Chapter 8 - Castle Games

The brief baby boom ended eight days later and the population of our colony had increased by forty-eight children. Every one of the original thirty-seven female concubines gave birth although only Madison, one of Linus Van Stern's concubines, gave birth to twins. She was thrilled to have her third and fourth children and was soon offering to set up a day care and baby-raising clinic for any concubines needing a break. Her master simply glowed that he now had two sons and a new daughter to go with ten-year-old daughter Lily he had brought from Earth. The other babies came from the concubines of our new citizens, Barbara, Debby and Mike, as well as four of the concubines who had arrived during the final destruction of the rest of the colony, plus the concubines Tanya and Carol who had new owners since arriving in the enclave. Tanya of course was with Donna and Carol had joined Yvette's household. Every sponsor in the colony was proud of their concubines and took to doting on the babies.

The doting appeared to completely confuse Alexis. During the boom of childbirths, she had spent considerable time training in hand-to-hand combat with Barbara, Debby and Amanda. Brad was actually the planetary champion in the group's unofficial tournaments. He had considerable training back on Earth. Barbara had tried to convince Alexis to train with him, but our newest citizen shrugged off the suggestion. However, once the boom ended and all the citizens gathered in the recreation room for a huge party, she showed up looking lost.

"Why?" she asked as she slumped into a chair next to me. I was sitting and watching as Yvette's children competed in some console racing game. I had not been paying attention at the start, but it was clear that they were not keeping score by who crossed the finish line first, and the game involved far more giggling than shouting. I turned to Alexis and shrugged.

"Why what?"

"Why have this party?"

I smiled. "They didn't really need a why. They like to party and relax. But if you are worried, this one is for exactly what they said. They want to celebrate the birth of a new generation."

Alexis glared at me. "I understand why a woman would want that, but why the men? Your babies are going to take time away from them. They are going to hate that."

I shifted slightly, carefully adjusting the sling holding Madoka. Marina had seen the contraption James had given me that first day and had burst out laughing. She vanished into her owner's pod and came back with a much simpler fabric design that allowed my daughter to lie down against my side and chest. She could even suckle if she felt the need. The design had won quick and universal approval and now every female concubine had at least one version of it. Madoka was sleeping peacefully, so I looked at Alexis.

"They knew it would happen. And while I don't speak for the other households, I still go to bed with James every night I can," I responded. "Yes, I'll wake up in the middle of the night to sneak out and check on my daughter, and yes, right now with the babies waking up so often we tend to cuddle many nights rather than having sex, but James is patient. Look around, do you see any of the other male citizens looking upset?"

Alexis looked around. My eyes also scanned the room and I had to raise a hand to hide my smile. As I expected, none of the citizens looked at all upset about the current baby boom or the fact that their concubines were distracted by newborns. Brad had a new permanent smile on his face as he teased his two sons. Terrence was sitting between Diana and Ingrid and cuddling a child in his arms. I thought it was probably his daughter Dana as Diana's sling was empty. Even Tyson, who I know intimidated Alexis, was all smiles as he showed Cleo's son, Lamont, how to hold his half-sister. Cleo looked more than a little distressed at the idea of a five-year-old boy handling her newborn, but Tyson never really let go.

I had finished my scan and returned to watch the racing game as Heidi apparently won a round and sent Roge over to the replicator to fetch something. Adam was lying on the ground laughing as Yvette's oldest boy headed to the replicator.

"None are upset," Alexis quietly said, surprise in her voice. "I don't understand it. Manuel's goons would be looking for a woman to beat by now."

"Why would one of these men need to do that?" I asked. "Again, I can't speak for everyone, but I already want James to make love to me every night again. I still want to have Madoka with me every night, but in a few weeks, I'm sure I'll be more comfortable with spending the night in James' arms."

"How do you get six women in his arms at night? I never understood how you make that work?" Alexis asked abruptly.

"We share him and he is careful not to play favorites," Bethany said as she slid into the seat next to me. "You can't really use the standards of Modern Western Civilization to explain the households here. I'd say that the old harems of wealthy Persians is closer to what we have, although I think most of them followed a one woman a night rule."

"What?" Alexis asked.

Bethany giggled. "Read the full story of the Arabian Nights. You know the ones that have Ali Baba and Sindbad the Sailor. However, read all of the stories including the less popular ones. You'll notice that many of the kings have multiple concubines. Western culture went away from the idea of multiple wives long ago, but many historians believe that polygamy came first. We just had to put aside petty jealousies and learn to love each other as much as we love James."

"It works," I whispered as I reached over to give Bethany a kiss. I noticed that she did not have her sling and pulled back. "Where's Astrid?"

