Chapter 17

Inari woke up, stretching languidly as she came back to consciousness. Sleep was always good, but she knew that she needed to be awake. It had been a bit of a pain, readjusting to a more military lifestyle again, but she was glad for the routine. Despite her constant workout sessions, Inari felt herself getting fat and lazy, Well, maybe not fat, but lazy for sure.

She slipped out of bed and saw Priya stirring next to her. Inari knew that the East Indian woman would soon be awake and decided to get through the morning routine. After doing her business and brushing her teeth, Inari stepped under the shower head. Turning it on, it was soon giving off hot steam from the water falling down, a feeling she always enjoyed.

Hearing the pitter patter of bare feet, she glanced around and saw Pree walking over from the sink. She then wrapped herself around her lover, enjoying the warmth she was giving off.

“You’re so warm!”

“And you’re freezing!” Inari squawked as she fought to pry Priya’s hands from her. Pree giggled as she leeched the warmth from her love before finally letting go. In response to her little stunt, Inari swatted her ass hard enough to cause the other woman to yip. Pree then fired a glare at her, which had Inari glare back. Finding she couldn’t hold it, Priya broke first, turning away and focusing on the falling water.

“Damn it! How do you always win those?” Pree pouted.

“Force of will dear. Sheer force of will,” Inari told her with a smile. Pouting that she’d lost yet another staring match, Pree’s mood lightened when she felt Inari’s hands massaging her sore butt cheek.

“Normally I wouldn’t be thing about that, but it is nice,” Pree cooed as she let herself be rubbed.

Inari purred as she did this, glad to see that her love was being less snarky lately. She could feel that the dynamic between them had changed, and she knew how it had changed for her. What she didn’t know was how it had changed for Priya. She’d been more receptive to a lot of things lately, which had surprised the older woman in a pleasant way.

Inari lost herself in her thoughts, knowing the direction of where she was headed with them. It was something she had long given up on but was more than welcome to come back to her life. She sighed, letting the heat of the shower and the warmth of her lover next to her lull her into a place of safety, at least for a little while.

Luminia was already out of her shower and currently brushing her hair, pulling out the kinks and snarls that had formed overnight. She was grateful to both Inari and Priya for showing her the basics of self-grooming. Sure, she knew how to do these things back on Talemkha but was limited in the manner of tools and techniques to do all of this.

The mirror itself was something that she knew many Artucian would kill to have. Able to see her own reflection, Luminia could see where exactly she had work on as far as her look was concerned. Her hair was completely straight and would fall down her back the way she wanted. She smiled at herself, her four eyes blinking at her beautiful reflection in the silvered glass.

She always knew that she had caught the attention of males and was considered pretty. But now that she could clean up on a regular basis, she was positively stunning. Though she wasn’t vain by any stretch, Luminia could see just how much had changed in how everyone interacted with her. Being clean as often as she was, seemed to project the same radiance that her mother did.

Though her mother was considered a great beauty, she was certain that much would change. When she got the chance to go through the paces of a daily shower and clean up, she would be revered as a goddess. Lumi smiled at the thought of it and wondered what Sohlkris would think. No doubt he’d be drooling all over Valessa, given half a chance. He was probably doing that already, seeing how close the two of them had become in the past few weeks.

Luminia looked over her azure blue skin one last time, making sure that she looked and felt clean. Seeing and feeling nothing on her, she moved back into her room and started to get dressed. She went with a simpler set of attire today; knee high black boots and thick snowy white stockings that went up past mid-thigh.

Underwear and a bra of course, which went under a simple one piece, cream colored dress that covered her from the neck down to her knees. It wasn’t very revealing, but the way it hugged her frame, left little to the imagination. Smiling at her look, she turned on her heels and left the room, following the smells that her nose picked up.

“You sure that you’re going to be OK?” Korsa teased as she watched Shazza walking around.

“Yes Korsa, I’ll be all right! I’ve taken a pounding like that before. It might have been pushing my limits a little, but it was so worth it!” Shazza told the big woman as she dressed.

