Chapter 48: Into the Eye of the Storm

During that quick dash back to our home, I was sure that we'd see open fighting in the colony within hours. However, we arrived home to find James holding Kristi in his arms. The newborn was sleeping peacefully as my master rocked her. Brittany knelt beside him. She had Jamie in her arms. I expected to find Kitty as well, but she and Tina were over by one of the tables we had set up to make diaper changing go a bit more smoothly. I could see Jerome squirming on the table.

James just nodded as we entered. I crept up behind him to offer a brief hug before finding Madoka. She was hungry so I sat down to feed her.

My master remained calm. He helped us as we fed all the babies and then setup and enjoyed a wonderful dinner together. Kitty and Brittany were glowing with the joint pleasure of having newborns to care for and knowing James loved them. He sat between them and kept playfully offering them tidbits of meat or bread with his fingers as we relaxed.

Dinner took hours, as did the cuddling and lovemaking that started shortly after dinner and seemed to continue for days. Over the next sixty or so hours, we ventured out of the pod only to care for the rabbits. James did have frequent conferences with the rest of the citizens, but they were always conducted over the communications system and never lasted more than fifteen minutes.

Cabo and Cancun both slipped away quietly the first night of our vacation. As they left, Captain Travis asked about the concubines performing. Janice happily accepted the request and promised to have a show ready the next time Cabo San Lucas swung by for a visit.

Once the two ships left, we just had Pebble Beach in the repair docks. The engine damage took a few days to fix, so the crew was fully healed by the time Louis ordered the last docking coupling released. While it was being repaired, Colonel Johanes kept threatening dire punishments if James did not report to him in person. My master attempted to use the communications system to resolve their differences multiple times, but Colonel Johanes would always demand that James leave the enclave and report to him. Tensions should have been high, but the apparent impotence of our acting governor helped everyone to relax.

We got Pebble Beach on her way and then spent the next two weeks dealing with mundane visits. Aspen, Tintagel Castle and Nassau all passed through. They reported that the Sa'arm colony on the Wolf system was shrinking. The best estimates were that the raids had stopped enough shipments of food to induce starvation in that system. Morale on the ships was high as they passed through Ishtarat.

James also decided to shut down the command post at the original colony center. Instead, the one we had used since we first landed was reactivated and concubines were again at the controls. Everyone on our side of the colony approved of the change. It soon became clear that no one had told Colonel Johanes though as he demanded that Candi report to him for punishment after she greeted him sarcastically as "His Uppityness". When he was informed that Candi belonged to Brad, the scream of rage echoed throughout the colony.

The next ship to visit was the battlecruiser Ahti. The ship arrived with minor damage and a new crew that swore they had caught a Sa'arm Hive Sphere in orbit around Wolf and destroyed it. They were a loud and boisterous group and had Colonel Johanes screaming into the communications system before Tam could engage the drydock grapples.

James decided that the crew should not come down to the planet, and fortunately Captain Hancock understood the situation. Some of his crew were unhappy and proceeded to use the communications system to harass the scientists. James finally put a halt to it, but by that time, it was clear that Colonel Johanes had no control over the AI.

Somehow, the peace held. After Ahti left, we received more visits. Each ship reported more success in the Wolf system, although the good news was later tempered by the word that the capital of the Leo district had seen three hive spheres arrive. The reports said that the marines there held off a Sa'arm assault on their home pods for five days while the concubines and children were hurriedly evacuated and then joined in the retreat. They fell back to the planets of Wadi and Morass, with the hope of reestablishing a barrier to Sa'arm expansion.

Admiral Himmel did place a call shortly after the fall of the Leo district. He explained that we were going to be even more critical to the current efforts to keep the Sa'arm from advancing. Ships in hyperspace cannot be intercepted, but the fall of the neighboring district meant that Borneo could no longer count on quick action from nearby bases to help when a planet was attacked. He also was going to see about converting the ship repair yards at Moreton to produce ships as well.

