Chapter 5

We dressed and went downstairs to get a meal. On the way I checked the two new women in at the desk and paid the hotel guest surcharge. I had already paid for a suite; it felt like usury to have to pay extra for two more warm bodies.

We had a mid-day meal, which was fine with me. There was almost nobody else in the restaurant. It was casual to the most oblivious observer that every eye went straight to the Iaoth women. People tracked their every move. They must be excessively exotic here.

Coming from Rukac, I was very used to seeing different skin shades and features. We are much more cosmopolitan and egalitarian about things.

The Ahting girls had been noted in passing by the locals. By comparison, they rudely stared at every move the Iaoth girls made. I resolved to port the women directly to Cane City. I felt they were in danger here. There was too much unaccountable interest in them.

After eating, we went upstairs to our room. Raey and I talked about the two Iaoth females. We agreed that they needed to go immediately to Cane City. I sat Tadhiel and Iahhel down and explained I was taking them to our home. They agreed it was a good decision. I explained I would open a doorway to my home, and they were to step through, much like we had at the slave market.

I opened a doorway to the back of the cave. I wanted them away from the crew members. If the city folk in Dovater freaked out seeing Iaoth, we needed to keep them hidden here, too. At least until Raey and I returned from our one-week hiatus.

The three of us stepped out, and Heart and Vee came running over. They were shocked to see the Island Girls. They took a step back, and then their hands started doing all sorts of contortions. The Island Girls did the same thing.

After a few moments, I figured out they were from neighboring island groups. Sign language is how they could talk to each other in their area.

I left the new girls with the tiny girls and returned to our room. When the two women and I had our encounters the last night, I discovered they were both pregnant. If they are staying with us, I am not raising some pirate’s bastards.

My people knew full well that genetics are important. These pregnancies must be aborted at all costs. It was not about convenience; it was about raising someone quite likely to become a hazard to society. I had the zygotes disconnected from the women.

They would not know I had done it. There would be barely a blip from their hormones. It’s much better this way.

The next morning, I ported the next three couples to Dovater. I came back with Raey and found the women in the little lake naked as could be. I put a glow up above it so I could see them all better. I had seen the Island Girls outside, but we were all under stress at the time. In our hotel room, the fluorescent lights were not very bright.

I saw both islander women quite well, and I appreciated their different body types. Both women are long-legged. They have solid thighs that are round yet enticingly feminine. I generally go for slender women like Raey. The two little Ahtings and Raey have narrow thighs by comparison. The other distinctive features were their impressive breast size and their plump muscular bums.

Their tits come straight out from their chests. They rest high up on their chest and point straight out and forward. They have awesome cleavages.

One oddity is their areolas. They are almost four digits across and medium brown. Tadhiel’s nipples are the size of a five-year-old boy’s thumb. Quite wide and long, too. It shrinks down when not being touched or looked at. Just looking at her tits for a moment makes them pop right out. Iahhel’s nipples are very similar, except they don’t come quite as far as her mother’s.

The Ahting wanted my attention, so I sampled both of them. Their natural, sweet, loving way is enjoyable. After them, the others wanted their turn. I had been with Raey three times the day before, so she was not jealous and let me have my fun.

Raey is not as sexual as most women. She likes sex, but she desires intimacy and close friendship over carnal lust. She looks like a lady and behaves like a lady at all times. I suspect she came from old money. I never got her entire story; I think she has a skeleton or two in her family closet.

Later, as I drifted off to sleep, I was extremely happy. I was used to having several women of different genotypes to enjoy. Variety is the spice of life. I had finally achieved an acceptable level of partners. My sex drive is great, and I need it; no, I must have sex often, and no one woman could keep up with me for long. Five is good for now.

Four women on planet Chaos had been a minimum acceptable number. I had often tapped women outside of my four steadies on Chaos. A few came and went over the decade-plus while I’d lived there. I was no stranger to enticing a strange woman into bed with me. I was considerate, so women did not slander me.

I know I satisfied every one of them. Every woman I was with enjoyed several orgasms with me. Not that I was being noble; hell, my testicles required me to have sex frequently. I have a deep need that transcends lust. Wizards are a horny and needy lot.

The six of us kicked around, having sex over and over again. I looked back and knew sex and multiple partners were a significant factor in my happiness and my power.

I draw power directly from my sexual dalliances. It’s certainly an important component. It allows me to gather and maintain my power level. Thinking back to when I first constructed my internal energy core. I’d had many women living at my castle at that time.

I was already a wizard then, but not yet an Arch Wizard. The final step was the large number of horny women that serviced me daily. I had gathered many needy women to my castle. Only at that time did the tiny seed of my core come into being.

Over the following months on Rukac, I had added significantly to my growing core. I experimented because there were no books or writings on such an esoteric subject. I had to learn to draw the power to me. I was the only Arch Wizard on Rukac. I was the first in over a half millennium. Arch Wizards are exceedingly rare. Being blessed by Loditte was also a big factor.

I had brought the other three couples back to Cane City. We were past the three-month contract, and none of them said a word about it. We basically had progressed to an at-will relationship. They had reached permanent employment. To me, they were almost like family. We had grown close. They had become five families of their own.

Raey and Bundren were doing more flights and testing. When Raey and I had been in town, I had purchased two high-caliber rifles with telescopes added. They made minor changes as needed. They added two mounts for the rifles forward.

