Chapter 10 - Preparations

Tina and I made our way to the doorway and headed out. It was clear that the conversation had turned to technical matters regarding the repairs and James would be tied up for some time. He waved as we left but was quickly pulled back to one of the panels to start reviewing the damage and suggested repairs to Tintagel Castle.

In the hallway we found Alexis walking with a couple of the concubines from Tintagel. Both were wearing splints and bandages obviously created by tearing up a shift. She frowned as we approached.

"Is it always like that?" she asked.

Tina smiled. "James once said that our lives would likely be long periods of boredom interrupted by moments of great panic. We've never really found much boredom, but the interruptions are always energetic and exciting."

I nodded as Alexis looked puzzled. "But doesn't that trouble you?"

"Why?" I asked. "James and Yvette work very hard to protect everyone here. And the truth is that we never really feel like we are in danger. "

"And even if we were," Tina immediately added, "we have been in danger before. Each time James and the other citizens have protected us. We trust them."

Alexis looked unconvinced, but said nothing more as she escorted the two injured concubines to the medical bay and entered. Once they were inside, Tina and I decided to head to the new concubine's pod. Tina was very interested in putting more work into her tapestry.

We arrived to find Claire and Whitney standing just inside the door. Claire was trying to coax her friend to enter and sit on one of the lounges we had set up in the front room, but Whitney was standing and shaking her head. As Tina and I paused to watch them interact, Janice walked up. Janice's normally blond hair was brown and swept up in a ponytail. I was wondering how she dyed it so quickly.

"Is she from Tintagel?" she asked with a nod towards Whitney.

I followed her gaze. Whitney was slowly turning in place looking at the lounges and couches that filled the entry room. The other doors were closed, but Whitney slowly turned in a circle. Each time she looked directly at a door the turning paused, as if she thought she could look through it. When I turned my gaze back to Janice, I found her rocking back and forth on her heels. Remembering Tina's comment from earlier, I decided to be a bit devilish.

I smoothly slipped in close to Janice and wrapped my arms around her. As her head started to turn to me I slid my right hand up to hold her neck and pulled her down for a long and loving kiss. She struggled, but I slowly managed to force my tongue past her lips. I kept up the kiss until the need to breathe forced me to relax and allow Janice to escape. She was gasping a little as I pulled her in a bit closer and whispered. "No, she came with the ship, but she's special. We should go and introduce ourselves."

Janice seemed a bit bewildered by my actions and held my arms as she looked in my eyes. "Why?"

"Should we talk to our new friend? Perhaps she needs to feel at home here," I replied with a grin.

"No! Why did you?" Janice said.

I hugged Janice again. "Because you are my best friend. Because if I had never met you we would not both be here, with daughters we adore. Because I realized that I forget to tell you how much you mean to me."

Janice sniffled. "I'm just a useless concubine."

I hugged her close. "Useless? I don't think so. Who is the director for our musical? Whose idea was it to create it? Who has managed to convince all the concubines to help out? You did all of that. Janice, I love you. James loves you. Our sisters love you."

I felt Tina's arms join mine in hugging Janice. "She's telling the truth, my lover of the brunette ponytail."

Janice gasped and tried to struggle out of our hug. "Brunette! That's it I'm casting Tina as a trash-collector!"

Tina and I giggled. We tickled Janice until her struggles came to a stop and she was laughing harder than either of us. Tina then silenced her laughs with another kiss. "Well it is brunette right now. Why?"

Janice reached up and pulled on her ponytail, quickly removing what proved to be a brunette wig. She held it up and giggled. "I couldn't be the genie with the light brown hair without coloring or a wig. I went with the wig."

"A genie?" I asked.

"Oh yes! It's a little part we added to help explain how poor David ends up all over the world searching for his drink. Although, the story now has him being a modern man rather than from the twenties. We weren't using many songs from that time," Janice said. "But you said we should meet the new girl."

She pulled off a hair net that was covering her natural hair and after using her fingers to brush it out a little dashed over to the girl. Tina and I looked at each other for a moment.

