Chapter 15: A Small Party

In the end though, we were listening to Craig spin a tale of a fraternity initiation he had heard about at the college he attended, when the AI chimed in. "Sorry to disturb, but the tunnel extension has just merged with the tunnel for Yvette's pod. She requested permission to visit when the tunnels connected. Shall I pass on permission?"

I looked around and realized that the pod was a bit crowded with everyone, and liable to become more crowded. I looked over at Tiffany and Tamara and could see a hint of unhappiness at the thought of having to return to their own pods. Finally I looked over at Bethany.

"Bethany, do you think we can take in Yvette and all her family, plus most likely Donna and Terrence's households once the tunnel extends to them?" I asked.

She looked around and smiled. "I'll have to put my skirt and top back on, but I think we can accommodate that many. You have enough games, and the children will be thrilled by the rabbits."

I nodded. "Go ahead and give her permission. Just let me know when she arrives at the outer door," I told the AI.

The twins both smiled brightly when they realized that I was not going to send them home. I ended up receiving hugs from both, but fended off a kiss from Tamara before I could pull Brittany over to whisper in her ear. "Brit, you know the rabbits best. I'm going to ask you to watch out for them because I know that Yvette's children are going to want to see them. Let them look and pet through the cages, but I wouldn't let then handle any of the rabbits today. The rabbits have been through a bit much."

She smiled and kissed me on the cheek. "And do I get you in bed later for doing this?"

I gave her a mock glare and whispered lovingly. "Perhaps I'll let Tina have her way with you instead."

Brittany smiled as she bounced away, stopping only to give Tina a long and extremely close French kiss before dashing out of the room with a giggle. Tina gave me her own glare before laughing and joining Janice in reviewing the game options and discussion what might be best for the children to try.

"Thank you"

"For letting"

"Us stay," the twins chimed. I could see Craig and Marilyn both roll their eyes, but neither protested the reappearance of the tandem talking. Instead, Marilyn insisted that Tiffany explain the game we had been playing. She grabbed Tiffany and demanded a walk through while Tamara stood there in shock. I watched the interchange and laughed.

Craig seemed a bit surprised by my ease and asked me. "You're really not upset by all these people?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Everyone has been trapped in a tiny pod for two weeks. If helping them get out means my pod is invaded for a day, I'll live with it. As long as my concubines don't mind."

As I finished, Meiko climbed up into my lap and glared at me for a moment. She then ruined the impression that she might be mad by putting her lips to mine and trying to suck all the air out of my lungs, finally releasing me because she could hold her breath no longer. I sank back into the chair half lifeless.

"Damn girl," I heard Jillian say. "I've heard of the kiss of death, but never seen one given."

Meiko must have smiled because there was laughter around me as I sucked air back into my lungs and tried to sit up. It took a moment but I pulled myself together. "Wow! Someone get the license of that train," I quipped as I hugged Meiko to me.

Craig laughed at the comment. "I don't think she has any complaints."

I gave Meiko a squeeze and smiled. "Sure she does. I don't make love to her often enough," I said, earning myself a playful smack and another long kiss.

Tiffany was laughing as the AI chimed in. "Yvette and her household are at the door."

I struggled a moment to get my feet under me and stood up, with Meiko holding tightly to my chest. Once I was on my feet, she slowly extended her legs and stood up, letting me go.

As soon as I was free, I walked over to the door. I signaled for the AI to open it. As the door opened I found myself facing Yvette, and her four concubines. Yvette was wearing a nice sundress, while her concubines were wearing the gray shifts provided the first day on board. The children stood back in the hall a short distance, watching Marie carefully.

I smiled. "It's good to see you Yvette, Tiffany and Tamara have been here for a couple hours."

Yvette shrugged. "We should have placed my pod just a bit closer to yours. My tunnel connects to the main passage at a three-way intersection, and the passage was not pressurized until both the recreation hall and Shawna Summer's pods were added."

"Should we invite Shawna then?" I asked. "I'm sure she would love to meet us."

"Do you have space?" Yvette asked, looking at something behind me. I turned around to see Brittany looking out from the passage leading to the rabbit pod, while Jillian and Paula were peeking out from my pod. I laughed momentarily.

"Well, a back yard or patio would be nice, but I'm sure we can make the space work. After all, we have a pod for rabbits that has plenty of spare space if we really need it," I replied.

I could see Marie about to speak and held up my hand. I waved to Brittany who came forward. "Marie, I know you want to see the rabbits. Brittany here can take you and any others to look at them, but they are still getting over the fright of the ride down, so can you make sure the children listen to Brittany and be gentle?"

Yvette just smiled and nodded as Marie burst into a huge smile. She waved to the children and followed Brittany into the rabbit pod. The children followed with a happy cheer and their cries of "how cute!" echoed through the corridor.

Yvette just laughed. "They need that," she said. "It's been so hard on the children with no place to run and play.

"Damn, that's what I didn't think of. A playground for the children," I said. "We could have used one of the pods for that."