Bethany pointed at James who was wearing the sling on his left side. "He offered to hold her for a moment or two. I hate to let her go, but she's just fed, so she should be fine. James will be very careful with her."

I was about to say more when Ulla's voice rang out. "James, Yvette. I think we have a transit. The detectors just spiked."

Yvette looked up. She had been teasing Candi and Randi as they changed their sons' diapers. "Do we have a vector?"

"Yes," Ulla's voice responded. "It's on a line with the Wolf system. It's not a large pulse. Probably a corvette."

James was rising to his feet. "I'll be there shortly. Tyson, Linus you might want to head to the lasers and get the tracking up there as well just in case. Fred, Brad I have to ask you to tear yourselves away from the party and get ready to suit up."

"We'll be ready," Fred called out as he rose to his feet.

Alexis was staring at the ceiling in shock. "What?" she asked as most of the other citizens stopped their games and began to head out of the room. I could see many of the concubines rounding up children and organizing them as well.

Bethany smiled. "You didn't think we just sat and partied did you? You were awake the last time we had a visit from a corvette, although that one was scheduled. I expect that this time we'll be performing repairs, so everyone is getting to their station and setting up."

"But? What about concubines?" Alexis asked. "And what about me?"

Just then Shawna stopped by the table. "Alexis, want to come to medical? We can hope that there are no issues, but we always open it up. Corvettes don't have many medical pods and if they have casualties we'll fix them up here."

Alexis gave a tentative nod and stood up. Once she had left the table Bethany nudged me. "Go to James and be there for now. I'll have Tina join you. The rest of us will help with the kids and preparing of rooms."

I nodded quietly and then got up to dash out of the room. There were still a few concubines clearing the room with help from the older children, but most of the others had already gone. With Bethany shouting to get Tina's attention I left the room and headed for the command post.

Inside I found James and Yvette standing as Ulla and Veronica continued to check their panels. Timothy and Xavier were sitting in the alcove, which housed the weapons controls, but they did not seem particularly alarmed.

Veronica gave an exasperated snort. "Nothing! It's clearly a Castle class, but they aren't answering on any frequency and their IFF is out. They must have taken a hit on the communications computer. The antennae are there."

Ulla nodded. "The scan was long range, but her primary IFF emitter is intact and I can see the secondary antenna extended. That might not be their only problem. The starboard engine is done for."

"Done for?" Yvette asked.

Ulla nodded again. "Linus would be the best judge, and maybe he can get it repaired, but even at the distance we took the readings from I can see that there are at least six basketball or larger size holes in the housing, and the damaged exhaust clearly indicates that the engine overloaded. I just hope the housing can still be removed."

"Wonderful," James said. "Another cripple with no communications. Veronica, can you send out a boost signal to Borneo. Hopefully they can brief us on who just arrived."

"Right away," she said.

James came over to hug me. Just then Tina ran in. "How can I help?" she asked.

"You took the class on running a tug right?" James asked.

"I'm not as good as Maggie, but I can operate one," Tina said.

James nodded. "Take the tug station. We just might need it. This ship looks like it's crippled."

Veronica then called out. "I have Borneo."

James had his eyes closed, but nodded. I could see Yvette trying to refrain from giggling as he spoke. "Admiral Himmel?"

The voice that replied was sleepy. "No, this is Daphne, his senior concubine. He's asleep and I hate to wake him for a non-emergency. Who is this?"

James cursed. "Damn, sorry, but it appears to be an emergency. This is Ishtar control. We have a crippled Castle class corvette in system."

"A cripple! But the only Castle on patrol is the Tintagel! That's William's ship! Horace! Wake up! It's our son's ship! Oh, I just know he's dead! Why did you send him out with that gung-ho Captain Jordan!"

"Wha?" another sleepy voice replied. "Daphne, slow down. I just heard the wake up and then it was all gibberish."

"It's that rabbit planet," the woman's voice said. "They just called and they have a Castle Corvette there, but it's crippled. I know the Tintagel is the only Castle on patrol! Oh, William must be dead!" There was a momentary wail that halted only after a resounding smack rang through the speakers. A quiet sobbing was heard for a moment.

"James," Admiral Himmel said. "At least I hope it's you James. Can you give me more information?"

My master shook his head and waved to Tina. She nodded and I could see her activate the panel to send out the tug. "I'm afraid we originally called you because all we knew was that we had a Castle Class Corvette in the system. We're on the far side of our sun from the arrival point, and have only managed a long-range scan, but what we have seen shows that the Tintagel has lost her starboard engine. If she is Tintagel that is. We've been sending out calls in every frequency we can, and aren't getting responses. I've been informed that her IFF is down as well."

