Chapter 54: Preparing for the Open Ship

The rest of the morning I spent either watching a collection of concubines and citizens chasing the few children in the village around the open area, or participating in the chaos. Everyone found a moment to remark on the color of the new sun, it was too orange, or the color of the sky, purple. But after a couple of nervous glances, most people started to ignore it.

We did notice that the shadows seemed a bit deeper than we were used to, but other than that, the light seemed as nice as what we remembered from Earth. The only other major observation was that there were no clouds and the air felt dry.

My crew appeared to be very uncertain. Not about my command, but they had concerns about leaving their concubines behind. I tried to assure them that there were powerful rules about who could talk to their concubines, and that the planet had no wildlife that might attack them. In the end most grudgingly admitted that they had no solid reason for fear.

The day passed quickly. I went to bed with the sun still a couple of inches above the horizon. My ladies had decided that I needed a special night. It started with Miki giving me a long slow massage just to relax me. Constance replaced her, giving me a sensual striptease that nearly got me to cum without a single touch from the once combative young woman.

Tatyana, Lenore and Aine also got to spend a dozen or so minutes teasing and pleasing me. When I finally took Ashley and carried her to the bed I was already feeling very relaxed and loved. I can’t say what the main purpose was, but my ladies did a wonderful job getting me to forget my fears for the next day.

I cannot say that I slept perfect, but I was slumbering peacefully when the harsh buzz of the alarm woke me. I sat up and was a bit surprised when Ashley jumped out of my arms and immediately stood up.

“What?” I asked.

“You told the AI to wake you at three fifteen,” Ashley said. “We all talked about it and decided that we’d get up with you for once. It only seems fair that we form a greeting party for any concubines visiting, which means we need to see it before the crew starts to arrive.”

“I’m sure very few will show up right at four,” I said as I rolled to the edge of the bed. I stood up to find that Ashley was holding out a uniform for me.

“I asked the AI to produce your captain’s uniform. This one looks a bit different,” she said.

I grabbed it and stood up. “What about a shower?” I asked.

“No time if we want to be at the ship before anyone else,” Ashley said. “But do you expect any of your men to arrive without a goodbye from their concubines? They might see them for a couple of weeks or more.”

“Most likely more,” I said. “Corsica and Ipanema are responsible for scouting quite a few systems. I can’t say how often we’ll be able to return to Crucibleat.”

“I hope it will be often. I am really going to miss having you in my arms at night,” Ashley said. “Now get dressed. I’ll get something for you to eat and get into my costume.”

“Costume?” I asked as I slipped my right leg into the one piece jumpsuit of the uniform. The fabric expanded enough to allow me to slide my leg on, but quickly contracted once my foot settled into the built in sock of the uniform.

I sat down to put my left leg into the uniform as Ashley turned away and walked over to the replicator in the bedroom. She refused to answer as I finished getting my legs settled into the strange fabric. It gave enough that I was able to slide my foot into the pant leg, but was tightly form-fitting once I stood back up with my legs fully clothed.

The uniform seemed to be missing any fasteners for the shirt, but once I had slid my arms into the sleeves I found that the fabric easily sealed up the middle of my torso. The mechanism was not visible, but once I placed the two halves of the uniform together across my chest they morphed into a single piece.

“I wonder how I’ll take this off,” I muttered.

“Confederacy ship uniforms are designed to handle vacuum and combat conditions. Removal is accomplished by pressing on the fabric at the back of the neck. This will alert the nanobots to reverse the process that makes the uniform once piece of uncut fabric,” the AI informed me.

“Smart,” I said as I bent down and picked up the left boot. These were made out of the same surprisingly flexible material, but added a solid sole. The boots easily slid over my feet and then sealed to the fabric covering my legs. I did not even look at the connection as I picked up the gloves and slipped them on.

“Wow,” Ashley said breathlessly. “You look like something out of a science fiction movie.”

“This isn’t fiction for us anymore. This is life,” I said tiredly. The gloves fit perfectly and like the boots immediately merged with the rest of the uniform. “Is this the entire uniform?”

Ashley nodded. “I can’t understand it though. Every spacesuit I’ve ever seen has some kind of helmet, but there was none.”

“Many races of the Confederacy evolved in large open areas. They are uncomfortable in any enclosed space. Wearing a helmet can become a source of mental agony. The suit you are wearing has specialized nanobots. Should you find yourself in a vacuum they can extend protection around your head and seal in atmosphere,” the AI said.

“Quickly?” I asked.

“It takes less than a second,” the AI replied. “And the nanobots are already programmed to automatically perform such an action should a ship enter battlestations.”

“What about air?” I asked. “This suit doesn’t look like it contains a tank to hold air.”

“Another set of nanobots activates should the helmet be formed. Their sole purpose is to take carbon dioxide and convert it back into breathable oxygen,” the AI said. “The suit also contains connections at the waist and on the back which can connect to external tanks.”

“Wow,” Ashley said. “That’s smart. I have another reason to believe you’ll be coming home in time to see our child born.”

“Our first one. I’m thinking I want to get you pregnant a few times,” I said with a smile.

“Oh Mark!” Ashley said as she blushed. She bent over to pull some panties on.

“Great,” Lenore said from behind me. “Make her feel even more loved. We’ll never get the smile off her face now.”

I started to walk to the door. It was starting to open when I heard movement behind me.

“Give us five minutes,” I heard Aine call out.

“I’m getting a quick bite to eat,” I said. “And then we have to walk to the teleportal station. I believe its just south of our home.”

“The administration pod for this settlement is four hundred sixty-two meters south and thirty-five west of this pod. It is marked by a flagpole currently flying a red flag with a grey crucible in the center,” the AI said.

“What? Why?” Constance asked.

“The flag makes sense, it fits the name. As for why, for the same reason flags were used on Earth in ancient times. It serves as a visual marker. For us, we just have to look for the flag and we know where the administration building is,” I said.

Ashley came over and put her arms around me. “I’ll get your food. Do you want a steak breakfast?”

“I shouldn’t, but go ahead,” I said. “But hurry. I do want to get to the ship first.”

Ashley released me and then ran out the door. She was wearing some blue boyshort panties and a backless top that stopped well above her waist. My jaw dropped as the door started to close on me.