"She became happy rather quickly," I whispered.

Tina smiled. "Maybe she isn't as down as I thought. But the hugging and tickling was fun. How about we join her?"

With matching giggles we dashed forward. Janice was just about to say something when Whitney turned to Claire. "Is this your owner's pod? I mean your new owner? I thought I heard the AI say you were registered as belonging to Tiffany...Wait, didn't everyone call the girl who brought you to the command post as Tamara? What is this?"

Claire just smiled. "No, this is not Tiffany's pod. That pod is on the far side of our little colony. It's about a thirty minute walk through the tunnels to get there."

Whitney looked at Janice, Tina and I as we stood nearby. "Does it belong to one of them? Although considering they have newborns and are only wearing skirts I'm guessing they are concubines, so perhaps the owner of one of them? But we entered without asking! What is this place?" She sounded a bit distressed.

Janice smiled. "No, although I guess some might say that our master does have a certain ownership right here. But his pod is close to the one you'll be living in. This pod is a refuge for all the concubines of Ishtar. It's a place for us to engage in projects we want to surprise the citizens with."

Whitney looked unconvinced. "Such as?" she spat.

Tina stepped forward. "How about we show you. Follow me." She then walked over to the door leading to the weaving room. Janice and I followed with smiles as Claire nudged a frowning Whitney to join in.

When we arrived the door opened and Tina stepped inside. She quickly made her way over to the loom where she was working on her tapestry. I noticed that she had made considerable progress in the last week or so. The finished section of the tapestry was being rolled up to keep it out of the way, but the visible section revealed the edge of the pond in the background and the first petals of the planned flower were being woven into the picture.

"Wow!" Janice said. "You've added a lot since I was last here."

Tina giggled. "You're always busy with your project. And it helped that Maggie has some good ideas."

"Ideas?" I asked.

Tina nodded and sat down, hitting a switch on a small panel to the right of the chair. A moment later two purple circles descended from the ceiling. They were placed just beyond the point where all the threads had been woven in. Once they froze in place Tina pulled a small rectangular bar from the side of the panel. She reached for the circle on the right of the loom and let it go. I expected it to fall, but it hovered just in front of the purple circle.

Tina then checked the threads, making sure they were tight. When he looked satisfied she reached over and touched the bar. Immediately it shot through the pattern of threads and was hovering barely an inch from the left circle. Tina then pressed the foot pedal and I could see the threads on the loom move to add another line to the weave.

"So fast!" Janice said with a gasp.

"Yes," Tina giggled. "It is Maggie's inspiration. She realized that the biggest problem we were having was getting the cross thread to move across such a big field of threads. She suggested that the anti-grav technology could be used to move the shuttle quickly and cleanly. We tested the idea on one of the two-foot looms for a couple days and then had the design added to all the looms. It tripled my speed."

Claire looked impressed. "How far along are you?"

"Four feet compete of a tapestry which will be about fourteen feet," Tina said. "I should be done in about four more weeks of work, but I plan on taking a break since I'm participating in Janice's little project too."

Claire giggled. "Almost all of us are. She was very persuasive."

Janice giggled. Whitney looked even more confused and stepped next to the loom. Tina had already made two more passes with the shuttle and was checking some of the threads. I watched as Whitney leaned over to see the section of finished tapestry still visible. "Why?"

Tina shrugged and tapped the shuttle so it made another pass through the room. "We have rather barren walls, but I wanted to produce the art to put on the walls rather than have some simple reproduction. Sure a replicator can produce one of these in seconds and do so without any errors, but it's also relaxing and fun to do it this way. I sit here and work for us, with my son by my side, while James and the others work for the Confederacy."

Whitney glanced over at the other large loom. From the size of the rolled tapestry, Maggie was a bit behind Tina, but her own work was definitely making progress. "And that?" Whitney asked.

Claire giggled. "Maggie is working on that one. It's going to be a field of rabbits when she's done."

Whitney looked even more astonished. "Are the other rooms like this one?" she asked.

