Chapter 27

"There's more to this concerning Victoria and me than I let on. I need your help, Dad," Christopher said.

Wow! A night of firsts! The first time Christopher called me 'Dad' and the first time he asked for help.

"I figured there was more to it than that. I assume this has something to do with you and Victoria sneaking around making out at night?"

Christopher looked chagrined.

"Oops. I should have known. Victoria said you would know all about it. It's not what it looks like."

"Really? Do tell, because what it looks like is a good looking, horny young man making out with a gorgeous older woman that looks anything but older. It looks like it's completely voluntary on both parts and immensely enjoyed by all. It looks like two people who care for each other immensely. It even looks like you're not using your power to get her to that point. What did I get wrong?" I smiled at his nervousness.

"Well ... not much. It's ... I'm not just making out with her. This isn't me just trying to knock off a good looking piece." Christopher turned red as he spoke bluntly about my sister.

"Hell, son, I know that; this is you and Victoria we're talking about. I assume you know her well enough to realize just because she wants to have sex with you doesn't mean you're getting married tomorrow. She may be 'relaxed' by human standards, but she doesn't indiscriminately sleep around. She wouldn't give you the time of day if she weren't crazy about you in her own weird way.

"You're as fiercely loyal to Katie as I've ever seen and you wouldn't be going after someone else unless she knew about it. Besides, Katie would kill you if you were cheating on her, whatever the definition of cheating is for us, or if you hurt Victoria. In the time I've known you, you've never slept with any female that you didn't have strong feelings for. I don't think humans would understand that we Cornazans may have sex a lot with numerous different people, but it is never casual. Why don't you just spit it out and tell me what's going on? Victoria's sweet and beautiful, but if it were a choice for you between her and Katie, Katie wins hands down."

"Dad, you know that Katie and I together form a very rare being. We were developed by Amanda for very special purposes. I'm sure we'll eventually find someone in the universe more powerful that she and I together, but the only one I know of right now that approaches it, Amanda, is no longer around and may be dead.

"Such power needs a source of energy to run it. Amanda realized early on that the Shal'li'ya was the only source of power in the universe that could provide us with the energy we need. That's why she instilled in us the codex for recognizing her energy signature and the genetic drive to search for it. You can't imagine the joy I felt in locating the source of power we were looking for. I knew I was attracted to Victoria, but I never dreamed that was the reason."

"Ok, so what do you need help with?" I asked.

"Well, it's ... I ... you see ... Shit, this isn't easy," he muttered.

"Well, this advice always works with our resident Miss Eloquence, Cindi, so I'll try it with you. Spit it out, Son, and I'll let you pretty it up afterwards. I promise I won't get upset, at least not until you've had a chance to explain." I was kidding, but Christopher didn't laugh at my attempt at humor. He was a very serious young man.

"I guess there's no easy way to say this ... Dad, I need your permission to sleep with Victoria. And I don't mean sleep in the normal sense. I don't know what to call it. It's not exactly making love, because, although we love each other, we're not 'in love' with each other. It's not sex, as it's much more than that. Am I making any sense?"

"Oh, I'm following you just fine. I do have a couple questions, though. The first you've already answered, as to why you'd want a thirty-seven year old woman, no matter how good looking, rather than one of the hot fourteen year olds around, starting with your own fiancé. The other question is, why are you asking me for permission? If you want to sleep with Victoria, it seems to me you need her permission, not mine."

"I'll have no problems getting Victoria's ok. We both agreed that, because of the special relationship you two have, we have to have your ok to go any further. Neither of us wants to mess with that relationship."

"Chris, Victoria and I long ago put to rest any thoughts of either of us being exclusive to the other. We were together for 14 years in the last cycle as husband and wife. It was nice, but neither of us is silly enough to think we could do that forever in real life. Whom she beds, and when, is her business. Go for it, you two. It's obvious you get the power you need from her. What does she get out of it?"

"The same thing a mother gets from nursing her child," he grinned.

"Excuse me?"

