Chapter 23

The last few weeks had been gruelling, and I felt I needed a short break from the constant training. The family had more or less settled into a routine. The youngest members were studying hard to be the best that they could. The systems were being rebuilt, but the pace was dreadfully slow, even with Mom and Secric's help.

There was lots to eat and we were enjoying ourselves, doing all the things a family would do except freely go outside to play. Card games we found were not good for obvious reasons, while 'Monopoly' and especially 'Twister' proved to be a lot of fun. The girls would watch TV now, but found the shows usually juvenile and only the news and sports were watched.

We searched the base and found some old 'Botsu' games, of which we were able to salvage some parts, and make into two good games. A chess board sized playing surface had four centimetre sides and a multitude of holes and colours surrounding them. The scoring related to the colour of both the shorts pins and the rings that were shook on the board. All this was further complicated by the colours on the board itself. Only Nova and Blue knew anything of the game, and had to teach the rest of us how it worked. Apparently it had a fanatical following, something like Bridge was to us.

We did manage to fly half the family at a time in the Beaver around North Bay and Lake Nipissing. Trips in the van were the same, but I could never let them interact with my friends and neighbours. The girls were amazed at all the things they saw on these small trips, and in the vehicles used. It was as if the ships and machines in the base were just common everyday articles, while the Beaver and van were extra special.

The best we could do to shop, was go into stores with Susan and make purchases for the others. They would look through our eyes, and marvel at our flashy goods. Nova and Blue were incredulous sometimes at how frivolous or inefficient various articles were.

I had to pass on many job offers, but did my best to give what help I could for free, to keep them from being too angry with me.

Susan's birthday was coming up and I needed a present for her. This time things were very different, for both of us. A year ago I had planned to inform her parents of our wedding date by this time. The house was basically finished and she would do the remaining rooms, as she saw fit, or so my old intentions dictated. But all that was before the others came into our lives.

Now with our large family, our needs were very different. We needed bedroom space for all my family and especially the nursery. This room would see a lot use, I knew, in the years to come. My old ideas about children had made a dramatic turnabout.

We used to do a fair amount of entertaining before, and most of our guests then wanted to see the house. I do not like deceit. This grated on my feelings when I had to hide things from my friends and guests. Nor did I want to make my wives and the children disappear, as if I were ashamed of them. The thoughts of the truth coming out would be catastrophic to all of us, and even encompass everybody else on Earth. Many people I feared would not be able to even comprehend this fact. In the end, we declined most of the social functions, and stayed in the base and learned. A few parties that were obligatory we went to but usually cut our visits short.

I talked to the other girls and explained that I wanted Susan alone in the house that night, as a form of birthday present. They agreed with me, especially when I asked for their own birthdays. They were smart enough to spread them out if they did not know them for sure.

My problem with a gift still bugged me. Mom came up with a possible answer. "Henry, do you think we can make a test flight to see that everything is working right?"

"Sure Mom. What were you thinking of doing?"

"Your wives are becoming used to the open areas now. We need a short flight to see if your systems are working correctly, and lastly, Susan has a birthday tomorrow. If we all have a little party in low orbit, then this would be something for her to remember."

"That is a great idea. I know all of them will just love the trip."

"What have you thought of buying for her?"

"That is the problem. All I can come up with is that we fly somewhere for a few hours, and let her buy what she wants for her and the girls. She has never been that many places, and it will be fun to take her someplace new."

I phoned my favourite bakery in North Bay and ordered a nice cake. I asked them to even put on the right number of candles. I would pick it up tomorrow morning. There was no use warning the girls, because Susan would find their minds blocked and figure something was up.

Saturday October 06

The next morning I slipped out of bed and made breakfast. This time I put Susan's portion on a tray and slipped back into the bedroom. I set it down and gave her a morning kiss. "Good morning, birthday girl. What would you like to do, today?"

Susan stretched, the comforter came off her chest, and her breasts were exposed. She read my mind and smiled the little smile she had. This time I read hers, and said, "Not now. I made you breakfast, and it will get cold if we wait."

She gave one of her pouts and said, "Ok, but I want my present right after."

An hour and a half later we climbed out of bed. The other girls in the base had joined our activities, and had not yet recovered from the effects. I explained to them more about the idea of a birthday, and what various groups of people did on these days, to help celebrate. I got a wicked smile in my mind from Secric, when I mentioned the spanking that was sometimes administered.

