Chapter 30: A Strange New World

Shortly after returning to Zephyrus Sgt. Budzinski asked the AI, "How many did we get?"

The AI responded, "There are 265 volunteers and 1467 concubines aboard the three ships bound for Azahar. Ninety-five pods on Zephyrus, ninety-two pods on Aurora, and ninety pods on Chronos have been allocated to sponsors. There are an unusually large number of children per concubine, and twelve very large families that need double pods for adequate space. One pod on each ship is being reserved for a nursery or other emergency use. The eight unallocated pods are to be loaded with the materiel requested by Lieutenant Cooper of the Asimov for delivery to Azahar."

"I wonder why there are so many concubines for only 265 sponsors," Budzinski remarked.

Thinking that was a query, the AI answered. "The sponsors have a nineteen-point-eight percent higher CAP score than the average pickup, and most of them were allowed a supernumerary concubine."

Capt. McGregor gathered all 265 sponsors in the large briefing room. He keyed his implant before speaking, "Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please! The trip to Azahar will take us about two months. We'll remain in Earth orbit for another two days to complete the dependent pickups and load supplies and equipment that we will be delivering to your destination."

McGregor looked through the crowd for familiar faces, "We have three basic groups bound for Azahar. The first is a core group of mathematicians, physicists, and scientists who will be establishing an advanced weapons research facility at or near the colony. The second is typical colonists, with a few atypical colonists just to keep it interesting, whose primary mission is to support the researchers. And finally there's a paramilitary unit that will be returning to Earth to establish hidden defenses to harass the Sa'arm when they arrive. This final group is tasked with constructing some of the new colony's infrastructure while receiving training to become the Earth Home Guard Militia."

McGregor steeled himself as he addressed the third group. "I know that you Earth Militia recruits expect to return to Earth soon after the completion of military training, which typically takes only a few months. At this time you should not anticipate returning until a year or two at the most before the Sa'arm incursion is predicted to reach Earth. The reason that a lot of your duties at Azahar will be construction-oriented is because these are skills you'll need when you begin constructing bases for the defense of Earth. Your training will not be all class work, theory, construction, and simulation. Part of your training will also be actual contact with real live Sa'arm on other planets."

As expected, there was a low-key rumbling as comments were exchanged among this group. Holding up his hand, McGregor continued, "I'll be meeting with the militia group tomorrow morning when we're all rested. This is a major departure from expectations and I didn't think it should be withheld any longer than necessary."

McGregor locked eyes with Martha before continuing, "Martha Grayson, will you please join me? The next piece of potentially shocking news is for everyone including this lovely lady. She has been designated as the Planetary Governor of Azahar."

Martha was frozen in her tracks, totally stunned by this revelation. "What! Who made that boneheaded decision?"

Those who knew Martha, including McGregor laughed, but it died down quickly when she assumed a position next to McGregor. "Governor Grayson," McGregor addressed her as well as the crowd. "There are many decisions that must be made regarding the deployment of assets and resources that are critical to the success of your new colony. A lot of hard decisions will be needed to make it a viable, self-sufficient world that can provide the necessary support for the research and training facilities that will be based on or near Azahar. Unfortunately there isn't time for you to prepare yourself for this role. You must begin making decisions immediately."

McGregor turned to face Martha. "One of the first decisions is the allocation of pods on the three colony transports that will take us there. I had originally thought to place the three primary groups on the three ships, but one group is too large to be transported on a single 96-pod transport. Other groups are too small for efficient use of the resources. Also, the fore and aft 48-pod sections are, for most practical purposes, physically isolated from each other but communication between the two is possible."

"What difference does it really make?" Martha asked somewhat confused. "I've seen people and equipment moving freely between the ships through the transporters."

McGregor nodded, "Yes, it's possible to move ship-to-ship while in orbit. But it's not possible when the ships' FTL drives take them into hyperspace for the two-month voyage. The occupants of each ship will be out of touch with those on the other two ships. Medical augmentation and sponsor-concubine briefings usually take a month, which is the typical Earth-to-colony transit time. Azahar is a bit further out."