"Dad, she has to bleed off her power periodically. It's the real reason she needs sex more often than the other girls do. She really does need it. She delivers it to you, and you spread it out to the other girls. That's not the only way all of you get power, but that's part of it. She has to have sex frequently, or ... well, I don't know what would happen. She would be in pain, though. But don't think that means she doesn't love you; she does. She only has sex with those she cares about.

"It's especially bad for her now. She didn't have the need to distribute power as much after the Battle of Cornaza, because Amanda was dead and you had no memory of who you were, and needed no power. Less power need promotes less power build up.

"Now Katie and I are here. Our proximity, now that we are re-united, has increased her power potential many thousands of times exponentially. She needs somewhere to go with it, and unless all of you want to be glowing like runaway nuclear reactors and hopping around with more energy that pregnant rabbits, she needs me. I can handle it. Katie can help, both of them."

"Are you in imminent need to ... recharge, or whatever you call it?" I asked.

"Not really. I have plenty of power, but I've only recently started using it. Previously, before I hooked up with my sister again, I was using the abilities my former employers gave me. They don't use that type of power. However, I'll need lots of power when the battle comes with the Qerda. I'll have to use Victoria live for that, but I'll also want a large bank of power already available."

"So, you're really going to kill them all?"

"I don't know. That depends on you, and on many things that happen before then. I'd rather not, for many reasons, including some rather personal ones, but I'm prepared to take out their whole fleet if I have to. That part of the future is not set at all."

"Can you take out the whole Qerda fleet?" I asked incredulously.

"Why not? Amanda did." He paused, looking at me seriously. "Dad, I could take out the whole Qerda world before breakfast and not break a sweat. So could you, and Lori, maybe others. You'd just have to work a lot harder than I would, and I'd have to convince Victoria it was something we needed to do, for me to do it easily."

"It seems to me it would be easier if you married Victoria. Then you'd have her around all the time. I'm sure both Katie's would let you have another wife," I teased.

Christopher didn't take it as a joke.

"We can't be married, not ever. That's impossible, and expressly forbidden. I'm not so sure we wouldn't die if we tried; it's that serious."

"Why?"

"I can never marry a Shal'li ya. It would be too tempting. The most powerful person in the universe and the most powerful energy source in the universe combined as husband and wife? It would be too tempting to take over everything. No one could resist that power. By remaining separate, we exercise control over each other." His eyes flicked towards the door for a moment and returned to stare at me. "Did you ever wonder why Victoria is the only one of us that married a human? She could marry Robert because he was not one of us. That's why it hurt her so badly when he 'died'. She couldn't turn to one of us for the ultimate comfort. It would be dangerous for her to marry any of us. That's why she practically had a meltdown about killing a large number of her deadliest enemies. She's the most moral person you will ever find. She doesn't even kill bugs."

I didn't tell him he was wrong, or at least once he had been wrong. My mind flashed back to the last days of our career in the FBI. I remembered our 'interrogation' session with the suspect that had killed the girl. When we found out, and verified, that the girl was dead, and how she had died, Special Agent Victoria Costello had showed no regret at all for the way we dispatched the murder suspect as he tried to escape. There were apparently some scum of the earth that she treated like others treated bugs. Bugs, and Qerda, deserved mercy, apparently. I wasn't sure the Qerda would ever get a second chance.

"So you want to sleep with Victoria to get her power?" I asked.

"No. I have to sleep with Victoria to get her power. I want to sleep with her because she's lovely, smart, funny, special, and I love her dearly. If things were different..."

I smiled to myself. So he was lying ... he was in love with her. I figured the feeling was mutual, from the way I had seen them stare into each other's eyes. I felt sorry for them, but long, painful experience had told me that what was forbidden in our culture was for a very good reason. Later, I would remember that thought and wish I had paid more attention to it in other situations.

I knew he was lying, because I was too. The 14 years I spent married to Victoria were some of the happiest years of my life. I would be just as happy when I married Megan and Amy, but that didn't remove the fact that the time with Victoria had been special. I vividly remembered the devastation she and I felt when we realized at the end of the last cycle that we would likely not be married when it was all over. We both cried over that. I knew we both missed that closeness. I also knew whatever she felt for Christopher had nothing to do with her feelings for me.