After straightening up the house, we left invisibly for the base. Mom was ready, and had not said anything about our plans. All the girls came to the ship as I called them. I greeted each as I found them, and then checked on the babies. They were still asleep and I did not bother them. Rather than say anything about my plans, Mom just disappeared from view and then the base matter transmitter placed her just outside the mountain. The large view screen showed all of them where we were. This was the first time she had been out of the base in over a million years. We had flown before in the small ships, but they all stayed under the radar, but now we were aboard Mom, and everything was different.

"Henry, what are you doing?" Susan's mind was quite flustered at what was happening. The rest of the girls were concerned, but not upset, at going out. It took a fair amount of work, and a lot of time, but the girls had got over the fear of open spaces.

"Just getting my birthday girl, her cake," I said. My mind was locked tight so that she could not read any of my thoughts. The screen was changing as we flew toward North Bay. Thirty metres below we could see cars and trucks going about their way, as we made our leisurely way to our destination. Sunlight glittered of the light covering of freshly fallen snow, making the landscape almost magical. The lake in the distance, reflected light from its mirror surface, for it had not been cold enough to freeze yet. Our altitude allowed the radar waves to hit us, but this time, we were able to absorb them with Mom's military grade shield and projectors.

"Mom, fly over the bus station. The bakery is just a few doors down."

"Yes Henry, and happy birthday to you Susan."

"Thanks Mom. How come Henry is taking us out?"

"He mentioned about the need for a test flight, and a very important cake to be picked up."

We stopped over the station and found Paul a few doors down. He was in the back of a group of businesses, ploughing all the drifts of snow to the side. Carl had the contract to do this job. The various merchants needed space for their customers, and the street was not enough this time of day.

When Paul pushed the snow down a narrow corridor, Mom let me off with her tractor. My parka covered me, and I had the Tandra field generator, set to invisibility. When it was safe to do so, I shut off the generator and continued walking. Instead of going to the bakery, I headed for the Bank of Montréal, and purchased all of their American currency, almost $3,000, and got about $10,000 in Canadian funds from my account.

"What are you going to do with all that money?" Vicky a teller, and a friend of mine, asked.

"I have to buy Susan a birthday present, and some things for some other important people in my life."

I could feel her emotions. I had dated her for a short time and I found her a very nice and vivacious girl, but not what I was looking for at the time. She still wanted to continue our relationship, even when she knew that I was going exclusively with Susan for over a year. She was a little heartbroken as I left the front door.

I spotted the florist across the street, and headed over, dodging the cars on the slippery street. I bought three dozen pink roses and had them deliver them with three vases to the bank. Each had cards, saying they were from a secret admirer that had to remain that way. I knew Vicky and her coworkers would have a much better day, thinking on whom the man could possibly be.

The bakery had made a beautiful cake and I tipped and thanked the baker for doing such a nice job for me. This is one of the reasons I always came to this establishment. The creation was boxed and I wandered back to the alley and activated my shield when Mom was ready. If anyone was to look, they would see a box float up and disappear about ten metres off the ground.

I was mobbed by the girls, but they backed off quickly from my cold clothing on their bare skin. The girls were in fine spirits so I knew something had happened. I read their minds and looked at the screen. I saw Paul get out of his truck and inspect his wheels. The girls had got Mom to use her tractors to elevate the truck, just a little. When he tried to drive, she moved him the opposite way he wanted to go. Poor Paul was perplexed, how all of a sudden, everything seemed to be going wrong. The younger ones had giggled as the truck slipped sideways, and it was pushed a short ways into the snow bank. He just got in as the truck stopped moving.

"You girls are cruel. Paul will have fits thinking about this later."

Susan said, "It was just too good a chance to pass up. Where are we going to now, Henry?"

"It's a surprise. Just watch," I said to Susan and all the rest, while to Mom I said, "Let's go to Tampa."

"Yes Henry. Shopping again?" She said, only to me.

We watched the screen as the blue sky got darker and darker, till we left the majority of the atmosphere behind. There was no feeling of acceleration, and the only thing noticeable was that the stars lost their twinkle and grew brighter by the second. After reaching the top of our flight path the next leg showed cloud cover over most of the east coast, but Florida looked clear and sunny. The trip from North Bay to Tampa by car would take about 32 hours of continuous driving, but Mom made it in that many minutes. Her shield even negated the sonic shock wave that plagued all other Earth craft.

Susan wore some of the standard ship coveralls made for her. When I showed my appreciation of her form, the others put on similar garments too. The shiny silver metallic sheen on the form fitting one piece garments looked good on her. The insignia in Tandra script, denoted her name and rank appeared as a beautiful decal only. Small metallic looking articles hung from various places, and were tools for calibrating different equipment. They looked very good on the coveralls, and the girls decided to keep them there. When looked at as a whole, it had a very military look, but chic at the same time.