Martha didn't yet have an AI implant, but as the mother of four she had a voice that could carry. "I don't like the 'us versus them' association of the three groups identified by Captain McGregor. Everyone please stand up and group yourselves with those you prefer as traveling companions."

The sponsors began shuffling about the room and forming themselves into groups. The outcome of the groupings was no real surprise to Martha. Most of the groups were five to fifteen sponsors. Contenders for the largest group were the college kids and military weapons developers. Martha considered breaking up these large groups to prevent clicks from developing, but a two-month journey would hardly impact the bonding of these typically asocial individuals. She decided to lump them together both to keep an eye on them, and to begin merging the fresh faces with the old guard.

It took less than an hour for her to negotiate the crowd into six groups that pretty much duplicated the AI's prediction when allocating pods on the three ships. Martha wrote the name of a ship and section on six pieces of paper and had one member of each group draw one from a hat.

"Thank you for your help, Governor Grayson," McGregor said with sincerity. "I ask that those who will be aboard the forward section of Aurora to please collect your concubines and proceed to the transporter room at this time. Your pod assignment will be given to you when you exit the transporter. Please have all of your concubines and dependents who have already been picked up with you before going to the transporter room."

It took well over an hour for everyone to get organized and delivered to their pods for the night. Everyone was so wasted from the long day and late night that some of the promised sex was not delivered, but Rhonda got her full quota.

When Lesa, Jake and their combined groups entered their pods, Lesa insisted that both Jake and Sven have sex with the sexually frustrated Rhonda before retiring for the night. When Lesa showed him Rhonda's amazing sexual prowess sub-scores, Jake asked Ito to join in. Rhonda had never before had three such well-hung and vigorous lovers at once, and she was very pleased with the very thorough fucking she shared with them. She slept better that night than she had in years.

Reiko and Sara Jay intercepted Ito as he staggered out of Rhonda's room. After cleaning him up they shared a large bed with him. Lesa snuggled close to the exhausted Jake in Rhonda's bed. Donna claimed the exhausted Sven and got closure for her abbreviated test drive some time after midnight when Sven had recovered enough strength to be of service.

Kids were brought aboard throughout the next day as the new sponsors and concubines completed their initial medical scans and orientation.

Jake and Lesa occupied all three pods on one side of a corridor in the forward section of the ship. It took all day for the pods to be reconfigured to accommodate the two of them, their fourteen concubines, and thirty-four children.

Across the corridor were Benjamin and Martha's triple-pod quarters. They only had twelve concubines and eighteen children giving them just a bit more room; so, Martha had a large reception area configured along with separate offices for her and Benjamin.

Lesa found the large crate that she had left in her hotel suite in the great room of her pod when she returned from breakfast with Jake and the rest of their family. She removed the combination lock, broke the seals, and examined the contents. She transferred the tea service, photographs, and notebook computer that were packed on top to appropriate lockers in the pod. Underneath those items were the weapons and ammunition Sgt. Budzinski had asked her to bring with her. She closed and locked the crate before asking the AI if Sgt. Budzinski was available.

She approached Sgt. Budzinski in the ship's gymnasium, "Excuse me Sergeant, but there's a crate in my pod that should be in the armory. Can you have someone move it for me? It's rather heavy."

Budzinski stopped the treadmill he was on and turned to smile at Lesa. He wiped the sweat off of his face with the towel around his neck and smiled before responding. "I thought you'd be more comfortable with your 'friends' nearby, but we can secure your belongings in the armory if you prefer." Budzinski gave Lesa a very serious look before making a request. "Will you allow me time for a shower? With your permission, I'd very much like to bring some friends to your pod for a private showing before the contents are locked away."

"I should be back from my meeting with Captain McGregor by ten hundred," Lesa replied. "Would you be available then?"

Budzinski nodded, "I should be able to work that into my busy schedule."

Capt. McGregor met with the thirty-seven militia volunteers in one of the ship's briefing rooms.

"Has the modified schedule prompted any of you to change your minds?" He asked the group and was relieved that none stepped forward.