"Do everything you can to preserve the ships and crew that visit you," he said at the end of the meeting. "With our supply lines the way they are, we can't count on many reinforcements or replacements."

My master and the other citizens listened and then went back to work. The only obvious changes were when Tam and Tif sat down with James and described some ideas they had to modify several of the repair docks. These would increase their efficiency when serving a specific class of ship that the modifications were designed for. The fact that other classes of ships would no longer be repairable in the same dock was a concern, but James did agree to have special docks set up for Castle and Patrician class corvettes, as ships of those two classes regularly visited.

One day, when the modifications were partly complete, I was relaxing in the command post, watching Janet and Monique. Monique had a small smile on her face. Janet kept asking for more information, but the woman shook her head and then looked over at me. "So Meiko, is James in a good mood today?" she asked me.

"What?" I asked. She was staring right at me and I turned away to look at the old repeater screens that showed the doors to the colony. It appeared there was a changing of the guard in process and I watched as Major Bonham inspected the uniform of a marine standing in the alcove created by the open third and closed second door.

"Oh, it's not that kind of question," Monique said playfully. I could feel my face grow warm and closed my eyes in embarrassment. Janet giggled at the comment, but then quickly tried to cover the laugh with a cough. "I was just asking if today might be a good day for someone to ask James a serious question," Monique continued.

"He's always willing to listen to serious questions," I responded. "That is part of why he has done such a good job."

"Good?" Janet said with a snort. "He's been perfect for the colony. I remember life with Jack and his horrible troll of a son. The man absolutely hated your master. But it wasn't because James made any mistakes. He hated James because what we was doing worked. Jack believed that he was some organizational god. Every day he woke up positive that this day was going to be the day that people started coming to him asking for help with all the problems the colony was going to have."

I giggled. "I'm very glad James frustrated him. The funny thing is that he didn't really try all that hard to impress the others. From the beginning, the goal was to protect his concubines."

"And since you are one of his concubines, I'm sure you approved of that decision," Monique said with a sigh. "I just wish Darren had been more like James. Instead, he tried to make a deal with Manuel. Funny thing is, the deal was much like the one our good Colonel hinted at. Darren basically gave Mary and me to Manuel and his goons in the hope that he wouldn't be dragged into the conflict."

"Appeasing villains never works," I pointed out. "Bethany has been acting as a teacher to Tina and several of the books and articles they have studied showed attempts to appease a power back on Earth. In every case, the villain kept demanding more and more. I know James has listened in on several of those sessions."

"Which explains why he wasn't listening to the worm who calls himself our governor," Janet said. "I like how you set that up. Instead of pointing it out directly, you allow him to overhear it being discussed."

"You do realize you just insulted every worm that has ever lived," Tanya's voice called out. We turned to see her stepping into the room. She glided over to an empty chair and sat down gracefully. For a brief moment, she sat perfectly still with her back straight and her knees together. Then she leaned back in the chair and put her left heel up on the control panel.

"Tanya!" Janet called out. "That's hardly ladylike!" Tanya's action had pushed the short skirt she was wearing up to her waist and the cum-covered thong panties she was wearing were out in view. I turned away, feeling my face burn.

"Donna decided that I deserved some special attention last night," Tanya said with a sigh. "She had Jacques ravish me for hours. I decided to sneak out and get some rest."

"We noticed," Monique said. The young lady sounded a bit surprised. "You don't seem to be complaining though."

"Nope," Tanya said. "I wouldn't want that every night, but I have to admit the being the focus of attention for Donna, Lindsay and Jacques is wonderful. It reminded me of how great my life is now."

Monique turned her chair so she could look directly at Tanya. "That's right, you were held by Ruth's minions for a while. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions."

"Sure," Tanya said with a languid wave. "I have nothing to hide."

I stifled a giggle. Tanya's statement and current pose seemed to match perfectly. Everyone turned to look at me, but before I could respond to the unspoken question, the panel by Monique started to chirp.