I talked to the other girls, "Susan and I will go into the stores again and see what will look good. If you see anything that looks interesting, just tell us."

Mom dropped us between two semis and we regained our visibility. The air was warm for this time of year, about 28. The lot was only partially full of cars, but the number was still quite large. The mall we entered was air-conditioned and had three levels of businesses. All about the mall was the usual sale signs, but now they were mall wide, promising great savings to lure the customers in.

Young children ran around followed by tired parents. Teens drifted in groups making loud conversations. Seniors sat on some to the benches talking to their friends. Tired parents sat waiting for their children to come out of the stores. No matter what their gender or age they looked at us. I toned my aura down to avoid notice. This didn't help too much, because most people found they liked the looks of Susan, her utility coveralls, and boots, that matched her outfit beautifully. Her long black hair streamed down her back to her waist. Her cheery smile and upright posture, told everybody that she was a female and proud of being a member of the Human race.

Men especially looked at her with lust in their eyes. I couldn't blame them, I thought at the time, for I too was under her spell. An elbow from Susan, that was reading my mind, got me back to my surroundings. I watched women admire Susan and her outfit, wondering if either they could see the contents, or a place to buy a similar garment.

"Susan look at me. I have a red flannel shirt, faded blue jeans, and heavy black boots. You on the other hand, wear those clothes like a fashion model, and all the men and some of the women, want to get into them with you."

"So."

"There is not enough room in there for me too." Susan gave me one of her infectious smiles, and held my hand like teenagers.

Five boys around 17 or so stood in our way. I was prepared to protect Susan when I remembered the time on the dance floor. It was not that they went out of their way, just stood stunned and their first look of her. The oldest a dark skinned boy with two shirts, the outer one open. His jeans hung far down his hips and would give him a bit of trouble doing anything more than a walk. After a little searching, we knew he was a good kid and trying to walk the straight and narrow, especially since his mother died about six months ago. I saw her final wish, that he make something of himself and follow his conscience. Susan and I looked further into his head and saw that he was almost mesmerized by Susan's beauty and grace, even in coveralls.

"Hello Jerome," I said. "I bet you haven't seen a fox like this before, have you?"

Susan smiled at both of us, and Jerome said, "No, not like her. She has something special about her." Then he suddenly looked at me, and said, "How'd ya know my name?"

Jerome was sliding into trouble slowly, and I saw that he would go for the easy money in drugs, soon like so many of his friends. "Jerome, your mother wants you to be good and stay away from BeBop and Fixer. They will probably be arrested soon, and you will go down with them. She had very high hopes for you, and your little brother. Don't throw them away." Jerome was stunned, and since our point was made, we just walked around the group.

As we got by the last boy, Susan reached out quickly and held the youth's shoulder and squeezed a nerve centre. "I am not, and I don't do it with boys like you. Watch what you are thinking or you will find yourself in a lot of trouble." She just released her hold with a final squeeze, and pulled me along, as if nothing happened.

I commented on the boy. "Well he was crude, and I guess they have to put on a facade, even to themselves. I hope he learns to treat ladies right, for he is in a collision course with reality.

The mall was very large, and we went all over the place with other inquisitive minds looking out through our eyes. Electronics, shoes and for the most part clothing stores were uninspiring to each of us. A store specializing in baby supplies did interest the girls for a while, but nothing was really exciting. A furniture store caught my eye when I thought of some needs in the rooms that were not furnished yet.

An upscale dress shop caught Susan's eye, and we entered to find a young, and fairly attractive sales clerk ready and willing to help. It was obvious that she was very interested in Susan. She now only had eyes for Susan and she almost drooled at the sight, before her.

Susan just ignored the few subtle hints for help, as she looked around trying for just the right garment. Minutes later she asked to try on a few dresses, when further back in the store. A shear cocktail dress caught her eye first. "I would like to try this on."

"Yes dear. Would you like me to help?" The clerk asked. Susan looked around, and saw that they were completely isolated from view.

"No thanks." Susan used the mental commands. The shoes came undone and the coveralls parted in three areas. It fell to the floor as if by magic with a few shrugs, revealing a strong beautiful naked body beneath. Her pelvic area was shaved just like her new sisters, and she almost burnt the clerk with her smouldering eyes. She just opened the dress and put it on. "Henry, do me up."

"Yes milady," I said in my best British accent. "Would milady consider the black dress on the far wall?"

Susan ignored me, and moved the dress about to hang correctly. She turned to the open mouthed clerk, and said, "I'll take this one."