"Katie knows. She's fine with it," Christopher said, knowing what I was thinking. I nodded.

"It's ok, then?" he persisted.

"I have no problems with it," I answered. He stared at me relentlessly. "Yes, Son, it's ok with me. Maybe we can make it a threesome someday." I had no idea why I said that.

He smiled.

"What a great idea! You and your sister have the best ideas! She suggested that too. She mentioned something about handcuffs also. What did that mean?"

Me and my big mouth!

Christopher laughed as I blushed. At least, I assume I did, as my face got very hot.

"Why can't Victoria use her own power?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Same reason she and I can't be married. Unlimited power with unlimited ability? That's a recipe for disaster."

"Has it happened before?" I enquired.

"Yes, once, long time ago. It's why it's forbidden now. We're still paying dearly for that debacle. And no, I won't tell you about it. Even Lisa doesn't know about it. Not that you'd ever get anything out of her anyway," he laughed.

"What about in the last cycle, when Victoria and I were married. Wasn't that dangerous ... unlimited power and unlimited energy married to each other?"

"No ... and it wouldn't have mattered anyway. We were trying to stop the cycles. Marrying you and Victoria together was a large part of why we were successful. We needed that power. You two taking over the universe was the last of our worries. We were trying to make sure there remained a universe to worry about. You weren't going to remain married when we returned to real life anyway. Besides, no one can even envision you and Victoria being a problem together. I doubt we could find two more humble people if we tried. Well, maybe the Sugar Twins, but I'm not sure we've seen everything there is to know about Jessica. Neither you nor Victoria are remotely interested in power. No one would object if you wanted to be married again."

"Do you want to spend tonight with Victoria?" I asked.

"No, not tonight. She needs you tonight. Be nice to her, Dad; I can feel the waves of despair in her. She is really devastated by what she thinks she did."

"She thinks she did?"

"She didn't kill the Qerda, Dad; Amanda did. She doesn't want to hear that. Right now she would simply argue that by providing the power, she helped Amanda to destroy the fleet and so she, Victoria, is still responsible," he explained.

"Is she right?" I asked.

"She is, in her own way. All of life, especially with the power we have, is a tradeoff. There are many things we could be held responsible for, such as the death of humans by Bandor and his group, the sexual abuse those poor girls suffered, and so on. If we weren't here, none of it would have happened. If you want to stretch it far enough, that makes us guilty of murder. I don't feel bad about it; do you?"

There are some questions that don't need answering.

"Lisa said there were two Shal'li'ya's. Have you detected any signs of the other one? How does she fit into your picture?" I asked.

"I don't know. That was the first I heard of the second one. I haven't felt her presence, but I don't know what I'm looking for, either. If she's never used her power, I wouldn't feel her. No one has rocked the foundations of the universe with her power lately!" He smiled at my embarrassed look. "Is her signature exactly like Victoria's? Our race is based on twins. Was the Ancient Race also? If so, her signature could be exactly the same. Maybe Amanda is the second Shal'li'ya. She was her - and your - twin. Maybe you're the second one," he laughed.

"Those are the two things we know are incorrect. I can't be because I'm male and the Shal'li'ya's are female. Amanda can't be because she used Victoria's power at the battle of Cornaza. Shal'li'ya's can't use power; they hand it to others. Even if Amanda was a mutant that could use power, she could have used her own power, without need of Victoria."

"Sorry, Dad, but it's not that simple. We only assume the second Shal'li'ya is a female; does the Prophecy actually say that? I agree it's a pretty safe bet, but we don't know for sure.

"As far as Amanda not being the other Shal'li'ya because she used Victoria's power, that's based on another assumption. The prophecy says a Shal'li'ya can't use their own power; since there has always only been one that pretty much settled it. Now there are two. It never says that one can't use the other's power, because it never touches the subject except to say there are two of them."

