Chapter 1

Note: When the conversation is a telepathic exchange, it is indicated by italics font.

Grace and Carl were sitting alone cuddling in their suite on Dóchas when Grace let out a long sigh. “Carl, you would like to stay here, wouldn’t you?”

“I want to be with you and the children, so it’s whatever is best for all of us. All three of you are like a breath of fresh air.”

“You want to be with us, even though you don’t know very much about me? You have told me a lot about you and what you would like to do.”

“Grace, what is important to me is who you are today and all of us being together.”

Grace drew a deep breath, before saying, “You are the first person in a very long time with whom I feel totally at ease. Well, that is until I came here with you. When we arrived here, I was shocked at how comfortable in these surroundings felt. There are some things you need to know about me. However, I am afraid I will lose you once you hear more about me.” Carl started to speak. “Wait, let me finish. At the same time, I am more afraid of what not sharing this will do to our relationship, especially if we stay here.”

Grace paused for a few moments, and then began, “When I finished high school, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have any real goals. I was good in art and liked it, but there aren’t many jobs for high school graduates in art. So I went to work waiting tables while attending night school. It was tough, especially when all of my friends were playing around and having a good time. Several girls I knew slightly always seemed to have money and nice clothes. They were different in that I never saw them mix with the others from high school. Once, when they were in the restaurant where I worked, they made an off-hand comment that they knew where I could make much more money and not work nearly as hard. Several weeks later, I saw two of them going into a fancy restaurant with two men. They were really dressed to the ‘9’s which made them look even lovelier.

“To make a long story a bit shorter, I later found out that they were working part-time at a dance club, and as call girls or escorts. They met me one day as I was leaving classes and asked me to join them for a drink. Well, we went to their place and we talked for a long time. The visit evolved into a sexual encounter that lasted all night. It wasn’t my first experience with another woman however with them it was a very good experience. The next morning I was surprised by my response to the sexual activity, but couldn’t deny that I enjoyed it, all of it. I spent the next two days with them, except when I had classes or we had to work. They asked me to move in with them. It wasn’t long before I quit my job at the restaurant and was working with them as an escort. It all happened so easily and really I have no regrets. Since my evenings were usually needed for work, I switched to day classes. I danced as a stand-in for them a few times, but I didn’t care for it. The companionship of going out as an escort was more intriguing and satisfying. Not many realize that being an escort involves more than just sex.

“I continued as a call girl all the way through college. During that time, I moved to my own apartment, away from where we had our ‘official’ apartment. Soon after college, I found a job as a commercial artist and began working there. One evening, I met a man I had known while I was working as a call girl. We had always had a good time together. We chatted for a while then he invited me out, as a friend. We dated for a long time. Both children are his. One day, after Ashley was born, he simply disappeared. I was hurt. I soon realized that I didn’t have any real solid contact information for him. Well, that is until his picture showed up in the paper a couple of weeks later. He had died in a plane crash, and the police thought that it was homicide. I read the story and discovered that he had a family and several children. He had never said a word about them. I felt used. Thinking about our children’s future, I considered trying to get some inheritance for them. However, the subsequent stories about his family in the paper convinced me that it was not a good idea. If the stories were close to being true, I sort of understand why he did what he did.

“Carl, you would make a great father for my children. The real question is do you really want a well-used slut for a spouse?” Grace had tears running down her face as she finished her story.

Carl pulled her into his arms and held her tight as she cried. He caressed her as he comforted her. Grace was surprised at how relieved she felt now. As she cried, Sam’s words came back to her. She thought, “I love him so much. For the life of me, I hope this works out as Sam indicated.”

“I love you, Grace,” said Carl, with a gentle firmness that made her feel warm inside. “What you did, you did, but it does not affect the love I feel for you. I can see from the way you treat others, your children, and me that you would be a wonderful spouse. I sense that you love me as much as I love you.”

Hearing those words, Grace threw her arms around him and began kissing him all over his face. She thought, “Oh Sam, thank you.”

