Chapter 7

Having seen with his own eyes how much difference Thomas' engines made to the speed of prototype one, Captain Marlon was clamouring for work to begin immediately to upgrade the WS Scout. While he wouldn't admit it too publicly, he was also impressed by the fact that his ship's scanners hadn't been able to pick up the torpedo that Ben had launched at him.

Ben agreed that the necessary work on the Scout should be given priority, as a second new ship couldn't be started until after the formal launch of prototype one cleared the dry-dock. He also ordered Thomas to upgrade all of the other systems on the Scout that Marlon didn't mention — the shields and the scanners came into that category.

Elizabeth encountered some difficulties when she tried to upgrade the computer software, as the Woden ship had sophisticated security systems to stop unauthorised access to the AI. It was a measure of Elizabeth's blossoming skills that she eventually managed to pick her way through the security and take control of the computer. Marlon would be appalled that such a thing was possible — but pleased with the upgrade that Elizabeth uploaded.

One thing that Captain Marlon wanted but couldn't have was the golden coating that covered prototype one. When he tele-ported to the caves to have a second tour of the new ship, he waxed lyrical about how beautiful the gold made the bullet-shaped ship look.

"I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful," he exclaimed. "What is that and can someone do the same to my ship?"

"We're not exactly sure what it is," answered Ben. "Analysis tells us it's some kind of alloy, but the metals aren't anything like the elements known on Woden. We think it coated the ship when we were chasing you through one of the asteroid belts — a freak phenomenon of some kind. Maybe if you fly the Scout through enough asteroid belts the same thing will happen to it."

"It's amazing — does it make any difference to the performance of the ship?" asked Marlon.

"Nothing you'd notice," replied Ben carefully choosing his words.

The next big event was of course the formal launch of prototype one. Virtually all of the Stellarites turned out for the event — many of them having worked on the construction.

Simeone took time off from training the new Benite crew members to take his first look at the completed ship and declared himself impressed by her looks. The golden colour of the ship took everyone by surprise when the saw it for the first time.

David and Beckie also attended, leaving their trainees to have a rare day of rest from their intensive schedule. Thomas was glad they could both make it as he had planned a surprise that he thought David in particular would appreciate.

Sarah and Elizabeth had made all of the arrangements for the launch — some of which had been particularly tricky. For example, as Commander-in-Chief, Ben would dedicate the ship and give her a name. As the pilot, he would also need to be onboard to fly the ship.

Elise helped with that, letting Sarah know that she should inform everyone that prototype one had tele-port facilities and that they would be used to beam Ben onboard at the vital moment.

"Who installed tele-port technology?" asked Elizabeth, "and how did they get it connected up to the AI's systems?"

"Ben did the installation and Elise was more than capable of making the adaptations to her systems to integrate the tele-port effectively," Sarah answered, grimacing at having to lie to her friend.

Elizabeth thought it was cute that Ben and Sarah had started referring to the AI as 'Elise' but she was puzzled by the way her software was functioning.

The first time that the AI had blocked her from using the AI interface to communicate with Ben had been a shock, as had the explanation. As far as Elizabeth was concerned, the computer shouldn't have been able to override the commands that she had programmed into it, but somehow it had.

Now Sarah was suggesting that the AI had somehow adapted its own programming — that shouldn't have been possible either. She had already been trying to analyse the system remotely and now made herself a promise that she would get to the bottom of the growing mystery before much longer.

There was a party atmosphere as the crowd milled around waiting for the launch ceremony and the arrival of Captain Marlon and a small group of his officers brought a cheer from the mainly Stellarite gathering.

"Is that freshly cooked food I can see?" asked the Captain, immediately edging towards one of the tables that was groaning under a load of food.

For a race now conditioned to eating food prepared by replicators, the Wodenites particularly enjoyed any opportunity to have fresh produce. The sight of beef, pork, turkey and any manner of vegetable and salad dishes had Marlon and his party positively drooling.

