Chapter 333

The Retreat

When the Escalade came to a stop in the garage, Bill got out and opened Eileen's door, then reached to take her hand to help her stand. Her worry and embarrassment were evident. "They all know what we were doing," she said, looking up at him with a wry smile.

Instead of turning for the steps into the building proper, he took her into his arms. "So? Do you think we were the only ones who spent part of Christmas afternoon making love? Remember, all the men here are Alphas and every one of us – men and women – have been enhanced. Has Diana mentioned what happened to her when Little One first enhanced her?"

"Well, she alluded to it, but she said she would go into detail later."

"Then, I'll let her tell the story, but back then Little One's knowledge of the human body was just in its initial stages. The enhancement wasn't nearly, uh, shall we say, the finished process it is now, and Diana didn't even realize it was happening, and neither did Jeff. He thought Little One was just healing Diana's ankle. But it accelerated her, uh, sexual awareness as well as beginning the enhancement. That led to some serious problems. Now, we all understand that the enhancement affects just about every physical process in our bodies, and it also allows us to use a greater portion of our minds, even enhances our brains by speeding up our thinking processes. Just remember that everyone in there," he said, nodding at the door, "would be totally amazed if we hadn't made love.

"They all know our story. They certainly realize that I'm an Alpha, and Kathy has told everyone about our, uh, meeting at the airport. Kathy is ashamed of being jealous, and tried to make up for it by arranging to meet with you and eventually bringing you to me. Remember, back then, she and I were in the beginning stages of getting together, so in her mind, she was trying to keep you away so she could, shall we say, establish our relationship. At least that's the way I look at it."

Eileen just hugged him and buried her face in his shoulder. "Oh, she's told me all that, but as soon as I walk through that door, everyone is going to be looking at me, and darnit, I'm even walking funny."

"So," he said with a chuckle, "do what Kathy and Jill do, just strut in there grinning. All the women kid each other about sex, and none of their teasing is done in a mean way. Everyone here fucks like minks – well everyone except Eric's daughters and Selina. And you can bet they're just waiting until they're old enough. And if you allow her, Selina will ask you – in detail – exactly what happened. That genius mind is trapped inside a six-year-old's body, but never, never underestimate her. By the time she is old enough to have sex, she'll be the most knowledgeable virgin about the subject of sex that there ever has been."

Eileen couldn't help but smile at that.

"It's almost time for din... , uh, supper. So hold your head high, put a grin on your face and let's go see if it's ready yet. I, for one, am hungry."

Apparently Kathy and Jill had been watching one of the monitors, or else looking out a back window, because they met Bill and Eileen as soon as they stepped into the hallway. The two wives grabbed Eileen in a hug as they whispered something to her, then helped her get her coat off. After giving their husband a quick kiss, they hurried Eileen down the hall toward her suite, leaving Bill standing in the hallway wondering what had happened.

As the women turned the corner, Eileen glanced back and mouthed, "I love you," before the two hustled her out of sight.

"Well, shit," he muttered to himself.

Diana, following her Jeff locator, found him in the weight room of the exercise area, but he wasn't using the weights, instead, he was doing pushups. Nothing unusual about that other than Selina was riding his back as she kept count for him.

The Clan Queen was dressed in a tee shirt and shorts – no bra of course – as she unrolled a mat and tossed it on the floor. Other than a greeting, she said nothing as she worked her way through fifty sit-ups, but her frustration was growing since she wanted to talk to her husband in private. Stopping at fifty, she sat glaring at Jeff, knowing that he knew what she wanted to talk about, but both he and Selina ignored her, Selina's count continuing, "Five hundred and one ... two ... three..."

Glaring at her husband wasn't doing any good, so she said, "Jeff, we need to talk."

"So, talk," he returned, his voice bright, projecting his good mood. "Selina can keep count mentally while we're talking."

"But..." she began, not wanting to hurt Selina's feelings by saying she wanted to talk to her husband in private.

Selina, realizing that Diana wanted privacy, said, "I should check on Billy..." Turning, she slid a leg over as she prepared to hop off Jeff's back.

The Prime responded with, "No," as he caught her leg while balancing himself with one arm and continuing the pushups. "We're not done, and there's no reason for you to go. We have no secrets from you."

When Selina resumed her position astraddle his back, Jeff continued his normal pushups. Selina smiled, obviously enjoying her ride.

Diana sat staring at her husband for a moment until she realized that she was becoming mesmerized by the flexing of his muscles.

Selina glanced at Diana, then returned her attention to Jeff. "My Prime, perhaps I should go after all. It is obvious that our Queen does not wish to partner with me as we attend Ship's academy. I fully understand and will certainly comply with whatever the two of you decide."

Although Selina was trying to keep her voice normal, Diana thought she could detect hurt feelings. Oh, crap. Why didn't I wait until tonight? But I was afraid that the longer I waited, the less chance I would have to change his mind. I keep forgetting that she's a real genius. But why in the world would she ever want to go through the academy with me, anyway? Before her thoughts could go any further, she heard herself say, "No, please don't leave." Then with a sigh, she continued, "Baby, it's not that I don't want to be with you, it's just that you don't understand how worried I am about attending in the first place. I really don't think I'll be good at this sort of thing, and ... I'm absolutely certain that you will be. Even more than that, you will excel just as you do at everything you decide to do.

