Chapter 19 - A Moment of Relaxation.

For the next three days, the colony was bustling with activity. Under the direction of Marina, who proved to have been a hotel maid back on Earth before becoming Shawna's concubine, thirty pods were organized, cleaned and prepared for occupation. Most were set up so they had multiple dwellings each set up like a hotel suite with a central meeting and relaxation room and two separate sleeping areas. Others were organized more like barracks with enough beds to handle one of the squads the vice admiral had said were coming.

James and the other citizens helped when they had time. However, they spent quite a bit of time going over maps of the colony, and trying to find out more about our coming guests. What he did pass on was rather disturbing. Colonel Clint Johanes had a reputation for political backstabbing. He was described as abrasive, authoritarian, and quick to take offense. Sad thing was that James remarked that those were the good points the man had. Apparently he had been passed over for promotion twice and was now rather desperate for a major breakthrough he could use to obtain a promotion to flag rank.

The citizens did quite a bit of planning in private. More than one meeting in the briefing room was for the council and selected invitees only. I know that one of the decisions they made was to have a set of flechette rifles put into a rack just inside our main door. An alcove was grown at the intersection and a guard post established. During this time it was only manned a couple times to test out procedures, but it was clear that James and the others were worried.

The worried expressions on the faces of our friends bothered all of the concubines. After the second day of cleaning, Bethany sent out a whispered order that all the concubines should meet in the refuge at the end of the day. So, as each group finished their last rooms and duties of the day, they made their way to our private retreat.

I was one of the first there, as James had ordered me to stay outside the briefing room in case they wanted something. Most of the time I sat and chatted with Candi and Randi who had drawn command post duty, and spent most of their time glaring at the closed door to the briefing room, as Brad was inside.

Candi and Randi arrived at the same time as I did to find that only Bethany was there before us. She smiled as we walked in. "It's quiet now so take advantage of it. Once all the babies are here, it might get a bit noisy."

Candi looked down at her son, sleeping peacefully in a stroller. "We can always retreat to the rehearsal hall if a baby gets too cranky," she said with a shrug. "Hopefully they will stay quiet though."

Bethany shook her head. "We are going to have over fifty concubines in here and all will be talking. The babies will fuss. But I think we need this meeting."

"Why?" Randi asked. "It's not like we can do much."

Bethany shook her head. "We can try to help James and the other citizens relax a bit. There is no question that James is worried and the others appear to be just as worried. If all the information is correct, they have five more weeks of worry to go."

"Five? I thought the Vice Admiral said the ship would take seven to get here," Randi said, and then immediately smacked herself in the forehead. "Never mind. Seven Earth weeks is forty-nine days, which is just over five weeks our time. Just call me a stupid secretary."

"Secretary?" I asked looking at the coed who was wearing an Ohio State cheerleading outfit.

"Damn," Randi said covering her mouth. "I shouldn't have said that."

Bethany just stood silently. I noticed Candi shaking her head and then finally looking at her friend. "You might as well tell them everything Jen. You let the cat out of the bag."

Randi frowned for a moment and then nodded. "I guess I did. Candi and I aren't coeds. My real name is Jennifer. I was a secretary for a law firm when the pickup happened."

"But you've always looked like that," I replied. "And I know that with the apeman roaming it was impossible to get to the med pods for cosmetic work during the run here."

"We were the first sent to the ship," Candi said. "It took more than a week to fill the ship, and during that time Brad was able to get us in for cosmetic work."

Bethany nodded. "And I'm guessing his one request was that you wear the cheerleading outfits."

Candi giggled. "Actually that was our idea. He just gave us bodies that would look good in them. It's funny he was always good at martial arts, but beyond that he was a big kid who had little confidence with women. In a way, we were living The Tradition before we knew what it was. Brad treated us like angels and when we realized just how deep his love of college sports was, and about his endless envy of the guys who got cheerleaders, we volunteered to be his cheerleaders forever."

Randi added her own giggle. "And he just loved the idea of getting to knock up a couple of cheerleaders. It's been great." She looked pensive for a moment. "But I agree it hasn't been that way for the last two days. What should we do?"

Before Bethany could reply more concubines arrived and the conversation was put on hold while we mixed with the others. I noticed that Bethany pulled Janice aside for a brief whispered conversation. The response must have pleased her because she smiled and then began counting who was in the room.

