Chapter 611

Diana and Arlene’s conversation continues

...”Then it just became your job to see that she learns. Our husband has said that we will all go through the course, and he is expecting good scores from everyone.”

“What? Mom, crap. That’s not fair...”

“Jeff didn’t leave me any wiggle room. You’re the best of us wives with a handgun or pulse rifle, and you darn well know it, so you’re the logical one to get her through this. All our husband’s women will pass the course, and that includes his future women. You have until sometime in the fall to get her qualified. I suggest that you have a talk with her. A firm talk. I know that she’s run some and worked out some in the gym, but it’s time for her to get serious. I’ll give you any help I can, but as I said, getting her into shape to pass the course has just become your job. I don’t want to tell our husband that you failed. And I assume he will not marry her until she gets over the dainty ‘I can’t’ stage. I’ve pushed him about as far as I can about more wives. You can bet that he will not marry her if she won’t buckle down and pass the course – or at least give it a very, very diligent try.”

“What about Tosha?”

“He’s balking about marrying more wives, but Tosha has enough sense not to push it just now. No telling how many times she’s passed the course through her job at Security, but tell her we all have to do it again. I’m almost certain that he’ll marry her – eventually. Just as he will Aiko when she gets off her ass and passes the full course, and he decides it’s time. He’s worried about our trip and wants us to be in the best shape we can be before we leave. I suggest that you have a serious sit-down discussion with Aiko. Ensure that she fully understands what’s going on and how important this is to our husband – and her. If she sincerely wants to marry him, this might be her only real chance. You’ve worked with her some in the gym, but increase her training. Build her strength and endurance, and above all, have her running regularly. That means with you leading her every step of the way.” Then with a chuckle, “If she falters and really can’t go on, show her a nude picture of Jeff – not erect. She’s not ready for that, yet. If his nude picture doesn’t get her going, she’s already dead, anyway,” she only halfway kidded. “I suggest you inform her to be ready to start her serious training at six tomorrow.”

“Mom, Ann and I already have the parade that we’re working on, and we’re swamped.”

Diana frowned and then stared at her daughter. “Are you saying that you and Ann are trying to do this world parade alone?”

“Well, we’re supposed to get some ideas from a couple of people who had set up some large air shows, and the General said he would contact some other people for us.”

Diana stared at her daughter for a moment before she asked, “What about the other aviators? They aren’t flying now. Surely the General didn’t mean for you two to do everything. You’re their Wing Commander. You’re their boss. Commandeer the other aviators away from whatever they’re doing now. I would suggest assigning teams to each of the major countries that you’re considering for a flyover? Have each team lay out a plan for the parade in their sector. Critique and alter their plans as necessary. Delegate.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what Daddy said, too. We’re just getting started, but I can see that this is way beyond what Ann and I can do by ourselves. I’ll have a meeting with the aviators and get some help.” The women sat in silence for a moment before Arlene asked, “Why is our husband so worried about our trip?”

Diana thought for a second. “I suppose it’s because he’s been there and done that. Remember, he and his team were generally sent to planets where the scientists were already having trouble. He saw the worst of the worst, and they were never sent to some vacation planet with beautiful beaches and other attractions, but were frequently dumped into trouble or a firefight where they were often outnumbered. Sometimes, they were sent to explore an area that the scientists thought contained something the General could make a profit on, but something had happened to the locals or a science team. Logically, I’m sure he doesn’t expect our trip to subject us to beings who hate us on sight, and we won’t be out to cause trouble, of course, but the possibility for trouble is there, and with Jeff being Jeff, he’ll go doubly prepared. Every member of our family will be trained to defend themselves to the absolute best of their ability, and ... he intends for us to be as efficient as possible in that ability. He loves us all, and this is one way to make sure that we all survive – if at all possible.”

Arlene locked eyes with her mother. “Mom, you need to talk to Aiko. She needs to understand just how serious our husband is. I think she has been so beaten down by that asshole she was married to that she doesn’t believe in herself. Maybe that’s the big difference between Ann and Aiko. Ann wants Daddy to be proud of her, and she will do anything to please him. Aiko, while she is probably already in love with him, still has all the baggage from her marriage to that piece of crap, and it’s influencing her. She was beaten down both physically and mentally for years. Heck, she was just a kid when her father married her off to him. How do we change her attitude from ‘I can’t do it’ to ‘I damn sure will do it?’ And truth be told, that’s probably the most significant difference between Aiko and Ann.”

“So? Maybe we need to get Ann into this. Perhaps some of her attitude will rub off on Aiko. Somehow, we need to overcome that beaten down attitude. If anyone can do it, you can. You two kicked ass in that interceptor; now teach Aiko to have that same kick-ass attitude.”

“Mom, you are so full of shit.” Then with a sigh, “Okay, I’ll try, and maybe Ann can make Aiko believe she can do it.” Arlene hesitated for a second before going on, “But, I wish Daddy would fuck her brains out – just one time. That would give her some real incentive.”