"Selina, you read a book while I'm reading a few pages, and ... you remember everything you read while I have to concentrate to fully understand the subject. In addition, you can quote the entire book without a single error, and you don't just memorize it, you can use that knowledge appropriately. Arlene has told me about the academy. Even she has had to struggle. Oh, sure, she's top of her class so far, but she has to work hard to stay there. I'll have to work just as hard to pass, if I can manage to pass at all. Doggonit. I don't think my pride will survive this," she finished as tears misted her eyes.

Selina was off Jeff's back in a flash, and a couple of seconds later, plopped down in Diana's lap, almost causing the Queen to fall over backward. "No. No. No. It is not going to be like that," Selina insisted. "We can assist one another. I can assist you academically – if you should need it, which I sorely doubt – and you can assist me with the physical aspects. Although I desperately wish to attend, just as you, I have my doubts. How will my small, undeveloped body survive the obstacle courses? I will require a booster seat merely to sit properly in the command seat of a shuttle, let alone an interceptor. How will I ever pilot them if I cannot reach the controls properly? Some are two person craft, according to Arlene. Will you assist me when it is my turn to be command pilot? Will you be there to encourage me through the obstacle courses? Will the other students make fun of me because I am undeniably small and inexperienced? I am frightened of this, but I want to attend with every atom of my being. Will you, please, attend Ship's academy with me?"

Diana put a hand on each of Selina's shoulders to hold her back a bit so she could stare into the child's face. "I recognize what you're doing, but there's just a chance that some of that might happen." Then turning to Jeff, "Surely she won't be subjected to the live or die scenarios you and Arlene have talked about? I mean, Arlene swears she thought everything was real even as she left the planet in her little scout, knowing she would be killed, but determined to send her data off about that base. And the space suit training..."

While Diana and Selina were talking, Jeff had wiped himself down with a towel, then sat on the floor near the two. "If Selina wants the rating, she will have to complete the academy. Arlene has spent many hours in Ship's simulator, but she still has more time to put in before she graduates. I will not leave Earth with a partially trained crew. We're going to be searching for the race who built Ship's brain. There are a lot of races in this galaxy, and that can be multiplied many times when you consider the multitude of dimensions. The General's people – my team included – have encountered a number of races, a good portion of which are aggressive toward us. It's almost certain that we will encounter other aggressive races as we search. We will be prepared before we leave Earth. Ship's academy is only a start in our training. If anyone flunks out of the academy, they can turn around and start over, or wait a few weeks and then begin again, but everyone here will be trained if they go with us."

"But, Jeff, you're always telling me that I'm the Clan Queen. I'm the one who is supposed to nurture everyone..."

" ... And you do, and you will set an example for the others by completing your academy training with honors," Jeff finished for her.

They sat looking at each other for a few seconds. "But what if I..."

"I know you, Di. You will finish and you will set a fine example for everyone. And Selina, remember, Evie is doing great in her academy training with that petite little body of hers. You'll do just fine. Now let's see if supper is ready. I for one am hungry."

The Prime stood, grabbed Selina and tossed her into the air. Catching her, he put the six-year-old on his shoulders, a leg on either side of his head. Holding her legs, he dashed out of the room and toward the stairs yelling for Diana to hurry.

"Don't hit her head," Diana called out to her husband as Jeff and Selina neared the door to the stairway, the little genius giggling as horse and rider ducked before Jeff charged up the stairway.

Diana was still worried about the academy, but she couldn't help giggling along with Selina. Jeff wasn't Selina's father, and she hadn't called him Daddy, but her love for him was obvious.

The Prison Planet

As usual, Morales was up with the dawn, but this time he had a cup of coffee in his hand. Standing in front of his cave as he sipped the hot brew, he stood watching as the world gradually brightened around him. Due to all the trees, he wasn't able to see the horizon as the sun rose above it, but he enjoyed the view, anyway. The rain last night had been moderate, the runoff from the distant mountains barely increasing the flow of the stream below him.

After his morning ablutions, he ate breakfast, stuffed a pocket with jerky, and pulling the empty rolling case, set off for the plains with a thought of checking out the river he had seen in the distance the day he killed the buffalo. He had brought along a shovel and pick with the intention of smoothing some of the rougher places as he went in the hopes of eventually making a better trail to the plains.

Just past the spring where he found the potatoes, he began to have a feeling of uneasiness. Stopping to listen, he turned loose of the case to hold his crossbow in both hands, straining to hear, barely breathing as he struggled for total quiet. After standing perfectly still for a couple of minutes, he had not heard anything out of the ordinary, but the feeling of uneasiness persisted. Rustling of wind in the trees, chirping and cries of birds and an occasional flutter of wings, but nothing that attracted his attention, except ... Uncertainly at first, then with increasing assuredness, he began to realize that most of the forest sounds were coming from behind him, but as best he could tell, there was no animal or bird sound from directly in front of him.

Shit. Am I just spooking myself? Now isn't the time to get scared just walking through the woods. You need to find more meat to make into jerky so you will have something to eat this winter. If all these animals migrate, hunting could get to be slim. Even if they don't, I have no idea how much snow this place gets. If it's a lot, hunting could become an iffy proposition. There are those canned goods, but they wouldn't last more than a month or two if I had to use them for all my meals.

As he continued to scan his surroundings, he tried to give equal time to the area behind him. Is something sneaking up on me? Is it that damned tiger? I don't hear a fucking thing, so why is the hair standing up on the back of my neck?