Janice giggled. "Not really. Perhaps someday we'll have more arts and crafts, but right now this is our only major craft and it's just tapestries and rug making right now. Want to see the other rooms though?"

Whitney nodded and then put her arms around Claire. "Oh Claire, I can't believe a place like this exists. Your father would never have permitted us to do anything except worship him."

"Your first sponsor really was your father?" I asked Claire as we walked back out to the entry room. Tina remained behind happily adding more inches to her tapestry.

Claire looked frightened, but then smiled. "Wow. I just realized that my current sponsor can't really say much about that. Yes, Kirk was my father back on Earth, but once we were picked up he insisted that I accept the policy that pickups break all family ties and call him either Kirk or Master, and he preferred Master."

I giggled. When Claire turned to glare at me, I felt blood rush to my face. "Sorry, it's just if I try to call James, 'master', he either ignores me, or promises some hideous punishment. He hates being called that."

Whitney looked puzzled again. "I'm sorry. You obviously know Claire, but I never was introduced to anyone. I don't even know who belongs to Tamara, or how old she is or anything. She told me she had to run and handle a problem and asked Claire to calm me down."

Janice nodded. "Sorry, there's only about seventy adults on Ishtar, and we all know each other, so some of our manners definitely need work. I'm Janice." She put an arm around me. "This little one is Meiko. We both belong to James. As does Tina, the young lady we left working on the tapestry."

Whitney still looked puzzled. "Okay, all three of you belong to the same man, but who else is there? And will I meet the others who belong to my mistress?"

We looked at Claire who shrugged. "I know that Paula and Jillian were at the pod at home, as both of their babies were acting a bit colicky this morning. Marilyn was working at the school and probably is there right now. Craig and the other men were talking about taking some time on the ice. I think they want to challenge the male citizens to a hockey match."

Whitney turned again, staring at Claire. "You just named four people? Does my new owner have that many concubines?"

Claire looked confused for a moment. "Um... you know. I don't know how they are divided up. Janice, Meiko do you know?"

I shrugged. "I know Paula and Jillian don't belong to the same girl, but I can't remember either. During the journey here we couldn't socialize because of some problems on the transport that brought us here, and you know how the twins' household is set up now."

Claire nodded. "Yes, they enlarged the bedroom on the floor of one pod and made it basically the only bedroom for everyone unless you needed a night alone." She started blushing. "I never need that."

Whitney gasped. "You mean you are forced to have sex every night?"

Janice and I burst out laughing. "Forced?" Janice gasped out. "Now I know you aren't from here. God, I wouldn't let James out of bed if he didn't have to work. Here it's not sex. It's love making and passion."

Claire giggled herself and blushed. "It is. I didn't believe it either, but all the concubines here glow. Even the male ones when they are mock complaining about their treatment."

"Jacques," Janice and I said in unison before giggling again.

Whitney just seemed completely baffled, and finally waved at the doors. "I guess I'll find out. What about the other doors?"

Janice gave a small leap and turned to one door. "Oh, come and see. But you have to promise to keep it a secret for four more weeks. We want to surprise our owners with this."

Whitney nodded as Janice took off for the door. She knocked on the door in a strange pattern of three knocks, a pause and then four more. A moment later it opened and she led us inside.

We found Heather inside talking to David as a number of the other concubines milled around. The former trophy wife was wearing an outfit of high-heeled leather boots and a tight fitting leather bodice over a lacy black skirt. She smiled and waved at Janice. "I think we have this one scene down, want to watch?"

Janice giggled and pulled Whitney over to a director's chair, pushing her into it. "The Guten-Tag into Beer Barrel one?" Janice called out.

"Yes," Heather said and waved to Elle who had been standing against the wall. She was wearing a similar outfit to Heather's and stood a short distance away, leaving David standing and looking at Heather. The rest of the people cleared the floor for the moment.

There was silence and then Janice giggled and called out. "Okay. Action!"

David immediately knelt on the ground and looked pleadingly up at Heather. "Please, my lady. I have been told that you control a source of good beer. I only want a small sip! I've been dry for too long."

Heather held her chin like she was pondering something. "Well, I guess I could. What would be the harm?"

