Chapter 42

By the time Madeline’s, Ursula’s and the other three groups left for Earth, most of the areas on the space ship had been activated. With that done, they began remodeling the crew quarters to create suites consisting of 2 rooms plus a bathroom. One room served as a combination sitting area and exercise room, and the other was a bedroom. The basic suite was designed to comfortably accommodate four people. The design was flexible enough that it was easily modified to accommodate larger families. Even with the work to improve accommodations efforts to bring the ship back to full operational status continued unabated.

As life settled into a routine, the crew members began forming family groups. Most of these consisted of between 4 and 8 individuals. In several cases, one of the new crew members joined one of the original crew’s family group. Several times, a group would form for several days and then its composition would change slightly. The medical and command staff watched the changing family groups carefully. At first, there was some concern, but after observing several cycles of changes, they decided that everyone was just seeking a comfortable relationship. The changes in groups did not affect anyone’s work performance, other than to occasionally improve it. There were never any lasting problems or conflicts between individuals. The changing group compositions did seem to strengthen some friendships, even though the individuals moved to different groups.

One evening, as they were discussing the dynamics of the crew’s family groupings, Judy noted a lack of possessiveness. That is the members of a group didn’t exhibit possessiveness toward the other members of their group, nor did they try to control them. Everyone was pleased that they didn’t have those emotional issues to deal with. Especially since the closeness on the ship limited their options in resolving them. Besides, it would be a big distraction to everyone due to their close quarters. They attributed this attitude to the crew members being telepathic. After some discussion, Judy said, “I’ll see what is recorded in our history and talk to Betsy.”

It was a couple of weeks later when Sarah’s and Amy’s Clan were conferring on their progress that Sally raised a question regarding crew candidates. She said, “I find it surprising that since we’ve been on the ship, no one else has declared their intention to stay. However, everyone chips in and works on the projects as if that is what they were going to do.”

“We’ve noticed that,” replied her spouses. Amy’s Clan nodded agreement.

“I wonder if they think we have read their thoughts and know their intent,” asked Erica.

“Good point. What if we simply ask at lunch today? Everyone should be there. We can raise the issue, and ask them to give us an indication.”

“Betsy or Judy, how many have expressed interest in the gene treatments?” asked Sarah.

“All the first six groups, Siobhan’s, Maureen’s, Shannon’s, Leann’s, Muireann’s and Sabrina’s,” said Betsy. “Each of those have very similar compositions in terms of backgrounds, personalities and education. Currently they are scheduled to start rotating through the incubators in about a week. We delayed starting until we had a gap in births. Our plan for using the incubators is to treat a portion of a group at a time. If we treat two or three from a group we can do four to five groups, and still have several spares.”

“After we get an update at lunch about who will become crew members, we need to start training pilots for Star Fighters,” said Rusty, with Sally and Erin nodding agreement. “We have been acting like we are the only space travelers in the galaxy.

“The other issue we need to face before long is: What will Earth society do when they learn we are here? Should we make our presence known by dropping our cloaking? Do we then approach them? Or do we wait until they see our presence?”

“All good questions,” responded Amy. “We are not alone in space, nor with space travel. We may be quite alone in this time line and or in this part of the galaxy. We agree with Rusty with the need to build up our defensive measures, in terms of reconnaissance, surveillance of this solar system and galaxy. Operation of the Star Fighter is outside our expertise, but the library should have all the training, design and operational information needed.”

“Our sensors have not detected any indication of other space craft near this solar system,” said Star. “The sensors we have available currently are somewhat limited in looking beyond that range. Also, both Intelligence and Security departments have active projects addressing this issue.”