"Ha, ha! Don't worry, Captain there's more than enough for everyone!" laughed Sarah at the Captain's suddenly hungry expression.

Marlon ignored the reassurance and quickly began to fill a plate with an assortment of different cuts of meat and piles of vegetables. He was obviously savouring each mouthful as he began to systematically demolish what had seemed like enough for two or three people.

"You have to give it to these Wodenites; they certainly know how to eat," laughed Elizabeth.

"It's almost time for Ben to speak, but not to worry Captain; there will be time for more food later," said Sarah, taking the Captain by the elbow and steering him towards the concrete dry-dock.

A small stand had been hastily assembled on one arm of the dry-dock and important visitors were allowed seats there. The stand afforded an excellent view of prototype one in all her golden glory. This close, the spectators could see that a rectangle of white material had been draped over the ship — close to the nose.

Marlon and the Wodenite officers took their seats next to David and Beckie and Elizabeth and Sarah walked the length of the gantry to join Ben and Thomas.

"We're all set to go," said Sarah. "Whenever you're ready Ben."

"I think I want David and Beckie up here with us, could you fetch them?" Ben asked Elizabeth.

Once David and Beckie vacated their seats in the stand and walked to the end of the gantry, Ben began his address.

"Fellow citizens of New Woden, honoured Wodenite guests — welcome!" his voice boomed out of several large stacks of speakers.

The Stellarite crowd cheered Ben's words, many of them slightly the worse for wear already.

"Today is a proud moment for General Thomas and for all of you who have worked hard to build this fine ship. It has already performed superbly during its trials and I have no doubt it will prove itself formidable against the Zytol when the time comes.

"The ship and today's launch event represents all that is good about New Woden. The fine engineering and other technological advancements, like the protective shields and the other systems that run the ship, are a testament to the skills and innovation of Thomas, Elizabeth and the Stellarites."

Ben paused to let the crowd cheer their appreciation for Thomas and Elizabeth in particular.

"The ship's weapon systems and the trained warriors who will man the ship and control those systems are the gift of David, Beckie and their Celestialites."

Once again he paused to let the crowd shout their praise for what David and Beckie had achieved.

"I have the privilege of commanding the ship and the officers are from the tribe that Sarah and I have raised. We promise to do our duty to the best of our ability, to defend you and our planet and to take the fight to the Zytol until Woden itself is liberated!"

Ben was drowned out by the cheering for almost thirty seconds.

"As the main architect behind this wonderful achievement, Thomas is the one who has chosen the name for our first ship. He tells me that it was difficult job. He could have honoured the memory of Adam and Hannah but has chosen to keep those names for the next two ships to be built.

"Instead, Thomas has chosen a different name, one that holds a special place in the memories of all of the original twins. He has chosen it for two reasons: to mark again his love for our brother David; and to enshrine the memory of the first of our kind to perish on this planet. Today, by the grace of the God that David holds so dear, this ship is named 'REBECCA'!"

As he called out the name, Sarah cut the cord holding the white material in place and it fell away to show the name emblazoned on the gold of the ship's hull.

David stood open mouthed. He had had no inkling that Thomas had been planning this and the very public honouring of his long dead twin was simply overwhelming. Neither had he missed the reference that Ben had made to God, a sign perhaps his opposition to religion was a thing of the past.

Ben walked over and hugged his brother.

"This is a small thing and can't make up for your loss all those years ago. It does remind you that we all love you," he whispered in David's ear.

The other twins gathered round and shared in the hug for a few minutes, while David let his tears stream down his face.

Ben broke away and addressed the crowd once more.

"Now the moment you have all been waiting for. I dedicate this ship, Rebecca, to the citizens of New Woden and to the principles of security, life and liberty! May she serve with distinction!"

"Elise, any time you're ready," he communicated silently with the AI.

All of them were immediately transported onto the bridge — including Marlon and Simeone. The other Benite officers were already at their stations, ready for Ben's orders.