"Fuck! We have to start shielding the communication suites on these ships better. It's bad enough they arrive damaged, but you can't talk to them to work to repair the damage," the Admiral growled out.

Just then there was a crackling sound from the auxiliary speakers. "Ishtar control... Ishtar control... this is Sergeant William Monroe of Tintagel Castle. We took a direct hit from a Sliver and it got the bridge. Damage to the communications computer is extensive and we cannot receive on any frequency. We'll attempt to head towards your planet, but we have lost most of our maneuvering thrusters. Please send help," a tired voice said.

The speaker then gave off a burst of static and started a low humm. "We lost the signal," Veronica said.

"Tug on the way," Tina said. "It's going to take ninety minutes to get there."

James just nodded. He opened his mouth, but Horace's voice called out first. "Daphne! That was William. He's alive!"

"But he doesn't have the last name Himmel." Yvette observed.

Admiral Himmel laughed. "That was something he insisted on. He doesn't have great leadership skills and wanted to be implementing things, so he asked to be started as a private. I was worried that he'd have trouble if we allowed others to know the relationship, so he uses Daphne's maiden name as his last name."

"That's fair," James said. "Well, we know there are survivors and we have a tug on the way, but it's going to take some time. I'll have someone call you as soon as we know more, and if Tintagel is going to spend time here, I might even remind William to phone home."

"Hey, that's an expensive long-distance call!" the Admiral barked. "And besides, I'm still trying to save up for a bunny. Daphne wants one badly."

There was a feminine squeal of outrage just before the signal cut off. Everyone in the room was chuckling for just a moment and then the room fell silent.

"Who?" a voice tentatively asked from the doorway.

I looked over to find Alexis standing there. She seemed to be torn between entering and running away. Yvette walked over to her. "That was Admiral Himmel. He commands the local military district. You might say he's the president of our biggest customer if we were running this as a business."

"Yes, only we're paying him," Ulla said with a giggle. "Oh, news on our cripple. I finally got a better scan. She's still holding atmosphere, but the Sergeant was not lying about the bridge. It's open to space. The Castle has a huge hole in the hull."

"Should we expect casualties?" Alexis asked. "Donna told me I should come here and find that out. I think she just wanted me to see this."

Yvette nodded. "Yes, and with the latest news I think we need to get a teleport pod there. It's going to take a while to get the ship into a dock."

For a moment there was silence. "Can I try?" I asked.

James gave me another hug. "Go for it, Little One."

I headed over to the bank of control stations and sat next to Tina. I had helped train Tina and, while my sister concubine was far more confident, I was able to get the system powered up and activate one of the colony's emergency teleport units. My first attempt to send it to Tintagel Castle had to be aborted because I had it pointed in the wrong direction, but I soon had it sailing across the system on a mission of mercy.

Guiding a teleport unit took most of my attention and for the next seventy minutes I concentrated on matching vectors with the Tintagel Castle. I had some issues when Madoka woke up and found my right breast empty of milk. I managed to switch her to my left side, but she continued to fuss and her movements were distracting as I attempted the fine maneuvers necessary to link up with the one intact airlock I found.

Tina got up from her seat and watched over my shoulder. She coached me through the final linking. The tug was linked to the ship and had it returning on a programmed track. It was once again a surprise to see my sister concubine, a woman who could barely read and had regular attacks of self-doubt, quietly and calmly guide me through the steps. As the system signaled a successful docking, she gave me a hug.

"You did it!" she whispered.

I spun the chair around and threw my arms around her neck, pulling her in for a long kiss. "No, you showed me. Without you, I would still be trying to line up the lock. Thank you!"

Tina blushed. I held her close as James asked Xavier to get to the teleport pad. We remained cuddling until Tolwin started fussing and Tina blushed. "He needs to be changed I think."

I let her go and stood up. Madoka was relatively calm, but I figured I would change her and clean her as well. We snuck into the hallway to visit one of the baby changing stations that Yvette had suggested be set up in the tunnels.

Tina seemed a bit down as she set Tolwin down and started the process of removing his diaper. "I'm always so afraid that I'll do something wrong. I mean, I never thought I'd be a mother."

I nodded. "I knew I would be, but my original plan was to graduate college and then find a husband. I never imagined this crazy setup."

"Who could have before that show?" Tina asked with a giggle. She had finished removing the diaper and was using wipes to clean her son. I had removed Madoka's diaper to find that hers was a little damp and tossed it into the recycler and grabbed a few wipes.

