Part 14

Chapter 57

Several minutes later, I had to stop watching the view screen as we twisted and turned along the path through the Wastes, missing by feet, and sometimes inches, asteroids far bigger than we were. I trusted Crystal and the other AIs implicitly, but watching still made me nervous.

“Approaching the intersection,” Crystal announced nearly an hour later. The AIs and the bots laughed when I let out an explosive breath of relief.

“Tell Rampage to end their pursuit,” I ordered. I didn’t want them nearby if the raider ship exploded.

Crystal had us positioned behind an asteroid and right above its horizon so we could train our forward weapons on the raider ship.

“Rampage reports only one human aboard the ship. The rest of the crew is bots. The lone raider is on the bridge,” Crystal reported.

“Crystal, prepare a firing solution to hit where you estimate the bridge will be. Have all other weapons ready for follow-up shots in case the shots to the bridge aren’t enough,” I ordered.

“Yes, Captain. Firing solution for the bridge where I expect the raider ship to appear is calculated. All other weapons are online and ready to fire,” she reported.

“Fire as soon as the raider ship appears, and be ready to drop below the asteroid’s horizon if you sense the same explosive device being armed,” I ordered.

Sixty-three interminable seconds later, a split second before the raider ship was actually visible; Crystal fired two of the forward cannons. The raider ship flew right into the shots and immediately began fountaining debris into space.

“Raider ship is disabled; the lone raider is dead. No sign that the explosive device has been armed,” Crystal reported.

We sent shuttles to the ship, which had automatically stopped. Twenty minutes later, they reported that the ship had been secured. The explosive device had been there, but hadn’t been armed. It took an hour to remove the explosives. They added two more AIs to the ship to help us control it. The original AI was fully cooperative, and the ship, Topper, was functional.

By now, Rampage had arrived and sent a crew over to the raider ship to assist. They also sent a shuttle and bots to weld plates over the two holes in the hull. While they were working, I turned to Crystal and had her take us to the secret Navy base as it was the closest place with an FTL system.

“Crystal, please see if you are able to contact Father on Athens. Hopefully, by now, the troops will be mopping up and Father will be in his office or aboard his command shuttle.

“Your father is in his office trying to contact you,” she commented and then the screen came to life.

“Edward,” Father exclaimed happily.

“Greetings, Father, how goes the battle?” I asked.

“Finished. The battle was rather anticlimactic, thanks to you,” he replied. “How goes your pursuit?”

“Also done. One ship was destroyed; the other has been captured with slight damage, although the raider leader died. Hopefully, we will be able to glean further intelligence from the ship’s AI. That means all six of the top raider leaders are now dead. As soon as the raider ship is patched up, we will make for Athens.”

“You will be expected to stay long enough to be hailed as a hero,” another voice stated as a new face moved behind Father where I could see it. It was the Emperor!

“My Emperor, barring any unforeseen difficulties, consider me at your disposal for the immediate future,” I replied.

“Thank you, Edward, for everything,” he replied solemnly before moving back out of the picture.

“We should be back in a few hours, Father.”

“Everyone is looking forward to your return, especially your mother and Lisette,” he smirked. I heard several male voices chuckling in the background, and wondered who all was there with Father as the connection terminated.

By the time the raider ship had been repaired, the AI had given us the ship’s destination; one of six worlds beyond the Wastes that no longer appeared on the star charts, not even the charts the raiders used. Only the top six leaders had known of their existence. This ship had been carrying the head of the raiders as he attempted to escape to the world he had claimed and established for himself. He’d had defensive systems installed that he hoped would protect him if he was found.

The AI showed over two hundred women captives at each of the planets the top six leaders had selected for themselves and had built up. There were a hundred fully armed bots on each planet to maintain security, as well as two hundred fifty more bots who oversaw the necessary agriculture and construction on each planet. Each of the leaders had a large stash of valuables, and a dozen Stepfords waiting for him.

I had Crystal transmit the location of each planet to the corvettes we had captured at the Stepford planet and ordered them to guard their assigned planet for the time being. They were not to land unless it was necessary to protect the captives on the planet. The AIs aboard each corvette were to see if they could reprogram the bots like we had the ones on the Stepford planet.

