Chapter 715

Emma tentatively held her hands out, and Arlene gave her Little One. Arlene and Ann glanced at each other when Emma didn’t flinch at the contact.

“It’s... she’s warm,” Emma corrected. She hesitated a few seconds before continuing. “And she is definitely a female. For some reason, I almost want to giggle.”

Arlene smiled at her. “That means that she likes you. Now lie down on the couch, relax and take a nap. Shortly, you will feel better than you ever have in your whole life. While you’re napping, we’ll make a couple of sandwiches so that you can have a snack before lunch.”

As she reclined on the couch, Emma frowned while wondering why they would fix her a sandwich when she hadn’t said she was hungry, but the blue beams touched her forehead, and she drifted to dreamland before she could voice the thought.

Just as Emma awakened, the girls returned with Arlene bearing a tray with two steak sandwiches and a big pile of chips, while Ann was carrying a large glass of cold milk. After the girls put the food on the coffee table, Arlene reached for Little One, and Emma reluctantly handed the small alien to her. Arlene pulled her collar open and held Little One near.

Emma watched the small being flow into Arlene’s collar to disappear as she spread over the girl’s back.

“That is so odd, and I would have thought seeing her change would have repulsed me, but after feeling her thoughts, it just ... doesn’t.”

Ann spoke up, “She’s too sweet for anyone who knows her to be repulsed by her. So, how do you feel?”

Emma started to answer when she smelled the food, and her eyes shifted to it.

“Eat,” Ann said with a smile. “Those two sandwiches should last you for an hour or two — maybe.”

Emily bit into the tenderest, best-tasting steak sandwich she had ever put into her mouth while beginning to notice how she felt. Wonderingly, she looked at the two grinning girls.

“How long does the feeling last?” she asked.

“As far as we know — forever,” Ann answered.

“I’m going to feel this way all the time?” At the girls’ nods, Emma went on, “I’m so full of energy that I think I could do cartwheels the way I did when I was a kid. So, she’s what Jeff, Helen and Kayla were talking about on the trip,” Emma got out between bites. “She can heal too?”

“Absolutely,” both girls answered as one, then grinned at each other.

“We’ll make sure you have a couple of sandwiches to go with you this afternoon, and we’ll remind Diana that you will need time to eat them.”

“I don’t think I’ll need sandwiches this afternoon after eating these and lunch too.”

“Wanna bet?” Ann said. “We should probably take four, since you will be exercising.”

Emma almost said she could never eat that much, but with the way she was stuffing food down her throat, she thought better of it. Odd, her body was so easy to move, as if she were much lighter. Surely that little alien couldn’t make her this much stronger. Amazing herself, she wanted to get on the road and run. How can I feel this wonderful? Maybe what the Matthews women have been telling me is true after all. No wonder they always seem to be in a good mood.

Recognizing the expression, Arlene chuckled and said, “I imagine that you just shaved a whole minute off your best mile time.”

Emma let out a shaking breath. “I now understand what the Colonel was talking about when he tried to explain about her,” she said while nodding to where Little One had disappeared inside Arlene’s top.

“In addition to giving you more strength and a feeling of well-being, Little One just added many thousands of years to your lifespan. The enhancement process isn’t complete and will continue for some time yet. That’s one reason you will be hungry for the next couple of weeks.”

A few minutes later, Emma’s mind was aswim with the new information as she downed the last of her milk. “There is absolutely no way I could ever repay you for what you two have just done for me.”

“It wasn’t us,” Arlene quickly denied. “It was our husband. He brought her back from one of his trips — the one where he found Ship, actually Little One and a half dozen or so other healers. However, only Little One became something more than just an emergency med unit. Even then, the others stopped working while Little One found a way to create her own power or tap into somewhere for it, and continued to enhance herself to finally become what she is today. She is a phenomenally intelligent person with a beautiful disposition, and she loves each of us.”

Later, Jeff saw the three in the hallway, smiled and asked Emma how she felt. Impulsively, Emma hugged him in her enthusiasm, only realizing what she had done when he hugged her back. Her face flushed red when she felt her nipples respond to his presence, and she hoped he hadn’t felt them against his chest, but he winked at her, which caused her face to flame even redder.

Jeff chuckled, told them he would see them at lunch and walked away.

“He’s an asshole,” she mumbled while trying to convince herself of her own words.

Arlene and Ann didn’t take any pity on her and teased her about her “headlights,” while Emma wished she had worn a more substantial bra.

“You might as well get used to it,” Ann advised. “He’s a Prime, even an Alpha Prime. When any of us touch him the way you just did, the same thing happens to us. He likes it, so we don’t care. We wear bras when we have company, or if we are out where the public can see us, or we are exercising, but here in the Retreat and its grounds, we never wear them — none of us.”

Arlene continued, “We just had the same general discussion with Mia and her group, since they are all enhanced too. When Glenda, the physician, heard, she chuckled and did the bra trick as our husband calls it, and with a sigh, pulled her bra out of the sleeve of her top. Her husband almost had a stroke, but she just laughed and told him if he wanted the bra worn, he could wear it himself.”

“I suppose I could do it if Jeff were the only man around, but I can barely remember the names of the others.”

