Chapter 597

The Prison Planet

Morales and Christine were working on the snow leopard hide while Jasmine and Ashley, having decided to use the clay oven, were mixing bread dough when the wolves came to their feet and rushed to the door.

“What the crap?” Morales said as he stood, grabbed a rag and hurriedly wiped his hands. A moment later, Lobo, having waited for Morales, pushed the door open to stare with the rest as yet another canvas-covered load was set only a step or two away from the entrance. After a few seconds, Diana, Jennie and Melissa were deposited in front of the entrance by Ship’s inertialess tractor beam.

The Clan Queen turned to wave at Ship, and the big vessel bolted for space in order to quickly return to Earth.

“I hope we aren’t interrupting anything,” Di said as they all hugged.

“What’s all this?” Morales asked as he motioned to the two stacks, then when he realized that the women only wore light coats, “Uh, sorry. It is definitely getting warmer, as you can see by all the melting mess, but it’s still too cold to be standing out here without proper clothing. Come on in. Come on in,” he urged them.

As she was shrugging out of her light coat, Diana noticed the small fire going in the fire pit.

Jasmine saw her looking and quickly spoke up, “Our stove works perfectly, but we’ve spent many hours around an open fire. We enjoy the ... ambiance, I suppose. At night, we sometimes turn the heat and lights down or even off completely and sit on our old log seats around the fire listening to the sound of the percolator as the coffee is brewing. Then we go to bed in our nice electrically heated cave. The best of both worlds as far as we are concerned.”

Diana and the girls passed a glance, all of them smiling. “I suppose it was the influence of my husband’s military background, but there was always coffee ready no matter where we lived. Now, with all of us together at the Retreat, it isn’t any less so. Oh, there are some of the other Alpha’s wives who don’t drink coffee, or not much of it, but it’s hard not to drink it around Jeff, and I’m no better. We even bought a big percolator, and we sometimes hang it over the fire in the fireplace – obviously the influence of this,” she said while motioning to include the cave. “As far as we’re concerned, the percolator adds a great smell to the living room as we sit around and talk at night. Over the years, we’ve had friends that found it hard to believe that we routinely drank coffee just before going to bed, but we never have any problem going to sleep, even before the enhancement,” she said while a blush gradually crept across her countenance.

“Yeah. Neither do we,” Jasmine said with a grin, everyone realizing just why they had no problem going to sleep.

“So, what’s with all the canvas-covered mounds outside?” Morales asked as he refreshed everyone’s cup.

“Well,” Diana said as she passed a glance with her sister-wives, “the aliens are getting closer every day. We had hopes that they would pass us by, but I suppose that was more fantasy than logic. If they continue at their present speed, they’re only a few weeks away. In addition, Jeff is being careful in case they have launched other craft that we aren’t aware of. Which means,” she said with a pause, “there is no telling how long it will be before we can return. Ship will soon not be able to leave Earth, even for the few minutes this trip takes. As you know, she’s Earth’s only real defense, and we know so little about the aliens that we have to err well on the side of caution.

“We have no idea what other vessels they might have aboard that might be faster than that massive ship. We know that they have at least one scout vessel that is much faster. It would be foolish to assume most anything at this point, so we have to be extremely careful. All of which boils down to Ship having to stay close to Earth.”

“Which means that you won’t be able to visit until this is all over with?” Morales asked.

“Afraid so,” Melissa responded. “But Diana was worried – well, all of us – that something could happen to you guys and we either wouldn’t know about it, or we wouldn’t be able to respond quickly enough.”

Diana spoke up. “There is always the portal, of course, but as you know, it is often involved with other urgent situations. The General has many teams on many planets, and only one portal to serve them all. Shipments and personnel are going through the portal in both directions almost all the time.”

“So...” Jennie said, taking up the theme, “Diana and several of us got together and tried to come up with a list of things that might be of use should you have problems here. She approached the General with the list, and he was very receptive. It wasn’t long before he even added in other things that we hadn’t thought of.”

“We tried to think of various things that could happen, and provide for them as much as we could,” Jennie broke in to say.

Diana smiled at her sister-wives. “We brought self-teaching video courses in first aid as well as basic how-to courses on diagnosing and treating everyday infections – even videos on how to do an appendectomy, how to set bones and so forth. There’s even a section on home births.

“And yes, Ladies,” she continued, “we know that Little One has, for the lack of a better term, turned off our baby factories, but things happen. All of those stacks of equipment outside, more or less, fall into the ‘if things happen’ category.”

“Oh, crap. Now you’re beginning to scare me. Aren’t you coming back?” Jasmine asked.

“We certainly plan to, but there is no real way to tell what is going to happen if and when the aliens do attack. They have practiced twice with their Paladins. The last time, they stopped and shot up a giant rock. Why would they practice doing things like that if they weren’t planning to use those guns? Ship thinks she can take the alien ship, but... that thing is enormous, even bigger than Ship is at her fullest extension. The things we brought fall into that just-in-case category.”

“Just in case Earth doesn’t win the war, and all of us are stuck here forever without seeing you people ever again?” Morales broke in to ask.

At Diana’s hesitant nod, there was a collective sigh from Morales and his women. Suddenly, 2214 seemed like a very desolate place as the thoughts of never hearing from Earth or the Matthews again took hold.

There was total quiet for a moment as they all took that in before Diana spoke. “Little One says the enhancements should last for a lifetime, but only time will tell if that is fact. What if the enhancement only lasts for twenty years, and we don’t ever get a chance to return to 2214? The medical supplies are sealed and should last indefinitely since the perishables are in stasis cases. We brought backups for everything, and some of those items are the first line of defense if you have an accident. Broken bones should heal properly and quickly if set soon after the break, but they still have to be set. The training vids will show you how, as well as many other things that we should all know about emergency first aid and beyond.

