Chapter 4: Family

After the initial briefings in the transporter room and mess hall, Constance quickly settled her group in Blue Twelve. She didn't even take time for a tour of their assigned pod before escorting an anxious Aswani back to the transporter room with only a few requests for directions from the PDA she had been issued.

The pair were waiting in the transporter room when Sgt. Landry entered. Before moving toward the nexus, Constance took Sgt. Landry aside. "Do you know anything about the man that Leroy attacked?"

Landry snorted, "If the idiot had kept his cool we would have most likely ignored him. We found out that he's wanted by several states and the FBI for armed robbery. He must've thought that we'd set a trap for him in the restaurant. He's nothing for us to be concerned about."

It took three stops to collect all of the Qureshi children, ranging in age from three to thirteen, from their schools and the day-care facility. At each stop Aswani's excited children asked an overlapping stream of questions. The first of which was why their mother was naked. This had not even occurred to Aswani until the first stop when Roni, her giggling thirteen-year-old, asked, "Didn't Papa give you time to throw on a robe before sending you out for us?"

Aswani was only mildly embarrassed when she looked down at her nudity. "Oh my, I do seem to have misplaced my clothing. I have not been myself since being interrupted by Marines at the restaurant and have spent most of the afternoon dressed as you see me now."

Roni jumped up and down with energetic excitement, "You mean ... You've been picked by a sponsor!" She immediately frowned and asked, "What about Poppa?"

"Your Poppa was also selected by my sponsor, but many things have changed," Aswani replied with a more serious expression that didn't register in the excited girl's consciousness.

A very content and pleased Aswani floated back to their new home with her collection of excited older children and apprehensive younger children. She was immediately greeted and embraced by an equally nude Phaninath, which got the children gasping and giggling again.

Roni was entranced by her father's growing erection until she detected motion in the corner of her eye. She turned and gaped at a statuesque brunette and a slender black man who was no taller than the girl standing next to him. Like her father and mother, the pair were wearing nothing but big smiles. Roni was admiring the sharply delineated bikini tan lines on the brunette's breasts and groin until the black man turned to face her. She became mesmerized by the dark log that was bouncing between the young man's thighs with each step as he approached. Her mouth went dry, her nipples ached, and her pussy clenched as it was flooded with lubricant when she had a brief vision of that monster pushing its way into her core. Had her mother not grabbed her to get her attention, she would have stepped forward and grasped the amazing appendage with both of her delicate hands.

"Roni! Where are you manners, daughter? You know that staring is impolite! Please say hello to Leroy and Judith."

Roni finally tore her eyes off of the thick shaft, but could not maintain contact with the sparkling eyes above it when she realized that they were silently laughing at her. She focused on the big smile full of white teeth as she mumbled, "Pleased to meet you," to Leroy and then to Judith.

"We need to get our new home organized," Constance observed. "It's not very large for the eleven of us."

A voice erupted from thin air, "There is a second level that is accessible through the lift pad in the far corner of this room."

Everyone looked around with confused expressions. There was no response to the voiced questions until Constance asked, "Who's spying on us?"

"Not spying, merely observing," the voice replied. "I am the AI responsible for this habitat pod. Unless otherwise directed, I only respond to the sponsor assigned to these quarters."

"Oh?" Constance questioned. "What are you capable of doing?"

The AI replied, "I monitor the replicators and recycling equipment that make this pod mostly self-contained. I can interface with the other AI units in the vicinity and can direct the remodeling of these quarters, within certain restrictions while attached to a ship. There are fewer restrictions when the pod is permanently transferred to a colony world. I can adjust the lighting, temperature..."

"I get the picture," Constance interrupted the disembodied voice. "Do you have a name?"

"You may call me anything you like or simply address me as AI," the voice responded.

"It's probably best for you to continue to ignore the children unless they specifically address you," Constance instructed absently; then added, "That can be applied to the others as well. What other limitations are applied to dependents and concubines?"

"Instructions noted," the AI replied. "They are not allowed to operate the replicators or external access ports without express permission."

Constance asked, "Can I grant general permission for them to use the replicators for food, beverages, and typical household amenities, or do I need to be specific?"

The AI replied with, "If you asking if their health and hygiene needs can be accommodated without enumerating a list, then the answer is yes. Do you wish to allow them this privilege?"

"Yes," Constance replied.

The AI responded with, "So noted."

"Thank you," Constance responded before asking, "Can you tell me what my career options are as a Volunteer?"

The AI quickly checked the records and elected not to enumerate the hundreds of tasks that Constance was qualified to perform. It replied with, "Most are given opportunities within the Marines or Navy. Have you discussed you preference with anyone?"

Constance thought about the underlying question before answering, "No. I'm an engineer by training and disposition, and believe that I can best serve in that capacity rather than being assigned to a combat position. Would my skills be of benefit in the development of human colony worlds?"

"Almost certainly," the AI answered immediately. "The Fleet Auxiliary is the Confederacy branch primarily responsible for finding and developing suitable worlds for colonization. They also populate them with the humans that they extract from Earth with assistance from the Confederacy Marines. You will get a lot of this information during the briefings and interviews that are scheduled for the next several days."

"Thank you, AI. You've been very helpful," Constance noted. "I guess I need to get everyone organized and headed out to the first of those briefings." She turned to her younger concubines, "Would you two please keep an eye on the kids while Aswani, Phaninath, and I get our initial medical scan? Since none of us smoke or have any known medical issues, I don't expect this to take long."

