Chapter 7

In the transport, Jeff flew the visitors to points-of-interest while on their way to the Icilian sector. From the air, he passed by a farm that processed wheat into bread and into Red pastries. There also was a power plant in the area.

"So how much energy does Magnif have?" Beth questioned.

"Enough to get by if we lost two or three plants," he answered. "We don't have a lot of population growth on Magnif. You may have noticed there are few children. We're a limited sized world as you know. I do hope to father a child one day."

"Your power plants," said Weston. "Could they be channeled together to fire a beam?"

"From where? A wheat field?" Jeff said. "We're not as technology advanced as you are."

"This transport is advanced," Beth said. "And you were equipped to handle our teleportation device and you must have scientific researchers."

"Well, sure, but for the betterment of our society. We don't have any need for weapons. The closest we have is our defense shield and your ship could have blown through it easily."

"How do you know that?" asked Beth. "Can you scan ships?"

Jeff took a deep breathe, so he would stop talking without thinking.

"Just look at your ship," he said. "It looks big and mean and bad and something you wouldn't want to meet in any dark alley of the universe."

Beth smiled.

Jeff sighed.

The Icilians preferred climate was the opposite of the Reds because their home world, Icili, was a colder planet than other races. It was why Icilians and Reds didn't intermingle and rarely interbred though there was no animosity or rivalry between the two cultures. It was purely personal preference. The typical Icilian appearance was very pale skin and shock white hair. They tended to be short and stocky. For the Icilians who had a many generational lineage on Magnif, their appearances often came in the many varieties of the other races and people residing here. It was true of all the races.

"Jeff!" Elga heartily greeted then gave a firm handshake and a firm hug. He was older with lines in his face that made him appear always cheerful.

Jeff stood still as customary and didn't verbally respond until the burly man released him.

"Elga!" Jeff said.

"Beth!" Elga said and did the same handshake and hug then proceeded to do the same with the other visitors including the still completely covered up Weston.

"What's this?" said Jeff, gently pulling on the mesh metal shirt that Elga was wearing with his typical lightweight white pants.

"It is my ceremonial uniform. We have special guests," Elga said. "You've seen it before."

"No, I haven't," said Jeff.

"Yes, you have. I wore it at your inauguration."

"You wore a normal white shirt."

"Oh? Did I?"

"I guess I'm not that important."

"You said it not I, my friend!" Elga laughed.

"So how is Ninaa?" Jeff asked.

"Come! I will take you to her!" he said loudly for all to hear. "She is not feeling so well. Another month the medicals say."

"Is she sick?" asked Beth.

"You will not take us to a sick person!" spoke up Weston in a demanding tone.

Elga looked Weston up and down then smiled. "Please shed some clothes and embrace the invigorating cool air."

Elga looked at Brogan and Leyla. "You still have too many clothes."

As Elga turned to Beth, Jeff saw an opportunity so he softly said, "Remove your gloves as a sign of good rapport."

Beth glanced at Jeff then quickly removed her gloves.

A large smile came upon Elga's face. "Splendid! You are enjoying the wonderful air already."

"The Icilians artificially keep it cool in this sector," added Jeff, "to simulate their home world similarly to how the Reds keep it hot."

"Magnif is a little too warm for us." said Elga. "Good for the Reds but not so good for us, but we live all over Magnif. This is our home and we wouldn't live anywhere else."

"Magnif is a little too cool for the Reds," said Jeff.

"They are Reds," Elga said putting his palms out.

"So you do not get along with the Reds?" said Weston. "Are they warriors? Are you?"

Elga shook his head and looked perplexed. "We do not fight. We like it cool and they are mentally unstable for preferring it suffocatingly hot. That is all."

"I am sure the Reds think the same of you," teased Jeff.

"Perhaps, but they are wrong and we are right," he said. He waved them forward. "Come!"

"Are you taking us to the sick person?" said Weston.

"What sick person?"

"The one who has only a month to live."

"What are they talking about, Jeff?" asked Elga.

"Ninaa is not sick. She is pregnant," said Jeff.

"Ho-ho!" laughed Elga. "Lately she is only complaining that she is dying or else she is threatening to kill me. She wanted children, so she should not complain. Come and see!"

Ninaa was sitting upright and topless in the bed when the five followed Elga into the room. She placed the cup containing a hot broth liquid on the nearby stand.

"Welcome!" she said smiling.

Beth noticed Ninaa's swollen belly and that she was much younger than Elga, but she noticed something more.

"Are you an Icilian?" Beth asked.

"Yes, but I am also a Nomer." Ninaa opened her mouth wide to show her front teeth which were two rows of sharp canines. She only had a couple of pairs of molars in the back of her mouth. "And there are these." Ninaa touched each one of her two sets of breast pairs.

"Nomers always give birth to twins," interjected Elga.

"And sometimes we give birth to two sets of twins," finished Ninaa.

"So you received permission to have a child?" asked Beth.