“It’s good to know that I can satisfy the inner freak within you,” Korsa stated as she pulled in her lover for a hug.

“I think we both have inner freaks. The look on your face tells me that you’re just as happy as I am today,” Shazza said while looking to her.

“So true! Now let’s get a move on! I don’t want to miss breakfast!”

Nodding in agreement, Shazza was a second behind Korsa in leaving, the void in her stomach needing to be filled. Both women followed the aroma of frying pastries and cooking meat. They entered the Officer’s Mess, to the smell of fried chicken and ... pancakes? The moment Korsa saw the table, she knew who had been cooking.

“Nats made her famous chicken and waffles?” Korsa wondered with a smirk.

“Yup! She’s just finishing the last batch of chicken now. Should be out in a moment,” Inari stated. Sure enough, Natalya, Kasumi and Alex walked out of the kitchen, arms laden with platters full of deep fried chicken and waffles. Alex carried a tray loaded with condiments, such as syrup, jam, peanut butter and so on. Both women seated themselves as the platters landed on the table.

“Just one moment. Need to grab one last thing,” Kasumi said before heading back into the kitchen with Alex right behind her. They came out once again, with pitchers full of coffee, black tea, iced tea and orange juice. Doffing the aprons they were wearing, the trio sat down and advised everyone to start serving themselves.

Not needing any further encouragement, everyone helped themselves to generous portions of breakfast. The crew smacked their lips in anticipation and were soon stuffing their faces. Shazza, never having had this kind of a breakfast, found it a bit odd, but enjoyable all the same! How flavorful the chicken was, when mixed with the spices that Nats used and how it came together beautifully with the waffles and syrup!

“Well, I think I should get this out of the way, by your leave, Commodore?” Korsa wondered.

“Speak your mind, Doctor.”

“Now that there are some additional people who are manifesting abilities akin to your own, I would also like to start running the same battery of tests on them that I have on you. I want to see if any of the results that have come from you, correlate with what we’ve found with your results, sir,” the doctor told him.

“Speaking of which, do you have the final results from those tests?” Alex wondered, curious if Korsa had any answers.

“I do sir, but I would like to lump everything in on one presentation, just so everyone is brought up to speed at the same time,” she told him.

“Very well, Doctor. Preform your tests and take what samples you need, then inform us when everything is ready,” the big man told her. “Anyone have any issues with these tests?”

The entire crew shook their heads, each woman now wanting the same answers that Alex sought. No one there was entirely sure how this happened, but anything that Korsa could dig up would be worth any number of tests.

“Good to see that everyone is being sensible. If we are to fully understand this ... power ... that we can wield, then we will be able to exert a measure of control over it. Without that, there is no way we will be able to proceed with our mission,” he stated, and the ladies agreed with him.

Having no control over this power would not only endanger themselves, but others around them. That was something that no one would be willing to risk, no matter the gains they would make from its use.

“Here’s hoping that you make some headway with the translations from those books, Talon. How’s the copy work coming along by the way?” Nats asked.

“Nearly done, but Jaesa and I have made little progress in decoding it. A lot of stuff seems like it’s in Artucian, but it’s almost like it was another form of the language. I need a better baseline if I’m going to be able to decode it any further,” the catgirl told the crew.

“Maybe we will find the answers in the Ark! You say it is like the runes of my people?” Luminia asked.

“Yeah. It’s similar in some ways but deviating into an offshoot that I have no idea how to decode,” Taal’ani replied.

“It is possible that such information lies aboard the Ark! It may not be much, but it could give you a place to start!” Luminia enthused.

“That would certainly give us something more than what we currently have!” Jaesa stated, popping in on a nearby holo emitter.

“I take it that you are having trouble with the translations as well?” Alex wondered.

“Yes, sir and I am afraid to report that things do get worse from there,” she stated.

“Explain.”

“I have performed a more detailed scan of all the wrecks that have crashed on Talemkha. My recent analysis has determined that there are not enough materials needed to repair the Perseus’ hyperdrive. Most of the required elements and materials have become completely inert and useless to us. We will require a fair bit more than what lies on the planet below in order to restore the ship,” the AI reported glumly.