“What would you all think of this?” said Terry quietly. “Better yet, let’s mind link. Let’s split our efforts a bit. Amy and Jim have experience in establishing settlements, or colonies, on a planet. Sally and Rusty have experience in security, as do many of our clan. We have a full range of engineering knowledge among our crew members. So what I had in mind was: Sarah, Sally and Rusty primarily, but in reality our clan, oversee the organization and training toward defense of this solar system and its immediate surroundings. This would be in conjunction with Security and Intelligence. Jim and Amy take the lead on establishing a colony on Mars. We are going to need the raw materials to build a Mars colony, our defensive vehicles and to make changes in our ship. Leann’s Clan along with some of Maureen’s and Siobhan’s Clans could focus on engineering needs. In doing so, they become the lead for restoring our ship, with the idea that once that is done we will build another. To me, Star Fighters are just smaller versions of this ship but with much different performance requirements. So building them would be an engineering effort. Several have expressed interest in flying the Star Fighters so we could have them assemble the ones we have then begin learning how to fly them.”

“Nice outline, Terry,” replied everyone.

Sarah said, “During the next week, let’s monitor how each area comes together. We may need to suggest a pair of leaders, but it would be better if each area evolves naturally. This is a much different approach than we were taught, but I think it will work here. Then, with Amy’s Clan, we need to develop a plan for our future and present it to the rest of the ship’s family for discussion. After lunch today, hopefully, we will know how soon we need to do more recruiting.”

Rusty added, “For the Star Fighters, I think ours, Siobhan’s, and Maureen’s clans should become proficient in flying them. This would enhance our understanding of their capabilities.”

“Now that sounds like fun,” responded Tara.

Just then the chime sounded, indicating that lunch was an hour away.

As lunch was drawing to a close, Sarah stood up and tapped her glass to get everyone’s attention. “If you would clear your areas, we would like to have a short meeting before you return to your activities.”

A few moments later Sarah’s Clan said, “We were discussing future plans this morning, and realized we were missing a critical piece of information. While many of you have declared your intent to become a part of the crew, many have not, but your actions indicate that you intend to stay. We would like to know by the end of this week, or sooner if possible, the intentions of those who are planning to join us but haven’t advised of their decision.”

They saw several with expressions of concern on their faces. “It is not our intent to make you leave, nor do we want to force a decision. It should be clear by now that we need all the help we can get. We were working on future plans today, and realized we only know the intentions of a few. Knowing this, will help us put together those plans before we discuss them with you. It will also help with scheduling training, and determining which work groups need more people. To fill some positions, there is a need for the genetic treatment. These currently take some six months for the changes to be complete so this also has to be factored into our planning.

“So, we would like you to tell us either mentally, or verbally, of your intentions. We will not look at your thoughts to determine these. You can let either us, or Star, know at any time.

Cathan stood. “On behalf of my group, we intend to join the crew. We are quite happy with our current assignment. If there is another that fits our skills better, then we are willing to try it.” The others in her group nodded. “We had thought of offering to open the first whorehouse in space, but everyone seems quite satisfied within their family group,” said Cathan, then laughed along with her group.

Rusty jumped up and shouted, “Great idea! We know your whorehouse would be complete with well-trained courtesans, offering a full range of services.”

Cathan’s group blanched a bit, until he started laughing, then they all joined him. When the laughter died down, Rusty continued, “I am sorry if I caused you any pain by my comment.”

Cathan turned to him, putting her hands on her hips. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I opened the door and you drove right through it. You responded so quickly, I was shocked. However, I will lay with you and any of your spouses at any time, any place, and then rejoice over my good fortune.”

“Hear, hear,” was shouted out by many, causing more laughter.

“Thank you for the compliment. As for the offer, it is tempting, as you are a very beautiful person, inside and out.” He paused a moment. “We would be very happy to have you join us for an evening of cuddling, or more.”

“Rusty and your spouses, thank you for the invitation, and I deeply appreciate it, with the implied compliments. I think our teasing has gone further than we intended. As to the invitation, let’s revisit that once things have settled down a bit.” Cathan walked over to him and hugged him. She then went to each of his spouses to give them a kiss and hug as well. She walked away from the last spouse on shaky legs, feeling thoroughly aroused. Looking at her group, she could tell they shared her feelings and sensations as well.