"I have no idea. At least James is a good man and a good master."

Tina turned to glare at me. "Only a good one? Try the most perfect master we could have. He listens, and understands us. I see your blush every time he calls you "Little One'. You love that. He spent hours with me working on my reading and encourages my activities. He gave Bethany a new life and then helped her live it."

"What about Janice, Kitty and Brit?" I asked cheekily as I finished wiping Madoka.

"If you have to ask about Kitty and Brit, I'll have to wonder if you've been awake for the last nine months. He's taken them away from abusive situations and then offered them all the love they needed. And Janice. Do you really know your best friend so little? Watch her when you get a chance. She is much like me at times, but she hides it better," Tina snapped.

I felt my eyes widen. "You see a lot."

Tina blushed as she finished fastening a new diaper on her son. "You taught me that. Well, the whole family taught me that. I noticed that James paid attention to what made each of us happy. As I tried to figure out why, I noticed that you and Bethany often did the same thing. I think that's why at first the two of you were always a couple. I decided to slow down and watch a bit more. Over time it's worked."

"But you seem to know more about Janice than I do," I said sadly. "I can't believe I'm letting my best friend down like that."

Tina shrugged as she picked up Tolwin and returned him to her sling. "I don't think you are. Watch Janice if she thinks she's alone and you'll see the facade drop. She really tries hard to appear tough when with the rest of us, but I think she's hurting and scared inside."

I had finished cleaning Madoka, but decided to hold her in my arms as we turned back to the command post. "I'll try to give her some more support," I said. "We have to help her realize that James truly loves her."

Tina giggled as we returned to the command post. Ulla and Veronica were still at their stations, but I could see Diana and Ingrid at the backup stations. It was clear that Ulla and Veronica were going to stand down shortly. James and Yvette were sitting at a briefing table they had set up in the command post. I could see Esther hovering behind Yvette.

James looked at us. "We had to wait for the ship to get a bit closer, but Xavier just teleported over there. He should be coming back shortly."

Just then, Terrence called from the teleport room off the command post. "Xavier just activated the signal to start the retrieval. Opening the teleport beam."

There was a momentary pause and then I heard a gasp. "Who?" Terrence cried.

He must have pointed at the passage to the command post because a woman entered. She was wearing a concubine's shift. The bigger puzzle was the two babies she was carrying. One was on her back wrapped up like some Indian's child. She was holding the other in trembling arms. Both babies appeared to be much older than Madoka, but I was unable to guess an exact age.

The woman looked around and then spoke tremulously. "Excuse me. Tribune Walesca told me that I was to ask about Claire when I got to Ishtar. Is this Ishtar?"

"Tribune who?" Alexis asked.

"Walesca," the woman answered, although her voice was so light that I found myself thinking she was only sixteen or so. "He's the Civil Service officer for the District."

"And he told you to come here and ask about someone named Claire?" James asked.

The woman blushed. "Yes. I've been living in the barracks for unattached concubines for almost five months. I was sent there after Kirk died on some mission. He was assigned to the Nassau. One day about four weeks ago Tribune Walesca called me to his office and asked me some questions about me and about the babies. The next thing I know I'm being escorted onto some ship and told that if we arrived at Ishtar I should ask about Claire."

James and Yvette were looking at each other. "Could she mean ... ?" Yvette asked.

"One way to find out," James declared. "AI, connect me to one of the twins. Whichever one is free."

My master had paused after asking the AI to connect him and his last sentence must have come through because the response was instant. "Actually I go for a thousand a night, but I might make an exception for you."

The room erupted in laughter. I was covering my mouth and keeping my laughs quiet to avoid upsetting Madoka. In doing so I turned away from the girl to look at the passage to the teleport room and could see a slow stream of seriously wounded citizens and concubines making steady progress out of the command post. David was meeting them at the door and helping them lie on gurneys for the rest of the journey to the medical bay.

James however, was concentrating on the woman. 'I hate to ask, but can you free up Claire and send her to the command post?" Upon hearing James say that, the young concubine's head whipped around as she stared at him in shock.

"We'll be there in five," was the response before the connection ended. Once it had, Xavier appeared in the passage.

"Ingrid!" he called. "Get a message to Ed, Linus and Timothy. We're going to need to stop Tintagel Castle before docking and install a patch on its underhull or it will never survive docking."

Timothy appeared from the weapons alcove. "What is it?" he asked.

Xavier scowled. "The damage to the bridge is far more extensive than it appears from the outside. Basically everything forward of the midship bulkhead looks like some metallic Swiss Cheese. The structural integrity is so low that an attempt to put docking clamps on the hull would crush it beyond repair. We are going to need to hold it in place with tugs while we install a number of braces."

