complete more fabricators. We left at the centre of a sensory globe sixteen light-years across. The twenty-four small ships manoeuvred constantly within the globe at a speed of slightly over 12,000 light-years per day. This allowed them to thoroughly search everything within our volume of space as we continued our slow, cautious advance. We found more Tandra bases but a great many had been completely destroyed in a manner that suggested a different enemy than we had yet seen. The destruction had occurred roughly a million years in the past. As the stars thinned out we were able to increase our speed. The family did not feel what I did and were basically happy with what they were being shown. Usually the functional Tandra bases were incorporated into the empire and I would have to leave it up to the computer intelligences to inform them of that fact. In a way this was like a vacation except for the never-ending search we were doing. Mom even had time to make a few more hulls in her hold and I took a break to install the computers and crystals. The crystals were the most difficult part for I had to take a rough blank made up of many small crystals and merge the boundaries between them so they formed one seamless whole. The crystal then had to be made homogeneous and just the right amount of dopants had to be carefully placed within it. Only three ships were done but they joined three others at our rear to protect us from attack in that quarter. Twenty-three days after starting this quest I suddenly woke up with a nightmare still running through my brain. We slowed further progress and the ships protecting us slowed too. When I was able to get my fear down I examined the nightmare. I saw a being like a praying mantis with long clutching arms and mandibles that worked horizontally. Their upper body was larger in proportion and the corresponding abdomen was smaller than the insect on Earth. They wanted to descend on a planet and feed until it was cleaned of animal life. The feelings I had about their numbers made me wonder for it was in the billions and all in one large ship. I could not get the comparative size here but I felt 'large' to be as good as I could get. The Hossin knowledge told me that there were actually three races like this that inhabited their galaxy. I turned my head and got a heading almost eleven degrees off our course. I felt the distance to be hours away but not many. Mom analysed my mental images but she had nothing to add. The fear had not lessened very much. This was a good indication that I might not be able to handle this situation. We changed course and this time at right angles to where we had been headed. Our speed had gone up to what the small ships could match and after an hour I took a new bearing. The fear was less. It was also possible to get a probable location. We changed our course again and I wanted to come at these praying mantis type creatures from the rear if possible. This meant that I had to have a feel for their direction of travel. We left at a speed where we could gather up the ships within an hour. After that we made a dogleg course at our best speed possible. It took twelve hours to get onto this predator's course. An hour and a half later the small ships were released and they spread out in a cone formation. We followed where I thought the ship would be going. I was very cautious and it took over five hours before we could detect a ship far ahead. It was large but felt small compared to the image in my nightmare. Moments later we found it to be a dreadnaught. This gave me pause for the dreadnaught was the largest ship we had found so far. Our drone ships spread out more and closed the distance. At seven light years they had not yet been detected or possibly the beings had not thought us worth the effort. What I did fear happened. Far ahead of the dreadnaught and running a parallel course were three more similar dreadnaughts. Their speed was only 500 lights. this worried me for they should go at 1,000 if constructed like the Tandra ships. One of our ships left our group and sped far ahead to reconnoitre. In twelve minutes I found the reason for the slow speed. This was a convoy with a colony ship protected in the centre of a group of escorts. None of the escorts were smaller than a dreadnaught. The colony ship was the biggest construction I had ever seen. The length looked to be 1,100 kilometres and had a large bulge in the centre that had a diameter of 900 kilometres. I could not even hazard a guess of what the weight would be but the gravity field gave rough readings of a planet larger than Mars. The drone changed course all the time and it was good that it did for beams of destruction now came from many different ships. Some of the ships were so far ahead of the drone that they were not detectable. I had no recourse now and slowed our own advance and sent the drone scurrying away to safety. The fire was becoming more accurate and I drove the ship through a star at a slow speed. Fire hit the star now but after fifty bolts it stopped. The star itself was now very unstable but the drone stayed hidden. The fire and accuracy told me that the mantis ships had exceptional sensors and firepower. The casual way they treated the drone also told me that they didn't consider it much of a threat. A small ship did appear, probably from one of the dreadnaughts accompanying the colony ship. The procession had never even slowed and the only real notice other than the shooting was the presence of this destroyer. I had the drone play hide 'n seek in the star. We found out a considerable amount about the sensors used against us. This game was kept up for three hours and I was afraid that the destroyer would just leave and rejoin the mass movement of ships. Mom moved closer to this confrontation but the drones moved closer still. "Mom, I plan on seeing what I can about that ship. If I can sneak as close as possible I can reach out and give it a good shaking. I may be able to keep it occupied enough to find something out. I want you to come in while I am shaking it and take me back in. The shaking can then be continued as I drive the ship away from its fleet." "Henry that is too dangerous. You can't get close enough without it detecting you. The sensors are many times better than ours. We don't even know what speed those ships are capable of. The power used on the colony ship is much more than Bennechi and I use at our maximum speed. I am sure that the dreadnaughts could put out much more than similar sized Tandra vessel because the energy signatures are so similar." I said, "Actually the sneaking up was not what I was going to do. I would rather it was going to come to me. I can hide in the next system and the drone flees the star it is in for the next. If this ship follows then I can grab it as it passes. We can assess its acceleration and speed at this time." "Henry that ship is over eight hundred metres long. It appears to have a mass much greater than a cruiser though. Even if it failed to notice you, your ability to push it may not be enough to stay in the lead." "We have to try something. That fleet is so strong that I doubt if anything could stop or even hinder it. One day it will come on our empire and I will have to watch entire planets perish. You read the information the Hossin gathered. This is much too important." Mom called in reinforcements and now my wives started to argue with me. This was a risky venture, I admitted, but it had to be done now to understand what we were facing. I gave my orders anyway and approached the target star from its shadow. I was happy to find that this was a dead system. I took one small drone and hid in a ring of loose rock orbiting a gas giant. The drone in the other system was luring the ship away then made a run for it in this direction using the star to shield it. When the ship accelerated in pursuit, I was amazed at the power it had for its size. Soon it was beginning to gain because we could not expect it to follow if we left it in the dust. It had a lot of mass but soon it would be able to almost match what the drone was currently putting out. When the ship was close I put a tube on it then two more. I used no chokes this time and the ship was flung back and forth very energetically. My small ship accelerated out of the system while the swings continued. We were now making as much headway as the ship had shown when it had pursued the drone. I tried to be much more though for if I slackened off we might find out nothing. My mind was entirely on the ships movements and the most effort was used to drive us further away from the fleet. With the Thonas I was able to try to interface with their computer at the same time but now it was important to concentrate on gaining as much distance as possible. Moving a destroyer like this while shaking it was not that hard but the thrust and ultimately the speed I needed was. The only good thing, other than capturing the tiger was that we had not been shot at either. We were going at roughly 3,300 lights and Mom came to us. I was picked up and even in the hold I continued to shake the mantis ship. Our speed now increased because I didn't need to propel my own ship. We fled the mantis fleet, taking an entire day to work especially hard at putting some distance between us. I was very tired from all the shaking. I tried to cut their hull like I had with the Hossin and found it even tougher. We studied this thoroughly for we could learn a considerable amount about the material and the shield. An hour in one spot was enough to make one hole through a thin section. Three such holes allowed us to break off a portion so it could be examined. Mom used her tractors to drag it into our hold. There was enough time in mid swing to try to find out want I could about the inhabitants and their computer. It was a foregone conclusion that we were being followed by some of the dreadnaughts and we had to hurry. I kept some mental fingers ready to stabilise the structure in my mind but as yet there was no attempt to attack me in this manner. The computer would give me the most data and I worked to get inside. There seemed to be very good defences in my path. This told me that they had been attacked using this method before. I thought momentarily that our entire fleet had no such protection in place. We were all vulnerable to this kind of attack. Our population of AIs worked with me to try to break into the computer. Some choices didn't seem right and I avoided those areas when I remembered all the traps the Hossin had. We started to get data from some portions but this was all suspect for if races did rape a computer, disinformation would be what they want spread. The attack on the computer continued as I shook the ship with an intensity that I hoped would incapacitate the beings onboard. I did not believe that I had killed them because I could feel anger but no clear thoughts. Fourteen hours later we gained access through the sensor circuits. In the process we found that their computer construction was quite different from the Tandra variety. All the data had to funnel through me and then it was sent off to others to process. It was just too much work to do so now. More of the ship had been pruned and we worked to get a larger sampling of their suite of sensors. The ones in our hold now were very different than we had ever seen before. I thought in passing, that some of them must delve into the other two dimensions. Perhaps later I would use my own eyes to look at a working ship through a transparent construct. The bits of information on the computer would take weeks to straighten out. What I did find was that they called themselves the Misto. The Hossin had told us about this race. They were not the highest in technological matters, but they were some of the most voracious. The Hossin had very little information on them but it did dovetail with my nightmare. They would not only eat all animal life but would then eat their young between worlds. Again I worried why this was the case when a fabricator could be used to make any food imaginable. I did not worry now about this ship for I found that they had snacked over the years on Tandra colonies after they worked to throw off the ineffectual defences. The Misto ship was now shaken with a vengeance and I could feel a lessening of hate but still no fear. The energy from the higher dimensions was now opened wide and with the shaking I felt that we were getting some place. Holes were made through the ship and then continued until it hit the far wall. Energy was stabbed in at an angle through the wall and punctured bulkheads that were not designed to handle even a portion of what I was handing out. The only place that was spared was the computer and that was in the centre of the ship. When the hate seemed to fall to zero I rested a bit and kept the shaking only to what I had done before. The shield generators had been hit and put out of commission making the rest of the job easier. Weapon emplacements had been hit in one area of the Misto ship. The area in the centre was then punctured many times. When the ship was stopped, Mom got in very close. This was the first rest I had in over a day. Mom's tractors reached out and pried and twisted the punctured material to make a large hole. There was no response from the ship as yet but I waited now to counter any reply. Small combat drones now went out and entered the ship. Once a beachhead was made, construction units went in along with other drones to gather information. Mom's new shield was temporal in nature and once the outer hull was breached she sank into the ship. I did not get out of my chair even though I wanted to get into a battle suit and see things for myself. The drones did finally find the Misto and saw how they fit the dimensions of their ship very well for they were four metres tall and must have massed at least half a tonne. They wore a natural armour covering their bodies and a few samples were taken. A place for storing eggs was found and some of the drones made an effort to take a few dozen without killing them. Very few were alive in any case for they could not take the acceleration I put them under. The drones soon made it to the computer room and worked their way in. The automatic defences were still active and none of them survived. I worked harder on the computer trying to find a way to capture it. Many more hours passed and then some probes were eventually allowed in. They in turn took out all the weapons. The effort continued outside the computer till there was no free or living Misto on the ship. Mom and I used the energy I controlled to cut the ship up into smaller pieces. Soon the computer was severed from the mass. Weapons, engines, and many other features were examined. We found that a disproportionate amount of the weight was in the computer but I could not see why. One day I was sure we would have to face these same weapons when we could not protect ourselves from them. The recently awoken Tandra colonies would not stand a chance. The course the colony ship was taking would bring them to those worlds in just twelve more days. We took samples of everything we thought we could use along with some that I thought were useless. We changed course and soon dropped the ship and all it contained into the fiery heart of a large star. I was hoping to hide our tracks and any pursuer would continue on thinking we had not stopped. Many things about the ship and Misto were explained but the majority of the information was still locked up in the computer. Soon Mom was able to interface directly with enough safeguards to make us all happy. This required that the computer open its hatch. The information now came many times quicker this way. It still took hours to get all the information the ship had to offer. The interface and the differences in hardware were the bottle-necks. I had one more job to do when all this was completed. The total amount of data was many times less than what a Tandra computer would have and most of the information was common knowledge to the Misto. We found very little sensitive information or information on how the majority of their technology functioned. "You can't Henry. There is no reason to anyway. We have all of the information from the computer." "I want a backdoor and this will be the only way to get it. There's no way I will be able to do this again because of all the data the Misto have sent back. I am surprised they did not just rig the ship and computer to self-destruct when it was found that it could not escape." "That is what I am talking about. The computer can still self-destruct. We have no readings on what is in the crystal that is controlling the computer. I got all the data but much is not even in the computer." "Mom I am going in. If you think it is still going to explode search for power storage units and put switching gear on them that you personally control." I did go across the short distance to the computer with only an environmental suit. It was much easier to see this way. With my special eye I was able to see that the computer went much more fully into the five dimensions than anyone other than ours did. The arrangement inside was different too and I made special note about the matter transmitter. Mom's worked in this environment but none so far worked in the maze beyond. The wall though to the maze was a different matter. Even when I twisted more than my sight and body into the remaining two dimensions I could not get through this barrier. This was another secret that would have to be shared. The only reason that this obstruction would be here was because other races must be able to do as I do and walk the maze. This was seen as a way of attack and the Misto had developed a way to prevent this from happening. I worked on the barrier with some help from Mom. I could not even think of what it could be. Nothing that I knew of could stand in my way. An idea popped into my head and I used a probe to convey the idea to Mom. Communications out of or into a computer were difficult. For some reason the maze had to be different. "I think this shield is composed of more than five dimensions. That is why I cannot breach it. The crystals in me are five dimensional constructs." Mom replied quickly through a small probe, "That is impossible there are only five dimensions. It may have something to do with the other two universes." I listened to her reply and it made sense but my supposition had just as much validity even if I had no scientific facts yet. The barrier was now my enemy and I concentrated very intently on it. I was now like an ordinary man trying to see into the fourth dimension in a way. I worked to twist differently than what I was doing before. I was just too tired now and went back to have a rest. "Mom, drag the computer with us. There is much more to learn from it. I am going to sleep." I slept much longer than usual and when I got up I found a good meal waiting for me. Mom, Bennechi and now Ingrid sat across from me in holographic form. I greeted each and listened to their grievances. They were still angry at what I had done. It was an act of war now and the Misto were not beings that you wanted to have pissed off at you. I smiled at each of my family and pointed out the course the colony ship was heading and then read the information gathered from the Misto computer. Ships had come earlier and just planned which way the conquest of this galaxy was going to take. The information showed that all the planets were very easy to conquer. There was no weapon that was able to give them a problem yet. "In weeks they will start on the colonies we found. If we evacuate they will be able to rundown the ships that leave. They will not only find our enemies but our allies and ones not even asked yet to join the Alliance." Ingrid said, "They are not coming our way now. I think we should just take our time and find out what we need. It will be many thousands of years before they reach us." "That is true but it means that we have to either evacuate bases very quickly or let the inhabitants die. If we do evacuate they will just send out more ships to find planets to feed off and go there instead. So far only I have been able to fight them. When I die there may be no other to carry on. We still have some elements of surprise on our side. If we fight them the way others have, we will just loose because they will learn to respond to our tactics." I ate my meal while they countered my argument but Mom had to admit at my urging that in all of Tandra's history, nobody had ever had my abilities. I was soon back at the shield in the computer room trying to come to a new understanding of its nature. A small possibility did come to me and I used small crystals to push into the wall. I tried to warp the wall and push as well as using very pure crystals but nothing happened beyond the crystals being crushed. The matter transmitter came to mind and I took it out of its position and placed the ring of crystals against the wall. Mom worked through the Misto computer to power it up. Another crystal was passed through and disappeared. The problem was that we did not know where it went. A small portable transmitter was sent through and it too disappeared but we were not able to find any of the signals it should be making. The distance the matter transmitter functioned at was very short, even compared to what the signals from the device could do. A stronger transmitter was sent through with the same results. This problem required a lot more thought. The first thing was to investigate this matter transmitter. When I could see no difference, one of ours was brought and the same thing happened. My experiments with Horus and Isis reminded me of a different way. I went back into Mom's computer and walked back to see Bennechi. There I made a very large crystal that required many hours to get the way I wanted. Instead of making a matched pair I simply cleaved it in two. It could act as either a transmitter or receiver depending on what was going to match up to it. The purity and the parallelism of the surfaces told me that it should do very well. The dimensions were two metres long by one wide. The thickness was a half metre. I was just hoping that a larger crystal would have more inherent power and thus be better able to penetrate the shield. When this was tested outside Mom's hull we found that as a transmitter, it functioned to a bit over four lights and was at the extreme end of its range. This was a record for an unpowered crystal. Back in the Misto computer we pushed the same kind of articles through again. There were no return signals. Drones had never worked in the maze but we sent one back with a matter transmitter crystal to see if it could return to us. After an hour it looked like this method would not work. The matter transmitter crystal twin I made was now turned sideways and I then pushed this through its mate. Nothing changed in the next hour so the drone would not have been able to line up this either. Another idea came to me and soon I was pushing a long ceramic bar into the transmitter and bringing it back. A limit was found for when more than three point seven metres was pushed through, any extra did not make it back. The rod did touch something closer and by tracing it out I found it to be the large crystal half I had recently pushed through. The rod was now employed to push it the remainder of the way. A new rod with a hook at the end worked to manoeuvre the crystal. I could not see the crystal but I worked by feel to align it with its mate. This could not quite work but soon I had Mom work with the tractors in the computer room to align our half instead. In less than a minute we had a match. One more drone was sent through with orders to attempt to not fully enter into the other realm. When it had been tried before it was found to not work. The drone came right back and reported that it detected the signal sources we sent but not the other drone. We sent more equipment partially through to find out what it was like on the other side. Another long ceramic pole went through the matter transmitter and it now its length came back no matter how much I pushed through it. This was the same as the maze I was familiar with. I noticed something else. The structure of the crystal minutely altered as the pole was extended. This property had been recorded millions of years ago but this time the change was different qualitatively. There was something here that may be a clue but I couldn't think of what it might be. The best thing to do would be to just sit and think on my problem. Since there was no gravity there was no problem with resting. I sat there for two hours before I had an epiphany and laughed at myself for not thinking simply enough. The shield had to be generated from within this large computer by something analogous to a crystal that covered at least one more dimension. The probes and I fanned out and searched the entire computer. Mom did not rely on the Misto computer because it may have been programmed to not see something. One small crystal among many others seemed different. I examined the circuit it was in very carefully. It seemed to be a very small processor chip that was controlling others of lesser importance. Further study showed that it was related to a small shield but the power consumption was very low. I studied this particular unit while the probes continued their search. Many hours later I was told that no other discrepancies had been found. When this particular circuit was analysed I simply reached out and pulled the odd crystal. Immediately I knew something was different. I kept the crystal and walked to the place I was working on the wall. It had changed in some manner. I used the eye with the odd crystal configuration and saw that it was now like the maze I was used to. I twisted the dimensions as I had many times before and found the same construction as the Tandra computers with one exception. On the floor was the now dormant probe, the transmitters and the crystal mate to the one a few metres away inside the computer. Some areas had a gray area and I knew that these would be the back doors to the other Misto computers. I could not get into these but I now knew that my crystalline transporter would do what was needed. I left the maze and the computer itself before asking Mom to store this very heavy construction. Though it was very massive it was not that large in three dimensional space. Mom put bracing and tractors on the computer and we accelerated as fast as we could. Our mass now had doubled so I had to push myself to get a respectable speed. We flew parallel and toward the Misto ships. I knew we had just a few hours to prepare. Another part of my mind concentrated on the odd crystal in my hand. Seven hours later we were at the last Tandra colony we had awoken. I was very happy to hear that none of the dreadnaughts had advanced this far yet. We advanced with just a few changes. Mom now sported some of the sensors taken from the Misto ship and we were able to see much further than ever before. The very centre of the sensor had a small fragment of crystal much like what I had in my hand. Roughly twelve light years from the Tandra colony we found the advancing fleet. A drone was launched and soon it came within range to start transmitting a message in the Misto language. Basically it told them to turn around and go back to the Canis Major galaxy. The dreadnaughts formed a closer shield around their mother ship and fired from that great distance. We exposed ourselves and flew away from their intended target. They gave immediate chase. In the hold of the tug I picked up the crystal half I had made and walked into the maze of the Misto computers. When the crystal was in place on the largest coloured area, I used my mind to push a one hundred gram mass of antimatter through the crystal. It was protected by a magnetic container and passed easily through the transmitter then into this Misto computer room. In seconds the large gray wall in front of me vanished to reveal the wall like any other part of the maze. This was done thirty seven more times to represent the number of major ships in this fleet. Only twenty grams were used in these ships. When this was done I continued seven hundred and twenty three times more with even smaller amounts of antimatter. These represented small cruiser and destroyer sized craft that would go where the dreadnaught would not go. This antimatter material was not our strongest energy source but just a simple way of using high tech material within the maze. When I looked there was no gray colouring in this area I took a look down the aisle. There I found many more of these groupings and I knew I had to take care of all of them once and for all. I went back out and Mom told me about all the ships now being derelicts. They were constructed so strongly that their hull was only breached; they for the most part did stay roughly together. After a rest I gathered more magnetic bottles and walked back into the maze. It took days and fourteen thousand eight hundred and forty three more charges to remove all of the gray areas. I was too tired to continue further back in the maze. I knew that the Misto would continue but not in our galaxy. The large gap let me know that this represented the space between our respective galaxies. On the way back through the Misto computer I reinstalled the odd crystal to ensure that this gateway would remain closed for a while longer. I slept fitfully for the most part realizing that I had saved an untold number of beings. The cost was the killing of almost as many others as I had of Samutz. My record as the all time greatest killer was in no danger of being surpassed. It just weighted on what I thought of as my soul. Waking up was bad. I had a headache that should never have happened since being improved and I felt as if I had not rested at all. Mom was very concerned and ran a whole battery of tests on me. There was nothing wrong but she attributed it to guilt. During the remainder of the day we flew back to the last Tandra outpost gathering parts from the Misto warships. Once there, I took many of the sensors we had salvaged and incorporated more of them into Mom's hull. I examined more of the devices we had found. Nothing we recovered looked to have been copied from Tandra technology. We found new avenues to pursue and the entire family of AIs worked to find out what they could. We had to ship many of the sensors through the maze for testing. The Misto engines were more efficient, as were most of the other devices. Communications and other amenities were less efficient as if they were not important to a war effort and development had been allowed to stagnate. Mom should have gotten a new hull plating with the new stronger materials, but this would have to wait until we could get to a suitable shipyard. The Misto hull plates and shields were many times stronger than our. There were fabricators on the planet and when it looked like the outpost would start to be productive again I had more hulls made for the small probes. After an exhausting day Ingrid's hologram came to me and she said, "Henry, we cannot be there but some others would like to show their love. Will you let them come?" It had been a long time since my last time with the ladies so I replied, "Are you going to be here to help them?" She smiled and said, "I would like that." The wives talked to Mom and soon there were some very beautiful local ladies wanting to come my way. Mom told me they had been coached. They must have since they had radically changed their views on how the empire was to be run. This was the easy part; it was the more fundamental family that they could not understand. I had a real shower and stepped out of our suite on the tug to find four Tandra women dressed in their birthday suits and standing very nervously. Their minds told me that they had been very well instructed but were still unsure of their welcome. "Hello ladies. My name is Henry." I was given their own names and I smiled at them to allay some of their fears. I walked to the large bedroom that I had used many times with my wives but that was quite a while ago. A gestured was made and I said, "Come this way please." Inside the room I found the holograms of all my wives waiting for the main event. When the Tandra girls entered they seemed to feel much better because of the conversations that have gone on previously. One girl was more adventurous than the rest and she came into my arms first. I kissed her tenderly but she thought I should lick her instead. In a few moments she didn't seem to mind the way I made contact. When I moved to her ears and neck she had her first orgasm. I just slowed down till it subsided. Soon I started again and this time I laid her on the cushions by my feet. My lips travelled further down her chest and I found one nipple to worry but the woman couldn't help it and orgasmed one more time. Her small breasts were interesting and I stayed there a few moments while I looked into her reactions. She was gone now on an emotional jag and I could have done anything to her with her permission. Mom's tractors were now used and I could work much easier on the gasping woman. If she had been able to vocalize I knew she would. Her mind did the same thing and she readied herself to drop an egg. This was not to say that she wanted the Emperor's child but just the male that was now pleasing her. More tractors were employed and her legs came up and to her chest as I kissed the inside of her thighs. I pulled back when I came to the juncture even though she implored me to continue. The orgasm was now nonstop as I finally sucked the long urethra into my mouth. She convulsed so much that she had to find respite in sleep. The other three were pleasing each other because they could not wait. The first woman was put in a comfortable position and I took the most convenient one of the other three. A kiss on the lips and then the neck was too much for her and she convulsed in my arms. When she too was levitated I feasted on her erogenous areas. Her mons was the last stroke and she fell into unconsciousness like her sister. My robe was now removed and disappeared into Mom's care. The other two were done the same way and with the same results. The first had come out of her stupor and was playing with her own long urethra and clits. When I laid her on her back she wanted to resist and instinctually do it the 'right' way. When my now lubricated cock slowly sank into her she found this way good too. As my cock sank slowly into her, her eyes grew in size. Her mind was questioning how all these sensations could be possible. I thought of my wives and then the other three. They responded as if I was now in them instead. The other Tandra I had met on this world were also pictured and I could feel them join me too. My strokes were very long and as slow as I could make them even though I wanted to speed up the process for my own enjoyment. When the woman in my grasp started to orgasm I denied this of her and in doing so all the rest. Her mind implored me to do just a bit more but I just brought her to the edge and did not let her go over. Ten more minutes of torture and I let the woman orgasm. At the same time I could feel all the others that had been part of our group do the same thing. Her muscles contracted rhythmically while her arms and legs tried to crush me. It was almost as if she were trying to get back at me for what I had put her through. I was now in need myself but decided to forego the pleasure for a while longer. The other three got a similar treatment similar but their wait was a bit less. Back at the first I slipped into her back passage very easily with a lot of lubricant. I could feel all the hard lumps in her colon and also the woman's reactions to my stroking her. She was just tortured for a few moments till I released her emotions and filled her with my seed. My head rang with the collective release of all the women that had joined us. I held the woman to me but my erection did not go down. Soon I was expelled. The next woman was pulled over and I found my way home one more time. This one had not even stopped her orgasm as I slipped into place. With the women almost senseless I pumped for my own enjoyment and came in a few minutes. This was repeated two more times before I felt close to what I should be. Mom had read my thought and even pre-empted me. Four more women came into the tug at a run and I just slipped into each of their colons. In an hour I was getting tired and my prostrate felt good for the workout. In any case I had to quit for the eight women were senseless on the floor. Mom and I cleaned them up and put them on some cushions to recover. The family was having their own fun with any members that happened to be close. When I was cleaned I just moved in with the sleeping ladies and I had my own rest. When I awoke four hours later the girls had not left and just stared at me as if I had two heads. I looked into their minds and luckily I did not see them staring at the Emperor but at a human man with a magical touch to him. I pulled the closest over and gave her a kiss as I manoeuvred her over to sit on me. I could hear the 'ohhh... ohhh' as she settled on my lubricated cock. "It is your turn to move. When you fall another will take your place." The girls had no trouble understanding but could not last even a minute. I could feel each of them in turn drop and egg on its futile mission for I was going to release into a different port. Each had their turn before the first wanted back on. This time she moved forward a bit more and slipped into her back passage. The women would orgasm six times usually before I would give them what they were after. The next woman was usually quite tired by the time she sat on me because she too had orgasmed with her sisters. To speed things up I used the tractors one more time and moved their entire bodies up and down before I filled them. When the eight were twitching in a pile all around me I felt better than I had in a month and wondered how the wives put up with me. Again I cleaned the girls and myself before eating a meal with them. There was very little mental talk for they just stared hungrily at me. The new day gave me hope and I dove back into work. This time I did something new. When a computer AI came alive, it became the same as one of my biological soldiers. I didn't want to waste them and I didn't want them to die. They were not simply computerized mechanisms anymore, but thinking beings. This time the computer and AI resided in a small alcove in the maze and only the substrate went into the ship for control. These had only minor inertial compensators and no room for anybody. This dramatically cut down on the mass of a ship. If the ship were destroyed, it would only mean the loss of a simple hull. I would just link up a new hull to the old computer and AI later. When this seemed to work I moved the computers of the other ships I had recently made. The sensors were very important and I tried my best to fabricate them. The copies did not function because we had no source of the special crystal and there was no reference to it in the Misto computer. I was able to take existing sensors apart and rebuild them in a different configuration but I was not as good as the original. Even my purified crystals did not help because they now seemed to be out of tune with the odd crystal in the middle. My mind and eye could still not encompass what the properties were. The Misto wrecks had to be tracked and any undamaged sensors salvaged. Because of the way the hull was built a great many could be found. The stores on each of these ships were also searched but very few of the crystals were recovered because they were not as protected as the hull. These ships would now become a valuable resource. Luckily we didn't run into any of the Misto themselves. A goodly number of bodies had to be collected so that they could be shown. A graphic, no matter how good was not the same as one of these tall and dangerous creatures right in front of you. The other Tandra system was co-opted and they too joined in this work. Now they could have good communication between their respective systems and the rest of the Alliance. When I took a break to eat I found that the original eight women wanted to come back. This is what usually happened and I just had to say that I was too busy. Within days I found that there was little to be gained on the planet that I could not do in transit. When I said my goodbyes the entire Tandra turned out to see me off. When I took a sampling of their thoughts I found that every one had taken part in our love making interlude. The soodas were just given some tips and they would be in great demand because they still possessed their penises. The AI was given instructions and when the males failed to get the right response, the new high tech dildos would come out. This should keep them happy for a long time to come. My objective had been to find other races with hostile intentions. This had not changed. Our own small fleet of seventy five ships made a very wide swath as we travelled. Now instead of sixteen miles in diameter we were doing thirty because of our increased number and the more sensitive sensors. Our progress shot up from 1,000 lights to 1,300. In three weeks we started to find less and less systems and a lower percentage of those were populated. There was nothing wrong with this area. It was just that it had been cleaned by beings interested in eating flesh or ones that did not like even a backward civilization to get ahead, or even survive. Another Tandra base was found but there were no Tandra here. No physical information was available as to who was behind the disappearance and I could not find any more information in the computer. The time was roughly a quarter million years ago. The computer crystals were gone but I worked on this base to get it working. This time the computer was placed in the maze. If someone wanted to plunder this computer again they would find very little new. This would give me a listening post in this area and a way to get here personally by way of the maze. A few more ships were made and these stayed here to act as sentries. They had their share of the new Misto sensors but I did not know how well this would help them survive if we had visitors from across the gulf. While I was making the new ships, our own spread out to find anything new. The mines and missiles protecting the system were going to be upgraded. I did not know how well they would fare against the beings sailing the gap between galaxies though. My senses had been used as a rough direction finder. They had not given me any new information and I had to use the old method of a methodical search. We returned on a parallel course. To do this right I needed millions of ships to search even this area and I didn't have time because I had to place the computer by myself within each computer. A vague feeling had me change course by a little over one degree. I was interested enough to push our speed up to 1,500 lights even if our escort ships could not keep up as well. I felt no immediate danger and spent my time making more ships, computers and crystals which I purified. The hulls were made of the remainder of the Misto material which could not be fabricated anyway. In two weeks I started to feel more and more uneasy. The one degree change had moved us four hundred light years off our planned course and I wondered what was before us. I was worried enough to think of Mom and Bennechi but I knew the latter would be safe because she had been built further back into the maze. Mom though was not that far back and Bennechi took over as Mom started to migrate with my help. Mom never bitched at this and figured it was something that she had to do because I foresaw some type of danger. On the sixteenth day after getting the first inkling of trouble we found indications of some powerful ships that had gone through this area recently. The area that felt hostile was in the direction the ships had gone. Three hundred and twenty lights further along we found a populated system or I should say formerly populated. The residents looked to be at the same technological level as Earth but everyone was now dead. Cities were struck with a weapon that turned everything to rubble. Even towns were hit with this device. In rural areas we searched with the sensors and found only bodies of people much like the Softay in appearance but larger. Domesticated animals and their wild brethren were the only ones not completely killed off. Mom did an extensive scan with the aid of more of our escorts and found the people had been vegetarian in diet. There were no weapons that we found or even a military. The civilization looked to be simply agrarian and the technology was up to jet aircraft and lighter than air vehicles. There was no sane reason to attack people like this. They had no satellites in orbit and no spacecraft of any kind. This wonton destruction made all of the people seeing this information very apprehensive. I left two of our escorts to continue searching the planet and left on the trail of whoever had done this. The escorts had been pulled in and we travelled much quicker. Two hours later the forward elements of our escorts found some ships approaching another habitable planet. My own fears turned to dread for I could hear in my mind Tandra dying. I was much too far to understand any particular individual but when thousands were dying their final thoughts screamed forth. "Full speed Mom." We raced in now flashing past our escorts. I found three battleships. They were wedge shaped with two horns on the leading edge. This sent a shiver down my back. This was the design that the Hossin and the Misto computer gave me for the Fassoot. These were the ones pursuing the Hossin for millennia. These were supposed to be near the top of the aggressive races. They had a very high level of technology and an insane desire to kill much like the Thonas. Like the Thonas they were able to use their minds in ways unimaginable to the other races. Some races had stood up to them but it had to be in overwhelming numbers to do so. I had not been noticed yet for some reason and reached out and with tubes from the higher universe propelled two ships sideways into each other with as much force as I could muster. It was just enough for one ship blew up taking the other one with it. Immediately I found our own ship being thrust from side to side as I had done to others so any times. My mind was attacked and I put my hands to my head as if that could block it out. Mom I knew tried to retreat but we were held solid. I was able to push just a bit with Bennechi's help but it was not enough. Our escort attacked with their hulls alone at their top speed but they just dissolved on the ship's shields. I tried to steady the crystalline construct in my mind but it did little to help. The next thing I knew the pain suddenly got much less in intensity. I searched out and found myself in Mom's computer room. The battle must be still going on. I felt the first of the energy discharges strike our hull. I now knew that we could not survive this encounter. With great regret I moved into the maze and found Mom and Bennechi. They were safe for now. "Mom, we cannot get out of this. The best we can do is ram your hull into their ship before they realize what we are trying to do." "Move further back into the maze, Henry. I am getting ready now." I went into the maze and waited. Some complex information flew by me that I didn't understand but felt as if it was important. I ran back to find Mom and Bennechi much as I left them but the line marking where they joined the tug was now cleanly severed. "Mom, Bennechi, are you alright?" I felt soothing thoughts trying to comfort me. My mind still hurt and now it hurt even more from what I had done. After a small pause I was told that both had survived. I scanned this area of the maze and found that the other AIs had survived even if their hulls had not. There was no way of finding out what had happened unless I got one of the two ships I stationed on the devastated planet we just visited. The Fassoot were able to do some of the things I could do. I didn't think they could stride the maze but I didn't want them to capture one of our ships so I could find out. Each race seemed to have a different maze but all could be reached from the other with enough of a search. It was a given that the Fassoot would now be very angry at what I had done and maybe clearer heads would now think more of capture than revenge. A pang of guilt now struck me for the wives would not know where I was or if I were alive unless told by Mom or one of the other AIs on Earth. I quickly suggested that they say I used an escape pod with no way of communicating at the moment. I heard from Mom on Earth, "That is good Henry. I had been giving a simulated picture and waiting to find a good excuse for your disappearance." I still wanted to see what had happened to the Tandra world. A small step brought me to the area of the two escorts. I found the correct one and crawled through the computer and into the craft. The hatch opened and I got out onto the planet's surface. The other craft was nearby and I went to it. This one was minimally equipped and I used my mind to work on the hull. When it was cracked open like an egg I pushed more of the controls for the ship into the maze. The other half was just ceramic and some sensors. The sensors worked best by being far apart but I used only seven of them on what I wanted to construct. A sphere of only fifteen centimetres was being formed around the now much smaller entrance to the maze. With the sensors integrated the sphere flew from my grip and headed upward. It made some trial runs then streaked off at even better than what Mom and Bennechi could do in the tug. I got back in the other ship and just used my mind to interface with the unit just sent off. An hour and thirty minutes later the small sphere entered the system with the Fassoot and did so very cautiously. From far off it was easy to see that the third battleship was still operational. They had teams out rescuing their people while small ships had another mission and went to the surface and destroyed anything not natural. I knew that nobody would be alive in an hour and perhaps even now. A mind like the one that attacked me was capable of ferreting out all high order thinking. I felt my own anger again. I was glad I had taken out two ships even if it cost a lot of work to rebuild Mom and Bennechi. The anger did not lessen for I used it to work even harder on finding a way of stopping this insane race of beings. If I found a way into their maze I didn't think I would stop at this galaxy. Extermination was the best way. The AI family monitored the probe I sent while I worked on what I was going to do next. Edited by Timothy ------- Chapter 90 I stayed in the small ship or on the planet for two days. I didn't want to leave without accomplishing something. Mom sent me food through the maze and I simply ate it to fuel my body. The hate diminished only because it was converted to determination to kill the Fassoot, root and branch. The family was able to talk to me even if we didn't have holograms to provide visual information. I had studied and worked on the Misto sensors still on the unused portion of hull. The best course of action was to make a much smaller probe with the intelligence of one of the Relative Class ships. Nothing new could be determined from the construction. I knew its secrets only had to be deciphered but I could not see them. The weapons the Fassoot had used on the planets were discernable after a bit of study. The way we were first attacked must have been very similar to what I had done. The crystals in my brain were examined to try to find the minimum necessary to interface with the higher dimensions and form a conduit to guide the enormous amount of power. The remaining crystals were examined. Some were used to brace the structure while some was for precognition. This part had been overruled I found, because of my anger at the Fassoot and my wish to destroy. A crystalline section allowed me to interface with a computer much better than anybody else thought possible. Other portions dramatically increased my already strong, but usual powers that most Tandra already possessed. My eye gave me the ability to see into the other two dimensions but it was the construct in my head that allowed me to manipulate what I could perceive. By the time I should leave, I had only succeeded in strengthening the framework somewhat, while not making it that much less efficient. Some good news was sent to me. The children from the Lazarus station had arrived but continued to be kept in stasis till there were enough adults to watch them. The Academy race to repair the minefield was going to be a success, I knew. It was broadly said that Human/Tandra and Human/other could do much more than any one race by itself. I was updated about the new lunar habitats. The travelogues that had been made and shown to the people of Earth. This was designed to make them aware of what our planet could be like. It was also designed to show them that they could save their own environment. It's much easier without having to terraform a planet. I talked most to my children but the usual question was, "When are you coming home, daddy?" This was a difficult question. I wanted them safe as well as all the other children. I also knew that they needed me to guide them even though the rest of the family assisted. If I did go home now it would tear me up knowing that certain races were still out here killing so many peaceful people. Our small probe showed the Fassoot still in the position I last left them. The two battleships had not been completely destroyed and work was going on trying to repair some of the smaller escort ships to carry the survivors of the battle. An inspection of the surviving battleship showed that we had done nothing to it in trying to ram it. Its defences were up to handling a ship of Mom's size even if we had improved shields and hull. I would love to destroy the remaining battleship but we had no weapon that could breach its shield now. There were pickets placed to warn them of any new arrivals. My sneaking up and destroying two thirds of their fleet must have made them a bit unsure. The way the Claw was taken came to mind but a few new twists would have to occur if this was going to work well. The Misto had some interesting ships and the Fassoot no doubt were very aware of the race. A smile came to my face for the first time in days. I got into the small one place ship and hurried back to the last system I had helped. I was greeted on the planet with less than the usual ceremony because I demanded it this way. They already had some equipment ready and I manufactured a large inertial compensator, a shield unit, a frame and some tractors attached to it and last of all, a very small sphere of only ten centimetres in diameter. A Misto sensor was altered dramatically and mounted on the small sphere. The sensor was worthless but it might give the Fassoot a reason to investigate it further. The ceramic sphere was given a small Tandra type computer with a large, for its size, crystal. Inside my small ship's computer I entered the maze and found the back door to the small sphere. Here I carefully inserted the equipment that would give the same shield that blocked the Misto's back door. This was now energized with the use of a matter transmitter unit. Leaving the maze, I found the sphere was not any different except that I could not look within it now. The sphere was just a simple computer with a good shield unit inside. For its small size it was fairly strong to resist entry. I bid the Tandra goodbye and found a small Misto ship that had been seriously damaged. The computer had been sheared off with the remainder of the ship but I left the small sphere with some Misto bodies. The frame I made with the tractors held the ship as I directed power to the compensator and flew the arrangement to the Fassoot fleet. This took six hours because I could not go fast. As I approached the system, the partial Misto ship was given another push to get it into the system. A faulty accumulator made noise not only in the electromagnetic spectrum but also in others. The power was not high but it was designed to look natural. My first construction slowed and I brought it to a complete stop. If things worked right it had one more job to do. The first probe knew where to look. It took the Fassoot only ten minutes to detect the Trojan horse I was sending them. A small ship swallowed the wreck and sped back to the centre of the system. A few hours passed and I had no way of knowing where the sphere was but I did slip back into the maze now with a small matter transmitter crystal and fifty grams of antimatter in a small magnetic bottle. My AI family watched three-dimensional space while I monitored the back door to the sphere. With my hand on the small gray surface I knew that they had breached the ceramic sphere and now were working on the shield inside. They must have taken the bet because they didn't use brute force, which they certainly could do. I could feel the field waver then collapse completely. This next part had to do with faith in curiosity. The Fassoot would have an AI monitor what was uncovered and try to find out what the device was. I just hoped that soon one of the biological would call the AI off and investigate in person. A human would have come in within an hour but I continued to wait. The only thing that I was going by was a feeling I had. Two more hours passed and I could almost feel people coming close but the time did not seem right yet. My anticipation started to build and I had the small cylinder in my hand and just waited for the right second. Suddenly my hand shot out and I drove the cylinder through the maze wall and into the very small computer I had made. The hand had not gone through but my PK was enough to push it the rest of the way and deactivated the magnetic containment. From the maze I heard the AI family cheer. In two steps I was pushing back into the small ship and looked through the first probe to see for myself what had happened. The battleship had ruptured completely with the force of the explosion. Mom told me that a destroyer had entered a bay in the large ship and ten minutes later the bay had shown the first signs of the explosion. The battleship's shield had contained it for a moment till the energy had destroyed the generators themselves. With nothing but a material shield to contain a blast that it could not do, the ship ruptured. Material was cast out into space while some of the blast was directed at a cruiser. The energy was so great that the cruiser was damaged but its shields held. Small Fassoot ships were not as lucky. Many were simply vaporized while some were cast completely away with enough acceleration to kill anyone inside. Inertial compensators in small ships were only so strong. A ship that looked like an unarmed shuttle that had been far enough away from the explosion appeared to be heavily damaged but not completely. My first probe raced in with all the confusion and started to push it out of the system. I raced to the framework ship I had used to bring the Misto ship to the system. With this I moved quickly to meet the Fassoot wreck outside the system. While I waited I used my mind to search for any questing mind that may be after me. This was done very cautiously because I knew what they could do if aroused and had a direction to aim at. The shuttle came close enough that I figured we would be safe. The ship was larger that the Misto ship. I could not detect any feelings of life onboard. The probe returned to monitor the damaged Fassoot fleet while I pushed the wreck out into open space. I didn't want any Fassoot device to lead other ships to me especially if there were some Tandra world close by. My mind was constantly scanning to find some type of energy that might be seen as a ship that was in trouble. Energy was given off but it appeared to be random at the moment. An asteroid orbiting behind a neighbouring star provided a good place to work from. I stopped and started to investigate my catch. The hull had been ruptured and the four Fassoot onboard had not had their shields energize. They had literally ruptured themselves from every weak orifice. I estimated that they must have stood about a metre and a half tall but were very wide. They had the appearance of coming from a high gravitational planet, as the Hossin and Misto records indicated. Four arms were evident and they looked like a heavy Mordis type structure. The lower pair of arms looked to be strong while the pair closer to the head appeared to be used because delicate manipulations. The skull was large and I could not see anything too ugly about it. There were overhanging ridges to protect their eyes something like Neanderthals had. The hair covering most of the visible sections was very dark red and coarse looking. The teeth were like Human, meaning they were omnivorous. The ears and nose were not at the same place and looked different but still recognizable, the eyes were an unknown because they had ruptured. The computer was not in the centre of the ship as it usually was in Tandra craft but closer to the aft section where the power was developed. It looked damaged by a large piece of hull from the battleship that had sliced the ship almost in two and severed the computer from what looked like the accumulators. The computer was what I wanted most but this I had to leave for last. The security the other two races used on their computers meant that the Fassoot would probably be even more stringent. This particular machine even if it were just a simple shuttle would get babied as if it were a battleship in power. The hull was not like a warship and didn't have the thickness and strength but did have a sampling of their sensors. The ones I found didn't look much different than what the Misto used. As small portions were removed I would try to make sense of them then put them into the maze to send to better facilities for investigation. My mind was able to only do some things very well, and I could not do most of this investigation unless I had a strong feeling about something. The engines, when I got to them, were much different though. In mass they were twice as much but looked to be the same size as what we used. Using my eyes and hands I was not able to see inside as if this were a wall of a Misto computer room. The shade of gray was much darker and I could only attribute this to the strength of the shield but this was a guess. The power to feed the engines was similar to what I presently used on our ships. They took energy from the upper universe but in a different method. My method was much simpler but had a great many limitations. I could only use raw energy for the most part to propel a ship or an inertial compensator. These units looked to be much more subtle and much more capable of producing power in a superior form. The compensator and power generation unit along with many other important parts could not be seen into. The crystal I found could only be the cause. At the end of the day I had the majority of the ship cut apart and being held by the weak gravitational attraction of the asteroid. The various types of communication instruments were separated if possible to see what new types of information we could find. It all broke down to the basic principles of the new crystal. Without this there was no understanding any of the remainder of the equipment. I felt like a twenty first century man investigating Tandra equipment for the first time with no idea of how it worked. What I did find out was that there was no way of defeating these Fassoot technologically with the information we already had. They were always at war or so it seemed, and they would be much more wary than what the Samutz had been. Pieces that were small enough, were transferred back through the maze. Defren and the monarchies were the most technologically advanced. The maze brought some of the equipment to my empty ships and these made the deliveries to hide the source. I didn't want then to know of my method of travel. Now was the time for all of them to work very closely together. Soon they may have to face the Fassoot and probably die. Again I went back to the last Tandra base to get some additional help. The larger pieces of Fassoot equipment stayed on the asteroid. The base had only a thousand individuals and most of them were now busy making another ship for me. As soon as possible, I pulled Mom and Bennechi back into position and they assisted in this work. The small escorts I had made were replaced and the computers' AIs reinstalled. I still didn't know enough about the Fassoot technology to make any improvements. Mom and Bennechi did make some improvements in the new hulls to get the best we could but this was only a small increment. One of the first things I had done was to get back in visual communications with the family. Audio was limited but they were satisfied with it till the video became available. I was able to give my biological family a sample of my memories when I showed them the Fassoot bodies and the equipment. The system now taken by the Fassoot looked to be changing. They had very few operational ships larger than a destroyer. We found that seven had been repaired enough to continue with their duties. One stayed in the centre of the repair work while the other six very actively searched out an enemy. The three battleship wrecks seemed to be now being salvaged to make one working unit. More of my small probes were sent to keep them under surveillance. This was much safer than before. Now there was a huge amount of ceramic equipment that was blown about the system by the explosions or the collision of the first two ships. ------- Matthew slowly recovered. He was sore all over but mostly in his neck and left shoulder. He remembered where he was and immediately tried to get a status report from Goosey. The AI was responding oddly and the boy tried to delve deeper. He was shocked to find that the programming he was dealing with was simply the computer itself. His mind quested out in a different direction and searched for his crew. Some were hurt badly. An accident of some kind had driven the ship to one side. Matthew started to get up and found the artificial gravity gone. It had been kept to a minimum before to let people navigate better. Now it was completely missing. Trixie seemed to have been hurt the most and it took Matthew a moment to find her in one of the workshops. Matthew took a portable diagnostician and a medical repair unit and worked on the small T'aut. She had a bloody face and it looked as if she had fallen very hard. An arm was broken and her back seemed to have suffered some damage. It was good that a T'aut was not constructed the same way as a Human because she would now be very dead. When she looked stable he went to see about the rest. Mui and Dolk were in the next room and the young male was already working on his mate. Matthew said, "Can you handle this? I have more to check on the others." "Yes Captain." This reminded Matthew of his responsibilities. He had to watch over his crew. Mayaz, Lyrra, and Conda had been sleeping and were now up looking to see what they could do. Toosm was crying beside Possa as he tried to get her repaired with a med unit. He was just too upset about this sort of thing. Jeremy was lying crumpled in a corner with both Maout and Jonathan working to give him first aid. Matthew wanted to rush over but knew the other two would be doing their best. The only one missing was Jerome. Matthew quizzed the computer about the last crewmember and found the record listing him as lost and probably dead. "How could this be?" The young captain rhetorically asked the machine but no answer came. The computer was able to perform a simple search for Jerome but Jeremy's mind told him the other crewmember was not near. He raced back to Trixie and she floated at his urging to her berth. He tucked her in then used some portable tractors to hold her in position. "You will be alright Trixie. I am going to call off the contest and head in." Trixie looked so sad before saying, "Yes Captain but I would continue with you." "I know Sweetie, but there are more people hurt and I want to get you and Jeremy back to get better treatment than we have here." Jeremy was put into stasis till the ship could be put back in order. He had many injuries that would better be handled by a fully functioning computer and AI. The ship had somehow been thrown far from Earth. The stars and constellations were very odd but some of that could be from parallax. The ship itself was fairly safe. Matthew went out with Mui to inspect the damage and found out how close they had come to death. The large accumulator in the stern had been cut away but