Chapter 14: Veterans and Misfits

Asimov was laying over at Dothan for a few days to give her crew a bit of time away from the Darjee. Working with the incredibly sensitive and easily shocked creatures put quite a strain on the average human. Even laid back and straight-laced proper humans began showing signs of stress after tiptoeing around Darjee sensitivities for more than three or four months.

The pods that would be transferred to Sir Galahad remained attached to Asimov, which was orbiting near the space docks that were working on the damaged Sir Galahad, but not in a place where the battle damage could be seen from Asimov's bridge. The sight of the carnage that had been inflicted on the Confederacy vessel could give the Darjee crewmembers disabling anxiety attacks.

The habitat pods were actually rather spacious, even when restricted by the dimensions of a colony transport ship's mounts. However, the Clark habitat seemed to be approaching the maximum load limit with ten kids, six concubines, and two sponsors. There remained some sexual tension between fifteen-year-old, sponsor-qualified Jason Lawrence and his mother, Rebecca, who had been accepted as a concubine by Lieutenant Clark.

Space in the Avalareddy pod was at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Clark pod. Where just about every square meter of space was trod upon daily in Clark's, no one had set foot on the upper level of the Avalareddy residence since it was discovered two days after their pickup.

Madeline and her infant son, John, occupied the rooms next to the master suite. She never asserted herself, but didn't shy away when Meghrani pushed Naveen into inviting the pliable girl to join him in bed, although Madeline rarely stayed the night. Even with the AI monitoring John, she didn't like to be away from her baby for more than an hour or so.

Where Madeline was slowly exhibiting an increasing interest in sex, Meghrani had leapt from demure lady to wanton tigress within days of the pickup. The nanites had not only removed the impediment to her successfully becoming pregnant, but had also removed the discomfort of penetration. Sex was suddenly fun! Her sexual appetites had expanded, and her sex drive had shifted from an economic cruise to warp speed after one trip to the ship's medical bay and a night of sex that made her honeymoon seem like a chaperoned date.

Being pregnant with a certainty of carrying the fetus to term after so many years of disappointments seemed to have completely destroyed all of her inhibitions. When Meghrani saw that Naveen and Madeline had become comfortable sharing sex with each other, she upped the stakes by coaxing Madeline into participating in threesomes, and not just for the two of them to share Naveen's masculine spike and talented tongue.

Now that she long longer feared becoming gay, Meghrani wanted to explore Sapphic pleasures as well as the more indulgent heterosexual adventures. She was leaving no sexual stone unturned as she explored the fringes of bisexual combinations. She even had aspirations that Naveen would allow another male to join them for a threesome in order to indulge in activities that were not possible with Madeline and Naveen. But she could not bring herself to voice her desire to satisfy two men at the same time for fear of offending Naveen's masculine pride.

Naveen's stamina was being severely taxed, and he began looking for ways to catch his breath and recharge his sperm bank. Meghrani would pout, but accepted that Naveen must be allowed to get some work done. During one brief respite in his study, Naveen was delighted to learn that the AI had a complete record of every botanical paper that had ever been published, plus thousands more that had never gone to press. He would typically study them in Dr. Brown's quarters to avoid solicitous interruptions. Meghrani would frequently ask if he needed anything even when she was trying to avoid making demands on his attention and energy.

Naveen and Jason Brown were having a cup of tea in the Brown abode one afternoon. Jason told Naveen, "I've been doing a little research of my own that confirms what I've long suspected. Really fast growing plants like hybrid domestic corn produce the most oxygen with the least amount of acreage. A Canadian researcher did some experiments and claims that the average hectare of corn produces enough oxygen in a single sunny Saskatchewan day to supply the oxygen needs of a typical adult for 352 days."

"I saw that paper as well," Naveen agreed with some skepticism. "But the growth rate and oxygen production of corn dramatically drops as the carbon dioxide concentration approaches as little as one percent. One of the most carbon-dioxide-tolerant species that doesn't require insect pollination is the relatively slow growing coconut palm."