"Are you serious?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes and no. It's possible. I doubt that's the answer, but it's possible. When I felt Victoria's power, there were some strange echoes in it. I assumed that was due to the incredible force. It could have been the presence of the other one, particularly if their signatures are very similar or identical. I just don't know enough to answer the question definitively."

"If they are twins ... if their signatures are identical..."

"Yeah ... I know," he said.

I sat, lost in my own thoughts, until there was a soft knock on the door. Katie was standing there, grinning.

"He's mine; yours is in there," she said, pointing to the bedroom where Victoria was waiting. Her grin faded. "Go, she really needs you. She's really upset. You two can talk more tomorrow." Katie pushed me out the door. She ran to the bed and leapt on it, jumping up and down like a little kid. She threw herself in Christopher's arms and they fell down together laughing, hugging and kissing. I closed the door quietly.

I thought about what Christopher said as I walked to the bedroom. What if Amanda was using the power from the second Shal'li'ya at the same time? What if Amanda was the second Shal'li'ya? I would see no power differentiation in the record of the battle in the first case if the signatures were identical. I wouldn't see any difference in the second case either, if the power came from herself. If that were the case, then Amanda was definitely still alive somewhere. I couldn't be sure, since the exact words of that part of The Prophecy hadn't been revealed, but the implications were clear — the second Shal'li'ya was alive when the planets were rescued.

Why were the exact words lost? If the missing part of The Prophecy was hidden in an area of Dad's brain, and he had read it last night, then the words still existed. If Lisa attempted to erase it, she had to have read it also. Someone was hiding something. Did I really want to know the secret this time?

Victoria was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling when I entered the room. Her cheeks were wet from the tears she had shed. I pulled her close to me and wrapped my arms around her, as she did the same thing. We stared at each other for a long time. My heart cried at the sadness and self-loathing I saw in her huge eyes. I kissed her nose softly, nibbling on it at the same time. She jumped and laughed weakly.

"I love you, Victoria. I always have and I always will. Nothing you do will ever change that."

"Even though I'm a mass murderer? Even though I killed hundreds of thousands of people?" she whispered brokenheartedly.

"Even though. You didn't, you know," I told her.

"Patrick..." she hissed angrily. Good, something besides tears.

"Oh, just shut up and listen to me for a change!" I snapped back. She jerked in surprise. I seldom lost my temper with her. She recognized the command voice of the White Energy.

"Victoria, they slaughtered millions of our people. Most of them died a horrible death, losing their colors or losing their twins. There is no worse way for us to die. They died a death of no coming back. I don't feel any guilt about the part I played in stopping that, and you shouldn't either. All we did was save our people, save our race. If some of the Qerda had to die, so be it. They were all soldiers, or civilians in the military that knew the risks every time they shipped out. We didn't kill innocent children like they did. Amanda could have killed their whole world. I know two wrongs don't make a right, but would you rather I had died so you didn't have to kill them?"

"No ... but..."

"I said shut up," I said more gently. She snapped her mouth shut.

"You provided the power to save us. After the shield did its work, Amanda realized that a good offense was the best defense. Did she lose it when Jill died? Most likely, but the results would have been the same eventually; she saved more that would have died had she waited. She made a hard choice, but make no mistake about it, the choice was hers, not yours. She killed them, you didn't. She also made a choice that I would have likely made also if I'd been her.

"Christopher asked me a very wise question a moment ago. Are we responsible for the deaths of all the humans Bandor has killed? All the suffering he has caused?"

Victoria looked at me serenely, then pointed to her mouth and made funny noises, shrugging her shoulders.

"Ok, you can talk now," I sighed, exasperated.

"Are you sure? I don't want to get in trouble again..." she teased, then hurried on as she saw the look I gave her. "No ... of course it doesn't make us responsible..."

"Why not? If we weren't here, it wouldn't have happened. Doesn't that make us an accessory to murder?"

"You're twisting this around..."

"Maybe. But if you hadn't used your power, hadn't given Amanda the energy to save us, we wouldn't be here. They wouldn't have died. Would that make you feel better? Would you trade my life, the life of the girls, to prevent the humans from dying?"