I finally worked on building my bombs. When I bought the rifles, I had bought ammo and reloading supplies. That included primers. Primers that I would integrate into the bombs. I also bought cork. My bomb nose cones were going to use cork. A screw was going to be the initiator; it would be screwed into the tip of a cone-shaped cork.

The cork would be attached to a thin hardwood separator. This would hold the primer. The back end of the separator and primer would open into the gunpowder chamber.

When a bomb was dropped, the cork would be crushed on hitting the target. That would drive the screw into the primer. That would set off the gunpowder.

Gunpowder was part of my loading supplies.

This was a very simple bomb. I knew they would be inspired by the design to make different types of bombs in the near future.

Four days of trials had me to the point where I was successfully building small bombs that worked reliably. It wasn’t difficult for me. I knew several advanced ways to build bombs.

This simple device was the right thing for this time. It was simple and effective. I am certain that Loditte was prompting me to make the bombs, the air ships too for that matter. To what purpose, only he knows at this point.

Obviously, the messenger corvette and many future ships were intended to be a starter for a better air force ship for the Dobrazi Army. Dobraz has a handful of army patrol ships used mostly for policing the skies. The initial target sales are most likely intended for a more serious flying army air force.

I built five small bombs. Three as prototypes for demonstration, and two extras in pieces to provide to the Army. The two extras were so whoever decided to manufacture the bombs had good examples. They were all small, and only the three prototypes held gunpowder.

We finally were happy with the Messenger Corvette and my bombs. I also cobbled together a simple rack to hold three bombs. It’s set out from the hull midships. Pulling a short lanyard would remove a pin that allowed a bomb to slide down and drop. This simple example was actually a cotter key that had slightly bent ends.

The lanyard was stout since it took some effort to pull the pin. The lanyard has a clip at one end for the cotter key and a wooden handle at the other. The lanyards and bombs are not intended to be stored on deck regularly. That’s an important safety consideration.

We set sail, leaving the two Ahting and the two island Girls behind. We took the sloop and the smaller ship. We intended to stay in Dovater for several weeks, maybe longer. We wanted a few more worker pairs. We needed the small ship so we had return transportation. We anticipated selling the Messenger Corvette quickly.

All five of our couples were happy as can be. We hoped they could get us some volunteers from people they know. If not, we would have to go to the contract hall and pay. That may be an issue if the contract hall wants to know where their earlier workers are.

The small Kozza-inspired ship is faster than the everyday standard freighter. This is mostly because of the light hull. It travels several klicks faster. The Messenger Corvette goes at least ten klicks faster per hour than the small Kozza ship. The added speed also makes it quicker to maneuver.

We ran drills and maneuvers between the two ships on the way to Dovater. By the time we arrived, both ships were operating professionally.

With the small Kozza ship, we decided we needed to replace the two round balloons in the future. This was much like the sausage-shaped single balloon the Messenger Corvette has. It would be time well spent if we kept the ship permanently.

We paid extra for the Messenger Corvette to be docked at the more public end of the airport. This would quickly attract attention.

Airships are still a relatively new phenomenon. They are still borrowing a lot of terminology and ideas from sailing ships, after all. It had been only seventy years since the invention of the steam engine. Air ships are very much in their infancy.

Steam engines were first used to manufacture cloth. Later, they were adapted for yard tugs to help waterborne ships tie up in port. Air ships were still quite new. Their first use is as a faster way to move important or valuable cargo. I.E., rich guys in a hurry. Think of a private air yacht for a rich, powerful man.

After settling the ship in a cradle, we set armed watches. Off-watch folks were permitted to go ashore. Raey and I stayed aboard with the armed watches.

It was less than an hour later when someone wished to come aboard.

It was the manager of the air port. By his dress, he has money and is probably a part owner of the facility.

I came out, “Hello, I am Khurick Atorn; this is Raey Irnie, the engineer and brains of the outfit. I am her business partner.”

He said, “I’m Egrill Krevik; I manage the Air Port. I had to inquire about your ship. Pardon me, but sir, this is the strangest ship I have ever seen.”

We both smiled. I said, “Yes, at first it appears she is homely to look at. The hull is made from grass cane. It is extremely light. This makes the ship exceptionally fast and maneuverable. She is built for one purpose: speed. We call her a messenger corvette. She’s good for delivering an important message or very important cargo quickly. Her size may even have a military use. We will have to see.”

Raey said, “Would you like to go up in her? Our boiler and heater are still warm. We can be in the air in minutes.”

He looked at her. “Uh, let me look around and get a feel for her first. I am worried it will all come undone and we will fall from the sky. It’s like it’s a bunch of twigs attached with string.”

He jumped up and down a couple of times. I had the two guards add fuel to the boiler and heater.

Egrill thumped a few walls. He tried to wiggle tie points where canes were lashed together. He shook his head many times.

He finally said, “Yes, it appears strong. I would love a short ride. I assume you are going to impress me with her abilities?

Raey said, “Quite right we are. Just wait.”

I yelled out, “All hands prepare to get underway.”

Two line handlers from the port appeared and untied our mooring lines. Our watch standers pulled our lines aboard. One took the heater controls, and the other one went into the engine room to control the engine.