“Emma,” Ann said, “remember, all the women here go braless. I won’t lie and say the men won’t notice, for they will. You are new here, so they will look; although, they will be tactful doing it, but any one of us is just one of many, so they won’t make any big deal out of it and certainly not for long.”

“But my nipples...” Emma began.

“ ... Will soon get used to being free and won’t stand up as much ... and when they do, just smile because the men will certainly appreciate the view.”

“I don’t know whether I can do that or not...”

“Don’t worry about it for now. Instead, do you have a substantial bra or a running bra? You’ll need one for the exercises this afternoon.”

“Yes. I have both.”

“Then you might want to change into the running bra, jeans and a substantial shirt, or else partake of the General’s generosity and pick up a fatigue set in the room next door, because we’ll be on the range shortly after lunch. Also, we’ll run after our lunch has time to settle, so you might want to bring some shorts to change into, or just wear them under your clothes, which is what most of the women do. Oh, and bring or wear your running shoes.”

“I have fatigues, so I don’t need the General’s. How far will we run?” Emma asked worriedly.

“I told Mom that you jogged five miles this morning, and she said she would drop back to that for today.”

“‘Drop back?’” Emma repeated.

“Yeah, most of us usually run at least ten miles most days.”

“Oh, shit,” Emma mumbled.

“Don’t sweat it,” Ann quickly said. “She’ll let you work up to it. Remember, you’ve been enhanced. You will gain mileage quickly. If you’re really sore for the first few days, Jeff will let you use Little One to ease the soreness, but with you already up to five miles, I doubt there will be that terribly much. Just please keep a positive attitude, and you will soon be laughing at the jokes and having fun all the way. We don’t run flat out, and we’re not training for a marathon, just making sure that our bodies are in good shape.”

Diana had the AI tell Selina to meet with her in Jeff’s office. When Selina walked in, Diana slipped off Jeff’s lap, walked around the desk and motioned for Selina to sit near her. “Have you talked to your parents about Jeff’s physical requirements?”

“Yes. I told them that I would escort them to the firing range after lunch and also instructed them on what to wear. They are both runners and barely reacted when I told them what our Prime’s requirements for the trip are. Neither has been running during their stay at the lake, of course, but they are confident they will regain their running abilities quickly. After their enhancement, they both say they feel stronger than they have in their whole lives. I do not think they will have any major problems with our Prime’s physical requirements.”

“Good,” Diana said. Then, “AI,” she said as she raised her voice.

“Yes, my Clan Queen?”

“Would you please locate Dessie and Phillip? If they aren’t busy, please invite them to join us in Jeff’s office.”

“Yes, Diana?”

After a moment, the AI said, “They have agreed, and I am guiding them.”

“Thank you.”

A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and Selina quickly opened it.

After everyone was settled with a cup of coffee or a soft drink, Diana said, “Selina tells us that she has discussed the physical requirements of our trip with you.”

When Dessie and Phillip nodded, Di went on. “As you know, we will meet on the range after lunch for pulse rifle training, but you two, since you aren’t familiar with the rifle yet, will have your first lesson in the range building. Normally, you would have to complete that part of the course before firing the weapon, but I’ll have someone give you an abbreviated version of the mechanics of the pulse rifle so you can, at least, shoot some this afternoon. I understand that both of you are familiar with rifles.”

Dessie spoke up, “Phillip hunts some, so he’s a lot better shot than I am.”

Diana thought for a moment. “Arlene and Ann will give you a crash course in the disassembly and reassembly — field stripping — and cleaning of the weapon. You will be allowed to keep a rifle each so you can practice what Arlene and Ann teach you. You won’t be allowed to keep a power canister until you have demonstrated your ability to field strip and reassemble the weapon in one minute — blindfolded or in the dark — and have gone through the safety part of the course. And, once you have fired the weapon enough and have proven to me that you are safe with it. Oh, yes, any violation of the range rules will result in laps while everyone else watches.”

“I can only guess what a pulse rifle is,” Phillip said, “but you can bet I’m anxious to learn, and knowing my wife, she is too.”

“Good,” Diana responded. “Now, I think that Jeff has something that he wants to speak to Selina about.”

Jeff, who was still sitting behind his desk, came to his feet while obviously hiding something behind his body. He didn’t keep them waiting but brought out a rifle case. However, the case was a bit shorter than a standard pulse rifle case would be. There was, however, instant recognition on Selina’s face, and she shot to her feet.

“They did it,” she chortled. “They were able to make a pulse rifle my size.”

As Jeff put the case on his desk, “It isn’t quite as powerful as the full-length version, but maybe you won’t be disabling any armored vehicles until you are tall enough for a full-size pulse rifle,” he said, tongue in cheek. “It takes the same power pack and is more your size; however, it will still be a handful for you. They couldn’t make it any smaller or lighter and maintain reasonable power.”

Selina, now standing in front of Jeff’s desk, looked at him with tears in her eyes. “Oh, my. I don’t know what to say other than thank you with all my being, and I promise to take good care of it. Obviously, you know that I follow all the rules and will continue to do so.”

“I’m not the one who ordered the weapon constructed. I asked if it could be done, sure, but it was the General who ordered it made especially for you. I tried to get him to present it to you, but you know how he is.”