Chapter 81

From all around, I got strong feelings of incredulity. At the computer room door I went in alone. I could see Hans clearly and took a step towards him. I remembered not too long ago taking this crystal and getting Mom to program it with some of my attributes and place it here in this same place.

Since one place was a good as another, I looked into the multi-dimensional space around us and parted some of the dimensions with my mind. With the opening a few metres square, I strode in and looked for Mom along the long corridor. There had been many small hints that I was able to decipher as I went along and found Mom the first time. While Mom was beginning to work on Hans, I ordered some substrate. I soon began to make a much more powerful and roomy home for Hans. He would have to work on this himself because all the other major AIs in the system were working hard at getting the other ships ready. The crystals were ready and on Earth. It was now just a matter of Mom transporting them through the dimensional passage and Hans placing them in position. The crystal where Hans now resided could safely be moved by the computer alone but the ship would not be as fully functional as it normally would be during this process.

While in the passage, I thought of my mind and how some small crystals had been used as a sort of phased array, to allow me to hear the Kadork mindspeech. Perhaps the same thing could be used with the predictor crystal. Mom passed me a crystal and I started to clean it then put in the correct structure. I was surprised to find that it was much easier here in the multi-dimensional environment than it was on the moon or even travelling in the higher reaches, with Harriet. I passed this information onto Mom so she could work on it too when she had some spare time.

Mom now passed me some of the temporal crystals that the shield and the small missile used. As I expected, the work was much easier and it only took a bit more than two seconds to do one. As an experiment, I stayed and worked for an hour. In that time I was up to just a bit more than a second each. This was quite an improvement over what I was capable of before. It appeared that this environment naturally helped the crystals align better and small alterations would fall into predetermined steps.

I did a few more main processors and found them to be only a fraction of the time that it took before. "Mom, try to do some crystals in this passage too. It may be much better than in the labs."

"I have, Henry. It is much easier. The linkages seem to snap into place easier as if there are only so many possible positions for the crystals to align to."

"I found that too. Something along the lines of Planck's Constant, I think."

"Perhaps we can have a Buchanan's Constant, now."

Just before leaving I tried to reason out what would be time among the dimensions. As an experiment I tried to take a long step as far back as I could. When I came out, I interfaced with Hans and saw that this experiment had not worked.

Paul had stayed outside with some of his officers. The reasoning in Paul's mind seemed to be setting up a pecking order even if he was not crude enough to think that particular thought. With me the Emperor, then he had a place in my military and thereby had authority over his officers and men. As long as everyone knew their place, there would be no arguing. Apparently Paul was still apprehensive about his young age and very high position.

Paul and our entourage walked through the ship that took so many lives to take. I finally asked about the light destroyer that was the first ship taken. "Oh, the 'Uncle Henry'. Its crew acted very bravely during the battle. They took a bit of a beating when the Samutz attacked but they had no deaths luckily. There were a few close calls when the screen was actually breached. Would you like me to call the ship in?"

"No, that's ok. I just wanted to know about it. How did it acquire that name?"

Paul turned very red and I thought he would rather be fighting a Samutz bare handed now than talking to me. In a moment he recovered and I could see fear in him and in the officers around us. "Captain Shingle and I thought the name appropriate since you and Dad took it."

I just slapped him on the shoulder and said, "That's fine. I would have picked a different name but that is me. The name can stay."

We finished the tour and I congratulated the officers on how well the ship was brought up to standards. This was when we, as a race, had just started our first steps into space. This seemed to be the right thing to say and the men and women stood even prouder.

As we came by the Captain's quarters, I ran into little Moesha as she raced out of the doorway. She gave a little 'eek' as I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. "And what is a little girl like you doing running around the ship?"

"Hi, Daddy. I was going to the bridge to get Charlie to come here. Aunt Doris wants him for a few measurements." She spotted Paul and said, "She wants you too, Uncle Paul. She says that her old measurements are all wrong now."

Charlie had given his cabin over to the family and moved his things in with Paul. This was no hardship for there was lots of room for everybody and especially the officers.

Doris was putting a pretty dress onto Clarice. It was suitable for any princess I would ever meet. Michelle was dressed similarly but not the same. Kimberly was admiring herself in a viewer that moved to any prospective she wanted. A dress, hanging still in the air could only be for Moesha. An illustration in a book with the picture before me would make any little girl croon with pleasure at the thoughts of princesses. The only thing missing would be the small crown.