David smiled and stood up straight. "Can we get it now?"

"Now?" Heather cried out. "Now! No, first you must prove you are worthy of such a gift!"

"How will I do that?" David asked. In the background I could hear a faint musical rhythm start.

Elle smiled. "You must dance a Guten Tag with us."

"What?" David asked, turned to look at both of them while standing between them.

"Oh yes, you just must," Heather cried.

David looked perplexed, but Heather turned toward where we were standing and shouted. "One, Two, Three!" As she did the recorded music we had been using for rehearsals began playing.

I had not seen this scene before, but it soon had me struggling to stifle my giggles. Elle and Heather were singing only a few words, but it was the dance itself that made the scene work. With every crescendo and accent in the music poor David was punched, tripped and slapped into submission by the two ladies.

It continued with David getting knocked down only to be dragged back to his feet. As the music neared its climax, some of the other concubines appeared on stage dressed as German barmaids and carrying foaming mugs of an amber liquid. Two were passed to Heather and Elle who, as the music came to a climax, made as if they had slammed the mugs into the sides of David's face. He fell convincingly as the duo shouted "To life!" and proceeded to drain the mugs as the music finished. Then Heather turned to look at David's prone body.

"He couldn't take it," she said disdainfully.

"Well, that's no reason why we shouldn't bring on the beer," Elle said.

"What about him?" Heather replied. As they stood there watching him a giant barrel was rolled in from off-stage to the left. The two men rolling it stopped just behind where David lay.

Elle giggled on seeing this. "Of course, we'll roll him out in the barrel!"

The chorus picked this up and moments later Heather and Elle were leading everyone in singing the beer barrel polka, telling the audience to roll out the barrel, as David was lifted up and dumped into the giant barrel.. Once he was clearly inside, it was spun around and rolled back off stage. Whitney gasped at this.

"Don't worry," Janice said calmly. "He's actually sitting on a special platform that rolls inside the barrel and will stay on the bottom. It does make a good scene though."

Claire and I were trying hard to hold in our giggles when the scene ended. The dancers had come to a halt in a line with their mugs triumphantly held aloft just as the music ended. They held if for a moment as Janice clapped.

"Perfect! I loved it."

Everyone relaxed and Heather stepped forward to hug my sister concubine. "Thanks," she told Janice. "Louis will love this. And I'm sure I'll amaze him."

Janice giggled. "Hey, you perform the part so well. I can almost believe you are really hurting David."

Just then David walked up. "They did a couple times early in rehearsals before we got our timing down. Now it's all in fun. I just hope Shawna doesn't get any ideas."

Janice giggled. "I thought Shawna just liked you to pound her hard. At least that would explain the screams we hear coming from the medical bay most afternoons."

David blushed. "She does get loud when she's enjoying a good orgasm," he muttered.

I could not resist. "Try great. Or what was the term she used? "The fucking, best fuck she's ever had given to her by the hunk who owns her heart and makes her his complete and utter cumslut?"

Whitney gasped. "Wait, who said that?"

We all smiled as David looked at Whitney. "New girl?" he asked and then shrugged. "Well, I guess it's no problem to explain. I belong to Shawna Summers. And she said that to me three, no four afternoons ago while we were in the middle of a very energetic and...."

Janice giggled. "Try erotic, I'm not sure you can use passionate, because it sounded a bit too raw."

David laughed himself. "Hell, it was a raunchy, downright, obscene little fuckfest we held in her office in the medical bay. And I know she deliberately left the door open. I don't know why, but she's proud of me and how close we are even though she's the sponsor and I'm just a simple concubine."

Heather then giggled. "Honey, I don't think we have any simple concubines on this planet."

Whitney was nodding. "I'll agree with that, but can someone explain everything to me? All I know is that I was thrown on a ship and survived a big battle before arriving here where I returned Claire's daughter to her, and while we were hugging the AI tells me that I now belong to Tamara, who gave me only a quick hug before telling me to stay with Claire for now. She shows me this amazing place with crafts for concubines, and another room where it looks like you are staging a musical."