Upon returning from medical with the older pair, Constance escorted Judith and Leroy to the med bay. While waiting for them, she retrieved information from the PDA device about the habitat unit she had been assigned. The standard setup had concubine and children's quarters on the second floor with a galley, dining room, living room, study, a master stateroom, and two smaller staterooms on the first floor.

She was pondering about whether or not to assign Judith her own stateroom, and who, if anyone, she would set up in the other two staterooms on the lower level when the technician working on Judith asked, "Do you want to flush this female's birth control and trigger ovulation?"

"I really hadn't considered that," she responded while clearly distracted as she considered the question. "Let's keep her from getting pregnant for a few weeks. I'd like to know how everyone adjusts before adding the stress of dealing with pregnant women."

"Tell you what: Let's go ahead and flush the chemicals and have the nanites suppress ovulation until you feel that it's time for her to become pregnant," the technician suggested. "The training pod in your quarters can program the nanites to trigger ovulation when you're ready. Something that simple won't require a trip back here. The sleep training unit in your quarters can easily handle that task."

Constance smiled in appreciation. "That sounds like a good plan. Thanks for your help."

Rather than eating in their pod, Constance had everyone clean up and escorted her new family to the mess hall for dinner after the last of the briefings for the day had been delivered. She was pondering her future when she spotted an Asian-looking man a few tables over. He was with three women, three teenage girls, and several youngsters that were moving around too much for her to get an accurate count. The skinny redheaded woman looked familiar, but from her poor observation angle she couldn't place where she had seen her.

Constance was distracted as the family ate their evening meal in the noisy room. She was considering sleeping arrangements for the night, and for the foreseeable future. She wanted to reinforce the concept that previous relationships were different, but really wanted to snuggle with Judith to ease her own anxieties. She considered having Phaninath spend the night with the two of them, but that was not what she needed for her own emotional support.

Rather than have Leroy or Phaninath sleep alone she decided to have them team up on Aswani. Yes, if Phaninath could share his wife with another, then she could be assured that possessiveness between the former married couple would not be an issue. Perhaps she would have Aswani and Phaninath scratch her itch before bedtime. Then again, she was also really looking forward to being seriously stretched by Leroy's fine equipment.

Constance was brought out of her reverie by Aswani's gentle voice, "Miss Constance, the children are getting restless. May I take them home?"

"Home?" Constance was puzzled momentarily. Yes, this was home now. "Of course. I'll need to come with you, though. I don't think the AI will let you in without me."

Constance lagged behind her group as they made their way back to Blue Twelve. She was feeling exhausted even though it was early. It had been a long day and much had changed in the lives of everyone with her. In that moment of clarity she came to a decision.

The pod's portal opened as the lead member of the group approached. Constance was a little puzzled, but figured that the AI knew she was with the group and that the pod was their destination. She took Leroy aside as the group milled about in the foyer.

"Leroy, do you think you can sleep upstairs tonight and keep an ear open for the kids?" Leroy's eyes quickly sought out Roni and a concerned look appeared on his brow. Constance laughed, "Yes, Roni does seem to have her cap set for you, but you will have to be in control of the situation. It will be all right if she wants to give you a blowjob; no one will be upset by that. You can even give her a little tongue-ride if you like, and she agrees, but you absolutely cannot allow any penetration of your cock into anything other than her mouth. Can I trust you to stay in control?"

Leroy was clearly in shock, both by the subject and object of the conversation. "I ... I... ," Leroy stammered before finally getting control of his voice. "Yes ma'am, I'm not a danger ta li'l girls. What 'bout her momma and poppa?"

"I'm going to give them some quality time with each other tonight. This is a big adjustment for all of us and they can be a comfort to each other. Are you sure you're okay with being saddled with the kids on the first night of a new life?" Constance wasn't really concerned. Leroy had been living alone for several months and from both his CAP sub-scores and demonstrated performance she was sure the kids would be safe, although she was half expecting to wake in the morning to find that he had locked Roni in a closet.

"Dat soun's nice for dem, but will day be okay 'bout me bein' wit' Roni?" Leroy asked with a great deal of trepidation.

"Oh," Constance laughed when she finally understood the original question. "I'll make sure they'll be fine with the arrangement. What about you? Will you be okay being with the kids tonight?"

Leroy smiled with pride, "I be fine, an' so will day."

Constance made a note to herself to ask the AI about helping Leroy learn better English.

Aswani and Phaninath each thanked both Constance and Leroy for giving them a chance to catch up with each other. Judith smiled and accompanied her lover into the master stateroom where the two women prepared for bed and collapsed in each other's arms a short time later.

The children, especially Roni, were admonished to not be trouble for Leroy and the two parents retired to one of the smaller staterooms on the main level of the pod. They had less to discuss than they suspected and were soon asleep.

Even the energetic kids wound down and prepared for bed with only a little coaching from Roni and Leroy. When the last of her brothers and sisters were tucked in, Roni turned to Leroy. "I really don't want to be alone tonight, and don't want to sleep with the girls. Will it be all right if I sleep next to you? I promise to be good."

Leroy was very nervous, mostly about what the others would say if they found the two of them in bed together, but he was a sucker for Roni's sweet, innocent eyes and gave in. He wore a loose pair of shorts and insisted that she wear pajamas. The AI allowed the pair to select appropriate nightclothes, and Leroy retrieved them from the replicator while Roni took a shower and got ready for bed.