When Clarice was dressed, Doris turned to us and saw Paul. "Come here, Honey. I need to get a few measurements. You boys have grown and put more muscle on. You'll not make it through the doorways soon."

"Ah, Ma."

I left after a while. There was no problem in any of them getting a ride home. The rest of the family was up and about their duties. Ingrid was sitting in a chair with her eyes closed, learning about imperial protocol. Lam was feeding the first of her many children and I was glad to see that she had found some help in taking care of them. All the little mobile children were out with Duc and I knew he would have his hands full without Marcus' help. I sat close to Lam, picked up Hope and played with her a little. She looked so intelligent, as she looked into my eyes. With people like this, it was no wonder that the Tandra empire grew to the size and complexity it did.

Remembering home, Marcus provided me with a very plush blanket. I got Faith and Charity and placed them on the blanket with their sister. I got on the floor myself to play with each. I would tickle one and all three would twitch from the contact. I went to different places on different bodies till they were all gurgling happily. I liked to talk to children but these three were special, even if they couldn't speak yet. It would be as hard leaving them as it was their mother.

The children reminded me that only Nova, of the senior wives, was not carrying my baby. I pictured in my mind her gentle ways and quiet persuasion she used on the others to get them to work a bit harder. Since she was the oldest she had many decedents. I remember telling her once that I would gather her relatives for her so that she could meet them all.

My mind went to Earth. "Mom, would you search out all of Nova's relatives for me. She wanted to meet them but they were always on one side or another of a stasis pod."

"I have records of two. A great grand daughter is currently on the Nautilus training as Fire Control Officer. A grandson is young and in stasis. His mother died in the recent Samutz attack."

The particulars of each came to me and I could see that Vosta, the officer on the battleship was competent but would need a lot of training to become anything higher. Not all Tandra strove to reach for the impossible dream. They did try to be as competent as they could in their own speciality.

Humans seemed to be the opposite. Some worked hard to reach a higher position and almost always reached too high. They usually found themselves in a situation they could not handle properly. Most though, didn't try for anything beyond a mildly comfortable life that got them just enough rewards to afford their beer and cigarettes. Perhaps the Tandra could show these ones that they could do better and raise their level of achievement. Other higher achieving Humans would drive the empire further and further.

Vosta was probably happy just where she was. The young grandson was only two and a half and knew nothing of what had happened to the home he was born in. His mother's recent death would affect Nova. The records of the child's mother's actions in the Earth base rise to self-sufficiency and the circumstances around her heroic death might somehow give Nova some peace when she found out. Perhaps taking the child would in some way help both.

The garrisons I left with Nova would also need some assistance. Most but not all, had been sent data of our present circumstances before I came to Earth. With Uncle Jake and possibly the hull Mom was preparing, then the large fleet outside the system would not be needed. The Mordis infantry and Tandra techs could be spread out to beef up the existing garrisons and allow more troops to be placed on other important planets.

Mom and I took some time and word was sent out to some of the ships around our system giving them orders and what crewmembers to take. This would mobilize about two hundred ships and at least four million Tandra. Their casual training period was coming to a close and could now be employed. There had to be enough potential officers left to fill the twenty cruisers and provide some assistance for the new carrier. This group would all be integrated with the Tandra coming from Fenmar.

Mom had sent word to Epsilon Eridani to get some crystals shipped out of the system so I could pick them up without anybody becoming aware of the crystal's origins. Harriet had told me more about this particular system. The code fragments I sent her were finally decrypted after a lot of work and it appeared the Tandra had formed a double blind. Frieda had programming that required her to forget that the matter transmitter was just outside the system and that it was even used.

This signified that the crystals had been more than just important to the Tandra. I could not really see how they must have played such an important part in their technology. Many scenarios were postulated in my mind and it looked like the Tandra empire was as byzantine as what some Earth cultures were.

The current crystals we were altering would be in great demand. Even with the new discovery of changing them in their natural environment, the number produced would be pitifully small. Mom could make them faster now but what was needed was a computer that could make them very efficiently and in great numbers. Raw material might not be a problem if we could make use of the giant cache of imperfect crystals in the Epsilon Eridani system.

The hidden manufacturing area for machining and polishing the small crystals that were used in combat suits was not suitable for our needs. It did its job well enough but was much too slow and would not work for larger crystals. What was needed was a similar machine moved into the type of environment that a large computer would make or in the maze itself.

