Chapter 517

The Prison Planet

... Jeff and Diana watched as Ship gently set Selina in front of Jasmine and Morales as they stood waiting just outside the cave.

A moment later, Ship appeared to vanish as Arlene engaged the inertialess drive. Seconds, after that, “Stand by for warp,” she announced over the PA.

Selina, flanked by the wolves, walked back inside in front of Jasmine and Morales, Selina noticing how quiet the cave seemed now that her family had gone back to Earth. After caressing Little One to her cheek, she placed the little alien on a nearby shelf.

“Would you like a soft drink?” Jasmine asked as she and Morales put their rifles up.

“No, thank you. But I would very much enjoy a cup of coffee if you two are also having some, of course.” There was a heartbeat of silence before the young genius continued, “I am allowed to drink coffee, but I add a considerable amount of sugar, and I often weaken it with water as well. I am told that you have a plentiful supply of sugar...”

Jasmine knew that Selina drank coffee when the Matthews did and, after a moment, remembered that her own mother had also allowed her to drink one cup a day when she was six – albeit, much weakened and sugared. She had loved pretending to be a grownup, but it was obvious that pretending had nothing to do with Selina’s request.

“We have more than enough sugar to last for several years.” Then, as she shook the percolator, “I need to make some fresh.”

“I shall assist,” Selina said, adding action to her words.

A few moments later, Selina finished adding water to the percolator as Jasmine put a couple more small pieces of wood on the cook fire. “So, what would you like for dinner?” she asked their guest

When Selina hesitated, Jasmine quickly added, “Remember, we have a variety of food in the stasis case.”

Selina smiled back at her. “I was not thinking of variety, but rather your comment about dinner.”

Jasmine just stared back.

“Most of the Matthews are from the South. They maintain that the midday meal is dinner and the evening meal is supper. I have grown accustomed to that terminology, and your comment about dinner just seemed ... different. I apologize. I meant no disrespect.”

Jasmine’s grin got bigger. “I have always called it supper, too, despite the kidding in college, but, since Morales called it dinner...”

“So, I’m the ‘damn Yankee’,” he returned with a grin.

“Nope. My loveable Yankee,” Jasmine said just before passionately kissing him, only to turn toward Selina a moment later with a blush creeping up the young anthropologist’s face.

“Do not hesitate to kiss should you decide to,” Selina insisted. “My Prime and his wives kiss many times per day, and I look forward to reaching the age when I gain sufficient maturity to experience true passion.”

Jasmine and Morales stared at each other before both of them chuckled and Jasmine said, “Well, Diana told me you would stand on your own two feet. Please excuse me for treating you like a child.”

“It is a common error, and there is nothing to excuse,” Selina returned. “What may I do to assist in preparing supper?”

After the meal and cleanup, Jasmine glanced at her laptop, wanting to work on her thesis, but that wouldn’t have been polite with company present.

“Please, you do not have to entertain me. I was planning to study, anyway,” the little genius said, practically reading Jasmine’s mind.

Morales, having overheard, was already taking his laptop down from its shelf.

Selina got her laptop and went to sit near the fire as the cave began to cool off. Noticing, Morales put more wood on the cave fire. “In the future, please tell me when you feel cold, and I’ll put more wood on, or if you think you’re strong enough, you can do it yourself, but be careful that you don’t get burned.” Oh, shit. Did I talk down to her? he worried as he noticed the smirk on her face.

“I’m sorry. I guess I can’t help it,” he said aloud.

Selina winked back at him just as an adult would. “Even my family sometimes reacts to my size rather than to my mental age,” she assured him.

“We’ll try to remember,” Jasmine said with a smile in her voice.

Morales went to sit with his back to the wall, his computer on his lap. Jasmine came over and plopped down beside him with hers. “You did it, too?” she very quietly said.

“What? Stuck my foot in my mouth? Yep. But, dammit, she looks like a kid.”

“I think she’s amused by us,” Jasmine allowed, still so quietly she was sure Selina had no hope of hearing them, not realizing what the enhancement would do over time to someone’s hearing.

