Chapter 678

The Retreat

Near bedtime, Jeff summoned Ann and Arlene to his office. A few minutes later, the two, having just finished showering, tentatively entered wearing robes and with their hair wrapped in towels.

“Oops,” he said while coming to his feet, “I meant to catch you before bedtime and your shower. Looks as if I’m a bit late. I apologize.”

The two young women passed a glance before Arlene said, “No problem. We just get to be with our husband a little earlier,” and dropped her robe. With a grin, Ann did the same.

Forty-five minutes later, now wearing grins and a light coating of sweat, the three entered the bedroom. Of course, what had taken place was no surprise to the others, since most had mirrored orgasms as Arlene and Ann had theirs.

“We’re going to take a shower — again,” Ann commented to anyone who might be interested.

“Me, too,” Jeff said

“I’m going with them, or we may never get to bed,” Diana said as she stood with a pretend frown.

They were back in thirty minutes, all nude and with a Clan Queen who had obviously just had some very satisfying sex. However, there was no one to gripe about the delay because most of the others were asleep or still passed out.

The Prime sat on the edge of the bed while Diana, Arlene and Ann found a place to curl up together and soon drifted off to sleep. As he looked around at his women, some nude, some wearing sleepwear, his thoughts drifted. I’ve suspected that some of my women can become part of the chain without touching, and I suppose this proves it. When we came in after Arlene, Ann and I made love in my office just down the hall, most of my wives showed signs of recent orgasms. Now, with us making love in the shower, the ones here in the bedroom were much closer to what was happening, and it seems that all were affected.

As he glanced around at the erect nipples, his thoughts continued. Even with their hair tangled and sweat on their bodies, I think they are at the pinnacle of their beauty after they pass out from having orgasms. But what’s happened? Until recently, they had to be part of a daisy chain before they could feel the sex Now, not only can they feel it from several yards down the hallway, but they’ve all passed out, or nearly so, when we were basically in the next room even though we weren’t touching. It’s evident their mental connection has become stronger, but why?

And let’s not forget how Diana, Helen, Laura and Kei came bouncing into the kitchen while Aiko and I were talking. Either they were listening or more probably yet, they could feel what was going on through Aiko. I’m inclined to believe that the AI would tattle if he were ordered to do anything like that, so that leaves an increasingly stronger mental connection between the women. That, without a doubt, seems to be the case here, and I’m looking at the evidence all around me. Crap, no wonder they get along so well. As I’ve said before, I suppose that one of them getting pissed at a sister-wife would be like my right hand being pissed at my left.

After mulling over the things that had happened today, he pulled the sheet over everyone and slipped under himself. A moment later, someone snuggled into his arms, but he was too near sleep to wonder who she might be. It didn’t make any difference, anyway. He loved them all, and now he was going to have yet another wife. He thought about Diana’s insistence about their last bedroom expansion. He had given in while knowing they would never need that much extra space. It turned out to be a good thing that she had insisted though, for they now needed to add another section to their already enormous bed.

Oh, well, they treat me as if I were a king, and my Clan Queen insists that all my wives are satisfied and beyond. I had better never lose this ability or whatever it should be called, to please all of them at once, or I’ll be dead after the first night.

Vaguely, he felt a hand grasp his cock, and it began to swell. A moment later, someone knelt over him, and he felt wet heat engulf his member. He was tired and nearing sleep when this began. No way will she succeed. I’m not awake enough to satisfy her, but, on second thought, she is tight. Gotta thank Diana for insisting that my women continue the Kegel exercises, because it surely feels nice as she massages my cock with it stuffed up her.

Somehow, he found his hands locked on her hips and his body wanting to thrust upward into her. A couple of minutes later, he felt the woman who had been lying beside him move and her hand began to stroke his shoulder. His partner was building toward orgasm, and from the surrounding sounds, others were nearing their peaks as well.

Oh, well. Maybe we can all skip our early-morning run, he thought just as his partner’s whimper turned into a scream of ecstasy, and her spasming pussy took him over the edge.

From the whimpers, squeals and screams around him, the daisy chain, or whatever was connecting his wives, was alive and well.

Jeff cracked an eye to see a grinning Ada looking down at him. “Ready for a half dozen eggs, a pound or so of bacon and a few biscuits?” she asked. “We had a vote, and most of us decided that you deserved a little more sleep.”

“Most?” he questioned.

“Well, all, as you darn sure know after screwing us half to death last night.

Pretending, the Prime groaned as he sat up. “I may never walk again, and it was my wives who kept wanting more.” Then, after a moment as he stared down at his limp member, “I think my dick is broken,” he said as an aside.

“Oh, bull. Tell me something I might believe. We’re all walking funny this morning. And by the way, I thought we were going to sleep, then someone touched me, and I was having orgasms again.”

“I still don’t understand how all of you can be sore when I only fucked some of you.”

“Oh, we’ve discussed this before. You’re just looking for compliments. You know that we all get sore whether we happen to be the one you actually make love to or not. Whatever she feels, we all feel, including soreness. Apparently, our bodies don’t know the difference, and our minds certainly don’t either.” After a second, she continued, “Diana sent me to get you up and showered, so let’s go.”

With a full stomach, Jeff made his way over to Ship, mug of coffee in hand. When he walked up the ramp and came in by the main entrance hatch, Ship greeted him with a touch of love in her voice. A second later, she had moved him to the bridge.

“Where is my First Officer today?”

