Chapter 52: One Night on Crucible

Constance eventually left my arms. Miki was next to hold onto me. My little Japanese beauty had been the quietest over the past few hours. This did not change once I was holding her as she just clung to me and shivered.

I just stroked her back and looked at the others as the pod continued to fall through the atmosphere. No one seemed interested in talking so we listened to a faint howl as we waited.

Finally the motion stopped. It happened so suddenly that the silence accompanying it shocked everyone. Matti jumped to her feet and looked around. “Are we dead?” she asked.

“The living pod for Citizen Mark Parker has successfully landed on Crucible. Preliminary measurements indicate that it missed the exact landing spot by nine millimeters west and fourteen millimeters south. Do you wish this to be corrected?” the AI asked.

“No, the error is not that large,” I said.

Aine burst out laughing. Miki and Tatyana howled.

“Not that large?” Miki asked. “Are you trying to prove that you can make a major understatement? Mark, that isn’t an error at all, that’s just static.”

“It’s all good,” I said. “AI, can we go outside? Also what time is it, and what would the local equivalent be? With the day being less than twenty-four hours long the clock is going to slowly end up off.”

“What do we do about that?” Ashley asked.

“Nothing,” I said as I looked up at the ceiling.

“Current time is twenty one thirty two hours,” the AI responded. “Based on the shorter day on Crucible midnight will likely be in about one hour and dawn would be around oh four hundred hours. It is recommended that no one leave the pod for the next hour, as other pods are still landing in the vicinity. No problems are expected, but it is safer to remain sheltered in the pods until no more are moving.”

“And we have our answer and our orders,” I said. “Well, since it will likely be midnight before we could go out and dawn will come early, I recommend that we have a sleepover. Who wants to get the replicator to make sleeping bags and can we move the table and couches to open up some space?”

Ashley laughed. “You want to do what?”

“A sleepover. We’ll put down sleeping bags and pillows. We’ll watch a couple of cheesy movies. Maybe play cards and then all sleep on the floor in here,” I said.

Lenore looked at Angelique. “Mark? What about my daughter?”

“This is a sleepover, not an orgy. We had that last night,” I said firmly. “Erica, Angelique and my sister are invited to this one ... As long as Erica replicates the popcorn.”

“Awww,” my concubines said as Matti burst out laughing. Erica shook a fist in my direction before jumping up and heading to the replicator.

“Hey,” I said. “This isn’t our last night together for a while. Remember that I commanded that everyone take tomorrow night as their last night with their concubines before we board Corsica at oh six hundred.”

“Can we look at Corsica?” Ashley asked.

“AI? Would it be possible to allow concubines to teleport up to Corsica tomorrow as long as they return home before we separate from the dock?” I asked.

“They would need to be escorted to and from the teleportal,” the AI said. “If your crew are willing to escort their concubines, it will be allowed.”

“So everyone can see where I’ll be working,” I said.

“I’d like that,” Matti said. “I never got to look in the simulation rooms.”

“Oh, you mean I’ll get to see where Daddy works?” Erica asked.

“Sure,” I said as I stood up and moved towards the table. I was reaching for it when it started to descend into the floor. I stood in shock as the table and all of the couches sank out of sight.

“What?” Lenore asked. She was standing and holding Angelique in her arms.

Ashley was looking around the room. “You know, this is now perfect for a sleepover. You don’t think?”

“AI, is this normal?” I asked.

“Sleepover requests are common with younger citizens or citizens with teenage concubines,” the AI replied tonelessly.

“So its planned in the design,” I said. “Well, go and get ready.”

“Ready?” Constance asked.

“You’ve never been part of a sleepover?” I asked.

“I’d have killed myself before bringing another girl home to my pervert father!” Constance snapped.

“What about being invited?” Ashley asked. “I know the twins invited lots of girls to their sleepovers.”

“My father forbid me,” Constance said. “He would threaten to rape me if I dared to go.”

“That man was fucked up,” Lenore said bitterly. “Well, its been a while for me, but I remember.”

“Lenore!” I said pretending to be shocked. “In front of your own daughter.”

“She won’t be sheltered,” Lenore said quietly as she headed for the largest replicator in the room. “I want her to be prepared and understand how to handle adults when she becomes one.”

“She has a few years to go,” I said fondly.

Tatyana came and hugged me from behind. I felt her breasts press into my back. “You aren’t dressed for a sleepover,” she told me.

I looked down. I was wearing some comfortable shorts and a t-shirt. “What? It works. I’ve never been one to wear pajamas.”