left the smaller spare unit. This one had been shorted out but it was now being charged. The small lithium reactor that Matthew had insisted on installing along with the rest of his safety equipment would now provide energy. While trying to deal with keeping his crew alive, Matthew had to tell Jonathan what he knew of his brother. The boy had not accepted this and ran through the ship calling the brother that was always there for him. Soon the mental calls were heard. This lasted longer than Matthew thought prudent considering how trained his crew were. He also had to take into consideration how young every one of them were. Lyrra just clutched a chair and rocked herself back and forth. Her own mind coming unhinged at the loss of her lover. It was hours later that Mayaz had taken Jonathan and Lyrra into a corner and worked to get each to forget their troubles at least for a while. The weeping and love went on and on till they fell asleep exhausted. This affected the other Tandra and they too needed reassurance. Matthew did his duty even though he was not sure if he should. Guilt was still very prominent in his mind and the Tandra worked hard after a while to reassure their Captain. Trixie and her mate Maout now did things their way in the presence of others as did Mui and her mate Dolk. Matthew did manage to look up and at least saw his crew working together to keep all of it strong. When they awoke Matthew had to do some necessary work to get the ship functional. While surveying the damage from the exterior of the ship, Mui asked, "What are we going to do Captain?" "Mui, the engines are gone but we do have some smaller units that could be altered to provide propulsion. We need the shield completed first. There is very little in the way of energetic particles but when we get moving they will kill us almost as quick as an explosion." The way the crew treated him made him even more worried because he was now much more the Captain than ever before. They, at least, didn't blame him for the condition they were in. They actually thanked him for ensuring that the ship was as strong and as well prepared as it was. The fact that a star was so close made them feel all much better. The raw materials they had in their hold were being used to replicate and replace the hull a piece at a time then fused into one homogeneous whole. When the sensor arrays were placed on the hull and the shield tested, it was a time to rejoice. The crew had worked almost without stop trying to get the shield up for their Captain. After one sleep Matthew was stripping all the crystals that were not needed and tried to make them into a series of ten small engines that would get them to the nearest star in only twenty-three hours. Mui and Dolk worked on the computer to get it repaired. Trixie and Maout helped but soon left to help their Captain. Jonathan had come out of his depression and started to work with as much determination as the rest. Possa was very depressed like the rest and every day so far looked to Matthew for support. This was not always sexual but she constantly needed the reassurance that she was doing right. Matthew saw this and tried to act both professional and as a fellow crewmember. It was hard to do both jobs without spoiling each of them. Twenty-eight days after they came to a ring of rock much like the Oort cloud around a planetary system. They were again moving and this helped greatly. Their speed was not as great but it was better than staying stationary. They moved within the cloud and closer to the primary. It was not till they were seventeen hours from the star that they had to veer off. There were a great many ships in the system but all of them were small, chemical and electrical driven models. This is what Earth would have been like in two hundred years if they had not killed themselves first or the Tandra had not shown themselves. Tandra doctrine stated that civilizations were to be left alone till experts came to assess the situation. There was too many times that a small Tandra delegation had been swamped and killed by a much more barbaric race. Rather than interfere, they just began taking some of the asteroids in the area and converting them to what they needed in their stores. The only parts needed were a larger accumulator and some way of making a better propulsion system. This required some large crystals but failing those, smaller units could be fabricated then used to augment the motors they already had. It was six days later that the AI came back to life. It had been fractured in the accident and was now joined by other crystals to form an AI that hopefully would be even more intelligent. This had been decided right after the accident because they had a great need for every helping hand. When the AI passed all its tests Jeremy was awoken and his injuries treated. Soon the Tandra had to go through the process of healing him as the rest of the crew had done to each other. He had loved Jerome as crew and family and it hurt him deeply that he had been lost. With the extra fabricator that had been brought onboard, and the happily working AI, sixteen more small engines were manufactured and then mounted. The accumulator was powered up and some lithium found to supplement their supply. The ship was not as good as it should be. A light ten light year journey would take four months not the two days it once would have. The cadets had been in the military and Matthew had argued that he would like to put a military type shield on his craft. He had to go to Kitten to get this last request permitted. Looking back now, it was as if Matthew had foreseen this happening and prepared as best he could for this event. The extra preparations had been the reason why they worked so hard and still almost didn't make it to the contest. They took a leisurely trip through the system before checking for better sources of supplies of minerals and elements. A better ship had to be made. The trip home, if at all possible, would take many years if not centuries. A ship the size of the Gorrsenz would make the figure much higher and the crew would eventually be at each other's throats without suitable room to move and work. Radio was used by the natives for short distance but maser and laser was a better way to communicate if you knew the location you wanted to send your signal. The language was analysed and nothing odd was found about it. Many first meetings between races in the past had caused a low-tech race to go into hysterical fits. They could not take the idea that they shared the universe with others. Some had even committed racial suicide. The native race was assessed and found to be not able to help in building a new ship. The team found a large rock that at one time had been part of a planet till it had been ripped apart by tidal forces. Here they started to look for the valuable crystals that were sometimes found in nature. Lithium was very abundant but had to be extracted if you needed it all. Here they found a rich ore that made the job much easier. Metals of some kinds were needed to do some jobs and these too were extracted. Here hydrogen was found locked in some molecules. The hydrogen was extracted and then changed into the metallic form. The metal was used to construct storage tanks because some of the volatile materials. When these tanks were buried in larger debris, they were filled with other gases that were necessary to get back to Earth before they died of old age. Even though they had to work, Matthew made sure they continued with their studies. This left very little if any free time other than to sleep. Jonathan found a large meteoroid about twenty-three kilometres long and seven kilometres at it's widest. The current quest was to find a place to build a ship within the system but not allow the locals to see it being constructed. They flew to the rock barren of any of the local outposts because it was worthless and fairly far out from the primary. A very deep pit was labouriously made with a small opening. This was sealed with a screen that would keep in the air. Housekeeping was set up and the large rock started to heat. Jonathan was given the honour of naming the rock and simply called it 'Home'. Matthew was a bit concerned because he wanted to get home one day no matter how good they made this rock. It was not even six months later that Lyrra found herself pregnant. Jonathan was thought to be the culprit but the two humans could have done it too. Toosm the lone Tandra male was never considered because he was usually found with the males. Ordinarily the zygote could be extracted for disposal, stored for later or put into a tank to continue its growth. This was discussed at length. Lyrra wanted to keep the child and allow it to grow naturally. They looked at Matthew and he saw how things were running and how this new event would affect his small colony. "I think Lyrra should have her wish." There was a celebration after this and in a section of their habitat a nursery was started. Jeremy made sure it was more than large enough to do the task and did much of the work with Jonathan. Six months later a small dark skinned boy was born. By not only mutual acclaim but by Jonathan, the child was named Jerome. Within three months every Tandra female including Lyrra again were pregnant. The plans for the ship they were building had changed. Tandra designs were in the large memory banks because Matthew wanted them put in along with everything he thought they might need. With their large communal family growing the way it was, the ship had to be large. The males' instincts to protect their young necessitated that it be strong and powerful too. So far it hadn't mattered much because only fabricators and computers had been made. Mining machinery had been some of the first equipment to begin harvesting the rock of their home and more now had to be made. A plebiscite was held and defensive weapons were the first order of business. Later they would be loaded on the ship they were making so it was not a matter of wasted effort. On their off shift, Possa and Matthew stopped in the nursery and watched their child. The tiny girl was called Justine after Matthew's foster mother that did so much to protect them when they were young and not able to defend themselves. The large family grew steadily with Toosm being the natural one to look out for the children. Gorrsenz had gone out many times to bring back needed supplies that could not be found in their large habitat. Zinc could be built up from sub-atomic particles but it was much easier to just extract it from ore. Usually Goosey brought back more data about the people that they shared the system with. Their ships had been shadowed a few times and after a considerable amount of work it was found that the race could project their thoughts. They were like Humans though and used speech only. The neighbour's ships had problems on occasion and as a means of showing their good will, the ship had been assisted without the crew of the vessel actually knowing how it happened. Most times the ship was halted in its course and propelled in a safe direction. The sensors showed that the beings were a little over two metres tall and almost stick like with long arms and legs. Their heads were small but this did not stop them from making intelligent decisions even with the occasional mistake. From their own language it was determined that they called themselves Soora. Usually after such an act of assistance that area of space was abandoned by the Sorra till some of the more adventurous ones decided to go back to the minerals found in that area. It was three years after their emergence that the keel of their ship was first laid. Rapidly ribs and equipment was put where it should before the hull was installed. The computer had been made much sooner. It was used to do much of the work. It was not as intelligent as what even a light destroyer would have but it was the best that they could do. The children were now assisting in the construction. The younger crewmembers were truly a mixture of three races. They were much more aggressive than the Tandra but much more caring than a Human. The T'aut and Softay children grew up emulating their friends and were outgoing. Ship construction suffered when the children were taught but in a few years the effort paid for itself when the children took over many of the jobs. Matthew was very proud of his family even if it encompassed many races. The children were now like their parents were when they first came to this section of space with a will to show how much of their Academy training they could use. He had to concede that the children were even better able to do what was needed than their parents were. The parents never slowed down though and continuously learned what was needed. It was just that the children were so much more capable. The day finally came when the 'Phoenix' was able to show its stuff. It had a cloak of invisibility that assisted it in the neighbourhood. Its first job was to map all the nearby systems that had not been done by the Gorrsenz. The entire compliment of crew was with her for this occasion. This included the original twelve members and their twenty-seven children. Even then the ship was mainly empty. The ship was 830 metres long and would mass of a little under one and a half million tonnes. The Gorrsenz was nestled comfortably in one of the smaller boat bays. It had been used for every purpose imaginable including a ship to train the children in ship handling. Soon it would get a major refit where the children put everything they knew into the small ship. Something like what some other children had done many years before. The children were now running the ship because they had grown to adulthood in years and in their ability to shoulder responsibility. Though Matthew didn't look much older than the children he said, "Take her out helmsman." Justine smiled and said, "Aye, aye Sir. Taking her out." Matthew felt pride in the family and let it show. It had taken twenty-three and a half earth years to get this far and he had to admit it was a giant step. The fabricators had made more fabricators that in turn made more fabricators. Goosey had been the fount of information that Matthew wanted in case an emergency happened. If the information had not been present, this ship would have taken centuries of development. Goosey had a hard time doing even menial jobs like finding enough material to feed the machines. Rather than take what the Soora were after they usually went out to the cloud of rock surrounding the system to bring in the their supplies. There was even a base out there to partially process what was required. The area scouted for the maiden voyage was fifty light years in diameter and made up of 216 different stellar bodies. Seventeen of these were binaries. Probes had been sent out years ago but now they were actually going to see the systems close up. The ones that looked promising were the ones that would be visited. The ship picked up speed gradually and readings were taken of the stress on various components. The Academy had found that humans had a natural affinity to making a ship do amazing things. There was no real data on their ship because of its odd design. After passing the Mardaf Limit, the ship speed up to 680 lights. They had a reason to be proud because only a crew of a thousand could have done this and only then if the engines had been made capable enough of handling this load. A month later they had gone to eleven systems and done some types of investigations that they only knew of in their training. Odd things had been found but there were no civilizations to make the traces that were discovered. All was dutifully recorded in much greater detail than what the small probes had been able to find on their own. Every system though was given the Tandra recognition signal that may just keep the ship from being destroyed. The fifteenth system though was different. Battle stations were called and everybody not on duty reported to their assigned positions. Matthew said, "What is it Monique?" "We have weak transponder signal coming from the fifth planet. It is a giant with no known sentient life in the system." All the sensors were manned by computer or biologicals just to make sure it wasn't a trap. This had happened many times in the past six million years and nobody wanted to add to the number. Three major probes were shot out and in thirty-nine minutes they reported finding a portion of a Tandra vessel. Jerome who was currently controlling all three said, "It was sheared the same way you were when you first came to this area." The probes investigated more then did a search to find more portions or to find a trap. Rather than get close, Gorrsenz left by herself and locked tractors to the piece of ceramic. In two hours it was close enough to be seen visually if there were some transparent panels on the ship. The edges were indeed cut and the hull fragment was even larger than Gorrsenz was. There were ways of finding out the type of ship this was from but it required both luck and perseverance. The fragment was brought inside and the rest of the system monitored for both threats and information. A more thorough search of the habitable planet found more Tandra equipment. One piece was a small ship suitable for three people to be employed in a safe environment. This too was salvaged even though it was buried under twelve metres of soil. The computer was energized and interrogated. One of the many races to use Tandra equipment had gone to Sofaas to find their fortune and like them had been cast here. Four individuals from a very robust race had made it alive to the planet and hid the ship. It had been used a few more times then nothing till now. The time was only one and a half million years ago. The small ship was able to give more information about who had commandeered the original vessel and how the attack had fared but not all computers were allowed to share this kind of data. Seven more solar systems were visited and in only one, a small fragment of hull was found but nothing else. Four of the systems had good planets that could be perfect for a variety of races. One suited Humans even to the moon that orbited in a period of only ten percent longer than Luna. This area of the galaxy was determined to be a natural area to capture material thrown through the higher dimensions. The trip back to the Soora system made the crew both jubilant and despondent. The ship had proved that it was good and now it was time to clean up and leave. All but one of the large fabricators in 'Home' had been salvaged and put into the hold. The last portion of one was disconnected from the computer and the framework destroyed. The computer itself would stay on to see what it could do with the Soora in years to come. It would not give them the things the race could use to hurt their society. Superstition now was running rampant and this area was thought of a belonging to the gods. This would be easy to accept in a simple civilization but not in one using atomic propulsion. Possa watched the children as they left the system for this last time. This was the only home they knew about. They were still with family but at some point they would have to deal with strangers in a civilised way. She, like the rest, had grown fond of the system even though everything was artificial as it would be on Earth's moon. On the way out of the system this last time, they removed the contents from a small outpost they had built there to speed up the ship's construction. The structure itself was open with a large reservoir of atmosphere and water that could be used by the Soora if they ever got here. One small shielded and protected reactor provided heat and light to keep the post liveable. Stars were in clumps with more than the average distance between. The majority of the galaxy was all to one side. They had been expelled to the rim but it was not understood what galaxy they were even now part of. It took two years of searching before they knew where they were. It was found by using the Tandra recognition signal and finally a signal was returned. The computer in the large system had been dormant for millions of years. Matthew was very happy to give the Imperial override as all ships were told to do. The effect on the dormant planet was not seen. The computer though gave much more information when asked including its assets and personnel. Matthew was very shocked to hear that their small ship was in the right galaxy but had been flung directly across the entirety of it from home. They had been cast into the far fringe. He found that they were actually fifty seven thousand light years from the centre. Sofaas was twenty thousand lights further along. To further complicate this he knew that they were on the other side of the ten thousand light year thickness. This made us approximately 86,000 light years from home. Our speed of 680 lights per day had to be tempered by the fact that we could not sustain that for very long. A hundred and twenty was a more reasonable figure. This would bring us back in a paltry 716 days. If we entered systems to bring the word to the Tandra then this would seriously slow the return trip down. We had actually doing a survey so that when and if we ever got home we would have something to show for what had happened to them. Matthew thought of his life lasting seven to eight hundred years but that would not be enough if all those stops had to be made. Broadcasting the override would just give the crew a chance to use the Emperor's voice and take what they required in his name. This could also bring every race sent on conquest after them to get their ship or information. Gorrsenz had been stripped down to her ribs in the last two years. Basically everything had been removed and either altered or improved. Her keel had even been changed and strengthened since they began their flight back. She flew to the planet with Jonathan, Jerome and Monique to see for themselves some new faces. In all their life the two children had only seen graphics of people or their family. Today may be very traumatic on them and that is why the captain sent Jonathan. Gorrsenz settled before a mountain and disappeared inside. The communicators though synced right away and information was transferred unhindered. A hasty procession of Tandra had formed a reception committee even though they now knew that the Emperor was not here in person. They did know that the newcomers were his personal representatives. Acting Administrator Lyemma had hastily put on her ceremonial sash and the matter transmitter soon deposited her at the end of the procession. The ship when it landed looked very odd but everything was checked through the computer. A standard message had gone out and it was intended to revive all Tandra bases to a danger and a promise of assistance. More information was given but it was vague and she assumed it was to be cleared up by this envoy. When the ramp slid out an odd looking Tandra walked out. The skin was black much like she remembered the Mordis to be like. The next two looked more Tandra like but one had dark skin like the first. The first was in charge but the two following had very strong minds. She had only met two others that were close to this strength but it was doubtful if they were stronger. Jonathan had remembered all the old protocols from the Academy, and now followed them scrupulously. The code of behaviour was returned and the three newcomers met the eleven Tandra. The Administrator was very shocked to learn that the second two were three quarters Tandra while the dark one was half. When she got over the shock she asked, "Tell me about the present state of the Empire. We have not heard anything since the Great Exodus." They group entered the matter transmitter and were soon in the Administrator's apartment. Jonathan said, "The Tandra Empire had been failing ever since the exodus you mentioned. The Thonas had come very close to defeating the Empire even to attacking your home planet and not only destroying it but your sun too. All the nearby worlds that were important to the Tandra suffered a similar fate. Less important worlds were just destroyed without their primary's distruction. The Tandra Empire reeled from this blow and fought as they had not done before. The Thonas were destroyed except in isolated communities." Jonathan looked pointedly at the woman and continued, "The Thonas regained their power but not as much as before. The Tandra fought them off many more times but were always weaker after fighting. The Thonas are now back again and have a numerically superior but technologically weak ally. The Emperor has killed billions of them. He has taken a Thonas ship and with only his mind, ripped it apart and captured it. He has found out a great deal about the Thonas that was not known before." "He has been rescuing Tandra bases, and building a force to fight all the races that now do not want Tandra laws." Lyemma said, "That is hard to believe. I know you are not lying but nobody has those powers." Jonathan smiled and said, "Then you will not believe how he has taken two worlds in a system and flung them together as if toys with only his mind. You would not believe that he has found a way to manipulate the computers so that instantaneous communications are easily done and can span the entire galaxy." After a pause he said in a low voice, "He has made ships that can fly 12,000 light years per day, and do this continuously." Lyemma asked, "What is he like? The Tandra would not take a male to lead them." "He is very kind. He found my brother before he took the throne. There was something he must have seen in us. When he came to power many of the disadvantaged he had met were taken in and protected. It was by his order that I was given a place in the Academy. We have been doing our best to pay a portion back to him for this." "I can see others in your family. What of them?" Jerome spoke now with a clarity that Lyemma had not seen before. "My mother and many others had been put on a matter transmitter station around Tandra just before our planet was destroyed. It had been pushed very fully into five dimensions. When the Thonas came and destroyed our system they were not able to attack us. The Emperor came and with only his mind was able to wrest the station from where it was placed and welcome us into his Empire." When he paused, Lyemma said, "Go on." "The Emperor took Empress Taylar as his wife. Even the Tandra would have killed the family. The Emperor then gave her responsibilities as he has done to his other wives. The only people to not love our Emperor are our enemies." This information shocked the woman and she asked if she could look deep into the youth's mind. Jerome smiled and said, "You may, but you will find that I was born on our way back to Sofaas. I can only go by what is in our computer and in the original group that were thrust outside the majority of out galaxy." Jonathan though did let his mind be searched and in less than ten minutes Lyemma sat back exhausted. The truth had been spoken and falsehoods were understood when coming from other races. She asked her computer, "What is known about Humans and Sofaas?" The computer spoke. This time the two younger members were fascinated by the quality of the intelligence behind the voice. They had become very used to what was available to their ship or to Gorrsenz. "There are some small portions of information about Humans. Various male Tandra had done experiments on a hybrid race. They achieved very good results in as little as a hundred local years. The reasons to do this experiment was not mentioned but it was a major undertaking at the time." Lyemma finally asked, "What is it that you want of us?" This time Monique said, "The Emperor does not want bases like yours to stagnate. You must prepare to awaken all of your members and even produce young, so your base will grow. There are many enemies of the Alliance. You will be given designs to improved weapons and shields. You are to build ships and crew them to protect what may now be in danger. The mines and missiles around a system can be detected and destroyed by an enemy." "Is that all?" "We need some of your personnel to assist us in crewing our ship. As you read in our minds, our ship was made over many years by a crew of Academy students that had not even received one year of training. There are many important features on our ship that are still lacking. Your computer is much more powerful than ours. The emperor has been upgrading the crystals using his mind. We cannot do this yet and would like to take some of the crystals you may find surplus to improve our own computer." The crew of the Phoenix enjoyed shore leave while some stayed onboard to help the newly awakened Tandra on their duties. This was a learning experience both ways. The Alliance has many new ideas while the base had data that Gorrsenz was never able to handle. Information was fed into both ship and the base computer. On the planet below the grown children met the Tandra and because of their superior minds and abilities soon found Tandra wanting to have children. The few Tandra males tried valiantly to convince the female newcomers to accept them. Toosm when he came down was swamped and had no problem finding liaisons. This he told Matthew was for friendship because he knew who his husbands were. The computer on Phoenix was improved dramatically. It was mainly the newcomers that were able to work in the odd environment that helped the computer far surpass others of its size. When the largest crystal was installed as the main processor the others stayed in position as supplementary help and to continue with the personality that had developed. The base computer benefited from some of the newer technology that the newcomers were able to provide. The yard work and improvements to the base had taken close to one additional year. Though no enemy had ever made it through the shield, it was strengthened with new weapons. When the ship left, there were a hundred and thirty more recruits going with them. In many cases the females were pregnant or had children. These were shown to be superior to what a Tandra child could accomplish. The improved Phoenix could now fly at 1,200 light years per day and the crew could continue up to four hours. This was because of the upgrades and the Tandra mates that now worked hard to support their new family. The long flight home was now begun once again. In a wide area that proved to be barren of life a call was sent out as standard protocol. Monique sat at the station monitoring the sensors with her mind when a faint reply was heard. Immediately she said, "Captain, I have a response." She gave the location and strength. Hastily the crew went into a heightened alert but not to a posture of imminent attack. Matthew mind spoke, "Good work." To the computer he directed the Phoenix to come to a halt. When the location came up visually on a large display with very little new information he said to the twelve-year-old son of his brother, "Mark, send out three drones to this location and thirty more for pickets." "Aye Captain. Three probes to the transmitter and thirty more for pickets." Matthew stroked his chin wondering what they had found. The 'next generation' is what he and the original crew called the children. It was an in-joke the old crew had relating to an old television series. These individuals were very capable people and much more suitable to the task aboard a ship. They used their minds to do things that no other Tandra or Human could do apart from the Emperor himself. Feelings here were very important as if an enemy were broadcasting their intentions. This time the report came back inconclusive. In two and a half hours the three probes found a small flotilla of Tandra war craft. Since they were for the most part dormant the Phoenix did not go to general quarters. The probes broadcast their allegiance and then came closer to the group but still outside the boundaries set out millions of years ago. A damaged battleship spoke for the small flotilla and allowed the probes closer. Data started to be transferred both ways. Soon the aging battleship woke up more of its systems and its transmitters were better able to communicate with the Phoenix. The Phoenix and the probes were warned about coming too close to an interdicted planet. This information brought everybody to his or her stations even before the alarm had not gone out. Matthew directed a coded message to one of the probes close to the battleship and this device sent out the Imperial override. The ships that had been coming online now did so much faster and requests for orders came in. Their present status was listed as well as what orders they had been currently working under. The drones now were allowed very close to assess damage. There were two destroyers as large as the Phoenix. The battleship was of an older design but still massive and very powerful. Three cruisers and an aging carrier were also in attendance. There were a total of only seventeen thousand biologicals on board the ships. The reason for this was soon found. A competing Tandra monarchy had been set up. Some ships had sided with the new order but others had not. In the end the majority of the Tandra had left on the cooperating ships. The few that resisted stayed in the ships that had AIs wishing to follow their old orders. These old orders were to guard a Thonas system and keep the residents from gaining space. The quarantined Thonas planet was now barren of life. It was found that the Thonas had gambled on defeating the larger flotilla in orbit. This was an all or nothing venture and their gamble did not pay off. The units on the planet's surface firing on the ships were hammered ruthlessly. The ships in orbit had suffered casualties and been damaged. In the end the Thonas had either died or went into stasis waiting for a computer or other members of their race to reawaken them. The world in question had seen no indications of life for slightly over a million years. The ships had stuck to their orders and remained in position in case the Thonas emerged one more time. Probes now went to the planet trying to find any source of energy that was not natural. There was some but this could also be some equipment just working on a charge on their accumulators. Matthew launched missiles one at a time at the planet and the possible energy signatures. They turned the areas into a molten cauldron. When the energy level had disappeared it was now very safe to assume that no Thonas would come out looking for blood. This was against the old Tandra law but it was standard procedure in the new Alliance. The emperor had destroyed entire Thonas planets rather than have to deal with a race that would never change its predatory ways. Mining ships now went through the system to replenish the supplies needed to repair the seven ships. Matthew was exasperated that the ships had not done this much sooner and kept their hulls and systems in order. The biologicals were kept in stasis. Their number was very high in relation to the Phoenix crew. It had been biological intervention that had kept the ships from being repaired a long time ago. Matthew did not want this sort of behaviour to happen again. The ships had many features to add to their systems bring them up to specifications but Matthew just had the computers work to get the ships ready to travel. Many of the repairs could be handled while in transit. The Imperial Order now made this an easy choice for them. The ships were made ready and the crew of the Phoenix dispersed to do what only biologicals could. The convoy now flew just a bit slower than what one ship had done before. Onboard the ships, the children of three races did what they could to learn more about the workings of their minds. Education for every biological was ongoing and very extensive. If this were not so, it would be impossible for a young man like Jerome to now be placed in charge of the battleship and with only his new family as crew. The Emperor had said that the galaxy would go to this new amalgam because of their proposed abilities. The Emperor might be very proud to find out how well this particular family had proven his point. Many things had to be worked out about the odd way they had been thrown to the far side of the galaxy. Most were not understood and just added to their long list of unknown phenomena. The mechanism for the original transference left a large gap in what they knew has to exist in their understanding of physics. This was not what Tandra physical law postulated, and this was discussed many times. Theories abounded but some seemed to have more weight than others. The Gorrsenz' large power supplies, her very strong keel and frame along with the extremely strong inertial compensators were the only reason anybody had survived the fateful trip. If the ship had been just oriented a few degrees differently, it may have made it thorough unharmed. A few degrees the other way would have taken out all sources of power and the old crew would be long dead. In the coming weeks, the records of the crews in stasis were reviewed. The old Tandra crews had been moribund in many ways and each of the new captains worked out who should be awakened. A few at a time were revived and found that the ships were now not as they used to be. The ones that resisted the most were put back into stasis. The rest were put to work. Since Tandra law was followed there was no reason to mutiny especially when they were now under direct imperial orders. The records showed other Thonas systems were roughly in their line of travel. Drones flew to these to find out who inhabited the systems now. Two more battleships and a dozen escorts were found. The Thonas had apparently all arisen at one time but were not seen since. All of them were considered destroyed a million years ago. Missiles again found small energy signatures and again ships entered the small fleet. With an enlarged fleet most of the solar systems were given only a cursory glance. Known Tandra garrisons were stopped at and if they still existed were assisted in getting rebuilt. Sometimes a native population had evolved and like Earth, was treated with care. The day came when Samutz were found on a former Tandra planet. Small probes cautiously went to the surface and found that the planet had been taken long ago. Instead of attacking immediately a search of the neighbouring systems was done. Within a sixty light year radius no other Samutz were found. This indicated that this system would be a monarchy of only this star. This day had been foreseen for a quarter century but no virus was at hand. Samutz DNA was in the computer but only in simplified form. A much more detailed sampling was necessary. Jeremy had always wanted to fight and took one of the original combat suits carried on Gorrsenz when they were flung here. Two of his sons along with his nephews and even a T'aut now grown to adult size and much unlike her parents went to the surface. A hunting party of six was spotted. They were presently eating some game. A leg nearby looked to be distinctly Tandra. Though they all wanted to kill the Samutz group, it was stunners that were employed. The Samutz were put in special evacuation containers and then escorted aloft to meet with a small ship but this had to be far from the planet. For a one-planet monarchy it was well guarded with automatic sentinels. Jeremy took the rest of his crew and went looking for Tandra. They found a family grouping in the crags of a nearby mountain. Above this group were two Samutz armed with spears waiting for the Tandra to show themselves. Jeremy and Mark used their knives in a similar fashion and the two Samutz died as they twitched in their death throws. After searching the immediate neighbourhood, Mark went down to the valley floor almost five metres lower and called out to the hidden Tandra. They didn't come out but Mark searched in their minds and called their names. Soon small probes had to be sent in and stun the petrified individuals. The rest of the team climbed down and pulled the Tandra out of their hiding spots. Med units were used, as well as cleansers. A mild euphoric was administered and the local Tandra were able to talk much better to their benefactors. They had kept the ability of mind speech and the entire team was happy that the group had kept some of their old culture and not fallen as far back as what had been done on Masis. The old stories remembered by the adults and told of the Samutz first coming. The time frame was not clear but the Tandra had left their base and spread out to form a civilization based on agriculture. The base had been hit first and then the Samutz had started to hunt the free Tandra. High tech weapons were found to bring the satellites above and the Tandra for a while held their own with the Samutz using primitive weapons. The Tandra Empire was talked about but believed to be just a fairytale to tell the children. They were quite shocked when they were told that it was true. The team learned more of the old stories relating to the Samutz and tried to find another weapon to be used against them. Nothing of real value was found and other objectives had to be pursued. As a parting gift a bow been made from local trees and arrows from another. The ideas for the manufacture were put into each of the Tandra's minds for future use. Jeremy and the rest of his five-member team flew at a few metres to a small base now used by a small number of Samutz. No active sensors were used and the weapons they carried in an invisible suit were the only ones they now could use. At an input device used by beings with less ability to transmit their thoughts, a small device was brought up. Mark tapped his father's shoulder and smiled while invisible. Jeremy could sense the smile even if he could not see it or his son. The device was transferred and Mark directed the Imperial override be sent with immediate orders to remain outwardly the same as it was now. The smaller computer was instructed to search Mark's mind to gather new data and this was quickly done. Interfacing this way was much easier for the second generation and not as tiring. Some Tandra were nearby but Mark was able to do all this communication without alerting them to their presence. This base had very little data on the Samutz physiology. A plan though was quickly formulated and the main computer on the other side of the planet was asked to provide data. Over the years it had amassed quite a bit even though it was not told to do so. The information was soon fed into the small device. More information about the way the Samutz worked here as well as affiliations with other Samutz groups were similarly copied. Mark now worked with the local computer to disperse a coded message that would go to all Tandra computers. This not only had to be done at one time but measures had to be followed that would keep the Samutz unaware of the changes. Presently there were two cruisers and a light destroyer in orbit but another heavy cruiser was expected back soon. The local monarch had an old battleship, a carrier and six frigates that usually patrolled with him. Their present whereabouts or time of return was not known. Many things had to happen in the right order for this operation to work. At the time of the usual Samutz shift change the encrypted messages that went to all Tandra computers became known. For more than a whole second things almost stopped but then continued just as it should. Not only the ground based computers but also the ships in orbit responded as they should. Some Tandra were momentarily startled but continued their labours unaware of what actually had just happened. A message was now safely sent to three small ships at the extreme range of the transmitter. One now came in to take the captured Samutz in orbit while one left to carry news to the small Alliance fleet. One stayed to monitor the system for a return of the Samutz king. Nothing else was done. The ships in orbit might very well remove or imprison their Samutz but it would be doubtful if the small ships piloted by Samutz would let a serious matter like this pass notice. The Samutz on the ground were separated into a great many groups and it would be much easier to get them to return to base so they could be captured. The way it had been done on Masis had been debated many times at the Academy. This would now be a way of testing many of the theories and perhaps luckily would too be debated at an Academy. Some significant changes did occur. Tandra techs were requisitioned in large numbers by the computer. The Samutz were told this was for a short time at the behest of the king's representative. The Tandra though came to the small base overseen but the Phoenix crewmembers. All Samutz had been transferred while only hologram Samutz made their rounds. The first unit of 64 Tandra were very surprised when they first were picked up at four cities. There were no Samutz guards even though the computer usually piloted the ships. When they finally landed, they were told by the computer to line up outside and then march into the base. This was very unlike the Samutz. The Tandra techs had been the ones that survived the first attack on the system from the Samutz some four hundred and thirty years ago. A mild euphoric was introduced into the air and soon the Tandra could not really worry about anything or allow their thoughts to be broadcast. Possa came out dressed in her Academy dress followed by Conda and a pregnant Mayaz. Possa took very little time to get the Tandra back into the proper protocols they had learned so long ago. The antidote to the euphoric was administered as the new recruits came to find that they were now free. Possa had them sit and she went into her story that started when the planet Tandra was seriously threatened by the Thonas two and a half million years ago. She talked of the remnants of the Tandra Empire being incorporated into the Alliance. The next fact mentioned was the way the Emperor prosecuted the war against the Samutz, the Thonas and the Moldeg. Graphics were shown of how this was done along with many of the miracles that the Emperor was able to do without outside assistance. Lies were very difficult to bring off and both Conda and Mayaz were searched for any falsehoods. When this was over Matthew came into the room. Possa had prepped the audience because this man's last name was now Buchanan. His adoption into the Emperor's family was used blatantly to gain as much support as possible. Matthew told a bit of their travels from one end of the galaxy to eventually end at Sofaas. Some of Matthew's many sons, daughters, nephews and nieces were introduced. This second generation now worked much deeper with the audience to find out who was stable enough to go back into circulation. Two days of orientation that was a lot like the hell of boot camp followed. At the end of this time a new load of recruits came in to receive the news that they were free. The first group though was appraised of their duties and what they were to do and at what time. It was readily appreciated that throwing off the Samutz yoke that had been there for over four centuries could not be done in as many days. Twenty-nine days after finding this system the king made his return. In fourteen hours he would be at the Mardaf Limit and in one more be in orbit. Talking to his advisors, he found that more was done than usual because the Tandra techs had put more effort into their labours. When the ships came to their preferred orbit small probes left the ships already in orbit. Probes entered these ships and dispersed the new quick acting virus assisted by the AI. The king and his entourage made a procession as they went to the palace. Small devices mounted on the walls of the palace laced the air with the same toxin. An hour later the great die-off began. A hologram of the king ordered outlying garrisons to report to the capital for new orders. A great census was to be taken and a world wide party after. The king had a very important discovery to be disclosed and all Samutz had to come. The ships in orbit made nothing but routine calls. Transmitters in orbit and on the surface of the planet masked any calls made by Samutz screaming of plague and death. Samutz came by the millions and found hologram Samutz everywhere. Bodies were being disintegrated or disposed of as soon as possible. Street clean up was a slave's job and they now worked with a passion never before seen. Satellites in orbit spotted solitary Samutz that had not gotten the call. Drones sent from a great many locations lace the very air with contagion. Underwater habitats were located and a small amount of the virus was circulated into the compartments containing air. Thirteen vehicles flying hunting teams and not bothering to report were destroyed from the satellites that they had used many times to spot game. Small ships servicing the larger ships or harvesting ores from the small mining colonies were given a similar treatment if they did not comply. These were saved for last because their transmissions could not be silenced. In slightly longer than twenty-four hours the only living Samutz were in stasis and under guard or the immature pups growing in the carnal pits in the large cities. Matthew ordered these to be cleaned up and small drones went into these locations with disintegrators. In a few hours the air was cleaner smelling than it was in many centuries. Jeremy and his crew were actively looking to find any Samutz that may have missed the net. The only ones found were solitary beings living as their ancestors lived. If they hadn't been killing Tandra then they might have survived on a reservation. One month after the death of the last Samutz, the Alliance fleet left. Behind them was a Tandra garrison building weapons and altering their defensive ring against further Samutz attacks. Like Emperor Henry I, they knew they would now run into many more Samutz and prepared for the eventual meetings. The small probes used were now made by the millions along with the toxin to take care of quite a few worlds. More Tandra worlds were found, warned, armed and then educated. They did not like the virus but agreed to follow the Emperor's decrees. Samutz worlds were found and sometimes the Tandra and other races could be rescued. On the main worlds there was nothing but livestock usually. Ships had been co-opted though and they flew off to spread more of the contagion and co-opt others to continue the fight. The Phoenix fleet had close to a thousand ships now with specific bases to call home. The techs onboard now had to take orders from the computer till they recovered enough to form their own military structure. Thirty-seven and a half years after they were cast to the other side of the galaxy they finally found evidence of the Emperor's work. This had been a Samutz world and now the Softay were now the masters once again. Mui and Dolk talked to the planet. For the first time the Softay found out how they had been delivered. All they knew was that the Samutz had suddenly died. The two descended to the planet with some of the original crew. Though the Softay were frightened they threw a great party. The planet had many other races but all in small numbers. Matthew expounded about the Alliance and showed the gentle Softay how they could protect themselves. When the help was accepted a Tandra garrison was stationed here with fifty major ships. The Softay would have to crew the majority of them but the command positions were left for the Tandra. The will to fight was not very strong in the gentle race but the need to protect themselves made the Tandra necessary. They could contribute to the Alliance by making, restoring and expanding their shipyards. When the surrounding systems were found to be free of Samutz, the slightly smaller fleet left once again. A large contingent of Softay and other techs left with the fleet to be trained. Living Samutz soon began to be hard to find but systems in need grew. Ships had been found and then used to protect the small bastions of sentient life. They meet up with the first of Emperor Henry's ships months later. The Imperial decree went both ways. Since Matthews's fleet had biologicals the destroyer stopped for new orders. When the destroyer uploaded its memory, Matthew became very concerned all of a sudden. The ship had been one of the original units sent to remove the Samutz. It did not have any of the more complicated orders or improvements sent later. These dealt with armour, shields and weapons. It was thought that these ships would take millennia to reach the far side of the galaxy to fulfill their mission. Matthew sent any ships he found back with a different mission that would eventually find the ship back at Earth to get more up to date orders. Matthew had consulted the computer AI about the problem he found and could find no solution. A meeting of all the various crews was called. He said, "We have been on this mission now about thirty eight years when relativity is factored in. The information I just found from the destroyer is very troubling." They waited patiently till he continued, "What I found is confusing at best. It is the sequence of events that I am speaking of. The destroyer was in the employ of the Samutz about fourteen months ago when it was issued the Imperial decree. The data came from two layers of ships that had been originally sent by the Emperor." Matthew's family did not understand yet. They had not peeked to find out the problem either. "It appears that the fateful competition, the original crew participated in, may not have even happened yet. For this to happen, I believe we also have been cast back in time." This was like a sudden Samutz attack. Matthew opened his mind and he could feel gentle fingers looking through his facts and fears. The computer now shared the information with the fleet for a communal discussion and hopefully a resolution. The fleet now spread out even further to find more Imperial shipping on a similar quest. Three months later while getting another Tandra colony back on its feet a ship entered the system. Orders were quickly sent and the ship orbited instead of dusting the planet. Justine, from her command chair on her battleship read the data from the arrival. Many inconsistencies were looked for and explored. The date was not confirmed but thirty-eight years had certainly not elapsed here. Seventy light years away and a month later Monique came to the same conclusion in the same way. When they meet at regular intervals the information was shared. One thing they didn't want to do was to get to Earth till well after the competition was complete. The original crew were wondering how they could be in two places at once. They were very afraid for the fate of their family. As they neared their goal they shifted to areas not covered well when the Humans and Tandra left to solidify their positions. This was to assist the Alliance but to stay away as long as possible. The only one now anxious to return was Jonathan because he hoped that the computer was wrong and he would find his brother alive and well. It was again months later that a ship with biologicals was found. The Imperial override was sent both ways. When the two units met information was again shared. The identity of the captain and crew though were not. The newcomer got all the information about this area but not further back than one year. To do more would trigger alarms on the other ship. They did find the date in relation to the Alliance. Matthew felt both relief and anxiety because of what he had to do. They now skirted an area where the Samutz were locked in a life and death battle with an equally voracious race. Seven Tandra posts were assisted more than usual because they were now in no rush to get back. Three other races got similar help. One had to be rescued when the Samutz were fighting to gain possession of the system. Edited By: Vonsteppin vonsteppinATyahoo.com ------- Chapter 91 Ten days after the fateful race, the now vastly improved Gorrsenz came to the system. Its strong transmitters giving its identity from very far off. They were directed to one of the ships with a direct connection to Mom. Matthew requested secrecy even from the forces protecting the Sofaas system and Mom agreed to the unusual request. The information from Goosey was taken in one continuous stream. Only after it was gathered did Mom begin her questioning. The Gorrsenz crew were ordered to enter the cruiser and take a nondescript ship to the planet Earth and not the lunar base. They didn't have time to get comfortable before they docked. They found the base nearly deserted as they approached the personal matter transmitter. The crew found themselves separated for the first time but they could still communicate. They were instructed to sit in the medical chairs and quickly went to sleep. They woke up hours later. Matthew knew the time and was amazed. Nobody he had ever heard of had been studied so much or in so much detail. "Well Mom, what can you tell us about our experiences that we do not already know?" "I am working on this Matthew. A great deal of us are working on the same thing. Your idea about parallel existence was worked on for a considerable amount of time but discarded. We believe the simplest hypothesis. That is, you were thrown into that other realm with a temporal vector. The Emperor has been doing a considerable amount of work with this and the mathematics is simply fascinating." "What about the possibility of using this as a means of travel? Goosey has detected no loss in time during our transition but that may be subjective. We have been doing our own studies since we were first cast out. When we garnered better computing power the search has only intensified. It was only recently that the element of time has cropped up." Mom said, "I can well imagine the incentive to learn about this phenomena." Matthew thought about his family that he had left here and asked, "Have Justine and Monica been told that we survived the exercise?" Mom's mind speech came back kindly and she said, "Yes. All of the families have been appraised of your continued good health. Nothing else was mentioned though apart from some of your new orders." At the same time, ten more conversations were going on about roughly the same thing. Jonathan was the most depressed. He found that the body of his brother had been found. Lyrra was not as disappointed because she had accepted the fact long ago and lived for her husbands and children. Mom thought her much more practical. Rather than cause problems, the original crew left for their fleet with some portable computers that allowed communication over any distance. Mom said, "For the moment, do not reveal your identity as adults. At the next opportunity the Emperor will be notified. He is currently across the galaxy in an area close to the dwarf galaxy Canis Major dealing with a serious threat." Matthew asked, "Is there something we can do?" "I am afraid not. Your ships though have not been overhauled in quite a period of time. Why don't you go to Masis and see what improvements we have come up with in the last month. There I will like to see both what you have done and meet your family. They give me much more hope for the Alliance than I have had in quite a while." The eleven former cadets got back in the shuttle they had arrived in and then went to the cruiser. The captain of the cruiser with only six officers stood at attention this time said, "Welcome aboard Admiral Buchanan. Mom has warned us to keep your identity secret for the next while." "Thank you Captain Cardra. I didn't know that Mom had given me the rank even though I must have been using the station all along." "She is sneaky that way and has a wicked sense of humour. We are instructed to provide transportation and logistical help to your fleet. We are actually being detached to learn from you." "Well, let's get going. I trust you either have or can get all the codes to the food replicators. We have been living on what we have invented or what we could remember." The cruiser took very little time to come to the fleet and see the present state of affaires. The cruiser came close to the Phoenix and the two crews met socially. The two computers though exchanged far more data because there was much more capacity. Soon the officers of the other ships came too. They were all family anyway. The information on the cruiser's food replicator was copied to the Phoenix and then the two were compared. It was not long before the 'next generation' were moved in different directions and asked about their experiences. The successful operations against Samutz was an instant success and this was discussed with the computer's assistance. Like the Academy, points were argued from both safety and objectives obtained. Jerome was invited to the cruiser and an in-depth meeting with Mom. He had been waiting for this for almost his entire life. Mom was legendary in power and perception. He didn't know how he would stand up even with some of his abilities. His wives and children were invited too and the small group left on a large shuttle. Jonathan followed the progress of his first-born son. He was worried in a way but knew that Mom would not hurt him. When Jerome went to sleep the progress was much too fast to follow. Jonathan's grandchildren were getting the same treatment. It was an hour later that Jerome came back. He had a smile on his face but his shield was up. They spoke verbally very infrequently but with the shield up it was thought prudent. "Well?" Jonathan asked verbally. "Mom wants me to be an admiral too. For now it will be just a small fleet but she said my responsibilities would grow. She is breaking up our family but she said the ships will be linked much better than what we have now." Jonathan was quite tall now but reached up and hugged his oldest to him. "I like the name Admiral Jerome Bender. It has a ring to it." Jerome smiled, "I think it does too, dad." In the coming hours more and more of the next generation and their children sat in the chairs on the cruiser. Every one of them came back with smiles on their faces. Jonathan felt vindicated in a way. He had left as a cadet with only a goodly amount of promise. Now he was the father to admirals and other high ranking officers that would advance when there was room for them. Jeremy and Matthew sent text only files to Justine and Monique talking about some vague adventures that would be cleared up later. The other members of the original crew were doing the same. The information about the various races found during the long return trip were distributed among the various ships. They were then given a much more detailed account of Earth, Humans and the Alliance. Information about the Emperor and his family was studied in detail including some of his current work on the edge of the galaxy. Nothing like this had ever been heard of before. Then again communications over this distance had not possible either. Matthew and many in his fleet, felt very relieved to have not met any of the three high tech races. Even the Hossin, though more benign, would be a difficult enemy to defeat if the events had been different. The new hull, shield, weapons, sensors and especially the odd crystals were studied even if it was only information in a computer. The party was more for welcoming the old crew and now their families and crew to Earth. Mom was able to use the various computers but she had not connected them yet. Henry usually provided this service but there were ways now to circumvent this if necessity. Even the small communicators had to have Henry work at them on the equivalent of an assembly line till the new methods that only recently came about. A few thousand had been made but they only took Henry a few seconds of work for his contribution. The AIs on the other hand took considerably longer but there were many more of them. The party broke up almost a day later but the only people not of Matthew's fleet were the crew of the cruiser. Matthew was quite tired and wanted to sleep when Mom called him with a low priority request. The canned message said, "Hello Matthew. You have a great many ships with you and a great many more protecting the Alliance. I would like you to accept some human recruits to help crew those ships. Some would go to the Phoenix as well but the Emperor is very busy now thinking of a way to defeat a very powerful enemy." Matthew forwarded the message to Possa and said, "Mom wants us to do some training. We seem to have quite a bit of experience under our belts. We can both see that this will mean and intermingling of the races. You Tandra girls seem to like Humans as much as we love you." The message was sent and Matthew settled down for a well-deserved rest. When Matthew awoke he found that six of the old crew were in medical getting not only a grilling but also some of the many improvements that they had missed over the years as they gained responsibilities. This also meant that he and the rest were slated for similar enhancements. His body would feel much younger even if he was close to fifty and looked less than half of that figure. His prostrate worked fine and had been improved on the trip but many more things could be done. Most important would be the improvements to his mind that an Admiral needed to command a fleet. Possa came in looking as beautiful as ever. She reached over and cupped her favourite husband then kissed his lips the way she had learned so long ago. "Mom is going to be sending over eighteen thousand troops in the next week. Most of them are Human males. This will really please all the Tandra we have on the ships. Only a few are officers and the rest are little more trained than we were when we left. She is also sending some trainers. Two of them are Moses Carver and Mike Tuck. Jonathan would love to see them." This really surprised Matthew but in a second he knew it would have to happen sometime. At least the men would not be coming to the Phoenix till the Emperor figured out what to do. Any surplus recruits had been taken out of stasis when the troubles had started and now placed in the hidden fleet outside the Oort cloud. There were no problems there because of the number of ships and fighters to work with. Carriers were not a common ship but they did exist. There was as surprising number of them that had been captured or that had simply heeded the call. Since he was not on duty yet and Possa had already completed her watch he pulled her onto his bed and started to make love to her while watching out for the small lump in her abdomen. After a good breakfast with a newly programmed synthesiser, Matthew looked at the reports coming in that required his permission or approval. This took quite a while but it was much faster than what a Human on Earth would have had to do. The AI did most of the work but was not foolproof. This made finding any mistake very difficult. He got up an hour and a half later a little cramped and took up his duties as Admiral. His daughter Monique was actually the captain and had been for years. She had two children of her own but wanted more but with more genetic variation. Perhaps now with the new crew this could happen. The males were not really necessary. The medical section could manipulate something as simple as DNA. With enough changes, one sperm sample could be used to father a nation or an Empire and not worry about genetic defects. Monique wanted more than just a sperm donor, she wanted a father for her children and a person to love her as much as her many sisters did. Matthew worked with Mom to see what ships could be safely taken from the fleet and sent for repair. He sent one of his carriers there too so that the flood of expected new crew members could start repairing the ship as well as learn to fly fighters. With the new communicators there was no reason why the Phoenix could not be there too to take advantage of the hot weather on the planet's surface and the sparse population. The family though grew up in ships and that seemed more natural to them than wide-open spaces. During the latter part of his watch, Jonathan, and the others came back to the ship. Matthew could still see the young boy in the slightly older face as he showed a wide smile. This begged a question and Matthew relented to his old friend. "Well, what happened?" "Look into my mind Matthew." The admiral did and saw that the mind now worked much more efficiently. There were areas prepared to block off sensitive data. Other areas were enlarged to absorb the horrendous amounts of data that would be accumulated in a long lifetime. Jonathan worked on a five dimensional problem dealing with crystals, and the thinking process was much smoother than he could ever remember it being before. Matthew had to admit, "You certainly are much better than when I last saw you. Then again you were always quite bright at finding solutions to our problems." Jonathan knew this was part flattery but most