"Thank you, Elise. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the NWS Rebecca. Science Officer, please sweep the area and ensure there are no civilians in danger from our launch. Mr Navigator, after clearance please engage thrusters and lift us off of this scaffolding for the last time!"

"The area is clear, Sir."

"Engaging thrusters. Lift off in three... , two... , one. We have lift off, Sir."

"Let's give our audience a little show, shall we gentlemen?" asked Ben. "Navigator, you have the helm. Take us to a safe height and then let the people of New Woden see what the ship can do."

"Elise, if you want to add to the fun there are some things you could do. Some coloured smoke in our wake might look impressive and if you could manage it, it might be nice to drop some flower petals on the crowd."

"The smoke shouldn't be a problem, Commander, but at the speed we are travelling the petals would be torn to shreds. I suppose I could drop them in a bubble and only open it once it was out of our slipstream."

The Stellarites were still cheering for all they were worth. The gold coloured ship looked sleek as it rose slowly from the scaffolding and then they were treated to the sight of it flying at incredible speed. They didn't know that the main engines were only at ten percent of their maximum power and that the naked eye wouldn't actually see the ship if it was flying at its top speed.

The navigator played to the crowd by making the ship swoop and tumble and the AI did her part by creating the tail of coloured smoke and dropping the flower petals.

After one last pass over the crowd and a fly-over of David's training camp, Ben decided the show was over.

"Okay Mr Navigator, I think they've seen enough to be satisfied. Take us up into orbit please," he ordered. Turning to his guests he asked them a question. "Shall we return to the party?"

Elise used the power of the metals coating the ship to transport them back to the stand on the dry-dock and they were immediately swamped by happy Stellarites.

"That was a very touching thing for Thomas to do," said Beckie, clearly referring to the fact that the new ship had been named Rebecca.

They had remained at the celebration for another hour or two, but had then returned to the training camp and were now in their own quarters once more.

"It was. I admit that I had a lump in my throat, it was very moving," David replied.

"I guess we've got our work cut out to try to beat that, haven't we?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we're going to have to hold some kind of ceremony to mark the fact that our first group of trainees has finished its training. They only have a week and a half left to go," Beckie reminded him.

"You mean some kind of parade?"

"That would probably be what everyone is expecting. I was thinking of perhaps staging something a little bit more dramatic, something with a little more action," suggested Beckie.

"Tell me more, I'm beginning to like the sounds of this," said David.

"Why not broadcast live our final field exercise? Even better yet, why not equip some chosen guests with the new individual shields and sit them on stands smack bang in the middle of the exercise!" said Beckie.

"Don't you think that's going a little too far?" asked David, but then showed he actually liked the idea by adding "who would we select to be in the stands?"

"We'd need to have the usual suspects — the twins, Captain Marlon — but we could also run a competition where ordinary citizens and members of the Wodenite crew could win themselves a place! If we broadcast it too, no one will miss out, but we could have up to a hundred in the stands as a special treat," said Beckie.

"We could have the battle fought all round the stands! Throw in loads of the new flash-bang sticks we've developed and lots of rifle fire - generally create mayhem! We could even recreate the ambush scenarios that we've already used — you know, have our people appear unexpectedly from holes in the ground. We've got several camouflage experts who could stand in front of the stands and no one would see them until they moved!" said David, his excitement really starting to take off.

"How about finding out from Captain Marlon what the Zytol look like and dressing some of our people up to look like them? That would make it even more realistic for the Wodenites."

"This is sounding like it might be a spectacular event — one that will capture people's attention. It will also let the spectators have a glimpse of what to expect when they arrive for their training. There will have to be a parade as well though. The trainees are looking forward to wearing their best uniforms and showing off their drill skills," said David.

"Easy! We'll just arrange for the trainees to be tele-ported back to their barracks so they can shower and change for that. While they're changing, we can transport the invited guests and get them seated around the drill square to watch the parade."

"It sounds like it will work, but do we have enough of the individual shields to equip everybody?" asked David.