“Rusty and Cathan,” said Judy, “touched on an issue that we should think a bit more about. Our telepathic communication minimizes, if not eliminates, a source of jealousy resulting from sexual interaction between friends and family. I am now only speaking for us, Sarah’s Clan. Within our family, we have no problem with inter clan or inter family sexual intimacy, or cuddling if you prefer. As family groups, it should be something that all of you are comfortable with, before you bring visitors into an intimate relationship with your family. Some members of our clan had a special relationship with those in other clans, for example, Nancy, Alice, Julia, Bob, and Stan before we came here. So, we expect parts of our clan, perhaps all, will continue that close relationship as our lives become more settled. No one should view these relationships as reflecting negatively on fellow spouses. It seems that any friend should be as close to you and your clan as you want them to be. With that in mind, it seems reasonable that, if friends want to express that love sexually, they should be able to, presuming the spouses are aware of the relationship.”

Edana stood and tapped her table, to get every one’s attention. “In reply to the original question and on behalf of my clan, we most definitely want to be a part of the permanent crew. We can’t think of a greater opportunity, or a more wonderful group of people to be with. So today, we wish to remove any doubt regarding us being a part of this crew, ship and family. We would even agree to the whorehouse, but it looks like Cathan beat us to it, besides they are better trained.” Edana turned toward Cathan and stuck out her tongue. The comment and reaction resulted in more laughter. When it quieted, the rest of her clan stood and joined hands with her. Together they then said, “We commit ourselves to each other and to this ship’s family. We have no other desire than to contribute to the growth and wellbeing of this breed and society, along with its traditions.”

Another clan representative stood, but before he could speak Sarah raised her hand stopping him. “Briana’s and Edana’s Clans we thank you for your commitments. We are concerned about doing this in this setting because of any subtle peer pressure. We are willing to continue, but we want Star to monitor your feelings as you respond. Then, if she has doubts, we will talk to you individually before we accept your pledge. Okay?”

The standing clan representative looked down at his seated group for a moment, then they all stood. “We to commit ourselves to each other and to this ship’s family,” they said together perfectly in unison. “We have no other desire than to be a part of this adventure. We know there may be times of trials and tribulations, but those will not deter us from serving. May the Gods and Goddesses strike us dead if we are insincere.”

Sarah’s Clan watched in awe as each clan or crew member in turn declared their wish to be a part of the ship’s family. In the end, there were only a few who had not committed to join the ship’s crew and its society. These were also the most recent arrivals. While inclined to make the choice to stay, they weren’t to that point yet. Star pointed them out to Sarah’s Clan, who sent them a telepathic message indicating they understood how they felt. They were assured that they could remain as long as they needed, to come to a decision. While making their decision, they were welcome to continue their participation in daily activities as there was currently no time limit. The clan felt them relax a bit after the message, as the events after lunch had been a bit overwhelming.

“Thanks to all of you,” said Sarah’s Clan. “We are heartened by the strength of your desire to join our ship and this breed. We hope to be discussing future plans later this week. Thank you again.”

Joyce, Jill, Janet, and Claudette immediately went to chat with the groups that had indicated that they weren’t ready to make a decision. They spent quite a while discussing a whole range of topics, from where they were from to why they were interested in being a part of the crew. Just having the discussions seemed to reassure them. They did admit that they weren’t really sure about living on a space ship, because it was so different, but so far they loved it.

They were returning to their suite after dinner when Sarah noticed that she was walking a little differently.

Judy said, “Yes, Sarah, you are walking differently. Your hips have begun to spread so it will be easier for the babies to emerge. Which is also why your belly has settled a bit lower. So it won’t be much longer.”

Her spouses nodded, indicating that they had heard the conversation as well. When they reached their room their twelve babies were waiting for their bedtime snack. After feeding the babies, they freshened up before going to bed.

