Chapter 17

"We need gravity."

Nona looked around the commons as she floated against the wall. Nobody was paying attention. Typical.

Glancing back down at the computer pad in her hand, she double checked her interpretation. Yup. Still said that. You could never be too conservative in how you read the Orang medical texts they had on board. Not only were many of the medical terms different than what she was used to on Earth, lacking any Malay words originally stolen from English or Latin, but there were differences in the underlying philosophy of how to treat people.

More magical mumbo jumbo, for one thing.

Still, with no human medical books, this was what she had to work with to keep everyone healthy. Nona at some point had to trust at least some of the information.

She looked over at the far corner. Melinda and Rinda floated before Chuck, who had a hand on each of their bellies. The girls had an arm around each other, huge smiles on their faces. They...

Well, damn it, they glowed.

Nona sighed.

She wasn't jealous. The fact she was alone, emotionally and physically, was her choice. She wasn't going to pick a male, or (eyes flicking over to Tammy, shuddering) female, just because they were the only options. Not only was it wrong, in God's eyes, but it was wrong in HER eyes. Nona doubted she could even do it if the Prophet came down himself and ordered her to procreate.

Didn't mean she was happy, though.

"I said," she repeated, louder, cutting through the voices, "we have a PROBLEM." That got to them. She caught Anthony's eye, who nodded.

"Everyone quiet down," he told the room, pushing off from the wall where he had been helping the new kids get used to things. The shaggy girl (what was her name again?) was trying to move by swimming with all four legs. That it wasn't working only seemed to make her smile more. The boy was busy holding his kilt down, so he wasn't flashing all of them. His face was red, blush increasing at Nona's gaze. She looked away. Hannah would have to use some of the new fabric they'd bought sooner than expected.

Anthony came to a stop next to her, bringing with him the attention of the room. He smiled down at her.

"What is it, Nona?"

She smiled back, blushing just a little. If he wasn't with Hannah...

"It was somewhat of an issue before, as really neither humans or orang were created for space, but now it's a real issue. We need gravity."

"Why?" His eyes went to her pad. She admired his attempt to get some meaning from it, but none of it was in English at the moment.

"It's the babies."

"What about them?" Melinda asked. All the women in the room were nodding at the question.

"Well ... babies need gravity. We were created to grow up in it. They need it to form bones, to become strong. Probably in the womb, most definitely afterwards. I really don't want to experiment with some of the drugs to try and simulate the effect if there is any way to just have the real thing."

She looked around, hoping they understood. The information was sinking in, at least. After a moment, Melinda's eyes widened.

"Oh! Of course!" She looked over at Justin. "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress!"

The brown skinned boy frowned, sandwiching Daium between Alicia and himself, then looked back in understanding.

"Oh! Yeah! Duh! Why didn't we think of that?!"

"What are you two geeks babbling about?" Alicia asked, reaching around and poking him.

"It's an old fact in science fiction! Kids born on the moon, or in space, will be too weak to ever return to Earth! Their bodies just won't be able to handle the higher gravity!"

Nona nodded.

"And they won't grow up the right way. The Orang haven't really experimented with it, but the few examples they have in the computer are ... bad." She could see Melinda and Rinda tighten their grip on Chuck. The chunky boy sighed, looking over at Daium.

"So ... you helped build this ship. Can we jury rig some sort of gravity field? Or would it be easier to just pick some planet we can park on for a couple years?"

All eyes went to Daium. She looked around, face full of worry. Biting her lip, she glanced at her two lovers. Seeing the looks of trust and friendship, she seemed to deflate a bit. Head lowering, her voice came out hesitantly.

"We, um ... I could just turn on the gravity..."

You could hear a pin float.

Chuck was the first to react. He let go of Rinda, bringing his hand up to smack his forehead.

"So that's it! God damn it, why didn't I figure that out! Stupid!"

His two companions looked at him in confusion and concern, hands going to his chest. They had both spent time with him in Engineering, and knew he'd worked hard to understand.

"What?" Melinda asked.

"The takeoff! And landing! I was wondering why the hell we weren't really feeling much of a g force! Not as much as we should, at any rate, and now it's obvious! The ship was dampening the affect of gravity! And if it can do that... !" He looked at Daium. "Why?"

Even with her black, leathery skin, they could see her blush.

"Dad ... well, he thought there was no point in even being in space if there was gravity. So, he built the ship to function without it, and..."

"I could have been cooking with gravity the entire time!" Tammy looked dismayed. "We could have made REAL pizza!"