“Damn it! I had hoped there would be enough to get us out of here. Finding a proper life bearing world is essential before we can wake those colonists,” Alex grumbled. “Our sublight engines are fully operational, at least?”

“Yes sir, but it would take a long while before we would find another system among the stars,” Jaesa replied. “On top of which, with the tertiary Solaris reactor operational, power to the ship is at over seventy percent and holding. But we will require more than eighty-five percent power to activate the hyperdrive. So, we will also require additional materials to start up the primary Solaris reactor, sir.”

“Speaking of which, how is the primary Solaris reactor Jaesa? I believe that it is close to ending its life cycle?” Natalya asked.

“That is correct, Lt. Commander Vostrikov. I would recommend that it be jettisoned today, so as to spare any issues with pushing it out as it enters its next phase,” the AI remarked.

“Sir, permission to head down to Engineering to jettison the Solaris reactor, before its hits red giant phase?” Nats asked, standing at attention.

“Permission granted, Lt. Commander. Take Warrant Officer Taal’ani with you to help ensure the process is free of issues. Jaesa, assist them however you can. Keep me posted of your progress,” Alex ordered.

“Aye, aye, sir!” the three women saluted before leaving the Officer’s Mess. Stanley then popped up as Jaesa faded.

“Sir, is there any way in which I can be of assistance?” the VI asked.

“Yes Stanley. Assist Jaesa in whatever capacity she requires. The more hands on deck handling the Solaris reactor extraction, the better,” Alex told the program.

“Sir, yes sir!” the VI said saluting, before he too faded.

“Nats, when you’re done with that, head up to the Hospital wing as soon as you are able. I still need to run those tests on you, just like everyone else,” she told her adoptive daughter over the comms.

“No worries mama! I’ll be on my way up as soon at the old reactor is clear of the ship!” Natalya replied.

“Good girl! Be safe!”

“Always mama!” Nats replied before cutting the line.

“Anyone have any ideas on how we’re going to get the hyperdrive materials?” Kasumi wondered.

“Well, as far as paying for them in concerned, I have an idea for that,” Inari stated.

“Oh? Please, share it,” Alex asked, as he finished his last bite of food.

“Well, this ship is a veritable treasure trove of items that came from Earth, before we were driven off it. Some of these things would be worth a lot of money, to the right buyers,” Inari said.

“And I would guess that you know which buyers to speak to?” Kasumi guessed.

“Though we have been merchant traders as our official profession, we’ve also done a few black market deals. The people I know were trustworthy enough. Anyone who thought to cross us, spoke to the business end of our weapons,” Inari said with a smirk.

“Good to know! So, I assume there won’t much in the way of trouble when trading a few of these items?” Alex queried.

“Nah. They heard about what happened to the last guys who double crossed us. No one wants a repeat of that, especially anyone who employs or trades with us,” she told the big man.

“What did happen to the last group who crossed you ladies?” he wondered curiously.

“I’ll tell you about it later, sir. If I forget, remind me to tell you about our job on Tahrion V. One hell of a story, that is almost as good as the one we are writing now,” she said.

“That good is it?” he smirked.

“Yes, it is! Now, how are we going to get out of the system, with no ship capable of hyperspace?” she wondered.

“I am already working on something, but I intended it to be a surprise. Seems like that cat’s out of the bag right now,” he grumbled as he stood. “Let’s get everything cleaned up and then head down to the shipwright sector. There is something that you all need to see.”

Everyone present quickly moved along, getting the whole room tidied in almost record time. Inari and Priya moved the fastest, both women eager to see what he had planned. He smirked as he witnessed the whole room getting cleaned in five minutes. He gestured for them to follow him and they boarded a cart at the nearby monorail station.

After instructing the cart to take them to the shipwright sector, the crew sat in silence during the ride. The women knew that they weren’t prying any answers out of their commanding officer. All they could do right now, was wait until they arrived. Six minutes later, they arrived at the station and Alex led the way.

