Chapter 520

The Prison Planet

...”Good choice,” the Clan Queen said, “And you are marrying an Alpha. That Alpha is changing as we speak, although the changes are subtle, just as your changes are, but time will make a difference in both of you. Some of those differences will be obvious and some won’t,” she finished, mysteriously.

The other two left, leaving Arlene, Kei, Jeff, Morales, Nat, Nicki and Whitney to eat. After a moment, Morales caught Jeff’s eye. “What’s on your mind?” the Prime asked.

Morales speared a piece of steak, but hesitated before putting it into his mouth. “Well,” he began, “I was just wondering about your wiring. I mean, I’m certainly not an electrician, but I’ve been around a lot of them, and even been a gofer for one of them, so I understand the basic principles...”

“And you’re wondering why all the extra conduit and wiring, right?” Jeff inserted with a chuckle.

“That’s about it, I guess. It’s none of my business and I don’t mean to...”

“Oh, hush,” the Prime said with a laugh. “It’s your place and it is your business. I should have told you what I was doing before now. I’m simply preparing for the future. We mentioned a wind generator, and there are other considerations. What about a few years from now? What if kids come along? Do you want Jasmine to have to wash all those diapers by hand?”

“That’s what I keep trying to tell her,” Morales said with a sigh. “She’ll be stuck here with me – forever. I worry that she hasn’t taken all that into consideration. And Jeff, I don’t know how to put this, and I certainly don’t mean any disrespect, but I’m afraid the new will wear off over time and, well ... we won’t be seeing much of you guys. Jasmine is going to get lonesome for female company.”

“I differ with you there. She’s a very intelligent and practical woman, and I think she has considered everything, including consciously accepting the hardships. And, I do not forget my Alphas, Brother. We will be back for regular visits – if you want us, that is. But ... she might not have to do as much by hand as she probably thinks just now. There is a considerable amount of wind here, and there are some truly monstrous trees within a few hundred feet of this cave, most of which reach high into the sky. With Ship’s help, I could top one of those, trim some limbs for clearance, and mount a sizeable wind turbine that would provide all the power you would need for modern conveniences many times over. No use having to dig that ditch again, so I’m laying sufficient cable and stubbing it off behind the outhouse where the connections will be easily accessible when we need them, yet out of the way.”

“Jeff, those wind generators, if they’re of any size, cost money – big money.”

“And I have money and more pours in daily from my inventions. So why can’t I help my brothers and their wives? Besides, I love coming here, and that’s not a patch on my wives’ enthusiasm. They can’t stop talking about visiting. They all love you two, and I feel the same. Besides, you’re family. A brother Alpha and his mate. We’re the privileged ones to be allowed to visit,” he said with an odd expression on his face. “I have some rather unusual plans. But that’s for the future. Right now, I need to install the controls for the solar power setup. And ... after that, I need to do some wiring inside the cave, if we’re going to have modern lighting for the wedding.”

“Why?” Jasmine said while walking up to put her hands on Morales shoulders as Diana did the same to her husband.

“Uh,” Jeff responded semi-intelligently.

Jasmine went on with a grin. “Granted, we could use more light in here – normally. But the lantern light will only make the cave more romantic for the wedding, I think. And we have plenty of lanterns. What do you think, Lover?” she asked her fiancé.

“Baby, as long as you wind up being my wife, I couldn’t care less about the lighting.”

“Men,” she and Diana said as one, both chuckling, but Jasmine hugged Morales and kissed him on the cheek.

“Okay,” Jeff responded. “I’ll install the controls in the shelter of the entrance tunnel near the door, and leave the cave wiring until you two give me the go-ahead, if that’s okay. I’ve already connected the outhouse, so it will have permanent lighting and heat as soon as we finish installing the solar cells and the battery backup.”

Kei stood with a cup of coffee in her hand, watching and wishing she was the one standing behind Jeff with her hands on his shoulders.

“I’m almost to the cave with the ditch, and I think there is room to squeeze the trencher into the entranceway. Otherwise, I’m going to have to dig the last section by hand,” Morales responded.

“That’s the reason I didn’t bring a bigger trencher, but if it won’t fit between your entrance walls, I’ll help you dig the rest of the ditch.”

“Nah,” Morales said with a grin, “you just keep going with the wiring. I could never figure out how to hook all that up. I’ll do the digging.”

Jeff just laughed as he stood with his empty plate in hand. Walking over to the garbage, he raked the plate clean and put it in the dishpan.

Thirty minutes later, Morales was as close to the door as he could get with the trencher. Moving it back out of the entranceway with all the dirt in the way proved interesting, but with Jeff’s help, they managed. After a little more shovel work from Morales, Jeff had an open ditch to get his encased cable where he needed it to be.