Once we were on the way back to Athens, we retired to my quarters and my bed. The mood, however, wasn’t festive. We spent the time with Andrea and Idylle, comforting them for the loss of their families and reassuring them that the actions of their fathers did not reflect on the girls or our opinion of them. “You are now, and I hope always will be, my Blonde, Goddess Princess and slave,” I whispered to Andrea right before she fell asleep.

I slept, too, although fitfully. Nightmares of finding myself trapped inside the Senate, unable to escape while everyone laughed at my inept attempts, haunted me.

Ten days later

We fidgeted nervously just offstage. Actually, I fidgeted nervously. The girls, though, were in their element and their excitement was quiet and almost completely contained. Andrea kept squeezing my hand and grinning knowingly. I’m sure each of the girls had a much better understanding of what was happening today than I did. They had been giving me knowing smirks off and on for days.

Aside from absolutely necessary jobs that couldn’t be handled by bots, everyone in the Empire was celebrating today, and most were probably watching the broadcast of this ceremony. At the moment, the Emperor was publicly lauding Father and Grandfather Louis for the lead the two families took in the battle against the raiders and in the final, albeit woefully feeble, battle for Athens. My mother was in the front row beaming proudly and sitting comfortably right next to Ben’s mother, Father’s senior wife Claire. Even I knew that would start tongues wagging. Hell, they were probably already wagging.

After my “official” meeting with the Emperor an hour ago, though, the rest of the day should be a breeze.

Our entry into Tower Quintin had made me more nervous than any of our battles. Rather than using the offered shuttle landing location, the ladies insisted on walking from the Demarest tower and taking a “victory lap” around the main public square on Athens before entering Tower Quintin. Tens of thousands of people, the majority young females, had lined the route screaming hysterically as we passed, a display usually reserved for famous athletes and entertainers. Only Shark, Demarest, Carteris, and Quintin bot troops three deep lining both sides of our entire route allowed us to continue moving and kept us from being mauled by excited fans. It didn’t, however, keep us from being pelted with their tributes.

After two exhausting days on Athens, meeting the Emperor and the major players in the Senate, we had spent the next four days at my mother’s island estate. Her immense pride was clearly visible in her eyes. Even though I was temporarily out of commission due to my wound, she and my Sharklings became much more intimately familiar with each other before Agatha declared me healed enough to join them. Mother and Lisette did their best to put me back out of commission before everyone collapsed together, exhausted.

The day before we left for Athens I finally summoned an exceedingly nervous and very subdued Ianthe. She nodded glumly when I asked if she was ready for her punishment. I explained that, once her punishment was finished, I would consider her forgiven. There was no hesitation on her part when I ordered her to strip and to kneel in the shower although her eyes were filled with unasked questions. She gasped when I unleashed a stream of urine, hosing her from head to toe. Still she remained, unmoving except for the tears that rained down her face as each of the ladies of Shark stood over her and did the same. I could see in Andrea’s eyes that she expected the same treatment herself--very soon.

Andrea had agreed beforehand to stay with Ianthe when the punishment was finished and to help clean her. Even with her eyes swollen and bloodshot from crying, Ianthe was beautiful when Andrea led her out of the bathroom. Finding me naked in bed, she gasped when I motioned for her to join me. She cried and apologized repeatedly until she fell asleep in my arms, drained emotionally.

I let her sleep for an hour before waking her with my tongue. The tears this time were happy ones when I moved above her and pressed my cock into her. She was definitely an enthusiastic partner, her eagerness and wanton sexuality reminded me of Lisette.

“Do you really forgive me?” she asked nervously as we lay in each other’s arms afterward, recuperating.

“Have I ever lied to you?” I asked.

“No,” she replied, also shaking her head.

“Then as long as you continue to behave and get along with everyone else, you may consider yourself one of my Sharklings. I do insist that you complete thorough military conditioning and training before you even consider attacking a fly,” I growled threateningly.

“And if you ever disobey an order again...” I added, leaving the punishment unspoken.