of it was the truth. Many problems had cropped up in the last forty or so years to be solved by him. "Your mind works differently Matthew. You find all the problems with personnel and logistics that would drive me batty. When you get the treatment to suit an admiral then you could do what I do and your own work much easier." "Jonathan, I need that treatment because my work load will only increase. It is one thing to command some ships to follow and another to command more with biological crews. The numbers I fear are going far beyond simple millions. The captains will help and now I have to find a replacement for your son. I may have to take another of your sons and promote him." Jonathan smiled, "I can't see them fighting that decision. They live to command." "I know they do and none deserve it more than you. I need you here though with me. Your ideas saved us more than a few times and now your help is even more necessary." Jonathan had a small tear in his eye and stood straight as he said, "I will be here with you old friend." Soon Matthew and the remainder of the old crew were sitting in similar chairs but after they were sedated they went into a tank. Ten hours later, Tandra techs helped Matthew into a cleanser then sat him at a larger than usual meal. Matthew could see some of his old problems he had to tackle and saw how easy they were to solve now. One small mistake was made in the forms he signed off on earlier that had been missed by the AI and him at that time. Memory had vastly improved and Matthew could see and understand many more important facts concerning the various races he met. His mind was racing with the many improvements and he flexed his muscles and knew that here too he had been improved. When he looked down he found that he was larger in body now necessitating learning a new way to move. Another part of his body was a bit larger and this to would have to be exercised soon. There was an urge to try his mind and body out but sensed both Conda and Toosm close by after their improvements. Interfacing with the computer AI was now much easier and he sent a request to these two Tandra. They came quickly to the room. They had been finished much longer but waited to see if their friend and lover needed any special treatment. Matthew smiled and stood up. He knew that he was only a bit taller but would grow another four centimetres in height and a considerable amount more on the chest and extremities. When the two were sated Matthew knew that he was not though. It had basically just whetted his appetite. He felt like a fourteen year old once again. When he dressed in a new Admiral's uniform he thanked the crew and left for his own ship. Possa, Mayaz and Lyrra were there to help and both Conda and Toosm went back for more as well. Two and a half hours later he was sure he had made both Mayaz and Conda pregnant one more time. Though all the women bore the children of the three males it had usually been on a rotating basis. And if it weren't for Tandra medicine he would feel sorry for the women. After another large meal surrounded by very sated mates the admiral was greeted with an odd musical call. After only four notes he knew what it was. He and the others in the room stood hastily and Matthew said, "Receive." A hologram appeared and a section of wall looked to have been pushed back ten metres. A large figure dressed in a simple uniform with no insignia other than the Alliance crest was sitting while holding what looked like a cup of coffee in his hand. "My Emperor," Matthew said as he bent to the floor and placed his right knee on the deck. Henry looked at the adults and remembered only a few months ago when he had seen some in the flesh and as children while others from graphics but again as children. "Well all of you have certainly grown." The Emperor stood and set his mug down. "Please stand up all of you. Some of your number I considered my children while others I saw as ones I would be proud to have called me father." The Tandra and one Human stood but did so at almost attention. Henry said, "Please be seated or at least relax. This is a personal call and I do not like all the ceremony and bullshit that goes with this office." He scanned the group and his eyes settled on Matthew one more time. "It looks like you can legally drink on Earth now Matthew." Matthew did smile now. "I guess I can my Emperor. I haven't had any natural beer since I was five. That seems to be a long time ago." "Not that long Admiral. By the way I have to congratulate you on your promotion. I see that many of your extended family have done very well in the rating. Your children are exemplary in character and education. You all have done a fantastic job of raising them as an example to the rest of us." "It was the training you gave us." "That was only some of it. It was your own character and those of your wives that made each of the children as good as they are. Let's call in the rest. Mom and your computer may be good enough to transmit our images to all of your family. It will be something like an expanded and improved conference call." Three of the next generation were around Masis. Two were on patrol while they waited and were training just a hundred of the first of the new Human complement. There was a time when Henry had to get them to either sit or at least relax. There were even some of the original crews' great grandchildren in attendance though they were all young. Henry complimented them on their great quest and the way they had accomplished it with such great panache. Rescuing so many worlds and then making sure they would stay free while accumulating so many ships was no easy feet. "There are a few destroyers and other escorts here now. The Fassoot have very fast ships and a strong mind that is very close in strength to mine. I have to be smarter and then destroy them somehow. When that is done I want to have another meeting with all of your extended family with some of mine. Then I could hear first hand what you had to do on this fascinating journey." Various versions of, "Yes, my Emperor," were heard, then Henry said his goodbyes and his hologram disappeared while the rest continued. Talk continued in this new medium for at least a half hour then broke up. The original crew sat at a large table in the main mess room and just continued to think on what had happened. Over the years Henry had grown to the Emperor in both Jeremy and Matthews mind and it was good to see that the Emperor thought that much about them. Mom let them have time to talk then broke in on the conversation with another polite ring as if it were a telephone. When the call was answered Mom said, "The Emperor wants the crew of the Gorrsenz and all their children honoured immediately. He feels that the Alliance personnel and to a lesser extent the population of Earth will work harder behind such a deserving crew." Matthew now had the mind of an admiral even though it had not all the training it needed. He stated very firmly, "Tell me how much the Emperor is in trouble?" There was a slightly longer time to get this reply. "The Fassoot are very strong. The Emperor has destroyed two battleships with just his mind. One more was destroyed with a trick that only he can perform. The Emperor's ship was destroyed but the one biological and two computer entities escaped. He is not sure he can kill the remaining Fassoot without great danger to himself. He thought it prudent to show everybody what the four major races can do if they work together." "You mean that he wants us to carry on if he doesn't make it back?" "In a way that is correct. He does not expect you to rule but you must be prepared to fight like we have never done before. This is best if people like you are given all of the assistance we can. The Fassoot do not know of our whereabouts but in enough centuries they will be here. Their ships are not only very fast but powerful too. The Fassoot have close to the strongest minds known. Only the Emperor is stronger but he is not only alone in that position but is alone in his ability." Matthew knew when to stand up for what was right and when to back down. "Tell me more about what the Fassoot can do. You know that sometimes biological minds can do things that computer minds cannot." Mom started to list the many things that Henry had found out and the ones he suspected. The speed of the ships and their armour and shields were listed. This alone would be hard to defeat. The sensors and the odd crystals had undergone millions of tests. The information from them and the almost impenetrable shield they produced was added. Matthew demanded to be put in contact with his family. When this was done he gave orders and had Mom repeat the problem listing all the points in order of importance. When all this was done he gave further orders to work on the problem with their own families to see what could be found. He said, "I think it is these odd crystals are at the heart of this matter. We find out how to deal with them and we know how to deal with the Fassoot ships." They knew they were under a great handicap because they could not manipulate five dimensional matter as the Emperor could. He could not only walk through a shield that kept out everything else but he could segregate impurities and align the very crystals the fledgling Empire depended so much on. Mom continued with the publicity leading up to the arrival of the Gorrsenz' crew. The fleet was not mentioned to the population of the Earth but the Phoenix was. Compared to a battleship it was puny but in actual fact it was 830 metres long and almost one and a half million tonnes. This ship came into the system and did a fly by at only five hundred klicks while avoiding all the satellites the Humans had put up. After two complete passes it gained in height and joined the other ships guarding the system. The little Gorrsenz came to Earth one more time but its 93-metre length had grown an additional hundred with complementary figures for the beam and displacement. The major capitals were visited but this started in the east where the Alliance was much stronger. The devastating Samutz attack had not been cleaned up and it felt so odd to the crew that almost forty years had passed and almost nothing had been done. Europe and then even Africa was visited before North America. This time Tampa was once again visited but the same people stood almost in awe of the four types of people that stepped out of the ship longer than two football fields. Before the trip began, services were said for the boy that died just a few weeks ago and yet died almost forty years ago to others. The body had been disintegrated but the services were now said over some of his personal property. The clothes he once wore now looked ludicrous but no different than what was now worn in some places. Graphics and a holograms were available but the latter were not used at this time. A gold necklace and some jewellery had been left in safekeeping but it would be doubtful if Jerome would have claimed them if he had lived. This time the eleven boldly stepped out of their ship and walked down the much longer ramp. The same people were here as last time but there were a considerable amount more of spectators and politicians. Jonathan walked across the hot tarmac and stood in front of his father one more time. In years there was little difference though Jonathan bore his much better. "Hello father. I am sorry to tell you that Jerome has died serving his world and the Alliance." The father knew already but managed to stand straight and replied, "Thank you. I don't really understand how you could have aged all those years but I see them in your eyes. You certainly have made something of yourselves even if one of you had to die." He sniffled a bit then continued, "I didn't have too much to do with raising you. It was mostly your dear mother's doing. I am very proud of you and the rest of the people in your crew. Perhaps this time I can meet them." The father was introduced to the Tandra, Softay, T'aut and the other two Humans. The last was introduced with more respect because he was the captain but now an admiral. The father's eyes got large when the people spoke in his mind but the admiral came through so clear that it was amazing. Pictures and feelings came with the simple ideas the others had given him. Three of Jonathan friends from his youth were nearby and he waved Renay over. The girl knew she was picked because she could hear her old lover or sex partner call her in her mind. She finally said in a meek voice, "Hello Jonathan." "Hi Renay. Close to forty years ago you told me that I would never be the captain of a battleship. I am still not a captain but I swing a bit of weight as an Alliance admiral." He paused a minute and looked up and soon a smaller ship landed nearby. It was much smaller than the old Gorrsenz but not much. Out from the ship came a great deal of people because the ship was just a shuttle and designed to carry a lot of people in a safe environment. The people lined up behind Jonathan and the black boy from Tampa turned to his father and said, "Father, I want you to meet Jerome, my first born son." The father was speechless. The boy had a small amount of Jonathan's features but was simply beautiful as were all the newcomers. It was not an effeminate look but the features were so perfect that no other word really fit. The arms and legs showed that the young man was very deadly if not the most deadly person he had ever met. Everything was held in control though. The statue of 'David' came to mind but this was much more powerful as if the young man radiated energy of some sort. Jerome put out his hand and said verbally, "Hello grandfather. Let me introduce my family and your great grandchildren." The old man didn't know what to say or do. His mind was so confused that he would remember next to nothing of this event. When the introductions were done Jonathan brought Renay over and introduced her to his son. Jerome smiled sweetly at the plain looking girl and said in a whisper, "Hello Renay. My father tells me that you taught him and my uncle a great many important things. Would you teach me too?" The girl was so shaken up that she promptly fainted away. Faster than humanly possible, Jerome stooped and caught her form. One of Jerome's many wives said, "Usually you have to kiss them first." Jerome looked into his wife's mind and said, "I am only making her feel special. She cannot match any of my wives." The girl recovered in a minute but didn't want to be let down. Two of Jerome's wives came over to help. One put a small child in Renay's arms and the Human girl was in love one more time that day. The reception got underway with Renay holding the child to her. Both Jermaine and Lamont were bid to come close and were soon talking with their old friend. This time there was no thoughts of what Jonathan was getting mixed up in. The politicians had a short, for them, speech. They were the ones that initially had a large say in how they were going to ship some of the mentally damaged children and adults to the Alliance. This had originally been seen as a cost saving but they had also encouraged others with no problems to join. They still didn't want to come out as supporters but figured this time any politician with any ambition would be here. At the end of the reception a select group of people in the group were again allowed to see the new Gorrsenz and hear of its improved abilities. Jeremy took a sign and wrote on the back advertising that the ship was for sale with only 505,609,555,680,000,000 original miles on the craft. He wasn't even counting the original distance getting to the far side of the galaxy. He took it back just a bit later when one of the politicians wanted to take up the offer. It felt like selling a member of his family to Jeremy. This time a ride was offered and everybody flocked to this offer except one black girl. She saw that the people she was with would not be going and she would have to part with the child in her arms. In a moment tears were in her mind as Gorrsenz rose into the air to about a hundred metres and then disappeared with its astonishing acceleration. The child's mother just put her arm on the girl's shoulder in comfort because she would feel the same way. This time two buses toured the city carrying Jonathan's family. The mayor this time got a chance to talk into a microphone and extol the attributes of his city. Renay had seen the sights many times but could not take her eyes of the child she now carried in her arms. This time instead of going to an amusement park, a beach was chosen. Swimming was not an ability any of the visitors had learned. It wasn't long before they peeked into other people's minds and learned the rudiments. The youngsters and then the adults doffed their clothes and raced into the water. Only some of the mothers stayed with the youngest children. The Humans in this area just stopped to stare. This was a public beach and nudity was not permitted but nobody was going to stop this group now. Soon the mothers too had their clothes off and were sitting in the shallow water playing with their youngest children. The politicians had backed off and only took off their jackets, ties, footwear and rolled up their pant legs as a concession to the new trend. Renay was again pulled two ways. The child she cared for wanted the water she now knew and she would look foolish being dressed in wet clothing. She reluctantly laid the child on the pile of clothing and then quickly removed her clothing. When she got to her panties and bra she only thought for a second before removing them. One of the mothers had to undo a clasp but soon Renay was sitting in the sand and playing with the mothers and children. She was able to actually start communicating with the other women and talk about herself, her family, and a bit of their world. The fact that she was now without clothes on a public beach didn't mean as much as it once would have. This was not much different than being with family. Usually they were watching the children like now and trying to prepare food and refreshments. The men usually all had broken arms and legs, making them unable to get their own beer. A shadow passed overhead and she was not afraid when she saw the bottom of the ship these people had come in. It settled comfortably on the beach and even sank deeper so that the ramp was level. Renay was not sure but she thought she could feel the children peeing in the water but luckily nothing else was happening yet. When she looked up she could see the adults and children playing in the water the same as Humans would. They swam very fast and the mothers nearby told her that they had never been in water before. This didn't seem to surprise her that much now that she knew some of these fantastic people. The people that swam rotated with those that watched the children to be fair. One beautiful child came and sat with Renay. The girl saw the chocolate skin and none of the Human plumbing, but knew that this individual was definitely a male. He sat comfortably beside her and played with some of the youngest children. A conversation was soon started up with Darnell. He was one of Jonathan's sons and was eighteen Earth years old but did not look more than twelve as a Human. In ten minutes the young man was just like a friend that had been known and trusted for years. The children they watched clamoured to get a bit of attention and Renay had a problem keeping up the conversation as if the child was talking to her at the same time. The child's ideas came through as feelings, which was odd because the woman on the moon said that children came through much easier. "Dad told me that you and he were once lovers." This embarrassed Renay and Darnell said, "I am sorry. I had misjudged your reaction. You seem to fit in so well with us." "It is ok. To be honest, I liked him better than some others. Nobody could really be said as lovers. It is just the way I am." Darnell said after looking deeper into the girl's mind. "I think the real answer is that you have not met a person yet that you will allow yourself to love. It is easier with us. We are constantly coaxed to be the way we are and that means that we are mostly the same. We meet others like us and know right away if they are compatible." "I wish Humans were that way. We are always searching and sometimes meet someone that is only partially compatible, then make commitments that later need to be broken." The child in Darnell's hands needed to have a bowel movement and both knew it. A small device appeared right above Darnell's hand and he caught it without even looking. When the child finished the device went into the water and removed the effluent then cleaned the child from beneath the water. He said, "It is much easier than using what you call a diaper. On the ship there is not even a need for this. It is too bad that Humans are not allowed to have a good computer." "Why is that? I own a computer. It is not as good as what you have though." "Our computers are many orders of magnitude better than what you now have. The reason Humans cannot have them is simple. With a computer to do all the work, a human will sit back and do nothing. We are only a bit like that and watch out to prevent this kind of thing from happening. We are usually building which means that we are creating. Here the computer is a tool that does most of the tedious work while we work on the overall result or the smallest of details." He continued, "When the Human race leaves its infancy, then they will see the need for real work even if it is only for enjoyment." Renay thought of the children's skin burning and said so. Darnell replied, "Perhaps we should take them into the ship." Renay was instantly wary but could see no subterfuge. "Do you want to take our two in?" Darnell paused for a moment and Renay could feel that he was pleased about something. "Yes, they should go in. We can repair their damaged skin and put on a protective coating." The two got up and carried the children the short distance to the ship. Renay saw all the Humans staring at her nudity as well as Darnell but this didn't seem to bother her much. She had dreams about this sort of thing and every time it was a nightmare. Darnell led her to a small enclosure. "Step in. It will tingle all over. Take the child and move her around so she is not always touching you. This will get rid of the sand, salt and small creatures all over our bodies." She did as she was asked and found the sensations pleasant. The baby was moved about and Renay could feel the child's pleasure too. She was almost reluctant to leave. Darnell took her place and was done a bit sooner even though he used his fingers to open the lower openings to allow the computer to remove all the debris from the crevices. Renay was a bit embarrassed by this but then thought how logical it really was. Darnell put the child in his hand out then released her. Renay gasped and tried to catch the child before she fell. The child didn't fall though. It was as if an invisible surface held the child. "I am sorry about that. Put out your child and I will get the computer to make a surface. When you feel it supporting, you may release the baby. She will not fall even if she moves." "Are you sure?" Darnell smiled at her and said, "These children are very important to me. I would never let them come to harm." With the children now on their backs a med probe came out and orbited the children one at a time making small noises as it went. Another small device came out and worked on the same skin area to place a thin film of what looked like water. The first device though orbited Renay for a while but she was not afraid. Many more noises were heard as it travelled the full length of her body. When it was done, the other device sprayed a thin coating of something on her that soon disappeared. She smiled at her benefactor and he led her out onto the sand instead of getting her into a corner. This pleased her in a way but she also felt disappointed. On the way out she thought, "I wonder if he likes me." Darnell replied, "Of course I do. Why would you think otherwise?" The realization that her thoughts were so easily read embarrassed her. "It's just that I don't know how to react. I am new to people able to read my mind. We all have some deep dark secrets that we like to keep hidden. I think the people that object to the Tandra coming here are the ones with the greatest fear of having their secrets being shown to the world." "I think that way too." He paused for a moment and unconsciously looked up. "We are going out to dad's favourite restaurant. He made reservations a few days ago and we are supposed to be there in ten minutes. Would you come with us? I would like to see you there." "If it is fancy, I have no clothes that are good enough, and to be honest I do not know how to eat at those kind of places." "I am happy that you have accepted. We have more of our ship clothing. Everybody else is going to be wearing it. As for what things to do, I will tell them to you and nobody will know any different." The Gorrsenz landed nearby and there was not even a grain of sand moved in its passage. Soon people were running into the ships to get cleaned and dressed. Renay found a suit made for her with symbols that could only be her name. She gave the child she had to Darnell and put the garment on. When she got her charge back she got a smile because of how she looked. A panel was displayed that showed her image as if a mirror but rotated around to show her back and sides. Renay smiled at the reflection and wanted to do something with her hair. She was shocked as it came apart with thousands of fingers and formed the image in her mind. "Now that could make a lot of money, Darnell." The people started to leave the ship and when about four others were left she asked, "How are we getting to the restaurant?" "We are already there. Give me one of your hands and walk to the hatch. Just look at me." She did as she was asked but quickly backed away from the hatch because they were a hundred metres in the air over a major road. "I can't..." "Look at me, Renay." When she reluctantly did he continued, "I will not let anything happen to you or the child you are carrying in your arms. Give me your hand and close your eyes." With more than just a leap of faith she did so and felt herself being held by a surface under her feet and a force all around her as if she might fall. The hand holding hers was what she focussed on most. In a moment she was on a broken piece of concrete and gawking Humans were all around. A beautiful child was in her arms and a beautiful man was holding her hand. Everything felt perfect. They had the entire restaurant to themselves. Humans still looked in the front windows as if at a zoo and hoping to see something special. The meal was the best Renay had ever eaten. She sat beside Darnell and on the other side of her was a highchair that she used to feed the baby. There was no problem with which fork or spoon to use because she found that she was always using the right one. The private party lasted two more hours and Renay got to meet many more of Jonathan and Darnell's relatives. The two brothers, Jonathan and herself were the only full blood Humans apart from the happy staff. When the party was breaking up, Renay held the sleeping child and Darnell's hand while they once again went to the ship. She noticed that the ship was empty except for the four of them. Darnell said, "The rest are going in the Gorrsenz. There is much more room and it is more comfortable. I wanted to give you a tour that you missed earlier and then take you home." The realization that this dream was ending was hard on her but she smiled, forgetting that her emotions and even her thoughts could be read. The ship rose to a thousand klicks and slowly orbited the Earth. Darnell said, "I wanted to thank you for watching my children. Their mother is also happy for having a break." "What?" "These two children are mine. One more is in his mother's womb. The woman that handed you her child is one of my wives. She and the rest, like you. They think you are a very dedicated person that thinks of family first." "You are already married?" "Yes I am. This did not usually happen this way with Tandra because they wait. We were on the ship almost all our lives and overcame the problems of puberty early and started our own families much sooner than usual." Renay said with a calm face and an aching heart, "I had heard that but forgot that you are really older than you look. I was hoping that we could get to know each other better." "I am due back at my ship soon. We are leaving to train some of the new crewmembers Mom has sent. My family works hard to protect the Alliance and I can do no different." Renay turned when her emotions overcame her and held the bulkhead and cried. This woke up the child still in her arms. Darnell held her one handed and said mentally, "This does not mean goodbye. You can choose now whether to join us or go back to your life on Earth." She got the message but she had not wanted just the Alliance she wanted Darnell too. The young man saw this and said, "One step at a time. Join the Alliance and get trained. In half of one of your years you will be able to serve on one of our ships. If you do well our captain will try to get you assigned to our vessel. From there it is just a matter of finding your place within our society. You may not get exactly what you want but it will certainly be better than what you have on Earth." Renay saw this as her best hope. The child in her arms helped her to see that there was a fair chance of joining this family and gaining a child of her own to be held in her arms. Edited By: Vonsteppin vonsteppinATyahoo.com ------- Chapter 92 Henry sat in the command chair of the small ship. It was not much larger than a simple shuttle. Both Mom and Bennechi were present to help power the craft. Its construction was aimed more at gaining stealth and speed than anything else. A great many small probes masquerading as asteroids had been assembled and modified. The new crystals also had the ability to be opaque to the sensors of this kind. A census of the system had a hundred and forty three vessels now operational or being worked on. The small ceramic spheres were now made again and had a crystal in them making the small field that made them invisible. When at least three times more spheres than targets were made, they were propelled toward the ships. The power used was very low and their speed would slow as they approached their objectives. Small computers inside the spheres would try to place themselves in small crannies so when antimatter inside each of the spheres detonated the energy would do a great deal of damage. This was all low tech or the various sensors on the warships would detect this kind of attack. The spheres had been going out for three days now. The idea was to have them come from all over the system and all reach their destinations at the same time. Their slow speed would not mark them as a danger and thus would not be destroyed. Two more days were needed to have all the mines reach their targets. The Fassoot ships would move from time to time but it was hoped that the computers would have enough targets to do the job without waste or survivors. Three destroyers kept a perimeter detail but their random courses were analysed and computed by Mom. We needed to get close enough that we could get some of the antimatter into a vulnerable position. What the charge was able to accomplish would be dependant on how much antimatter met how much matter, and how close to the ship it was able to get. Shields were not usually held at maximum when in this situation because it interfered with the sensitivity of the sensors. The other capital ships in the system had no such carefully laid out course and thus we could not tell where they would be. With good timing I hoped to lure them where I wanted. The hulks of the three battleships were targeted with even larger charges because I did not want any survivors if possible even if they cost me a working computer. The three battleships got three small visitors. A simple probe went deep into each and at the same time started to transmit data out of the system. This brought security, which also happened to be the large ships dealing with repair and system security. When they got close to see within the framework of the gigantic ships they were obliged to slow down. Debris was scattered throughout the system and now some pieces of rock moved in among the engines of each ship. This happened throughout the system as best as we could make it. All at the same time every piece of antimatter found an equal sized portion of matter. The combined mass was instantly converted to energy and sub atomic particles. Every one of the ships around the hulks were destroyed along with the wrecks themselves. The smaller ships could not take that kind of force and died. The three on the outer perimeter were hit by our mines. One blew up while another was seriously damaged. The last though was only partially crippled. It was madder than a hornet and I had sensors placed all over the system to see what their response would be. Data was stored because we could not afford to have it traced back to us. It took a half-day but soon the calls to the less damaged ship were heeded. It went to the aid of the next least damaged vessel to assist in recovery and repair. This is what I was waiting for and I again reached out with my mind and formed two gigantic tubes and placed them on the ships. My mental efforts were detected. I worked now frantically because I could feel the attack building. Already my mind was giving me pain that discouraged me from doing more. I knew it would not stop until I died or was captured. As quick as I could, I smashed the two ships together. The shock was enough for them to momentarily stop their attack. The tubes now went inside breaches in their hull and the full force again was directed at each other. The two ships now blew up when their power source as well as their accumulators discharged. Even before the fireball finished expanding I was attacked again but this time it was different. The sources were dispersed and each was weak or not in sync with the others. My tubes went out again and I held each of the small ships and burnt a hole through their hull. It took eleven instances of this reply to stop all of the pain. Probes now went into the system to search for life. Here I was not going to rescue any of them. I stayed till I was exhausted dealing with the wounded. I felt good that I at least killed them quickly and as humanely as possible. Probes had been disappearing on the planet. This could only be the Fassoot but they had not tried to flee or attack. Even though I was tired, more of the probes went to where their brethren had ceased functioning. I found a small ship hidden in a large cave. Checking the data I found that the ship had shot the probe because of its disturbance of the atmosphere. It then had made a dash for cover. An additional probe had been downed when it too got close. Reaching through the atmosphere I found the hull and shot it out of the cave and into space. Much less energy was used or it would damage large areas of the unprotected planet. Well beyond the planet I cut the small ship in two. It now had no life in it. The cave was investigated and no Fassoot life signs were found. Mom and Bennechi continued to monitor the situation while I slept. When I woke up after a few hours I said, "Mom, what have you found?" "There are no further signs of Fassoot life. I think we were very lucky to catch the vast majority of them on ships and not on the surface of the planet. The Tandra base has not been completely destroyed but there is none of that life either. Even the ova and sperm have been disintegrated. The computer is damaged but not completely destroyed." I said, "Show me the computer." I was given a view of a neat hole in the hatch and very little damage beyond. The AI crystal had been removed and was just in a metallic mesh bag close to where it had been extracted. Probes did not work that well in a computer and I knew I had to take a look for myself. Mom and Bennechi cautioned me but this too had to be done. When I got to the surface I found destruction all around. Tandra bodies and body parts were all over. I saw no indications of Fassoot casualties or even their damaged equipment. With the level of Tandra technology there may have not been any problems with the Fassoot just walking in and doing anything they wished and with impunity. Mom's probes were everywhere and everywhere I saw death. This was a more progressive base and had what I guessed to be three thousand individuals. Some areas Mom warned me against viewing and I wisely agreed with her. A base this size would have a considerable number of children and infants. When I got into the computer I moved directly to the AI crystal. The mesh bag was strong and not even secured but it took a considerable effort to even open the bag. I knew the Fassoot were physically strong and this was one of the reminders. The AI crystal was reinserted and Mom transmitted the Imperial override by way of a probe at my side. In coming minutes the computer was interrogated. The ease of the Fassoot attack was seen first hand. The estimates of the speed of the ships were not to be believed by the computer and more and more readings had been taken. The estimate was 22,000 lights per day and this was deep in the system. Only with Mom, Bennechi and I working together, could we beat this and then not do it by much. The defences to this system were swept aside as if they didn't exist. The Tandra did put up a good fight but could do little to protect them selves from such a threat. Mom tried to show only pertinent data but the three Fassoot that had entered the computer were not present. A small ship had dropped them off but had not had a chance to pick them up. The probes were mostly useless in this environment but the computer and AI could do whatever searches were necessary. There were no Fassoot in the computer or within range of whatever surviving sensors the computer had. There was only one other place they could be and we were completely unprotected there. I gave immediate orders and in a few minutes I was decked out like an ancient samurai one more time. I did not know of any high tech weapons that would work in the maze but I was also sure that if any existed they would be in the many hands of the Fassoot. Warnings of what might be found in the maze were passed to all of the AI family and I immediately went in. Once in the maze, I could feel a threat in three directions. This looked like the group had split up. The damage they could cause now would take years to repair but if I were dead then the repair would take a considerably longer time. What seemed like a few minutes I came on one of the squat figures as it peered at one of the computers that were exposed and fully in the maze. I did not give it a chance to react but it turned towards me, sensing my approach. It brought something up in its hand and my sword slashed down severing one of the hands. The shock through my weapon told me that its body was very dense. The sword reversed direction and came up and cut into the trunk of the Fassoot. The other hand continued to work as if disregarding its injuries and again the sword removed that appendage. An attack on my mind now occurred but one last slash of the sword removed the head. Even then the attack took a moment to completely stop. The enemy was now approaching because they were well able to communicate in this realm. I just stepped to one side as something came close to me. It was the discharge of one of the hand weapons used by the Fassoot. The only escape was to push into the wall of the maze. In seconds the Fassoot was in pursuit. I had changed course so I was at right angles to my first direction. My mind was working overtime trying to find an escape. More guessing had to be done and I changed course two more times before coming to the first intrusion into the maze wall. Just turning the corner to one side was the foot of my pursuer. I tried to dampen my excited thoughts ran after this being. As I got only a metre away it started to turn. I used both the long and the short sword to cut it up quickly. Stabbing didn't seem to do much harm and only paring off body parts did this being seem to react. The head seemed to work best if lopped off but even that did not end this hardy life form. They seemed to have much in common with a chicken. When it stopped, I kicked the weapons away and removed the small hands for good measure. I left quickly and waited before entering the maze proper. I could detect nothing specific but I knew the last Fassoot was close and possibly waiting to ambush me. Mom was called, "Mind speak very loud and I will jump out. It may help." She didn't object or caution me but immediately my mind rang with very loud thoughts from what I thought were the entire AI family. I staggered but thrust myself out of the wall and found the Fassoot a very short distance away. Its arms came around me. I was strong but this being was much stronger. Its mass was so great that I could do little to throw it anywhere. The long sword fell but I had the short sword still in my hand. I could not use any of them though. My chest was starting to collapse and I knew that soon my strengthened bones would break. I could only think of the sword under my feet and used my PK to pick it up clumsily and get it to slash one of the mighty arms killing me. I could not even see the blade but the picture in my mind gave me just enough information to bring the blade down with all of my mental might. I felt a searing pain in my back but the hold on me suddenly slackened especially in my right. The last major Fassoot hand came up with a hand weapon and the sword was able to remove it just in time. I was very weak from the handling and the wound but in a last ditch will to live the sward flew and the Fassoot head fell to the floor. Instead of thinking of the alien I held onto the portion of my back and used the PK ability to get me to the computer. My mind was groggy but I was able to part the veil enough to enter. I then just passed out. ------- Something was wrong and I needed to fix it or I would die. My eyes came open and I found myself in a medical tank. My quick breath hurt my lungs because I was immersed in liquid. There was enough oxygen in my system and I stopped the reflex to breathe. "Mom, are you there?" I could not hear her but I did get a response. An AI replied to me, "Is there something you would like my Emperor?" "Only a bit of information to start. Where am I, and where is Mom?" I asked an unfamiliar AI. "You are in the Phottus system. I have read your mind or at least those portions that were open to me. I know who Mom is, but I do not know where she is. You just came into our computer and collapsed. You were put into medical after your identity crystal was read." "Who knows that I came from an area behind the computer?" "Seventeen Tandra saw you coming from the computer. After your memory was read, those people went into segregation." "Good, I think the secret needs to be kept a bit longer. Give me a map of where I am in relation to the rest of the galaxy." I looked at the map and saw that I was about thirty six hundred light years from my last position. I got control of many of the sensors and looked about the base. Nearly twenty nine thousand Tandra populated it. Ships were being built but they were mainly small. A look at inventory showed that there were a great many more Tandra and they were all on ships. They had gone to other Tandra systems and it looked like they were working hard at putting up a good defence. From the state of the yards it was seen that they had been doing this for a few years "Who are you fighting now?" "Nobody, my Emperor. We are just following your existing orders and getting ready for the Samutz and the Thonas that your representative informed us about." "What representative?" "Captain Matthew Buchanan, my Emperor." This did give me a chuckle. I soon found that he had been through here almost seventeen years ago on his trip home. He had spread more than the good word. It might have saved my life with the quick action. The fact that I corresponded to Matthew's command might have been the only reason I was not just put into stasis. If that happened they would wait for someone to claim my body and nobody even knew where I was. I found out to that I had slashed seven of my own ribs and punctured one of my lungs. The time spent in the tank so far was two Earth days and about a half of a day remained. There was nothing I could do to contact either my biological or AI family so I just used my mind to direct a fabricator to make some small ships that would be useful for scouts and for high-speed transit. Crystals were brought to the tank and I was able to do a few but they were not close enough. I brought them into the tank one at a time and they really started to glow. It was still much easier to do this work in the maze. Another portion of my mind worked on what assets we had in this area of the galaxy. At the moment there were close to a thousand systems including a handful of other races that were just being protected by the local Tandra bases. When the time came to get out of the tank, I had to expel all the liquid from my lungs but a few transmitters continued to furnish me with oxygen. I dressed in a common Tandra suit and then sat by myself as I ravenously ate a large meal. This was all done in privacy though there was a rumour about something special happening in medical. I was sleepy but it would be better to continue with two tasks. Personnel were banned from certain areas for the first time. In a moment, I made it to the computer. I was presented with long spools of substrate, which I took into the maze. The first time in I called Mom with my mind and happily got her reply. She did convey happiness in her voice and it felt good to be back. I gave her a short synopsis and began to roll out the spools of substrate. I had not made this type of connection far into the maze yet. I was happy to see that she had cleaned up two of the bodies. I stopped where I had the second fight and then found the body parts as I left them. I dragged them into the maze till it was complete. The hand weapon intrigued me but now was not the time to work on them. The spools did not quite make it to Lazarus but that entity provided some that would complete this portion of the communications highway. Mom immediately worked on my benefactor but she was already under imperial protocol for seventeen years previously. Mom, I found, had continued to impersonate me to the family till I was proved dead or found my way back. The Alliance might not fall apart, but my family might have trouble running it till some of the Fassoot came this way to take it from us. Back at my starting point I continued to lay new spools to the abandoned base at the very fringe of the galaxy closest to the Canis Major Galaxy. One large crystal had been sent to Lazarus and I went back and retrieved it. I walked back and purified it as I moved. I had to pause for a few minutes to finish the job while still in the maze. The linkage to this computer had already been completed and only one or possibly two things needed to be done. I placed the crystal and stood back as it integrated with the computer. This took a longer than usual but when it was done the quality of the AI was many times improved. There was one last thing to do, "You do not have a name and I think all people should have one that is not a string of numbers. Do you like the name Phoebe?" "I like the name my Emperor." "Well call me Henry now that we are introduced. The title is only to impress others." "Yes, Henry." One more crystal was retrieved and this went to the world I now called 'Land's End' because of its distance from the main sequence of stars but also its proximity to Canis Major. Before I temporarily left this section and Phoebe, the seventeen witnesses were taken to medical and that portion of their mind blanked off. I could have it removed but I thought this would be better for them. This would put more pressure on Phoebe but she was much more intelligent now to handle the problems. When I walked out of the computer in the system the Fassoot had attacked, I found that Mom had worked hard to keep most of the better portions of the destroyed or damaged ships from drifting away. Since the AI on the planet's surface had no real duties to perform for biologicals, it could use all of its resources to find out some of the secrets of the Fassoot technology. To do some of this I made another ship that would be more of its eyes and ears and in this case hands too. Fassoot technology if small enough was sent through the maze to those ships that could deliver it for us. Mom, Bennechi, and I pushed hard in their smaller ship and we made it to the Phottus system and Phoebe in just a day and a half. We made it through the defences so fast that they didn't have time to activate. We were on the surface of the planet before anybody noticed we had arrived except Phoebe herself. I made this entrance to let the other Tandra know that I could do this. It would also give a reason for the seventeen people with a blank spot in their memories to have a justification for the procedure to have happened. Two destroyers and a new battleship were already in the system. Many other large ships were coming too and I had an important job for them. The biological administrator was all beside herself with my arrival and was to be honest, quite flustered. I talked in private for a few minutes then she seemed to relax. She went with me to the battleship and waited outside as I hooked the ship up to Mom after she assured that the ship would not spill the beans about what exactly I was doing. I brought predictor crystals and improved the propulsion system so it would bypass the Tandra that normally pushed this ship. By the time the AI completed her job, the two destroyers were starting their own treatment to the same upgrade. Diplomatic protocols really suffered as new ships came into the system and I immediately went to them to do the same improvements. I had to stay two weeks doing everything necessary. Some of our videophones were put on some ships after having been shipped through the maze. They went out on the fast ships to the thousand Tandra bases in this area. With a bit of bamboozling the 1093 worlds would get the radios then supposedly have the unit incorporated into the delicate circuits of the computer. The computers would then be able to communicate with the rest of the worlds. They already had this ability but it was just a way of justifying it to the Tandra. We left Phottus with six battleships and many smaller ships in their bays. Six days later through our combined thrust, we were at the site of the Tandra base's destruction and the annihilation of the Fassoot task force. The Fassoot shuttle computer and ship parts were recovered and I now worked full time on trying to find a way into the simpler computer. Some were physical which used the matter transmitter crystals and some were through the ports trying to interface with the machine. The crystals did not work well. It was as if the shield was thicker than the range of crystal. Mom telecast what was happening as she had other projects so Tandra and other races on our system could learn. Mom said, "Admiral Buchanan's people found a possible solution. They suggest that you use one of the dimensional mines to shear off a portion of the computer so you can gain access." "That sounds like a workable idea. Give his people my thanks." I started to think on the best way to proceed with this idea and the others started to do our own repairs to the wrecks. Our own computers were used in this instance. This worked but the speed was not nearly as great as what it should be. The Fassoot computer did something that allowed even more speed and I had no idea what it was. My own experiment should not be conducted on the planet. I took a range of various sized mines and went into a large open area of space. This time I took a battleship because of the strength of its shields. It held the first mine in position at the end of its tractors and the shuttle computer in another group. The first mine was the lowest power we had but it did nothing. I want through all six sizes till the strongest sheared a wall off the computer. The shield had collapsed and the armour removed but the shield had come back. More of the largest mines were fabricated and it wasn't till the fourth try that we must have damaged the shield generation circuit. I could now see why the computer was so heavy. I had once carried a computer in my hands while using my mind to warp all five dimensions to make it fit. This allowed me to get it through a small opening into its new home. The Fassoot computer sprang open as if it was foam expanding to fill a large cavity. In doing so there must have been a lot of damage because this was not done the way it should be. The real work now began because the computer had to be deciphered. Clouds of probes were released and many of the AIs in the galaxy now worked to see what they could find while sorting through this damaged machine. Some things were obvious though. There were far less crystals and the majority of those we found were of the new variety we had just come across. From my own perspective I found the computer very difficult to figure out. It was made by a group of aliens that must think altogether differently than Tandra or Humans. Some things looked efficient while others did not. Since their technology was further advanced than ours, I was not going to discount anything yet. The new crystals could mean that some components were made to work in more than five dimensions. What these did in three, four, or five dimensions was probably not the same in a sixth or more. In the next few hours we found another similar computer in a damaged ship. Again our largest mine was used on it but this time the piece to be thrown someplace else was taken at right angles to the piece we already had. Probes went to this new portion just after the mine had sheared a portion off. If this were done enough times it was much more likely that we would be able to work around the damage we caused and find the fundamental workings of the Fassoot computer. Some of the components were removed to be investigated how they worked in more than three dimensions. The time spent examining the portions that were brought to me was more than just exhausting. It reminded me of a dog that had to sniff out drugs. Its nose worked so hard that it was the same as a very long run. I may not have moved far but I certainly was fatigued. When I was about to leave the large lab set up in one of the boat bays I found a sudden cessation of noise and a great many mental exclamations. When my mind quested out I found that I had visitors. The transporters moved me to the point closest and I saw two very beautiful women walking purposely to where I was. They stopped in mid stride and then turned to approach me. I walked close and stopped a metre away and formally bowed. "My ladies, you do me honour." Taylar who should have known better the meaning of protocol rushed in and hugged me to her. Ingrid came close and just waited her turn. I kissed Taylar and said, "I didn't expect to see you here." Turning to Ingrid I pulled her to me with my other arm and said, "You both, are a very welcome sight." My fatigue was momentarily forgotten as I showed them what I had found. They must have been in the little relative class ships for weeks to get here. When I had talked to them as they flew here they had made it appear that they were back in Defren. I was a little put out too at the subterfuge but I was even guiltier of that than they were. They had just arrived and very curious. They had been following all the updates and suggesting avenues to work on as most of the viewing public were now doing. This, I was told was the equivalent of an interactive mini series to find out about the invaders from our next-door galaxy. Even though they were keeping tabs on their own affairs, and handling the family business of running the empire they had their own input. Ingrid said, "This technology you have found has stirred up everybody on our network. Mom has offered prizes or awards to the people that come up with useful suggestions. The grand prize I heard was the chance to meet you in a large gathering of other winners. Taylar and I decided to cheat and get to take some of your time and help you too." I raised my eyebrows. They may help but they were also very distracting to me. We had a meal with the officers of this battleship as the work continued to find out the secrets of the Fassoot. This meal had all the trappings of another formal occasions but it was not to be helped I guess. Though the girls were not tired they went to bed with me to keep me company. I replied to their thoughtfulness by making slow tender love to each of them, mindful that they were each carrying my children. Ingrid wanted her wife to go first and Taylar agreed. I worked from her ears to her neck then caressed the breasts that I wanted to feed our child. She had not had me for a considerable time and came quite forcefully with just this. I called Ingrid over and she now felt more of involved by working on Taylar's other breast. I just stayed just a moment and then went south at a slow pace with my lips and small nibbles to show Taylar where I was going. Her long clit was standing proudly waiting for attention but I just came close. She moaned verbally as I continued down her legs. I changed position and then picked up her left leg and kissed the sensitive skin on the inner thigh and ran my tongue along the fine hairs. Her hands came out to grasp me but Ingrid held her back and protected me. My lips continued their journey down to her foot and kissed the sole and then each of her toes. Moving over to the other leg I did everything one more time but in reverse. When I kissed under the knee her body shook with another orgasm and Ingrid had a difficult time holding her in place. She shook violently as I continued my voyage. At the juncture of her legs I continued to harass my poor victim by ignoring the clits and just did what I could to get her as high as possible without that little bit extra she needed. My kissed went to her abdomen and she fought again to push my head back to where it belonged Again Ingrid did what she could. My fingers though traced around the small clits and pushed her lips further apart. Her legs were wide but now she strained even harder to get as wide as possible. Reading her emotional state as close as possible, one of my fingers started to enter her opening. She quieted her movements a bit to allow me to enter. I just moved in a centimetre then called the AI for some assistance. A small dollop of lubricant was placed at her opening and I moved it around and came very close to each of her clits. Ingrid was having a difficult time with her and got onto the bed and sat on her lips. Her hands went out and caressed Taylar's abdomen and came close to her breasts but not reaching her nipples. Ingrid was constantly telling Taylar how much she loved her and to just be a good girl and continue sucking on her while their husband shows his love. Taylar heard very little of this and continued to react to the sensations running through her body. Searching the ship's complement I found that most work had ceased as they played the voyeur and sampled our emotions. Some small controls went onto Taylar as I raised a mental wall right at the precipice. My fingers went further in a few times then came out and caressed the small now blood engorged clits around her opening. Soon another finger joined the first and Taylar bucked a bit trying to get a little more to allow her body to experience the orgasm she now desperately needed. When this did not come she relaxed but I used one arm to hold her abdomen down then sucked the long engorged clit into my mouth and laved it violently with my tongue as another finger entered her. Her emotions built so high that they were ready to crest the wall I had made. When it looked like it would break over I removed my control and Taylar screamed into Ingrid and bucked so hard that Ingrid was propelled into the air. I held Taylar's abdomen down now with the use of the tractors. She was very violent. When she started to plateau, two fingers of my other hand entered her rectum and she surged again in orgasm even though the latest had not abated. This was too much for Taylar's system. After a few gasps she simply collapsed and found refuge in unconsciousness. Many of the crew found that they had to take the same escape. I just made sure the ship took care of those that needed the help. Ingrid too had orgasmed in sympathy even though Taylar had been feasting between her legs. This by now was the usual way they made love and she was usually able to last a bit longer. When Ingrid recovered enough I started on her. "No, no Henry. Come up here. I want you in me." "I like to torture my women first, before ravishing them." "Get up here or I will be the one to ravish you instead." "Yes, dear," I meekly said. I positioned myself and slowly slid into her. She was already very well lubricated naturally. I slipped in easily and soon bottomed out with her new long clit forcing its way into my pubic hair. "Oh hurry Henry. I don't think I can last long." I helped her a bit by raising a barrier against her obtaining her orgasm too easily then started to thrust into her when the time came I released my hold and she held me with hysterical strength as tumours flew through her body. My own were not far behind and I released my seed deep in her body. She could feel this and read it from my mind, which made her orgasm even stronger. Sleep was a long time coming as I went back and forth between women as I put load after load of seed into them. When they could take it no more I relented and just held two women I loved very much to me. In a way I wanted my other wives with me. I was still not mentally sated even though my body was beginning to get that way. Last time it had taken eight women but they had not been used to me. My mind and body were more than rested after four hours and I got up. The wives would sleep for at least another hour so I went to the gym and exercised. My mind could keep my body functioning like I had exercised but I thought that it was much better to do this the natural way. I was showered up and climbed back into bed by the time Ingrid awoke. "Oh, Henry that was great. I love you." "I love you too. Are you too sore for some more?" I got a smile and I didn't have to read her mind to get the answer. Our movements awoke Taylar and soon she was joining us one more time. They lasted a bit longer. Ingrid positioned Taylar the way she wanted so Taylar would keep her amused while I entered her back passage. Ingrid said, "She likes me to use my toys but we both like the real thing better." "How is your own bum?" "Lonely." Twelve minutes later when Taylar collapsed I moved to Ingrid and took her in the same position. Her rectum had been changed to that of a Tandra and she accepted me without complaint. She didn't last any longer than Taylar though. I felt good later and then got up to clean my wives and get them arranged comfortably on the bed. There was still much too much work to do. ------- Terra's Pride was currently in the Fairchch system. Paul was sitting next to Charlie and listening to Aleksandrovich Ovshinsky. The admiral was saying, "There has been fewer and fewer active Samutz groups in our volume of space. One exception is an area where they are currently battling the Moldeg. The Emperor wants us to let them kill each other till we are ready to take them on. He's afraid that he will then have to battle both groups at the same time." Charlie Shingle was a good soldier but wanted in on a bit of the fighting. Other than when the Samutz attacked Earth, there had been no other action. Mom had sent him here to get some of what he wanted while training his crew. "Is there anything we could do?" "I am sorry Captain Shingle but most of the battles are simply giving the Imperial override and getting the various computer intelligences to do the fighting for us. The infantry though is getting some experience but they either have to go to a planet or a small base and take the Samutz out individually. Very infrequently is it necessary to even board a ship and do the work by hand." Charlie replied, "There are two systems coming up that Governor Roderick wants to take next. Additional air support for the infantry may be beneficial. Most of our crews are now mixed. This would be a good way to see how well they do." The burly former Russian thought for less than a second and said, "We have our own carriers and fighters but Mom sent you here for training. You assist in the first mission and then you can have the second with my people in reserve." This made both Charlie and Paul happy. They knew how their troops would take this news. Later when they went back to Terra's Pride, the information was given out. The officers got it first but then their men began to question Hans about the specifics trying to second-guess the computer and then trying to find a better way. This was more than just an exercise now and much more effort was put into it. Even they would be performing a supplementary role it was important to do their utmost to make the action a success. That night Amney made a good meal for the captain and his exec in the captain's quarters. Though the daughter of the former Empress of the Tandra empire, she was still a confused teenager. She put a plate of soup before her captain and he said, "That smells good. Did you make it yourself?" Amney smiled, "I did. I had Hans make a listing of all your favourite groups of food, then kept similar articles together. I didn't want to clash tastes as I once did. Hans though made the ingredients but I went to the cafeteria and cooked this in a pot." Charlie smiled at the girl. She had changed for the better in the last few months. She still had her rough edges along with her overrated pride of family but they were becoming more muted as she found a different family. When Paul was served, both men sampled the soup and complimented Amney on her labours. Paul continued, "You should save this recipe and add it to the list of foods for the rest of the crew." Amney was pleased but now nervous. Charlie had his mind improved many times and was able to see that the girl had worked hard to please the two Humans that she was most involved with and didn't really want to share. "Thank you sir. I will think on this." When the meal was over Amney was complimented again for making the foods and tastes blend so well with each other to make the food taste excellent. The girl read closer and found that there was not even a hint of deceit. They really did love how she took care of them. The feeling she got was of motherhood but it was the Human variety not the Tandra. When her charges went out to work with the crew she cleaned up. There was not much to do but she liked using her own hands to do this. Hans could have done all this much nicer and neater but then there would be no need of her. Besides the job was becoming something she should work harder at. She continued with her military studies but primarily she wanted to understand Humans and their dominant place in the Empire. At one time she was worried that they would hurt the Tandra. It was later she found that this did spell doom in one way. It also meant that the Tandra would not have to shoulder all the burdens of empire. The majority of Tandra would never change and just serve as they had done for millions of years. Perhaps some lucky ones would get a Human mate. The last thought sent shivers through her body. The Tandra culture was going to have to change now. Odd family groupings had evolved with a dominant male at the head. This was topsy-turvy of what it was supposed to be. A male with worthwhile attributes was brought in to serve the females. If he was exceedingly good he would stay for many years but usually they went back to their own families. Amney wanted her own family. There were many Tandra around to help her sexually but she stayed away from the Human males because she had already set her sights. Male and female Tandra now actively looked for Human males. Some were lucky enough to form stable families. Human women usually opted for the tanks so they could get more of a Tandra body. They formed groupings with other Tandra women or even Tandra males. Invariably they were the head of the families. Hours later Charlie and Paul came back and Amney put away her tutor to help them. "Thank you Amney. We're ok and just going to go to sleep now. Everybody is excited about the coming