"Not yet, but we can get the Stellarites busy with their replicators to make more — I tell you, this is going to be fantastic. They'll be talking about it for days," squealed Beckie.

The pair carried on discussing ideas for how to make their 'show' even more spectacular, getting quite carried away in their enthusiasm.

The blue group lay around in their four, or in some cases, five-man squads, resting weary limbs. The group had been marching for eight hours and had covered sixteen miles of open countryside on their way to storming the bubble city.

Simon guzzled water from his canteen and looked around him at the group. They had come a long way together in the past nine weeks or so and he knew lasting friendships had been formed all through the squads. The seven other squad leaders were gathered around him, waiting to discuss their plans for the rest of the night and the following day.

"By my reckoning we're barely six miles away from our target. As I see it we have a couple of choices: we rest up here and carry on in the morning; or we try to make another three or four miles tonight so that we have a short walk tomorrow. What do each of you think?" he asked.

The consensus was in favour of carrying on for another few miles so that they could rise early and hit the bubble city at daybreak while they were still refreshed from a night's sleep.

"I say carry on until we only have a mile or so to our target. If we have to march six miles in the morning we'll lose the benefit of a good night's sleep," said one squad leader and he drew agreement from the others.

"Okay, we'll give it another half an hour to rest up and maybe eat something, then we'll head out again and try to cover most of the ground. Number two squad — you've got the joy of taking the scouting role. Try to find us a decent spot to lie up, would you?" asked Simon.

They made another three and a half miles before the light started to fade and number two squad stumbled over a strong defensive position that would make an ideal overnight camp. A rota was agreed for guard duty and then people started to stake out their places to sleep. As was always the case, the members of each squad stuck together in a tight group.

The squads were normally relatively discreet when they relieved each other sexually, but one Wodenite woman who had been keyed up about the up and coming exercise all day could hardly wait to find a quiet spot. Her squad was made up of three Wodenite male crew members and a fourteen-year-old Celestialite boy.

After weeks of sucking the men and the boy off until they came and then enjoying them return the favour, she had also been fantasising about having full-blown sex with them all — one after the other.

She was unattached and penetrative sex was a distant memory, so the regular oral sex and the fantasy were fuelling a growing urgency to do the deed. The increased adrenaline from anticipating the attack was the last ingredient in the cocktail and she literally dragged one of the men off into the bushes.

Things started off 'normally', with her unbuckling the man's pants to free his stiffening cock, but after sucking him to full hardness, she pushed him onto his back and stripped off herself.

"Tonight's going to be your lucky night," she told him, as she straddled him, holding his cock upright so she could slide down onto it.

"Oh fuck, yeah, yeah, that's it, that's what I've been needing!" she chanted, as she bounced up and down energetically.

The trooper hadn't been expecting this and was pretty keyed up himself. She was tight, wet and was rubbing all of the right spots as she bounced.

"Ugh, ugh, fuck me baby, fuck me good," he moaned.

Neither of them lasted long and they shared an intense climax together. The woman barely paused for breath, but instead rolled off and asked her comrade to send the next squad member to try to scratch the itch that she had built up over the weeks.

Both of the other squad members were surprised that she wanted full-blown sex, but were more than happy to oblige and she managed to get off once with each of them too. Still not satisfied after the third had fucked her silly, she asked him to send the baby of the squad to take his turn.

"Send Bob over, it's time he became a man anyway," she panted, still trying to catch her breath after having been pounded hard until she came.

Fourteen-year-old Bob thought he was going into the bushes to receive his customary blow-job and to try to get her off with his tongue. When he saw she was lying on her back, already naked, with jism leaking from her pussy, a concerned look appeared on his face.

She read his expression as the fear of an inexperienced virgin faced with the opportunity to have sex for the first time and she tried to encourage him.

"Don't worry, Bob. Everyone has a first time — it doesn't matter if you don't last long. Just climb on and do me, I need it baby," she said.

"I don't cheat on my twin," Bob replied. "And I'm not a virgin if that's what you think. Mary and I already have twins of our own, how many children do you have?"