The computer substrate grew many times faster in this area too. Small computers took a considerable amount of time to make. For their size and power they almost took as long as the large ones computers. It seemed that nobody before could navigate the upper dimensions as I could. Someone had to have a partial ability or the computers, as we knew them, would never have been built. In all the years that the Tandra were active it was a certainty that they had postulated the same things that I was doing. They were unable to bring them to fruition though.

We had made many new discoveries but now needed more insight and effort in bringing these limited production ideas to our military forces. The only people that could do this and keep the secret would be AIs and me. I could see some of the reasons now for Tandra secrecy but I doubted that they were hiding the same thing I was.

I was interrupted by a call. Behind me a woman appeared with a child in her arms. The woman was very nervous at being sent here. Coming to an Emperor's household was a thing only dreamed of. The child though was just a bit nervous at going somewhere new. The large amounts of mindspeech and the sheer number of people on the moon was a bit disconcerting. The change in gravity also seemed to upset him but not too much.

I turned around but continued to sit on the blanket with the girls. "Come in. There is nothing to worry about," I said to both.

Lam put the child she was feeding down after burping him and got up to see who our guests were. Lam did her best to get both to relax. Both were taken to the food synthesizer and given some treats to eat and drink. Lam knew what was really appreciated by Tandra. I continued to work on our problems and soon the woman came out with a smile and disappeared into the matter transmitter outside our doorway. A few moments later Lam came out with her right hand holding a much happier little boy.

Lam brought Gerdo over to us and introduced him to me. I shook his hand but he did not really know about this Earth custom. He was not too interested in me but did sit on the fluffy blanket and look at the children.

"This lady, says you know my grandmother," though his mindspeech was not quite as clear or his thoughts well organized.

"Yes I do. Your grandmother is my wife. She is far away looking after a whole system. I thought it would be good to go for us to go and see her together. She gets lonely sometimes. Would you like to go with me?"

The boy thought for a while. Relatives were not as important to Tandra as they were to some Humans. They did offer some security. "Where's my mother? She can take me too." I could see he was noncommital about seeing Nova and knew he would go to visit her after I had set up communications on this trip.

"Gerdo, some bad people attacked us and your mother fought very hard to protect all of us. She flew a two place fighter and lost her life while attacking them." The boy started to cry after he gained an understanding of what my words meant. He didn't know his mother well but she was still the only permanent fixture in his young life. I reached out and gently pulled him to me. He took a few steps and hung onto my neck as he cried for his loss and ours. Lam was upset by the child's feelings and was about to get up but I signalled her to remain seated. Ingrid, was pulled from her studies by a child crying and would have gotten up also. After ten minutes, I placed him on the blanket with the girls. He sniffled for a while with my hand rubbing his back and went to sleep with Mom's subtle urging.

I knew it would have to end this way. Gerdo would become one of my sons and Nova would be one of his many mothers. This way he would have some time to get to know Nova and Sandy before having to mix too much with the rest of our large family. Perhaps one day he would be able to pay an enemy back for what they had done to him and to us.

The children stayed on the floor but I had many things that still needed to be done. Lam promised to look after the boy and I took the matter transmitter to Harriet and flew to Earth. Inside the extension I made in Mom's computer, I began to formulate the computer for the hull she made. There were many other computers being assisted but Mom worked for a bit on this and we found that it grew close to thirty times faster. In only forty minutes, the crystals went in and the computer became self aware.

My recent thoughts of Gerdo had made me think of my own father. The crystal had therefore been loaded with all my thoughts and recollections of him. I had mixed feelings about this. I still wanted my father to be alive so I could talk to him about my problems but I also knew it would only give me pain when I had to leave. At least I knew his resurrected essence would be here to protect the rest of our family.

When he awoke, he called me, "Henry," right away because Mom had put a lot of information into the memory crystals. It did not feel right calling him 'John' and 'Dad' did not seem right either. My ship with my mother's memories was called Margaret, so I guess I would follow the precedent and call him John anyway.

"Hello, John. Do your internal scans show any problems or could you think of any improvements?"

"Everything looks perfect. I don't know how your grouping of predictor crystals will work though."

"I don't either. They've not been what I hoped they would be."

I had a new idea and floated over the new computer and opened another door into the full dimensions. Mom sent some substrate and I began a small computer here that would interface with John much like he was interfacing with Mom. Into the same area I put three crystals but did not insert them into the computer.

"John, try to alter the crystals in this new area. If this can be accomplished then we may have found a way to help us overcome some of our delivery problems."