“I understand, Master,” she answered submissively before sucking my cock into her mouth.

When we arrived at Father’s Castle Estate on Athens the next day, my brother Ben greeted us warmly--followed quickly by Gwen’s usual wet, enthusiastic greeting. The girls laughed so hard they had to sit down when Ben pointed to several large boxes full of tributes that girls had been leaving outside the Demarest Tower or at the property line of the Castle for several days now. Seeing my confusion at their hysterical laughter Andrea took pity on me and explained. Each tribute was a chip with a picture of a girl--and usually more than a single picture--with her name and com unit address tied up in a pair of her underwear and left in the hope that I would accept her invitation.

I was taken by surprise when the ladies began sorting through the tributes and even more surprised to learn that most of them had left at least one tribute of her own for a famous athlete, entertainer, or some other teen heartthrob. I was surprised that many of the tributes offered the girl’s services to train as a warrior, to become a personal slave to me, or to whichever lucky woman I chose as my wife, or as junior wives.

Using nearly the same formation, sans collars and leashes, that we had used to enter St. Louis, our victory lap and entry into Tower Quintin was broadcast live to the entire Empire. The fact that we were allowed to bring our armed troops into the building, let alone into the Senate Chambers floored me.

Oh, yeah, our attire was a little different than what we wore to enter St. Louis. Gone was the Shark uniform and armor. This was absolutely the most formal event possible. I was surprised when the formal invitation said that I was authorized to wear the Shark logo on my tuxedo, as only the Patriarch and/or the current Senate member of named families were allowed to wear their family crest to formal Senate gatherings.

I took the ladies at their word that it was perfectly acceptable for each of them to display the Shark’s slave tattoo, which they did proudly. The dresses they wore were as different as they were, and each of the ladies looked as if she was ready to be presented to the court as a Princess. Even Cherry had to come along since she’d been part of the subterfuge and was being awarded an honor today. And yes, she was dressed all in red.

It was the first time the Emperor had seen his daughter other than via a com broadcast since she had run away, and their reunion was emotional. Watching him watch her after their reunion was hilarious as he kept shaking his head in disbelief at the transformation in his daughter from an impetuous, belligerent, headstrong girl to a perfectly mannered young lady.

He finally caught me alone and posed the question everyone had warned me would be coming.

“My Emperor, I promised Father and the Patriarch of the Carteris family that I would not do anything to cause them trouble or embarrassment with the Court. Because of this, I have had to change or adjust many of my decisions over the last two months when my extremely competent social and political advisors pointed out the errors I would be making and the undesirable ramifications they would have in the Court for the families Demarest and Carteris, as well as others.

“Your daughter is an exceptionally beautiful and intelligent young woman whom I sincerely feel will make a wonderful wife. Unfortunately, my feelings for a certain Blonde Goddess Princess are such that I cannot ask her to be a minor wife and I know what an insult it would be to ask Princess Ianthe to be a minor wife. The only way I could marry your daughter was if the Court were to grant a dispensation for me to have two major wives and I’m sure they would find even my mention of it scandalous.”

I was both proud and relieved that I had actually remembered everything I had rehearsed mentally hundreds of times over the last few days, even if it had come out sounding like a rambling excuse.

What I hadn’t expected was his hearty laughter. “No wonder the raiders were so afraid of you. Even completely out of your element you are a formidable adversary,” he laughed.

“My Emperor, I hope never to be considered an adversary of Family Quintin, the Court, or the Empire. I am merely a man with simple tastes trying to walk a fine line between what will continue making me happy and what will prevent me from besmirching the family names Demarest, Carteris, and Quintin,” I answered.

“Perhaps I will scandalize the Court instead, then,” he chuckled amusedly as he had turned to leave.

The Emperor had finished lauding Father and Grandfather Louis by awarding them the Lion Cross, an honor right below the Order of the Lion, and one handed out much more frequently. And then it was our turn. Everyone in the packed Senate chambers stood, cheering and applauding as we entered.