I could feel the girls back on the ship laughing at her antics as well as what the clerk was thinking. My own excitement had started to grow, when I saw her taunt the poor clerk. I picked up her shoes and coveralls and followed, like the good lackey I was.

When Susan found the right size of the dress I liked, she told me, "Henry, undo the zipper and pull the dress off, Honey." She looked around and saw that it was still safe to do so.

Behind a display of dresses I did as Susan asked, and pulled it up and off her beautiful frame. The new dress did not go on immediately. Susan with the urgings of the girls on the ship commanded, "I have an itch here," pointing to her bare mons. "Scratch it for me."

The girl looked at me, and helplessly got in front of Susan and settled to her knees. She used her fingers then her tongue to relieve the itch. Susan lowered her arms and held the girl's face in place. A diversion was necessary. I placed Susan clothing on the rack, and moved to the front of the store and removed the bonds on my aura, as I appeared to be looking for something special.

The last two clerks left a customer, to come to me. Even the older woman customer did the same. "I am looking for some sexy lingerie. Could any of you charming ladies make any suggestions?"

I looked at the girls and saw that they were almost glassy eyed. The older customer just stared with her mouth open. The younger clerk, a dark skinned beauty, said, "I think these here will look nice. I even wear them."

My hearing was very good. I knew that Susan and even the girl were close. "May I see them?" With only a little hesitation, she picked up the front of her dress, and I saw a red pair with lace around the edge, a match for the ones in her hand. I stepped closer and asked, "May I feel their texture, and see how tight they will be?"

Again I got only her nod of agreement, and my hand traced over her covered abdomen. My fingers traced over her mons, and I heard her indrawn breath, as well as that of the other two at my actions. I pulled her close and her hands released the dress and wrapped around my neck. The front of the dress trapped against my chest. My fingers went around her waist feeling her narrow midriff, above the panties, before descending and feeling the fullness of her ass in the back.

I pictured in my mind the girl's naked body against mine, as my fingers felt for her openings. This I projected as well as I could, and it must have worked for she suddenly pulled me closer to her.

My finger followed around the front and went under the edge of her lingerie to trace a finger lightly over her wiry bush. I cast out to all three now, a small cock trying to gain entrance to the opening of the woman before me. My finger found her slit and as it went back and forth picked up moisture. I removed my hand and innocently said to her, "May I look some more? I am sure to find a treasure somewhere."

The girl was not very talkative, usually a good trait, so I reached as high under her dress and slowly worked my hand into the tops of her panties. This time it was much easier to find her slot, and work on her clit. The girls must have been trying to mesh with her too, for she suddenly thrust her pelvis repeatedly forward and orgasmed. She moans muffled by my chest. I heard Susan cum too. The customer and the other clerk were holding onto each other. They had felt something too, but not as strong as the girl in my arms.

Looking out the doorway of the shop I saw many women. Some with children, others either with female friends or male, but all stood and stared at us. There was nothing any of them could see, except a dress pulled tightly to the back of a woman's legs.

"Susan, you better get that girl straightened up. They may start an orgy, and it would be no good for any of their reputations."

"Oh, that was a good one Henry," she said about her orgasm. "I'll see what I can do here."

"Girls I would like to see both of your panties too, but I think the people watching us would want to join in too."

They all turned to the doorway, but Monica, the girl in my arms, did not really care. The currents still flowing through her. I didn't think she would mind if I picked her up, laid her on the pile of panties, and relieve my own mounting passion. Instead I just picked her up in my arms, and carried her to the counter and let her sit on the glass top.

Susan came over and looked at the still content girl, and said aloud, "What did you do to her? She looks like she got very lucky."

"Just a diversion so Lois, the girl you were with, did not get fired."

"Didn't think of that. Sorry."

"That's fine. Just run over to the red panties, and buy four extra sets for these girls, as a sort of memento." Susan looked at their probable sizes and got the four pairs and a few for the girls on the ship, who wanted a pair too. In this case it was all of them. Lois came from the back of the shop recovered somewhat from her labours. She tried to look as professional as possible. She was the only one that could ring in our order.

I paid cash for our purchases, and kissed each of the women goodbye, placing into their hands one of the panties. I toned down the aura and left the store. The women in front were reluctant to move out of my way even now. I carried the bag as Susan pushed a way through the throng, and we left to continue shopping.

Susan said, "My god. I can't believe I did that. One moment I am looking into a Lois's mind and seeing how nice she is. Then the girls get into the act, and I get so horny that I am forced to almost rape the poor thing. What do you think Henry?"

"The girls did influence you, and part of the problem was me, because I too got worked up. The girl did welcome all of your advances though. If this happened in North Bay, then you would not be able to walk around with your head held so high. We are going to have to work on controlling ourselves better."