In just a few minutes the new computer was being tested then the crystals began to glow and even change shape. When Mom's tractors took them out they were checked and found to be as good as we could make them.

"That's good, John. This means that you can rearm yourself with these new weapons. Now, we have to see about moving you to your hull." The matter transmitter in this area was only for repair and was not big enough for the hull to enter. Perhaps that could be rectified in time. A room in a computer could be many times larger than the ship that contained the computer itself. I did not know how much the mass in this area would effect acceleration though.

The idea I originally had might work and I decided to try it. I saw the boundaries around John and used my PK to gather them up and fold them into a small package. This was similar to the way I stepped within a shield or computer. When it was folded enough times I held it in one hand with my other one over it. I had to concentrate to keep the dimensions stable. Mom used her tractors to move me out of the computer and down the hall to the first matter transmitter station. In the hangar the hull Mom made was ready. I walked to it and at the small door to the small computer room started to unfold the computer. The energy given off by the crystals allowed me to alter the interior of the small enclosure. At the end of the process I had to make further room for the extension and a large area for a matter transmitter that had not been placed yet.

All of the AIs hooked up to Mom followed my moves and I could feel some assistance coming now as John was connected up to various devices that controlled the ship's functions. John started to help himself and the process was done fairly quickly.

In twenty minutes, John said that he was complete but did not have the matter transmitter. When Mom took one from stores and delivered it I could not find a way to get it into the small ship. The effect of the crystals would only allow part of it to enter but the remainder stayed stubbornly outside. A large room with crystals altering all the dimensions within it might be used to compress a matter transmitter or anything else. I did not have this room though or enough crystals to make it.

Mom took the large device away and soon parts came by tractor that John could pick up the same way and assemble the complicated device within the area allotted. This took more time. Eventually the device was assembled, connected to the computer and tested. The result though was dismal. It just didn't work. Power went to it and it was consumed but a test object did not move. I couldn't see much difference between the matter transmitter in three dimensions and only partially in the other two with one in all five equally.

I was tired from all the mental effort and just suggested that John take a test flight to check his systems. Later we could work again on what went wrong. Part of my mind stubbornly stayed on the problem as I got back in Harriet and flew to the Nautilus. Orders had been sent ahead to just get me to the computer room and to forget any ceremonies.

Captain William Meech did meet me though with his exec. Pasha brought all of us to the hatch. Both Human and Tandra guessed that they were going to get the instant communications. It was not necessary when within the system but anytime they had to go beyond three and a half lights then this would work much better.

Pasha opened the door and I was beyond view in one step. It took only a few seconds now to open a large area for the new computer and start it growing. A similar area for a matter transmitter was set aside if and when we could find a way to make a device work in this environment. Mom worked her magic on Pasha and then both started to help the process further. Crystals came from tractors handed from Mom directly through the back door. This was a substitute for the transmitter but not what I wanted yet.

After a few more hours back in Mom's computer trying to find a way to get the matter transmitter to function, I was ready to give it up for a while. When I came out one of the converted cruisers came next to the carrier and some of the people from Fenmar boarded. Earth could not really tell one cruiser from another and some were on our outer fringe patrolling. Many of our own troops boarded too. The AIs were busy putting the right people in the right place. I had enough time before our scheduled meal to have a visit and try to see if there were any problems.

The AIs had gone through a long list and chosen a very young looking Tandra female as captain by the name of Foomala. I was greeted in the bay with as much pomp and majesty as they could quickly scrape up on short notice. I tried to explain that now was not the time for this sort of display. Foomala, on the other hand, disagreed and stood by her guns. In a way she was right for the crew would respond better if they all knew their place in the grand scheme of things. Her polite disagreement with her Emperor pleased me.

Foomala was pushing the millennium mark in a very young and attractive body. Her mind was quick and sharp. She didn't seem to put up with nonsense but then again, the people from Earth after their training thought the same way. She had not fought in any wars but had thrown her weight around with unruly races on various worlds.

"My emperor, I heard you mention what you would give us. Though I did not think that you would not deliver, I did not think it would be as good as this. The cruiser I came here in was so phenomenal that I would hazard to say that it was the most intelligent computer ever made. From your people, I see that this is starting to become common. Your Mom has said that the carrier will be just as efficient."

"I think it will. I have another surprise. There are some fighters in the forward bay that have been given a partial temporal shield covering the forward section. There is a new crystal installed that will allow the simple AI to predict where danger is and try to avoid it. This hull also has that capability and you can use it to keep your command safe. Lastly, the fighters are in constant communication with Mom and Mom will be in communication with the new AI when it awakes. When they are beyond communicator range you will get a few seconds of warning that nobody in history was ever able to get."