“You can still send a message with your whiteboard outside the cave, but while an attack is going on, there is no telling how long the response time will be, and that is if the portal facility isn’t hit during the war. It should be safe because it is far underground, and it has its own power source should its normal power source be compromised, but...”

“Damn,” Morales very quietly said, “this puts a new light on what’s going on. I mean ... well, I expected to be here forever, but now with Jasmine, Ashley and Christine here, well, they won’t have the option of leaving...”

That got him a backhand to his arm from Jasmine and some comments from Ashley and Christine.

“What’s the matter with you?” Jasmine wanted to know. “How many times do we have to tell you that we’re yours forever? I don’t have to ask Christine or Ashley because I know they feel the same way. We are yours – forever and a day as the expression goes. We aren’t going anywhere, and we don’t want to go anywhere. So, things go bad on Earth and we’re without any contact forever? We will certainly be sad not ever to see any of the Matthews again, but that has nothing to do with our wanting to go anywhere. Now shut that handsome face of yours, and if you must worry, then worry about something else.”

Regardless of what the Clan Queen had said, Morales still worried that his wives would be stuck on this planet forever. They love me, and our love is fresh – now. But what about twenty years from now when our kids need school or college, or braces or advanced medical help? They won’t be enhanced. What will my wives want then? Also, things wear out. How long will the fuel last for the crawler? How long will our ammo last? How many years will the tractor last before a breakdown – a breakdown where we don’t have parts to repair it with?

Seeing the look on Morales’ face, Diana could well imagine his thoughts. “The General is going to send additional fuel, parts and even tools for the tractor in case things go badly for Earth. He said to tell you that the fuel he has sent and will send has a stabilizer in it that will allow the fuel to be viable for many years to come. Also, he is going to send people with the extra fuel. They will bring in the tables and storage cases for your medical supplies that he is sending through the portal.

“He said to tell you that he would be sending two additional rifles and thousands more rounds of ammo. You already have reloading equipment, but he also said that he was sending more powder, primers and bullets, all in case the war goes bad and we don’t make it back here for a considerable length of time. He’s also sending extra supplies to the other prisoners on the planet, but no weapons for them, of course.”

As she was speaking, they heard the big forklift easing past with a cube of fuel even as a voice called out, “Hello in the cave.”

A couple of hours later, when everything was finally stored farther back in the cave, Morales and his wives didn’t have a field hospital, per se, but they certainly had a very well-stocked first aid station, and as Diana had promised, they, with some study, would have the knowledge to perform an appendectomy or even some minor surgery if they absolutely had to.

“With the Ship providing the stasis cases, the drugs and other perishables will last forever. We all hope this is a ‘just in case’ that will never happen. The war, if it happens, might last a day, or a year – or Ship and Earth might lose, or Ship and Earth might win decisively. Or there might not be a single shot fired. If so, then nothing is lost. I was going to send a few things, just in case, but Whitworth doesn’t do anything halfway. Candidly, I think he is still trying to make up for the attack by that prisoner.”

“He sentenced me to life; now, he does this?” Morales said, amazement obvious in his voice.

“My husband was on that panel, too,” Diana reminded.

“Yeah,” Morales quietly said, “and I certainly did everything they accused me of, but I still think I was right by killing those guys first...”

Jennie turned fully to Morales. “Di again argued with our husband that you should be pardoned, but Jeff wants to wait a while before approaching the General again. We ... tend to try to push our husband sometimes, and this was one of those times. When Di persisted, she got threatened with a spanking, and Jeff was serious. He says that if we push the General too much, he will never change his mind.”

Morales didn’t know what to say. “I...”

“As I’ve said before, I’ll eventually win, both with my husband and the General,” Diana assured him. “I have the General’s wives on my side now, so it’s just a matter of time.”

“I don’t want to cause trouble between you two,” Morales pleaded. “Please don’t push Jeff about it. It isn’t going to make a difference, anyway. I wouldn’t permanently leave my home here, even if I could, and my wives say the same thing.”

“Still, you deserve the option,” Diana insisted. “In the meantime, we’ve done everything we could think of to ensure that all of you can have emergency medical treatment, should you need it. Accidents happen, no matter how careful we are, and without access to Little One or Ship...

“As it stands now, my husband, as well as the General, is becoming uncomfortable when Ship leaves the vicinity of Earth, even for a short while. Consequently, we’re going back via the portal, and there is no telling when we can return for a visit. Remember, you can get in touch with us via the whiteboard, but I have no idea what the response time will be.”

A few minutes later, they were all standing just outside the cave’s entrance. “All of you, please be careful. We might not be able to come, even through the portal, but as soon as we know something definite, we’ll either send you a message via the portal or else come visiting.”

That kicked off hugs all around, after which Diana, Melissa and Jennie made their way over to the portal that had just opened. Seconds later, they were gone.

“Damn,” Morales quietly said.

“Yeah,” Jasmine agreed.

The Retreat

Two weeks had passed. Arlene had all the crews spending extra time training. Bill and Kathy were using practically every waking moment training to fly and fight their interceptor. Worthington had not said anything else derogatory or otherwise about, or to the couple, but it was evident by his expression that he was not pleased with Arlene’s choice of the new crew, and certainly not the Colonel’s choice of Wing Commander.

Even though they were spending many hours a day training, both in their interceptor and the simulator, Bill and Kathy’s training certainly wasn’t drudgery to them because they were learning to do something that they loved. Bill had to admit that Kathy could now fly the interceptor every bit as good as he could, but she allowed him to fly it considerably more than half the time, and truth be told, she was a bit faster with the guns than he was – faster when a half second could mean the difference between life and death.