“You know, I’ve had to go through a lot of design ideas and the like, before finding something decent. With a few tweaks to the design, I settled on something that I thought would be fitting for such kickassitude women,” Alex told them.

They walked past several quiet workshops, until they approached one that was active, as indicated by the holographic panels displaying its status. The doors parted as the approached and the ladies were transfixed by what was happening. In the construction bay, they were watching a frigate being assembled. The superstructure, the wiring, all of it was being put together with what seemed like brand new pieces.

“Say hello to the new and improved Darkstrider ladies!”

“That’s the Darkstrider?” Inari asked, incredulous at what she was seeing.

“At the very core, yes. Once all the weapons and personal effects were removed, I had the whole thing taken apart. From there, everything was melted down and recast into new parts and substructure. This is me, giving you your ship back, but a vastly improved version of it,” Alex told her.

“The computers, containing everything? Talon’s personal rig?” Inari wondered, hoping that those weren’t recycled.

“Those have been set aside, until Taal’ani can come on up here and go over everything, making sure that the ship is up to her specs. I won’t pretend to know anything about how the ships systems are supposed to come together. That’s the realm of Jaesa and Talon, who are assigned to handle that,” the big man stated.

Inari walked forward, looking over the various bots and mechanized arms reassembling her ship. Though she was saddened by the Darkstrider being dismantled and melted down, it made sense. The fact that the new ship was being rebuilt with the old, made Inari smile.

“Thank you, sir! I greatly appreciate this! We greatly appreciate this!” Inari enthused, tripping over her words a little. The rest of the crew was likewise enthusiastic in their approval, several of them walking forward to get a closer look.

“With your new ship, I’ve spared no resource or expense for it. I’ve upgraded the weapons on it, so taking on bigger ships, such as destroyers, won’t be much of an issue. Added in torpedo tubes, four facing forward and one facing aft, along with close range repeater cannons. Your new main weapon is the pulsar cannons, designed to wear down enemy shields quickly,” Alex started.

“Pulsar cannons?” Inari asked.

“A unique weapon that we had developed before the Prometheus vessels launched. Very much like laser cannons but modulated to short out the shields of a ship. Once the shields are down, successive hits would start shorting out the electrical systems on a ship. The cannons can also be attuned to deliver standard laser energy bursts, which can melt the armor of most ships,” he explained.

“Shields?”

“Yes. Upgraded shield systems, designed to stop soft and hard ordinance, Updated armor plating, making hits on any wiring or critical systems a thing of the past,” he stated. “You would also have updated flight controls, along with a better ship design, making your ability to dodge incoming fire much easier,” Alex went on.

“This is ... amazing! You are outfitting us with a state of the art ship!!” Inari squealed joyously.

“Well, as state of the art as these old foundries are, which I would assume isn’t much,” he said.

“Actually, sir, this ship is far more advanced than most of the ship that most races have out there!” the Iranian woman told him.

“You’re bullshitting me, right? The Perseus isn’t outdated?” he asked.

“No sir! In fact, it’s easily one of the most advanced ships that I know of! Few spacefaring races have even reached this level of tech, much less surpassed it!” she told him honestly.

“How is that possible?”

“The Black Crusade of the Xuul’khan sir. So much was lost during that conflict, that the galaxy as a whole is still recovering,” she told him matter of factly.

“Hmph!” he grunted, thinking back to when humankind had first discovered that ship back on Earth.

Alex was certain that there were other races far more advanced than humanity was, but they were not. It was surprising to him that they had lost so much during the time when he was asleep. He wondered what would have happened, had there been no Black Crusade. There was no sense in mulling over the past, the ‘what ifs’ and ‘what could have beens’, got no one nowhere.

“Well, I suppose that this ship and everything it has will be a game changer. You are certain that no one knows about this system?” he asked, his face going from pensive to worried.

“When we jumped into it, we did a scan for any trace of gas trails and came up with nothing. This sector of space is considered wild space, sir. If it hadn’t been for the sensor grid that was built on the Darkstrider, we probably would have been dead,” she told him seriously.