Sarah’s Clan slept soundly until very early the next morning when the need to use the bathroom woke Sarah. She eased out of the bed, surprisingly without waking anyone else. As she walked to the bathroom, she noticed that her stomach muscles were contacting then relaxing. Just as she finished, there was a strong muscle contraction and her water broke, spilling in to the commode. She moaned in response to an intense contraction and realized that the babies had decided it was time. When she reached the bedroom door, she stopped and gripped the frame to steady herself until another strong contraction subsided. Just as the contraction ended, Judy moved to her side and placed an arm around her. “Come, we need to go to the clinic now. Betsy and several others are waiting for us.”

Sarah then noticed her fellow spouses were all beginning to get up. She could see that some were moving just as cautiously and periodically pausing, steadying themselves until their contractions eased.

“Come, we need to get you into the birthing tub, as it appears you will be first. The others will be along in a few minutes.” Sarah nodded. She slipped her shoes on then went with Judy. Betsy and Patricia were waiting at the door when they arrived. They guided Sarah to the birthing bath then helped her in, with Betsy following. As soon as Sarah was situated Judy went to another bath, where Connie was waiting to help her in. While Betsy was coaching Sarah into position, the rest of her clan arrived. In the bath, she knelt, placing her legs on the pads then leaned back against the slightly reclining back rest. The combination of the bath’s warmth and her squatting position eased much of the discomfort she felt from the contractions. As she relaxed, she felt the babies shifting lower toward her vaginal mouth. It wasn’t long before she felt one of them begin its journey.

Sarah watched through half-closed eyes, as Sally and Terry were helped into other birthing baths. She hardly noticed the growing number of staff arriving to help with the births. Sarah moaned, as she felt a really strong contraction. Betsy said, “Push.” She felt the first baby’s head move further down, increasing the ache. With that, they began to work together as her contractions became more frequent. With each one, Sarah pushed down and moved the baby closer to its entry into the world.

In the other baths, physician assistants were helping Terry, Sally and Judy. Besides the physician assistants coaching them, there was a spouse alongside each one. The baths were arranged so that Connie could easily monitor them. Glancing occasionally at Jill, Janet and Joyce, she could tell that their contractions had also started and that in the short time they had been in the clinic the frequency had increased. Connie could see that all of their EMTs and PAs had arrived and started their tasks just as they had practiced. She began to wonder if they had enough staff when Karen and many of the care givers came in.

Karen said, “We thought you might like some assistance.”

Smiling Betsy replied, “Yes, we can always use more. Even though we’ve recently delivered quite a few babies, this is the most at one time.”

“We’ve all coached before so why don’t we do that?”

“That will be perfect.”

“If you need us to do something else let us know. Don’t worry.”

“No time for that,” replied Connie as she watched Gail entering the birthing tub with Judy.

The birthing was in many respects a replay of when Tara and Erin gave birth, but with a lot more activity. Since those births the medical staff had gained a lot more experience with the birthing baths and multiple deliveries. In preparation for the deliveries, they had met with the clan to review how they could help their spouses during delivery. The birthing baths helped the mothers relax, which in turn made it easier for them to help the babies through the birthing process. The combination of the changes to their bodies and mind-link made the birthing process much less of an ordeal that humans experienced.

Through their mind-link Sarah’s Clan gave each other help in relaxing and assisting the contractions to help the baby’s birth. With their mind-link all of them were a part of the birth bonding between the mother and babies.

As each of Sarah’s babies emerged, Betsy brought it up to the surface of the bath. A nurse quickly cleaned its mouth and nose, to ease the baby’s breathing. Then taking the baby from Betsy, she held it so that Betsy could cut the umbilical cord. From there, another nurse took the baby to be cleaned, weighed and placed them on a small bed next to the bath. The babies were quiet and alert as they lay in the bassinet. Sarah could mentally feel each of the babies as they lay there, waiting to feel her touch. The bond between them was their strongest link, but only slightly more so than the one with the rest of her spouses.