“Grace, what has Sam got to do with us?”

“Sam?”

“I thought I heard you mention Sam twice in the last few minutes.”

“But, I didn’t say ... oh.” She looked at Carl for a long moment, holding his head in her hands and studying his face. “Carl, we are going to ask to stay and join this breed, aren’t we? I am certain that you want to, and I think it is the best thing for us to do.”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t need to. As for Sam, right after I arrived here, she told me I needed to open up and share my past with you. She told me that if I didn’t, it would eventually drive us apart. Her comments shocked me, but I also knew she was right. I like it here. Ashley and Baird love it here. We should ask medical to enable our telepathic ability and schedule a session in the incubators.” Carl shook his head as he had never seen Grace this focused and relaxed.

“You are sure?”

“Yes, and I know you are as well.” With that, they wrapped their arms around each other as they shared a kiss. Removing the wall between them had opened them up to one another. They grew closer as they began to express their love in caresses and kisses. As their cuddling intensified, they began to build a new, and stronger, bond between them. Each caress and kiss they shared further enhanced their love for each other.

Grace pushed Carl back on the couch and began kissing his neck. She alternated between kissing and licking his neck with her tongue. Her kisses moved to his face and then to the other side of his neck. He caressed her back and sides with his hands. Gradually, she began to kiss her way down his chest. She stopped at his nipples, to nibble and suck on each of them until they were hard. His cock slid over her bare chest as she planted kisses down his body. When she reached his crotch, she moved to kiss and lick the insides of his legs while she caressed his balls with her fingers. Before long, her kisses moved to his ball sack. She licked this before sucking each orb into her mouth and caressing it with her tongue. Then, holding his cock upright, she licked it like a Popsicle before slipping her mouth over it to stroke its head with her tongue. Her caresses caused Carl to groan. She squeezed his balls slightly to ease his arousal before she began to suck and bob her head up and down on his cock. On each stroke she eased him further into her throat. She halted his climax twice before she let him cum down her throat as she swallowed. Grace shivered as she had her own small orgasm as she felt his cock jerking. Carl moaned loudly as he felt his cum explode into her throat. While he recovered Grace licked his cock clean causing it to partially swell again.

Carl reached down and pulled her up on top of him. When they were face to face, he kissed her with all the passion he could put into it. He held her tightly to him, as he planted kisses on her face after licking her lips. After a few moments, he said, “That was wonderful. You can do that just any time your heart desires.”

“Thank you, kind sir,” replied Grace, before kissing him again. She was startled, as she felt as though she was falling. It took her a moment to realize that Carl had slid them off the couch and on to the floor then rolled them over, so that he was on top. He then began to repeat the worship of her body, as she had done for him. He started by covering her face with kisses before moving to caress each side of her neck with his lips and tongue. He moved his kisses slowly to her throat and then to her breasts. After they were covered, he sucked a nipple deep into his mouth. Holding it in his mouth, he caressed it with his tongue while gently sucking on it, this added to her arousal. Her labia were rapidly moistening as they swelled. Although neither noticed it the air in the suite was now heavy with their pheromones. After a few moments he continued kissing down her body. When he pushed his tongue into her naval she shivered as more cream flowed from her cunt. Carl shifted, to caress the inside of her thighs. The sensation of his tongue and kisses caused Grace to spread her legs, which separated her labia so that they soon resembled a flower. With her flower open her aroma grew stronger as copious amounts of cream began to collect in it. When the odor reached Carl’s nose his cock throbbed and swelled even more. Lifting her hips up slightly, he began to dine on her cream. As fast as he licked more cream appeared. Grace began to gasp for breath as her arousal became more intense with his continued caresses. When her muscles started to spasm, he placed his mouth over the center of her flower and drank her cream as her orgasm crested. Her body became very stiff and she let out a long wail before slumping to the floor.