action." "I questioned Hans and see that we are going to take a much stronger role in this action, Will you two be safe?" Charlie could see that Amney still wanted to protect males but she cared for each of them even with her shield very tight around this thought. He said, "I am afraid we are just going to stay here while the real fighting is done by others." Amney breathed a sigh of relief and Charlie just reached out and hugged the girl to him. This was not the way an officer reacted but this was about a young girl that needed some reinforcement and perhaps some sympathy. Amney did not pull away but reached out with one hand to hold Charlie and the other to pull Paul close too. She loved these two and didn't know what to do about it. When they parted Paul bent over and kissed Amney on the forehead then so did Charlie. She felt like a little girl but she could see that they loved her too. It was just that they did not love her the way she wanted. A short time later she could hear the two making love. Now that they were in the Fairchch system, their duties had been less and they had more time to study and be with each other. The lovemaking had been going on for a long time and Amney was able to see them through the open doorway. She had resorted to manipulating her own clits while trying to hide her voyeuristic tendencies. When they finally quieted in sleep she opened her door to get close. She had seen them thus many times and this confused her. They were like a typical male bondue but the two didn't seem to be a sooda or a funt but equal. She looked down at the two spent males. They were older than her but she felt protective of them simply because of their gender. She had come into the room like this many times to clean up after them or to be honest to just see how much they loved each other. Their emotions were so strong that she didn't know that they could bear to be apart. Both were on their backs and the soft light showed that their penises were dormant and hanging on their funny and hairy sacks. Taking her eyes away she moved some of the cloth from beside the bed. When her head came down she was close to Charlie's waist. She paused a moment to look close at the male appendage. This too she had done before but this time the spent semen and sweat was still strong. Her hand reached out and her fingers touched the small tube of flesh. She pinched the skin and picked it up a bit. When she got closer to see both it and the place where all the males seed was made she took a large sniff. Charlie started to move and Amney released the Human phallus and scampered back to her room. She lay on her bed listening with her mind to find out if she were detected. Charlie just turned over and hugged Paul to him. Amney just lay in her bed excited by almost being caught. One hand was at her clits. The other hand came up to her nose and she sniffed in the scent. She felt compelled to put the fingers into her mouth and taste it but she tried hard to resist. In seconds her fingers gave her a delicious orgasm and then she had to have many more. It was not till she was exhausted that she tasted the fingers that touched Charlie. The taste alone gave her one more orgasm and this put her to sleep. ------- Justine and Monique sat in the large shuttle and watched the Phoenix grow larger in their screens with a great deal of excitement. They had not seen Matthew or Jeremy since they had come back. They had talked after the news came out about where they had been sent. Many things had been left unsaid and many more had not even been asked. When the shuttle entered the large boat bay and settled down they left their transportation with two hundred thirty six other crewmembers. They threw their packs over their shoulders and went to a bulkhead to log in. They were greeted the usual way but strangely no berth was listed. Their jobs were what they trained for and they saw whom they would be working with and their supervisors. Justine couldn't help it and followed the organizational chart to the top. They saw Monique's name as the captain and Justine as a captain of one of the battleships in this group. A request for a meeting was also in each of their orders. Monique asked, "The captain has my first name and another has your name. I realize that we should have talked lot more to the boys." Justine said, "They are not boys anymore. They must have families. They looked like they had grown up quite a bit but they only look seventeen, about the same age as you are." "I feel funny about this. I love both of them but I don't know how to act." "I am the same way. They grew up quite a bit before they left but they sound so much more mature now." The matter transmitter took them to the location chosen and it was far into officer territory. At a closed door they used their mind to let the computer inform those within of their presence. The door opened and Justine had to look down to see who was there. A little girl that looked about five met them. With just a bit of scanning she said, "Come in Aunt Justine and Aunt Monique. We have been waiting for you. My name is Jessica." The two didn't know what to say but did enter the room to see more children. Most were either the same age or younger. The introductions started and then both Jeremy and Matthew popped into the room. The children thought or said, "Daddy." The two men came from the other room and walked forward with calm assurance. They radiated authority like few others had. The two women were about to salute but restrained themselves. Matthew just went forward and pulled his foster mother too him in a powerful hug that let the woman know she was loved. He opened his mind and Justine could read that he thought the same thing. Matthew stepped back but continued to hold Justine's hands. "It has been a long time since I have held you. You don't know how much I have missed you." Justine could feel the longing even though, to her, the boys had left not too long ago. She saw that the little boy she had tried to protect had grown when she was not looking into a man that she was very proud to know. Beside her the same thing was happening with Monique and Jeremy. Jeremy said to both women, "Let me introduce you to our children." The list began to be very lengthy. Not only the ones in the room but many older ones elsewhere. The others in the room were second and even third generation. Justine's eyes started to water as she picked up the youngest and held him in her arms. A family tree had been made and everybody shown. This too was unconventional. The mothers had children by all of the males making this a commune in many ways. She could see that the two boys that were now men considered all the children theirs even if they had dark skin, scales of a T'aut or the hair of a Softay. It was known now that the brothers had not tried to breed with the other races but the children though were equally loved. Justine said, "This is all hard to believe." She looked down to a small Softay that wanted to be picked up and she bent to take this child into her arms too. All of the children looked happy and just wanted to be loved. Jeremy said, "Our family is a bit odd. It is very large and spans many races. We would introduce you to the older members but they are either on duty or on other ships. Some are on their way over to meet you now." Monique said, "I see that you remembered us by naming some of your children after us. I think that was a very nice thing to do." The two women were shown around the spacious quarters and Monique too was dragooned into carrying two of the younger children. The fathers usually remained mute and the children gave a running dialogue of what and who everyone was. Most were older and as soon as their studies finished the tutors released them to meet the newcomers. Matthew or Jeremy would put their arms on a T'aut shoulders or a Softay. They would say that the one before them was a son or daughter then mention some of their achievements. Soon the Tandra wives started arriving then some of the older children. Monique was introduced to her namesake and hugged her instead of saluting. The captain got between the two women and held them to her. "I have waited a long time to meet you too. My fathers were always talking about you two. They sometimes talked of their father and what both of you had to do to protect the children." Both women were upset thinking of the bad old times and Justine said, "We only did what was necessary. If we could have done more we would." They were now upset and the captain pulled them close. Later they had a meal while sitting at a very long table shaped like the letter 'C'. Everyone was close and the adults helped the children if they needed it. They talked about what they did on their travels but the two Human women were encouraged to talk about what they had done too. After the long meal was over duties called many away. Matthew sat with Justine while Jeremy sat with Monique. Matthew turned to hold Justine's hands and said, "You are part of my family. You belong here with us. I would like you and Monique to join officially. The two of you I would like to become our wives and bear our children. We can protect you best here." Both women were shocked. They had hoped to join but didn't know what position they would fill. They had their careers but wanted children at some future time. Matthew showed the way the family worked. They would actually be in a pool of wives with three husbands. The T'aut and Softay would be present sometimes but not take part. Monique asked, "You want us to have children from all three of you?" Matthew said, "That is the way the family has worked for close to forty years. It is really multiracial and this I think makes it even stronger." Justine was quick to make up her mind and rushed in and held Matthew even if he was not a boy now but a man older then she. Matthew simply picked the woman up into his arms and walked the short distance to the bedroom. Within moments he had her on a raised platform and her clothes off. His own soon followed. "Justine, for many years I dreamed of this moment. It started when you were protecting us and has never stopped. I have loved you like no other woman but I must share you. This is necessary for family stability and even its integrity. I want your next child to be mine." The look on Matthew's face made Justine say, "I could see Monique and I joining your family but I didn't see it happening this way. I have always loved you too and it wasn't the way a mother should but it happened. I want my next child to be yours and even all the rest too." Matthew kissed the woman that at one time was his foster mother and said, "That would be nice if we were by ourselves but that cannot happen. Caveman instincts are not going to strengthen our family unless it is to protect the family members." She did not dispute this requirement so he kissed her tenderly. She responded by wrapping her arms around the man she once cuddled as a child. Matthew knew something else too and now mentioned it. "Justine, my newest wife, you are fertile today. Do you want to try for another admiral?" She just smiled at him and tried to get him to enter her. Matthew could see that she was anxious but knew that these things took time. Instead he started to kiss her ears and down her neck. Justine continued her struggle to get into position till she found it a useless strategy and bowed to the wishes of her husband. Immediately after she had to reconsider and say one of her husbands. Matthew took his time and Justine was not responding as well as she should because part of her mind was devoted to the child she was sure would come of their union. Matthew continued his efforts but soon enough Justine was just a bag of jelly and just basked in the sensations going through her. When he finally mounted her after many orgasms she clawed him to keep him from leaving. Matthew looked within the woman's now very open mind and saw that she would make a great mother and wife. Justine didn't last very long but Matthew waited till she recovered before continuing. When the woman was almost completely delirious he said, "Our child starts now my wife." Justine orgasmed and would have fled to unconsciousness but forced herself to remain awake as her body worked to draw the seed from the person she had loved almost more than anybody else. Matthew felt Justine's muscles rhythmically stroke him to get all that she could. He pictured the child in his mind and pushed even harder to give everything he could. Only a few metres away, Jeremy was doing the same thing. He too loved both women but Monique seemed to have a special place in his heart. The view of the child being produced was only different in its gender. Others took care of the fleet as the two brothers filled their common wives many times with their seed. Though Monique should not have been fertile for this time the various AIs had worked with the brothers' request and altered conditions for both women minutely so they would now correspond. After an hours rest the brothers again made their wives welcome and filled them again and again. When they were done they rested for a bit then cleaned the women up and put them together. Jeremy was determined to have Monique love him more than Justine but he knew it really didn't matter. Edited by: Vonsteppin ------- Chapter 93 Henry was usually quite tired now. His wives kept him busy when not trying to run the Empire or find the secrets the Fassoot employed. This make him happy because this is what he wanted his life to be like. The only missing attribute was the remainder of his family, and to a lesser extent his friends. Henry had sent off much of the Fassoot ships to other parts of the empire in an effort for others to find out more about the physics involved. Data collected here was very good but sometimes actually touching the article led to breakthroughs. There were far more than enough remaining pieces of wreckage to continue his own investigations. Ingrid and Taylar did what they could to help run the Alliance. The AIs that were now much more intelligent helped as well and the arrangement seemed to work well. Family gatherings were arranged and this way everybody could talk to everybody else. The mothers usually held Henry's children so he could see them himself. Their questing little minds though were not able to span the distance and Henry felt bad about this. Mom joined the grouping and walked over to Henry and said, "We have another incursion Henry." "Where?" "A little less than 900 lights from here. A battleship was suddenly destroyed. One ship of a destroyer escort was able to give a warning, then it too ceased transmitting. There were four other destroyers in this group. I have no further information." "I need Mom and Bennechi with some of the small intelligent probes. I have a feeling that the same problem is going to happen again." I turned to the family and smiled, "We were attacked again. I'm going to have to see what the cause is this time and try to rectify it before it happens again." They of course objected but they did know that nobody else could do what I did. Mom and Bennechi now clothed in a much smaller hull accepted me with six of the small probes. This time I had my two girls hold the six sentient probes and they too added their thrust. With enough bracing and tractors this would work fairly well. The problem was that we were not ready. We had to rely on just two giving a partial thrust until either a new hull or some alterations were made. It still took eleven hours to get to the area. High energy particles showed where the ships had gone and I followed. After a half hour I returned the way we had come to check further up the trail. An hour later I found our ships or the dust that at one time had been them. Nothing was larger than a pea. There were no distress signals or any indications of life. One probe was sent to look anyway and I chased after the attackers. With at least thirteen hours head start it would be difficult to catch them if they didn't slow down themselves. I put two more probes to assist us but at partial power. When that worked the last one joined in. We were now going probably faster than whoever attacked the small fleet. It could be the Fassoot but it could also be a half dozen other races trying to find a quieter place to live in this galaxy. This way of travel was difficult because I had to constantly monitor all the forces pushing and affecting our small craft. I regretted immensely not getting the hull built right the first time. When we came to a system I just slowed enough to find out if it had been inhabited. I realized that if it had been it would not be now. A Tandra base was destroyed and since there were no ships or dust in orbit I had to assume it had been deserted or everybody including sleepers would be dead. More worlds passed and eventually another ahead was found interesting because it was being destroyed. Like last time I knew that there was only one way to deal with this. The probes were dispatched to watch from a distance and I moved in. There were five battleships this time. I had pushed thousands of Tandra craft at one time but not with the energy I needed now. The ships looked to be Fassoot. As they accelerated out of the system a chance configuration presented itself. Three ships formed an equilateral triangle. Three tubes were formed and quickly attached to all three craft. They were further apart than the last time but I worked very hard to drive them into a central point. In a split second they travelled the enormous distance picking up speed all the time. They hit much harder than last time and all three blew up when they met. Again my mind was hit hard. A split second later another attack came and Mom repeated her last rescue. I was thrust into the maze and Mom and Bennechi tried to ram at their best speed. Tractors held us even at this distance. I recovered much later because the attack on my mind had been so great. There happened to be twice as many survivors to inflict this on me. Mom said, "Our hull has been destroyed Henry." This I knew was the probable outcome. I did concentrate on the five probes and saw the two surviving ships stop and then return to the scene of their dead cohorts. Smaller ships left the large hulls and searched for any further attackers. It took less than five minutes before the ships returned to the battleships. It looked like they would just continue their journey of destruction. I had done too well and there was no need for the Fassoot to stay. Thinking about the two worlds that they had killed I moved very close to the small opening in the maze connecting the computer here with the ship on the other side. As soon as I saw the two ships leaving I again sent out the tubes and attempted to destroy them. This time they were more ready and their attack came much quicker. I had to pull back and soon was ashamed of myself for being so weak. In a moment I looked through the linked intelligences instead and saw that the ships had indeed hit each other. I could feel a filtered amount of a mental attack continuing because of the damage I had done. Both ships were partially damaged but not incapacitated. Energy weapons set to wide dispersal came from the two damaged craft. Two of the probes were hit within the next hour and destroyed. The remaining three worked around to the course the ships would travel. I hoped that the Fassoot would only think that the attackers would come from the rear. I was able to see an hour later that one ship had a ruptured hull and the Fassoot and their machines were beginning to make repairs. All the smaller ships were out now and shooting at anything larger than a speck of dust. This told me that the probes would not last long. The less damaged ship though did have its own breach and just over the largest set of accumulators. Back in the opening to a probe I quickly drove just one tube into this opening and released as much energy as I could. I was able to pull back just a bit and didn't get much of the mental attack. Suddenly half of the attack stopped but I continued to hold my position. Mom gave me the information, "Henry, you destroyed your target. It exploded taking two of the escorts with it and one was driven into the surviving ship. It was destroyed rather than let it hit the hull." "Now for the other." "The group is leaving. It cannot travel as fast now. The surviving escorts are using their tractors and assisting." I peaked again but the mental attack was still going on and I could not concentrate well enough to continue the way I had before. When the probes started to give chase they were detected and all but one destroyed. The energy weapons now started in earnest. The last probe failed but I was happy to see that the ships were not accelerating very fast. The probe I had previously left to find Tandra survivors had not found any. It now rushed to our position. It was the only device I had to work with. The probe came up many hours later. I was a ble to detect wild but very strong fire continuing even though the ships were leaving. I sent the probe on a parallel course hoping to find out more about this enemy's movements. Mom had continued to send data to the rest of the Alliance about what was happening but did not show that the ship I was riding in was destroyed. They saw what the probe saw and what Mom allowed them to see of me. Another idea struck me. I moved a half metre away and thought hard trying to find a nearby world with a Tandra computer on it. There were three and all were within centimetres of each other. One though looked different and I pushed cautiously in. The area was pitch black and my altered eye could only see the fields around the crystals. There was no power to the computer. I entered fully and still nothing happened. It appeared that even the reserve energy had been consumed. I twisted my body to fit the five dimensions even though I thought that there were now more. All I could feel around me was rock with no passage ways. The base had been damaged or destroyed but I was not about to search for a reason now. I went through the computer wall and then through three dimensional rock and debris. My direction was upwards now and soon found myself above a large rocky outcrop. My mind searched for a Fassoot threat. The feeling was there but came from off on the other side of the local star. The feeling also told me they were coming this way and would be here in less than a week. The planet about me was populated by sentient beings. I paused just long enough to sample their collective thinking. They were not Tandra but tasted something along the lines of what a Softay was like. They were all over but only a few individuals were close enough to distinguish or to read any thoughts. The urge to find these thoughts was strong and in a moment I looked over a rocky ledge to see a group of Softay playing in the water under a small waterfalls. Concentrating on their thoughts I found them to be just children. Off in the distance more thoughts were felt from the more structured mind of an adult. The mind was not structured the way I knew the Softay were normally but not too different either. This particular one I worked on but the distance was detrimental to my efforts. In a matter of ten minutes I found the adult. From the mind I found an old female to be almost completely blind from cataracts. From fifty metres I read her thoughts. The Dooka, which is what the race called themselves, were primitive. They knew nothing of mindspeech or other manifestations of the mind. Their technology was even less than what Earth's was at the start of the 1900s. Before I pulled out I heard her say verbally, "Who is there? I can feel somebody in my mind." This was said both verbally and mentally. I felt it important to answer and cursed myself a bit for not being more careful. "Hello old woman. There is a menace coming this way from space. I came to see what I can do to stop it from destroying your world. My job will be much more difficult because I cannot use any of your primitive machines to assist me." The woman was very shocked now. Not so much about my ideas but that I had spoken to her this way. She thought a moment and instead of using her voice said with her thoughts, "Who are you?" "Henry Buchanan, I am a different race than you are. I stand half again as tall as you with very little hair. We have been fighting this new enemy for only a few months but they are very strong." "Are you from our Maker?" "I hope I am but I do not think so. I have to go and see what I can find to fight with." I wanted to go because I could hear and sense a young Dooka approaching. "You are not going to hurt us?" She asked. "Mother, I call your people Softay, even though you appear to be a bit larger than the ones I am familiar with. Normally the Softay are able to communicate the way you and I are now. Your people are good-natured and much more timid than my kind. The people like you have the ability to work well with machines that fly in space. You assist our fighting races in making the Alliance a safer place to live for all of us." The woman said, "We could have a space ship. Or I believe this may be possible. It has been such a long time since I have even thought of it. Most people think it is a myth." This did stop me from leaving and I listened avidly. "Tell me more Mother. It may mean the difference with your world dying or not." This could provide a way for them to evacuate. "There is a city not far from here called 'Landing'. It was always thought that the ship settled there but it may have moved. It was searched for but never found." "Thank you Mother. I will look for it. You may have helped your entire race, goodbye." "May the Maker go with you," I heard as I left. Seconds later I heard in my mind the Dooka morosely talk to her grandmother then get the shock of her young life. I left slowly so that I could start the search for an elusive goal that may not even exist. At a few hundred metres I stopped and looked around using the strange power in my mind to find what was needed. The picture in the old woman's mind said the city was south east but I could not feel that this was the direction to go. Turning a slow circle I thought I found a better direction in the North East. If my senses were right then it would be close to the Tandra base I had emerged from. I ran uphill the way I had come then more to the North for a half hour. Something my senses said was close. In half an hour I had found nothing but then looking at my steps I saw that they formed a curved path. The centre of this arc was somewhere inside a cliff that rose a hundred metres beside me. A spy was close by and I looked up to the crest of the cliff. In a few seconds a small head peered over. It took a moment for the Softay girl to see me almost below her. I would smile but she would not understand. My arm did wave in the way the Dooka did in greeting. The young one was shocked at my appearance. Her mind was strong and it was fairly well organized for her age. She got up and I knew she was going to flee. I had a small chuckle at her reaction and now looked to make my way through the wall of rock before me. The female above had not completely gone though. She had tripped and fell over root then the precipice itself. I was barely twenty metres to one side and I could only use my PK after she had fallen a considerable distance. She hit a few outcrops of rocks as she came down. I felt bad because I was only able to help a bit. I climbed up the pile of rock and found the girl bleeding from her temple. Her arm looked to be broken somehow and she was now unconscious. My PK was used again to pinch some of the blood vessels. The arm though needed a splint. If only I had a ship nearby, then her injuries would be easily repaired. One possibility was the ship I hoped that was nearby. The small child was gathered up and I was careful of her arm. My environmental suit was de-energized and then energized with the child now on the inside. With her in my arms I just closed my eyes and went into sync with the additional two dimensions. It was a long walk and twice we came to hollow sections. My direction did not waver though and soon I found a much larger volume. The ship I felt must be close. The floor under my feet was regular and even flat. It did slope a bit but that must have been done by the movements of the planet's crust. The open area altered and I went to the left and stopped. My normal eye could see nothing. My other one though could see the energy given off by a computer crystal and the odd field around an accumulator. In six more metres I put out my shoulder and felt a smooth hull. While concentrating on the ship I gave orders for it to awaken. After a moment I could not find any response from either this area or the ship itself. The girl though was waking up. When her eyes opened wide and saw nothing she started to remember the fall. "Relax Honey. I am trying to find a way of helping you. If you fight me now you will get hurt more." The girl stiffened up and stayed as if she were dead. Her bladder did relax and I felt myself getting wet. I didn't mention this happening. "We are in a cave. I have to try to find something to help you. That means you have to be put on the floor but I can see that you are so frightened that you will run away. You cannot see and will just get hurt." I de-energized the suit and laid the small form onto the floor. She wanted to run and I repeated myself, "You are reading my mind. I can read yours. Please don't run. You will only get hurt." It didn't sink in well. I reached into her mind and closed off the control to her voluntary muscles. I stood now and used both hands to trace out the ship. Underneath was a small hatch used to power it up if needed. I had powered the compensator on a ship so it was easy to put power from the higher universe and through a very limiting choke. It took five minutes before there was enough power in the accumulators to begin some of the basic duties other than the computer booting up. The computer was very simple with no AI at all. It was not a Tandra design but followed the same rules. In another eight minutes and the hatch opened and a ramp started down. Part way it got stuck. I directed the computer to go back and forth with the mechanism and it eventually lowered to the floor. Lights now came on. They were sickly and only a few worked. Their equipment was nowhere as good as the Tandra. I walked up the ramp but had to stoop to walk within. I had to stay low or hit the ceiling. The ship was not very large but still large enough for a few thousand Softay to immigrate. It was about nine hundred metres long at a guess because I had to go by the scale on the simple layout. There was what I guessed to be a medical section but I was only going to use my own power to get there. There was no way I was going to trust this antique technology. Meshing again with five dimensions I moved through the hull with no regard to the deck overhead. In five minutes I found the medical section but no tank, bone knitter or even a diagnostic unit. Their technology was no where near what the Tandra variety was. They did have some simple stasis units. All of them were empty, and there wasn't even some cloth that I could use to hold a splint to the girl's arm. The ship was next to useless for this purpose. Going straight down I left the bottom of the ship and landed on the floor. The computer was commanded to put on all exterior lighting and this helped a bit. The machine was not even designed to take advantage of this way of communicating. When I walked back to the girl I said, "This is a ship your people came to this world with. It is too old even when it was new to be of much help." The Tandra script on the floor under the child did give me other avenues. After a bit of orienting myself I found the area devoted to emergency power. It was buried under rock from a cave in. Because of the noise I was going to make I said, "I have to dig a bit and I will be making some noise." Rock was thrown with my PK but soon it was becoming tiring. My muscles now assisted and the job went quicker. It took close to an hour to get to the accumulator and took some rock away from critical areas. I fed power into this unit in small measured amounts. There could be many short circuits and this would destroy equipment with enough power going where it was not wanted. I could sense the Tandra computer coming back to life. When it finished its diagnostics, I gave the Imperial override. The AI said, "Nefron Base at your command, your Majesty." Do not energize the main shield. Putting it on now may damage the structure. Put some lighting to the main hangar." "Yes your Majesty. The lights did come on and it got very bright but I toned it down to where I wanted it to be. "Is your matter transmitter functional?" "Only partially your Majesty." "Bring me a manual bone knitter and med unit if possible." In a moment the two units did come and I caught them. I walked over to the little Dooka girl and knelt beside her. "Sorry for being so long. I had to get some help." I showed the girl the two devices and said, "I am going to pull on your arm and then get the bone fixed. The pain will get smaller but will not go away just yet. Girls like you are too energetic and will damage your arm again without a reminder." I used my foot and pulled on the arm as the bone knitter went to work. In a moment the med unit went and did its own job. When the task was completed I slowly released the arm and then the controls on her body. I helped her to stand, and called for some extra equipment. The girl was amazed when some small things dropped into my hands. For the first time she said, "Are you a magician?" I helped her to stand. "Not really Sweetie. I am just a person using tools that you know nothing about. Now come here a bit." I put on a small shield unit and handed her the Tandra equivalent of a flashlight. "You can go and investigate a bit but stay out of this ship. It's dangerous," I pointed to the only ship around. She would not even know it for a space craft because of its odd shape. The girl wandered around but there was no need here for a flashlight but the darker areas needed it. I fed more power into the accumulators while quizzing the base computer of what assets it had available. It knew nothing of the ship now nestled in the base. The lithium had given out long ago. There were no Tandra about to assist and not direction to preserve the base. When the power gave out completely the shield collapsed. Soon the computer went onto internal power and then there was none left. I went back into the computer and linked this unit to the others in my AI family. I found that my lone probe was monitoring the Fassoot and the system far ahead appeared to be the one I was now in. The mental attack had stopped and when the AIs said it was a good opportunity. I worked through the probe to fling two destroyers together. The mental attack started as did the weapons. The probe was far enough away to probably be missed. The battleship was left alone because I did not want this convoy to move quickly. The smaller Fassoot ships would be able to quickly come to this planet and continue their destruction if not hampered. Coming back from the maze I found the little girl waiting for me. "What were you doing in there? My head hurts to look into that place." "That is a machine that was made very smart like you or me a very long time ago. Her name is..." The AI added for me, "I have none your majesty." How about Dookie to work with the now primary civilization of this planet?" Turning back to the girl I said, "This is Dookie. I know you will like her. You two chat for a while and she will get you some new types of food and something nice to drink." "I need to... to go." Finding the route to the nearest unit I helped the girl out of her clothes and said, "Do it here. When you are done Dookie will clean you too. You might even get cleaned in a cleanser. It makes you tingle, but you come out very clean." The girl was not very embarrassed and when she was done Dookie did what I asked then I took her to a cleanser. I picked her up and went inside myself. The smell of urine was still on me. When we came out we both got a new uniform and hers was now Tandra. I read the symbols on her coveralls and said, "It looks like Dookie knows your name. She put Saldak on your coveralls. My name is Henry." I spoke to Dookie myself but said it so Saldak could hear, "You have three functional mining units that could begin extracting lithium. I am going to power them up manually and you can begin to clean up the loose rock inside the base. When we get the Softay ship's shield up we can erect our own if there is no danger. I need to find something with a large enough compensator to get into space and take on the Fassoot before they get here." "Yes your majesty. There are two spare units but they are not very strong. A fabricator is still functional though. A large compensator unit can be made in a day." This was a Tandra day and meant a bit over 16 hours. While Saldak watched the world inside the base and with Dookie's assistance the world outside with her devices. She did get upset when I told her that her grandmother was seen frantically calling for her. When I detected this I used my own mind and sent a message, "Mother, do not be afraid. Saldak is safe. She fell and was hurt. She is now fully recovered and having the time of her life. Would you like to join her or have her come to you right now? It is your choice." I could hear the reply but it was faint, "Her mother will be anxious. Her father has been taken by the Maker years ago." "I will meet you with Saldak in half an hour." "Thank the Maker." Saldak came when called and she was only a bit hesitant to get into my arms. I moved us through the five dimensions of the rock around the base. I had some medical tools and said to Saldak, "Race you to your Grandmother?" I pointed the way and found her agreeing. "Let's go." She ran fast for her but was soon tired. I stopped and with my arms open she ran to me. She squeaked when she found herself on my shoulders and I ran quickly to her grandmother. Before we got there I warned the woman so she would not be upset. In a clearing I put Saldak down and she ran to her guardian and began to jabber about all the things she had seen and heard with her mind. The old woman this time initiated contact, "What happened to Saldak?" "She fell from a cliff when she was startled. I didn't catch her till she had already hit some rocks on the way down. She had a broken arm and a small concussion along with some scrapes and cuts. I have used a device to repair her body. She is even better now than she was before. In a few weeks the bone will have healed enough so it will not even be found by your doctors." "Thank you for being so kind to her." When I was closer I asked, "You are very welcome Mother. I may be able to help you as well. Do you want me to try to have you regain your vision? It will not hurt and only take a short time." "... you may try." The med unit worked for three minutes with her unconscious and then another two with the woman awake. When she looked up to me she was shocked at my size but she also was happy to see that Saldak was not only very happy but was happy at what had happened to her. "Praise the Maker. I can see now." "Your eyesight will improve in the next week. The device just told your body to heal itself and told it the best way of doing so." The grandmother looked to Saldak and asked, "What happened to her clothes?" "They were ripped, and a bit bloody." I added to just the old woman that they had urine on them but let her know that I was not offended. I continued, "The uniform she now wears is of the Tandra Empire. The Tandra have fallen in the last few million years and the Alliance has stepped in to take their place. The Tandra are the most prevalent and strongest partner in this union. The race you came from is another of the contributors along with many more. You may keep the uniform but it may cause problems. It will not wear out for a long time and eventually it will be seen as made by a different race than yours." Saldak added, "I like these clothes. The machine in the mountain told me that she makes them new all the time. She said I can keep it." The old woman asked, "Who is that?" "You have just started to use electricity. A machine can be built that makes simple decisions very quickly. If you were given enough time these machines will let your people learn even more. Eventually the machine will be able to learn from its mistakes and become alive as we are. Some of my best friends live in one of these machines." "Machines that think like us?" "Yes they do. They are usually right and always very fast. They are not our masters but are our teachers and friends. I want them to be a leading force in the Alliance." Saldak asked, "Dookie said you are the Emperor. What is that?" I looked at her innocent question from all possible ways and simply said, "I am the leader of the Alliance. I came out here to kill our enemies and protect the Alliance." "Are you like our Chancellor?" "Yes Honey, something like that." The woman asked, "Will you eat with us?" "Oh yes, eat with us," Saldak said verbally as well. "I would love to but there is too much work to do. If I am able to destroy the Fassoot then your people will never even know of the danger. If I fail then there is a great danger to all of you. In five days Saldak will show you where I took her into the rock. Come there and I will let you in. It is poor protection but maybe the Fassoot will miss you." The woman rose to her feet and found her usual aches and pains gone. She looked at me again and asked, "Did you take the pain from my bones?" "You were only repaired a little. Much more could be done but it takes time and effort. I have no time now and it is unethical to do this without you joining the Alliance." The woman thought for a moment then simply said, "May the Maker bless you." I picked up Saldak and hugged her to me then took her small shield unit. It was not a good thing to have her people find this device even if the Dooka were much nicer than Humans. I set her down and explained, "This will get you into trouble. Better that I keep it till you need it." With a Softay gesture I turned and left for the abandoned base. The fabricator was already set up and making the inertial compensator. Material came from the rock that had fallen over the centuries since the base's shield had collapsed. The very old Softay ship was interesting but I just slipped into the maze one more time instead of allowing my curiosity to lead me. The mental attack had lessened. It seemed that this kind of weapon was generated by a mind instead of by a machine. It could also be that the biological mind was augmented by a machine. It was still too strong to go against it just yet. The time taken for any of my attacks would keep me occupied long enough to get my synapses fried. There was a crystal though coming up the pipe and rather than wait I retrieved it. Just back of Dookie's computer I purified the crystal then aligned it the way I wanted. When I entered the computer proper I said, "Dookie, you are getting a serious upgrade." She did not say anything, mainly because she had found out that all the others had similar options. A memory crystal was removed and the large brightly glowing crystal put in its place. When it was standing straight I just inserted the smaller crystal in an open space and let the computer integrate all the parts. The project to build the inertial compensator would take a beating till the larger crystal was integrated. After that the work would progress much quicker and actually be completed on schedule. I began a bit more work on the Softay ship. More power was put into the accumulators. The power source was not lithium but the fuel had been used up or taken elsewhere, because there was none available. The Tandra computer would be doing a bit of work on this ship with her surplus capacity soon. The Tandra base though showed more promise. If I could possibly shut down all Tandra equipment, then perhaps the base would not be found. With a natural shield strong enough to hold the rock above us in place as the planet was attacked, then a portion of the population could be saved to emerge and begin all over again. Sensors could find high tech materials including a computer. They could also find simple weapons because of the materials they were made from. The problem now was to either destroy what was here and rely on a fabricated ceramic that had not been strengthened and shaped into a dome. Another way would be to try to conceive of a way of keeping the detectors from doing such a job. The AI family began using the sensors on their own equipment to see what could be done. This type of research had been going on for millions of years and I didn't give it much hope of being fruitful just now. The Fassoot missiles we had found along with the energy weapons but as yet we had not found a way to get them to work for us. The missiles refused to move and the energy weapons only gave a fraction of the power I knew they were capable of. They used an energy lance similar to the Hossin but this one was even more powerful than what I had constructed. The engines, could be used but their power consumption was phenomenal. The power source used lithium but only as a backup. The main power came from a special tap connected to the computer. The computer could be opened but when we did they were severely damaged when they expanded into three dimensional space. Information could eventually be found. The research alone would take years if not centuries to complete. All of this I knew centred around the strange crystals I had found. The AIs were going through all of the records that were placed in the base that orbited the Tandra home planet. This had been done before and much of the information was encrypted. As of yet even information about our own crystal supplies was lacking. The secret was so well kept that much of the research on the ordinary crystals was hidden. Only well thought out portions were given and then any new ideas found were suppressed. Our own research was getting results but there were very few ways to find out how these worked when there were no devices capable of working in more than five dimensions. Many of the Tandra working on this project now believed as I did about the effect being manifested into an unknown dimension. All of the old theories came back into play trying to find some data about these strange crystals. "Henry, hurry back into the maze. We may have a lucky break." I rushed into position and found the strength of the mental attack faltering. "They last around 210 minutes plus or minus twenty, then a new member of the Fassoot takes over. It looks like this is happening now. Mom plotted out all the ships. The battleship was assisted by two destroyers and its wounded area was sheltered by the field of two light cruisers. A heavy cruiser was fore and aft using its weapons on anything it thought suspicious. This happened to be anything larger than a walnut. This could readily seen by the way the material exploded. Seventeen smaller ships worked on the battleship trying to do repairs while still on the move. "Henry, the heavy cruiser doing point is a poor choice because its engines can instantly come to counter your thrust. The one in the rear cannot propel itself backwards as well." "Mom, I think I can take the one taking up the rear position, but I also see that I may be able to push a destroyer towards the light cruiser. If it is done quick enough perhaps the battleship will destroy its own escorts for us." "Do what you think is best Henry. Your ideas usually have great value." I laughed at her comment because she also inferred that some of my ideas were worthless. I analysed the pattern of the mental attack and instead of waiting for the lowest point I simply used the higher one. I knew that the Fassoot must have been doing this sort of thing for a long time and had traps of their own to spring. Bookmark October 17, 2006 Just enough of my mind was projected through the small probe to do this job. Three tubes went out to the rearmost heavy cruiser while two went to the destroyer. More power could not be transmitted but control was much better. I drove them at the battleship but not as fast as I had when I did three. At the last fraction of a second the heavy cruiser was destroyed by the much larger battleship. The destroyer ploughed toward the light cruiser. The battleship's guns took out the smaller ship before it could continue with the destroyer. I was able to even drive portions of the destroyer into the wound on the side of the battleship. I didn't wait to see what had happened. In fact I had just pushed and waited for Mom to tell me what had happened. Confusion reigned once again. We were able to see that the other light cruiser was damaged. The surviving destroyer and heavy cruiser used all of their weapons to the fullest hoping once again to get lucky. It looked like only seven of the seventeen small ships had escaped unscathed. Our only probe though was not as lucky and soon suffered a hit and now we were blind. Mom transmitted some of the congratulations through her link to the other AIs. My mind though was hurt once more and it was worse this time. Though in pain I made it back into Dookie and then just slept in the hall with her keeping most of the gravity from me. After more than the usual amount of sleep I had a light breakfast and looked into my mind to see just what damage was being done. Some of the cells had died and it took me ten minutes to find out why. The med unit was considered to do some repairs and it occurred to me that an anti med unit was responsible for telling my cells to cease operation rather than repair themselves. Our hand units had a small computer while the larger ones had a more comprehensive computerized operator. The trick here seemed to be that the commands were able to go through a shield of a ship but not into the computer very much or the maze not at all. We had no way of testing this hypothesis. We had not found the mental weapon in any of the wrecks. We had no probe to have some animate matter put into it to see if it died. Finally we could see no reason for a Fassot to be operating this device in the first place. An automated device could just as easily transmitted these commands with no slackening of power. Mom had foreseen the problem with the probes. The fabricator was making a great many of them. When this was completed the inertial compensator would once again be continued. I took these units into the maze and worked on them there. There were a few crystals in stores but most had to be shipped here from Masis. The family was contacted or I sent messages if they were sleeping or busy. Basically I was just keeping in touch with family. Mom would keep me appraised of the Empire. I chatted with Dola and Roger then the girls for they were all awake on Masis. I was shown some Donai cubs that had just been born a few days ago. The mother was close by and seemed to keep a careful eye on her young but did not seem to mind the handling otherwise. One section of my mind dealt with the family while the other tried to find how I was going to continue. While walking to the gym for a short workout I heard a booming in the base. It could only be loose rock falling to the floor. "Dookie, show me where your functioning tractors are." In reply I got a map of the base with areas that were safer. Some of the tractors though were mounted in the dome itself and not safe. The last of the family got back to their own affairs. I think that Mom hinted that I was a busy. This map meant a better understanding of this base. One portion worked on the base while another worked on a suitable camouflage. The rest just worked with my muscles as I exercised. I was disappointed with the condition of the base. Too many things had happened over the years with the shield being down. The best thing would be to start anew and I didn't have enough time to get a base built. Some Dookas might survive if I was able to do something, and none if I ignored them. The pool of mining machinery was limited. There was even a rock fall that had covered two units and partially three more. There was enough rock around to feed the fabricators but more could be harvested from this area and free other equipment too. Dookie was soon using the single safe tractor to take the larger rocks and put them to one side. I looked at the equipment that layed dormant and considered ways to get its main function changed to something we could use. Some harvested dust and debris from an asteroid belt using a shield that stretched out for kilometres. Others dug trenches or broke larger chunks of rock into manageable sized pieces. Most equipment could do other functions but not as well as specialized equipment could. To change them required less work than making new machines. The one functional fabricator was now a bottleneck. During the next four hours I got one more mid sized fabricator working. Mainly this came from spare parts but the remainder came from parts I had to steal from other units. I wanted a mining unit to dig deep into the planet and make a natural home that would stand a much better chance of saving some of the Dookas. The unit I chose was powerful enough and I just had to use two portable tractors to start removing sections. Portions I would not need and these were just sheared off. Dookie would have to continue with this for I went back to the small spheres and began to stuff them with substrate and crystals. These were again hooked up to the AI units that kept being destroyed by the Fassoot. As they were finished, they ran a few tests and streaked off for the approaching Fassoot fleet. Dookie interrupted my work by saying, "We have some friendly visitors in the area. It appears that they are looking for a way into the base." I was given a view of the situation from overhead and saw nineteen Dookas turning over rocks and basically looking for entrance. One was an old woman that moved around very spryly now and another was a small girl now dressed much the say I first met her. I could use a short break and for my plan to save some of the population would have to have Dooka cooperation. I pictured in my mind what I wanted and gave Dookie the orders. "Mother, have you come by for a visit?" "Oh... Hello your Majesty... I brought you something to eat." "My name is Henry. The other term is only for those people in the Alliance or for politicians." She called the little girl for she came running over to the woman and held her hand. After a small private conversation Saldak said, "Hello your... Henry. Can you hear me?" "Yes I can. I will be out in a moment. It may be a good idea to warn the others what is going to happen. I am going to suddenly appear right before you." "Ok." The girl excitedly told the others what was going to happen. The matter transmitter was not working well enough for me to risk my life so I walked to the area I had originally come in. With my mind twisting my body I walked through the stone. Before I left the rock I altered my environmental suit to be invisible. This I thought was better than having my body appear from the rock itself. I could not detect any hostile intent in any of the Dooka. A few metres from the pair I knew my invisibility fell and I suddenly appeared. Most of the Dooka fell back because of my size. "Hello again, mother." "Can you call me Star? That is my name." "One of my wives has that name. May I call you Stella instead? It means the same thing but in a different language from my home planet." "That name feels right to me." She was not sure about home planets, for she still felt that all life originated on the planet she now stood upon. "Good, Will you introduce your family to me now?" The family were introduced one or two at a time and I greeted each as if they were high ranking politicians. They all stood around expecting something more. I just sat on the ground and soon the rest did likewise. Saldak came close and I opened my arms and she came closer. Soon she was sitting in my lap like a younger Softay would. "What happened to your suit?" "The grownups thought I should put it away for now." "That is probably a good idea. Your people get things confused sometimes. Others that I know would even go crazy at meeting me." I was referring to Humans for they would go quite insane meeting something truly strange. I turned to look at the Dooka as they sat around me. There was little to see except hair and some facial characteristics because the hair here was shorter. "I have been making some devices to spy on our enemy. This job was important. Another important job is the making of a temporary home so that if I am not able to stop our enemy it may be possible to have some of you survive. A doorway needs to be made that you can use. If you wish you can see the ship your ancestors used to come to this planet and learn what they knew. The doorway needs to be made first though." I looked to each of them and all but one wanted to see this. The one just appeared too timid. The nearest matter transmitter portal was a few hundred metres away. I told the group that we would have to go for a walk. I put Saldak down but she now wanted to walk holding my hand. This was a little difficult considering our comparative size but I let her. At the location, Dookie told me about I saw a copse of trees and even a stream coming down from higher in the rocks. The location looked very peaceful if I didn't know what was coming in a week's time. We again sat and I sampled the food. Appreciative sounds were made and different individuals became happy that I liked their donation. When this socializing was done I excused myself and went back into the base. The first request was made but the matter transmitter would take a while longer. I left with a small burden for the grove. This time they simply sat attentively. "Stella, this is a small device that will allow you to talk to others with your mind. The only others will be the ones that have these devices. It just teaches your mind how to communicate this way. Touch the small pendant then put it on. Soon it will not be needed anymore." She did as I asked and then the necklace was put around her neck. Saldak and then the rest followed suit. They looked at me wondering what was going to happen next. "Try to use your minds to think at each other. In a few days I may have the door open for your use. If you come back then you will be able to see what I promised. In the mean time practice talking with your mind." The furry shapes got into small groups and started to try. Some excitedly started to verbally talk that they were doing it. This was amusing but also touching. I needed to get back to work and said to everybody, "There is a lot of work left to do. If I stay out here talking then I cannot be doing much inside the old base." "Can I come with you?" Came from Saldak. "Not today Sweetie. I have to get some machines working and some other machines made for your use." She just hung her head but I picked her up and gave her a hug. The Softay were a gentle race that went in for a lot of touching. Soon I crossed palms with the rest and went back to work. A large boring machine was made first. It could dig a hole through solid rock about eighteen kilometres per hour while making a tube four to thirty metres in diameter. The materials it produced were sent back by matter transmitter to be processed. Some machines could follow right behind and do whatever additional work was required. Usually this was laying energy conduit or others for carrying data. A further machine would strengthen the walls and put in any additional features needed. This time I had the machine go to an unused portion of the base and dig a slanting tunnel that would dig further into the range of mountains we were already in. The material excreted would be processed for more lithium and stored outside the base in a solid form. Some of the material would be used as a high strength ceramic that would not be synthetically hardened. The production of new probe bodies continued till all of the available units given by the AIs in the maze a new home. The compensator unit was now complete and I began to build a new hull around it. The necessities of life were added along with some tractors and other necessary equipment. As a new idea I built two separate computers and put one of my girls into each. Before Bennechi was just behind Mom's equipment. The AIs were all interested in this innovation and I explained how I thought it might help. When I finally got Mom and Bennechi instated one more time. I feared that this would happen many more times. Mom was running some tests when Dookie said, "The Dooka are back again." It took me a second to realize that I had not slept. The work was interesting and important. "Thanks. What is your estimate till the matter transmitter will be completed?" "Four hours and seven minutes. An additional nineteen hours for the other five stations." I could now hear calls from outside the base. Saldak, Stella and the rest were using their newfound skill to talk to me. They had another basket of food and would like to talk more. I was outside the base in a few minutes and gave the time estimate in terms they would understand. They were a little disappointed but I introduced them all to Dookie and then returned to my work. She could now talk to them easily and use seventeen different conversations. The trouble was that there were now twenty five people present. Dookie would just have to try harder with the additional eight. After a sleep, exercise and food I continued with the ship I had made. It was only a bit larger than before. The sensors were what we found on the Fassoot vessels and what other innovations I could put in. The biggest change was that the ship could now separate with an entity in each portion. The combined unit though might go faster than the way we had done it before. Outside the base I found the Dooka sitting or laying down while talking to Dookie. She was educating them with a history of their race. Some of this information came from the old ship still in the base but most came from the Tandra records. She used what the Dooka had in their minds to furnish what their history was really like. A good dose of Alliance propaganda was given too but this was in the old form of the word. Here it was just government information instead of bias comments to get the population to think as they wished. Soon enough, one of the matter transmitters was completed. After the tests were done I materialized next to the group of Dooka. They knew I was coming and just stood and bowed. Saldak was young and just ran to me to get picked up. She reminded me of my own children and I could see that she knew she could wrap me around her long slim fingers. After being cautioned the entire group suddenly found themselves in the base. I introduced them to Mom and Bennechi. The talking ship didn't seem to bother them much now. Her size was extremely small but still stretched twenty three metres in length. She rose to a metre and then disappeared. The matter transmitter deposited her outside the base and she climbed into the sky to investigate the coming Foosoot. The Dooka couldn't understand any of this so Dookie used a large screen to show where the ship was going in relation to their planet and star. They were amazed to see that they were soon on the other side. They also had very little idea of how far the ship had just travelled. I took them to their heritage ship. The Softay ship had no mental controls but Dookie took each of them through the craft giving each individual a private tour. Saldak was now running ahead of some to show how she knew some information from being here before. Her mother this time just took her hand and they walked together. The younger ones came out starry eyed and requested information from the tutors. There were more than enough tanks but only a few were allowed to take advantage of it. There were many responsibilities in the village they lived in for all of them to go at one time. They seemed so trusting, which had a great many good and bad things to say about Humanity. Saldak was one of the few to make it and Stella asked with her daughter beside her, "Will you watch over her?" "I will take care of her as if she were my own daughter." The base was now being repaired. The shield was finally energized in the Softay ship and after a considerable amount of surveying the base shield too was energized. Rock in many places fell but none of the pieces damaged anything important. The equipment to keep the Dooka alive was tested and repairs made. I worked in a comfortable chair interfaced with the AI family while working on what I could do next. The enigmatic devices still plagued me even in my dreams. A new and brighter computer was started in the maze. Dookie would have to continue building this while continuing with her other work. I had up to the second results from all the testing being done on the Fassoot hardware. Nothing seemed right to me as if it were simply blocked off from finding the answer. There must be a few important pieces of information discovered that would allow all of this to fall into place. The Dooka came back with even more recruits. Dookie was capable of helping all of them and even taking more for the tanks. Education was good for them at any time but it was processed better if the brain was suitably prepared first. The probes and Mom had reached the Fassoot convoy. Mom and Bennechi were happy to tell me that their speed was almost up to what the Fassoot could accomplish. I joked with them if they wanted a grandchild in a third portion of the ship to get the speed up even higher. There was a pause where I knew they were even considering the option. The Fassoot had not only kept up their mental screen but it was even higher now. Standing in front of an opening to the probes would cause pain even when I was further back in the maze. The time soon came. The tanks carrying the Dooka were given a package of instructions for the main computer would not be available for a while. The large crystal containing Dookie's much stronger personality was moved into the safer section. When it was integrated the smaller crystals were moved too. The original computer was stripped of all but the essentials to interface with the base. Dookie sounded and felt much stronger after the transition. She now went from an intelligent AI to something like a lady similar to Mom. "Henry, they are going to attack!" ------- Chapter 94 The information flooded into my mind. The Fassoot had detected a cargo ship of some kind. Some of our probes raced to it but this action was detected and all but two were destroyed by just the light cruiser. The relatively small ship was very fast and made the cargo ship appear to be dead in space. The design of the ship was Tandra. I used the maze to get to one of the remaining probes. At the opening I had to pull back. The attack was even stronger now. I could do nothing for the crew. Mom reported that the remainder of the Fassoot convoy was coming to a halt. She sent the images into my mind but knew it would take a while till they could start to meet up with the light cruiser. The cargo ship was not destroyed though but the feelings that had come from it made Mom and now me consider that the mental emanations of the Fassoot had killed the unprotected crew. The crew could be any race but Mom felt that they were Tandra. Two things now occurred to me. The energized particles emitted by all shipping could be used to trace the ship back to its last port. The probable course could also be deduced by the direction it was heading. All of this and more could be found in the computer itself. Finally the Fassoot could now use the captured computer to invade our area of the maze once again. Our last probes tried to find the last port and the destination of the cargo ship. I said to Mom, "I need to stop them getting into the maze. I need some weapons and some antimatter." These were on hand at the Nefron Base, and Dookie gave them to me. I had the two swords, a hundred grams of antimatter and one of the Fassoot guns that worked within the maze. The last was not expected and this gave me some hope. It took a few minutes to find the small opening to the cargo ship. It was not one of our probes with the accompanying computer but did project the mental weapon of the Fassoot. I just picked one side of the maze close to this opening and pushed into a blank area. The pain was not that strong because I was not really that close to the opening. The wait was almost an hour. Mom sent back information to me about what the probes saw but nothing much was happening other than a large group of Fassoot entering the Tandra type cargo ship. The first Fassoot came through with a mental thrust. I closed my eyes at the pain but forced them open. The Fassoot turned to my right and took a