"What was that business about getting down and dirty with Sa'arm?" Dean Gotti asked McGregor.

"Tactics, Mr. Gotti," McGregor responded. "We don't have effective tactics for confronting the Sa'arm head-on. The Confederacy commanders believe that you will need effective tactics to have any level of success in your mission to harass the dickheads that enter the Solar System."

McGregor continued when there were no interruptions. "Tulak is a planet that's currently being overrun by Sa'arm, and we currently have a successful blockade of the Tulakat planetary system. Sergeant Budzinski and others have fought Sa'arm in both minor skirmishes and major engagements on Tulak and other planets. He's one of a very few to see the inside a Sa'arm underground facility and live to tell about it."

One of the burley mercenaries asked, "So, we're going to get a chance to kill dickheads before they get to Earth?"

"Absolutely," answered a smiling McGregor.

Gotti asked, "Where's this Sergeant Budzinski?"

"He was headed to the shower thirty minutes ago," Lesa responded.

Turning to his daughter, Gotti asked, "You know him?"

"Yes," She responded. "He seems to be impressed that I got the drop on him with a Barrett without being spotted by his high-tech surveillance system."

Gotti laughed and remarked."You always were a sneaky one, Peanut."

Turning to McGregor, Gotti seemed to be speaking for everyone when he said, "I think spending a few years gathering intelligence, developing tactics, and building colonies will do us a lot of good provided we can interact with our contacts on Earth to keep our interests there in good shape."

McGregor gave a sigh of relief, "That can be arranged."

"Wait a minute," Lesa spoke up with a confused expression. "I agreed to return to Earth and stay there as soon as my training was completed. When we talked about this in my home you told me that the Darjee didn't want someone like me run loose about the galaxy."

Everyone in the room was confused when McGregor burst into laughter at Lesa's remark until he responded to the implied question, "That's right. You'll be required to return to Earth as soon as your training is completed. The thing is, your training regimen is not typical because your mission is not typical. Your training is expected to last quite a while."

The room rippled with laughter as the end-run was revealed and the group of volunteers understood why McGregor was so amused.

McGregor then asked, "Are there any other issues that need to be addressed?"

Lesa had spent a good part of the morning laughing at Jake as he tried to avoid making any of the other twelve women in their pod feel ignored. Sven and Ito would help him keep feminine sexual frustration from being a serious issue, but it would take days for Jake to give each one of the women his personal attention. His dilemma was the order in which he should plow his fields. "Just draw names out of a hat," Lesa suggested when her laugher subsided enough for her to speak.

"That's so impersonal," Jake complained.

Lesa caressed his face with her hand, "Your sex life has not been as spontaneous as you might have thought. Sara Jay, Leslie, Consuela and I have conspired with each other before most of your sexual escapades."

Jake smiled, "Yeah, I know. It's been fun having you guys do all the work, but I don't think Denise, Saika, Deidre, or Traci feel like they're part of the family. I haven't seen them with their heads in one of your sisterly huddles."

"You can't push that, Jake," Lesa advised. "They'll have to find their own place and create their own relationships with the others, but maybe we can promote bonding with some family activities."

Jake kissed Lesa. "I guess we can let it ride for a day or two. Maybe you, Sarita, and Roberta can watch the kids while the rest of us have an orgy. Who can we invite, not that Sven, Ito, and I can't satisfy twelve horny women?"

"Whomever you invite is likely to bring enough women to keep the ratio near four-to-one," Lesa said through her laughter.

At precisely ten hundred the AI announced, "Sergeant Budzinski and four others are in the companionway requesting entry."

Lesa got up and headed toward the entry, "Let them in, please."

"Good morning again, Sergeant," Lesa greeted Budzinski with a handshake.

Budzinski stepped aside and introduced his companions. "Ms. Crews, these worthless individuals are Staff Sergeant Cynthia Miller, Staff Sergeant Ronald Carson, Master Sergeant Reginald Cox, and Master Sergeant Walter Emerson."

Lesa moved toward the crate that was now the focus of the large room. Looking up she noticed Jake sitting at the table. "Forgive me gentlemen; this is my partner, Jake Caulfield."