Selina was tempted to tell them that she could hear them, but she didn’t want to hurt their feelings. Blotting their conversation out, she continued hitting the Page Down key at a rapid pace as she read the latest paper on updated theories concerning an old discovery – quantum entanglement. She thought the physicist who had written the paper was wrong in his key assumption. Hurrying through the rest of the article, she started the video that she was anxious to watch – a recent lecture on a new theory about what gravity really was. Now, this was extremely interesting. Putting her earphones on, all outside concerns faded away as Selina’s interest in the physicist’s lecture intensified.

Other than refilling her coffee cup a couple of times, Selina’s interest in that lecture and the one following continued until Jasmine walked over and said, “I’m going to our new outhouse. Need to go?”

Selina blinked as her mind returned from the lecture she was watching. Pausing the video, she responded. “Yes. I certainly need to go, and Diana made me promise never to go outside without one of you to protect me. I am armed, of course, but my little nine-millimeter would only aggravate one of the large cats.”

“You’re ... armed?” Jasmine repeated inanely.

“Of course. All of the Prime’s women go armed. I am fully qualified and have a Federal permit. And before you comment on my age, the General has considerable influence.”

“But your hands aren’t big enough to hold a real weapon...” Jasmine stumbled out as her mind screamed something about a seven-year old with a gun.

“I use my telekinesis to augment my hold on the weapon. The pistol is small, but fully functional, and with my TK, I am not ashamed of my shooting scores.”

“TK?” Jasmine questioned.

Selina sighed. “The strength of my telekinesis is moderate at best, but it is sufficient for my purposes.”

Jasmine hesitated as she processed that, but, after a second or so went on, “Do all Colonel Matthews women go armed all the time?”

“Certainly not. Only if they are outside the Retreat itself. And they are all highly proficient with their weapons and practice several times each week in order to maintain maximum efficiency. The Matthews have been attacked several times, and Arlene almost died when she killed a mercenary soldier before he could fire on other members of our family. Little One placed Arlene in a stasis field until Ship could intervene, or Arlene would have died from the mercenary’s bullet. We practice; we prepare. We are ready,” she finished as if it were a mantra.

A look passed between Morales and Jasmine before she smiled widely, put on her coat and went to get her rifle. When she turned, Selina was standing by the door, ready.

As they walked up the path toward the outhouse, Jasmine’s mind had a new problem. It was night. Animals often hunted at night around here. If she allowed Selina to use the toilet first, she would have to wait on Jasmine while she used it in her turn. It only took a glance at the port-a-potty to know it was flimsy and would never withstand an attack, but the outhouse was strong. Oh, what the heck, she thought, it’s a two-holer, as Morales calls it.

Apparently, Selina had already thought it through, because she opened the door for Jasmine, then followed her on inside. As Jasmine set the lantern down, Selina dropped her pants and panties before sliding onto the far seat. “Oh, that is frigid,” she said with a little gasp. “I hope My Prime has the heating operational in here soon.”

Barely holding back a snigger, Jasmine sat on the other seat. It was, indeed, very cold. There was a pause before they started. Still, the sound of both of them peeing into the hole was a bit embarrassing with Selina so near. If it bothered the genius, she made no comment, though.

Morales put up the curtain for Selina to bathe, then Jasmine followed. After heating more water, Morales was last.

Now that bedtime was here, Morales was beginning to wonder about the mechanics of the enhancement, but before he could say anything, Selina spoke up. “Might I suggest that the two of you proceed on to bed, and when you are prepared, please call me. I shall give you Little One, then with your permission, I will place my sleeping bag nearby. Little One will awaken me when she has completed the initial stage of the enhancement of the two of you. I shall move her onto one of the wolves and ascertain that the Healer can maneuver from one to the other of them. When she has finished, she will remain with me for the remainder of the night. Also, please have extra food available for Lobo and Lila. I strongly suspect that they, too, will be hungry after they awaken. I intend to sleep when not needed to assist with the logistics of this procedure. Should I be asleep, please awaken me when you arise to eat.”