The Emperor’s tribute to us went on and on ad nauseam before he finally got around to awarding the Order of the Lion to each of us--even Ianthe. My official report only stated that her craft had flown into heavy enemy fire, drawing the fire away from other advancing troops at great danger to herself. I purposely didn’t detail the bonehead move that precipitated her flying into enemy fire or the part the bot-pilots played in keeping her from dying in the crash. While Cherry didn’t receive the Order of the Lion, she was awarded the Lion Cross for her part in the subterfuge that kept the raiders off guard at a critical time.

I was caught off guard when the Emperor asked if there was a special request he could grant as a reward for my heroism.

“What I did I considered my duty as a citizen of the Empire. All I expected in return was to be able to walk with my head held high if I succeeded. If, however, the Emperor insists, there is one boon I would request. The Emperor’s court occasionally consents to declare someone at their majority before their age would indicate. There are four young women here today who have repeatedly risked their lives and proved their maturity, bravery, and loyalty to the Empire. I would ask that the Court declare to be at their majority Molly Reynolds, Perele Stanford, Idylle Darnell, and Anima Dallman.”

Even before the surprised Emperor could poll the Senate, they were shouting their approval. “Let the official record of the Senate show that these four young ladies are declared to be at their majority effective immediately,” Emperor Quintin announced.

“I now call for a roll call vote on matter 6347-88391 which has previously been introduced jointly by Houses Demarest, Carteris, Reynolds, and Quintin and has been debated. This bill will officially remove House Dreesen from the rolls of the Senate and replace it with House Shark,” he announced formally.

I felt my body go numb. My knees threatened not to support me. Suddenly everything made sense--being allowed to wear the Shark logo on my tux, the knowing smirks from the ladies aware that I had no clue what it meant. One by one, the ten remaining members of the upper Senate answered “Aye,” with Brother Ben answering “Aye,” as the temporary representative of House Reynolds.

“Master Demarest,” Emperor Quintin announced in his official-sounding voice while looking directly at me. I was still numb all over. “The Senate unanimously recognizes you as Founder and First Patriarch of House Shark and welcomes you to the Senate,” he announced grinning and shaking my hand.

I was still numb. My mother, brother, and men of the houses Demarest and Carteris were quickly on the stage hugging and congratulating me. “No good deed goes unpunished,” Father chuckled.

When the hubbub finally settled down the Emperor announced one final bit of business. “Gentlemen, the special request earlier by Master Demarest was one that should have been considered anyway. I, having earlier suggested a marriage to my daughter, was not surprised at him politely declining in favor of the young lady he refers to as his Blonde Goddess Princess,” he announced, smirking at me.

“What surprised me was his willingness to accept my daughter’s hand in marriage otherwise. As I’m sure everyone here today has noted, Master Demarest seems to be the first man who has ever been able to successfully control my daughter to any degree.”

I know my face was crimson just then, and I’m sure Ianthe’s was glowing even brighter, but I didn’t dare look at her as the gallery erupted in laughter.

“I therefore propose that the upper Senate grant a dispensation to Master Demarest allowing him two senior wives,” he announced.

The Emperor’s proposal was met with the outburst of outrage and controversy I had expected. What I hadn’t expected was that the uproar was not over allowing me two senior wives; it was over ONLY allowing me two senior wives. Concern by other Houses about possibly losing preferential trade agreements, as well as hoping to forge their own alliances with the newest house in the Senate--and presumably one that could end up as the second wealthiest--they felt that I should take a Princess from each house represented in the upper Senate as a senior wife. Even before I could mentally form a protest, it was put to a vote. And suddenly I was a condemned man.

There was one thing I wanted to do first. I led my Goddess Princess over to Grandfather Louis. “Grandfather, I had an idea that will help two people I love dearly each fill a void in their life. You have no heir to carry on the family name. Andrea finds herself an orphan and wishes to divest herself of the Dreesen name. Perhaps an adoption would be in order?”

“But that would still not provide me with an heir,” he reminded me.

“I’m sure you and my negotiator should be able to come to an agreement on a price to allow her first-born son to keep the Carteris name,” I suggested.

