Chapter 14: Landing at Ishtar

Eight days later we received notice that we were two days out from the colony and should start preparations for landing. I had finally given up on finding some great use for the last pod and asked that it be turned into a multi-use hall for presentations, dances and parties. Since I indicated that there would only be a need for one floor, the AI said that a sizable room could be created, complete with a stage. Bethany and Tina loved the idea, and Janice even offered to see if a band or two could be organized out of the concubines once time permitted.

The bad news was that Yvette and the others were also spending long hours trying to get all the required sleep study in, and only a limited amount of work had been possible on contacting any of the other sponsors. Ruth's minions were now stalking the halls in groups of five or more, and word was received that three more concubines had died during beatings.

This news, and a series of calls from Ruth to every sponsor on board did end up helping us in our efforts to find support within the sponsors. Although Donna, Terrence and the twins never named me as the leader, a couple of the sponsors figured out that the calls they received from them were organized and used the AI to contact me. Shawna Summers proved to be a recent college graduate and although frightened had finally found the backbone she needed once she realized the two children traveling with her could be in danger. Louis Garrett was apparently a wealthy financial advisor back on Earth, but lacked any real fire. However the thought that his ex-wife and children who were travelling with him might find themselves at the hands of Ruth's friends scared him into contacting me and almost begging to help us. Both expressed surprise when the only instructions I gave was to find time to take the five hours of sleep courses covering command post duties. Unfortunately, the truncated travel schedule had left us little time for more thorough introductions.

Still, the offer brought our force up to ten. The last meetings using the AI had been surprisingly cheerful and as a group there was a feeling of hope that it might be possible to hold out through the initial fights we all knew were coming. The only worry we had was the complete silence from the front of the ship. The only information I was able to confirm from Captain Nelson and Sergeant Powell was that similar conditions reigned there although Manuel Matos was the ringleader of the aggressive faction, and the neutrals had no organization attempting to improve conditions. Donna and Terrence had both attempted a few calls to sponsors in the forward section, but all had been refused.

We finally reached planetary orbit, and there was a short announcement that the ship would begin detaching pods immediately. I don't know if Ruth had any of her thugs in the hall when the announcement went out, but a short time later the AI informed me that Sergeant Powell wished to talk to me, and the door to my pod opened.

I rushed over to the door, and found Sergeant Powell, Corporal Mattingly and Brenda all standing in the hallway. "We don't have a lot of time," the Sergeant said. "But I did want to personally wish you goodbye."

I reached out to shake his hand and smiled. "You did a lot for us," I replied. "Without your care, we wouldn't have the games that help pass the time, nor would Brittany be part of our family."

Behind me I could hear Brittany giggle happily as Brenda hugged Corporal Mattingly. "And who helped me meet Brenda?" he asked me.

I shook my head and looked behind him to see the grav sled carrying eight rabbit cages. I looked over at Brenda briefly.

"I know you wanted to trade some of the babies to help me out when it came to genetic diversity, but we had to leave too soon," she said. "I made sure that all the rabbits have food and water for the ride to the planet, and all cages are labeled, so you can tell which rabbit is which. I even noted which females were bred to which males. You are keeping seventeen pregnant females, ten more that are breeding age, but not pregnant, and thirteen junior females. There are sixteen males, ten adults and six juniors."

I laughed. "Thanks Brenda, I hope you are happy in the future."

Sergeant Powell gave one last smile. "You should be ok, but I'd watch out at first. Ruth and Manuel both want to be top dog and both are willing to fight to prove it."

I nodded. "We've heard from Ruth already. She's been a little less than civil."

The Sergeant laughed as the door closed and the AI called out. "Pod Green seven released, releasing green six in five ... four ... three ... two ... one ... releasing."

There was a momentary shake from the pod and then the power levels dropped. Immediately I called to the ladies. "Let's get in the bedroom and relax. This is probably going to be a bit bumpy ride because the pods are going to rush through the atmosphere."

Everyone agreed and a moment later we were lying on the bed as the pod began a rather bumpy descent to the planet's surface. It was a quite rough, and I worried a bit about the rabbits that were dropping just ahead of us. However, the pod held up, and even the transition from artificial to natural gravity within the pod was smooth.

Because of the roaring sound that seemed the envelop the pod, and the constant shaking the descent seemed to last for hours, but the AI reported that the pods were only spending twenty minutes between first contact with the atmosphere and their landing on the ground.

The pod came to a halt and a new AI voice called out. "Pod motion has stopped and positioning check shows it is properly placed. Tunnel extension will take approximately two hours."