I drifted over by Janice, but my best friend was smiling and holding Joy. "Just wait," she told me.

Finally, Bethany nodded. "We're only missing Ulla and Veronica as they are helping in the command post, but I already talked to them. Everyone, we know about how worried our sponsors are. They are driving themselves hard to prepare for this scientist and his team. It's nice to see that they care, but we can't let them burn out trying to protect us. Now, we have a musical that we were about to perform. What I want is tonight, in your home pod, get your sponsor to promise that tomorrow at eight PM, they will come to the multi-use room."

"Craig, you'll need to get the chairs set up. Everyone who's participating, make sure you can arrive by seven-fifteen and that you have all your costumes ready," Bethany continued. "We only get one chance to do this for the first time, so let's really surprise our sponsors and remind them of why they are fighting."

I smiled as the room filled with cheers. Craig stepped in front of the group and raised a hand. "Now, I'll try to make this quick. The AI unit in the multi-use room already knows what we want the place to look like, and should be making the changes so we'll have a stage and dressing area tonight. All we'll have to do is roll out the lounge chairs and set them up. I know that Yvette will definitely show up. Marie and Estelle have been teasing her for over a week about our project and she's dying with curiosity about what we've all been doing in this refuge."

Tina then raised her hand. " Can I get a bit of help tomorrow around seven? Maggie and I have completed our tapestries and we could present those to James tomorrow night. Unfortunately, when we removed them from the looms, we discovered that it takes several people to carry them unless you want to drag them across the floor. Do you think we can get a few volunteers to help us get them to the show without the citizens knowing?"

"Cleo and I can scout and distract," Bonnie called out. "Especially if we can borrow a few of the older children."

"I can make sure that Lupe, Roge, Jose and Lily are free to play," Bren called out. "Reggie might ask why, but the kids have worked hard the last two days in helping prepare rooms, so he will accept that they need time to play."

"Will they go along with that idea?" Craig asked.

"Oh, they'll love it," Bren said. "They are in awe of the citizens, so a chance to tease them without fear of angering anyone will be a treat."

Bethany smiled. "Good, now everyone head home and make sure that all the citizens will be watching the show tomorrow night."

The crowd started to break up. David and Nathan wandered over to talk with Maggie and Tina. I watched as they led the men into the sewing room and figured that the two men were volunteering to help carry the tapestries. I fought the flow of people and made my way to where Bethany was quietly chatting with Craig.

Bethany was rubbing her hands together. 'I'm so nervous," she blubbered. "This could be something really special, or it might be a complete disaster. I want it to be perfect."

Craig smiled. "Bethany, look over at Janice. We all gave her the duty of directing our little musical. She's the one everyone will blame if it doesn't turn out. Does she appear nervous?"

I looked over at my best friend. She had a small crowd around her. They were engaged in a quiet conversation. From where I was standing I could not hear what was said, but the smiles made it clear that everyone was fairly relaxed. Janice finished one conversation and then looked over at me. A huge smile lit up her face and she ran over to me.

Janice threw her arms around me and kissed me hard. I stumbled backwards as my hands wrapped around her waist. She ignored my stumble as her tongue pressed against my lips. Shocked, I turned my head away as I steadied my feet.

"My love! My dearest and beloved friend," Janice trilled. "I need a huge favor from you tomorrow."

I held her tight and looked into her eyes. They were shining with excitement and lust. "We have a show to put on tomorrow. What will you need me for?" I asked.

Janice giggled and kissed me again. "I want a long cuddle before the show starts," she vamped.

"Janice!" I cried out as I felt the blood rush to my face. My friend giggled and held me tight as I fought to push her away.

"Oh, calm down," Janice said. "That was a joke. The real problem is that we're using just about everyone in the opening number. Right now, out of the concubines in attendance only Cleo, Mickey and you are not going to be on stage. Tracy and Monique are going to man the command post."

"Who?" I heard Craig ask as he walked up to us.

Janice giggled. "Don't you know all of the ladies who joined us when the ceiling collapsed on the other side of the door? Tracy and Monique joined us then. Like the others they needed time to heal, but they volunteered to man the command post so all of us could participate in the show. I thought you knew."