“Training as usual,” Ship returned. “Their small, lightly-armed trader’s warp drive just malfunctioned and dropped them out of warp deep in uncharted territory. Their preliminary scans have just shown several large and apparently armed vessels on an intersect course with them.”

“Ah, yes,” the Prime said with a snigger, “one of your normal relaxing cruises to keep the First Officer on his toes while he learns.”

“Absolutely,” Ship assured him. “How else would they learn to become a close-knit team and feel confident of their fighting abilities? Then she added, “Actually, the First Officer has decided that his next in command should get some command experience under adverse conditions. Therefore, in the training scenario, the First will be rendered ‘unconscious,’ and his Second Officer will be forced to assume command in a combat situation, hoping his Second will learn a few things.

“Or thirteen, Jeff inserted, but he couldn’t seem to conjure up a grin as he remembered how Ship’s teaching managed to ‘stretch’ one’s brain to the maximum. Brain and body, as far as I am concerned. There was schoolwork and exercises until I thought my brain and body would die from overuse, then I was tossed into combat that tested everything I had learned, or was supposed to have learned — and then some.

“Well, if they’re on a relaxing cruise, I won’t interrupt them. I was just checking up on them; however, you are the logical source of the information I was seeking, anyway. Would you evaluate them as to competence and loyalty for our coming ‘vacation’ cruise?”

Ship hesitated for a couple of seconds. Jeff knew that with the speed of her brain, the pause was for effect rather than a requirement of her thought processes.

“Captain,” she returned formally, “there is a distinct possibility that my judgment would be questionable. Something that I might judge of high importance might not be as highly rated in your judgment, or the reverse. I can, of course, mimic human judgment, but even that varies between individuals.”

“Okay,” he said after thinking a few seconds, “I suppose we’ll have to come up with a slightly different way. During a crisis, on a scale of 1 to 10, how loyal to me would you judge the First Officer to be?”

“Under what conditions?” she hedged.

“Uh, what difference does that make?”

“Suppose his decision would result in one of you dying while the other lived?”

“Oh, crap. I meant nothing like that. Of course, he would consider his own life more important than ... mine,” he said while wondering if that were so. “Ah, shit. No one would know until it happened. No matter what we say, when we get down to live or die, things are different. Most of the time, those are spur-of-the-moment decisions — a guy falling on a grenade to save other people — that kind of thing. Ten to one, the guy who gives his life would never have thought he would do it. It had to be done, so he did it.”

“I can tell you which of the alien crew consistently scored the highest on my tests, both written and physical, if that would help. Or, you could evaluate your First Officer personally, then have him evaluate his people.”

Jeff let out a sigh. “I put my First Officer in charge on our mission, but I was still there, even though I wouldn’t help. My presence might have made a difference by my “looking over his shoulder.” But ... I don’t want to interrupt the First’s evaluation of the Second Officer.”

“Perhaps you should just observe them without telling them that you are. I can give you total submergence, and they will not realize that you are there at all.”

Jeff let out a sigh. “Maybe later. For now, just give me the test scores for all of them.”

“For every test since I started training them?”

“Yeah. That might show some trends, as well as pointing out weak and strong points, but if he’s to be my First Officer, I will need to trust him — completely — sooner or later. I did trust his competence ... in the ship and in that scenario. Your systems, however, are far more involved and capable. Power can go to a person’s head, and the person in charge of you wields an enormous amount of that power. True, I am the Captain, but I can’t be on the bridge every minute of the day.

“My wives can assist — relief shifts and so on — but my First Officer will make the day-to-day decisions concerning crew. The systems of the ship in the scenario were far less complicated than yours and far less capable. Absolute power and all that. Understand that I have no reason to have anything less than absolute trust in him and his bridge crew. However, I haven’t spent the time with him or any of the alien men compared to the time and situations I’ve had with my team. In combat, I didn’t have to wonder what they were going to do, and I always knew they would have my back, no matter the situation.

“I suppose it’s more than trust and competence that I’m talking about. We just haven’t been together long enough to know what the other is going to do when the shit suddenly hits the fan. Just keep on with what you’re doing. Push him and his team, but you be the judge of how much.”

A little later, Diana walked into her husband’s office to find him sitting at his desk, seemingly staring into space. Without asking, she poured them both a cup of coffee, put his on his desk, and after fixing hers, sat on the couch. “You seemed deep in thought when I walked in. Anything I can help with?”

Jeff smiled at his first wife. “With all the things you do around here, and you ask if you can help with my problems?”

“So? I’m your wife. When you worry, I worry.”

“It’s not really a worry. It’s just ... Oh, shit. We’re only a couple of months before heading off into space with an alien crew that I only think will remain loyal to me — to us. Logically, they could overpower us, and Ship would be theirs — except that she wouldn’t. I doubt they know that, at least not how you and I know it. When she joins us mentally, she conveys more than just what we are discussing. We... feel each other, so I know she’s loyal to me, ` they don’t — can’t — at least not the way we can know it through the mental connection.”

“So? You’re worried about the First Officer’s loyalty? Has he given you even the slightest reason?”

“No,” the Prime admitted, “he’s shown an intense loyalty to me — to all of us. But, when we’re in deep space and maybe even in another dimension, will all his men remain loyal, no matter the circumstances? What if we meet up with the Miadax somewhere out there? No matter how loyal they are here where we provide a safe place from a race that would tear them apart if they knew they even existed; however, things might be different should we meet a crew of Miadax on a planet somewhere.”