Sensing that she had passed out, Carl licked the moisture off her labia and then slid up over her, licking and kissing as he did so. It took only a few moments before he felt her breathing begin to increase and he moved to kiss her face and her lips as she woke. The crown of his cock was now fully nested between the folds of her labia. He continued, alternately lightly kissing her face and her neck. When she was fully awake, she startled him by crossing her legs behind him to pull him further in. She moaned and opened her eyes, as she felt him slide in.

“How long have you been awake?” asked Carl.

“Did I pass out?”

“Well, you were certainly still for a while. You surprised me when you pulled me in.”

“I’m not sure I passed out. It was more like being in a twilight zone. It was the most wonderful feeling I have ever had. Now fuck me.”

With that, Carl began to stroke her pussy with his cock. The sensations they felt were intense, much more than they ever remembered.

“Faster,” she cried, as she pushed her hips up to meet each of his thrusts. It took only a few moments until he released his cum and their orgasms crested. This time both of them became light-headed and rigid as this feeling washed over them. Afterward, Carl rested on his elbows to keep most of his weight off of Grace.

He watched her face as her eyes gradually opened and her breathing returned to normal.

“I love you with all my heart,” said both at the same time. She reached up and pulled his head down so she could kiss him. They shared kisses for a few moments.

“I have never had such satisfying sex with anyone else,” said Grace.

“I can say the same. You are a blessing to me. I love you.”

“I love you.”

Carl lay down closer to Grace and then rolled them over so she was on top. Both were surprised that Carl’s cock was still hard and tightly filling her. They lay there together enjoying the closeness they felt for each other.

“I like being this close to you,” said Grace after a few moments.

Just as Carl opened his mouth to speak, the door to the suite opened. Grace looked up to see Ashley, Baird, Sam and Kelsey enter. She began to blush.

“What are you guys doing?” said Ashley. “It smells in here!”

“Ashley,” said Kelsey, “your parents have been demonstrating their love for each other. Why don’t you and Baird go freshen up for bed?” Kelsey went to the bathroom with them and soon returned with a couple of towels.

“Thanks,” said Grace, as she took the towels. She held one under her as she lifted off Carl’s still partially swollen cock. It surprised her that very little cum leaked out. She had risen up onto her knees when Carl said, “Hold still a moment.” He quickly turned around and pressed his mouth to her pussy. The shock caused her to relax, letting their cream flow into his mouth. There was so much that she saw him swallow once before he broke the seal against her labia.

Carl rose to kneel in front of her. As they kissed, he shared their mixed cream with her. At first she was surprised, but she was also pleased. They had just finished kissing when the children came back into the room.

“Mom,” said Ashley, “are we going to live here now?”

Grace looked at Baird, and he nodded, looking a bit apprehensive.

“Carl and I have been talking about it. Would you like to?”

“Yes!” shouted both Ashley and Baird.

“We think we will but we need to talk to some people first. Now it’s time for bed. So tell everyone goodnight.”

They watched the two children give everyone a hug and kiss before going to their room.

“You two looked like you had a good time,” said Sam, grinning. “We enjoyed their company. They are welcome to hang out with us again.”

“Thank you,” said Grace with Carl nodding his agreement. “Actually, Sam I am deeply indebted to you.” Her comment caused a puzzled look to appear on Sam’s face.

“We both are,” added Carl.

“You don’t remember,” said Grace. Sam shook her head. “When I arrived, you gave me some advice. Although in thinking about what was said, you may not have realized it. Anyway, I took it.” As she said the last, she looked at Carl and smiled. “It has given us a new sense of each other.” With that, both Carl and Grace stood up. Grace pulled Sam to her and kissed her, pushing thoughts of thankfulness towards her. When she released Sam, Carl hugged and kissed her as well.

Seeing Kelsey looking a little lost, Grace pulled her into a hug and kiss. When their kiss finished, Grace pushed her into Carl’s arms, since he and Sam had just separated.