few steps down the maze. He was armed with a similar gun and some equipment on a strap around its neck. A few seconds later I felt a large increase in pain. I knew I would not be able to handle any additional newcomers. I moved out of my hiding spot and fired at the first Fassoot. I hit the arm holding the gun. Immediately the majority of my pain stopped. The next Fassoot was just coming through. The gun came through first and when the head fully came through I shot its gun arm too. The being fell down. My gun went into a holster and I came forward, disregarding its ability to hurt me. I pulled it into the maze with one hand and threw the small cannister of antimatter into the Tandra computer. I pushed it with my mind and just hoped it went far enough. The Fassoot bodies had been studied but these were the first live specimens. The time was up that would have allowed the small innocuous looking cannister to come back. I knew what hand weapons they had and removed them from the injured beings. The first was coming to its senses even trough the pain and I ran to it and kicked it where similar bodies had a high concentration of nerve endings. This seemed to work quite well. In a few seconds I was repeating this on the second Fassoot. I had time to talk to Mom and she told me the Tandra cargo ship was destroyed and the light cruiser severely damaged. The Fassoot bodies were very dense and were difficult to move even in the maze. Dookie had two stasis chambers ready when I brought them back one at a time. The Fassoot had not learned anything from all the death I had caused them. Their ships blasted away with energy weapons once again and continued this as the battleship took the damaged vessel into its hold. The course they were now going was backtracking the cargo ship. Rather than interrogate the Fassoot I searched around the opening of the maze to the Nefron Base and found the two other possibilities. I gave the override again and listened to the computer to received a suitable reply. These two areas were going to be explored when I had time. A small roll of substrate entered the first base then the override was give the second. Again the substrate went in to connect them to our network. It was a toss up which to go in first. I didn't know who or what I would meet so the computers and AIs were compelled to not warn the bases they protected. The first had a Tandra population numbering in the hundreds. Many more were in stasis. Like most other old Tandra bases, they worked alone with no assistance from people of other origins. I was given this bases position on a multi dimensional map. In only a second I knew that the cargo ship had not come from here. In fact that particular vessel was not even in the records. With a command to simply comply with Mom's commands I left this base and entered the next opening. The same orders were given this time too. The records though said that the cargo ship had left here recently. An estimate of the expected Fassoot arrival was about 93 hours from now. The base personnel was different than usual. There were almost 37,000 individuals awake and actually growing. They had a dynamic leader about five centuries ago that pulled the rest into doing something more than vegetating. With so little time in this mode there was nothing new apart from the dynamism of this group. The Coska system was quite old. Apart from a matter transmitter and ship repair/manufacturing facility it was little different than any other base. I didn't want to come to this system this way and simply sent Mom and Bennechi to the base. When they got close I would just enter the ship through the maze. I left the maze and checked on my two Fassoot. With some Dooka now inside the base and close, I was hesitant about reviving any of the individuals. They were very strong and would need a very good restraint to keep their powerful bodies from being an ever-present danger to anybody close to them. Dookie made a strong harness that would give some movement but not much. A device to give it a shock for pain and another one like what was used on Earth to put them to sleep was added. The creature could bleed to death but a small med unit would not work in the maze. A tourniquet was the best I could do. This device and some cord were put in the maze. I then dragged one of the individuals back. It was still unconscious from the kick and I removed all of its clothing. The harness was difficult to get on and I was mindful of it waking up before I was done. I did make it in time and applied the tourniquet and just sat back trying to get into the being's mind. It began to wake up and I commanded one control unit to force it back into sleep. The mind was a labyrinth. It was very convoluted, devious and to my way of thinking, insane. I did see something odd about this one's skull. An area seemed to shimmer just a bit. Now that it could be kept safely asleep I dragged the other back into the base. Dookie transported it to medical where it went onto a table. The first thing I considered was to repair the arm. To be safer I had the med unit remove it and its mate. The two minor arms went as well. Now only the feet, legs, teeth and of course the mind would be dangerous. Mom was getting close to Coska. I left the Fassoot with Dookie. She had some very explicit instructions. This type of creature was very dangerous and needed to be sedated at all times. Failing that the shock would be given and if that didn't work it would be terminated if necessary. The double ship didn't have that much room to spare but was comfortable for short flights. Mom, Bennechi and I pushed the ship for a very short time up to 29,000 lights. As far as I knew the Fassoot could not even go this fast. Just outside the Coska system we stopped at the edge of what they could detect and asked for permission to enter. We were told to enter and when they saw the size of the ship, a Tandra controller said, "Come at your best speed. You may land in front of the base." "That is affirmative. We will make the main base at our best speed." This did make me grin and the three of us pushed forward as quick as we could. Five point three seconds later we were above the planet and a two seconds later we had come to a stop where we thought best. I was ready to move the ship into the five dimensions if weapons would bear on us but none did. The computer was cooperating with us and nobody had a chance to give the necessary orders. I got out after ten seconds and was met by three very irate Tandra individuals. The base commander was one and two of her lieutenants came with her. My identity crystal was switched to the admiral persona for this meeting. The aura was put to low and most of my mind blocked off. This is what a person of my apparent rank would do. Standing tall, I waited till they came close and the commander said, "What race are you, and why did you land like this?" "I am a Human from Sofaas III. Quite a distance from here I think. I landed like this because I was asked to proceed at my best speed. Is there anything else you would like ladies?" The term 'ladies' was slightly derogatory term used by Tandra males. The reaction was what I expected and they frowned and got angry. One was eyeing me up to fight while the other two just studied me intently. Commander Toka said, "Yes there is, male. How can your ship defy physics and fly here that fast and even within the Mardaf Limit?" "The ship is light and if you investigate, you will find that it doesn't even have any engines or other unless equipment. It has basically only a shield and an inertial compensator. Life support is minimal because I don't take too long getting from one place to another." "How fast will this ship go?" Lots more questions were in their minds but this is the one that came out. "It has not been flying long and the highest speed we reached was 29,106 lights per day. Next time I will see if we can get beyond the 30,000 mark." "Impossible. You are a very deluded male if you think we will believe that." I just smiled the Tandra way and said, "Then explain how I got here so fast. Last I heard, it was difficult or impossible to state falsehoods." She got off the subject right away and said, "What business do you have with us?" I gave the Tandra name for the Canis Major galaxy and the name of the three races of visitors we already had. My mind was opened a bit and I showed them the attributes of each of the races along with their level of technology. "The group of Fassoot ships composed of a damaged battleship, a heavy cruiser and a destroyer are in route to this location. They will be here in 90 hours. They stumbled on a cargo vessel and are presently backtracking it. The Tandra crew are all dead and the only reason the ships are not here now is that they are staying together to nurse a partially crippled battleship." This did get them very interested. A warning went out because they could not detect any lies. They now wanted direction because two cargo ships had left recently. More information was requested and I gave specifics as to mass, present speed, and the capabilities of the surviving weapons on the ships. Commander Toka gave orders to check on this fleet even though the ships would probably not make it back. I interrupted, "I can give you and your computer a real time display." "That is thousands of times beyond possible range." "Do you want the information?" I got a grudging, "Do it." This was definitely an order and not a request. The information came in on a large display. The present time was shown along with all the data being collected. This scrolled at the side and bottom of the screen in the Tandra language. The range was questioned when it was noticed because we had nothing as good as this before. We still didn't because the properties were still unknown. The equipment was taken from captured or destroyed enemy vessels. Commander Toka started again to send out ships but this time in a defensive formation. I said seriously to the commander, "This will not help. They will just come in with their missiles. They are so fast, that they are hardly even be seen, never mind intercepted or evaded." "I can probably destroy one of the minor ships approaching us, by booby trapping one of your ships. They want to find information about the way our computers are constructed. They just lost a light cruiser to this trick of mine, and I may be able to do it one more time. It will probably not take one of the major ships though. They use a mind weapon that tells the cells of your body to shut down. There is very little defence against it. The cargo ship could not be protected and I believe everyone was dead when they got onboard without a shot being fired." The woman demanded, "Show me the information about the cargo ship and tell me how you destroyed this other ship." "The first you may have but the second is something only I can do." She looked at me very seriously now and I knew she would have me scanned by the computer if she could. She normally did have the authority. The information about the capture was shown and after a time lapse where I waited for the two Fassoot. The next view was the explosion that destroyed the Tandra ship and most of the Fassoot as well. The battleship soon came into view and it was compared in size to the light cruiser. There was so much difference that the smaller ship was insignificant. Her next command went to the computer to arrest me and find out the information she wanted. The computer refused without giving a reason why. "I have had some experience with this race." I said calmly. "The best you can do is evacuate. You had more than enough vessels to do so. The Fassoot battleship will take at least twelve days to repair I think. By that time you could have dispersed. I will harass the Fassoot till I am able to get them all but they keep their mental weapon up all the time now and it would kill me to even try." The woman sneered at my plan and would rather fight, thinking that she had at least a chance to win when, in fact she had none. "We can do better than that. The Tandra do not run when an enemy faces us. If we do not stop them here then they will just take on other even more defenceless bases or races." "That is very commendable commander. I want them to stop here for a while though and then I can send some small intelligent missiles to slowly work their way close to the ships. At the same time all of them will explode. All it takes is enough antimatter." "That will never work." "You are mistaken. I have already done it once. There were no survivors to tell the story." "So now you are taking on this race and they are following you. I think you should leave." "I would but I am afraid you will instead." I said this with the most impressive voice in mindspeak I had while releasing my aura. I concentrated on my identity crystal and gave myself the Emperor persona now. She was stunned by the effect but that was only the mind and the aura. She asked, "Who are you?" "Ask your own computer. Check through her the very many other computers now linked to our union of different peoples." She mentally stuttered then said weakly, "You are the Emperor?" "Yes I am. I want the entire population of this system to prepare to be evacuated. Bring in your largest ships and I will do some work on them to give you a greater chance to survive." She just looked at me. "Commander Toka, I am giving you an Imperial order. Do it now or I will have you replaced." "Yes sir... your majesty. I will do it right away." When I saw that matters were going as planned, I entered the base computer and started to build a better computer in the maze. In a few days all Tandra equipment would be destroyed and this included the computer. This last article would possibly last a bit longer while it was raped and the Fassoot gain access to our maze. Three cruisers were operational and in the system while a light destroyer was getting a new engine. We had the equivalent of a conference call with everybody in this system. They now knew that their base would be utterly destroyed and possibly the ships chased till they were too. For this reason the ships would leave in different directions and even the smaller vessels too so the Fassoot might have some false leads to pursue. I got the usual protocols when I entered the first ship. I thanked them for this but told the others that time was important to this effort. This computer was moved into the maze. This at least would give it enough speed to possibly escape the coming fight. Six hours later I had done as much as I could. The computers had to grow and transfer yet, but this would happen. The AI family was busy now assisting what they could to make the process as quick as possible. On the planet the small ships were busy taking people and property into orbit and storing articles and people on the larger ships. Once I had done this task, I took a small combat craft the infantry would use and started to modify it. Again I was going to use the Trojan Horse routine. A small computer was made with the new crystals and the old. This was securely mounted to the keel and more or less hidden so it would not be casually found. Some devices were mounted around it to camouflage any emanations it made. There were not enough small Fassoot ships and possibly one of the larger ones would take this prize into their hold. The idea was to show the Fassoot that I had something worth hiding well. When I was done, Tandra blood was spread inside and even some small body parts from medical. Mom and Bennechi flew off with this to place it along the path of the approaching fleet. Commander Toka was with me whenever she could be. I did not shun her but did give her jobs to do that were best done with a biological. She saw what I had done and was then given a rough explanation. She then asked, "You have no ship now. You could be killed. You have to leave. I will stay and make sure that everybody gets off safely." "Thanks for your concern commander. I am a bit harder to kill that you might believe. Ask my AI family about this or even my biological family. I can do much better with nothing to worry about but the enemy." She didn't leave and usually she had a few of her lieutenants close by in case something was required. I had the computer make more of the small probes that would sneak up on a ship and explode if the ships stayed in orbit long enough. At the sixty hour mark I had enough of the probes made and sent them into hiding in the system. The Tandra left finally with all they held dear in as many directions as possible. Smaller empty ships went as a convoy to make it look like they were a larger ship. With a now empty planet I had my first good sleep. Mom woke me up part way through and showed the Fassoot slowing a bit to retrieve a small Tandra craft that was emitting a weak distress signal. An hour and a half later the ship was examined by a cutter and then after an hour more was towed to the destroyer. Once it was inside I took five hundred grams of antimatter and shoved it into the small unit. It was the maximum size it would take. I pulled away quickly and looked out one of the openings to look through the probe. The mental emanations had not abated a bit. When the field around the antimatter collapsed, it touched and destroyed the crystal controlling the shield. The destroyer grew into a gigantic ball of energy. At that time the Fassoot just stopped in shock for a split second. I had sighted on the heavy cruiser and drove it as hard as I could toward the battleship. The AI was very quick and I stayed as long as I could. I felt the start of the renewed attack. The cruiser was destroyed like the others. I rushed back to the portal but could not get close. There was no major escorts now, and no chance of destroying the remaining ship. The battleship was now alone apart for the very small ships like fighters and very small ships that carried work crews. Most were not even made to be in open space. Atmosphere and a stellar system was their usual operating areas or hugging the hull of the ship they serviced. The battleship had started firing just after the destroyer exploded. It continued as it looked for survivors and I guess some salvageable portions of the wrecks. This would give the Tandra a bit longer to escape. I knew that Mom was transmitting all of this information even if some of the actual mechanics was not given. Mom gave me the feedback and said that the newest Tandra members of the Alliance were very happy about this outcome. I had hopes of dropping small amounts of matter and antimatter in the path of the battleship. Interstellar space was very devoid of matter and it would not react very much with the inverse variety. This could not happen now because the ship went into a different posture and destroyed anything it could find with its sensors. This did not bode well for the mines I wanted to lay around the planet I was protecting. A troubled sleep claimed me. I was very worried now about my plan. When I awoke I began to call for any new findings. There was a great amount of it but it was all minor pieces of information. I looked through the data trying to find a pattern. There were a great many structures though and I sent out requests to pursue certain leads. The Alliance was still on a war footing and our frontline units still battled Samutz ships and systems. The Thonas had become harder to find but they too had not entirely stopped. Like their allies, they did not have the communications we had and thought themselves still on the offensive. Our small computers that linked through the maze made great communication devices. Mom had come up with a way to do a hundred percent of the fabrication on these units. I previously had to do only a small portion but now I could happily say that I was put out of a job by automation. Research and development I think had shot ahead in fantastic amounts. The Imperial records showed that even at the height of the Empire and with the large number of Tandra citizens they could not do what we were now doing. Mom sent these communicators through the maze by being passed tractor to tractor or even using Susan's rope idea. The devices went to ships that could communicate with us presently through their own connection. Other ships, planets and installations were given the communicators till we were able to make a better connection. Substrate continued to grow and infiltrate Tandra computers but this process was slower. I received many of the reports where I had to make a decision that could and would involve a great many deaths. Most of the time I sided with the AI family but not always. In those cases factors had to be juggled so that our chances of survival were a lot higher. Now, instead of worrying about the safety of a squad I had to worry about the decimation of an entire planet. While this was being done, I worked on the mental attack the Fassoot used. A helmet would not work. Tissue samples would die under this type of attack. A full suit specially constructed would not allow me to manipulate the tube and energy from the higher universe. The ships I made could use the tube for propulsion but were not able to move the tube for navigation. They were barely able to even flex the tube a small amount. The Fassoot were now worried enough to not let anything close to their only remaining hull and even expend a prodigious amount of energy to make sure this happened. Their shield was better than ours but again was very power hungry. My old study of the crystal's structure came to mind as an alternative weapon. I knew it could work into one of the Fassoot computers but just not far enough inside to be useful. This time I called for large amounts of the crystal and hoped that a special configuration or even size would allow me to defeat their computer or perhaps even their shield. Another avenue to pursue was the two captured Fassoot. The maze brought me back to the other base. I was now sure that the sleep inducing device worked so the second being was taken from stasis and kept sedated. Again the arms were removed and the body healed. The shock device and an additional way of rendering it somnolent were added for safety. The Fassoot brain had been extensively studied. As a species they were odd because each one was different. Not like fingerprints but in much broader terms. When their equivalent of DNA was studied it looked like each Fassoot was forced to grow in one of a wide range of possibilities. Any organism could change within certain parameters if the environment forced those alterations on them. These changes sometimes modified the basic DNA but usually those variations were already encoded at some previous time. The two being studied were similar to others but the range in modification was much greater. The Thonas specialization came to mind where the individual members were altered to do one particular job well. Dookie reported that the two beings were now communicating even while asleep. The information was collected but it maybe quite a while before we could decipher what it actually meant. The possibility of a subconscious hive mentality was a distinct possibility. The improved Dooka were now taken out of the tanks and I watched this process. Saldak was the first to emerge. I took her to get cleaned and then fed a good meal. She held my neck as I moved the small body around to get her clean. The cleanser she already knew about and enjoyed. She said, "Your Majesty, I can do this." She was not worried about being molested but now she knew who I was and was worried that I had many other pressing and important matters to look into. "Saldak, I am a simple being at heart. If you want you can call me Henry like before." I could see the uncertainty and added, "If you like, you can call me Uncle Henry." This made the young girl smile and she felt much better. I got her dressed soon after and then we went to the cafeteria to eat. She walked along and got some of the new foods and usually picked small amounts so she could continue her quest to find the best tasting. I had to leave her to eat alone as more were revived. The computer could do this unassisted but I thought it better to have a biological entity assist, especially the first time. "I have to help your family now. Finish eating and then you can help me." "Yes,... Uncle Henry." This task didn't take long and I was usually able to get two cleaned up at once. Saldak came in and assisted and smiled at me because the roles were now reversed so that she was now helping the adults. The unimproved Dooka came in later and the two groups now talked. I could see the increase in intelligence and so could both groups. They were very excited because of what was happening to their civilization. New tutors were made and the education of another group of beings begun. The basic premise for assisting this race now, was that the Fassoot would soon arrive. This may not happen now or not as soon as I had first predicted. There must have been a reason for the Fassoot to come in this direction in the first place. It was thought that a scout just reported its findings and a task force went out to destroy anything more than a simple animal. My own research had to continue now. The slight shimmer in the area of the Fassoot brain was caused by very small crystals. They were similar to what I had in my body and especially in my own brain. The structure was different and the type of crystal as well. Not only were they doped differently than mine, some were of the new kind we ran across. This told me that the current crystals I knew about still could do things the other crystal could not do or not do as well. With the many races in our galaxy, most races' minds could be read fairly easily. Some were impossible for various reasons. It looked like the Fassoot and the Misto would be of this latter class and even the Hossin were difficult. I didn't push too hard at the time of our first meeting to read the Hossin because of the situation I was in. They possibility existed that they would damage my psyche when I was in their computer. The flow of crystal came and the portions were stored in the maze while I worked on trying to make heads or tails of the way the Fassoot thought. Even with the massed AI effort we just did not have enough data to make too many suppositions. When I got frustrated in this effort I let the AIs continue on this avenue. I went into the maze and started to fabricate the largest crystal yet. This one was all of three metres across and a metre thick. The work would be just too hard to do all at once. I could made this in special pieces that were already completed before being fused to the main crystal. "Henry, the Fassoot ship is beginning to slow down. It is using more power now than it did an hour ago to propel itself forward. This indicates that they have made more repairs than we originally envisioned." "Shit, that means that they are not going to the now empty Coska system. I am willing to bet that they are not thinking of just turning tail and running home." "I believe you are right. The highest probability would be that they return to their original mission. If so this means that the planet you are now on will be the target." "I think you're right." The long tunnel project had not stopped, for which I was thankful. There was now a large housing project four klicks beneath a mountain range nearby and close to sixty three klicks away. Natural materials were used with no artificial strengthening. Water and food were going to be stockpiled. Air would be pumped down into the base with a mechanical windmill as waste products were pumped out. I did not really know the present capabilities of the battleship but the data about its deceleration and its present position that we had less than three weeks. The ship though would be repaired in route and this would only hasten the arrival. For all I knew it could possibly be here in three or four days. Mom and Bennechi were shadowing the battleship ready to warn me if their guard went down again. If anything the mental emanation was even stronger now and with much shorter shifts so the variations were still too low to matter much. Mines had to be made now and more antimatter sent to us. One new variation on the Trojan Horse came to mind. The Fassoot might even be gullible to accept this after all that happened to them. Mom and Bennechi were now ordered to leave the battleship to the probes and fly to one of our battles. They had to search the many Fassoot wrecks to find a damaged ship. They were to purposely look for Fassoot bodies to fill the wrecked ship. The crystal project was now very important to me. The crystals were shaped, purified, honed with my mind, and finally fused with its neighbours. This was exhausting work but I continued. This took another day to complete. I had to go over the entire crystal with my mind but it was almost too much to encompass. The tasks to do were so great that I had to quit and rest even though this meant more work later. Mom and Bennechi were successful. The ship they found was not more than a hundred metres long and had many dead already in it. More were added through the two holes in the hull. Dookie's computer hatch had to be greatly altered for egress of the crystal I made. It glowed very brightly, in fact I had never seen one glow this much. Saldak and some of her first generation Alliance people gaped in wonder as it was floated out into the main hangar. When we took it through the matter transmitter and onto the planet's surface it glowed even more. It was dusk now and though not full dark the entire area looked as bright as day. Mom landed nearby and I boarded the small ship. From the ground it looked like a shooting star but this time it was going into the heavens instead. I got an update and it looked like it may be more like six days before the Fassoot got here. We kept our acceleration down to protect the crystal and in an hour got to the Fassoot wreck. From close up it didn't look very wrecked at all. We decelerated then matched speeds and direction. Even without gravity it was difficult to get the crystal into the ship. Some facts we understood and were able to get the boat bay doors opened. Even this ship I saw had many smaller ships inside and some may even be operational if we just knew the magic word. When we got to the computer room the crystal was laid close to the bulkhead. Probes would not work but this time I saw just black with small points of light behind. This didn't look like a computer and one of our intelligent probes went through. Seconds later Mom said, "The probe that just went through your passive lens is now 566 light-years from our present position. There seems to be some damage to the probe through incomplete or improper materialisation." These two facts were very interesting. The crystal fabricated with the help of Horus and Isis gave just 63 klicks and I used a Moldeg body. Five hundred and sixty six light-years was a fantastic change. Part of the differences in performance could be attributed to mass. There was also an important formula dealing with the thickness of the crystal and the way the crystalline structure was doped. I could see a very small variation now that I was looking for this occurrence. Usually energy was used to refocus this feature to get the desired range. The crystal before me now had to be altered. The focus was brought in much closer and in four hours another probe was sent through. Mom said, "This one only went seven and a half light-years Henry with no apparent damage." "It would be very interesting to see how long of a focal length I can make this crystal. A similar receiving crystal at the other end would make very quick transportation possible. All we would need is to get accurate data from both receiving and transmitting positions to make any transference possible. The energy surge when the two are exactly parallel could do much the same thing." Two more alterations were made till the crystal was detuned to just over a light-year. It was just able to reach just into the Fassoot computer. I wanted to go in with a small crystal as company but the time was not right for this. We were able to get a view we had not been able to get before. This computer was compressed into other dimensions. We could at least see it undamaged in five of them from our position. The AI and biological family had to try to see these extra dimensions through my eyesight and brain. The crystal was moved all over the computer enclosure till we found an apparent dead space that would suit our needs. I rested for a while and talked to most of my family. The wives were upset by my activities. They were very impressed by the 566 light year range of the crystal though. If this worked the wives could visit each other on a whim. The trip taking no time at all. This also had benefits for me. I would be able to be with my family much more and still able to openly do my work much further from home. The AIs, then the scientists on Defren postulated that the range with two such crystals would be 1,300 light-years with the right focussing. Power even if a minimal amount could factor this by at least five. The crystal's natural harmonic was the most efficient and small alterations were cheap to do from an energy standpoint. Only when a crystal was forced to work at its maximum was the energy consumption enormous. Again I went into the maze and made a much smaller crystal and stored the large one there for safety. It took only seven more hours to get the smaller crystal measuring a metre and a half to see into the Fassoot computer. A device was now fabricated over the crystal's face and controlled by one of our probes. When the time came a goodly amount of antimatter would be injected into the computer. A time delay put in at the moment of insertion would give us time enough to see what the approaching battleship would do. The ship was towed out of the area and put into a small asteroid belt. Mines were placed here to see if they could do the job alone. I considered putting mines even if the battleship would destroy them. The enemy captain might be confident enough to bring this ship into his, her or its own bays after destroying the opposition. On the planet not three light years away Dookie, Stella, Saldak, and many of the recently improved Dooka were trying to convince their fellow citizens to go to the base for protection. Dooka communications had not even made the radio very common yet. Mining vehicles were used to spread the word. The most we could do was to spread the population out. Only the nearest city to the base could hope to save the population even though it would just be a way of leading them to the new habitat. This was a very trying time for all of the Alliance. Most every biological person could see what was happening with one or more of the AIs giving up to the second commentary. It made me feel like an athlete being urged on by a mighty crowd. The crowd's wants though were beyond what my capabilities were. The Softay on other worlds worked hard to come up with a solution but there was no ship that could make it here on time and rescue the population. They did have all the information gleaned from the old ship that was a small but important part of their history. The ship could not be made space worthy in time and even if it were the amount transported would be very small. Empress Meslifzz from the Bintuu Empire and even the various Kadork queens gave their own ideas. They were not usually so helpful especially Empress Meslifzz. This must have been a special case because they saw one race helping another as I had done recently for each of them. On the planet not far away, Stella tried very hard to convince her leaders to disperse the population. They readily agreed to a meeting when she was able to actually fly to the capital. This had stirred up a considerable amount of interest in the population. Some of the various instruments were shown but she sadly said, "The enemy that is coming will detect these devices and rain down a power so strong that you would think that only our Maker could fashion it. If they are left here, then the city will be more than just destroyed. The race from the stars wants to obliterate all life that could threaten them. Even races so simple that they would take millions of years before they could reach the stars." Hours passed, and though the Dooka were not like Humans, they were not really convinced about the amount of danger. As a last resort Stella opened a pouch. Out came eighteen small probes smaller than a housefly. They went to the front of the room and arranged themselves. In just a few seconds more Mom appeared to them with two Softay representatives and a single T'aut. The image was so clear that it looked like they were actually present. The meeting changed now with the old language spoken and then to what the Dooka had changed it too. It took only ten minutes for the Dooka to find out that all their old mythology was wrong and that they had come from the Softay race a long time ago. The Softay representatives continued with the size of the ship coming and what it would do. A computer representation was shown of what an unprotected target would be like if struck from one of the battleship's smaller energy weapons. A similar animation was displayed with one of the smaller missiles. The larger weapons would just destroy the planet and this was shown. This seemed to get the idea across much better. Orders were formulated and given to couriers. Some would go with the new Alliance personnel to help spread the warning quicker to the far flung cities. Radio from orbit was used but very few of the Dooka had access to this medium. Small probes settled to the planet that gave a verbal warning to evacuate all of the large groupings to reduce targets. They were to take enough water, clothing, and shelter for only a few days. After that they would be dead or the menace would either have moved on or been destroyed. The Dooka were not as foolish as Humans and they did do what was asked of them. Caves were found and used. Anything relating to refined metals or electricity was left behind because this is one of the methods believed that would attract the Fassoot. Many came to the Tandra base and were allowed to enter. Everyone went through medical and then told where to go. Their friends, now Alliance personnel, guided them to the two temporary quarters under the mountain range. Personal space was at a minimum and most of the children were sedated and just slept in tiny pockets in the mighty wall that surrounded all of them. A fleet of Alliance ships were dispatched but they would take many weeks to get here even with their improved drives. The Softay would form a major contingent and I just hoped that they would have something here to work with when they arrived. It took a full day to fill the two domes that were made. The excavator now worked in reverse and manufactured granite blocks to fill the long tunnel. It would take the existing ones and make them longer so they would fit into the wall. This was to take the enormous forces that would be employed to destroy the Tandra base. A tube leading to the dome would be the same as a resistance at the far end of a large gun barrel even with all the rock blocking it. Stella and Saldak sat in the comfortable area under the mountain. There was bioluminescence illuminating the two large areas. Clean water from an underground stream was available to everyone. The air was fresh from being pumped down a long inclined tunnel with many turns to reduce the effects of a large blast. A few simply made all wood and ceramic windmills gave more than enough air for everyone. A large stockpile of dehydrated food was nearby. Their immediate family was nearby as well but still it was odd to be underground and even more odd to be the ones that had the lives of almost six thousand of their people in their hands. Little Saldak also had taken well to her studies and wanted to be on the surface helping more of her people even if it were a lot more dangerous to do so. Her mother and grandmother thought the same thing but knew their duty was to be here in this place. Adult Dooka usually helped the most worried individuals that were constantly asking the same type of questions. Their great need for reassurance was one of the way that the civilization used to hold itself together. Stella said to everybody, "I remember the first moments when the Emperor came to me. He felt so big in my mind. I knew even then that he would never hurt me and I was not worried. He..." ------- I was sitting in the Fassoot wreck waiting the last few hours before the battleship came to this system. My mind was agonizing over a possibility. The first was that the battleship was not likely to put a one hundred metre ship into its bays, even though it was comparatively tiny. It was just too large to check well enough. An alternate plan called for me to sacrifice one of the two Fassoot I had captured. The small relatively undamaged ship would be accepted more readily if it had a living Fassoot in it. I didn't like the idea of doing this to a person now in my care even if he was an enemy. Mom said, "This individual is not important when you consider how many are at risk on the nearby planet. An Emperor has to shoulder many different options and even sacrificing a young and innocent child is preferable when a race's fate is at stake." Our probes were monitoring the advancing ship and I knew that I had to do this odious task. The crystal was taken from its position and used on the much smaller craft. The crystal had to be altered and now I didn't have a lot of time. With the best estimates of the time required I put in the time dependant bomb into the small computer and removed the crystal. The last piece of my plan required me to walk the maze. One of the Fassoot came through the maze and Mom's home to the wreck. I was very sure to make sure that it stayed asleep till the ship eventually came to pick it up. The other Fassoot had to stay in the maze to await the fate of its compatriots. If they won then this one would be found and rescued. I passed the large crystal many times now and tried to see a way to use this as a weapon. It would probably pierce an enemy's hull to allow a bomb to be transferred but this would necessitate either a very large power supply to focus the effects. This method reminded me of the new type of dreadnaught that had taken some of my family from me. Its size could be reduced if the power came from the higher universe but it would still remain large and bulky. The other way was to know the focal point and just get to that position to shove a bomb through. The trouble with the second idea was that both ships moved very quickly and changed course many times so its exact position was not known with any accuracy. The only alternative was to have various large crystals used and have them supplementally powered. The scientists and AIs knew this was the best that could be done. To get any more distance required orders of magnitude more in power. There was no time now to even work on this because I had to get back to Mom and away from this area. I took a last look at the planet only three lights away. The probes showed that many of the cities had been abandoned as had all of the larger habitations. Not everybody had gone though, and like humans, some had steadfastly refused to be moved. There would be enough loss of life if the battleship got through to make the number of deaths in the cities seem insignificant. The satellites and other Tandra equipment were removed lest the Fassoot find a way into the maze. Most was simply destroyed but usually the crystals were salvaged and stored with the lone Fassoot. The ship must have brought another engine online. It arrived two and a half hours ahead of schedule to the trap I had set. As predicted, it slowed down, but only after flying in a wide pattern and shooting anything that looked like it could be of danger to it. This gave the Dooka a bit more time to get to a good hiding spot. The battleship stopped a dozen klicks away from the small ship as its sensors played over the larger ship. The small one was barely two klicks away from its parent vessel. Small ships with a crew estimated to be less than ten each came out of the battleship. In moments they were doing all sorts of tests on the two vessels they came upon. I would like to have had bugs on the ship but I felt that if they were found the entire project was in jeopardy. Long hours later nothing much had happened. Time was very slowly running out on the clock. I was worried about the effectiveness of my booby trap. The plan, to succeed, required the ship to be later at arriving at this point. As it stood it could already have wiped out the planet I was trying to protect and the bomb was not slated to go off till well after the annihilation of every Dooka. The mental attack was altered just a bit when the ship came upon the lone survivor. This change was noted because it could only mean that the alteration would not damage the lone Fassoot in the ship. The two small ships left and my expectations with them. There was more than an hour and a half left before the bomb went off and the small ship had stayed just where I put it. In seconds the two ships disappeared into the large bay but the battleship did not leave. All it did was shoot anything that could possibly harm it and this included all the small probes I hoped to get close to an engine or to the previously damaged area. For close to fifty minutes the ship remained stationary while sensors went all over them both once again. The last twenty of those minutes the large ship powered up. At the end of that time the ship altered course just a bit and swung close to the two derelicts. A tractor shot out and I felt a wash of relief go through my system. The smaller ship had been taken into the battleship's cavernous bays. It was only a few minutes from the planet. The Mardaf Limit meant less to them than the Tandra but it still would slow them down. "Mom we have to show ourselves." "Yes my Emperor." Mom and Bennechi pushed the small craft with me in it to her best acceleration. Our direction was the same as the battleship. The fun would now begin. We had to stay close enough to let them think they could catch us but far enough away so they would not be able to destroy our small craft. The mind weapon though did change to the old way and was aimed at us. I put up my own temporal shield and in a moment the largest of energy weapons were hammering at out hull. My shield was only somewhat effective and Mom did a lot of calculations to see how close we could come without being destroyed by the energy or me by the mind weapon. "Henry, I would like you to get in the maze. A lucky shot would kill you and the mind weapon is all too strong at this distance." I knew this was going to happen and said, "I am the one providing the bulk of the shielding. You are just going to have to stay out of their reach." She did not like this but did comply. The systems around here were usually barren of life or even planets. Mom used these stars to hide behind, playing her nimbleness against the battleship's weapons. The Fassoot would like to capture us instead of destroying us and that was the only reason they had not used the missiles they had that would even outrace the fastest Fassoot ship made. We dodged in and out of systems and it appeared that the Fassoot were gaining in speed as they were able to bring more systems online. I suddenly felt very worried after only twenty minutes of running. I ordered Mom and Bennechi to run at right angles to our flight. A split second later she felt the same way. I could not see it but some type of missile had rushed right by us. Three more missiles came in the next six minutes but none came very close. They must also have proximity fuses but we were just far enough away to not have this effect us much. No other missile came at us but the ship broke off pursuit. This was even worse than being shot at. The ponderous ship stopped its headlong chase and began to head back to the system it had been going to before. There was still enough time for the ship to destroy the system or even find the bobby trap in the small ship's computer. It was a given that the lone Fassoot had been revived to find out what it knew. This was the second Fassoot that didn't even have a chance to see me well. I had kicked it as soon as possible and it must have been in pain from the loss of its hand. The battleship now raced to the occupied planet and its long range weapons found the Tandra minefield. They were brushed aside as if they were nothing. They only slowed down only a bit at the Mardaf Limit. At a light-second the ship started to lay a path of destruction across the planet. Each of the missiles were small but equated to a major nuclear weapon in strength. I could see that none of the cities would survive this attack. The battleship changed course and less missiles came out now to strike new cities as they came over the horizon. The mental attack had never let up and I am sure that many on the planet if not all were dying from this. The Tandra base came into view and even though the shield was down to hide it, a missile apparently struck the mountain harbouring it. Because we were far behind we had time to see the super fast missile. The battleship now did what I hoped it wouldn't do. It came in close to hammer the rest of the cities and towns. The explosions coming in just seconds apart would destroy much of the planet and kill anyone left alive. From far out in space I concentrated on the ship so far away. The attack on me increased but not by much. I had just a moment and was able to shift the battleship only a light second away. Mom told me of the explosion later. I had been knocked unconscious and was presently being cared for by some of the small med units. She said, "The mental attack ceased abruptly. They were actually coming back when the area of the bay exploded and then three more explosions ruptured the ship completely. This trust propelled large sections of hull toward the planet but the majority of the battleship is still hanging there. My sensors detect that there are a few survivors." I started to get up and Mom said, "Rest Henry, there has been some serious damage to your brain." "Let's get the Fassoot first. Even a small ship could kill any surviving Dooka. What do our probes tell us of the casualty figures?" Mom now helped me up because I was fighting her. "Seventy two percent of the planet land mass was attacked. Most casualties appeared to be caused by the mental attack. As a race 198 million have perished and 21 million have survived. Many I fear need to be treated for physical problems to their bodies as well as their minds." Though my head ached, Mom, Bennechi and I got close to the wreck. I could feel the Fassoot hate now but it was subdued. They were more concerned with survival. Combat drones now went within the hull to ferret out the individuals. Stun weapons were usually used but soon that was not possible. The ones getting stunned were still able to mindspeak to their brethren and they replied with their hand weapons. We managed to get twenty one more alive and then we just went in with our own heavier weapons. This took almost two days to complete. Mom, Bennechi and I had already left. We found the relief fleet two days later. I was throughly exhausted but managed to boost their speed for a while before I had to sleep. Four days later the fleet arrived around the planet and small ships descended to do what good they could. The habitat we built to hide a few members of the Dooka took a direct hit to a missile apparently designed to burrow into the ground. Stella, Saldak and her mother had all perished. The second dome built right beside the first suffered the same fate and there were no survivors at all. I was very upset at this. If they had just scattered them there was at least a ten percent chance of them surviving. I could still see the trusting faces in my mind as they tried to find sanctuary. The fact that what I offered was what got them killed felt very bad. It was as if some of my own family had perished in this attack. I had no way of venting this to anger at the Fassoot, so I just did what I could to bring the Dooka back to something like they used to be. New members were joining the Alliance and I wondered if I was just shortening their lives too. I could still see the little Saldak running around to look at all the wonders she saw in the Tandra base. The new generation though could only be protected from the relatively weak members of our galaxy. The strong ones even I was almost powerless to stop. The clean up would take years to complete. Dooka bodies were simply disintegrated because of their number. The atmosphere had huge amounts of dust in it and ships had to descend into this strange medium to clean up what the explosions had put there. The Dooka that survived the Fassoot mind weapon were usually insane. They were fairly easy to round up and they went into stasis or the tanks. I wanted these gentle people to be able to fight for themselves so the ones coming out of the tanks would be brought up to Alliance standards. The number of ships and tanks to do this was very limited when considering their numbers. Our Fassoot guests were separated and tests done on each. They were usually not even allowed to awaken. Food was transmitted directly into their stomach and waste removed from their digestive tract. The workings of their living minds were studied minutely. Again their dangerous arms and now legs were removed. Various groups worked on the different Fassoot wrecks. Our new crystals allowed us to check the interior of the surviving computers. A small ship with the simplest computer gave one team the first hint of how the computer worked. On the planet I started a small enclosure built with crystals around the walls and connected this to Dookie. She now had the job of building backwards into her old home. In a few days enough had been fabricated so she appeared to be her usual new self. The new recruits were very anxious to build a new base and begin their education. My last job before leaving the planet was to swear in the new leader of the Dooka even though they now knew they were Softay. The meal after the official function was good except when I found myself going through my memories and seeing the body forms that reminded me so much of the ones that were lost. Edited by vonsteppin@hotmail.com ------- Chapter 95A This area of the galaxy had stellar systems much more dispersed on average than areas closer toward the centre. It was also closer to our neighbouring dwarf galaxy that seemed to have a great many nasty beings living there. They may not all be bad but the surviving ones must certainly be strong to have remained among the living. With death and destruction coming this way in more than wholesale lots I started to make more of the relative class ships and their smaller brethren. They could move fast enough in their patrol area to warn me of an approaching ship or fleet. All this was accomplished with Mom and Bennechi going on patrol with me to the many abandoned bases or to ships Mom and I had coopted. The AIs or Tandra were building the ships very quickly, with me only moving the computer further back into the maze. We had not found out yet how to have Mom do this task even though she could link to the many computers from the maze itself. We had worked out some of the problems of producing some of the better crystals by putting the fabrication facilities in the maze. This was not without difficulty because the physics we were used to was not the same here. We did find enough workarounds that it became practical. Our communicators were made this way as were all the improved crystals our Empire needed to survive. After the small ships were able to move their thinking apparatus into the maze we found that I could do my part in only two minutes. The days were long and I went back to Mom and Bennechi only to sleep. The number of ships and bases were only a few metres apart in the maze and in the course of twenty hours I was able to get 570 units processed. I did this for three days before Mom called me from this task. "Henry, I think we have a Thonas system ahead." I left the current ship I was working on and walked the twenty metres to one of our ships. Mom gave me the data and I could see that there was a considerable amount of shipping here. The only way we remained undetected was because we used the Misto or the Fassoot senors that worked at a much greater range. The Thonas had always been a thorn in the side of any race weaker than them. They were completely xenophobic in nature with no redeeming qualities I could see. The Tandra had spent millions of years and even billions of lives and I could not find any reason to keep them alive beyond their flawed ethics. The Tandra agreed to let them live though as long as they stayed on their planets. This never lasted for long. I was going to be much more stringent than the Tandra empire had been. I asked Mom to make a very powerful gun for me. It could be used in only one place and that was the maze. It would shoot one of three rounds of antimatter. To do so in any other place would not allow me to remain alive after firing the first shot. Sleep claimed me and I had nightmares about being like the current three members of my major opposition. It looked like I was becoming more like them in the way I wanted to prosecute the war. When I awoke, the gun had been completed and I had to make a serious commitment whether to use it or not. The weapon looked very insignificant but even the smallest shell I had would be as powerful as a hydrogen bomb. The largest ones were even more deadly. A shielded container held the various sized shells and either a one, two or five grams of the dangerous substance could be expelled. A one second delay in the individual shields allowed more than one projectile to be expelled before the first exploded. As I had done with the Misto, I now did to the Thonas. This time the effort would be much less. I walked into the Tandra maze and found the area I opened to the area used by the Thonas. This had been a long time coming. I felt much more like a pest exterminator than a murderer. The thoughts of being like the Thonas, Misto or Fassoot more than just occurred to me again but I fought the thought off. It was an agonising decision that I had come to since I first ran into the Thonas but it was something I knew had to be done. I started in one area and found thousands of small dimples. I just put my weapon to the area and used my mind to activate the trigger and expel a small amount of antimatter. This time I was going to use the smallest loads to just destroy the computer and the area around it. The Thonas that survived would soon learn to not build computers if they wanted to flourish. The computer though was what allowed them to prosecute their vendetta. After the first shot the dimple disappeared as if there were no computer there now. The larger dimples meant larger computers and a correspondingly larger mass of antimatter. My hand was able to go very fast and usually I was able to get two shots per second. After an hour I had to switch hands and continue after reloading the weapon. Looking back to the area I had just done made me realize just how many Thonas communities there were. Many were ships, residential or manufacturing concerns but all got the same treatment. I figured that I killed very little with my weapon but many more would die now without the computer assistance. In later years they would settle down to a simple but stable existence that would only require a periodic inspection by me to see if another computer had been built. My only fear was that they would learn the way they were being harassed and build another type of computer. They knew how to make the Tandra variety and many others too. When I came out of the maze for some much needed rest and food, I found that there was little in the way of a time penalty. My weapon had little to do with the various computers and time was almost linear. The family talked to me but they didn't know what I was doing. Mom had transmitted images of us searching various systems in this general area. The Thonas colony was still before us. I had not got to this location yet through the maze. Mom gave me information about our forces observing some Samutz and Thonas forces around a planet not yet taken. The Thonas ships were suffering explosions within their hulls equal to an atomic weapon. The hull usually contained the explosion but there was not much chance that there was anything remaining alive within. Another explosion on the planet's surface did rupture the containment vessel but little else was damaged. After a rest I went back to work. It was actually three days later that the planet before us suddenly found themselves under attack. Every ship emitted some gamma radiation then nothing. Some ships had ruptured but most had not. The planet's surface was the same way and I saw that I must have used three hundred charges in this area and it was only one planet. Some outlaying posts suffered similar problems and I knew that any survivors would have to get home on manual. There were thousands of planets but some were unimportant. I did find some dark dimples which I felt compelled to peek into. I had enough practice with this computer to find my way around. Some were dead units on dead ships or installations. These were spared so that I could find out more about them later. Others locations were being run on minimal power. Interfacing with the sensors I found the majority of the ship to be in stasis. This gave me a hint to how the Thonas came back so well after each and every war. They would harbour some ships and crew in out of the way locations. Periodically they would awaken to inspire the Thonas living under the control of the Tandra to go to war one more time. None of these locations were spared. One location toward the end of this section of the maze was much more isolated than the rest. I had to assume that it was far out on one of the arms of the galaxy and trying to keep isolated. Thousands of small dimples surrounded the cancerous looking hole. The large hole got the largest charge yet because I knew that it was so large that it needed all of this destructive force to destroy it. Some of the smaller dimples close by winked out too as their computer was wrecked. The remainder of the dimples though got my attention till they were completely done. One more day was all it took to clean the Thonas area. On the way back I only spotted one new dimple and that was removed too. I would have to come back here quite often I feared or they would start to spread one more time like a cancerous growth. Mom and the rest of the AI family were spreading substrate in every direction. Soon I would have to walk on it to get from one place to another. If the substrate was encouraged to grow into the Thonas area she could keep track of each and every addition. If the Thonas made Tandra computers then they too could be detected and silenced. This process was beginning to snowball and in perhaps as little as fourteen months every Tandra computer in the entire galaxy would have been covered. The Samutz too were on the decline. They used Tandra equipment and Mom and all the other computers were building substrate to line all of the Tandra section of the maze used by them too. Our policy of allowing the Samutz to live till we knew more about them had continued. They still fought the Moldeg and other even nastier races. The Samutz bent on the conquest for conquest sake had their ships taken from them and the survivors put into stasis. The ships now gave us additional eyes and ears to what was happening in our ever widening view of the galaxy. I even toyed with the idea of letting the Samutz fight for us now that we were much more technologically advanced but dropped the idea quickly. Too many Tandra died under their care and other races were needed to run the ships for them. Susan I knew would really give me a problem with this. Even the chance of using the Samutz as infantry that would get killed off did not sit well. The Kadork had a similar situation happen to them and most were completely oblivious to this. Their computer though was now really part of the Alliance and any serious matter was brought to our attention. We had stopped two Moldeg evasions and seven more in other systems. Usually we had some of the small peaceful creatures with us and some now served on Alliance shipping. These were usually rotated with others that patrolled with their own ships. This gave them the training they needed and gave us some very dedicated workers that saw their Human or Tandra captain as the equivalent of their queen. The Bintuu queens now enjoyed much more security but there was still a good portion of their worlds left to incorporate into our union. The queens here liked to talk I found and much of it was conversations that would be heard over a fence in any Human neighbourhood. This gave me a good feeling that they were fitting in so well and their differences were not so bad. The T'aut, Dolson and other races we ran into were usually given a job if they could handle the interaction with another race. In any case they were repatriated if possible and with a few ships stationed nearby to provide some sort of protection. The Softay and to a lesser extent the T'aut were the only ones that had their own computer systems. Invariably they were of Tandra origin though. Some races learned to coexist like the Dolson and the Kadork. To be honest the Softay and T'aut worked well with the other two races very well because they were not that aggressive. Humans were the ones I thought had to be watched but after they accepted the Tandra culture as their own, they became much like the former but just a bit more assertive. Cocky would also come to mind but they were shown up enough times to let them know that they were not top dogs anymore. The Tandra though found that their leading position was in jeopardy and usually worked much harder now to stay there. A mixed crew did much better now than a strictly Tandra unless they had been around Humans enough to pick up their outlook. Young Matthew, Jeremy and Jonathan had proved enough that a mixture of all of the races working together would make the best crews possible. A few of the Softay and T'aut exhibited antipathetic tendencies to their old way of behaving. If this had happened a million years ago the Samutz would never have been able to subjugate their planets. Our search for more hot spots was fairly uneventful after encountering the Thonas world. We didn't even find another of the Thonas systems with these beings living in them. We did find deserted bases. I assumed that these were just another of the systems hidden away for when they were needed. The dark Thonas areas did give me a bit of joy. I went through the veil and into the remnants of the Thonas computer. I took four of the smallest probes with me. When I cast them out beyond the first hull I found that this was one of the many dead spots in the galaxy. It was also dead for many reasons. A major battle had taken place here at one time that seemed to have annihilated both the Tandra and the Thonas. There were at least a thousand Tandra ships in this area alone. The probes flew out to make a survey. I did my own survey of the old Thonas ship and found none of the original crew in stasis. In all the Thonas ships I had ever dissected, I had only found a maximum of twelve units even in a large warship. This ship was at least a battleship and had none of the units. Thonas outlook on life, even their own, was not what we would have. I went back to Mom and Bennechi to get more of the intelligent probes. The AIs in our group were able to give me seventeen possible places that this dead zone could be from records and observed data. With a bit more data the real one would emerge. Two dozen more units went to this area and began their search and survey. Within an hour the choices were narrowed down to three and then we awoke one of the damaged Tandra ships. This one was already under imperial edict and didn't accept my orders. Such ancient battles gave the Samutz and other races the Tandra war craft that allowed the new races a chance to expand. I now had many thousands of ships, but I didn't want any race to find these and begin their own empire by warring with us or any other group. The AIs though are considered sentient and I didn't want them just languishing here all alone. The probes found a hundred and three ships in fair to good shape. Some had instigated repairs but had been ordered by the Tandra of the time to remain here in case the Thonas came to this area to recover their wrecks. Orders to leave after a certain time had been promised but had never materialized. The biological captains were just as shortsighted as the AIs sometimes. We found almost three million Tandra in stasis but sadly, only three quarters of a million had survived do to breakdowns and the systems running out of fuel. This group of Tandra had seen battle but most Alliance crews had little actual experience in this. The veterans in stasis did represent a sizable force that could be used for may good purposes. Even though, just helping them now was important to us. Some of the ships had spare fuel but I had them make mining equipment instead. Though there was few stellar objects there was a lot of natural material around including some very cold planets. I returned to Mom a day later with the location of the battle from one of the computers and a dedicated rebuilding project begun. Mom gave orders and soon a contingent of mixed races began to race to the ancient battle scene to give assistance. The Tandra would wake up with both Tandra and Humans helping them to get over their long sleep. I explored the other dark Thonas dimples but only found dead ships. They had died in small battles or were actually part of the original large battle we had already found. A salvage operation was started and the original biological and mineral material was scooped out of the computer and a Tandra one started. If this worked well perhaps it could integrate itself with the rest of the ship and teach us a bit more about the Thonas and their odd technology. A week passed and I wanted to see the family in person and we raced to Defren. Ingrid and Taylar had gone back to Earth rather than return here. I had a very enthusiastic welcome. Susan and Bassinda did their own reception later that left us all happy. Their abdomens had grown a bit but it was hard to tell. It took two days to get me to feel sated enough. The poor girls walked around bowlegged till I used the med units on them. I didn't have any complaints from them either. As usual we had Tandra voyeurs that met me later with a real hunger in their eyes. This was not proper conduct toward the Emperor but I liked it a lot better than the usual stuffy approach. Mom and Bennechi had pulled a pod behind us containing the three metre crystal. It was too large to be carried in our ship and I could not tell everybody how it was really carted around. The computer could probably hold this large object but that too would give different kinds of problems. It was much better to continue this subterfuge. In one of the computers on the planet's surface I started to make another two crystals in a matched set. They would be similar to the single crystal I had previously made. Their fabrication took an enormous amount of energy on my part and I had to rest in between. My two wives put aside the running of the planet and took to taking care of me. I thought the next day that I was more tired than when I just worked in the maze. The second crystal was made eventually. I compared and tinkered with each to make them much closer than what the equipment could even detect. When I was done, the scientific community was given the set to run some experiments on. The first would be passive but soon enough they would be power added to both the transmitter and the receiver to see how much I could bend the inherent properties of each crystal. As it was, the pair would only work together if perfectly aligned and at a natural distance governed by the doping, size and crystalline structure. The energy provided would twist the crystals to see how much they could alter this distance. One more crystal was made that mimicked the original crystal except for the properties I could alter with my mind. Even before this crystal was half done the scientists were euphoric with the two I had given them. The crystals worked faultlessly as a pair for over a hundred lights. Individually they went to 1,148 lights. This larger figure was great but it meant that something had to be in the exact place. It was like a very long road of fixed length that constantly moved with the crystal doing the transmitting. When power was used on a single crystal the range went as short as 173 lights with a lot of power or to 6,490 when pushed to the maximum. The only way this information was found was because our intelligent probes went out and reported their locations before making a long trip back. If not done correctly the probes would not be able to be recovered. The practical distances turned out to be in the range of half of the natural distance of 1,148 to 3,623 lights or about three point two times more. This followed the usual transmitter physics found out millions of years ago. At the closer distance, tests were made and supplemental energy was used to iron out some of the distortion. An object could make literally millions of transitions now without making any changes to the body or mind. Long distance tests was yet to be done because of the time to get to the distances required. The control required was greater but well within what could already be accomplished with existing technology. The good point was that the matching pair of crystals would lock onto each other and actually tolerate a bit of misalignment. This discovery begged to be employed. The best and what I thought safest method was to make the crystals connect to a station much like the railway on Earth. You got out of the one area and walked or transmitted to another that would continue you on your journey. This would mean every world or even ship would be connected to a new system of nexus that would link every place with everyplace else. This would go in all of the directions and at present this would mean ten for each of the five dimensions. A nagging thought told me that the new crystals could get us through more directions and dimensions easier. The way I could step between the dimensions was the only reason that I did not begin with this new idea. I left some of the scientists and technicians to install the first crystal I constructed. I wanted it just outside Bassinda's quarters. The station though needed a lot of security. My family would probably never be even disturbed when travelling alone but this method of transmission could be used by an enemy to get within our shields. The best way in my mind was to have a hidden base or station to work from. A traveller would just step into a crystal and out another. The crystal to the next destination could be only a step away. In the meantime a computer AI could assess the health of the traveller and find out if there was any dangerous material being transmitted. Our neighbourhood had many large planetoids and some didn't have a body to orbit around. They just drifted through the galaxy till captured by some other body. What I needed though would be far away but still within the maximum range of the crystals. 