There was a long pause in the conversation. Jason was curious, but didn't know how to ask Naveen about the progress of his domestic life. He moved off professional topics by commenting, "Congratulations for being an expectant father. I understand this will be your first."

"Yes, Meghrani has been beside herself with joy. She had a medical condition that made getting pregnant difficult and carrying a fetus all but impossible. The ship's medical facilities were able to correct the problem in one short session!" Naveen looked like he wanted to say more, but hesitated.

Jason was clearly uncomfortable when he commented, "You've been spending a great deal of time in my pod, Professor. I'm delighted to have the company and the respite."

"I apologize for imposing upon you, but Meghrani has become ... insatiable. I have difficulty keeping pace with her," Naveen wasn't really complaining and hoped that his colleague would understand.

"No apology needed," Jason assured Naveen and held up two fingers. "I have two athletic sex fiends in this pod. Your presence gives me a rest from their almost constant demands."

The two men exchanged a startled look; then laughed at their similar, but ludicrous domestic problems.

Jason embarrassed himself by admitting, "I've even considered making a second augmentation upgrade appointment with Asimov's med-bay tech in order to acquire enough stamina to keep up with my sexual Olympics tag-team champions, Malinda and Saundra." Brown blushed even more when he added, "My concubine, Alicia, who's no sexual slouch herself, remarked that Malinda and Saundra could fuck a wooden post into hard ground."

Speaking of the pair prompted Jason to review their attributes in his mind, but felt far too embarrassed to voice his mental enumeration. Malinda had incredibly responsive nipples and clit and had impressive muscular control in her vagina. She could milk sperm from a cucumber. Saundra could suck the chrome off of a trailer hitch. She loved to warm up with doggie style before taking it hard and fast up the ass. The pair worked well together and seemed to be capable of performing feats of sexual prowess all night, every night. Jason believed he was losing weight in spite of his nanite watchdogs.

His mind drifted to include his other acquisitions from the little Starbucks near Georgia Tech. Spending the night with the shy redheaded Nikki was only slightly less invigorating. She would blush, hide her face, and stammer as Jason explored her curves and crevices, but would respond like a thoroughbred breaking from the starting gate when he climbed into her saddle. On rare occasions he could coax her into impaling herself on his stiff rod, but she was typically too inhibited to expose her treasures and do something so forward.

Spending time with his feisty soccer-mom, Alicia, was almost like having the night off, except it seemed like his balls were completely dry for days afterward. Sex with her may be slow, deliberate and extremely comfortable, but she coaxed everything from him as she caressed, consoled, and comforted her master.

His reverie was broken when Naveen asked, "Are you not feeling well, Dr. Brown?"

"What? Oh, sorry. My mind was just wandering a bit. I'm not at all used to so much female companionship and enthusiasm." Jason was blushing both for letting his mind wander off when he had a guest and for the subject that had corralled his attention. "It's taking me more time than I would have thought to adjust to an active sex life. Thank heavens my other two concubines aren't as demanding as Malinda and Saundra."

"I do not envy you your situation," Naveen sympathized. "Meghrani's enthusiasm even extends to insisting that Madeline join us." Naveen's blush was apparent in spite of his dark complexion. "I do not believe Stanley or Josh have similar issues, though." It was Naveen's turn to let his mind wander to his two assistants.

"Stanley Cramer, the quiet and reserved botany assistant who was picked up with us at Starbucks, seems very pleased with his choices of concubines," Naveen related to his host. "He has mentioned that both of his companions have frequently expressed their gratitude for being selected, and both are now pregnant with twins."

Naveen smiled as he related a fond memory, "When I told Meghrani that Stanley's ladies were both pregnant, she insisted that I invite the three of them to tea so she could congratulate each of them in person and establish a relationship with other first-time mothers-to-be. The three women embarrassed poor Madeline with all kinds of intimate questions about pregnancy and delivery. Madeline wasn't able to tell them much. She had simply done as her grandmother instructed during each stage of her only pregnancy."