"Damn it, Patrick..."

"No, not damn it Patrick. You can't have it both ways. If you're responsible for the Qerda deaths, then you're responsible for the human deaths also, and every death that ever occurs due to us being alive. If you're not responsible for those deaths, then you're not responsible for the Qerda deaths either." I hugged her tight.

"Honey, Amanda killed those people, not you. She had no choice, anymore than I have a choice every time I protect my girls. Sometimes we have to do 'bad' things that we have no choice about. The alternative is to lie down and die."

"It still doesn't seem right..." she protested.

"Let's make it a little more personal. Do you know why the Qerda attacked our planet?"

"No..."

"Neither do I for sure, but I suspect I know. I believe they were after you, dear. Somehow, when we were discovering about your power, they must have detected it and decided it was something they wanted or needed. If you hadn't given your energy to Amanda, they would have killed all of us and you would be a lab rat right now. Worse, maybe you would be providing energy for them to take over the galaxy. Sound like fun? One of your lifelong dreams, I bet."

"You don't know that for sure," she gasped.

"Got a better theory?"

"No ... I hate you sometimes!" she snarled, then gave an embarrassed grin.

"I know, and I love you all the time. You just can't stand it when I'm right."

"Maybe you're right. It still doesn't feel right, though. I don't have to like it, and you can't make me like it!" She sounded just like the little girl that I played 'Did not!' 'Did too!' with when we were little.

"No, you don't have to like it. What you do have to do is get used to it, stop it from eating yourself up inside. If you don't, you may hesitate next time we need your power, and that might kill one or more of our girls. Then you would feel real guilt. No one in our family is going to ask you to give them power without a good reason."

"I thought you were supposed to be comforting me, not depressing me," she pouted. "Patrick..." she started, then stopped, not knowing how to proceed.

"Go on, Victoria. It's ok; you can't affect how I feel about you, no matter what you say," I assured her.

"Do you think I'm the ... family whore? A loose woman? A slut? Does it bother you that I want sex so often? Do you still love me?" she asked, her voice trembling.

I took her in my arms and hugged her as tight as I could.

"'No' to all those questions except the 'love you' one. Yes, I love you, I always will. Talk to Christopher about your sexual ... appetite. He knows something about it. You really have no choice, dear, and it actually is a good thing. He can explain it better than I can."

I kissed her gently, then slipped my tongue inside her as her lips opened. She gasped and whimpered as she kissed me back.

"Is that comforting?" I teased.

"Well ... it will be when you get down to business," she giggled. "It's been too long, Patrick. Make me scream," she pleaded.

"One night of screaming, coming up," I answered as I slipped my hand between her legs.

"Ooh! A whole night!"

Victoria took my face in her hands and turned serious.

"Patrick ... I love you more than I can tell you. Do you ever miss it?" she asked, a catch in her voice.

I knew exactly what she meant. Did I ever miss being married to her, as we were for fourteen years in the last cycle?

"Of course, how could I not, honey," I answered.

"I wish ... I so want to be your wife again. I wish I had been there more often, instead of travelling so much. I wasted so much of our time together. If we were married again, I'd never let you out of my sight. Hell, I'd never let you out of bed!"

"Victoria..."

She saw my face and laughed.

"You should see the look on your face! Calm down, honey ... I'm not asking you to marry me again. I had my turn; it's Megan and Amy's turn now. I can dream, though. Can we not ... wait so long next time? I've missed you terribly."

"All you had to do was ask. I have a lot of girls to take care of. Sometimes I overlook a few," I said, embarrassed.

"Yeah, and they're almost all younger than me, and all are prettier than me. Easy to forget me," she whined, grinning. "I feel bad about reminding you. I feel like I'm interfering with the others."

"Victoria, all of them know and gladly accept that I will spend time with you. They don't see it as an intrusion. You shouldn't either. You're as pretty as any of them, and besides ... sometimes I treasure the company of a woman that isn't silly and giggly. Teenagers can drive me up a wall sometimes."