Alison helped Sarah from the bath once all four babies were delivered, and then helped her clean up before she lay down on a nearby bed. Alison brought two babies over for her to feed. She nursed them for several minutes before giving them to Alison to continue feeding so that she could nurse the other two. Karen then gave Sarah the other two babies and assisted with swapping them around, as Sarah and Alison exchanged babies several times. By doing this Sarah was able to spend about the same amount of time with each one. When the babies were fed and sleeping, Alison went to help others while Karen stayed near Sarah. Rusty came over again to sit beside her. They looked at each other for a while and then at the babies. They never spoke a word, as they didn’t need too. They could feel everyone in their link. The shared experience of this morning had bonded all of them much closer to each other.

“This is amazing,” said Rusty. “I can sense every one of us now without any effort, and I didn’t know I was making an effort before. We are all just there. I sense your feelings, your thoughts so much more easily than before. I wondered, I guess we all did, about what changes birthing would bring to our bond and mind-link, but I never expected it to be this good, nor this complete. We were all tightly linked in the chamber, this is the same but different, perhaps more basic. It seems to me that our spirits are now fully intertwined.”

“Yes, I love all of you,” they all spoke together.

“I think,” said Sarah, “the strength of our bond grew when Alison, Tara and Erin gave birth to their babies. I sense we felt it then, but perhaps didn’t recognize the reason, besides we have learned a lot about ourselves and our new breed since they blessed us with their babies.”

“We agree.”

Seeing Karen’s expression, Sarah smiled then said, “You didn’t realize you were part of our link did you.”

Karen blushed, “Sort of. We’ve talked about how your clan seemed different from everyone else but weren’t quite sure how to mention it.”

“Well I am not sure how to express it either.”

“I’m glad it is there.”

As soon as the baths were available, Joyce, Janet and Jill climbed in as their babies were ready. Once all the babies were born, fed and asleep, the new mothers relaxed, reclining on the dispensary beds, while recovering their strength. Alison, Tara, Erin, Maeve, Aoife and Claudette sat close to the babies. Nancy’s Clan showed up right after breakfast bringing food for those who missed it. They were followed by more nannies bringing the older babies so they could nurse, as well as meet their new siblings. Nancy’s Clan immediately lent the nannies a hand with the older siblings, and a nipple to help feed them.

“New mothers,” said Betsy, “please spend the day in bed, and preferably here. Your children are very healthy and lovely newborns.”

“Betsy, I noticed that the babies are not exactly like their parents,” said Nancy. “The two most obvious things are their feet and that they don’t have a tail.”

“We expect their feet will change as they grow. For us, the change is typically quite gradual. It will be a couple of months before their legs are ready to them to stand. Once that occurs they will quickly begin standing on the balls of their feet. There is typically a short lag between standing and walking. They have a tail but it is very small. Over the next few years it will gradually lengthen. By the time they enter puberty, it will be near its adult length and their mane will be more apparent. This is the most visible changes occurring during puberty. The timing may be a bit different, as these are the first children of a new breed.” A look of concern washed across everyone’s face. “No, don’t worry. All I was trying to say is that we are not sure of the timing. We expect that by the time they are fifteen, all of them will be around six feet tall, and by the time they are twenty, they will be close to our typical height. They should reach sexual maturity at about the same time. Stature and strength wise, they will very, very similar to all of you. Each set of twins will be close to identical and probably bonded as tightly as you are to one another, if that is possible.”

“Wow,” responded everyone.

“The mind-links we have within our clans and between each other provides a closeness that we haven’t seen in other breeds. It also gives us an easy way to teach and coach,” she said, with a bit of longing in her voice.

“Now, for today. As I mentioned earlier, I would prefer for all of you to rest here with the babies. Barring any surprises, you can move back to your suite in the morning. In fact, all of you ought to plan on spending the time here, rather than splitting up. Make sure that all of you nurse each baby as this will help them bond to each of you. Never fear, each of you will always know which child came from your womb as will they. They know that all of you are their mothers and that Rusty is their father.” They nodded their heads. Even though they hadn’t talked about it, they had observed a similar relationship between Alison’s, Erin’s and Tara’s babies and the rest of them.