“Wow,” said Kelsey, “with that kind of thanks we will watch your children any time, although, if it becomes too frequent we may raise our fees.” As she said that, she ran her hand over Carl’s slightly swollen cock and her fingers through Grace’s cunt. Kelsey was surprised at how wet her fingers were. She started to wipe them on the towel, but licked them clean instead, saying, “Tastes good, too,” as she wiggled her eyebrows. Her antics caused everyone to laugh.

“She does taste good,” said Carl, as he pulled Grace tightly to him. He looked at Sam and Kelsey for a moment. “If you want to raise your fees, then we need to talk about it.” Kelsey started to speak. “I know you intended it to be a jest. I think Grace agrees with me. We like both of you, in fact that is true for all four of you. We would like to build on that friendship. How deep our friendship becomes, that we will have to see.”

Kelsey and Sam stepped toward them and pulled them into a group hug. Sam looked at Kelsey, sensing her thoughts and said, “We would like our relationship to be as close as is comfortable for all of us.”

“We need to go,” said Kelsey. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You sensed something,” said Grace, as she watched the two women leave. She was surprised because she felt like she wanted them to stay.

“Yes, I did,” replied Carl, “and so did you. I think it will take some time for all of us to figure this out. Perhaps it will be clearer once we enable our telepathy.”

“We’re telepathic?”

“I would be very surprised if we are not. Whether we have any other psionic abilities is another question. I don’t have a clue as to the answer.”

“Hm ... I think I will like sharing thoughts with you, and I am looking forward to doing it for a long, long time.” They put their arms around each other as they walked back to their bedroom.

Judy had just entered their suite when Aoife said, “Good you’re here. I think we need to go to the clinic.”

“I was wondering when you were going to notice,” replied Judy with a smile. “How long do you think it will take the others to?”

“Not long, as I am going with you,” said Maeve.

“Do you think all of us will deliver today?” asked Aoife.

“I am not sure, but the probability is high,” responded Judy. “If not, then I suspect it will be within a day or two.”

As dinner was starting that evening Siobhan said, “Donna, will you initiate a conference with all locations?”

The screens suddenly coming to life at each location brought conversations to a halt. Everyone looked up to see Siobhan smiling. After a moment she said, “It gives me great pleasure to tell you that Aoife and Maeve delivered their babies earlier today.” She paused to wait for the cheering to die down before adding, “Right now Claudette, Alison, Tara and Erin are delivering theirs.” After the cheers, she continued with, “Everyone is healthy and doing great. We expect Sarah’s Clan will be a bit distracted for a few days. Enjoy your dinner, we will begin our evening discussion afterward.”

Communications worked out a list of provisional itineraries for the Beyond the Stars choir and Command Staff’s visits to Earth. It had the concerts in one group of countries taking place over two weeks then a break of a month. The first trip was to Ireland, Scotland, and England. They would be in Ireland for six days, followed by two days in London, and then three days in Glasgow. In Dublin, there would be five concerts at The Mahony Hall spread over three days. This was followed by a two days in Clifden to relax and sight-see. In London they would give two concerts in the Royal Albert Hall. In Glasgow, they would perform three concerts in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

The second trip would include the US and Canada. Although they had many requests for concerts in North America, it was decided to be selective for the initial tour. Boston’s Bank America Center, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center and Roy Thompson Hall were chosen as the locations. At each venue they scheduled three evening concerts and gave the theaters the option of adding an afternoon concert, if needed.

A third trip would be to Norway and Sweden, for three days each, with only two evening concerts in each country. China was to be their fourth trip, with concerts in Beijing and Shanghai, where they would give three evening concerts at each stop. The fifth trip would be to Australia, where they would give four concerts in Sydney and then two in Perth.

Before committing to firm dates in Ireland and England, Intelligence sent surveillance equipment to each location. At each of these they evaluated both the people and the physical layout. The survey compared recent employee changes to an earlier survey, since they believed this would be an ideal way to place someone inside of any security shield. With their resources, Security was able to quickly agree to the locations. They did note some concerns that they thought were resolvable. With Security’s agreement, Communications committed to the dates and soon contracts were signed.