“And who will your negotiator be?” he chuckled. Grinning I looked at Andrea. He groaned, already aware of just how shrewd my Blonde Goddess Princess was.

Father strolled over just then with several members of the Senate. “Edward, it seems that these gentlemen, and I use the term loosely, wish to discuss your selection of a Princess to marry from their families.” The smirk on his face let me know that this was payback for the many things I thought I’d gotten away with when I was younger.

“Gentlemen, I have hardly had time to discuss marriage, but if pressed, would name Princess Ianthe of House Quintin, Princess Andrea soon to be of House Carteris, Princess Carlisa of house Neville, Princess Jayden of House Marline, Princess Cailyhn of House Nennis, Princess Anima of House Dallman, Princess Perle of House Stanford and Princess Molly of House Reynolds.

“But what about House Blanchert? We have no Princess,” a seriously obese gentleman queried despondently.

“I disagree. You have an exceptional Princess whom I have had the pleasure of becoming better acquainted with these last few days. If she agrees, I would also name Princess Cherise of House Blanchert, known to her public as Cherry.”

There were gasps of surprise as they suddenly remembered that the black sheep of the family had indeed been presented as a Princess in the hope that it would help to curb her wild ways.

“Done,” Cherise’s father shouted, followed quickly by every other member agreeing.

“And what of House Tekla?” yet another Senate member asked.

I had never seen the man before. Yet, for some reason I took an instant dislike to him. “I apologize, but I have not yet had the opportunity to become acquainted with a Princess of House Tekla. However, I am looking forward to the opportunity,” I told him.

“Now that you’ve all agreed, perhaps I should ask the ladies if they are even interested,” I suggested, receiving a rousing laugh from the men.

Ianthe was grinning from ear to ear. “What?” I asked.

“Master, I am so happy that you have forgiven me enough to consider me as a wife. I promise to always be a subservient and thoughtful wife to you.”

Laughing, I replied, “Ianthe, I do not accept your promise. It won’t be long before you are giving me just as much grief as any of my other wives. In fact, as your Master, I order you to do it.”

It took a few seconds, but a mischievous gleam appeared in her eye. “Yes, Captain Master Darling,” she replied saucily, smirking.

I had Ianthe round up the Sharklings--all of them. “Ladies, we have a minor problem. I have been instructed that I am to take a Princess from every house in the upper Senate as a senior wife. Anima, Molly, and Perele have been accepted at their majority and will be presented as Princesses. Andrea, Carlisa, Cailyhn, Jayden, and Ianthe already are, as is Princess Cherise. Do the nine of you consent to make this major sacrifice and marry me for the sake of your houses and the Empire?”

“Who is Princess Cherise?” Molly asked.

“I am,” Cherry said quietly. “Eddy, I can’t live the life of a Princess of the court,” she said sadly.

“I expect each of you to choose the lifestyle you wish to lead and to lead it--whether it be the life of the Court, the life of a Scout, or even the life of the Empire’s most notorious gossip monger,” I told them.

“Really?” Cherry asked excitedly. I just smiled.

“Abbi, Cara, Kiera, Jasmyn, Idylle, Malandra, Blanid, and Verenia, I will soon have several openings for junior wives if anyone is interested.”

The three daughters Tekla arrived at the Demarest Estate later that afternoon for their “interviews.” Surprisingly, I was still alive, albeit rather exhausted from the demands my fiancées had made of me once we returned home. The youngest of the three daughters Tekla disqualified herself immediately, scandalized that all of my soon-to-be senior wives were comfortably lounging together completely naked and completely comfortable in the presence of the others, as well as with women who wouldn’t even be senior wives. The other two daughters Tekla took it in stride, shedding their own clothing and joining us.

We talked for an hour, getting to know each other before Ianthe dropped her bombshell question. “Wistria, you are older than most Princesses of the Court are when they marry. And yet, I seem to remember that you have previously been engaged two ... no, three times,” Ianthe commented questioningly.

For a second I wasn’t sure that Wistria might not try to attack Ianthe as she glared daggers at her. “I apologize,” Wistria said politely to me as she stood, heavy emotion evident in her voice. “Obviously my coming here has been a waste of your time,” she finished, shooting Ianthe one last scathing look of hatred before turning to leave.