Philippe snorted and then looked at Yvette for approval to speak. At her nod he spoke up. "With the school, the recreation hall, and your multi-use hall which can handle dances and maybe broomball or indoor soccer, I think we'll keep the children tired out."

I smiled and then offered to lead Yvette and her remaining household into my place. Nathan and Philippe smiled and began to walk to the room, as Yvette put her arm around Esther and walked forward holding her close. I smiled as I saw Esther's hand lovingly caressing Yvette's ass.

The greetings inside were friendly. Yvette had previously met Tamara and Tiffany's concubines, and it was clear that Craig, Philippe and Nathan had spent some time in conversation as the trio found a quiet corner to talk privately. Esther stayed close to Yvette, and said little as the twins tried to talk her into trying out the racing game. Meanwhile, I called out to the AI. "AI, if the path to Shawna Summers is clear and she can come visit, please extend to her an invitation to come and join us. And can you give me a progress report on the tunnels."

"The tunnel extensions to the hydroponics pod and to the pod of Donna Dixon will be completed in about one hour. After that it will be about eight hours before any additional citizens can be hooked in, as the tunnels through the colony center need to be completed. Shawna has said she will come, but it might be a while. One of the children in her pod is frightened and needs to be coaxed into coming out," The AI said.

"If it helps offer to let Shawna's pod hear the cheerful children over in the rabbit pod, that might coax the child into coming out," I mused. "What about the other sponsors?"

The AI continued its report. "The sponsors on the north side of the enclave are connected, but have not left their pods. Terrence has contacted the people near him, but they are on the far side of one of the connections to the center and that tunnel will not be pressurized for twelve hours. He is considering having a small gathering at his pod since they cannot come here."

Yvette smiled at the announcement. "That sounds good. If Donna is willing I think we can squeeze her and her concubines in here for one big party. If you have no problem with that James."

I looked around and started counting the number of women to men in the room. I made it painfully obvious to everyone, and then made a big show of counting again before shaking my head. "Guys, I'm afraid we are already hopelessly outnumbered, and the women are calling in reinforcements," I called out. "AI, please extend the invitation to Donna as well."

There was a general laughter in the room and Bethany walked up to me, to look me in the eye. There was a short pause and then she pulled me in for a loving kiss. "Beast," she said with a smile after the kiss ended and she backed away.

The male concubines laughed and invited me over for a talk to commiserate about the pitfalls of being around so many women. I went over with four beers, but before we completed one round of toasts to manhood, Yvette, Esther, Tiffany and Tina broke up our little circle; each coming over to their man and dragging him away with kisses and giggles.

Everyone gathered around the racing board but this time I let Janice explain the game. I bowed out of the round, as I wanted to be free when Shawna arrived. This did not hurt the game though, as all ten starting positions were quickly filled and the race started. Yvette had decided to watch with me and soon was laughing at the bluster and boasts each person used during their turns. I was counting people and considering getting another game started when the AI chimed. "James, Shawna has arrived with her concubines and two children."

I turned to head out to greet her and Bethany appeared at my side. She had been playing the game, but once again her aggressive play had resulted in a crash that removed her from the game, to Nathan's amusement. Of course, Nathan did not have much to crow about because Janice and Tina had jumped out to a huge lead and he was now fighting with Meiko to remain in third.

I arrived at the door and it opened to reveal a young lady who looked every bit the part of social studies coed. Her outfit was a bit modest, but would not have seemed out of place on any college campus. I greeted her with a smile as Bethany stood just behind me.

"Hello, I'm guessing you are Shawna. I'm James and I'd like to welcome you to Ishtar and our new home," I said with a bow.

Shawna just smiled, but the older Hispanic lady behind her laughed loudly. "Say that again in Spanish senor," she said.

I shook my head and looked beyond Shawna for a moment. Her household accompanied her on this trip. The man was young and muscular, but had a humble demeanor. The Hispanic woman probably rivaled Bethany in age, and was holding onto two children who appeared to be about eleven. The boy had a huge bruise over one eye and seemed a bit frightened.

Shawna saw my gaze and smiled. "I guess I can introduce my household first," she said with a smile. "David of course plays the stud. And Marina over there has been very helpful with keeping house. The children are hers, Jose and Lupe. Unfortunately Jose got bounced around a bit during the landing."

I nodded. "I can see that, but I think we can repair some of the damage," I said. I turned back towards the other pods and shouted. "Brittany, can you peek out and collect two more for the petting zoo?"

I heard a couple of mournful responses, but a moment later Brittany peeked out from the rabbit pod, holding a small rabbit in her hands. "Send them on over," she called back. "We found that your little man Harpo wanted some attention and we're letting him run around on the floor."

The children looked confused, but then Lupe spotted the rabbit Brittany was holding and rushed forward with a joyful cry. Jose hissed, but upon realizing why his sister was running followed with his own cry. They disappeared back into the pod where more happy cries could be heard.

I watched them go and then looked back to see the shocked looks on the faces of Shawna and her concubines. "Did I just see... ?" Shawna started to ask.