"What about the rabbits in pod Green Seven?" I asked.

The AI immediately answered. "The pod arrived at its designated destination unharmed. The pod AI reports no vocal contact with the inhabitants."

Tina laughed. "Rabbit don't talk."

I sighed. "We'll have to check them in two hours then." I waved to the girls. "Let's go around and check the pod, make sure that nothing was damaged."

The girls jumped up and started checking the various sections of the pod. The shaking had caused some of the DVD's and console games to fall down, but overall the pod had held up amazingly well.

We were worried about the landing of the other pods, and a somber mood settled over all of us. Also the pod AI reported that because of the atmospheric conditions each pod was dropping with a limited battery supply that was needed to extend the tunnels until contact with the colony center and the main power reactors could be established, so use of the consoles and videos was restricted. Bethany suggested that we play cards and a quiet game of poker started up as we waited through the long hours of the tunnel extension. Finally the AI spoke again, this time with a bit more energy. "The tunnel extension is complete. Passage to pod Green seven is possible. Please note that connection with the rest of the colony is not complete at this time. It will take about three more hours before connection with pods Green four and Green three. Connection with the center of the colony and the primary power reactor is estimated to take four days. Contact with all pods within your designated plan will take a total of two days."

I paused. "Once we have power again from this reactor, will it be possible for others to disrupt our supply?" I asked,

"No," the AI replied. "The power supply runs through a special conduit on the bottom of the tunnels, and can only be shut off by destroying the tunnel outright. The reactor itself is buried more than a mile under the colony and operated solely by AI."

"Well, let's go check on the rabbits then," I said. Brittany jumped first and dashed to the door, only to have to stop abruptly when it failed to open.

"Why?" she cried.

The AI ignored her, but I could see the problem. "AI, are we going to have a door in the tunnel just past the point where the tunnels from this pod and Pod Green Seven meet?"

"Yes," the AI responded. "Currently the door is not operational, as beyond that point automatic devices are still extending the tunnel, but the area between the two pods is pressurized."

I smiled. "AI, when the tunnel is completed, the outside door will answer to my command only. For now, the doors to both this pod and pod Green Seven should now open to any of my concubines, unless I give you a direct command to refuse them access."

There was a pause and then the door opened. Brittany gave a cheer and dashed through it, cursing when she stumbled in her rush. The rest of us laughed and followed a bit more slowly, but I could feel the enthusiasm from all my ladies.

We entered a room that contained a number of frightened rabbits cowering in their cages. Most were lying still, and in many the whites of their eyes showed, a sign of their fear. I could not see any who appeared hurt and ventured deeper inside with Brittany and Meiko as Tina, Janice and Bethany started a cage-by-cage check.

The back rooms contained more frightened and upset rabbits and unfortunately a few wet ones as well. Part of the water delivery system come apart during the shaking the pod suffered upon entry and one wall got showered with water, soaking the eight rabbits who had cages lining the wall. Brittany immediately looked at me. "We should dry these rabbits, ' she said.

I nodded. "AI, please provide some towels and replacement bedding through the replicators. We need to get these rabbits cleaned up.

The replicator in the room hummed. Meiko and Brittany quickly gathered the items and started work on making the rabbits a bit more comfortable. As they did I checked the remaining cages to find that no rabbit appeared to be hurt but many were still frightened. I worried about the pregnant females, as the possibility of spontaneous abortion due to stress was evident in the eyes of many of the rabbits. Like the ladies I took to comforting and petting each rabbit until I could see it relax.

The work was slow. Some of the rabbits did perk up quickly, and soon we had the fourteen youngest running around the pod, while we continued our cleanup for the various cages. Brenda had spent some of her time giving every rabbit a unique ear tattoo, so we did not have to worry about losing track of which rabbit went in which cage.

It was about two hours later that all the rabbits were calmed and resting a bit more comfortably. Of the seventeen females that had been pregnant before the drop, two still showed signs of distress, and I suspected that both would lose their litters. The others were still upset, but the stress had left, and many were now curiously looking out of their cages as Tina and Janice finished filling food bowls. Brittany had decided to take one of the young males out for a cuddle and was giggling as the young rabbit licked at her nose when the AI chimed. "Sir, the tunnel expansion to pods Green three and four is complete and there is now pressure between the pods. A Tamara Jenkins is wondering if she and her concubines might come over for a visit."

There was a brief cheer from my ladies at the prospect of visitors. I shook my fist at Bethany and then smiled. "We'd be glad to have them visit. Let me know when they arrive at our outer door."

I waved my ladies back to the pod door. "Let's meet them in our main pod. I think the rabbits need a bit of quiet time."