"I will admit this has been more fun," Hannah interjected. Tammy glanced at her.

"True..."

"The garden!" Alicia looked at Daium in surprise, giving her a squeeze. "We were wondering how the hell the dome was going to be a garden in zero g, what kind of plants were going to be put there! That was to have gravity, wasn't it? Zero g in the rest of the ship, full gravity in the dome!" Seeing her wife nod, she looked at Nona. "Would that work? Gravity in the dome, keep the rest of the ship as it is?"

"They'd have to sleep there," Nona warned. "Expectant mothers and babies. Spend a lot of time there, the more the better."

"Put bedrooms in the store." Alicia looked around. "We've emptied out a good chunk of the food already. Turn it into living quarters and a nursery."

"That's a lot of work," Rinda said. Chuck laughed, giving her a good squeeze.

"We have droids, and lots of time on our hands." He looked at Daium. "We'll need supplies, though. You haven't picked our next destination yet, right?" She shook her head, relief at not being berated for her actions (or inaction) clear on her face. "Good. Find a planet that's safe, close, and has plants, lumber and supplies we can buy. I assume you'll want your kids to grow up in a wooden room, with a garden outside."

Rinda gave a snort of disgust.

"What is it with Orang and trees..."

Trust was the key issue.

Danny considered the matter as he floated there. These were strangers. Human strangers. The first, and only, humans he and Goldie had ever known besides their two mothers.

Or, so they said.

Danny knew better than to trust anyone. Slaves can't trust. To trust is to be betrayed. To trust is to be taken advantage of. To trust...

To trust, his mother had said, was human.

The woman now requiring his trust was not his mother. Hannah was beautiful, though, like his mother. Also female, as his mom had been. That she was both these things, and NOT his mother, was causing a reaction both new and embarrassing. She was measuring him. Her arms, holding a measuring tape, were going around his waist, their soft skin touching him just below his ribs. He could feel his face burning. Below her hands, just inches from them, his dick felt like it was being squeezed. It was hard, throbbing ... there couldn't be any more blood in his body, given his face and dick seemed to have drawn so much into them. And she had to see it. This woman, female, had to know what he was going through. That her large soft breasts, covered with fabric but still there, were driving him insane. He didn't know why, but that only made it worse! Oh, god...

"There."

Hannah released the boy. His eyes were on the far wall, body trembling. With a sigh, rolling up the measuring tape, she realized this probably hadn't been the best way to do things.

His problem was obvious. VERY obvious, and almost poking her in the leg. It was also the reason she had been checking his waistline. They weren't prudes here on the ship, for the most part. Maybe Nona was, but even she had yet to actually seem embarrassed by any exposure of skin, by either gender. But, nobody wanted male genitalia floating free. Especially the boy himself. Anthony, seeing the problem Danny was having, had confided in Hannah that as a teen he had been horribly embarrassed by anything which drew attention to his erect member. So, this was for their new companion's benefit as much as theirs. That didn't excuse inappropriate contact, though.

"I'm sorry, Danny. I should have done that differently."

"It ... it's OK. Really." His eyes still didn't meet hers. Both his hands held his kilt down, outlining the not quite adult manhood in its blue fabric. She was almost flattered, but remembered enough of the boys she had known as a teen to know most of his reactions would be almost all random at this point. The body testing its equipment. Being around non-related females for the first time probably didn't help, either.

"No, it's not. I generally don't molest boys before they've bought me dinner."

He didn't react. So much for attempted humor. Reaching out, she gently touched his bare shoulder.

"I have what I need. Thanks for your patience. I'll have a pair of shorts for you sometime tomorrow. Blue, you said?"

His face finally turned to her as she pulled back her hand. The poor boy's face was as red as a beet, and she tried her best not to either laugh or look sympathetic. Neither would help. He forced a smile.

"Thank you ... Hannah."

The moment the door to the cabin closed, Danny let out a groan. Why the hell was his dick doing this?!? God, it was so embarrassing! Lifting up his kilt, he looked at the offending appendage. It was huge.

Well ... maybe only four inches, but compared to how it always had been? It was a monster! He'd never had it this bad before! Mom had told him some things, before she died, about some of the changes that would happen as he became a man, but to be honest he hadn't been listening. For all his body had been thirteen by the human calendar she had kept, his mind had been younger. Both, though, had grown in the past year, and his thoughts were full of regrets. Reaching down, he grabbed the throbbing cock.