"I don't know how I am going to manage that. I am glad I could share Lois with my sisters though, but I don't like being pushed to do things like that. In a Tandra society that would be acceptable, but I wouldn't like word to get back to my parents."

I looked behind, and saw that some of the women were still following. I imagine the same as a man will follow a pretty woman for a moment, then only with his eyes. Five minutes later the crowd had thinned but would take a lot longer to leave. It would be good if we did first. The phone caught my attention and I found a takeou, t that had most of the girls favourites and I just had to ask their location by cross streets. Later we stopping by a ice-cream counter, I purchased a large tub of ice-cream and a box of graham cracker cones.

As we stepped outside into the hot humid air, at least a dozen women followed. The old trick with the transport truck had to be used, but this time Mom was able to come low enough that nobody would see anything visible raising and disappearing inside her.

"Mom will you put this someplace cold? I need to talk to the rest."

"Yes Henry, I can do that."

The girls were all in the control room, and my mind was locked as tight as I could make it. Upon entering they ran to Susan and said they were sorry. Though they meant it, I felt that they would do it again, if the circumstances were the same.

"Girls," I said to get their attention. "I am disappointed in you. We are on Earth, not Tandra. The morals of the people here are a lot different than yours. We can't afford to have ourselves be in the spotlight. What would have happened if the police had come and wanted to question us?"

They ran the scenario through their minds and then looked into my now opened mind and saw where all of this might come to. The younger ones that couldn't see this, were told by the older ones. This time they clustered around Susan and the apologies this time felt a lot more convincing.

Mom rose to about 30 metres and we silently made our way to our destination across the city. We came close to towering apartment and office buildings and could see in some. The girls seemed to have a voyeuristic tendencies and looked for anything of interest. Some of the couples they saw had not yet begun to engage in sex. The girls wanted to see them, and wanted Mom to drop some probes then wait and see what developed. Just like Captain Bligh, I did not let that happen.

Susan and I settled into the alley, and got quite a few bags of food from the restaurant. I didn't know for the life of me, where the girls put all their food. Mom cruised north at a relatively slow speed to see the scenery. The water sparkled whenever we looked and Mom's displays removed all of the glare. Long lines of cars travelled bumper to bumper heading even on a Saturday to their destinations.

The only thing, that did break the view, was a police chase. A red Vette was weaving in and out of traffic trying to escape. "Mom can you use one of your tractors to gently stop the car, before they kill somebody?"

Mom changed course and the car in a distance of only a hundred metres, came to a stop and then slid sideways to the side of the road. The two occupants tried to flee, but Mom held them tight until the police came with drawn guns. We hovered for a moment while the driver and passenger were cuffed.

We continued our trip with the girls now looking for any more excitement that they could find. Other than speeders, there was nothing important. Eventually the terrain began to get more irregular as we approached the Appalachians. That with the cloud cover coming in from the Atlantic, caused us to head a lot further west to continued our trip north. At some of the cities we gained altitude to see things better. There was so much to see, that taking it at a low altitude, would not allow us enough time to see everything.

I was sitting back thinking of my own life. I too needed to get back and view it from a distance to understand it. Other than Susan, I was the first Human to reach orbit with a Tandra vehicle, at least in millions of years. I was the first since that time, to offer my help, and possibly the first to fall in love with them. Susan in my mind now was almost fully integrated into the Tandra matriarchal system, and since learning the language, it was hard to tell them apart, other than by the looks.

It was getting late, and I wanted to get back home. I had groceries to pick up in North Bay for the meal I planned to make tonight, with my own hands. "Mom, let's leave the scenic route, and get back. There is a lot of things I have to do yet."

"Yes Henry."

Secric and Blue got excited and then all the rest. I looked at the screen and saw an old pick-up truck running from a fairly new suv. We zoomed in, and saw the truck weaving as it tried to hold the road. Mom knew we were interested, and did not leave yet.

A person with thin pale white arms, probably a woman, was being chased by two large men. The chase car repeatedly tried to bump the back of the truck to throw it out of control. The roadway looked seldom used, and had a steep side of rough rock and the other side was just a series of wooden poles strung with a single strand of wire rope. An accident here, would probably be fatal. A small truck coming around the curve was the only thing that made the suv back off.

"Mom, let's get down there before somebody is killed or they run into somebody. Can anybody get a reading on those people?" I asked frantically, knowing how a chase like this, would end.

"Henry, there are two young children in the truck too."

Susan volunteered, "The woman being pursued, is thinking she will either get killed or raped and dragged back for more rape. Her children are in the same danger."