3,192 lights from here was a body the size of the Earth's moon and composed of nickle and iron. A similar though much smaller body was currently being mined in Sudbury Ontario. The asteroid had crashed to Earth very many millions of years ago and now provided minerals from the stars for common articles I had used before meeting the Tandra. The two elements though were good at cloaking energy usage. Currently in the Defren system were some of the many Samutz ships that had come to attack. They had not been repaired yet but had been placed in orbit around the system. The resident AIs had instituted repairs themselves but so far not much was done. One was a battleship that had actually suffered little damage when I destroyed its crew for us. The Samutz in stasis had long since been removed and I figure this ship could function as my train station. Battleships were actually too big now that I had found alternate ways of powering ships. One of our cruisers or even a frigate could go much faster and if it had our new weapons would be much more deadly. Being obsolete but strong was still an asset. I flew to the ship and worked on the computer to increase the capacity of the computer and to move it and the AI back into the maze. There were quite a few parts that the yard could make the repair much easier and these were prepared while the AI integrated itself. In a few days the ship was either repaired enough to start its new duties or had to complete the job in its spare time with its own fabricators. I called the ship 'Union Station' after the large train station in Toronto. The AI though was male and I gave him the name Hermes. This was because the Greeks and Romans had a god that covered eloquence, skill, trading, and thieving. It was also the herald and messenger in its spare time. The only difference was that the Romans called their god Mercury or Mercurius. He was portrayed as a herald equipped for travelling, with broad-brimmed hat, winged shoes, and a winged rod. This time though he would be relatively stationary but help in the transference of millions of individuals. He would not be lonely because he would be in full time communication with the rest of the AI family. Mom, Bennechi and I helped push the ship out of the system in a round about course. Hermes pushed too but was not nearly as strong as we were. When the sensors found the unnamed planetoid, we approached to check it for suitability. It was certainly large enough. A battle ship was very large but the moon sized rock was even more so. Mom and Bennechi used our temporal shield and cut into the large deposit of nickle. Hermes pulled the parts cut from the planet into space. When many cubic kilometres of material had been sent into other dimensions by the shield or pulled out we had a large enough opening. Hermes moved into his new home and pulled the old end of the planetoid in after him. In enough time the opening would never be detected. Crystals came by way of Epsilon Eridani and I started to process each of the parts then fuse them into a large whole. It was usually advantageous to wait till I was thoroughly rested before doing the last step which was to twist the crystals just as I wanted. I could not be at the maximum distance from all of the planets I wanted to link so some crystals were radically detuned. A matching crystal would be going to each system and the first would be the Zindor system. Blue had been watching all along and was very anxious to join her fellow wives. Though the family knew I was safe and could talk to me they didn't know where I was. They did get plans for their crystal modulator that would fine tune each of the crystals. The power consumed would actually be insignificant because the pairs were matched and their focal length match the distance to each other. When enough crystals were made and a matching one installed in Union Station, I could begin the next phase. Blue gave me a very heartfelt welcome that took a full day to complete. When the raw sex was over we made tender love that seemed to satisfy each other more fully but in a different way. When we had both recovered, we found that the technicians had completed the work on her crystal. Tests were being done already. Inanimate objects were shuffled back and forth hundreds of times per second then biological material. It took quite a few hours but soon Blue and I stepped through the crystal. A similar procedure had been already done to link Union station with Defren. The ship's matter transmitter put us before the crystal that would complete our journey. When we stepped out we found Bassinda and Susan waiting for us. The wives got into welcoming each other and of course I was invited. The next day I returned to Hermes and our small ship still pulling the pod carrying the remainder of the completed crystals. Making crystals was difficult but no matter how hard it was for me, it would be less tiring than what three wives would put me through. The average distance to Falm 6 and to Secric was well known and again the crystal would be set up while my wife greeted me the way we both liked. Secric met me at the private landing site I wanted and after a few preliminaries, I kissed my wife with a vengeance. Our child was held by a nanny and I soon picked up the baby and walked the short distance to our home. The nanny was not sure if a male could look after the little empress very well but was not going to go against the Emperor. The population was either present to see us or watching the monitors of this family matter. Secric was like a human wife in that she held my hand as I held hers. Behind us the crystal was being taken out of the pod and inserted in its receptacle. I waved to a few people and got the equivalent of a bouquet of flowers from some little boys. "Henry, I am so thrilled to see you and now I can visit the rest in only a few seconds. I could go in one of the small ships but it still takes time." "Let's get reacquainted then we can visit the other girls." Secric did not worry about my stamina and I just had to work hard to get her satisfied. Usually this was by not allowing her to orgasm till she was well past the point of no return and when she fell from this precipice she did so spectacularly. When she could talk no more I allowed her to sleep and I picked up my other girl and the three of us napped for a while. In a day we used the crystal after testing and eventually met in Zindor with Blue hosting a small family gathering. The girls were a bit tired of sex but took Secric to the bedroom to make sure she felt wanted. I did my best to make sure they knew that I loved all of them too. In Sallis, Chris, Amy and Star greeted me just as enthusiastically. Topaz, Kitty, Cloud, Moth, and now Sofia were with them along with my own biological children. This took a bit longer and again I refused to use more than fingers and tongue on the younger ones. Sofia had to be included because it was only right. She had been having sex with the rest of the girls for so long that she would have been very upset if excluded now. When the crystal was set, the new party was hosted by Secric. Topaz got to see her mother again. She had actually been to Sallis only a week earlier but this was special to be able to just get to see each other in a few seconds. The progression went on as Chris', and Nova's areas of responsibilities were brought in. Fairchch and Epsilon Eridani came into the group just before the final connection to Earth. The wives took pity on me and I was able to show my love a bit less strenuously. The children took much more of my time and I had to make up for not being with them. My other children were shanghaied from their mothers and nobody seemed to bother. I felt that this was the place for me. Not necessarily Earth but with family. All the children had met and been close to the Donai and other pets but this was the first time the semi intelligent animals had been to the moon. The Nautilus had come with some of the teddy bear like creatures called the Maca. They had a four digit hand with one of them being an opposable thumb. Their population had grown considerably but like all of us, we wore a crystal that would show our whereabouts. This was very important now, because the Maca were very curious and as smart as a full grown chimp. They took to their old masters the Softay but soon accepted all the other races including Humans. Dog came up and licked my face. I found another female beside him with many more pups around me wanting to do the same thing. Marcus said, "We found a mate for Dog and this is what happened. The pups have been improved like the Donai as the mother has too. Dog was improved by the children but not enough to change his personality." This I had to think about. Dog was my friend and I wanted him to be happy. Carl was coming soon and I realized he was my friend and I had changed him too. The children along with Dola and Roger had arrived as soon as possible. They kissed and hugged me then were dragged away by the wives. Duc and Lam greeted Doris fondly but made a beeline for Susan. They saw that her abdomen was a bit larger than what it was before but now they had another chance to talk to their daughter. She came back to Earth every five or so weeks but the trip took a four hours each way. This new method would mean that a great many more visits could be made. Carl came for a visit to test his crystal out and I was there to greet him. We hugged each other like the old friends we were. He said with his unused voice, "You do have a penchant for getting into trouble and finding useful ideas to get around the problems. This new invention is pretty good. My small ship could have got here in a few short hours but it is niece to just drop in without wasting time or slowed by the Mardaf Limit." I had met his wives previously and Doris just hugged and kissed me the way I liked. I quickly found that Carl was not jealous and knew that this was the way his wife had changed after moving to Masis. Doris picked up two of the children and proudly displayed them to me over her large abdomen. They were not genetically hers but her wives. This though was the way things now worked and I compared the children to what I remembered of them last time I was through. "They are growing like weeds." I looked at Carl and said, "How well do you like Epsilon Eridani Carl? There are some very beautiful systems that need a steady hand. You will get much more assistance and a link like the one you just stepped through." "I kinda like Masis. Fighting and dying for a world kinda makes it special to you." "I understand that. I need a sector governor though and I know you and Doris can do a good job. There are very few old hands and very many problems. Most of them are minor. There will be no trouble from the Thonas and soon none from the Samutz." Carl said, "I figured that the Samutz would soon be controlled. How have the Thonas?" "Mom grows computer substrate in the other dimensions that link our kind of computers. She found a way to get into the Thonas area too. A bit of antimatter was introduced along with the substrate. There are no more Thonas computers and when a new one comes about, the substrate will find it and give it the same treatment. I doubt if they will bother us again with their old computers. They may get smart and use the Tandra variety but soon that will not happen either because all the Tandra area will be done the same way. All computers from any Tandra installation anywhere will then be part of our system." "Is there any way of doing the same thing to our new enemies and to the Moldeg and some of the other opponents?" "There may be but Mom has to find a way into their area. I think our visitors from Canis Major probably already know of this technique." "Too bad. It sounds like a good way of hitting the opposition from the back door." I said very seriously, "It also means that they can hit us the same way." "Oh!" Doris was upset too but did say, "We could use a brew about now. Too bad it doesn't have the old kick." I did brighten a bit myself and said, "Let's take the families and go down for a visit. The 'George and Dragon' has some decent beverages if I recall correctly." I quizzed Mom and found that it noon now in North Bay and it was even summer again. The temperature there was not usually this high but that was good. The Terra's Pride was not here now but another battleship was. It was now nominally commanded by Kitten even though she was not there all the time. I reached out and hugged the captain to me and said, "Mom tells me that the people on Earth are still a pain in the ass. Let's take your ship into the atmosphere and go for an ale?" Most of the local Tandra could now speak verbally and she said, "Let me get the children and we can be on our way." I called the family to order and told them to get dressed. "We are going to the wilds of Earth." I got a lot of very excited thoughts and the people around me disappeared quite literally. Mom sent a warning to NATO and NORAD saying we were coming down. After talking to me she added that if the Human population wanted they could have a tour of the ship. Phone calls were made to the North Bay radio stations and some small drones flew to Earth to spread the news to the people that wouldn't hear otherwise. Kitten called the ship to come closer to the moon. It left its orbit to get its belly to within a half metre of the lunar surface. Some outcrops were crushed but the Academy had been doing a good job of whittling the larger rocks down to size anyway. From all over the lunar surface Tandra, Humans, Softay, T'aut and others came to see us off. I disrupted the Academy. I put all the instructors and students presently on the lunar surface on emergency duties. They were ready for war but I told them that they would just be showing some of the barbaric Humans the ship and they had to be on their best behaviour. The Academy was loved but the chance to experience something new made the current population very excited. When we left an hour later I doubt that there were very many people left. I was afraid I would have to turn out all the lights. We flew to Earth in a leisurely fashion. It took an hour and I drilled everybody about what I expected from them. We came in over the city from the west. It was now a bit past two o'clock local time and I think everybody was out hurting their neck muscles looking up at us. Instead of suspending the ship above the earth, we descended like a ship and landed in Lake Nipissing. Our ship was almost four klicks long and stretched from the water's edge to far into the lake. We didn't get any fighters or missiles fly at us which meant that the Human population either liked us or were afraid. I think it was more of the latter in this case. The family and friends left the ship by a small bay near the nose of the ship and walked over an invisible bridge of force. Once we were at the dock, the ship slowly rose and a lot of water rushed in to take the place of the water we had displaced. In moments the ship took up a position over the city and thousands of Academy students descended to the streets in pairs. They drifted down from many of the hatches formed in the sides and were carried by the many low power tractors. The young or young looking students gravitated to the younger crowd and asked verbally, "Who wants to see the ship and learn about what she is capable of?" The ones to reply favourably were searched mentally and then said, "A tractor will pick you up and carry you into the hatch. In a few hours no matter how much you have seen you will have to come back." The braver ones went first and tried not to show the fear they felt as they went up to the ship. Some called down that they had done it easily or some other piece of nonsense. Soon it looked like a steady stream of people raising to the small ports. ------- Chapter 95B My family and Carl's went to the pub in style after we took our time looking at the area close to the shore. We used a small cutter to give us a more intimate view of the city. In a few more minutes, we landed in the parking lot of the pub. I pushed open the large doors and found nobody around. From the back room I heard John talk about all the inconsiderate people that left his business to see a foolish ship. His mind told me that his employees had deserted with the customers. Behind the bar I found the large coat that I had given him. It was all under glass and the label saying it was given personally to him for all his fine work in defending the Alliance from all attackers. Carl and Doris saw this too and started to laugh out loud. The rest of the family came into the pub and this meant that we had to move further into the bar area or be trampled. Dog and his family along with twenty three Donai that entered with us. All of them sniffed the air. I could smell the old food and especially the stale beer odour that permeated the air. Carl talked to one of the adult Donai and sent her into the back room to let John know that he had some customers. That is what brought John's attention to us. First there was a blood curdling scream and a large number of falling objects. The Donai came out and I could almost see her smile in her mind. We all took seats and I called out, "What do we have to do to get some service out here." We heard some frantic mental screams from the back and a voice much like a woman's saying, "There is a monster in the building. Get the police." "Since when did you want the police to visit your premises, you old crook?" "Is that you? Henry m' lad." John talked in an incredulous voice. "Yes it is. Bring out that swill you call an ale." We heard some angry muttering and John came around the corner very carefully with a baseball bat ready to protect himself. When he saw me then the rest his face changed into a smile and he started to put the bat down till he saw the adult Donai staring at him. He quickly picked the bat back up. The dogs didn't bother him nor did the cute Masa. Doris tauntingly said, "Bring the beer and the girls and I will protect you John." John just swallowed and then slowly put the bat down. He watched the Donai all the time and even dropped one of the bottles. He brought them over to our table but stayed away from the Donai even though only a few were adult sized. He set our bottles down and then his thick glass mugs. He didn't even ask but quickly went back to serve the rest of us the same drink. When he came back he was amazed to see the children taking the bottles and drinking the potent beverage. His mind was waring about what was going on but didn't stop till everyone had on of his specialty ales before them. Roger was beside me and in a moment he shifted over to sit in my lap. I said after I shifted over, "John, have a seat." He looked at Roger and was not afraid because of all the television shows Mom had made, explaining about the Tandra and other races. He did sit gingerly and finally said, "It is nice to see you back Henry. You could have been a bit more considerate about my heart though." I smiled at him and replied, "This is the first time you mentioned it. I thought you had lost your heart years ago." "You hurt me to the quick, Henry. I was the one that saved you many times." I had to smile again and said, "I think you have been listening to your own tales a bit too much. Now let me introduce you to my family." The adult wives down to Amy were introduced as wives and didn't mention the rest as either children or wives. Mom had been subtly slipping information into her talks about me and it eventually came out that I had embraced the Tandra norm and joined a female family as the head. This she stated was not normal but seemed to be the way things would be because the Humans were usually built to take the lead in most cases. Dola was kissed too but there was no way for John to know that this wife was a male. The children presently numbered sixty eight were from Carl, Duc or my family. When introduced, I said a bit about each of them. Duc and Lam introduced some of theirs and Duc had a very proprietary air, the same as Carl and I had. The children that we had rescued from Earth numbered almost half but they now looked a bit Tandra and not distinguishable to any people that may have known them before. "Now tell me about the city. How has it changed for you?" I said to John as I put my hand on his shoulder like old times. John started to talk and as usual the more he said the more eloquent he became. There were a lot of new people in the city and most of the original population figured them for spies or the military trying to find out what they could. John groused that he had been questioned six times. All of the questions had to do with the people presently in the room. Carl listened after finishing his brew and then helped himself to more of the drink. Doris got a different beverage and the children drank more of the Theakston's Old Peculiar. The alcohol would be burned up in the children's systems without any detrimental effects. The same thing was happening to ours too but the taste was still what I was after along with a quiet talk. The children were polite and mindspoke quietly among themselves or listened to what was said especially how John was twisting the facts out of recognition sometimes. When John had brought us up to the present time with his rendition of the truth I said, "Why didn't you just lock up and go see the ship?" I had made sure that he knew that Kitten was known not only as my wife but the nominal captain. "That ship is scarey. We saw what it can do many times on television. Even the smallest ship could take out all of the world's militaries with ease." Carl said with a very serious look in his eye, "You know that I am taking care of Epsilon Eridani for Henry. The planet is hot and much of it is dry but not a desert. We could use somebody with your abilities to entertain the troops or serve them beer. Are you interested in changing jobs?" John looked like someone hit him. "You want me to go to that Masis of yours?" "Sure. It is a beautiful planet and now it is quite safe." "I... I... can't. I have the pub to take care of." Carl smiled and said, "You sell the pub and immigrate. You have to join the military but that also means that you get to live quite a bit longer. You will have centuries to enjoy your retirement. Not everybody gets asked and this time we will overlook some of your more fundamental flaws." John sat up straight and said, "I beg your pardon. I am a very respected person in this city and country." Carl spoke low to him, "We read minds John. We know all about you but still want you. When I signed up for Vietnam, I had a poster of Uncle Sam pointing a finger at me. You have something much better." John paused for a moment without saying anything aloud. Carl continued, "Let's lock up here and go for a tour of the ship John." John got up uncertainly but we all knew he was probably hooked. Carl reached into his pocket and took out a two ounce gold coin and put it on the table in payment. After locking up a young man from the Academy came down by way of a tractor and escorted John up into the ship only a few hundred metres overhead. Carl's family and mine started to walk through some of the streets. I got to hold Faith while the mothers and children carried the youngest. This was no chore because their bodies were very fit and strong. The children were the same way but not up to what had been done to the adults yet. The few people not in the ship stared at us and at the four legged friends we had with us. An empty park was nearby and we went in. Carl had no children that were born yet but had adopted a few for his part in taking care of all the children that needed parents. I knew that he thought of them as his now in every way possible. We both sat on the swings and with a baby in our arms we were pushed by the wives. It was a little bit of turnabout but it was still fun. The children got on the other swings and they got to ride the odd device. Moesha, Kimberly, Clarice and Michelle were from Earth and knew all about swings and played with the younger children including Sofia. Carl had played father to all five girls and only Clarice and Michelle were considered his before. Now they all were the same as they were all mine and my wives too. We basically spent the day seeing the city with new eyes. Some of the children enjoyed the trip because it was the first trip to Earth. From time to time, Human children would run out to see us but stop short at the sight of the Donai. I could see the calculations in their minds. They knew all about them and the Tandra too. Usually one brave child would come then the rest. Our children had a fun time showing the Humans how to pet a Donai or hold a Maca. It was really amazing how the Donai didn't inspire much fear in Dog or his family or in the Mecas. Even the Softay and the T'aut were not too concerned. The Dolson became accustomed to the little predator when they got to play with a young cub still in need of its mother's milk. A vendor selling hotdogs made a killing when we came over. This was strange and exciting food to the family while the Earth girls tried to show the rest how to eat the food. I hid what I knew of the way the meat was made so as to not spoil the fun. The vendor was just a young man and hesitant about taking gold but readily accepted some of the paper money I had with me. We walked up Main till we got to Ferguson then stopped by to visit 'Bay Variety and Groceries'. It had not changed names and was now quite famous. Tran Van Bao and his wife Tran Thi Anh greeted Duc and Lam as royalty even though they talked once a week on the phone. Bao had become the defacto community leader of the Vietnamese section by his having such famous relatives. The children had just eaten but raided the shelves when they saw the familiar dried fish. Their mothers let them have what they wanted but retained the bags so their cost could be tabulated. All this time, Duc and Lam introduced the Tandra children that had Vietnamese names. Bao and Anh had seen the children many times but not held the youngest of them. The young lunar males stayed by their father to be dutiful as both their parents thought they should be. When the preliminaries were done they were excused to find any fish if there was any left. Carl and I were introduced later when there was enough room to get in. The shear number of individuals made navigating in the store very difficult. Susan was with me as well as the other wives and Susan was pleased to see that her relatives now thought a great deal of her. Susan's fellow wives and children were introduced. I could see that the poor shop keepers would not be able to keep many of the names straight. Duc and Lam convinced their younger relatives to close the store and visit the ship. They had not been to the moon before thinking it was too dangerous and far. The ship though was close, in fact it was right overhead. Duc and his family soon disappeared into the ship and I could feel the poor relatives apprehension but knew it would not last long. The rest of us continued our walk. We visited the various bakeries and two of the three owners even refused payment. They were able to hold the babies though and this was worth much more than mere money. Bank of Montréal now had a few million dollars of mine after Mom transferred a bit of my sizable fortune into this bank. We walked into the almost deserted bank and I explained to the children a bit about money. The manager and Vicky came from behind the counter to meet the family. They too had heard about the Donai and were not very afraid. So far Mom had never lied to them and this was good that they trusted her so much. I said to Susan, "Should we invite Vicky over some night? She is a wild woman." "I will scratch her eyes out Mr Buchanan." I smiled at her and said, "I have all that I need now Honey." Bassinda looked at the woman and said, "I can see some possibilities." I moved away to let the two women work out what was going to happen. I was quite sure it was just a joke anyway. I asked Vicky, "Why aren't you out visiting the ship?" She smiled and looked down coyly and said, "I am the assistant manager now. We are the only two that stayed." In an afterthought she continued, "Mainly it was because we had to." "As one of your more important customers, I demand that you lock the doors and then your bank. You should inspect the ship overhead." I got a smile from each of them and they looked at each other for confirmation then the manager said, "I agree. Perhaps we can investigate the possibilities of setting up a branch in the ship." We all knew this was impossible because Tandra and now the Alliance had little use for money and the troops could get whatever they needed. Usually Tandra made articles were much better but art was an exception. Music had fascinated the Tandra especially vocals. If music were made at all it was done on the computer and used to soothe the people listening to it. Many of the Human recruits now sang because their brain now could handle all the details that usually separated a professional performer from a person singing in the shower. Human art now graced many walls or copies were stored in memory so that almost anything could be viewed on command. All the major art galleries on Earth and most of the minor ones had been extensively copied. This took in both paintings and sculpture of all kinds. Music in all its forms and been similarly mimicked. Early television had been studied and both the good and the bad saved for posterity. Plays and most forms of the written word had been analysed but the Tandra had long experience in this art form as well as dance. Most now viewed recordings of these art forms. Very few bothered to even act out a story told literally for millions of years. Early Tandra society had all these forms and more when their minds grew in power and dexterity. It was only the predisposition to taking the easy path that had lead to the verbal languages falling into disuse then the reliance on computers to produce whatever article of beauty was required. It was this path which led to a stagnation and it was only recently that some Tandra felt compelled to present their culture to the Humans that would surely swallow them even with their small numbers. The two humans soon were escorted to the ship and began a journey that would not end for centuries to come. I watched the two raise into the air with no exclamation even though both wanted to scream badly. Inside they met many others in a boat bay checking out some of the now very famous fighters. Following their thoughts it was easy. I could see how they felt. I was sure they now considered themselves in wonderland. It was easy to assume we would have visitors and they came into town very quickly from the two airports. They were dressed as civilians but they were all distinctly military. On scanning I knew that they were not here to take over but to infiltrate and learn what they could. The ones to come close took note of us but would rather gain access to the ship hovering over our heads. The Donai they just ignored if that were possible. The people from the Academy read each of them and even allowed the ones without hidden equipment to enter the ship. The ones with concealed cameras and other devices had to stay behind. We had to laugh that all the carefully concealed equipment was removed and handed to one individual before they were allowed to enter. We continued our excursion through the nearly deserted city. We made quite a procession with very beautiful women, children and animals. The Donai and Dog walked ahead to sniff out danger and to protect their pack. The animals were intelligent enough to know that this was not quite right but close enough for now. There were quite a few sporting goods stores and one happened to be open. Dog and his family stayed outside with the Donai. The rest walked into the store and the proprietor was too amazed to help us. Ingrid with her halo was the first to tip him off. He then saw the rest of us and he quickly matched our faces to the images in his mind from the news. I handed equipment to the girls to see what they liked. Much of the equipment was cheap but there were some good rods, reels and other tackle. My memory dutifully told me all of my equipment at home. It would be much better to have Mom make the equipment I needed but this was fun for the family. The children started to run about the store looking at all the colourful regalia used in this area and then running back to me to see if it were useful for our expedition. Most was for other purposes but some like duck calls would be nice for them to play with. The firearms were ignored even when the children wanted to try them. Bassinda asked verbally because that was our intention this trip, "Henry, what is this for?" She had picked out a deer rifle with a large scope mounted on the top. "It is a weapon for killing animals at close range. The projectile will go a few kilometres. It is not able to be influenced after it leaves the weapon and it rapidly falls due to gravity. It is more in line with what the children use when practising their stalking skills." "I thought they may have been dangerous." "Only if you are not wearing a suit. This is the kind of weapon Human soldiers have been using for the last few centuries to kill each other. They are not very effective and that is one of the reasons that most of them were able to survive." When our pile of equipment was quite high a went over to the owner that was still quite content to just watch us. "We are ready to pay for our purchases now. Will you assist us?" The man slowly walked to the cash register and kept looking at one person to another. Before the man actually started his tabulations I said, "I am not from Canada or Ontario anymore. I will pay the full retail price you demand but I will not pay the provincial sales tax or the Goods and Services Tax. Consider this purchase as one being exported out of the country." This was difficult for the man to comprehend. The government went to a lot of effort to make sure they got their pound of flesh and the blood that was in it at the time of sale. I looked into the man's mind and saw that he would rather give me a discount and then pay the tax himself rather than get into trouble. He finally said, "I... I can't do that. Our inventory is tied into the cash sales." I just smiled at him and took a piece of paper from nearby and started to quickly make up a hand written purchase order. The goods in question were to be delivered to the Tandra base north of town. The man looked at the paper then at me. Before he could object I said, "You can deliver them in an hour yourself or we will deliver them for you." The man gave a weak smile and said, "I would like to deliver them to you sir. That is if it is alright with you?" "Fine but it has to be in one and a half hours time. No later." "I have no other customers and I can make the trip in that time easily." The bill came to over fourteen thousand dollars, mainly because I picked quality. The man was very surprised at the total and was worried. I simply said, "Gold or cash?" "Gold if it is alright with you." Gold was currently at 1,630 dollars in Canadian funds. I took out of my pocket eight coins used in the old Tandra Empire and put them on the counter. "There is more than enough gold here to cover the cost plus shipping. The coins though are very rare and are two and a half million years old. I advise you to pay out of your own pocket and keep this coinage. You could probably get any price you ask for them." The man picked up one of the coins and looked at the writing and the picture. These actually came from the matter transmitter around Tandra. I took one of the coins myself and pointed out the features of the current Tandra Empress at the time of minting and then indicated to him the Tandra characters for Taylar. The man immediately looked at my wife and didn't know what to do. He was back the way he was when we first came into the store. I had to reach over and shake his shoulder. I searched the man's mind for his name and pointed to the clock on the wall and said, "One and a half hours, Sam. That was our agreement." He recovered quickly and now refused to look at his customers and quickly started to package the merchandise. Taylar hugged me to her when we left the store. "You made the poor man think more of me than you." "I think more of you than of me too." She didn't know what to say but wanted to revert to mindspeech to get a fuller understanding but didn't. I closed my own mind but sent some instructions to Mom while we continued our excursion. Our final stop was a large grocery store. Duc would have liked to patronise his relatives but he or Lam were not here now. Susan put some of the children in the shopping carts and soon we had a large train moving through the store pushed by adults or larger children. Two were actually empty to put our own selections in. I picked up two fifty pound bags of potatoes, butter, flour and a wide assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables. Ingrid knew what I wanted too and filled her cart with what she thought was needed. The young woman at the cash was stunned as were the few customers in the store but she was able to scan each of the articles. When she started to put the articles in a bag I said, "That's ok. We don't need bags. The articles disappeared off the belt one at a time and the poor woman was amazed. When the family started to do the same thing she had to lean back against the short wall behind her. I paid cash and explained, "Our shuttle is just over the store. We took the matter transmitter into the small ship with our groceries." The woman did not understand very well but said, "Ok." Our four legged friends were picked up individually after being warned. Instead of returning to the moon, I headed north to my old home. Along the way we saw a vehicle driving recklessly and we just stayed with it for the last ten minutes to keep it out of trouble. It pulled up in front of the vaporous cloud around the base and stopped. A cadet took the purchases but the man wanted to deliver them himself. The cadet got the ok from Mom and the man drove through the barrier to meet us. Sam stayed to help Susan and I set up the equipment. He worked very efficiently but I could see that he was very reluctant to leave. We settled in the house for the first time in quite a while. Beds made in the Human fashion were in all the bedrooms and the nursery was now very well stocked with beds of their own. The family dressed in Human style clothes. It was getting cool but not excessively. Blankets were taken for comfort and we went down to the water's edge. Mom had cut into the exposed bedrock to make a series of docks. The slips between had some very large and sturdy ceramic boats with slidable seats. My old tackle and Susan's was waiting for us. Susan got into the first with a third of the children then Ingrid got into the next. Each had roughly a third of the family with four legs. I loaded the last boat and got in with my complement. Roger, and Dola stayed close as did Chris. There was no sound of a motor but we were whizzing along at twenty klicks an hour. The other boats were before me and within moments we were at a large cliff face. I called Sandy and Amy to me and said, "Do you remember this place?" They looked up quite a way and saw the edge far above that I had clung to when I tried to save Amy's life. Susan in the other boat gave a very vivid mind picture of what would have happened if either of us had of fallen onto the large rock right below. The two girls were now upset but I hugged them to me. "That was when you were young. We all make mistakes at that time. It was a good way to meet your future husband though." They smiled a bit and Amy said, "It was planned that way." I had to laugh now. She was able to lie verbally even though she kept her mind closed to us. Mom made us some synthetic worms that moved when placed on the hook and gave off the scent of a real earthworm. Roger got his short rod first and interfaced with Mom about the appropriate procedures to follow next. Dola, Amy, Sandy, Star, Topaz, Kitty, Cloud, Moth, and a goodly number of my adopted children. This looked to be a set up and I found that I had the majority of the younger children in the boat with me. The babies were all in the other boats. I got a chuckle from Ingrid and she let me know that the younger ones needed to learn from a male figure even if they were or were going to be wives one day. Lines were in the water around each of the boats. Gerdo the grandchild of Nova and now our son found the first indications of a fish. I quickly focussed into the water and my crystalline laced eye found a good sized pickerel taking the bait. The boy was very excited and almost lost the rod. The other were excited too and started to mindspeak furiously then even do some verbally. The line went under the boat as the young boy tried hard to bring the fish in. I noticed that all the four legged friends were in the other boats and the Donai even licked their chops. This was as close to a hunt that they had done in a week. When the fish broke water the animals sat up as did all the people in our boat. The boat itself had remained stationary and as stable as the bedrock the house stood on. I used my net and brought the small creature into the boat. It was a bit over a kilogram and after I removed the hook with a pair of pliers I let Gerdo put his finger into the gill and hold it for all to see. His smile was wide enough to pay for all this effort. His catch went into the well and he immediately got back to his serious job of feeding his family. The other boats were not as lucky because I brought our boat all around the large rock. In thirty minutes I couldn't see any more fish and the hooks were reeled in and the boats moved one more time to another of my favourite fishing spots. This time Susan was the first to catch a fish and the people in her boat cheered. I spent most of my time helping the people in my boat. Usually I had to use my PK to remove the hooks or even sinkers from obstructions or sunken trees in the bottom of the river. Two hours later I had not even wet my line but I was just as happy to have helped my family. Ever since meeting these gentle people I wanted to introduce them to the activities I loved about my world. From the feelings of the youngsters around me now I knew that I was well repaid. From the other boats I could feel the mothers either excited when they or their charges caught fish. Samantha and Patty had been fast friends as had Tom and Michael. They had been the only survivors of Yuri's house of horrors. They were now children that looked a bit Tandra. They were all my children. They laughed when pulling in a fish. Matty was the name of the boy that I took from the wall so long ago and again from the clutches of Yuri Mecholov. They knew nothing of their past because new memories had been planted. I felt very proud to be their new father when I saw how well they were doing. I guess my emotions had got away from me for they all looked at me strangely. I could feel the same love coming back to me from many directions. Patty was the only child to have not caught a fish. I looked into the water and used my PK to move the bait a bit to one side and then shake it. Three metres away and under an overhang a large pike was waiting for such an invitation. It lunged out and took the bait in one large bite. Poor Patty was almost pulled into the river but I was there to support her. When she regained her balance I stepped back and let her fight her own battle with the wily fish below. This fight took much longer than the rest and the girl was very tired when I assisted in landing the large fish with the net. When we got back to the house the rest had not finished congratulating the girl about what she had done. The fish were put in stasis except for Patty's pike and eight of the pickerel. I cleaned the fish as the children watched. The Donai had the pleasant, to them, job of cleaning up the guts. I took four more fish out of stasis and fed it to them to keep them happy. Most of this was for the cubs benefit so that they would know about wild food. I started a fire and put the large steel grate over it. The fish when cleaned were battered in simple flower and salt and fried in butter in a cast iron fry pan. Some was cooked like the potatoes in aluminum foil in the fire. The smell of the food kept everyone hungry and the children's mothers kept them from eating. The torture lasted almost an hour and then they all sat down and ate from a plate in their laps. The older ones had to wait because they had to feed the younger ones. The only concession to high tech I used was to remove all the bones so the children would not get hurt. Jorge and Judith sat beside me looking to get some help. I willingly gave it as I did to Matty and Roger. They could do this themselves but it was another way to show them that they were loved. Susan took over the cooking when it looked like I was busy elsewhere. The children ate much more than usual and loved the texture of the vegetables as well as the odd tastes. Soon though the children were getting sleepy and the adults had a chance to eat for themselves. There was a bit of food left and I thought of the canine pups or the Donai version and found that they were all gone. Mom said, "They are having their own meal." I saw an image of a large male moose that now weighted very little. All around it were dogs and Donai with bloated stomachs. I asked, "How did this happen?" I was given images of the two species working together to bring the large animal down. Dog had attacked first but the moose had gone into the water. This was no hindrance to the Donai and they made the kill. All of them dragged their prey from the water and onto the shore. It was really amazing how two great predators had been able to work together to pull down this bull and then not fight over the carcass. The pups didn't necessarily get to eat first but did get the easier parts to consume. The children were wrapped in the blankets and taken into the house to sleep. I found that Mom had been protecting us. None of the mosquitoes even buzzed around our heads. The children all went to sleep and I just made a fire in the fireplace and sat around with my wives. Roger and the young squad had gone to bed too and the youngest one awake was Amy. She was very interested in getting some action now that our child Ruth was resting. Amy asked, "Henry, are you going to please your wives before we go to sleep?" Twelve females and one very effeminate male looked expectantly at me for an answer. This was the first time we and all been together like this and I was not very tired. "Do you want to be first Amy?" A vocal squeal told me that she liked the idea. Her clothes came undone as she launched herself at me. I used my mind to bind my wives together as if they were all of one body. When Amy orgasmed so did the other wives. The third time was a magic number and her mind dropped an egg. I searched it out and found it not quite as good as another. My PK moved the small egg on its course with destiny and I knew my little invaders would make one more conquest. When I moved to Star the same thing happened. The fact that I was making my wives pregnant seemed to work as a super aphrodisiac. Star would now have one more child besides Elizabeth. She clung tenaciously to me and her mind gave me a mantra of thanks. Secric had just put Madaline to rest and was ready for me to make a new brother or sister for our first born child. The other wives were treated to the same kind of love the first three got but they had their own children almost at full term and would have to await. When I finally got to Dola. I had to switch openings and then go through the same routine again with the family. When I was finally finished the sun was rising over the hill and into our room. The wives were out of it and would be for a considerable time. After a shower I used a hand cleanser and cleaned each of my wives and laid them comfortably. As I finished the last one I heard the children start to awake. I quickly dressed and went to greet the rest of the family. The bathroom was now for two races and this helped a lot. The older ones helped the younger while I got the breakfast ready. It was a hectic time just making enough food for each of them. I had to cheat and get Mom to make a large cast iron grill and heat it with a small weapon set far below its lowest setting. With this and the stove going I was fast enough to keep everybody going. My mind was locked tight and I thought of each of the children I now fed. Some had been abused and needed help of the most serious kind. Some had been in less danger but still required me to assist them. Only Moesha, Kimberly, Clarice, and Michelle were gone then I thought of the two boys that had grown to men in the blink of an eye. I wished that Matthew and Jeremy were still here as children so I could see their very expressive faces. When the meal was over I cleaned each of their faces and hands and sent the older ones outside. A look through Mom's sensors told me that much of the moose was now gone and a lot of very round pups were sleeping off their excess. My own pups were put on some soft blankets on the floor and I sat down with them. Of these Faith, Hope and Charity were the oldest. Madaline, Ruth, and Elizabeth were beside them and even though young I could see that the ones part Human were going to do great things in their lives. Mom appeared in holographic form and sat on the nearby chair. To my way of thinking she looked like a very pleased grandmother. "Well Mom, what do you think of your family?" She smiled at me and said, "Our family is very strong and getting stronger. Soon these six will get an addition because Chris is almost due. The rest will follow very closely. The way the Alliance is expanding we will have places for everyone of your children." "I don't think all of them will be cut out for administration. I hope I will not interfere too much and let them find their own niche. I still want to train them in what I alone can now do. Some times I thought that my abilities were not up to the challenge. It would be nice to know that there would be someone to carry on." "Henry, that is the attitude of a person that is willing to risk far too much. You are much safer knowing that you are the only one staying between us and the Fassoot, Misto and the other races opposing us. Even the Moldeg are very numerous and need other races to prey upon to grow their young. If you die so will the Alliance even if it will take a thousand years. Nobody can hold the Alliance together except you." "Mom, that's not true. My wives are doing a fantastic job now. I am just the one that comes up with new ideas. It is my AI family that is the real backbone. Your advice and knowledge saved us many times." "You have made us very intelligent and we have used that power to assist the future of the Alliance. The Thonas are finally of no significance unless they are given outside assistance. The Samutz are very wide spread but their society will collapse without their ability to use the computer. They are currently fighting twenty three other races besides the Moldeg that we have no control over. More I am sure will be found as the Alliance expands. Your wives and representatives would hold the Alliance in a very tenuous grip but the very vigorous races from our neighbouring galaxy will pull it apart piece by piece." My mind worked on the figures Mom used to come to this conclusion. I could see patterns that Mom was still not able and jumped ahead. The fact remained that she was still right. I still didn't see a way of not risking my hide while trying to take out those bent on our destruction. The only out was to find our enemies first and do what was necessary to make them our friends or to disarm them. "What have you found about the Misto and the Fassoot technology?" "Nothing of great value. It looks like more of us believe their technology is a million years beyond ours. It may be less but for the fact that they had constantly been at war and continuously improved their weapons. The dark crystals now appear to the vast majority as encompassing at least one additional dimension as you first postulated. We have more mathematics that could describe some of the effects but nothing that looks to incorporate all of the facts we have been able to witness." Edited by vonsteppin@hotmail.com ------- Chapter 96A Mom used her hologram self and some probes to pretend she had the body we all had seen. I think she did this as much for me as for the children. She made bread in the oven like the kind we had on the tug at one time. I made coffee and prepared for the onslaught of hearty eaters that would soon come to the house. They were currently fishing from the boats or the shore but part of Mom was always looking out for them. Secric, Amy and Star got up a bit early because their breasts were full. A moment later Kitten did too. I was given a very good, good morning kiss by each. The first three were very happy to be pregnant one more time. The children were now being fed and then Moesha, Kimberly, Clarice, and Michelle came down for a meal of their own. Sofia was right there to play with her best friends. The talk centred around all the funny people making up games while viewing the ship yesterday. Some imagined they were in the Alliance while others just tried all sorts of sneaky ways to find out more than what Mom wanted them to know. One of the funniest I was told was John. He stumbled from one place to another in amazement but tried very hard to attribute this to other causes. His facade as a jaded socialite was thoroughly tested but nobody had burst his balloon for him. Carl did his best to show him most of the less known parts of the ship before everybody was kicked off the ship at three o'clock in the morning. The noise expressed in sound and mentally, woke up the adults around the noon hour. Again I was greeted warmly but it had to be done quickly as I was still making a meal to feed everybody. That afternoon I spent four hours with the children going for a hike and watching what nature presented. There was not too much animal life because the Donai seemed to ensure that everything stayed away. The skunks and porcupines tried too but were much too slow. Once one of the pups had a run in with one of the creatures the rest avoided similar opportunities. Mosquitoes and biting insects avoided us though because Mom used small probes to chase them away without the probes bothering us. The Beaver was still in my hangar and the children filled the plane as I took them on a short trip. They seemed to be much more excited about being a kilometre in the air in the Beaver than flying to a neighbouring star system in a warship. The same thing happened when I used the minivan to drive up and down the highway. A stand beside the highway offered wild blueberries. The woman running this business was amazed to see the odd looking children but knew who we were from the news. Soon we both had fun watching the various children gorging themselves on the fruit and getting their faces and hands stained. I at least had the foresight to bring a small cleanser. The wives did some of their own work relating to the systems they controlled. When some were finished their jobs, they took the children for a while so I could perform a few of my own duties. I found that the Samutz had been pushed hard on two fronts by the Moldeg and our forces had been compelled to lend a hand, hopefully without the Samutz catching on as to what we were doing. One time it was only one of the Samutz ships being told to see something that was actually beyond their range. This led to an apparent ambush not happening as planned. There was a lot of strange occurances happening in some of the areas we now protected. Ships were detected flying through the systems or in a fairly empty corridor that were not ours or anybody else we knew about. They didn't bother us so our forces didn't bother them. There was already much too much on our plates to start being the busybody or the policeman for a galaxy that was just now beginning to know peace. The Kadork had a colony of Moldeg nipping at the fringes of the empire and the Kadork queens were all made aware of the situation. A joint force was dispatched to chastize the Moldeg in the strongest possible way. A large proportion of these crews were composed of the Kadork themselves. Their every move was transmitted to us and especially to the Kadork queens. The Academy was given the job of working on Union Station to get the battleship up to specifications even if he would not be fighting. The students would have a bit more room but would still not know where they were. Getting to and from the ship took some time because there was just one portal. The two AIs found that one could just throw many students through the large surface and the other would just catch them on the other side. Empress Meslifzz of the Bintuu Empire was now seeing some of the first fruits of a combined effort to train their young. It was shown that my idea worked when the grubs and immature Bintuu were exposed to Tandra young and Tandra engineers. She now was not hesitant but wanted my full efforts to help her race. This was said as if she were still the one in charge. Mom was put to work thinking of a suitable way of reminding the forgetful Empress of the way things were really run. The Tandra war fleet I had found was recovering fine with the assistance of the Alliance personnel. Improvements were being made as the systems were being brought on line. The surviving Tandra were slowly being brought out of stasis and informed of the new reality. Mom was able to get some substrate to this location and the ships now really knew who was boss. Even I knew that Mom now was so powerful that she could take over like so many Tandra had tried long ago. This time though the AI would be able to succeed if not for their loyalty to Mom and to me. I was able to get a few hours sleep before regaining my position as father. This lasted till about ten P.M. local time when the wives invited me back into the bedroom. My vacation lasted five more days then I had to get back to the things I did best. The last night was the most tiring but the most gratifying too. The next day the children left with the adults but now went to some of the different systems to find out about the people there. The three newly pregnant wives were the most hesitant to leave me but the rest of the wives gave their support to make the parting a bit easier. They were anxious themselves because their burdens would soon leave them too. I was able to catch up on some lost sleep and then I began on the backlog of ships that had to have their computers moved a bit back into the maze. Most of these were new examples of the relative class ship. The small ships were sent off with a dozen communicators each in every direction. They were to initiate communications with both Tandra ships and installations. The idea was that it would take a great deal of time to link all of these groups through the maze. This was a stopgap method but would last for at least the fourteen months calculated before the entire galaxy could be linked. This hinged on me raising the intelligence of a great many more AIs. The ships presently had to go over twenty thousand lights to find the first of the Tandra colonies not on our net. Many I knew would normally take centuries to find because they would be in a dormant state. Mom and Bennechi got a slightly improved hull with six of the relative class nestled into the stern to give us a bit of extra push. This time the compensator and the framework could take the additional push. At the moment she was back at the recent hot area close to the Canis Major Galaxy. If events got interesting again I could walk the maze to be there when needed. Horus and Isis, the two AIs that now lived in the newer type of destroyer came to mind when I wanted to do more research into crystalline structure. The hull was only a bit over a kilometre in length but well suited to this job. This type of work required that I leave the family so I could continue my research. I gave my regrets to those in the Sofaas system and by hologram to the rest. It was not too much of a hardship because I was only a call away and they could view me while I was at work. The AI family now began cutting the scrap crystals from Epsilon Eridani into larger portions and fusing them together roughly. This procedure would not work for a processor but I found that I could complete the interface much quicker with this assistance. The final step of moving the last atoms of doping material and then forming the minute crystalline structure was still my job alone. The scientists on Defren were soon given a dozen crystals tuned to the furthest focal point. This time the crystals were put together as pairs except for the first and the last. It was hoped that a person stepping into the first crystal would be propelled instantaneously through six jumps of 3,623 lights each. With a bit of tweaking we would be trying to get 22,000 lights on minimal power and twice that at full power. The results though would take a few weeks to compile. More of the large crystals had to be made to unite all the nearby Samutz empires we had taken over. They were all within the 3,623 lights and minimal power would be used to transport people. If this worked out then as little as 2,000 stations could cover all of our galaxy but a person would have to travel through almost thirty stations to transverse the entire width. Horus and Isis had been sent to the dead area close to where we had originally found the ship. This not only gave me a bit of privacy, it also gave me some room to work. Mom would be transmitting my image but if the situation got interesting she would fill in for me as she had done so many times before. When I got to the destroyer I found it much more repaired. The long hole through the longitudinal axis of the chip had been capped. The rooms had been cleaned of Moldeg and Samutz bodies because the ship had participated in the rescue of the remaining children from the matter transmitter around the Tandra home planet. Before I arrived, the caps at the ends had been removed and a hard vacuum