“Wisty,” Ianthe said in a soft voice that a lover would use. It made Wisty stop even if she didn’t turn back around. “Please answer my question,” Ianthe beseeched, even the tone of her voice and the emotion in her voice imploring her to answer.

“Fine,” Wistria huffed, turning back to us and letting us see the tears already streaming down her face. “I’ll answer your question but I can see that it’s a colossal waste of time. I mean, look around. He has you hanging on every word he says. He has even managed to tame Ianthe and has her at his beck and call.

“I was engaged three times. All three men, however, decided that I was too headstrong for their liking when I wouldn’t kowtow to them. I don’t care if I never marry as long as I can be who I want to be and not just a pretty face and obedient wife expected to do whatever I’m told without question,” she nearly shouted. Her hurt look multiplied when the girls started laughing but Ianthe jumped to her feet and hugged her.

“They’re not laughing at you, I promise,” she cooed as she lovingly stroked Wistria’s face, wiping away her tears. “They’re laughing at the picture you just painted of Eddy,” she said calmly.

“It’s true that I drew the enemy fire at the battle, but I shouldn’t have even been there. I had been ordered to stay aboard ship because I hadn’t been trained yet, but I wanted to participate. I stole a fighter and tried to join the battle, only to discover that the fighter wasn’t being used because it had been sabotaged by the enemy. Only help from a flight of fighters piloted by bots kept me from plunging all the way to the surface of the planet and being killed. Other fighters put themselves between the raider gunners and my ship to shield me while Ed pulled me to safety. Their shields gave out just as I scrambled out of the cockpit. Ed was shot in the shoulder while saving me.

“He waited a week to punish me. When he finished, he forgave me and finally took me to his bed. Today I promised that I would always be a thoughtful and subservient wife. He refused to accept my promise and ordered me to be as obnoxious as the rest of his wives. Anyone who knows us longer than a couple of hours knows that he only orders us around in battle. The rest of the time, it’s more likely to be one or more of the women in his life who is giving orders than him--especially in matters of the Court. Trust me, of all the men belonging to all the named houses, Edward is the best husband you could possibly hope for,” Ianthe finished.

“When Eddy proposed, I told him that I couldn’t live the life of a Princess of the court. He told me that he expected each of us to choose the lifestyle we wished to lead and to lead it--whether it be the life of the Court, the life of a Scout, or even the life of the Empire’s most notorious gossip monger,” Cherry told her.

“Really?” Wistria asked hopefully.

The girls cracked up again but quickly surrounded Wistria for support. Her sister Dainee looked at me grinning. “Since she gets to marry you, would it be possible for me to at least find out what I’ll be missing?” she asked as she climbed seductively on top of me. My demonstration turned into another lengthy orgy. By the time we finished, Wisty was a fully indoctrinated, albeit quivering mass of fiancée. Even her sister was quite happy, proud that she could brag to her friends that she had been able to fuck the Empire’s newest hero.

My first (and only) decision regarding the former Dreesen tower was to have it covered with the same non-reflective black coating as Shark and then to have the Shark logo emblazoned on all four sides. Surprisingly, Andrea insisted in helping to redecorate and renovate the tower. The girls voted and decided that they wanted to live together rather than on separate estates, flying in the face of convention that expected second wives never to live on the same planet let alone in the same building. Cherry was going to have a field day with this.

Father woke me early the next morning. Half an hour later, I was in Ben’s private dining room. One of the Stepfords we had rescued was there and Ben was in tears.

“It’s Princess Adinia Neville, sister of your Carlisa. She was the first Princess your brother was ever interested in--actually, the only one--and we thought he would marry her until she disappeared last year,” Father explained solemnly. I looked at how distraught Ben was, and then looked at Adinia. Oddly, she looked just as distraught as Ben except that her face displayed no emotion--only her eyes.

I practically dragged Father from the room and told him what I’d noticed. He went back into the room, and when he reappeared, the Princess was with him.