Morales and Jasmine, despite trying to be logical about the situation, were tense as Selina turned her back while the two dressed for bed, Jasmine wearing a pair of pajamas and Morales in all the sleepwear he had – undershorts and a tee shirt.

After the two were under the furs, Selina held Little One near while expecting her to bathe one of them in the blue rays, but the rays touched both of them. Selina’s smile broadened as she put Little One on Jasmine’s stomach before pulling the furs well up on the two sleeping figures.

Later, Selina felt the buzzing in her mind, and yawning, turned the lantern up that she had left sitting beside her sleeping bag. Picking the Healer up, the seven-year-old moved the short distance to the wolves. Earlier, she had introduced them to the healer, so they didn’t react to the little alien’s presence. “This will help the two of you,” she told them as she put her hand on first one, then the other of them. Both licked her hand and whined. The blue beams came on and the wolves slept. Groggily making her way back to her sleeping bag, Selina was soon back in dreamland.

Still later, she was again awakened, Little One having returned to Selina’s pillow on her own. The buzzing started and intensified. After a time, Selina began to think of the chickens. But they’re chickens, she returned.

The thought of chickens became even stronger in her mind. “Oh, very well,” she mumbled, sleepily. With Little One in hand, Selina, shivering in the now cold cave, went over to the chickens, Little One in one hand and a lantern in the other.

The hens were snuggled together with the half-grown chicks packed tightly around them. Before Selina could say anything, the blue beams came on to bathe the fowl. Selina put Little One down by the chickens, and yawning, the seven-year-old went back to her sleeping bag. Shivering even more in the now quite cold cave, she snuggled in as dreamland approached.

Morales’ eyes popped open. “I’m hungry. Fuck, I’m starving,” he mumbled as he sat up.

As he did so, Jasmine stirred. “Oh, my,” she whispered.

“For fucking real,” Morales said, louder, forgetting about Selina being there.

“Well, Jeff said we would be hungry,” Jasmine remarked as she hurried to pull her fatigues on over her sleepwear, “but I certainly didn’t expect this.“

“Underfucking statement of the year,” Morales muttered as he yanked on his own fatigues, only to notice Selina’s sleeping bag over by the chickens with not much more than her nose sticking out of the bag. “Did she...”

“Shhhh. Let her sleep.”

“Oh, yeah. Forgot. Shit, I’m hungry, but I’ve gotta piss like a Russian race horse,” he said more quietly.

“Do they have to pee worse than other horses?” Jasmine asked with a giggle as she hurriedly laced her boots.

“Damned if I know, but I’m beginning to think I’ll never make it to the outhouse.”

“So, you don’t have to. You’re a man. You can pee against a tree or something.”

They snatched their rifles up and were out the door. “Screw this,” Jasmine said as she stepped out of the path and dropped her pants. “I gotta go now.”

Morales, with his back turned, was soon doing the same thing.

A couple minutes later, they opened the door to be almost bowled over by two wolves heading out into the night.

“Guess that answers the question about whether Selina forgot about them,” Morales said with a snort.

Giggling, Jasmine opened the stasis case as Morales put their rifles back in their racks. “Steaks?” she asked.

“That will do for a start,” he agreed as the wolves came back hungry.

Halfway through their second steaks, the chickens woke up. It was either feed them or have them eat the steaks right off their plates. Grumbling and still chewing a mouth full of steak, Morales put out an abundance of food for the chickens before hurrying back to continue with his own meal.

“I didn’t expect Selina to do the chickens,” he commented, but if Jasmine heard, she didn’t respond.

Before the wolves and the humans were through with their dark-thirty meal, they had put a serious dent in the steaks that the Matthews had brought in the stasis case.

Although feeling bloated from the amount of food they had eaten, the two still had a somewhat reduced version of the gnawing hunger they had been awakened by. “Fuck, why didn’t Jeff tell us about this?” Morales grumped.