“Since Nancy’s Clan is here, I suspect everyone knows.”

“I’m not sure that is true,” said Nancy. “We came because we sensed this event was taking place. Besides, they were carrying their babies’ very low yesterday evening.”

“Okay. You should wait ‘til tomorrow to show the babies, as this area is too small to have everyone in here. We can have Star make an announcement with images of the babies. That should satisfy everyone for a little while. She can also ask that visitations wait until tomorrow.”

Just then the door was opened as Siobhan entered followed by Maureen, Leann, Ann, Muireann, Jean and Shannon. “Wow,” said Maureen, “we didn’t expect to find this many here. Can we take a quick peek and then we will let you rest?”

“Sure,” said Betsy, “we were just discussing having Star, announce the births with images of the babies. I would like to limit visitors as this area is pretty small.”

Maureen looked around for a moment, then said, “Betsy, I think that is a great idea. My spouses are linked with me at the moment, so they know.”

“Could we take them to breakfast with us in the morning?” asked Sarah.

“I don’t see why not. All of you need to get extra rest for the next several days. Now, we are off to eat and sleep.”

Siobhan, Maureen, Leann, Ann, Muireann, Jean and Shannon lingered for a while holding the babies while they chatted. It wasn’t long before they said their goodbyes. Sarah’s Clan knew that once their friends were out amongst the crew the only topic today would be how the babies looked. They were pleased to see one from each of the oldest family groups came to see them during the morning.

Nancy’s Clan spent the day with them. The babies and new mothers slept most of the time. Alison’s, Tara’s and Erin’s children investigated each of the new babies, and watched while they nursed and slept. All were fascinated by the activity around the newborns. Everyone made sure they spent some time focusing attention on the older babies, some of whom were rapidly approaching the toddler stage. Since Betsy had mentioned it, they could see that the baby’s feet had grown sufficiently for them to begin walking, or trying to walk.

Amy, Erica, Maureen and Siobhan came-by late in the afternoon and visited with them again. The babies took to them as if they were their mothers. Maureen and Siobhan were pleasantly surprised by their reaction of the babies. They had always enjoyed being around children, but at the same time had been unsure of their ability care for them correctly. By the time they left, they were completely at ease with them. Amy and Erica left feeling a slight yearning to be mothers again.

The following morning, after the babies were fed, they returned to their compartment to exercise and freshen up. Once every one was ready, they went to breakfast accompanied by all the babies. The scene in the dining room was somewhat chaotic, as everyone wanted to see and touch the babies. Breakfast lasted longer than normal, due to their presence. Those off duty rotated so everyone had a chance to see them.

Rusty stood as breakfast drew to a close, and tapped his glass. The room became very quiet. “We’ve hinted at discussing our long range plans once we had an outline. Well, we have the beginnings of an outline. That has prompted us to move forward with a couple of projects. A few days ago, we began preparations to have a discussion on it this week, but after yesterday’s events, we feel we need to postpone it for a week or so.”

Danny stood then said, “How about placing it on the network?”

“We could do that. Did you have an idea on how to lay it out?”

“I am not keen on a collaboration type document, ‘cause after a few dozen comments it is impossible to understand it. How about a document that we can read, and then make comments about it in a forum?”

“We can do that. It may be a day or two before it is up.”

“Suits me, as we have plenty to keep us busy.”

“Now, for the next several days, our clan would like to focus on a few new additions to our family.” Several chuckled.

“A few?” came a voice from the back of the room. “If your wonderful new babies are a few, what would be a lot?” Everyone roared with laughter.

“Okay, smart ass, so I understated it. Never the less, we will be spending a good part of our time in our quarters for the next several days. We will be here for meals. Don’t let this be a barrier to contacting us. Star, Maureen and Siobhan, along with Amy’s Clan, will be readily available to you.