For the afternoon, Morales’ helpers were Jennie and Melissa, but Kei remained with Jeff. When he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, she shrugged. “I have always been more comfortable doing things that are often considered to be a man’s field of endeavor. I suppose that is why I decided to become an architect. I like to design things and then watch my plans become reality. I suppose there are architects who do not want to leave the sterile environment of the office, but I am not that person. The more I am comfortable with the physical aspect of things, the better able I am to design realistically. At least, those are my feelings. That said, please allow me to help again this afternoon.”

“Sure. You’re an excellent assistant, and I’m pleased to be working with you,” Jeff responded with a grin as he stood straddling the ditch where he had just pulled the wiring through the conduit in the section of ditch in front of the cave door. “Put this elbow on, then a section of conduit sixty-six inches long that will mount vertically on the wall here, and run the wire through it as you assemble the conduit, please. I should have started from this end, but I had concrete to pour and needed time for it to set up. The conduit is large enough in diameter that the wiring slides through it with no trouble, so we can still assemble it this way for this short section. You do have to feed the cable through as you assemble each section, though.”

“I understand,” Kei said as she got to work.

Jeff mounted the control boxes to the wall using long spikes, then as Kei brought the wiring through the conduit to him, he thanked her and went about finishing up the connections.

Turning to a smiling Kei, he commented, “We can’t go any further on this end until Jasmine gives us the all-clear after the wedding. But ... I’m hoping that by now the Quikrete is set up firmly enough for us to mount the collector frames, and then the solar cells themselves.” Jeff was standing on his tiptoes peering into an opening to the left of the door as he went on, “I would really like to get everything completed today, but I need to build a box for the batteries. There is a big pocket here along the top of the wall on the left side that is easily big enough for more than enough of them. But, I will need to square the sides of the hole in order for a box that’s mounted on runners to fit properly. The batteries being so close will make it much more convenient for Morales to access them for maintenance and any servicing needed over the years. I’m also going to install an alarm to detect any possible overheating problems that might occur. I’ll take some measurements before we leave today so I can have one of Dave’s cabinetmakers put something together for me.”

“So, we can begin filling the ditch now?” Morales asked.

“Yep,” Jeff returned with a grin, “and I suppose we had better do this end first or I’m going to be in trouble should the women need to visit the outhouse.”

When Jeff picked up a shovel, Morales tapped him on a shoulder. “I’ll get this. Didn’t you say something about setting the racks in place for the collectors?”

“Yeah, the Quikrete is set up, so it’s time to put the frames on the center post.

“Let me get this ditch filled here in the entranceway so we won’t be in trouble with the ladies, and I’ll give you a hand.”

Jeff helped him fill in the section of ditch, and as they were finishing up, Morales commented. “I know that framework isn’t particularly heavy, but it is cumbersome. Maybe we should have asked Kei and the girls to come help guide it as you and I support the weight.”

Jeff put his shovel against the big rock by the entrance. “If you will guide it a bit, I’ll lift the framework into position.”

“Jeff, I...”

“Remember the TK where I threw the ball at the tree? At Morales’ nod, “The TK can be as delicate as it can be forceful. I think that the two of us can get the framework settled into place without any problems.”

Before they got to the area, Kei came hurrying up to them. “Sorry. Diana had a job for me. What can I do to help?”

“I’ll lift each framework with my TK. You and Morales can help guide it into position on the motor.”

With the three working together, they had the first framework settled into position on the motor unit and the connections secured in short order. Morales was amazed, even though he had seen Jeff blow up a tree with his TK, but this was equally impressive as he delicately maneuvered the cumbersome framework into position.

Kei seemed barely able to take her eyes off Jeff as he lifted the framework with his TK.

An hour later, all the collector frames had all been carefully set into place and secured. It didn’t take long to mount the solar cells and have them secured as well. The girls had come up to watch, but after the first frame was in place, it was obvious that they weren’t needed, so they went back to filling in the ditch and packing the dirt down.

“I can’t believe we accomplished all this in one day,” Kei remarked.

“Well, there’s still the rest of the ditch to fill,” Jeff said to the groans of the others. Morales is helping to push a lot of the dirt back in with that little blade on the side of the trencher, but ... we need to help them smooth up things with the shovels.”

They were done with what they could do before dark – barely – but there were some very tired young women as well as the Alphas.

“As they sat talking inside the cave, “Too bad we couldn’t finish all the wiring today,” Jeff told Morales and Jasmine, apologetically.

Startling him, Jasmine plopped down in Jeff’s lap to kiss him on the cheek. “I have no words sufficient to thank you enough – all of you,” she said as she looked around at the women. “The cave is decorated and Diana tells me there will be a number of guests that neither Morales nor I have ever seen. Di says they are my Love’s brothers and their mates and families. Whoever they are, they are very welcome in our home.”

Smiling at Morales, she continued, “I have waited a long time for my man, but we’re together now, and will be forever, as far as I’m concerned. Thank you, all of you, more than I can ever say.”

“And that goes for me as well,” Morales added. “You all know my background, yet you came and worked hard for Jas and me without even mentioning the expense. I don’t have the words to thank you enough. If there is ever anything I can do – anything – just say so.”