Timothy just stared for a minute and then walked over to Diana's panel. He looked over her shoulder and then reached around her to hit a few buttons. "Shit! She's done."

"What?" James asked.

Timothy sighed. "Tell Admiral Himmel that we can return Tintagel to Borneo, but only for scrap. She's lost seven major bulkheads and both of the forward strut braces. We don't have the spares to replace them, and even if we did, we have to cut through the ship's spine just to clear the current wreckage. If she returned to combat, one glancing hit on her bow would crack her in half."

James nodded. Just then Tamara appeared in the command post doorway leading Claire. "Oh great, James. You needed my concubine?" she intoned.

The still unnamed woman turned around. She stopped when she was looking right at Tamara who was standing just inside the doorway and smiling, her blue highlighted uniform a contrast to the rest of the group in the room. Behind her I could see Claire shyly peeking around the doorframe.

Nothing was said for a moment and then Claire stepped slowly into the room. She had her right hand extended in front of her. As her hand trembled I heard a very faint whisper. "Lara?"

The woman froze for a moment and then held the child in her arms up. Claire now had her left hand covering her mouth. With a cry filled with anguish and hope at the same time she dashed forward to gather the baby in her arms. "Lara!"

Claire's dash appeared to take all her strength away and she collapsed to the ground, hugging the baby to her chest. Her cries continued and I dashed over to give her some comfort as Tamara rushed in as well. "Who?" Tamara asked looking at the woman.

The woman had a look of shock on her face. "I didn't know she was alive. I am or I guess I was Kirk's other concubine. When he didn't return from the mission the pod we lived in was closed and I was taken to the unattached concubine barracks on Borneo. Claire had been with him, and never returned, so I cared for Lara."

Tamara smiled. "You mean my concubine here has a daughter?"

The woman looked frightened. "I can keep her. Don't worry. I'd never forgive myself if I cost Claire a happy home."

"Concubine, what is your name?" Yvette asked.

The woman turned to look at Yvette. "Whitney. Or at least that's what Kirk insisted on calling me. I have only had the name since we left Earth about eighteen months ago, but I like it."

"It fits you," Claire said with a sniffle. "Your old name was far too plain."

Whitney giggled. "I'm just happy to see you alive. After they moved me out, I was sure you had died. More than a few concubines did. And some of the other survivors insisted you had to be dead after the Nassau returned and you did not show up at the barracks when they were brought in. I was transferred to the barracks before the Nassau even returned to Borneo, so I knew Kirk was dead."

"I was here," Claire said quietly.

I looked up from where I was comforting Claire. "Kirk's death hurt her. It wasn't until she moved in with the twins and their family that we discovered what a wonderful woman she is. Would you deny her that?"

Whitney sighed and shook her head. "No. In fact I envy her quite a bit. Kirk was more than a bit abusive to us. I know it hurt Claire quite a bit that her father proved to be quite controlling once we were away from Earth."

I hear several people hiss in surprise, but Claire just nodded sadly. "He promised me that he'd never do that. I had friends who were forced to become their father's pets just a month after the special, but he gave me freedom on Earth only to take most of it away during the month we traveled to Borneo. The only good thing was he vanished for his first two tours and we had almost a year without him. That's why I never wanted to talk about him. His CAP score was a lie. He had no compassion."

Yvette was looking at James and I watched him give an almost imperceptible nod. He looked around the room before addressing Tina. "Tina? Do you think I should?"

My sister concubine looked confused for a moment, but she nodded after a moment of thought. James then looked over at Tamara who giggled and nodded before he could say anything.

"Meiko?" he asked looking at me as I continued to comfort Claire, who had stopped sobbing. She was still clutching her daughter to her chest, but had begun to look around the room. I noticed that she gave a small shiver of surprise and lust when she looked at Whitney.

"Do it." I said definitively. Whitney had been standing and trying to follow the interplay, but remained a bit confused.

"So be it," James said. "AI, unless there are rules against it, let's give concubine Whitney a new status. I think the twins can add her to the household."

"Affirmed. Concubine Claire is recorded as the property of Tiffany. Concubine Whitney will be placed as the property of Tamara," the AI intoned.

Whitney just stood for a moment and then collapsed to the ground, crying. At first, everyone though she was upset, but she began repeating. "I'm owned again. I'm owned again." Happily.

Tamara helped Claire to her feet and then walked over to Whitney. "Come, we have a whole household for you to meet," she told her newest concubine. Whitney took a moment to stand, but got to her feet and threw her arms around Tamara.

"Thank you," she cried.