She did not know what to say. She was stunned when she heard me talk on her planet and now even more so when I had even improved on what I offered. She would be even more pleased when she took the ship out for trials and experimented with what she had been given. As we walked about the ship I saw a lot more Humans than Tandra. There was were actually a hundred and fifty thousand Humans, forty six thousand Tandra from Fenmar and almost all of the Softay population we had.

Before I left the AI was shifted over to the new computer and moved into its new home. The old computer was stripped for components and the parts placed in storage. I followed the reasoning within the computer in the crystal too and found them at optimum. While she devoted her time and energy to her duties she also had time to work on the crystals she had. She could also produce her own crystals for the missiles.

I had tried to make the AIs different and this particular one had some of the mannerisms and social traits of a Softay female. She would not be slow to fight though and I hoped the real Softay would take extra pride in the ship and tried to emulate the AI.

The family had waited a bit for me and we ate our meal in a more sombre mood. Gerdo sat with members of his own age group and seemed to be a little happier. Monique, Justine and her children ate with us too. Everybody was a little ill at ease. My coming departure meant that I would have to leave them again. It had taken half a year to come back last time and I had almost been killed many times. They were very concerned that they would not see me again. I tried to start up conversations but they seemed to die out fairly quickly.

Ingrid was quick to voiced the wives' viewpoint. "Henry, are you going to make love to us before you leave?"

My mind was working on many ideas but part could still make sure the wives were satisfied before I had to leave. "I would be happy to."

The group separated after our meal. The children went to their rooms to study or make each other happy. My wives went to our room and washed in preparation for our lovemaking. When I went to Ingrid she said, "Henry, I would like to be last this time." I could see that she wanted to enjoy the sights and sounds and perhaps have her own cum before I got to her.

Kitten was first. I walked up to her and held her tightly to me and kissed her lips. Since I first met her she had come to be very good at this. Instead of me starting to get her aroused she took the lead and started kissing different parts of me. In a few minutes she was on her knees sucking me into her mouth. The feeling was very special because she was doing this for more than just gratification but for love. I was surprised when she was able to get more of me into her throat and I was concerned that she would be hurt. Kitten sensed my concern and just told me to enjoy.

Kitten wanted my seed and I did what she wanted with as much enjoyment as I could get. Her head and hand working fast to make the sensations as strong and as long as possible. It took a moment for me to recover and I just bent over and picked my wife up. I kissed her lips and let her know how much I loved her. When she melted against me I savoured the closeness for a moment, then picked her up and laid her on the bed. She was already eager and I just used some oil and slipped into her tight passage.

I sawed back and forth in a slow rhythm, as old as time, trying to get her to where I wanted her to be. As on the ship I could feel the Tandra all around start to play voyeur and project their own emotions into Kitten. To counter this effect I subtly altered her ability to orgasm. It took her seconds to go from a loving wife to a wild woman bent on making herself pregnant even if she already was. In an uncharacteristic, to her move, she tried to use her hands and draw me in quicker and her fingernails made marks on my skin. She started to even howl as if she was a cat in heat, as her name implied. Her body moved as if she could scoop more of me up if she moved at the right time.

To flout the voyeurs and now Kitten I continued with my slow pace. As she became more insistent I used the tractors to pin her down and continued to slide slowly into her. Her voice came out pleading for release. Her neck and chest showed all her muscles taut trying for just that little bit more that would put her and the rest over.

Ingrid was sprawled on the bed in a 69 position with Dola. They were sucking on each other and Dola had no feeling to extend his penis. He was firmly in the funt mode and I doubted if his penis would ever come out again.

Roger and Topaz were doing the same thing as were the rest of my wives. In the doorway I could see Ingrid's children watching as well as Monique and Justine. Her sons, though, were watching from another doorway. All of them had their hands busy. Jeremy and Matthew had more than their share of sex since coming here but this time the sight was a little too much for them. Their clothing was removed and they were stroking their small dicks. The new Humans were becoming accustomed to the way the Tandra affected them too.

As the intensity grew, I knew it would be good to let Kitten and the others with her find release. I thrust faster into the pinned woman and then removed my control on her orgasm and on her body. Her arms came up and so did her back. The muscles stood out in stark relief as she screamed out her pleasure. I could hear similar calls from others in the vicinity.