“That’s good news! Speaking of a sensor grid, we have crafted a new one for the Darkstrider. This one is now capable of scanning at least two point seven three parsecs of space at any given time,” he told her. “And, we have taken apart and are rebuilding your hyperdrive and your power core. It’s not a Solaris reactor, but it will provide you with enough power to jump start a heavy cruiser, if you need that much power.”

“Sir, I...” Inari began, just overwhelmed by how much she was getting for her new ship.

“Please Inari, we’ve been intimate in some ways, so call me Alex when it’s just us or the others around,” he told her.

“Ok ... Alex,” she said with a happy smile.

“There are still a few goodies that have to come into play when completing this ship, but that is where both Nats and Talon come into play,” he said.

“Alex, if you don’t mind, I have a question to ask of you,” she told him.

“Go ahead.”

“Why a frigate? I mean, I’m grateful for you rebuilding the ship to be bigger than what we had it as. But why something this sizeable? Could you have gone bigger? Like a destroyer or a cruiser?” she asked.

“The answer to that is simple. It’s the happy medium between what we need and what we want. A freighter is too small to get everything we need and anything as large as a destroyer attracts too much attention. If anything, we need to be able to get what we need out there and be gone without anyone giving us a second thought. It’s a big galaxy out there, with plenty of opportunists,” he started.

“Cruising about in the Perseus is all well and good, but it paints a bullseye on all of our backs. I don’t want anyone from my crew getting hurt or taken. The Perseus is too important and too valuable to be stolen or stripped by scavengers. Besides, with something as small as the Darkstrider flying around, no one is likely to give us a second glance. For now, stealth is the game we have to play,” he finished.

“Makes sense. At least until the Alliance and the fleet is rebuilt, with the colonists settled,” Inari commented.

“Exactly so. Finding a system that is unclaimed and has at least one Gaia class planet is essential if we’re going to get the Perseus moving again. Don’t want to take any unnecessary risks with those people. They are my responsibility after all,” the large Croat said.

“Besides, it’s not like I’m rendering the ship toothless or not making accommodations for you and your crew. It’s the main reason why I decided to let you in on the construction of it. If you have any ideas you wish to integrate into the design, here you go,” he said, handing her the progress and design tablet he held.

Inari squeed in delight and was running through the various aspects of the ship’s construction. Priya skipped up to the woman and was looking over the interface, adding her two bits in here and there as Inari looked through the design.

“Alex, you mentioned that both Natalya and Taal’ani would have to weigh in on the construction. Talon, I get, because we need her to put everything together for the ship’s controls and interface. Natalya is an engineer, but everything here seems to be well in hand,” she said.

“The stealth drive she designed would require her attention. While an inspired piece of technology, it seems more like it was cobbled together from what scrap was available. I’d have her rebuild the whole thing from the ground up. Plus, any improvements she could make to it would also make things easier on us,” he explained.

Inari made an ‘Oh’ face, before busying herself with the tablet once more. Alex was standing over them as Korsa approached from around the ship, with both Shazza and Kasumi in tow.

“Alex, I think that you have created something amazing here! I’m really looking forward to seeing how this ship comes together,” she told him.

“As am I!”

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to drag these two down to Medical and run the same battery of tests on them that I did on you,” Korsa said.

“Hopefully glean some answers as to why this is happening and the like?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” she chirped.

“All right then. Here’s hoping that you can find something that explains all of this that’s happening right now,” he told her, before dismissing her, the Captain and the Sergeant.

Both women smiled at him, before following Korsa down to the monorail station. Alex went back to where Inari and Priya were yammering. He could only hope that Korsa would find some answers to all of this, as there was a lot that wasn’t making sense to him. If there was anything that Alex needed, it was answers as to why this energy had all suddenly manifested like it had.

Natalya and Taal’ani were going over the readings in the reactor room and had prepped everything they needed for the jettison. The energy levels of the primary reactor were starting to peter out and it needed to be removed from the ship and soon. Though logic dictated to try running the reactor dry, to squeeze every watt of power out of it, it was far too dangerous to even attempt it.