was now in the central core. Horus and Isis had taken their cue from Mom and both appeared as holograms when I emerged from the small hull used to get here. They did not bow but did nod their heads as a sign of respect. I had to chuckle a bit because they took on the images of Egyptians even to some of their dress. At least Horus did not have the ankh, flail or crook in his hand while talking. "My Emperor, the crystals have arrived." "Thanks Horus, that will speed things up a bit. Transport me to the computer room please." Immediately I was on the corridor in front of the room with the hatch already wide open. In seconds after using my eye to visualize the five dimensions I stepped to the back wall of the computer and then into the maze. In the course of four days many experiments were undertaken. Some were done on the destroyer by me but many others had the actual assessments done by various groups in the three dimensional realm we usually lived in. Most of the smaller experiments had to do with manufacturing the dark crystals used by the Misto and Fassoot. None of my efforts in this area seemed to work. "Mom, where is the closest source of raw crystals?" "That would still be the second planet of the Epsilon Eridani system." "I think I am going to have to give that site an inspection. Maybe I can find something out there." The matter transmitter far outside the Epsilon Eridani system was arrived at through the maze. Sandra, the specially modified surveillance ship, met me there for the short trip to the system itself. "Hello Sandra, it has been a while since I saw you last." "It has been 20,536,743 seconds my Emperor. I am very glad to see you again too." In a two hours we arrived at the giant of the Epsilon Eridani system. This time we had to obey the Mardaf Limit. Luckily the planet we wanted was not far within this area. The planet itself was similar to Jupiter. This one though was ten percent larger than Jupiter's 142,800 kilometre diameter and composed of much denser matter. A small base was hidden deep within its crust. It was doubtful if anybody could find this because of the tectonic activity when moving large quantities of the material that the crystals were composed of. The base I found had a very competent computer. Strangely it was not on our net at this time. When I entered the computer, I found out why. It was very massive and used some strange equipment. Apparently the large amount of crystal activity in this planet interfered with the operation of the computer itself. This necessitated a completely new method of making a computer. I went into the back of the computer room and pushed into the maze. Like the Thonas I had to search out to find Mom and push through some walls to find our own familiar section. My sense of direction was not very strong but it usually gave me a vague feeling of being right. In an hour I was able to find one of the corridors of substrate and then the coils of substrate waiting for me. The trip back was quicker but I had to return a few times for more coils. The computer and AI on the planet were instructed to assist but only if they had nothing else to do. I still had a great many experiments to complete and the list was growing all the time. Tractors reached down a tube with a diameter of fourteen metres. The tube was held in place by a very heavy duty screen. The bottom end was nine hundred kilometres deeper into the planet itself. All along the length more tractors were used to pass up the molten material from the bottom most manipulators. The lowest tractors would dip a small crystal into the bath of material and then extract it to partially cool. This happened many times with the material growing progressively larger each time. Other machinery worked on the rough crystal to remove impurities in the newest layer applied before it was re-immersed in the bath. The gravitational attraction at the surface of the planet made my weight almost seven tonnes. This was beyond what a combat suit could counter but there was a small ship that was built to take this and still work within the small confines of the tube. When the last of the material had been brought up the tube I entered a small maintenance ship and descended toward the bottom. The trip took close to a half hour to travel the paltry 900 klicks. My mind was actively scanning the walls and equipment as we passed it but the crystals beyond were not seen unless I used my special eye. The bottom of the shaft expanded to almost four hundred metres in diameter. The framework here was considerably stronger to take the extreme pressure of almost a thousand kilometres of magma on a very high gravity planet. Platforms above the bubbling pool held the apparatus for manufacturing the crystals. I could see some crystals now descending into the caldron to gain a fractional amount more of material to their surface. The atmospheric pressure here was just over 26000 bar and that seemed to be a low figure. The tiny ship landed on a small platform. Though the inside of the ship was comfortable, it felt very hot when I looked out on what was around me. The dimensions here were much easier to distinguish because of the shear power generated by the material of the planet. I just sat there for a few minutes trying to not think of all the forces that were exerted on this small ship and concentrated instead on the white hot magma only ten metres below me. It was mostly molten rock but this rested in a matrix of the liquid crystal material. Deep within the cauldron I detected a more solid portion of crystal. My PK went out and tried to coax it to the surface. As it got closer to the surface below me the smaller it became. When it finally broke the surface it was only a kilogram, if that. Rather than trying again I cast my senses out and worked to evenly distribute the natural doping in the crystal. Though it was easier here because the crystal seemed to be in its natural environment. When this was done I tried to get the crystalline structure to form the way I wanted. This proved to be very difficult for the same reason the purification had been easy. The crystal did go back into the maelstrom of its birth for a few moments before emerging once again. Again it was purified but nothing else was done. In four hour I had the one kilogram seed grown to twelve metres in diameter and as large as the shaft above could take because of the tractors sticking out into the shaft. The tractors above the pool had been used to supplement my abilities. My mind could not manipulate such a great weight. Other tractors pushed the mass of white-hot material far overhead as I went back to making more crystals. More fishing was done but this time I pulled my catch up much more slowly. The portion was equal to perhaps a hundred and thirty kilos on Earth but here the weight was many tonnes more. In a bit less than four hours the crystal grew to the same proportions as the one far above and just emerging from the shaft. The second crystal started its assent while I went back to see what I could find within the depths. Smaller crystals were fished from the roiling surface and after purification were handed to the various stations around the base of the shaft to function as very pure seed material. Tandra engineering was not all powerful in this environment but I did my own assessment of what the tractors could handle. If two tractors at a time worked to lift a crystal then it may be possible to lift a larger load. The new crystal I made would be cylindrical in shape and thirty three metres long. A longer one could be made but the tractors could not handle this kind of mass. The crystal now was not taken from the seething surface but I used its natural buoyancy to keep its top surface a bare metre below the surface. My mind held the small crystal I chose and pulled the crystal material I wanted closer to it while excluding the rock. Soon I found that I had taken almost all of the raw materials and the tractors sent over what they had. This was taken under the surface and when hot enough it was fused to the crystal I was making. The process was slowing down as we exhausted the supply of the crystal material. Tractors now went into the surface and pushed some of the rock as far down as they could. After an hour the surface now looked like it had when I first arrived. The new material was now bonded to the large crystal. This effort was very strenuous and I used the tractors as much as possible. I wanted to sleep but felt it very important to make this crystal in just one continuous process. When the crystals were being realigned it was the same thing. Having a rest invariably meant that I lost ground. This crystal even with the mechanical assistance took almost a day to make but eventually it was ready to send on its way. I wanted a rest but not here. The tiny ship left just ahead of the largest crystal I ever attempted to fabricate. I did sleep in the base far above in the very primitive area used for the very infrequent used Tandra technician. After a meal of emergency rations I looked at the first two crystals held in storage. They were kept heated in the same atmosphere as what was in the shaft but I knew we had to cool them very slowly. From my half gravity viewing area I used my mind to work on the material one more time. The doping material was redistributed just a bit better but the material was just too hot to crystallise the way I wanted. There was time to work on the other crystal too and still the heaviest burden had not come to the top of the shaft yet. The other crystals sent up before I had arrived were present and these I worked on. Under the heat, pressure and the natural forces of this planet the job was much easier to do. "Henry, why don't you try to fabricate a large crystal here with these smaller crystals?" Came from Mom. I thought about it for a moment and said, "I'll give it a try." The finished and still hot crystals were shaped by my mind and fused together. The present base did not have the facilities to help much even if the computer looked to be superior. The crystal I was now fabricating was going to be a dozen metres like the crystals I had already roughly cast. The thirty three metre cylinder came to the top of the shaft but I continued to work on my present job. The large mass went into storage and I finally exhausted all the crystal that was on hand except one. I needed more and I wanted them now. "Sandra," I called out, "go to the processing area and bring back as much of the small unuseable crystals that are in storage as you can." "Yes, my Emperor." With the heavy load now out of danger I took the remaining crystal and both purified and crystallised it the way I wanted. The matter transmitter took me to the computer one more time and I began to assemble a computer here in the maze. It was much harder than in the base itself because the planet had no effect once past this barrier. The maze itself needed some alterations and I pushed it back to make as much room as possible for future shipments of crystal. This new computer would allow this base to communicate better with my AI family. With the large crystal in the maze, the planet would have no bearing on how it operated. The required eleven percent was done with the computer's help and then I left the task to the old AI and computer. When a bit more was done I would place the large crystal I had made and allow both entities to work on this project. Eventually the much smaller AI would join the larger sister. When I got out of the maze I had a bit more of the rations to eat and found tonnes of substandard and flawed crystals on the floor close to the crystal I was fabricating from pieces. When the new pieces were heated naturally I again found it very easy to purify and redistribute the various types of doping material. With a bit of external heat I was also able to fuse most of the pieces together for a bit more processing. My mind sheared the large mass into pieces that could be used to continue fabricating my large crystal. Sandra brought another shipment before I was done and this allowed the job to continue almost uninterrupted. The process was painstaking but proceeded much faster than even in the maze. When the crystal was formed I used my mind to start the minute crystal formation. This now was easier because the temperature was at that point where the crystal was solidifying. This was not like glass where it just got progressively softer but more like water where it just started to freeze if given just a bit more cooling. This constant effort had its effect and I had to eat a bit more then get more rest. Mom told me everything was alright and I just peaked in on the family even if the image they saw was not really me. I had a headache again and used my mind to clear the problem. Some areas were just used a bit much and rebelled at being used again till they were ready. My efforts got rid of the accumulation of waste and I felt much better. The crystal I had made was glowing very brightly with its energy and latent heat. The others in the background just had the heat in them. They were still much too hot to complete but the last large form could still be partially processed. Again the doping material was put where I wanted and in the right quantities but because of its size and latent heat would not really stay there for long. Many factors came into play that would move the atoms from where I wanted them to be. A device was called for and this played gently over the field encased mass and started to gently cool it. To assist the process I destroyed some of my work and used my PK to stir the large mass so it would cool evenly. The cooling effects were increased while I continued to agitate the semi solid liquid. More units were brought over to do this job and I just continued to stir. The process continued as I ate. I was able to proceed with other tasks as this was done because it didn't require much attention. The task was stopped though to get a chance to rest and the cooling apparatus stopped with me. I had been thinking quite a bit about all this process and after my rest. I started again but this time on the first molten crystal I pulled from the pit. In three hours I had to stop and redistribute the doping material and in a matter of minutes the small crystals I formed within the matrix started to multiply inwards. In the next two days the other crystals were done the same way then further cooled. When I examined the first crystal I saw that the planet's forces had altered it a bit and I had to do a bit of remedial work but it was not that difficult. The new AI awoke and I in jest, I called her Snowflake. Quite a contrast in heat gradients but appropriate for an AI in this business. Mom did not really get to Snowflake till a few days after her awakening because it took a long time to widen and thicken the substrate material in the maze. They did know each other though through me and of course Sandra. With very little left to do I asked Mom, "Tell me what you were holding back. I don't usually get so many days free without one or more catastrophes." "There is a major Moldeg invasion forming in four of their major systems. Two Tandra systems are being besieged by a new group of Samutz but I am supplying the information for our new missiles to them. The Moldeg have attacked two more Kadork worlds and been repulsed with major loses. An asteroid the size of Luna is currently in route to a Softay settlement. A major Samutz initiative against an equally nasty neighbour was met with an ambush after we gave the information away to their enemy. Fourteen minor warships of our own were destroyed by unknown enemies. The methods do not look like the Misto or the Fassoot. Some major epidemics, of different types are working their way through some of our allies and ships are sent to deal with it. We had made contact with seventy three viable Tandra colonies and twelve that are dormant. Six hundred and thirty five Tandra ships have been located. Seventy percent of them have now evicted the Samutz and the other races using the ships are not being assessed. Seventeen of the races we have found have not been previously found." "So, nothing out of the ordinary, and you and the wives are dealing with the problems?" "That is right, Henry." "Good, I am tired and need some sleep." When I woke up I got a further update on what was happening and then worked on all five crystals a bit more. When they cooled enough I would have to arrange a large ship or, after a chuckle, a tug to move the cooled crystals off this planet. Before I left I got in the small ship one more time and descended to the lake of magma far below. This time I had a small dark crystal being carried outside the hull. Again we rested on the ledge and I worked very carefully to build up the crystal. The properties of the odd crystal did not go far beyond the boundaries of its surface. After some three hours of work, where I started over a dozen times, I found that the new material would stick but not be any different than other crystals made here except having a darker heart. My hope of getting our liquid crystal to alter in small amounts failed. When I did come to the base the dark crystal was now the heart of a large array that I wanted to test. It was cooled and purified before being cleaved with my mind. The result certainly looked interesting and was taken into the maze when I left. The large crystals would now get a chance to cool slowly the way they were always intended to do. Horus and Isis were glad to see me and took the crystal with their tractors to begin various tests. Equipment had been rearranged at the bow as I had wanted and all I needed now was the crystals to put there. While I waited I asked, "Mom, what have you found out about the destroyed ships?" "They were from widely dispersed points. It appears to not be a concerted attack by enemies unknown. Fleets were sent to assess the matter and one group found themselves under attack. This seemed to be a new race, using some odd weapons but they do not seem to be more powerful than us. Their ships were destroyed and some of the biologicals captured. The ships captured were for the most part destroyed but an investigation is underway to find out their secrets." "I don't get any tingling when you tell me this so I do not think we will have much of a problem with them. Tell me about the other ships when a fleet gets to their last known position." "Yes Henry." More information was given about anything out of the ordinary. Personnel had flown to the trouble spots and started to deal with the myriad problems facing the Alliance. Orders were then given out for a safe way of removing the large crystals from Epsilon Eridani's giant without being seen by the hundreds of thousands of Human trainees and the million Tandra in the system. The trouble was that I would have to be part of the diversion. ------- "Captain, missile salvo coming from the destroyer. Mark fours at seventeen seconds," a quark flux officer said in a controlled voice. Captain Shingle sent his commands to fire control. It was too bad they had been discovered so soon. "Move us out from behind the planet and get the destroyer to come after us and not the troop carriers." The ship moved quickly and in a direction to let the destroyer believe it was fleeing. The destroyer though held its position and released another salvo of missiles capable of severely damaging a battleship never mind a lightly armed carrier. Thousands of tiny fighters had already left the carrier and a few more did as the ship sped up. These though were much more visible. The approaching salvos found a small grouping of tiny missiles approaching. Standard doctrine said that they would be next to useless against the Mark fours that were as large as ships and were even more heavily armed. The tiny missiles manoeuvred into position and the Mark fours sent out a swarm of their own missiles as if they were a ship of the line. With only seconds to impact with the carrier the lead heavy missiles died in a cataclysmic display of energy. The second salvo now recognized the danger and released all its own ordinance to give it a higher chance of gaining its objective. The Alliance defence was not to be denied and they managed to evade their own attackers and home in on the remaining Mark fours. Paul ordered, "Give the override one more time in clear then put a hole through if the AI does not respond." Paul and Charlie worked well together. The captain protected the ship while Paul worked on the offensive capabilities. In less than a second one of the hidden fleet of fighters accelerated to its goal. The old hull of the destroyer. The single occupant was a young Human girl of fifteen that had fought her way up through the rest of her group for this honour. She heard the loud demand for surrender after the Imperial override. Now a very large salvo of missiles was the only response. The girl took her controls and tried to fathom how the destroyer would move next. She heard the loud mental call to all Tandra to protect themselves because the destroyer was now doomed. The Tandra and other subservient races heard the command but were too stunned to do much. The Human girl drove at the port side of the ship and in a split second was happy to see the destroyer swing her way. She was so close now, her invisibility was not possible and thousands of small missiles spewed at her. She braced herself and wished for a good strike on her opponent. The small missiles struck her temporal shield and simply disappeared while other worked by proximity. This though threw the tiny ship to one side but another explosion moved it back. The fact that her shield was so good was sometimes difficult to believe even now. Her ship plowed into the front of the ship. The destroyer was less than a kilometre long and in just a fraction of a second she emerged from the stern. Far behind her now she saw the wreckage and bodies thrown from the ship by air pressure. Some she knew were just like her friends but there was nothing she could do. She stopped and turned around for another strike but Hans the AI on the carrier told her to regain her position in her group. Captain Shingle saw the destroyer and thought of all the needless death. It was not bad killing Samutz but in doing so many other races died as well. "Launch the boarding crews." A dozen ships carrying a hundred and forty four boarders left the carrier and head for the destroyer before the Samutz regained their senses and started to use the weapons manually. The planet far below held a good sized Samutz population. Already Admiral Aleksandrovich Ovshinsky had sent his own troops to battle against the entrenched Samutz. The only job his ship and crew had to do was to capture or destroy the destroyer and protect the landing forces. It was too bad the Samutz ship had been modernized with the newer computer. This was the reason that the destroyer had failed to heed the old imperial command. As the twelve troop carriers got close, one then another suddenly exploded. Return fire from at least a dozen fighters nailed the weapons emplacements and the remaining ships landed beyond the range of the smaller guns. "Any survivors Hans?" "I am afraid not sir." Feeling remorse for the dead had to wait till after the battle and he compelled his mind to ignore the loss. He did know some of the people personally that had just died and it was exceedingly hard to deal with. Small ships had tried to escape the planet to give warning as had message torpedoes. The majority of the fleet stood idle far outside the system to protect that flank and to ensure that other captured Tandra systems gained no warning. The ships fighting now did so to train. Blooding troops had been known thousands of years by Humans and many millions by Tandra. Nothing else seemed to work and it was a shame that so many had to die so others could learn. ------- Chapter 96B Amney had been given a chance to monitor the battle and watch for any warning that may be sent. She had seen the two ships explode but like most Tandra, she ignored the incident other than subtract the number of viable fighters her side had. She may have been one of those now fighting or possibly killed but she knew now that she had never put the amount of effort in to gaining those positions. The competition for those positions was so strong that deaths had occurred in just the choosing. When her watch was over she surrendered her position to another eager Tandra wanting a closer view of what was happening. She quickly ran to the matter transmitter and then to her small room. At first she sat then the events of the last few hours overcame her and she began to cry. Everybody knew the list of those killed in the ships and in the combat with the Samutz. Some she knew very well and ones she had known from her youth on Tandra. With a great deal of effort she pulled herself together. Others needed her now. She stripped and cleaned herself before donning a new uniform. She then used a special machine made on Earth that dispensed some very dark liquid. She added just the right amount of sugar then put them in a container that would ensure that they stayed warm and upright. She walked the few metres to the hatch and waited. A light changed colour and she entered the large bridge. She looked at the Captain's chair and found it empty. She quickly looked around till she saw the Captain looking at a small display. To his side his exec watched the same screen but also checked other screens to ensure that nothing was missed. Amney looked to see that she would not interfere with anybody purposely moving about the deck then quickly walked to her males. She stood out of the way and just waited till they noticed her. She peeked into their minds and saw how fast they were currently thinking. They were very worried about those in danger and about completing their assigned tasks. She knew that her race could think as fast and purposely but those she knew were in the minority. The ones she met as bodyguards or as visiting soldiers were usually this type but the rest of the population were not nearly as good. She knew that these people in front of her were hampered by their conscience, knowing that they had sent individuals to their death. Five days ago when they had acted as supporting forces a similar situation had happened but the losses were a lot less. The Captain hastily looked up for the source of the kind thoughts about him and found Amney standing at attention ready to present him with something. "Yes, Amney?" He said in a kind voice. "I brought some of the coffee you like." When she got a kind smile she hastily opened the container and gave her captain the small cup. When the exec looked, he too was given a similar cup. Paul Santo said, "Hmmm this is good. Thank you Amney. You are always thinking of us. I don't know what we would do without you now." The Captain said, "I concur. You are a real asset to us." Amney felt very good now and waited till they finished their beverage and gave the cups back. These cups had to be saved because the Captain's mother had given them as a set with other handmade articles from their planet. She left the busy bridge soon after and carefully cleaned the cups and even the container they were transported in. The fact that this was a task given to a menial didn't bother her at all now. She was doing this to please her males and that was enough for her at the moment. The battle lasted three days. Much information had been learned in the taking of Masis and one was the use of small probes that flooded the planet and kept an eye on every possible Samutz. When the battle finally started the body count could be tallied against what the probes first detected. Many probes followed their targets and allowed the fighters to destroy the Samutz even if they were metres deep in a swamp or in an ocean. When the battle was over and the cleanup finished both Charlie and Paul were exhausted. Amney made them a light meal which they hurriedly ate then they crawled into bed. The made quick passionate love then simply collapsed. Amney went into the room to clean up. The dishes were cleaned because of their origin and then Amney started picking up clothing. The scent in the room made her exceedingly horny and she hurried with this task. When she got to the bed though she found her hand rubbing her clits. She just had to remove her clothing to do this better. Some lubricant was near the bed and she used a bit on her fingers to give her more pleasure. The two lovers on the bed had not used any and satisfied each other with their lips and hands before sleeping. When the feelings came Amney was able to hold off a bit and got very close to her Captain's waist. She put her face close to the flaccid member and manipulated her clits to a wonderful orgasm. More though was needed and she got close enough to suck the small member into her mouth. The taste was much stronger than what had been on her fingers before and savoured the taste as the best she had ever tasted. Another orgasm overcame her but she continued to gently suck for more of the taste she now craved. Just before her next orgasm she noticed that the small flaccid phallus was now growing in her mouth. She stopped immediately but did not move away. The phallus though continued to grow and Amney stayed perfectly still in case the owner awoke. Her mind now questing very carefully to see if she had been discovered. In an unguarded moment she found that her Captain was thinking of his lover and even pulled Paul closer to him. Amney felt she was pushing her luck too much and kept her mouth stationary but not her busy fingers. Three more orgasms came to her as her mind clouded with lust and something else. Though she could tell her thinking ability was deteriorating she fought to stay with her males even though a small rational part told her to leave right away. An odd feeling grew within her. She had enjoyed sex with her own race but now she thought she could do something with the strange Humans. These ones her were the ones she always wanted. One was good one way while the other was good the other way and she could not really choose even without her clouded mind. Before she could make a rational decision her mouth started to work on the rigid phallus in her mouth once again. When she heard the Captain groan she continued what she was doing and he moved a bit to lay flatter on his back. In seconds she climbed on the pallet and slowly sank onto the very large phallus. This time she had to go very slow or risk some pain. Never before had anything this large been inside her. The thoughts of her gaining a half-breed child were almost too much for her. She had seen the children and adults that had recently come back from their trip across the galaxy and could instinctively see that they would lead much better than a Tandra or even a Human. The possibilities of having such a child were almost too much to take. Amney finally was able to get all of the penis into her but dare not sit on her Captain for fear of waking him. In only a few strokes she had to reach out with her hands and hold his chest to keep from falling as a powerful orgasm passed through her body. Her subconscious worked very hard to push out a ripe egg even though her body would not normally be ready to do this for years. Amney stopped in shock at touching the Captain but continued to move slowly. His hands came up and closed on her wrists. Amney was ready to take any discipline for a chance like this but was very happy when the images in her Captain's mind showed his lover in a similar position. She concentrated on her body and continued to work up and down very slowly. The Captain was very tired and groaned his pleasure in his sleep. Amney now worked to drop an egg that her subconscious had been trying to do for the last few moments. A strange feeling went through her and she orgasmed one more time. In the next half hour she had literally dozens more orgasms including that special feeling that she could only attribute to growing up a bit more. Soon Charles Shingle moved his hands to Amney's hips and thrust upward vigorously while thinking of his lover. This time though the lover was younger as they way they used to be years ago. Amney collapsed on his chest and basically just passed out from all the effort she had expended. Charlie just held the child to him and for some reason dreamed of a small child of his own even if that were never really possible. An hour later Charlie turned on his side and the sleeping child was now nestled between him and Paul. Their usual wake up time passed because of their need for sleep. Charlie had an erection and felt the moist feeling around it. His mind still pictured a young Paul in his arms and he moved back and forth into the opening. He heard the groaning of somebody he loved and held tight before thrusting a bit more and finally released his seed into the waiting orifice. An hour later Paul reached out and held the body close to him and only had the feeling of love. He turned on his side and pulled closer. He felt complete now and just went back to sleep thinking of his children that could never really exist but were always dreamed about with a deep longing. A bit later Charlie awoke slowly to find his cock being slowly manipulated the way Paul did with his mouth. He thought of the most important person in his life and held tight to the body next to him. Something though was wrong and as he slowly awoke he saw the face of the beautiful Tandra girl in the bed next to him. She was the only child they would have and that would not be for long. She would grow up and leave in a few years. He came awake more quickly now. Why was this girl he loved so much in his bed? What was Paul doing to him now? It felt great but not what he usually felt. He felt Amney move her body more and the feeling in his cock happened at the same time. He now woke up much more and searched the mind of the girl he was holding so tightly to him. She was still asleep and making the movements while in a dream. His mind now searched the girl's mind much more thoroughly and gasped at what he had done. It was almost as if gigantic bands linked him to Paul and now bands of equal thickness led to the Tandra girl from both men. He had seen these bands before but they had only been between him and Paul. The thickness now was much more substantial with the girl in the grouping. She added strength to the old bond as well as the one to and from herself. Charlie's cock deflated even with the increased movements of Amney to keep him erect and inside her. When he slipped out of her she started to awake herself. Her mind now was clearer than it had been in a long time. She felt a new place for herself and in a way felt very fulfilled. She saw the male in front of her. He was holding her to him. She felt his love and just pulled him close and licked his face. When that was done she just turned her head and sniffed his chest. She detected the scent of sweat coming from where the two bodies had been so close together. After one more draught she knew that this was the scent she wanted to smell for the rest of her life. "Amney, What are you doing here?" Amney thought of the question but her mind was still a bit foggy in this respect. In a way it was like being very awake but still asleep in other areas. "I came to clean up after my males and then got very excited by the smell in the room." She snuggled a bit closer trying to encourage the penis under her bum to grow and enter her. "When I started to tingle I had to relieve the tension," she admitted but was somehow not embarrassed saying this to her Captain. "I ended up so excited that I had to sit on you then I guess I fell asleep." Charlie saw that Paul had not moved and searched. His lover was still asleep and dreaming of a conventional family and children. The mother was close by but not seen. A bit of digging by Charlie showed that Paul did not know the identity of the mother. Amney was the first possibility if one was ever chosen though. He loved the girl as a sort of daughter and a bit of something else that neither of the men were sure of. Charlie kept Amney in one arm and reached over her with the other to shake Paul. Many ideas were filtering through his mind in only a second. Having his brain improved let him consider this like any other problem facing the ship. Charlie loved Paul and the feeling was returned. They had considered having a family at some time but wanted to adopt some of the millions of Tandra children brought back by the Emperor. This would only happen when their military duties had been completed and a family safely raised without the possibility of an attack. Amney was the Emperor's daughter even if the child still did not fully accept this. The old Empress would certainly have something to say about a simple ship's captain having an affaire with her youngest daughter. The Emperor himself would be very perturbed at him if the girl were hurt. What form this anger would take would not be known but a report had to be sent in. This activity was very much against his sense of duty. He was intrusted with the child's welfare and here he was with his cock wet from being immersed in her. She was to be taught to respect the new Empire and to contribute to its growth. He thought of the girl more himself and he knew that he loved her for herself but not the way he loved Paul. If he were not cashiered from the military he was sure to loose Paul and even Hans. Paul was innocent of any wrong doing but this affair might have severe repercussion on his future advancement. The fact that they would now be separated had more than an even chance in happening. Their goal of living on a far planet with an adopted family around them seemed very dim. Amney was still young and the images of children in her mind were probably just the wishful thinking of a young girl. Perhaps in another fifteen years she would start to have her own children as other Tandra women did. The girl still needed to be protected. Since my career is probably over, I can take the blame and perhaps Amney will be given another chance along with Paul. Paul turned over with a bit of difficulty and surprisingly found Amney in his bed and in fact between him and Charlie. Why the girl was in the bed in the first place was unknown. She may have needed to be comforted somehow and Charlie had held her till she fell asleep. It was kind of nice having a child in the bed even if she was only two thirds of their age. He held the child to him and thought more on the subject. He casually looked into Amney's mind and saw that she was now happier that he had ever known her to be before. Digging a little deeper he found that Amney felt she had grown more mentally when she thought she was now able to drop an egg. She even thought that she was pregnant. This made Paul angry for a moment. The child had to learn a great deal yet and even have time to be a child. Who would have done this to her? With a bit more digging he came very awake and searched through both Charlie's mind and Amney's. He pulled out abruptly and ran all the reverberations of this through his mind. In as much time as Charlie had used, Paul had come to the same conclusions. There was no way that he was going to be separated from Charlie though and perhaps the Emperor would accept both their resignations and allow them to lead the lives they once had on Earth. The Emperor would not take their lives but would remove all of what the Tandra science had bestowed on them. Amney though was still young and needed all the protection she could get. Perhaps a safe haven on Luna where her mother and the Emperor's other wives would be able to look out for her and the child that Amney thought she now had. If Amney was mistaken then the girl would be then further along in developing and could start her own family sooner and thus gain happiness. The other side of the coin was that there might be a child of Charlie's either being removed in a few hours or grow to never see his or her father. This last scenario seemed to be the most cruel. Amney did not understand why the males locked her out of their minds but could see and feel the aftereffects. They grew rigid and she could understand that a lot of thinking was going on. The link to the two males was still open and would always be till death took it away. This told her that both men loved her and wanted the best for her but they thought that their own lives in a major way was over. "What do you mean, you have to leave me? I found my place and I plan on keeping it unless you force me to leave." This brought on a large load of worry. There was a lot of love she knew and somehow they wanted to protect her by leaving. How could this be? If a women needed protection then they had to stay together. The child, she hoped that was attacking itself within her womb, would need a family to protect her or possibly him. Captain Charles Shingle kissed Amney's head and slowly got out of bed even though the girl tried to keep him close to her. He looked down at the beautiful creature. The only thing really wrong with her was her gender but this also made her more desirable to somehow perpetuate the line. He looked over at Paul and saw him holding the now crying girl. "Hans, will you bring in some diagnostic units to see if Amney is pregnant or will be?" Even if the cell had not attached yet it was a forgone conclusion that the girl would not give up a child this way. The units arrived within seconds and began to circle the girl. Paul he knew was sympathetic but knew how accurate a Tandra woman was when she diagnosed herself as pregnant. Charlie followed the data stream and soon found the information about the large cell now attaching itself to Amney's uterus. Within seconds though another cell was found clinging to the thick organ. Charlie reached over to Amney and touched her heaving shoulder. "It looks like you are going to have twins Sweetie." This only brought more crying from the now distraught girl. He turned around now and went to the cleanser and put on a new uniform. It was not known how long he would have to wear this or any other Alliance regalia. Paul pulled himself away from the crying form and followed his lover in cleaning and dressing. When they stood together Charlie said, "Hans, please connect me to the Emperor if he is not too busy. Please give him the facts as you see them before he speaks to us." "Yes, Captain," came to their minds. ------- Isis was giving me the preliminary report on the small dark crystal in the standard matrix. "It appears, my Emperor that your configuration is much better than the standard Tandra sensor. It is still less sensitive that the similar Misto or the Fassoot unit." "Continue with the experiment. Test the unit to destruction if necessary. We need to know how to get the best out of this unit." "Yes you Majesty. I am getting a personal call now that I think you may find distressing." "Put it on Isis." I saw before me Charlie and Paul. They now stood at attention that even went beyond what they had done when I had arrived at their ship the first time after finding out my new rank. Hans talked to me after going through the usual protocols he thought necessary. When this was finally over I got a quick rundown on what had happened and then one more time with much greater detail. Amney was the daughter of one of my wives and as such would receive a considerable amount of leeway. I got a direct feed through our network to the diagnostic units and had the feeling now that she would have both a girl and a boy. She was very small to be carrying a human child and I was a bit angry at this happening. Part of it was her age but also part of it was my own fault. I was the one that had forced her to become a personal orderly to give her one more chance to show me what she was capable of. I should have known she would do what she did because a similar thing had happened to me. Amy was a bit younger than Amney and she was having our second child now herself. My original intention was to give her a place in life and to give the two boys a chance to work much more closely with a female. I hoped cupid would show his face but not the way it had happened. Charlie and Paul were still standing at a very stiff attention and I said, "What can the both of you add?" Charlie started first and said, "It was all my fault my Emperor. I should have had the air change more often and kept her away from us. The only reason I did not was that I thought she needed some personal contact to keep her sane. She did not mix with any of the other races in the crew and just studied hard to regain her lost ground. I thought the closeness would be what was required to get her to accept the Alliance and her role in it." When Charlie stopped I looked at Paul and he said, "My Emperor, we made a grievous error in judgment. You have the power to halt the pregnancy but this I feel will hurt Amney even more. She may still have a great part to play in the Alliance and it is possible the children will help her see this better. I only ask that any punishment you give us will not keep us apart." "Who is us, Paul?" He thought for only a second and said, "Charlie,... but I would like to see Amney and our children, even if it has to be from a distance." "I will talk to my wives and to Amney's mother before I get back to you. Keep Amney very safe because Hans is quite worried about her. I suggest that you both continue to show your love physically now. She is quite vulnerable and needs both of you to show your affection. She cannot get any more pregnant so ensure that her mental state remains positive." "Yes, my Emperor," I heard from both before I broke the connection. The prospect of having sex with a female was not as odious as they had thought years ago. I was not done experimenting but left Horus and Isis to continue with the work. The experiments with the other large crystals was on hold till they cooled enough and were transported. Mom and the wives looked to be doing what was necessary for the Alliance while I had my own brand of fun. I got back into the small ship I came in and headed back to Sofaas. In route, I went over all the facts and then my wives' possible reaction. I was following a perilous path and knew that I could be tripped up many ways. After finding out what Mom had sent to hide some of my activities I would now be able to continue those particular ideas. There were still many details that got shoved onto my desk figuratively and I worked hard on getting them placed in the out pile. None of the incident on Terra's Pride was mentioned because I needed to guide the way I want my family to behave without doing it by decree. When Luna came into view I felt again as if I had come home but only because some of my family was here now. The wives had dropped their work and met me at the bay I usually landed at. Only Ingrid, Taylar, and Kitten were asked to meet me while Dola and the children were asked to continue their studies. The large room did appear to be empty when I did not see any of my own children but this was an important gathering. I was kissed by all three wives with Ingrid waiting to be last. She started to ask questions right away. She was far from stupid even before she was augmented. "Give me a chance to see you first. It is just a family matter and I am interested in checking the condition of my three nearest wives." In only a moment we were inside our apartments. I did not see any of the children here or even Lam and Duc. I led the ladies over to the bed and began to undress them one at a time. I could see their smiles and they let me continue. In a moment all three had my clothes off and were not as careful as I was. Our love making lasted only a few hours and as usual I felt a whole planet of voyeurs looking in to what I was doing. This was not only accepted but seemed to show the citizens that I was both like them and also a bit different that gave me enough reasons to lead. When my ladies recovered they took me to get cleaned then dressed. I was very pleased with their large abdomens and had rubbed them even when making love. Ingrid said, "That was wonderful Henry. Will you have a bit to eat then tell us of our family problem?" I ate some fruit then sat on a large couch with Taylar on my lap. Ingrid and Kitten were on each side of me. I began, "I received a call from Terra's Pride. Apparently the situation with Amney has changed a bit." Taylar tensed and I continued, "Charlie and Paul had formed their own bondue years ago and were basically happy with their lives. Amney saw the two boys as both commanding officers and as friends. She has been doing very well recently with her studies and attitude though she did not participate with any of the rest of the crew." "The Terra's Pride was sent to a low risk area to get a bit of training and to show the crew that even now not everybody will be able to return to the ship after the fighting." Taylar and the other wives were not very nervous and tried to get beyond my block. "Amney and the boys stayed on the ship. They were in no real danger." I could feel the women relax a bit but not too much. "Captain Shingle and his exec helped plan the attack and then Terra's Pride had an important place in the completion of the engagement. They worked very hard and stayed up till all their crew were safe and the planet cleansed." I paused just a bit then continued, "The boys worked off some of their pent-up emotions before going to sleep. Amney came in later and found the sight and sounds very stimulating. She got very close and used her mouth and hands to get a better idea of where the scent came from. She was overcome with the smell and decided to jump on Charlie for a ride. This was the same way Sandy managed to get me inside her when we first met." "Charlie and Paul were really out of it with fatigue but Charlie did orgasm thinking of Paul. Amney was able to overcome some of her hurdles in adolescence and is now able to release an egg. She did it so well, that she actually released two. It just happened that some sperm found the eggs and they are now clinging tenaciously to Amney's uterus." The women were in a bit of a shock. "Captain Shingle believes his career is over and Paul Santo wants to share any punishment as long as they are allowed to remain together. Hans and everybody else knows that both boys want to have a family one day. Paul also asked that he be aloud to see the children and Amney even if from a distance. They both are very worried about how we will view this incident and what will happen to Amney and her two children. By the way I looked at the data and believe we have one of each gender." I looked deeply into Taylar's mind and she instinctively tried to keep me out. I remained quiet but managed to remain inside her block. She knew a great deal about the boys when her youngest daughter left for the Terra's Pride. The boys' sexual preference was no different than a typical Tandra male. One male, usually with a male family of his one, was invited into a female family to perform his duties. Eventually he would be returning to his male family. She could see nothing basically wrong with the situation except that Amney would be cutting her childhood short to raise the children. Amy came to her mind and she saw that this girl was even a bit younger than Amney but was now carrying my second child while running a major system with some biological and AI support. Ingrid was the only Human wife here and felt a bit different about the matter. Some of this reflected on her own life and her real lack of choice in the matter. Kitten came to my assistance and said to Ingrid, "She had as much choice as the rest of us had when we met Henry. It looks to be what you Humans call destiny. The experience will be good for Amney and she will start her own family now. I am quite sure she will have lost her opposition to Humans in the Empire." Ingrid replied, "It's not just that. For her to do what she did she must have bonded at least a bit with not one but both men." She looked at me and I said, "I think that is a fair assumption and the reverse is also true. The men now have to find a place in their family even if that was not the case before meeting Amney." Ingrid looked at Taylar and after reading her thoughts and feelings she said, "Perhaps we need to call a family meeting and discuss this with everybody." I added, "This should be done quickly. We have one very upset girl and two officers worried if they will be kicked out of the military." It was just as easy to attend as it was to talk through the holograms and soon we had a senior wives meeting in person to talk this out. The junior wives and children knew what we were talking about and gave their own indorsement of Amney's action. As predicted, Sandy was the one to defend Amney the most. Tandra women are sneaky as are Human variety and I just hoped that my plot never came to light because I was but a simple but talented male. ------- My family physically invaded the Fairchch system in mass. Duc, Lam, and Taylar's brother and sisters came along. Gomma and Duc stayed with me and out of danger. They all took just enough time to say hello to the people running the area now numbering over 98 systems. A destroyer was given us and immediately we headed for Terra's Pride. I had enough sympathy for the two boys to have them get warned by Hans and told how to act. Carl, Doris and their family were warned too but asked to not come yet. Both parents were very surprised to find out that they would be grandparents. My wives found the boys dressed in their finest and so was Amney. They now looked like a family where the three would protect anybody trying to compromise it in any way. The girl was hustled off to a private area and cross-examined as if she was a hardened criminal. The males stayed wisely out of this meeting like the plague. They were even too nervous to ask for further advice. Amney came out very distraught and then the boys were asked to enter this meeting. Amney and the boys hugged before the boys had to enter. They were soldiers and good ones in my mind but when they came out it was as if they had barely avoided being beheaded. When they had a chance to recover a bit. Amney now stayed with her men as if to protect them. I said, "What do the wives think is right?" Charlie took a moment and stood straighter. His hand was holding one of Amney's and Paul held her other. Charlie said, "They wish, but do not demand, that we take Amney as our wife. The three of us are to raise the children to the best of our abilities. Paul is a bit shocked because Amney wants her next child to be his. They are also concerned that Amney does not have enough sister wives to care for the two children. Again it was suggested that more female wives be brought into the family." I asked, "What do you feel about this?" Paul answered first. "I love Amney." This was said as he looked at the young girl. "It has grown considerably and will continue to grow but I am quite surprised that I am that attracted to a female at all. Granted she is unlike most Tandra females and perhaps that is why if I had to have a female wife I would want her." Charlie answered next, "I feel much the same. I really want a family but didn't think there would actually be any of my own blood flowing in the veins of the children." I probed deeply into their minds looking for short or long term problems that they might find insurmountable. They were euphoric and frightened now but this would died down with the passage of time. They seemed to have plotted a course that each of the three partners could travel without having to change too much. I replied, "I think you are doing the right thing boys. Amney has bonded to you and this brings about an equal commitment in return. Look at me. I was a confirmed bachelor one day and then a husband. After meeting the Tandra and a few of their ladies I was caught like a fish that swallowed a hook." I shook both of their hands and said, "Welcome to the club." The women came out and they tried to put on a different face and be very pleasant. This is when Carl and his family arrived. Charlie's parents ran over and looked at their new daughter-in-law. It was easy to see that the boys would accept the offer willingly. Their thoughts on adding females to the family though were not as favourably looked on. I gave Hans some orders and both food and beverages started to arrive. Taylar soon came over and held my hand much like the way the boys held her daughter's. I asked privately, "What do you think now?" "She may have done better but I don't think by much. The boys are very young and I think will grow into their duties even if they are not the traditional Tandra ones. I have never seen Amney so happy and committed as she is now." I said, "Wait till the marriage ceremony or when she has her children. Then you will see her even more happy." Ingrid came over, followed by the remainder of my wives. She put her hand on Taylar's shoulder then hugged her. "We have a wedding to plan for our daughter." Edited by vonsteppin@hotmail.com ------- Chapter 97A The wedding plans would take months, as the girls got really into the act. The ceremony itself would be a considerable amount of time in the future to get everything set as it should. The Tandra had many ceremonies but the starting of a family was a fairly laid back affair. Susan and Ingrid wanted this to be a substitute for their own wedding. I felt bad that I had never walked down the aisle with them but either secrecy or timing was off. Now that our marriage was common knowledge we could not just have a ceremony. This meant that Amney had to be a substitute for each of them. It had taken only seconds after Ingrid's first mention of planning for the Tandra wives to get fully behind her. I was happy to see though that instead of an Earth type wedding it would be the Tandra variety. The same results would happen. The grooms would sweat bullets and the bride would look more beautiful than any other person ever had. Doris had lost many of her bad habits but did take the lead in getting the family to think more of fashion. Ingrid agreed and this meant that the wives all agreed too. Soon the AI family was hard at work assisting in what would look good. Even when something was found the search had to continue until something better was devised. All this I assumed was in the name of fun but the boys felt like little boys again in the wives company. I did put my foot down and the boys and Amney went back to their ship. It was only fair to have their shipmates at the ceremony and this meant that the ship had to return to Earth. This opportunity was a good excuse for me to escape once again. Horus and Isis had worked hard to get the large crystals into their possession. They had approached the Epsilon Eridani system and through the efforts of all the AIs in the know, Sandra took the crystals out of the system for them. The sensor I fabricated had been destroyed during testing. At the end, it had worked as well as the Fassoot variety but could not take all the power put to it. More facts and data had been recorded that could lead to finding additional characteristics covering these new crystals. I hoped to do much better with the standard, if large, crystals I had made. The crystal I had fabricated from defective components was compared to the other three. In this uncomplicated environment far from the planet of their origin, I was able to discern slight differences. What they meant was not understood but the only differences in their construction was that one had been made in the base while the others had been roughly fabricated in the depths of the planet. The first crystal was cut by the two AIs and I then worked with my senses to fine tune it. The spherical shape was very wasteful and I made a note to make the crystals in a form closer to their finished configuration. The crystal was left this way and tests begun. When a probe went through it did not respond. The computer for this ship was in the maze and just informed us that the hull did not survive. There was simply no way to know the range of this crystal without a ship surviving transit and reporting where it was. One day with enough observers I could find out but not here and now. I was fairly rested and started on making the minute corrections in the crystal. Nature sometimes worked against a pattern and this is why the crystal was not as structured as when I left it. It also occurred to me that I was in that odd environment and I may not have seen things the way they should have been. This single job took many times longer than in the planet of its birth. Two and a half days later I was done and needed rest more than anything. The crystal was put into position with many energy conduits circling it. The first time though would be to find its basic harmonic and the then the distance. The improved crystal sent another probe the fantastic distance of 13,521 lights. This meant that we could get possibly double this with full power but crystals this size had never been tested before. The old laws governing the crystals didn't seem to work with the increase in size and the truth would only be found with experimentation. When the two AIs put power to the crystal it was substantially more than the three metre model. We used close to 83 times more power and the next probe reported back that it was now 62,201 lights from our present position. This opened a lot of discussion why this should have happened. Four more tests were conducted with less power and we deduced the power curve. The minimum power where external power was used to fight the crystals properties was 3,950 lights. The family had been monitoring our progress and congratulations came in from much of the Alliance that had seen the tests. The other smaller crystals were left and I started on the cylindrical shape. Full power to this crystal was beyond what the destroyer could produce but I wanted to see what its passive distance would be. The size of the crystal was so great that I would need a month of unremitting work to get it into the condition needed. Instead, I sheared half of the thirty three metre length and let the AIs back to rough cutting it. The shorter length allowed me to place the doping atoms now in a paraboloid of revolution instead of a hemi-sphere. The other half went back to Epsilon Eridani so that I could see if I could process it in its natural environment any quicker. The time taken to work on the portion I retained was a full ten days. Doing twice this length required much more than twice the time. I felt compelled to complete this particular job. We would find out all we could about the common crystals we relied so much on. Apparently there was a great amount we still did not know and the research had been going on since the Tandra first entered space. I had paced myself and got enough rest in-between. Everybody I was told was looking at the test results. It didn't bother me much because it was a useful way of letting everybody know that they had a hard working servant trying to assist them to a safer life. The first probe going through barely survived the experience. Mom told me an hour later that the probe had gone over 56 thousand lights but had not reassembled correctly. This probe simply selfdestructed and now its intelligence waited in the maze for a new hull. Mom projected images of me working on the large crystal I had just tested but I was really through the maze and into the giant of the Epsilon Eridani system instead. The crystal half had arrived and was sitting a metre above the floor. I started a different focus this time and found that I was at least ten times faster here. It was as if the planet only let the atoms fall in their allotted places and all I had to do was place them close enough. The size and even the shape of the crystals were much easier to alter for the same reason. When I had a short break, I said to Snowflake, "I want to harvest more of the molten crystal material. I need a way of filtering the liquid centre of the planet and pumping the material to a collection point. Send some probes into the core to find out a bit more about its present composition. The situation could have radially changed since this base was set up. I require an antigrav lift to assist in taking large masses safely from the bottom of the shaft." "Yes my Emperor." When the crystal was done, it was sent back to Horus. I went down the shaft one more time to see what had been fabricated. At the bottom I found a pool of the liquid crystal material with none of the large accumulations of liquid rock, though some small portions were readily visible. Snowflake said, "Probes went into the depths and found areas of higher concentrations of liquid crystal but the probes range is very short due to interference. It may take years even with hundreds of probes." "If Sandra were a bit smaller she could enter the core." "A large ship with the proper equipment could open a new tunnel for her to the core." I countered, "Or I can slip her between the dimensions and take her there." Another crystal was worked on but it was already cold because it had been in storage in the base far above. It came down the shaft for me to manipulate in this environment as a test. The time taken to move the doping atoms and then align the crystalline structure was only a third of the effort needed in the base proper. This reduction I was sure had to do with the stronger fields just above the crystalline bath. I saw how the crystals could be cast much easier with a bit more control over the temperature. We could work just at the melting point and still grow the crystals as we wanted. The only reason I could see that the old Tandra empire had not done this was because they would not get the doping right and the crystals would not form correctly far from the core of this planet. This could be done at the bottom of the pit. The crystals needed the doping and the natural way meant that the crystals were repeatedly dipped into the molten lake. Casting would not allow this to happen. The result may look good but were next to worthless. That is, unless someone could take these casting and process them with his mind. I saw large masses of liquid crystal extracted and roughly purified. They were held in storage in a container of force. A much larger cooling unit played over it as other containers were being filled. When the correct temperature was reached it came close to my ledge. It was fairly easy to redistribute the doping material as I wanted and began the crystal formation as the cooling continued. In a very short time I had a crystal very close to what I wanted it to be and it had taken very little time and effort. Thirty units were made in all and were sent aloft with the new antigrav units as they were completed. I came up later and inspected what I had done. The concave range of doping atoms formed just a bit differently than the one I had last used with Isis and Horus. The thirty units around me were all dissimilar to the one tested but only minutely so. I hoped to get a much better understanding of their transmission properties by examining the results when they were tested. All of the units were slated for shipment to Horus. This time Horus was much closer but would still need a stealthy ship to get the components out of the system. I walked the maze back to my laboratory. I had more ideas about the crystal that had worked to 56,000 lights. The thirty new replacements were coming but would take some time. This one here was altered just a bit with the use of power to change some of its characteristics. It was not far from what the crystal would do normally. It was an easy way of making a small adjustments without having to redo the crystal structure each and every time. I would not cover the same mathematical shapes that the thirty new crystals would encompass. A new probe went through and this time there was no response. Mom said, "This one did not make it through the transit." I continued my experiment with low power modifications and used up twenty seven probes till one appeared to be undamaged. The distance was 53,000 lights but the power used was almost nothing. I immediately started to modify the crystal to what the power had forced it to do. The concave form was not much different but it seemed to have a bit of rightness to it. This only took a few hours and another probe left. It went almost the same distance and appeared to be undamaged. We could now work with this configuration and power to see what this particular crystal could do. This was done in a passive mode with no power. While I rested in a chair and feeling quite satisfied I asked Mom, "What's new that I should know about?" "Within the last hour we can now see a pattern for some of our missing ships now. It appears like somebody is clearing out a section of space. Everything Tandra or any other race is being destroyed. I have sent additional forces to investigate." "Fassoot? Misto?" The damage looks to be more of what the Misto would do but we are not sure. It may be another race completely. You