Each of the group gave Jake a polite nod, but their attention was on Lesa and her crate as she sat in a chair to remove the lock. Jake watched as Budzinski helped her with the hinged lid. Lesa released the two bars that locked the weapons securely in place.

She removed the huge Barrett sniper rifle with its massive telescopic sight and locked the bolt open before handing it to Budzinski who asked, "Is this the one?"

When she nodded in reply, he looked at the others and said, "You can imagine how nervous I was having my movements tracked through this monster."

Cox leaned in for a closer look, "So, this is what was developed after Carlos and his spotter lugged an M2 with a telescopic sight into North Vietnam, nice."

Lesa assured him, "The crosshairs never touched you."

Budzinski laughed, "That's not terribly reassuring." He handed the rifle to Cox who opened the bipod and set the rifle on the table in front of Jake as Lesa pulled a heavy steel box from the crate. Inside were the custom rounds she used in the Barrett. "Fuck!" Budzinski exclaimed, "Those aren't standard fifty cal rounds."

"Not hardly," Lesa agreed after laughing at his expression. "A young, aspiring gunsmith made these for me. It has a thirty caliber depleted uranium projectile in a fifty caliber Teflon sabot. It has a good bit more speed, range, and accuracy than your military issue round."

"Where did you get depleted uranium?" Cox asked her quietly.

Lesa looked at him and said, "I ... found it." Her remark evoked laughter from everyone, including Jake. She returned the cartridge to the steel box and put it back into the crate.

There were two antique weapons remaining in the crate.

"Two of John Moses Browning's greatest inventions," Budzinski said reverently.

Lesa pointed at her Model 1897 Winchester pump shotgun and said, "Each of the six twelve-gauge combat rounds that this piece holds is typically loaded with fifteen thirty-caliber lead balls." She pointed out a sheathed bayonet in the crate. "With that attached to the muzzle there's no more effective weapon in the world for close-up, in-your-face combat. It was devastating in the trenches of World War I."

MSgt. Emerson commented, "The shotgun I used in Viet Nam didn't have a bayonet lug. I like it!" When Lesa gave him a puzzled look, Emerson added, "Like Budzinski here, I'm a lot older than I look."

MSgt. Cox pointed to the other antique and noted, "The M14 was supposed to replace the Browning Automatic Rifle, but it didn't have the reliability, power, accuracy, or range of this weapon. All it could boast was a slightly higher rate of fire and two-thirds the weight. A pair of these can walk right up to a pillbox from several hundred meters away. No one's going to stick his face in a firing slit that has ten bullets from these things bouncing through it every couple of seconds. You can't get that kind of respect from a dozen M16's."

Lesa repacked the crate and borrowed a pen from Jake. She wrote the combination for the padlock in Budzinski's palm. Lesa shook her visitor's hands before they hefted the crate. "It was a pleasure meeting all of you. I look forward to learning tactics from all of you on Azahar."

There was a crowd of family and friends in the Grayson foyer when Benjamin returned after spending twenty-four hours in a med-bay tube. The nannites had repaired the damage to his heart along with two hidden aneurisms and were diligently working to clean up his arteries now that his cholesterol and hormones were within normal limits.

"Oh my," Martha said after giving him a big welcome-home kiss. "You look better than you have in decades, my dear. Your color is back and your eyes are bright and clear. Wait, where are your glasses?"

Benjamin spoke while holding Martha close, "It appears that vision issues are simple enough to be taken care of without a great deal of pain and stress. But you'll have to contend with my old body until they're sure my system can withstand the stress of augmentation and age reduction."

"I think I'm going to miss your old body when it's gone," Martha replied.

Benjamin greeted and spoke with everyone who had stopped in. It took a while for the crowd to thin out. After Benjamin had spoken with everyone, Misty got permission from Martha and Janet through eye contact and took Benjamin's hand. "Let me show you your study," She offered as she led him across the room.