The Solaris reactor would soon have no more hydrogen to burn, sending it to its Red Giant phase. Nats was certain that the hydrogen in the miniature sun was nearly gone, if not already fully burned out. Though the power levels would dip to below sixty percent, it would be enough to keep the ship going. More importantly, the remaining power would keep the colonists alive in their cryo pods.

Those colonists were going to have one hell of a wake up call, when they learned about everything that happened. Natalya could only hope that some of them wouldn’t give into despair when they learned of how the galaxy had changed. She knew that there likely would be some who could not handle the change, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.

Banishing those morose thoughts, she put her focus back to her job. So far, all the release couplings looked good and everything was operating normally. Talon was going over the procedures and so far, had cleaned up several glitches that would have seen the reactor stuck. Nats was really glad that Taal’ani was there helping her, though Jaesa was also invaluable in her assistance as well.

“Jaesa, how’s the repositioning of the Perseus coming along?” Natalya asked.

“We are maybe sixty seconds from the angle needed to have a correct trajectory. You are certain that the star charts are accurate Talon?” the AI asked.

“Absolutely! Charybdis’ Maw is in that direction and it’s the best place to send an errant Red Giant. How are all the protocols looking?” the catgirl asked.

“Everything is green and ready for launch. Thirty seconds!” Jaesa warned.

“Standing by. Ready on your mark!” Natalya informed her as the doors beneath the reactor opened. They waited through the countdown, ready to time the jettison correctly.

“Four ... three ... two ... one ... launch!” the AI called out.

Natalya punched the button and the cradle containing the Solaris reactor was launched. The room became much duller and the doors closed right behind the reactor, sealing the room shut once again. A few minutes later, the sensors displayed all green, and by video, Natalya was able to tell that the reactor had cleared the ship.

“The reactor has reached optimal velocity and is on its way out of the system. I calculate at least three weeks before it clears the outer planets. From there, it should be a straight shot to Charybdis’ Maw,” Jaesa informed the ladies.

“Excellent news! Are we clear to begin righting the ship?” Natalya asked.

“I have already begun doing so. Engines and retro thrusters are on full and we should be upright within a few minutes,” the AI told them.

“Fantastic! Initiate the procedure for the replacement structure for the Solaris reactor,” Natalya commanded.

“Procedure commencing. Estimated time to completion; seventy-two hours,” Jaesa informed them.

“Thank you Jaesa! Could you let mama know that Talon and I are on the way to Medical?” she asked.

“Done! I will monitor the progress of the Solaris cradle and keep you appraised of any changes.”

“Thank you!” Natalya said as she and Taal’ani left, heading down to the monorail station. Nats was in a jolly mood, humming along, happy as a clam, which Taal’ani noticed and asked about.

“You’re in an awful chipper mood. What’s got you dancing on cloud nine?” she wondered.

“He loves me!” she said simply.

“Wait, what??”

“And I love him!”

“Wait, what?!? You two love each other??” Taal’ani gasped.

“All three of us love each other! It’s an amazing feeling, to have this much love washing over you,” Nats gushed, her face one of perfect happiness.

“I ... I...” Talon started, speechless for the first time in years. She looked at her friend and could tell that this wasn’t the high of some fling. This wasn’t just hormones taking over her rational mind either. This was real and it was true.

“Nats, I’m so happy for you!” Taal’ani squeed as she hugged her friend. “You’re really deep in, you know that?”

“Oh, I know. Trust me, I know how deep in I am right now,” Natalya told her friend.

“So ... how does it ... work?” Talon wondered tenuously.

“Well, there is a lot that we all talk about and we keep the lines of communication open. For instance, if he wants some time, or the night with Kas, I know about it. If he wants some time with me, Kas knows about it. Or if Kas and I want some ‘girls only’ time, he knows. Communication between everyone is key in triad relationships,” Natalya explained.

“Hmm. Didn’t think about it that way,” Talon admitted.

“When it comes to triads, polycules and so on, keeping an open mind and communicating is key. There is also the fact that love isn’t a finite thing, like some people tend to believe. Love, as an emotion, is infinite because there is no end to how much you love someone, or in my case, two someones,” Natalya told her.