Diana let out a sigh. “Well, he’s already said he won’t put that marvelous cock of his into her until they’re married, so changing her is going to be up to you.”

“ ... And Ann,” Arlene added. “I still think she’ll be the key to shoring up Aiko’s attitude.”

“Then I’ll make sure that Ann doesn’t get any other jobs so she’ll have time to help with Aiko. Look, I’ll have a talk with Aiko. Maybe that will help. I assume that you’ll want her to run with you in the morning?”

“Yeah. Tell her to meet Ann and me in the living room at six. She’s been running some, but we’re going to have to get her faster and build her endurance. Jogging down the road isn’t the same as running those trails with a pack on your back. And somehow we’re going to have to change her attitude. She is such a sweet person, but we’re going to have to teach her to be more aggressive. Sweet will never complete the course in the allotted time, but darnit, Mom, she’s such a nice person that I hate to stress her.”

“I know, but if she wants to go with us on our trip... and marry Jeff, she’s going to have to pass those qualifications. Our husband was emphatic.”

“I know, but please tell her about the qualifications. Aiko respects you. As soon as you’re done, I’ll spend some time with her and give her an outline of everything.”

Captain’s Ready Room

Jeff and the First Officer sat in the Captain’s ready room aboard Ship. First had a cup of coffee in front of him, and Jeff was sipping stim as they both continued to experiment with the other’s drink.

“It seems that I am becoming... somewhat accustomed to the bitter taste,” the First said as he motioned with his coffee mug. “About the time I had decided that I would never enjoy the ... beverage, I wound up pouring myself more.”

“Yeah, about the same for me,” Jeff said with a grin. “The stim seems to have more caffeine in it and consequently more kick to it.”

“I was going to say the same thing about your coffee. It wakes me up in the mornings quite well, although it is intensely bitter.”

They both chuckled before the Prime commented, “Ship has isolated the chemical in the females’ food. She says that she can easily produce it, and with your permission, will provide food for the females, which will have gradually reduced amounts of the chemical in them. She will monitor them, but since she is unfamiliar with the Miadax’s reactions, she asks that you monitor them too.”

The First frowned. “We are prisoners. You certainly do not need my permission.”

Jeff let out a sigh. “Technically, I suppose you are our prisoners, but only because there isn’t any other way just now. We can’t put you on Earth – not after all the deaths that those Paladins caused. I thought about trying to house you with my security force, but that would never work. Over time, something would happen. Are your quarters on the pocket planet sufficient for the moment?”

“Quite sufficient,” the First Officer quickly responded. “They are far more spacious than any of us were accustomed to aboard the Raider. It is ... just that we have nothing to do. My bridge crew and I, along with the engine crew, are all accustomed to standing watches that were roughly seven of your hours long – if I have converted the times correctly. Now, we have nothing to do. And that brings me to the reason I requested this meeting.”

“So, let’s have it,” Jeff prompted.

“I assume that your Ship has taken our escape pods aboard?”

“I saw no reason to leave them in high orbit, so I brought them aboard,” Ship broke in to say.

“The Chief engineer brought up a point, and I agree with him. We would like to dismantle the pods and save the AIs and any other of our technology that we can. That is all that we have left of our science.”

Jeff just sat staring at him.

“Sir,” the First quickly said, “your Ship can supervise everything we do. The pods were not armed, and we put our sidearms in the airlock. We would be foolish to...”

Jeff broke in to say, “I’m not worried about you trying to do anything against us. Ship says that what you have told us about your part in the attack is true. I can’t hold the things against you that you have done in the past toward other civilizations. I realize that you were following orders. I am interested in what I am going to do with you, your Bridge Crew and your Engineering Department.

“As I mentioned before, with what has happened, there is no way that you could ever function on Earth. There were just too many people who died, and too much destruction for Earth to forgive your race – ever.” First started to say something, but Jeff motioned for him to wait. “I have an inkling of an idea, and I’ll go into that in a moment, but first there are some things that you should know.

“Ship – the intelligence that is the ship around us – was created by a race of beings long ago. They put that brain and an enormous amount of supplies in a vast cavern complex on a planet in a system and dimension far removed from their own. The instructions incorporated into that brain were to design and build the most advanced battleship that she, that brain, could devise. Since they were at war with a race bent on their destruction, and with the war going severely against them, they did not leave the slightest clue to their planet’s location. They were to return at some point, possibly to use the newly created battleship in the war. There are more details, but that is the gist of how Ship came into being.

“My team and I found her – or she found us – in that cavern system. Ship was to wait for a Prime to come and command her. That never happened, but at some point, she decided that I was a Prime, and since so much time had passed, she reasoned that her Prime wasn’t coming, so she committed herself to me. According to her, that commitment cannot be reversed. I am her Prime for as long as I live.

“Since she is a telepath and I’m not, consequently, my integration as her Captain wasn’t something that happened overnight. I’m now able to communicate mentally with her as can my Clan Queen and Arlene, who, as you know, is my Wing Commander. To a lesser extent, my other wives can now communicate mentally with her also.