With the dates and locations set, the Intelligence department placed surveillance devices in the hotels and concert halls that they would use. More detailed checks were made into the backgrounds of all employees. It was only because of their technology that they could cover all of this without seeking outside assistance.

Once the concert dates were set with the first one a little over four months away, Chloe scheduled a review with the Command Staff. The attendees included everyone working in Intelligence and Security. The choir was represented by their members in the three departments. When everyone was in the room, Chloe said, “We are here for two purposes today. We’ll begin with a general review of the scheduled concerts, and an in depth review of the first two.” With that, Orla went over the general details of the five concert tours. Next Brenda reviewed a detailed itinerary for the Ireland and England dates, including current security arrangements.

“Excellent,” said Tara, with the rest of Command Staff nodding in agreement. “Maeve and Aoife have kept us posted on your progress, and most of us have peeked at the schedule from time to time. Seeing everything together, we can see that you have done a great job in preparing for this trip. Several of us had some concerns about different aspects of the schedule, but seeing it all in context, I don’t think that is now the case.”

“Our intelligence data indicates that several organizations are quite interested in these trips,” said Muireann. “In conjunction with Security, we are proposing a defensive approach. We are placing drones with any organization or group that appears to be hostile toward us.”

“How are you planning on handling one that actually initiates a threat?” asked Jill.

“First priority is our safety. This will likely lead to eliminating the threat,” said Cathan with Todd nodding. “We plan on everyone wearing a personal security device which, upon activation, provides a protective force shield around them. If several of us are close together, the personal shields merge, creating a stronger combined shield.”

“In our testing,” said Todd, “we found that this gives a Security team additional time to respond and contain any threat. Telepathically you will be directed toward an egress. Can things go wrong? Yes. We think that everything is however, manageable. The personal shields help but they are not perfect. Virtually all the choir members are martial arts proficient.”

“Cathan, Todd,” said Cass, “you haven’t told them that we want to do a walk through with everyone before we leave. This is so that all of us know how everything works, in particular the choir members.”

“I think we will be fine,” said Natalia, with several of the other choir members nodding. “We are carrying a very dynamic message through our music. Our music conveys the benefits gained by building a society on common strengths while compensating for differences between individual capabilities. It also tells of our culture and history. This should give those on Earth a better idea of what kind of people we are.”

“You really think they can overcome focusing on differences and begin to work together?” inquired Marge.

“Hopefully,” said Caitriona. “If it does, it will probably begin with the younger generation and the very old. Besides, within three years I suspect we will be preparing to leave this solar system, and it would be nice to leave this concept as a present to them.”

“If there is a continued demand for our concerts,” said Sorcha, “we could do them live, either from here or An Clochán. From the audience’s perspective, the difference would hardly be noticeable. One concern I think all of us have is of a group trying to kidnap us, thinking that that would give them a ticket to our technology.”

“You’re right,” responded Shannon, “about some groups wanting our technology at any cost. We have information that indicates a group of wealthy individuals are plotting just such an effort. Their purpose seems to be focused on protecting their wealth and increasing their power over others. Surprisingly, a few of those involved appear to be supporting some of the various terrorist groups. Not because they support the cause, but because they feel they benefit from the chaos.”

“So, you think there will be incidents on these trips?”

“Yes, there are likely to be some. As we mentioned earlier, our Security teams are working very hard to make sure anyone looking to harm us are stopped before they become a problem. Again, our strategy is to neutralize a group just at the point they are initiating their attempt. One type of possible incident that will be hard to anticipate is someone attacking us for religious reasons. Those we may not be able to identify until just before they make their attempt.”

Seeing the concern on the faces of several in the group, Sally said, “We don’t think the risk to any one will be any greater than it is for living in space. Our intention is to ensure that any aggressors die for their effort and that there are no collateral injuries. The Security teams have been evaluating different techniques to ensure that.”