Brittany turned to put the rabbit she was cuddling back, but then turned back to me and held him against her chest. "May I?" she asked mournfully.

I smiled and nodded. "But you will have to return him to his cage after the visit," I told her as she ran up to kiss me on the cheek.

Meiko giggled and grabbed my arm as the others led the short journey back to our home.

Once inside Bethany began leading Tina and Janice in organizing the game room and setting up for entertaining. She also looked at the outfits each girl was wearing, and shook her head. "Tina, the maid outfit really isn't right for company, nor is the cheerleading outfit Janice. How about we all switch to the black halter-top and mini-skirts? We know that James will be happy to remove those later."

The girls laughed, but Janice looked at Bethany. "I like how you think, but we do need to celebrate being in our new permanent home."

The girls disappeared into the master bedroom to change, with Brittany leaving the rabbit with me. He seemed content to rest on the table and accept an occasional ear and nose rub until Meiko returned and the AI chimed. "Your visitors have arrived. I should note that all pods have now landed. Official word through the AI interface is that there are no fatalities although the rough landing has left a few concubines with broken bones. Attempts will be made to get them medical attention once the pods establish contact with the colony center."

I stood up to head to the entrance, handing the young rabbit to Meiko first. Brittany stepped up to walk with me. "Are any of the casualties in our group? Would they benefit from visiting the medical pod we are establishing?" I asked.

"No," the AI said. "The sponsors in this section of the colony have reported no injury worse than a bruise. However, the seven empty pods will require between seven and twenty days to configure, and will not be operational for that time. The configuration will require access to the master power supply."

I paused. "Does that mean we need to get to the main command post?"

"No," the AI replied as I reached the door and it opened. "The colony was established ahead of schedule due to problems on the transport. Accordingly, the command post was not expected operational for another seven weeks. If you can bring it up in fifteen days when the pod finishes its conversion, no penalties will be enforced."

The AI finished as the Jenkins twins stepped through the opening doorway. Behind them I could see four others. One I recognized as Craig, now looking a bit more humble than the previous day when we had the discussion in the corridor. He had an arm around the teenage black girl I had frightened that same day, and I remembered him using the name Jillian, so I guessed that was her name. I also recognized the young brunette in her mid-twenties, from my visit to Tamara's pod, but not the teen girl with brunette hair hiding behind her. All four were naked, and blushing just a little.

The twins noticed Brittany and spoke. "Sorry"

"We forgot"

"That you"

"Let your"

"Concubines wear"

"Clothing."

Brittany stiffened in shock and gripped my arm, but I laughed and waved everyone back towards the pod itself. "I understand. It's not like clothing is required in the pods. If you want, I can ask my ladies to go naked, they won't mind."

The twins shook their heads in unison as we entered the pod, and found Meiko standing there petting the rabbit.

The young brunette saw the rabbit and shrieked. "A bunny!" and charged at Meiko, who stood there frozen.

"Paula!" the older lady barked as the girl rushed forward. The girl stopped and looked back for a moment, first at the woman who spoke and then at one of the twins.

"I'm sorry," she said and knelt on the floor for a moment. Meiko watched all this with a quizzical look, but then walked forward to kneel next to the girl and showed her the bunny.

One of the twins quietly said. "It's okay." And Paula tentatively reached out to pet the rabbit, squealing in pleasure when it kicked for a moment.

The older female concubine shook her head. "Teenagers!" she muttered.

At that moment Bethany came out from the back and saw everyone. "Oh good, I was thinking that since this is a social call we could all head into the game room where we have a number of games and a few refreshments set out." She said with the air of a hostess.

I noticed that both of the older concubines looked at her in surprise and the woman turned to me to ask a question when I noticed the twin's whispering. Before the woman could speak one of the twins stepped forward blushing.

"James," she began. "Um ... well ... you know that we've been trapped in our pods for weeks, and that means that Craig has been trapped in one pod ... Do you think I could... ?"

I looked down at the blushing girl and smiled. "Say no more. AI please grant either of the Jenkins twins a temporary right to ask for a room door to close for privacy for the duration of this visit." I heard the gasp from the twin in front of me and smiled. "There is one extra room on this floor," I said, pointing to the room with the sleep trainer as it also had a couch. "Or you can go upstairs and use any of the rooms there."

The girl suddenly realized what I was saying and gave me a big hug before grabbing the hands of both Craig and the older woman and pulling them with her to the stairs. Her sister watched her run off and laughed. "Marilyn probably needs it worse than Tammy does," she said as the trio rushed up the stairs.