Elga looked at Jeff for help again.

Jeff said, "There is no formal counsel. The people of Magnif take care of each other. There is sort of a waiting list, but partners decide to drop off the list all the time so if a couple does decide they want a child they are permitted to do it soon. Icilians do things differently that the rest of us, so they have more children."

Understanding, Elga picked up the thread. "When Icilians gets older, we want to return to Icili to live the last of our lives. Each year a ship comes to take those ready to go home permanently. We replenish our population by having children."

"And when are we going?" asked Ninaa.

"Stop asking that! I am not that old."

"I want to see Icili."

"There is nothing there that we don't have here."

"But it's Icili," she whined.

"Maybe we should go, Elga, to talk," said Jeff, "and to let Ninaa rest."

"Whose side are you on?" said Ninaa.

"Yes," said Elga. "Let's."

Jeff stepped up to Ninaa and kissed her forehead.

"We can still be warmth partners for the night," she said.

"Not this time," he said.

Elga drove the group around in the hover car. He introduced them to various people and showed them interesting places. The Icilians had customized much of their sector's landscape to replicate the appearance of Icili. The top of the car was down and Elga embraced the crisp, chilly air. Jeff sat where he could be somewhat shielded from the air and Beth sat near him to use him as an additional shield. Brogan and Leyla clung together for warmth. Weston's body posture said he was miserable but Jeff wasn't sure since he still had no idea what the man's face looked like.

There was no big party like in the Red sector. Elga and Ninaa ended the group's time with a simple but elegant dinner. Beth enjoyed the fish-like graka very much.

"You are capable of having pleasure," Jeff teased Beth.

"Are you talking about sex again?" she asked, taking the joke too seriously again.

"Elga has pleased you by providing this graka to eat. I find it exciting that you are pleased."

"You talk about pleasure too much," Beth chided.

"You can never talk about pleasure enough," commented Ninaa, smiling.

"Speaking of sex and pleasure," said Elga. "Who will need a warmth partner tonight?"

"What is a warmth partner?" asked Leyla.

"Icilians like nights that are even cold for them," explained Jeff. "Warmth partners keep each other warm at night."

"You must remove all those clothes," said Elga to Weston. "Only skin-to-skin contact will keep you warm."

"Or at least most of them," said Jeff, providing an excuse to the others.

"It is not the best way," said Elga.

"No. Sex is the best way to be warm, but snuggling up to a partner helps a lot."

"Could Leyla and I be partners?" suggested Brogan.

"I was thinking that," said Jeff.

"And what about the rest of you?" asked Elga. "Or are you sharing Beth?"

"I will not need a partner," stated Weston.

"Nor will I," said Beth.

"Are you sure?" said Jeff to Beth. "I can keep you warm."

"It will not be necessary."

"So I shall get you a partner, my friend?" said Elga.

"No," Jeff said.

"No?" Elga was astonished. Jeff didn't say anything more. "Very well. You know how to get one if you change your mind."

"Thank you, Elga. You are most kind."

Everyone retreated to their rooms. Each room was only a bed and a toilet facility.

"Good night," said Jeff to Beth. He kissed her on the lips. "I am right there if you need something in the night." He pointed across the hall and to the left.

"Your lips are warm," she said with surprise.

"Bodies have warmth," he said simply.

Alone in his room, Jeff frequently checked his chronometer. After two cycles, he got up and went to Beth's room.

She shivered while curled up tightly in a ball and barely lifted her head when he came in.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I ... I am miserable."

"May I warm you?"

"Y ... yes."

"Remove your protective clothing," he instructed.

"How will that help?"

"Skin-to-skin."

Jeff removed his clothes then went over to and touched her face.

"You feel good," she said. "So warm."

He began to work on taking her clothes off, but he couldn't figure out how things separated.

"Help me, Beth," he said.

She pressed a few buttons and undid a few clasps that he couldn't tell were there. He removed her shoes, her top, and her bottoms. He grasped her bra.

"Is that not enough clothes off?" she said. "I am so cold!"

He climbed onto the bed. He pressed his front side tightly into her back side and draped an arm over her.

"Mmmm," she responded.

"You feel very good," Jeff said. "You are keeping me warm, too."

She snuggled in even deeper to him. She didn't flinch when his arm pulled tighter against her stomach or when his hand cupped her breast through her silvery bra.

Jeff had a hard-on. He didn't care that he was pressing it into her ass crack through her silvery panties. He didn't care that she would likely wake up with a large wet spot on the back of her panties. He preferred to have his dick inside her warm body, but tonight it just felt very good to finally have her body next to his. He could already feel and hear her breathing change. She was already falling asleep.

It took a lot of effort for Jeff not to rub his dick back and forth. It was so much so that it took a while to fall asleep.

Jeff woke up. Beth was still sleeping. He carefully extricated his arm from around her and began to pull away.

"Don't go," she immediately said.

"You're awake," he said, moving back into position.