“It sounds to me like Communications and Security have the details completed for Ireland, England and Scotland,” said Sam. “So, let’s go practice our music and let them do their thing. I find our practices to be the most relaxing time of the day.”

“I think these trips will work out just fine,” said Aoife. “We may have a few moments of unexpected excitement, but that will pale beside many memorable sights, and other activities.”

With that the choir members began to leave for the practice room, while the others returned to their work areas.

Sarah’s Clan had just sat down to relax after putting their children to bed, when Aoife said, “Seeing Sarah’s clit bar sparkle in the light reminds me that we once spoke about wearing some type of visual token of membership in our clan. Since we seldom wear any covering, jewelry seems to be an obvious possibility.”

“I remember that discussion,” replied Tara. “It was quite a while ago.”

“Whatever we do,” added Judy, “we need to make sure it doesn’t interfere with anything we do. I am hesitant to wear anything that could catch on something, such as a ring.”

“What about a collar?” asked Erin. “It is something we could all easily wear all of the time.”

“You’re thinking about a permanently locking collar, then,” replied Alison.

“Well ... I hadn’t considered that aspect, but I would have no problem with that.”

“I agree,” said Joyce, “that a collar is probably the best choice for all of us.”

“How about a flat collar, 5 centimeters wide with rounded top and bottom edges?” said Maeve. “The rounded edges would keep it from irritating our necks and shoulders. It could be either snug-fitting or fairly loose. I like the idea of a snug fit, but I am not sure how that could be done while not restricting our movements.”

“The only way I can see it being snug,” said Jill, “is if it could be made of some kind of woven mesh. I wonder if Star has any information along these lines. Star, we need some assistance.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know of a metal mesh that we could use for a collar? We are thinking of wearing one that fits snugly around our necks. It would need to be something we could wear all the time, and be flexible enough that it doesn’t limit our movements.”

“There is information on collars in our library which includes several styles,” responded Star. “All of these go back to our home culture, although they weren’t very common. There are two styles that I think fit what you have in mind. One style is a wide band with rolled edges. It is about half as wide as the length of the neck and is loose enough that a finger can easily fit between it and the wearer’s neck. It can be made so that it either locks closed or is permanently closed. A second style is formed from a finely woven mesh. It is made from a finely woven wire. It has considerable elasticity, so it can fit tightly against the neck. It normally covers almost the full length of the neck. Both of these styles can have a design on them.”

“Would our skin tolerate the woven mesh without irritation?” asked Sarah.

“Yes. It is also the best choice when wearing a tactical suit, or involved in any activity where something loose could cause a problem.”

“Could the woven mesh be permanently closed?”

“Yes. Even permanently closed it could be removed, if necessary, but it would be destroyed in the process.”

“If this woven mesh doesn’t make us more detectable, then I would prefer that,” said Rusty. “Ladies, if you want to each have a unique piece of body jewelry besides this, go for it.”

“Considering our activities,” said Judy, “we should limit the choices of adornment, for safety reasons. Studs through the clit, labia or tongue would seem to be reasonably risk-free, except for the risk of infection. Infection is also a concern with a tongue stud, although neither Jill nor Janet has had a problem with theirs.”

“Star, can we get a woven mesh collar made, so we can see it and perhaps test how they feel?”

“I can have one ready for you to evaluate tomorrow. Are you going to want a design on them?”

“Yes,” came a chorus of voices.

“I will pull up the designs from our archives, so you can see what has been done in the past.”

“Thanks,” said Sarah. “You know, I wasn’t sure about this collar idea when we first started the discussion. Seeing how all of you feel about the idea, I like it. I think I’m ready for bed.”

“Sarah,” said Aoife, “I don’t think the fact that you had a collar before is pushing us into doing this. I like the symbolism of the collar, as a sign of our relationship to each other, and to our larger family.”