After they entered the spacious room, Misty turned and secured the entry. The layout and furnishing closely duplicated that of his study in Boston. Misty discarded her shift while he was examining the top of the large desk. When he turned to face her, she jumped into his arms gripping him with both of her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

The shocked man exclaimed, "What are you doing? I'm old enough to be your grandfather!"

"Maybe so, but you're NOT my grandfather," Misty replied. "Martha tells me that she'll not sleep with you until you've spent the night with each of your concubines and gotten at least one woman pregnant. I stopped taking my B-C pills two weeks ago and the med-tech told me that the nannites have flushed their effect out of my system and triggered an ovulation. Janet and I want my first baby to be yours, and right now is the perfect time for me to get pregnant."

"You can't be serious!" Benjamin responded, "I can't possibly have sex with someone so young."

Misty had stroked her sex with her right hand before accosting Benjamin. She hooked her left arm behind his neck and traced his lips with her damp fingers as though she was asking him to be quiet. "Let me open your pants. If you're not hard, then you can fasten them back and we'll go back out to the party. If you're hard, then we party in here."

She slid down Benjamin's torso and legs until she was on her knees. He leaned against his desk as she slowly unfastened his loose slacks and lowered them to his ankles before gripping his boxers.

Benjamin was surprised by his growing erection. He rubbed his mouth and asked, "What did you do to me you little minx?"

Misty giggled has she lowered the boxers and took his half-mast cock into her warm mouth to complete its awakening. When it was rampant, she backed off and with twinkling eyes told him, "All's fair in sex and war." She removed his shoes and helped him step out of his pants and underwear before standing to remove shirt.

Misty changed places with him and leaned back on the desktop with her butt barely on the desk. She hooked the heel of each foot on the edge of the desk presenting an incredibly lewd display of her bushy box. She told him, "The source of your erection is right here." Misty again stroked her own sex causing her inner lips to spring open enough to reveal her juicy entrance.

Benjamin had not been this painfully hard in decades. His newly restored hormones took control of his body, and he stepped close enough for the tip of his cock to make contact with her labia. They both moaned and caught their breath as his swollen glans pushed through the tight entrance and began inching its way into her soft, wet tunnel.

"I shouldn't be doing this," Benjamin lamented as he began stroking his incredibly stiff shaft in and out of Misty's tight tunnel. "Why can't I stop myself?"

"Ssh, it's okay!" Misty assured him. "We're in a whole new world where it's perfectly fine for good friends to fuck. It's actually expected of us out here."

Benjamin took little comfort in her assurances, but continued to slide in and out of his diminutive lover. He was surprised that the tiny girl had room in her abdomen for his entire manhood. He felt larger than he'd ever been, and he began to forcefully thrust into her as his primitive instincts took control of his body. These instincts had been dormant for nearly a decade, but something had awakened them as the sight, smell, and touch of the sensual woman before him became the focus of his universe.

He shot a potent cocktail of semen and sperm into the writhing girl impaled on his cock. He was surprised that he hadn't collapsed across her, but he was still supporting his torso with his arms when his head cleared. He was inches from Misty's smiling face and lowered himself to kiss her tenderly on the lips. "Thank you for a wonderful welcome home."

Benjamin easily got to his feet and pulled his stiff cock out of the small woman lewdly displaying herself on his desk. "We're a mess," he observed.

Misty cupped her drooling sex with her right hand as she sank to her knees to clean Benjamin's stiff cock with her mouth. Seeing that he was still very hard she asked, "Would you like some more? I could lie across the desk on my stomach."

Benjamin chuckled, "I'm sure you could. Maybe tomorrow, it sometimes takes more than one try for someone to get pregnant."

Misty beamed, "I'll hold you to that offer!" She stood and licked her juicy fingers as she crossed the room. She bent over at the waist to retrieve her shift.

Benjamin groaned as he watched the damp bush push its way through the slender thighs that flanked Misty's plump labia. He helped her into her shift and said, "We'd better go before we ruin Martha's plans for my evening." As he tucked his cock into his pants he told Misty, "I suspect that Martha will expect me to use this on someone else rather soon."