"We are," Janice interrupted. "Just don't tell the sponsors, it's a surprise."

Whitney glared at Janice. "That's not what I'm asking! What is going on? Tell me where I am! What is going to happen to me?"

Janice looked a bit surprised by the shouting, but put her arms around me, carefully avoiding disturbing Madoka's sling. I noticed she had not been wearing a sling, but then saw a line of cribs against the wall of the room and realized that she must have set her daughter down to rehearse. I leaned back into Janice's arms as she spoke.

"I guess you noticed that we live in tunnels. Obviously you didn't receive a briefing, but Ishtar has an atmosphere that will kill a human. The air is very acidic. We've watched it once...." I felt Janice shudder and noticed that the others did as well. "But that's why the tunnels, we are actually underground here. But that's only the sideshow. Ishtar actually shouldn't be colonized."

"But it is!" Whitney cried.

"Yes," Janice agreed. "Originally we were all on one ship. One hundred colonists and a few extra pods were sent to Ishtar from Earth. And we weren't a highly trained and specialized group. Someone had decided to dump citizens that were hard to train here. Fortunately, James had a plan and with the help of Yvette and a few others and the able assistance of the AI on the ship that brought us here, he set up the colony so we were isolated from the other eighty colonists."

I felt Janice give me a nudge and I spoke. "Our first few months here were difficult as some of the other colonists wanted to take over, and take all the colony's concubines for themselves. James and the others fought that, and finally three months ago the others brought down a section of the ceiling, allowing the acid to pour into their section of the colony. By the time is was over, Ishtar's population was down to twenty three living sponsors, fifty-three owned concubines and eight unowned ones, as well as twenty-one children. Well that was before we had the baby boom. Now we have forty-eight newborns as well."

Claire giggled. "And now we get to add two more babies and Whitney!"

Whitney sighed. "Very well, I guess that makes some sense, but who do I belong to?"

David looked at how Claire was holding onto Whitney. "Tamara or Tiffany?"

Whitney glared at him. "Tamara! But Claire belongs to Tiffany!"

The whole room burst into laughter. Whitney looked confused. Finally Heather put her arm around the young woman. "AI, do us a favor and project an image of Tamara for us."

The AI complied, projecting an image of Tamara in the Alice-in-Wonderland dress she loved to wear at parties. The blue dress definitely brought out the youthful bloom in Tamara's cheeks and Whitney gasped.

"But she's!"

Elle interrupted her. "She was picked up a week after her fourteenth birthday. Don't let her age fool you though. She's tough as nails when she needs to be."

Whitney seemed ready to turn and ask a question when Heather spoke again. "AI, place an image of Tiffany next to the one of Tamara."

Another image appeared, this one of Tiffany wearing a red-riding hood and short skirt. The outfit had been extremely popular when she first brought it out even though she refused to hide her blond hair under it and allowed it to fall down her back.

Whitney gasped again. "Twins?"

Claire nodded. "Yes, and they share everything! We'll be living together. Don't worry about belonging to one or the other. They sure won't."

Whitney had tears streaming down her face. "Who could have imagined?" she whispered, her voice full of wonder.

Claire giggled. "Let's go home. I'm sure the twins have gathered everyone and warned them to expect us." She spun Whitney around and made a dash to the door, dragging her bewildered friend behind. Once the door closed, Heather sighed.

"I can never get enough of all the love on this planet," she said. "Janice should we do more tonight?"

Janice was shaking her head. "No, we've already worked out two scenes, and we came to an agreement on the final one, so there isn't much more to do right now. How about we take the night to dote on our babies."

I giggled. "You just want to spend more time with Joy."

Janice smiled. "Of course. But I also want to do something I haven't done enough of recently." She leaned in so her lips were next to my ear. "I want my best friend lying naked on a bed while I slowly lick her to orgasm."

I turned and hugged her, holding her close. "Only if I'm licking her at the same time," I returned in a whisper. We kissed briefly and then broke apart so that Janice could gather up Joy and join the other concubines in their exodus from the room.