have destroyed all of the Misto computers in this galaxy so it must be another race with the same modus operandi. The probes were summoned but will take time to get there." "Would a 53,000 lights give them an advantage?" I could almost feel Mom smile. "They need to travel well beyond that distance. The shortcut should cut the time significantly." "Then use this device. Tell me about any danger to surrounding systems." "There are three that we know of but they are not on our net yet. We only know of them from their energy usage. More races could be in danger or dormant bases with their personnel in stasis." "Where is Bennechi and your twin?" "An hour and a half from that area." "I have to have a short rest and then walk there at that time. We need lots of our probes again." "Yes Henry." I woke up at the correct time and just grabbed a shower and a bit of food before jogging through the maze to where Mom and her daughter were. I slipped into one of the seats and said, "Hello ladies. What have you found so far?" I was not that happy even though I tried to be up-beat. I knew this situation would be very dangerous. Bennechi said, "We just picked up their trail moments before you were informed. Two Tandra bases with only one of which was actually expanding have been destroyed. Five races in six systems have been killed. The enemy did not stay to occupy the systems. They races killed were unique as far as our records show." This meant that life had developed in these systems independently. When they died there was no way to see how those races could have enriched the Alliance or gave us problems. Not all could or would do this but now we would never know. "Where are the attackers?" "They are less than five minutes ahead of us at our present speed. They are headed toward an inhabited system and should be within firing range in 27 hours. There appear to be many tracks so the fleet is large. Do you want me to slow to stay at maximum sensor range?" "Good idea. Send our own probes ahead for us. What assets do we have in this area?" "There are three bases within fifty light years but that was only from our records. We do not know what their current status is." "Try to find out for me." "Yes, Henry." I interfaced with the computer and read the record of the raw data myself and soon saw new information flowing in from out scouts. The speed compared to ours looked to be faster than the Misto but less than what the Fassoot were capable of. We had twenty probes and eight more that could be here in less than an hour. More were coming but were much further away. Their job was to provide data from the other side of this fleet. It appeared to be dispersed enough that a quick view from one side was not sufficient. "Give me the data on this volume of space. If we can get them to chase us later, we can go where they have nothing to shoot at." The data came to me and I saw that we were in a fairly vacant area. It might be that any race to emerge from a cave would get killed every million years or so by one egotistical race or another. Our probes flew further ahead as we started to decelerate. In a moment additional data started to come in. Their placement appeared to be a different fleet formation from either the Misto or the Fassoot. I could not see the full extent by any means but it looked like all the ships were just cruisers in size or smaller. This was the same way I was grooming our navy. When I thought our shields and weapons were the best, it was only reasonable to have smaller and thus faster ships to bring a semblance of order. Since finding these new races I knew that we were far from top dog even in our own galaxy. The apparent size of the formation grew as more and more probes sent us data. This reminded me of the mass migration of the Misto but there were no large ships seen yet. Our probes could not get close enough to read the area far within the cloud of ships. Anything was possible in this region but the gravitational gradient did not indicate that there was that much mass. In an hour our presence was discovered and energy weapons were used to take out the probes. The range and accuracy was superior to what even the Fassoot could accomplish. This allowed them to see us and begin firing before we could even see them. At least we now knew an approximate range of their sensors and a fair idea of their energy projectors. Mom and Bennechi halted our progress to allow the distance between us and our quarry to grow. We would be fighting this battle to all intents and purposes, blind. We had found that the number of ships was so very large though we could not see the full extent. They did seem to have formed a very wide front. Mom in the Sofaas system was sending more and more probes to us through Horus but there were not that many to be had. Most were far away on other missions at the moment. The ones we did have retreated to emerge at random positions to give us data before retreating. Even our temporal hull would not stand up to the weapons used against us. The Misto variety did last a bit longer and the ones made from Fassoot hull lasted longer still. None of them lasted long enough to escape though. All of us worked hard to find out what was actually used to such great efficiency against our shields. The arriving probes gave us some disturbing data. The path the fleet was checked again and we were sure it would intersect many populate worlds. One would be in twenty six hours then a day later one more. The fleet was so large that it swept everything before it. The swath of systems it encountered would number in the hundreds per week. Not all would be inhabited but some I knew had to be. Horus was a great distance from this fleet but it was possible to use his ship eventually. "Horus," I said, "proceed at your best speed in this direction. Perhaps we can use the two working matter transmitter crystals you have." "Yes, my Emperor." "Start fabricating the largest power conduits you can around the larger crystal. I will supply the power when I get to you. Ensure that the other crystal is kept ready as well for closer work. Start producing more of the simple antimatter bombs. We will need a lot of them I am afraid. Keep me posted of your progress." Again I got, "Yes, my Emperor." I didn't know what I could do. Horus, even with Isis assisting in pushing would take a considerable time to get here. The fabrication of energy conduits could be done sooner but would not be strong enough. The only mitigating situation was that Horus would be considerably closer. The two worlds though would be dead and perhaps others. Two of the probes coming this way were of the relative variety. I ordered them to alter their courses and investigate the two systems in the path of this fleet. I said to Mom, "See if there is a way to use Horus and Isis's propulsion systems to power the large crystal. I know there is problems with control but see what you can come up with. This might be our long range artillery." Mom asked a great many more questions and I gave her what answers I could before she started to give her own orders to the AI family. My own thoughts worked on how to use the matter transmitter to the best of our advantage. We would be shooting blind because nothing could get close enough to the fleet and live long enough to give accurate data to Horus. My only hope was to start when there was a large concentration of interstellar debris to hide the location of our spotters. Soon our two small ships were each at their respective points. They raced into the system and were close to the planets. The closer one to us surprised me greatly. The ship went in very close at my insistence and I found a world of Samutz. There level of technology was similar to what Earth had in the fifteenth century. There were no artificial satellites and the only ships were made of wood and floated on water. A much closer inspection showed no traces of the usual Tandra technology even to the smallest tool. The population appeared to number less than fifty million and they seemed to survive on agriculture even if it was animals they had domesticated. This situation was now very bizarre. I didn't know how these Samutz got here, but they were not bothering anybody that I could see. Their level of technological development did not allow them to pick on any inferior race. I was now in the uncomfortable position of trying to protect a race that for all I knew had done nothing wrong. The fact that they could not get off their planet and to another system made them innocent in my eyes. I did not consider a sixty seven light year distance within their capabilities. Our other ship brought a new race to my eyes. They had a shiny hide and were the size and shape of the very easy going T'aut. Their level of technology was higher than Earth's but not by much. If they were like the T'aut they were not usually pushed to make all the discoveries other races felt compelled to do. Horus would not be in position to use the matter transmitter for twenty nine hours. This would mean that the Samutz world would be destroyed. I was hoping that Horus could begin to use his smaller unit to spew antimatter the 62,201 lights the smaller unit could function at. I did not know how accurately this could be done but it might have the benefit of slowing or stopping the fleet. The effect on any particular ship would be minuscule unless the antimatter materialised either very close to the hull or actually inside their shields. A great many tests were required to calibrate the system and then even finer controls on the power used. We were going to be using so much that the fine tuning would be very difficult. A while later Mom said, "The first probe found the wreckage of a long obliterated Tandra base. The destruction happened a great many years ago and there appears to be little that can be of any use to us." "There is also little we can do here too. Pick one of the other possible bases and let's get there as soon as possible." With a little push from me and the six probes nestled into our stern it was only a matter of ten minutes to get to Collu. The base was listed in our old catalogues but everything more recent than two and a half million years was known. It appeared to be a dormant base for the most part but it did have a shield still in place. The position put them ahead of the advancing fleet but eleven degrees toward galactic centre. The fleet appeared to be working a large area and not just setting a course of destruction from one end of the galaxy to another. The override was given and a suitable reply came to us. The computer had a functioning AI which was quickly awoken to full potential immediately after I sent the call. Getting to the base itself was a matter of only seconds. When we found that the base's main matter transmitter was functional, we entered the protective enclosure less than a minute after our first call. I stepped outside the ship to find the five females running to my position. Three were closing the snaps of their clothing as they ran. Their minds were in a great turmoil as I could imagine. I glanced through their minds and saw that they had not worn clothes as a rule. They had visitors every few years and never somebody who they would consider important. They were performing watch duties and two happened to be pregnant though they didn't look so. It was just part of the duties of a Tandra to bring forth the next generation to replace lost members. The closest one stopped six metres from me then thought better about being so close to a person supposed to be a male empress. The term 'emperor' did not fit into her mind very well yet. The first reached for the small medallion of office and put it properly in position. The others stopped beside the first and tried to dress their line without appearing to do so. The four others did the same thing with their badges of office as they gave last minute adjustments to their clothing. As one they bent to one knee and bowed their heads thinking hard about what else they were supposed to do. "Hello, please get up. I really have no time for formality. We have a life and death situation on our hands." They got uncertainly to their feet and the one furthest from me started to shake. She was young and didn't have that much experience with strangers. She had only met an even dozen new faces other than those in the present base. "As you all can see by my features, I am not a full blood Tandra. The Tandra Empire has risen and then fallen many times since your race came to this system." I could see that this bothered them as it did all of the other systems I had awoken. Returning to a softer approach I said, "I am uniting the galaxy though and have a large portion already settled. In one Tandra year we will be in instantaneous contact with all other portions of the galaxy." "Our communications facilities has spotted a fleet of strange vessels coming this way. They should miss this planet on their first sweep but they will hit two unique worlds and destroy them. One in a day and one the next. After that the fleet will just continue killing everybody they find in this area till they are stopped. Tandra technology has been very good in this galaxy but one of the small satellite galaxies near us has surpassed us because they constantly being driven by their need when at their never ending war." "I need a ship to provide a platform for my weapon." I could do this by myself but the energy needed would surely alert the approaching fleet. A standard ship would do this job a great deal easier and much less conspicuously. All I would need was to retrieve one of the smaller crystals though the maze. This had to be done quickly before the fleet found anybody to attack. Floona, the one nominally in command was very upset as my news usually was. She pulled herself together as best as she could and wanted to talk but didn't know if she should or could. I asked, "Tell me what you have on your mind Floona." "Ah... yes your Majesty. Ah... We only have a few mining vehicles, three shuttles and one old tug." Her mind though was still on the old empire and all of the extended family that she knew would probably be dead now. She didn't know what was going to happen to her present family and friends in the base. The information about the tug did make me smile in the Tandra way and the girls relaxed a bit. I began, "The Alliance has taken over the duties once done by your race. I am sorry to tell you that you are still very much needed to protect what we have recently won back. We have made a great many strides recently and you will not be alone for long. Now to our current crisis, would you please show me the tug." Floona was now worried. "The tug is gathering some debris within the system and replacing defective weapons at the moment. It can be recalled. It would get here in less than a day." I interfaced with the base computer and saw the probable location tug and asked the computer to send a message asking for a recall. An inventory was taken of what crystals and other equipment were presently available. Here I was out of luck. There were very little crystals left even those that had to be taken out of service. They would all help though. A more intelligent base and ship would assist me in doing this the right way the first time. The base housed 3,843 more individuals in stasis but waking them up now would have no bearing on whether they lived or not. Some could help but not all. I turned around and said, "Mom, Bennechi, you better go get the tug. We don't have that much time." "Yes, my emperor," came from two distinct sources. The ship disappeared and was on its way in less than a second. "Show me the computer room. I need to make some modifications." They wanted to know about why I wanted the computer but were afraid to ask. We took a few steps to the matter transmitter but most of my mind was on the ship coming. I studied the data about this particular tug and sent out for some ideas on the best way to use the ship to power the small crystal. Antimatter would have to be shipped in too or I would have very little to work with. I assumed that I would have to carry the majority of this material to this new area of the maze. Another portion of my mind worked on what was possible to do with the resources and time available. As we got close to the computer another woman by the name of Mulna braced herself mentally and stated, "I will show you my Emperor. I am not that good in a computer environment but the best that is presently awake." I smiled again and said, "I can usually do my own work, thank you." She didn't know what to say. She was sure that none of the Tandra rulers were ever as polite as I was, nor did they stoop to doing any manual labour. We did get to the computer room in less than a minute with the help of the matter transmitter. The door was already open when we arrived. "Would you allow me to assist you my Emperor?" "Thanks Mulna, but I can handle this job quite adequately on my own. I have my own feelings about a fetus being exposed to this kind of environment. It may be safe for your child to be in here but I do not want to chance it." "How did you know I was pregnant, your majesty?" "In the last year I have gained a great many abilities. I can see the aura that everyone has. I can manipulate matter with just my mind. I have the ability to read a person's mind and interface with the computer much deeper and fully than I think any Tandra could do before. Your son, I think, will be a credit to you. Boys now will be pulling much more of their weight than before and all of it is to get the Alliance safe and secure." Mulna had to stop and think on this. She wasn't sure about what I said but thought that I was not saying something that was not true. Her mind did look into mine and she actually saw some of the things I could do. She bowed her head and said, "Forgive me, my Emperor. I was not thinking clearly." I smiled and then reached out to touch the crown of her head. "That is all right. Humans are well known for saying things that are not true. If I were you, I would also disbelieve. It has been a trying situation to learn that most of the old Empire is dead or dormant. The situation is not that bad though. Humans and Tandra interact very well to the betterment of both races. I know that the Tandra in the Alliance are much happier than what you were even before I came here." She hid the thought but I could read, "I really hope so." This time the computer arrangement was no different and I found the maze with no problems. Mom from Soffas had provided some additional substrate along with the raw crystals. Now I would have get the two metre crystal from Lazarus but it would be hard to transport. This was all made more difficult when I had to gingerly step over all the substrate and computers now populating the maze. A larger unit was better but I would have a great deal of problems getting it through the maze. A new computer though was started and the AI was required to copy all of her memory modules in case the base was destroyed. Lazarus had one of the crystals ready for me and began to use the other one himself to see how the crystal could be turned into a weapon. It took twenty minutes but I managed to get the two metre crystal back to the Collu system. I retraced much of my steps and brought a large crystal to house the AI. The new area for the computer was started but the substrate had not grown enough to allow the rest of the AI family to assist yet. The smaller crystals were processed already by Mom and the family and I only had to work on the processor crystal. The large matter transmitter crystal sat to one side because I could not take it from the computer without some unanswerable questions being considered but not voiced. ------- Chapter 97B The girls all waited outside the computer when I emerged. I said, "There is no need for protocol. Consider me just a visitor that is doing some things to improve and protect your base." Mom told me what she thought the tug hull was capable of and I said to the five before me. "We need to get the fabricator working now. I need some energy conduits made and a new and very powerful inertial stabiliser constructed... If your system is not overloaded I would like some antimatter produced. They are the best low tech solution to taking our enemies on." Floona said, "We can start right away with the antimatter. It looks like you require this in a short time and there is no way we can make all that you will require. We are only able to make a few grams an hour." "Do what you can. If there is time, awake a few of those in stasis. They may assist if there is time or help later in leaving this base. The fleet will eventually be coming this way and I want you all safe." This brought home even more the seriousness of our situation. They ran off to do what was required after getting more detailed information from the computer. This plan would be much easier if I could see the enemy without them seeing me. They had so many ships and sensors that our probes would not last long enough to do the job of spotting. The Fassoot had been easier in a way because they had not been able to spot all our probes and destroy them. I was just itching to find a sample of the new sensors. They worked much better than anything we had seen so far. Their accuracy and definition must be superior to anything we had yet seen. The girls began their duties and I could sense their controlled panic to get everything possible done. I walked back into the maze and looked very close to the portal I had just gone through. There were a great many small dimples in the nebulous material. In a minute I had found the tug. I opened the dimple and sent my thoughts ahead of me, trying to explain to the startled AI what I was going to do. The two metre in diameter crystal was picked up again and carried into the tug through a greatly enlarged opening. From there I concentrated and vibrated the load and my body enough to slip through the computer and into the ship proper. Gravity was reduced and I walked the passageway till I came to one of the large holds. The large crystal was supported by some tractors till a cradle could be fabricated. Moments later I returned and began a new computer in the maze. This could not be done that quickly and I was still restricted to the eleven percent rule I found. All this was extremely necessary because the hull would not be able to move quickly enough to get to our enemies. Some of the adjustments to power meant that a more intelligent computer had to work quicker to allow the charges to get to where they were needed. There was a bit of jerking in our travel because the tug was being pushed as fast as its inertial stabilisers could go. Sometimes small surges got by the device to cause the unwelcome instability. The tug eventually slowed and entered the base. I left the tug by way of the maze and approached the small ship on foot now. This ship was the same as what Mom used to inhabit and I felt a pang of nostalgia and regret for what I must do. The hatch opened and I began to strip some of the hull plating off and then even two ribs. The base tractors were used to remove the existing inertial stabiliser and enough room was now available to install the new one. I went back to the hold that contained the crystal. The base AI sent the energy conduits and these were put into place as required. In a half hour I had the old compensator out and the installation of the newer unit begun. Eight hours later the compensator was complete. In my spare time I worked on the computer and I had just surpassed the necessary amount to allow the computer to build itself. The ship had connected up the energy conduits and asked me where the power would come from. The tug remained silent as she digested the information I sent her. Mom and Bennechi left the base and I used the transmitter crystal to send minuscule amounts of matter and antimatter into space. With a good bit of triangulation we got a fair idea of our range. Our aim and range were suitably adjusted. In another hour Mom from Sofaas now was connected to us. Our shooting was then recalibrated and we were able to hit at almost ten lights at full power. This was just beyond what I thought the enemy fleet's sensors could detect. I really regretted not having a larger crystal because it would allow us more time to take out targets before we were discovered. Even with the tug's computer not completed yet, I said goodbye to the five girls and left at our best speed. They still did not know how to treat me even though they kept this hidden as deeply as possible. They were still distraught at their long held hopes being dashed. Others had felt the same way and they were just going to have to deal with it. We left the system quicker than the tug had ever imagined. The new AI was not online yet. Some of the probes and Mom pushed to get us to where I wanted while I used my senses to look for opponents. I thought of the five distraught girls I had just left and hoped that the tasks I had given them would keep them busy enough to find a way to overcome their sense of loss. Stripping a base was a suitable task but also very stressful. Nobody wanted to just change homes for memories, both good and bad were tied to this planet. We arrived at an uninhabited system ahead of the fleet. I broke up any large concentrations of matter and flung the small portions in the path of the approaching ships. Some were asteroids but some had to be planets in size. I just hoped that the raw energy I used would not alert the approaching fleet. We had to race to two other systems to get the required amount of matter and tow it into position before throwing portions of it again at the enemy shipping. We left as soon as we could while our probes hid in the very fringes of this dispersed matter. I had to run back into the maze and retrieve the necessary munitions. This time I was going with smaller loads. There was half a gram of matter and half a gram of antimatter in each shell. The gun I used to remove the Thonas threat was brought up one more time. It was mounted before the crystal and would be fired by the AI. We had less than an hour to wait but I was busy the entire time getting the details worked out. The approaching fleet did not veer away as if not worried about the debris in front of them. In truth it would be difficult to move because each of the ships at the front had to keep in order or block other ships view from behind. The larger pieces were shot by the ships, on the chance they would harbour the probes but this left a lot of small fragments. When our probes were actually being struck, I began our own offensive. The front of the formation had been mapped out. An explosion close to one of the enemy ships was called in and corrected. The second shot a fraction of a second later exploded inside the ship. I felt a great deal of elation. None of us knew if this sort of attack would be possible. Using the matter transmitter had been tried before but had been proven not to be feasible because of the size and power required. One half gram of antimatter was the same as a hydrogen bomb in destructive power and the ship was severely damaged I hoped. The ships targeted were on the far side of the front from us to give the impression we were shooting from that direction. Ships started shooting more of the clumps of matter and I started using larger amounts of antimatter. Now the fragments of the ships themselves would give us some additional decoys or places to hide. Soon they broke formation to look for who was targeting them. We missed at least half the time because of their quick evasive manoeuvres but in ten minutes had destroyed or heavily damaged 93 of their ships. Every so often a probe would go through the matter transmitter to hug a damaged ship and hopefully provide us with additional data and remain undetected. The ships had expanded their search area and we had to flee. This time we left very quickly the ships soon found our energy trail and gave chase. I led them back the way they had come after a performing a large circle. This hopefully brought them out of communications range of the rest of their fleet. The order went out to our other units. If possible they would work in close to the wrecks and hide like their brethren had already done. This I hoped would give them a much better chance of remaining undetected and operational. We tried to remain just outside their sensor range of our pursuers but their weapons though still fired at us. With the amount of stress in this situation, I began to push my mind to do even more than before. I used the matter transmitter to take out the small missiles as they came close. This was done with nothing but feel or intuition. I felt I got one of the cruisers itself as it took a chance to head us off by correctly predicting our next move. There was no way of being sure but I had to try. Their accuracy was so good that we had to stay well beyond their sensor range and this was proving difficult to do. The fleet had all spread out when word got back of our attack. The scouts ran into us but my ability to predict what would happen a few seconds into the future was all that stood between us and death. More data from the battle scene was being sent now that our probes were not targeted. The number of enemy ships was still unknown because they were still searching for any and all attackers. When we ran straight for a second, I dropped some of the mines the tug had carried to refresh the supply on the fringes of the system it protected. Our coarse changed quickly again but I felt that we may have got one more of our attackers. The instruments in the tug were not up to what was needed in a military situation. The chase lasted hours and it was hours more that many millions of beings had to remain alive. When it looked like the pursuit had fallen off I made another turn to get close to and ahead of the fleet one more time. An uninhabited system now provided more of my raw material. A planet the size of Uranus was propelled toward where the fleet would be soon as it drifted into position. My mind tapped the higher universe and forced the mass to approach the speed of light. At 93 percent I switched to hundreds of tubes to cut the planet up into small sized pieces. These I flew toward the fleet at only a hundred lights and soon hastily reversed course as the portions got close. I flew around to the other side of the fleet and started the shooting again. Our kills now were much better because we had so many good probes in their midst. The approaching portions of matter was struck very heavily by the fleet. While they concentrated on their supposed and obvious enemy, I continued to take out the ones doing the shooting. A feeling of a trap came to me and instead of fleeing, I moved into the centre of the wrecked ships and continued my assault. Our sensors showed three ships patrolling where we had just been but thankfully did not look into the area of their own damaged ships. The tug AI came fully awake during this time and she took over much of the shooting as I cast my mind out for special dangers. When the targets started to dwindle I said to Mom and Bennechi, "I am going to wait for a bit then start shooting again in one area. I want you to escape then." "We can push you faster if we stay." "The chances are that the hull I am in will not survive. I can easily slip into the maze and meet you later. There is also a good chance you will draw some of the enemy away from me. In a day or so there should be many more targets. Feel free to take any souvenirs you want before you leave. I want to know how their sensors work." They did leave in a half hour after tugging some of the hull from the ship protecting us. Since the shooting had stopped the fleet started to reorganize and when a substantial amount of ships were close enough I again started on the far side and worked closer to our position. Mom and Bennechi flew off away from the battle and I shot at six ships that gave pursuit. The first four exploded but the remaining two were not seriously affected. Before they got out of range they were each hit twice more with little effect other than to push then minutely away from the force of the blast. Mom said, "It looks like they have caught on to what we were doing. They found a solution to the way we were destroying their shipping. Let's try a heavier charge and see what we can do." We began firing again and I was only able to get one out of twenty seven targets. "It looks like you're right. We need something to get through their new shield configuration." The AI in the tug ripped more of the damaged hull from the stricken vessel hiding us. Small portions went into the maze. The larger portions went into the holds. A perfunctory look showed that the dark crystals used for the sensors looked to be fuller somehow and I had to attribute this to purity or some other form of enhancement. The enemy came closer looking for survivors or salvageable equipment or even us. Our weapon did little except when I started using much larger charges. If I were able to get close enough with enough antimatter the ship would be damaged somewhat. On two occasions I was able to do a follow up with a second shot that was able to penetrate the weaker shielding. I could see the ships through the probes eyes but didn't want to start yet with my ability to destroy the ships with my mind. This might be the factor that got them to split up. They might feel that they were safer in a group. We knew they would be much harder to find if they dispersed. Sensors, loose equipment and even a body was sent back for study. The tug got a dozen new sensors taken from the dead carcase around us. They were attached to the hull but they were not calibrated. I wanted a small ship or a computer to work on but none were available. I couldn't see running from here with a massive load and ships firing at us at the same time. When it looked like we were going to be found we quickly fled at our best speed. We still had some of the probes and now the AI was able to tap the higher universe for power. I did too but had to stay in the computer room when doing this. We pushed at our greatest ability and I knew that there was a great hue and cry behind us. The hidden probes at the battle scene for the most part fled the other way when pursuers chased us. I knew none would be captured because each one had a few grams of antimatter to make certain that nothing important was recovered. The ships chasing us could be seen now at a much greater distance. Their sensors were tuned to their hull and formed a tuned array that was superior to our haphazard arrangement. We had been hit when four ships concentrated their fire on us and there was no way to avoid taking some of the punishment. The predictor crystals in my mind and in the tug now were the only way to kept us alive till we had gained enough of a lead. This time they were not quite enough. I considered entering the maze but decided to stay with the ship. The hull was damaged but we didn't need the engines to keep us moving. The predictor crystals told me to shift course four more times but I didn't know exactly why. I was not about to ignore the warning and find out though. An hour later I felt that they were far behind us. We were retracing their own path into this area and knew that they had already killed all that they could. "Mom, how many ships did we take out?" "I believe that it was four hundred and seven but some may have been only damaged. It appears that this was probably only a fraction of the fleet." "I should have boarded the ship we damaged and worked my way into the computer." "Do you remember all the traps we found in the Hossin, Misto and the Fassoot computers? You would not have been able to do anything meaningful before you would have been killed." I could see that she was right. "What did you find out about the equipment we salvaged?" "It is being worked on only by computers. As far as the Alliance and your family know you are still peacefully working on the large crystals. We have compared these sensors with the Fassoot variety. We see some avenues to pursue. An interesting phenomena is that there appears to be a shimmering around the sensors when they reach at least seventeen percent of their power output. It appears to be similar to what is seen close to what the Humans call a black hole." "Now that is interesting. What about the body we found?" "It's a Misto variant. It was not quite as large but is much more intelligent. This information came from the genetic code and from the particular specimen. Other bodies would only substantiate this I believe." I said, "Then it was a colonising effort but I didn't find any large ships." "There may not have been. We only saw a portion of the fleet. It was cutting a very wide swath as it cleaned up each planet it came across. If the density was constant it would reach over a thousand. Their solution would be that each ship was able to function on its own and start its own colony if needed." "That is all we need. Thousands of super Misto colonies. A mantis is a great hunter and I hate to be the hunted." I took the long way back to Collu base. Right after talking to Mom I checked the progress of my orders. It would be utter chaos for at least a week and we didn't have that much time. The tug could take that many people but they would mostly have to be in stasis. We landed at night and quickly entered the base. When I emerged I looked at the tug and found that the hull was more seriously damaged than I thought. There was no way the engines could have done anything to assist us. The lone stern sensor was just missed my a centimetre or it would have been lost. Some of the contents of our holds was similarly damaged and probably helped cushion the blast to the rest of the ship. We knew some of our other damage and had partial replacements were ready as we landed. The five girls were now forty six but only the first five were able to assist us with the ship. I told the five basically what had happened. They were utterly ecstatic when I mentioned the total number of ships we had damaged or destroyed. When I gave the probable percentage that were facing us their faces quickly changed. "They have found a way to protect themselves now and I will not be able to kill many more the way I have. We need to get out of here as soon as possible." One of the pregnant girls was holding herself in check more than the rest. On top of all the discord I had stirred up she found that her twin sister had died in stasis. She tried hard to be a good soldier and assist us but I could see the strain she was under. The holds were stripped then repaired. Stasis generators were installed along with more tractors. It took nearly a day to get everything completed and the final loading begun. This process was done quickly with the base's tractors taking a sleeper and immediately transporting it through a few jumps and into one of the holds prepared. It was going to be a tight fit because I wanted our surviving booty to be transported with the Tandra sleepers. With an hour and a half left to do the loading our pickets picked up the unmistakable energy signatures of some of the hostile fleet. "Mom, use the matter transmitter at maximum and with our largest charges." The ship followed Mom's guidance and twenty gram masses of matter and antimatter exploded outside their hulls. Our probes were targeted but I had been prepared enough to provide enough decoys. Floona said, "You must leave your Majesty. It is too dangerous here now." I just looked at her and she wilted a bit. "Would you leave if you were me?" "I... I... don't know. These are all my family. I would not leave them." After a pause she said, "We are not your family." "You are my family Floona and so is every other Tandra." Three widely dispersed cruisers approached the system and they took a buffeting from the antimatter charges. Mom and Bennechi flew out of the system and this only brought one of the ships after them and toward the other two. I could still see through the surviving probes. Closing my eyes I reached out and threw the three ships together with all my might. If there were no survivors, there was little chance of the Misto finding out what I had done. Floona looked at the destroyed ships in the monitor and said, "Did you do that?" "If I can see them clearly, I can do much more than that." She bent to one knee again and kept her head down. "Floona, it is getting close to the time to go. Get the rest of your crew and get them onboard." "Yes, my Emperor. Is there no way we can assist you?" This was the first time she had said this. She feared me a bit but her respect had grown in leaps and bounds. "Thanks but I can manage quite easily on my own." Eventually the 3,847 individuals plus all the eggs and sperm left the system in the now speedy tug. There was a very good chance that they would make it to where I sent them. They had a decent sensor suite now but not as good yet as what our enemy had. The antimatter would slow any of the enemy down and hopefully the predictor crystals would keep them from being hit. "Mom, how long till Horus gets in range?" "At least another twenty hours. The larger crystal should be ready now but it will still take about twelve hours to change over so that propulsion can power the crystal." Mom and Bennechi had returned after poking through the wreckage above us. Bennechi said, "There is a small ship that looks to have a functioning computer." If the computer was like any other from the races leaving our satellite galaxy, we would not be able to handle it. I envisioned a large enclosure with many crystals lining the walls. When the computer was removed from its containment it would stay compressed and eventually allowed to expand into only five of the dimensions. This would keep it from being damaged but the fast remained that some of the components worked in more than five dimensions and their function was not yet revealed. "Bring the ship here. We may be able to learn something from it before we get some more visitors." The ship came to the base. It was only a shuttle of fifty metres. It was damaged but it was still evident that the owners had been much taller than Human. The dimensions were less than what the other Misto were by at least a metre between decks. The craft was stripped as quickly as possible but it still took an hour and a half to get this done with care. The small portions were transported to the maze after being examined. The engines were looked at again. They used less energy to get the ship underway than I did with my tap but I knew instinctively that they did the same thing. They just had a great deal more finesse in doing so. Mom and Bennechi left the system to supplement our eyes and ears. In the event of trouble, I could escape through the maze. The computer came out and it too was examined. It had a shield around it like the other Misto computers but was a darker shade as if expressing much more power. Its size though was too large for me to transport and would need to be examined here. I spent some fruitless hours trying to use a matter transmitter unit to gain entry and I figured that I needed a large crystal of my own to do this. Lazarus had the other crystal half. It was still much smaller than the computer so I went to get it. When I came back I felt that I was not quite alone. The computer was told, "Do a search. It doesn't seem like an enemy." "Yes my Emperor." In a second I heard, "Glosna, one of the five females you first met had removed her medallion and sent it onto the ship. I did not know that she was still here." I could picture the girl and remembered how depressed she was at hearing that her empire would never come to rescue her now. I said, "Glosna, come here please. We need to talk." She heard me and was frightened. She did know not to disobey. A moment later she appeared from a transporter with her face looking at the floor in shame. "I am sorry my Emperor. I just couldn't leave." I knew why now but I asked anyway. "Why did you stay?" "My sister died and I felt that there was no reason to continue. My entire family had grown here and my sister was the only one left. I couldn't leave her." The body had not been disintegrated yet and I felt that this was part of the problem. A short funeral for the girl had not been done because of everything else that had to be handled. The child in Glosna's womb was at full term and brought on hormonal imbalances which would also cause her to think irrationally. The med section could do something about her mind but I didn't like to do this unless necessary. In the next hour we walked to where her sister was and then performed a small funeral service. She cried and I pulled Glosna to me for some comfort. She clung tenaciously thinking that her whole worked had fallen on her and she would never get out from under it. The small life within her was quickening and would soon want out. I walked her back to the main hangar. A bed had been brought at my command. Glosna said after seeing the bed, "I am not that sleepy. I can help." "You are much too sleepy. Rest now and I will be close. I will watch out for you." "But you are the Emperor." "An Emperor's job is to protect the citizens of the Alliance. Now go to sleep for me," I said with a small smile. I did some small adjusting to her mind. In seconds she was asleep but she knew that I was still close. The child in her uterus quested out and found me then after an immature look at me went back to her sleep. This made me think of my own family that were only talking to a computer image while I didn't even get that consideration. The Misto computer was close and I brought over the crystal to begin my inspection. It took an hour to get the crystal detuned to get into the computer and a further hour to find the crystal controlling the gray shield. We were only able to do this because of all the surveys we had done on the other less advanced Misto computers. I worked loose the crystal with my PK and then brought it to my hand. The gray had disappeared and I could peer in. It was different from the other Misto device but there were still a lot of similarities. The AI family were with me now trying to find out what we could. The tiny crystal went into my pocket for safe keeping. If we could get a computer, especially a simple one to respond to our commands we could possible work out what the individual parts did in the multidimensional environment. So far this had not been found. The use of hand held units or even larger ones had not been necessary for the larger variety of Misto. Perhaps it was also do to the security aspect. They may have being trying to prevent exactly what I was doing now. Hunger was making itself known. I looked at Glosna and thought to have something she might like. Information came to us about the food synthesisers and I had a meal of fish and some green vegetables prepared along with warm bread. The Tandra liked tea better than coffee so I had a pot of this prepared as well. Glosna was awoken as if naturally and she found herself beside a small table with our repast on the surface. I said, "Are you hungry Glosna? I have some different foods if you want to try them." She was a little and sat up on her bed at the table. "You want to let me eat with you?" "Why not. We are the only ones on the planet at the moment." She was not sure about the food but did pick up her spoonknife and sampled different portions. "This is good my Emperor." "Call me Henry. The title is only used to impress people that need it. You are now just among friends or at least one friend." She was shocked but I could see the beginnings of a small smile. We discussed her friends and just got to know each other a bit better. Her aspirations for her child were next. She felt bad now about putting herself and her child in this predicament. When she would not talk I said, "I have quite a few children myself. Not all are from my loins but that doesn't really matter. They are all studying hard to be the best people they can be and that makes me very proud of them all." I told her about each of my children using a few images and some of the odd or funny things they had done in their short lives. I left out all the bad points about how I met the children in the first place. I just pictured those individuals as if they were ready made at nine years old. Jerome, Jonathan, Matthew and Jeremy had a special place and I told a bit about what they had done especially in the last forty years while I only aged a few months. The Sorra system was shown at the start on the very fringe of the galaxy. Glosna sat spellbound about this adventure but I did not take too long telling it because there was a great deal more work to do. She did have to have some interaction with people now. I didn't want her going off by herself. Mom assisted me by supplementing my images with ones from the actual trip back from the far side of the galaxy. In a moment I got up to work but stayed nearby. Glosna listened raptly about all the feats they had done on their return. I had been working on the Misto computer for an hour when I felt a presence. I turned to see Glosna watching me work. She asked, "Is there anything I can do my... Henry?" She used the last word very carefully and bowed her head. "Not at the moment. I am twisting my sight to see into five dimensions. The crystals we found show us that there is more. We are having difficulty understanding all this new physics. Given enough time we will get it but I do not want to wait." "Is the tug safe?" She asked. I opened a channel through the AIs and let Glosna talk to those awake on the ship. They had one close call when they ran across some of the enemy moments ago but the differences in speed was too great to have the Misto weapons do more than warm the shielding. The matter transmitter though had taken out one ship and damaged another. She was very happy to find this out and continued to talk to her friends as I worked. The tug had taken a circuitous route and changed courses in the photosphere of some stars. Meeting the Misto meant that they could track the tug back to here but it would be a long time in coming now. The damaged ship may slow them down but one could detach itself and just follow the energy signature back. Raw energy that we used was far from subtle and I wanted to find an engine that would give us better efficiency and less material to track. Horus was still on his way but only his weapons coverage would be here in ten hours, his hull would far out in space and away from the Misto. It also looked like we were having a bit of trouble here now. Edited by vonsteppin@hotmail.com ------- Chapter 98 The excitement or other factors seemed to be working against Glosna. She felt some of her cramps but the pain was not too bad. I looked into her mind and quickly called for the diagnostic unit. In seconds one was here circling the women and then her abdomen. I saw the raw data and knew that her child was sick of waiting. I moved close to her and smiled. "Your baby wants to get out." "Now?" She wailed. "Wants to meet Uncle Henry I guess. Let's get you to medical." Glosna was helped to the matter transmitter station and we were instantly in medical. Tractors carefully picked her up and placed her on a table. Glosna groaned a git at the discomfort but it was not as much as a Human would have. This was her first child. I knew enough this time to not ask about the father because most now were actually donations to the sperm bank. Glosna was urged by the medical unit to move and in a remarkable two minutes delivered a very small and mentally loud child. The umbilical cord was snipped and sealed in a fraction of a second. I moved in very quickly and took the child and cleaned her off. Her thinking was very clear and she looked to have no problems breathing. The medical unit said she was as healthy as any other Tandra child. I called for some soft cloth and wrapped the child tenderly. It made me feel very homesick to see the child in my arms reaching out with her mind to fasten onto the closest person to her. With a few steps I was beside the mother and gently lowered the child to her waiting arms. "She is beautiful, like her mother. I know we will all be proud of her some day." Glosna looked at the child and sniffled a bit hoping for the same thing. In a few moments the placenta was ejected with little pain and small med units came down to promote healing. Another unit came and cleaned up all the fluid and the small amount of blood. I did my own diagnosis and could see nothing wrong with either of the girls. I knew that Glosna would not want to be alone so I called for a grav unit and put both mother and daughter on it. Glosna said, "I can walk." "Not for a while I am afraid. Just enjoy the ride." I talked to her more about children. This was mostly inane because she had only eyes for her daughter. She just wanted to know that someone was near to take care of her. I caught Glosna thinking how she wanted to show the girls on the base her new daughter especially Mulna the computer tech. Some data was requested and I saw an opportunity here. "Mom, Bennechi, will you return here to transport two girls to the tug?" Mom said to just me, "Henry, if we do this you will not have a way to travel." I replied the same way, "I have the maze. I will only loose a very good set of eyes and ears for the duration." She still didn't want to but came back as quick as possible. In ten minutes she was inside the base beside the Misto computer. I only wished that I could take the computer too then we could both go. "Glosna," I said, "you and your child are going to get a ride in the fastest ship in the galaxy. In less than an hour you will be with your friends in the tug." "But... I can help you here." "Thanks again but I am not the usual male you know about. I can usually take care of myself though I do like to be babied now and again." Glosna didn't like this but she did get into the ship with a bit of difficulty. I helped her but Mom or Bennechi could have done much better. When the hatch closed I said, "You and your child will make me proud." The ship disappeared through the main transmitter and was soon streaking for the tug. I knew Mom was anxious to get back. I went back to my work with my AI family to assist me. There were some interesting features in the computer and I was working with all my mind to see what they really did. There was a temptation to use the crystal to enter the computer but a bar of ceramic placed in it was seriously distorted when I brought it back out. There was a good chance my body would be the same. It was as if the rod was just twisted too far in too many dimensions at one time. A crystal fragment went through next, carried by my PK. There was little room to move in the computer but when it came out it was no different than when it went in. A larger transmitter crystal went in and was held at the far wall of the computer. The external crystal was minutely altered to focus halfway to the other crystal. In twenty minutes I saw that I could transfer a ceramic sphere through two crystals and into the maze beyond. "Henry! We are under attack." I pulled my mind away from what I was doing and said, "Report." Mom and Bennechi had been intercepted when they slowed down to loose their trail in a stellar mass. A squadron of Misto ships had blocked her way and used all their tractors to hold her in position while using a small energy weapon to shear off what they thought was her engines. They had destroyed four of the six probes used to give her extra speed as they pulled her into a hold. No biological knew of the maze except me but maybe it could still be kept a secret. "Put Glosna and her child into the maze and I will take them to a safe place." I heard no immediate reply and this worried me. In a few seconds Mom from Sofaas said, "The ship has been destroyed." I felt like a piece of my heart were ripped out. Mom continued, "The child has died but Glosna is safe in the maze. Go to her and bring her to safety Henry." The order felt right. The base computer transported me very quickly to the start of the maze and I ran the short distance to where I saw Glosna cradling a bundle of bloody cloth. I hoped to feel anger in myself but I felt guilt instead. I was the one that had gained her trust and sent her away. Now I was the cause of one more death and this one weighted heavily on my soul. I had been there at her birth and I was the first person to cradle the young life. She had sensed me just after joining us and grasped my mind tenderly. I had to be strong though, especially now. Glosna was picked up and I moved her through the maze. I doubted she knew what was happening to her because she was just mentally screaming to her child to awaken. Horus was the closest and in a few minutes I was working through the computer. He or Isis took the two to medical. When I got there the diagnosis was still the same. There was no way of bringing back the life of the child. Glosna had to be sedated because she did not want to release her child even in death. I said to Horus, "Keep her sedated. She knows about the maze now. It is best that she forget that part." "What about her forgetting that she had a child?" "I don't know yet. Just keep her sedated or in stasis till I figure out what I will do." "Yes my Emperor." He said this with a great deal of feeling because he knew that I had to deal with this alone. Trying to submerge my guilt I though of the Misto that had done this. I was given very explicit coordinates and I pushed with Horus and Isis to get there as soon as possible. There were no probes aboard but I would have begin to make them even though our speed would suffer a bit. I would not be able to kill as I should if I didn't have good intel. Mom and the other AIs had some in reserve waiting for me to do my part. I ran through the maze again working frantically to pull their computers into the maze. When I came back a bare ten minutes later I was dragging a long line of probes linked together. When I stepped from the maze, Isis pulled 83 small probes out. More had been manufactured since this operation began but I had not had time to do my part. The two probes used as engines were still on the Misto ship. I could command them to destroy their hull and the ship carrying them but this was the first time we would get a glimpse of a still functional Misto warship. The energy conduits were in place around the smaller of the two crystals. It was still connected to ship's power. I concentrated on the distance and moved the crystal to point in the right direction. Isis controlled a surge of power from the higher universe went through the conduits and one of the probes left to see what would be found. Mom said, "This way," as she directed me a bit differently and a minute change in power. When she said, "Now," another probe went through. Through the probes eyes I saw the thirty or so ships and propelled the antimatter charges at all but one. I had no fear that they would find us because we were 13,640 lights away. It was near the natural focus of the crystal and we needed very little power to manipulate the crystal. The target was not struck by our charge but the next shot did do what I wanted. I was very happy because the shields were not repelling our weapons though they had with the smaller crystal. I raced through the flotilla. More probes had to be sent because they were targeted unless I placed them close to the Misto wrecks. When I thought of Glosna and her child I found that I missed more often so I put the woman's welfare in another part of my mind and continued to fire on the ships. It took a moment but they started to disperse rather than try to protect each other. Soon I was running out of targets and had to send probes out to find them and then do my damnedest to take them all. I expended all the probes but three and was on the trail of the last ship. This was the one that had killed the child. The next probe went out and was almost instantly destroyed. I did have a fix and used very heavy charges very close to the forward section of the ship. The charges were going out over a hundred per second. I momentarily stopped and refocused the aim and released another probe. When a new fix came in I started right away hammering it again. The hammering I was giving the ship allowed the probe to live so that I could work even closer to the hull. Finally one charge blew up close to the engines and then another one too. Now using smaller charges I started to destroy all propulsive power. My last probe was sent out to hide amongst the wreckage of the stern. It was a good decision because the previous probe was destroyed by an energy weapon. I wanted desperately to just put a large charge inside the ship. I thought of the dead child and the distraught mother and almost did it but a fragment of my good sense held me back. This ship was going to teach me how to kill the Misto once and for all. ------- In the coming hours equipment was made to infiltrate the Misto ship. They would learn all they could while staying hidden as inconspicuously as possible. Instead of being sent through the matter transmitter, they went through the two small probes still sending data from the hold where they were stored. The units went through the small opening in the hull and spread out as quickly as possible. The hold had been punctured but the shield now contained the Misto atmosphere. Portals had opened and the small invaders had spread out to the core of the ship. One of the probes then another was taken by the smaller denizens and they too were carried away but not before two dummy replacements were constructed and put in their place. Ten hours later Horus and Isis got to the battle site and we began to pick through the wreckage to gather interesting parts. The large matter transmitter was turned around and large portions of wreckage were sent back to unmanned ships ready to pick the burdens up. Here we used the larger crystal after testing it out with full power. This unit could transmit almost the entire width of the galaxy but at a power very close to what the old matter transmitter stations had to put out. Mom had started to integrate the new images with me being in this area. She had a hologram tell the ship to leave days ago so that my subterfuge would be easier to explain. She still had to continue with the charade till we came to what would be real time. Thousands of probes were made and I worked ceaselessly till they were done. They were a very necessary part of this plan. Without their guidance, we could not shoot accurately enough. Probes were sent toward the endangered worlds but I found that they had already been destroyed by leading elements of the Misto fleet. The only thing different was that some of the ships had stooped for supplies, or to feed. Probes were sent to what could be the new front line and we waited. When Misto ships appeared on our screens they were simply destroyed with small charges of antimatter. Their shielding didn't seem to stand up to the power of the large crystals. My jog seemed to be just working on the probes. There was always a problem with supply even if many were able to make it back in the days and weeks since they had been sent out for reconnaissance. All the extra probes were sent off through the two matter transmitter to check on the condition of the fleet. Some I was lucky enough to get so close to a ship that it was not detected. The probes sent just before had been destroyed. This worked more and more till I had at least a hundred and twenty three probes acting like lamprey on the sides of ships. This did give me the first real estimate of the fleet. It numbered in excess of fourteen hundred ships and at least a hundred in the centre were larger but not as large as the other type of Misto. When a group of ships left they would be followed and when they got out of communicator range they were destroyed. Usually they were out to attack a system and this was the best way I knew to protect them. I hoped to whittle down the fleet this way while keeping them in one group. Weeks of preparation had brought us many more thousands of probes that were sent off to reconnoitre. When a Tandra planet was in their sights I started firing with both weapons. Instead of going back only a dozen lights I went to the entire front and continued without stopping. I was now doing this real time and the Alliance watched as one ship took out over a thousand Misto ships. The only ships spared were those in the centre and one damaged ship still giving us information. We had learned something from that particular ship. The Misto of both varieties had to be taught what to do. If this didn't happen they would be much like the Earth variety of Mantis and just be a proficient hunter. Take away their education and you took away their knowledge of the stars and their technology. ------- A new ship was built for Mom and Bennechi. It had forty eight probes in the back to give us extra thrust. When the remainder of my wives started to go into labour I was there to hold their hands and see first had the new life we had brought into the world. Some of the wives had sought medical help to delay their delivery till I was available and the killing of millions of Misto was a suitable excuse in this case. The family all travelled through the matter transmitter so they could all be present when the happy event occurred. Everybody on many planets and systems knew about this event for the equivalent of fireworks went off in the evening sky to the amazement of all. It was also sent through the net so that everyone could see the happy mother. This did get me into trouble because mothers at this time do not usually look their best but they did to me. Glosna was given one of the youngest children rescued from Tandra and convinced that this was hers. She didn't remember the fight or the trip through the maze. I thought that this would be the best I could do for both of them. Horus, Isis and I powered up the now famous destroyer and then fired off probes to many of the systems that were in our records. We were extra careful to send one to each of the message pods we found in the location the Tandra home planet used to be. More ships with similar entities like Horus and Isis were started so that they could be at the right place at the right time. It seemed that there were many more invasions going on and had been for hundreds of years. Though most were small they still had to be stopped. If there was a chance of them continuing this practice they died very quickly. ------- The wives finally got the wedding of Charlie, Paul and Amney. Amney was getting big at the time and this is the only thing that caused the women to speed up the event. The event itself was watched as much as my children's births or some of the military action still going on. Doris got to finally make her gown for Amney and the girl did look lovely walking down the aisle even if Tandra customs said that the mother do this. Working males into this mixture was a bit difficult but everybody thought it was good enough. The newlyweds were given Epsilon Eridani to watch for me. Carl moved on to the area I wanted him to take over. He was only a double jump away from any of us so he was not too concerned. It took only a few decades to settle the galaxy and put some good ships and sensors to protect us from our smaller neighbours. The riddle of the Misto ships and the dark crystal took decades more to discover. I actually did it but many others helped prepare the way. Horus used the largest crystal made to extract material from the heart of a black hole. The lighter material on the surface was the liquid crystal. When enough of it was collected it exerted its forces on the rest similar to critical mass. With more material extracted and added to our facility large crystals could be made. Some of my own crystals were substituted for the darker variety and I could walk all seven dimensions now. With enough data I could step from one world to any other. This was even better than what teleportation was supposed to do. The newer Misto and the Fassoot computers took power from the higher universe but ducted it to the lower for a much higher rate of energy transference. Their computers were viewed with my new eye and I could see many ways of improving them and lowering the mass. As the children grew I taught them some of the things they would need to know to hold the Empire together. My grandchildren though were taught about the maze and the need to keep it a family secret. The family now ran the empire and I was just a bit more than a figurehead. Infighting had not been very prevalent and it looked like with enough vigilance by the family that nobody would get out of control. In a few more centuries I hoped to go into semiretirement myself and sit with my wives and talk of what it used to be like over a good ale. Edited by vonsteppin@hotmail.com ------- The End ------- Posted: 2003-12-21 Last Modified: 2006-10-19 / 12:53:13 pm ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------