There was no mistaking the source of Misty's smile when she and Benjamin left his office. Martha was the first to give her a big hug. "Thank you for cooperating, Benjamin. I really didn't think she could seduce you."

"It had to be something they gave me in while I was in medical," Benjamin groused.

Martha asked him, "Did she tell you what I expect you to do in the next few days?"

Benjamin sighed, "Yes. And I'm sure you're not going to give me an out; so, I might as well get it over with as quickly as possible." He almost managed to keep a straight face, but was feeling much too spry.

Lesa was too near to term with her pregnancy to undergo major enhancements. She was given prenatal nanobot treatments to ensure that all would go well when it was time for her to deliver.

Martha's situation was unique in the records of the medical facility aboard Zephyrus. There was some distress among the medical staff when the initial scan showed that the sixty-five-year-old woman was pregnant, but the fetus was not a DNA match to her or her husband and the DNA of her ovaries didn't match the DNA of her body or the fetus.

Martha didn't allow any changes to the DNA beyond what was necessary to ensure that she delivered a healthy baby. She wanted to retain the DNA of the donor's ovaries as a tribute to her generous benefactor. The nannites were limited to eliminating the scar tissue and insuring the continued acceptance of the mismatched body, womb and fetus. Age reduction was limited to the functional needs of her pregnancy. She only appeared to be younger because she was healthier.

Toby had acquired a husband and wife pair from the janitorial contractor servicing the hotel. Amos and Andrea Brown were the owners of the agency that provided staff to several of the local hotels. The black couple was inspecting the hotel's facilities when the Marines arrived.

Even though Tiffany made it clear that she really enjoyed Amos' above average equipment and all the attention she got from everyone, Toby sensed that she was not entirely happy with her situation. In a quiet moment, Toby took Tiffany aside to catch up with his valued companion. "You haven't been as energetic since finals week as you were the last time we were at your parent's house." He observed before asking, "Are you homesick already?"

She smiled at Toby and kissed him softly for several minutes before looking into his eyes. She was clearly conflicted when she spoke, "I really love being with you guys. Everyone is accepted for who they are and what they are. I feel loved, but I don't feel like I fit in."

She put her finger to his lips to stop him from speaking, "I belong to you, but not with you. My history is so different from all of yours. I know it'll be years before I can fully appreciate where the five of you come from. I've lived in an ivory tower my entire life making everything here appear that much more foreign to me. I don't think anything can be done to change that."

Toby spoke to the ceiling, "AI, please give me directions to where I can find Henry Cohen and let him know that Tiffany and I would like to speak with him."

Tiffany looked at Toby in surprise, "Toby, what are you thinking?"

Toby just kissed her, took her by the hand, and followed the AI's directions to Henry's pod.

Henry greeted Toby with a handshake and Tiffany with a kiss on the cheek. "Please, come in and relax," Henry told the pair.

Toby looked around the pod before taking a seat. The subtle decorations spoke of class and an appreciation for the refined aspects of civilization. Understanding began settling itself in Toby's mind. Taking a deep breath he spoke to his host, "Tiffany is more isolated from her world than the rest of the people who share my pod. Just looking around at the little accents you have displayed gives me some insight to her needs. Needs that will take me years to understand well enough to address, but addressing them is second nature to you."

Looking Henry in the eye, Toby asked, "Is there any way I can convince you to accept Tiffany into your household?"

Tiffany buried her face in Toby's shoulder and began crying softly, "You'd do that for me?"

Henry was stunned by the request. It was a moment before he could respond. "Tiffany would have been my first choice had she been available. AI, please ask Stephanie, Rachael, and Margaret to join us. Margaret is the least comfortable of the three, but you may have any or all of them."

Toby stood as three women entered the room. Two had the same poise and bearing that he recognized in both Henry and Tiffany. The third was hardly more than a high school girl. He looked at the girl and commented, "You must be Margaret."

The girl looked at him in surprise, "Do I know you?" She asked hesitantly.

"No, but I'd like for you to," Toby answered. "I'm a bit of a nerd who can't hope to match the class of your current environment, but it's possible that you and I have more in common than you and Henry. Tell me why you were at the Hilton."