"I'm gonna tell Amy!" Victoria chanted.

Kissing her did a wonderful job of shutting her up.

"I forgot what I was going to tell her," she moaned as I kissed her again. I kissed her all over her body to make sure she didn't remember.

She grabbed the pillow and put it over her face when I started licking her clit. I pulled it away. I wanted to see her face when she came. It turned me on. She gave me a nasty look, then squeaked quietly as her whole body shook.

We played, made love, and fucked all night long. She finally fell asleep about 2:00 am, with a happy smile on her face. I had just dozed off myself when I felt soft lips kissing me.

"Nice job. You made her forget all about today," Julie said, kissing me again. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her down onto the bed, making her squeal quietly in surprise.

"Are you needy, Pretty One?" I asked as I rubbed the front of her pretty pink panties.

"No ... well, I wasn't before you did that," she panted. "I just wanted to see you."

"I love you, Julie. Don't ever forget that. Just because I'm with other girls, doesn't mean I love you less. You are very special to me, Pretty One."

Julie blushed furiously.

"Thank you. I love you too. I do forget sometimes, then I see you and it all comes back. I wish..."

"I know," I assured her.

"You too?"

"Of course. Never think that I want you any less than you do me. It's just..."

"I know. I'm content with how things are ... most of the time. You've always been good at reading when I need more. Thank you," she whispered.

"Julie, I can leave for awhile if you need some time with him," Victoria said, eyes closed as she still pretended she was asleep. "Or ... we could fuck him silly together!"

Julie's eyes widened and sparkled with anticipation.

"I'd like that! Could we? I usually have him alone. I've often wondered..."

A few hours later, she didn't wonder anymore. Victoria watched us as Julie and I hugged each other. I had tears in my eyes and Julie was crying like a baby. Victoria kissed us both.

"How can you resist marrying her? She's just the sweetest thing!" Victoria whispered.

"We can't," Julie and I whispered together.

"At least give her another baby," Victoria pleaded Julie's case. I saw the excitement in Julie's eyes. "That does bring up a question, though."

"Which is?"

"How did Julie become pregnant in the last cycle if she's never been through the ceremony? Or has she been through it before? And what about Sammi? How did she have a baby?"

I pondered the question for a few minutes, to no avail. Victoria and I looked at each other, then at Julie. We had both noticed that Julie had become very, very quiet.

"Hey, it's your question. Don't expect me to know the answer," Julie said quietly.

"Yeah, like you have no idea," Victoria scoffed. Julie ignored her.

"I bet this has something to do with who you really are, doesn't it, 'Julie the Little Mystery Person'?" I teased. Well, ok, I really was serious. I'd love to know who she really was.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm Julie, the six year old girl in the last cycle that loved you," she said. "I still do."

As usual when it came to discussing Julie's identity, the conversation was not going any further. I pulled Victoria and Julie in tight and fell asleep with a pretty woman on each shoulder.

I awoke the next morning being kissed in darkness, surrounded by black hair.

"I didn't know company was an option last night," Amy whispered. "I would have come!" she giggled at her double entendre.

"It wasn't planned," I explained. "Julie shows up unexpectedly sometimes."

"She's so cute!" Amy exclaimed, leaning over to kiss Julie softly, lingeringly. Uh-oh! It was one of those days for Amy. Julie whimpered and kissed back in her sleep. I wondered what story there was there?

"Do you need me to ... help you out, Amy?" I asked. "You seem to be ... affectionate today," I remarked.

"Just finger me. It won't take long," she panted.

It didn't.

When I finally got up and showered, I found my Dad sitting in the living room. Somehow, Amy had beaten me there.

"What are you doing here so early?" I asked.

"You need to get the whole family assembled. We're going to have visitors in about an hour," Dad said. Damn, it would be close trying to get Cindi ready in that amount of time.

"Who's coming?" Amy asked.

"The Appointed Ones will be here then," Dad said solemnly.

"Appointed Ones? I thought there was just one?" That's what everyone had implied to me.