Craig shrugged. "I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure of talking to them. And if they are anything like the two ladies who came here with Jack, I can imagine that they avoid all men, even male concubines."

"They're worse," Bethany replied. "They are willing to help when they can, but they avoid men if possible. We can't even get them to spend time at the school unless Reggie is at a meeting."

I poked Janice. "Fascinating, but that wasn't what you wanted to ask me." I said with a huff.

"Oh, that's right. We need someone to be an usher before the show. You know, show our masters to their seats and hand them a program," Janice said.

"We have programs for the show?" I asked.

Janice giggled and released me. She dashed over to one of the replicators. A moment later she was on her way back, a small pamphlet in her hands. She thrust it in my direction. "Here!"

I took it and looked at it. The first thing I noticed was the title on the cover; "A Dry Night." Below was some black and white art showing a man crawling towards a bar. The man at the bar had his back to room.

Opening the pamphlet, I found that a careful listing of the participants covered both interior pages. I scanned the list. The main characters went first with David receiving top billing as "Seeker." I looked for my own name and found Meiko on the right page under musicians with Cleo and Mickey.

Finishing my quick glance, I looked up at Janice. She giggled. "See we have programs."

I smiled back. "I guess I can do that. So are we ready?"

"I don't think it will ever be perfect, and for two days we haven't been able to really rehearse, but everyone knows their parts and we've managed to practice all the pieces," Janice admitted. "We'll survive."

I wanted to comfort my friend, but Bethany arrived and put an arm around each of us. "Tina has managed to organize the transport of the tapestries, and Brit and Kit have taken our children home. We should get there and feed them."

I giggled and grabbed Janice's hand, tugging her toward the doorway. She joined in the giggle and we dashed out of the Concubine's Refuge, heading for home.

Once we were in the hallway, I realized that Bethany had remained behind. I glanced back, but Janice urged me forward. "Bethany is waiting for Tina. Tina wanted to make sure the tapestry is ready to be moved."

I allowed her gentle persuasion to keep me moving towards our home. The faint footsteps of other concubines heading home were the only sound as we made our way down one passage. I found my eyes drawn to Janice's face. She was smiling, but a series of worry lines creased her forehead. I skipped a step to lean in and kiss her on the cheek.

"Tomorrow, I'll caress you before the show. I don't mind that," I whispered.

Janice giggled as she stumbled. "Gawd. I can't believe I mentioned that back there. But it felt right. And it helped convince you to play usher."

I shrugged as I put my arm around her waist. "I'd do anything for my family," I whispered. "But for now, let's hurry home so we can help James relax."

Janice giggled and then pushed my hand away. I wanted to protest, but she dashed away shouting, "I'm going to kiss James before you do tonight."

I shrieked in surprised anger and broke into a run, but Janice had jumped ahead of me before her shout. My shorter legs did not allow me to make up the difference and I could only watch as Janice darted through the halls. Her laughs mocked me as we turned down the final passage to home.

"First," she cried as she slapped the still opening door to our pod and stepped inside. I tried to duck under her arms, as she turned to enter the room, but she caught me around the waist and pulled me in for a kiss as she stepped inside.

"Oh, that's a new game!" Kitty chirped from inside the room. "I wish I could try it."

Janice paused and I could see her looking over my shoulder while continuing to kiss my cheek. The kiss came to a rather abrupt halt. Janice leaned away from me and cocked her head to the side. "What is that?" she asked.

I turned around in Janice's arms to find Madoka, Joy, Astrid and Tolwin sitting on the couch. Beside each baby were a towel and several wipes.

"We changed them," Brittany said. "But we can't feed them, and they are a bit fussy, so...."

I sighed as I slipped out of Janice's arms and made my way over to the couch. As I walked, I pulled my halter top off, freeing my breasts. It took a moment to spread the towel on my shoulder. Then, I picked up Madoka and offered my right breast to her. She quickly latched on and began to suck.

There was a sigh next to me and I saw Janice sitting down with Joy in her arms. There was a dreamy expression on her face and I giggled.

"This makes it all worth it," Janice said quietly. "These precious little moments."

"Wouldn't that be magic moments?" Kitty asked as she brought a tray of food and set it in front of me. I could see that she had chosen several of my favorites. She was about to walk away, but I grabbed her with my left hand and pulled her down to sit next to me.

"You should rest," I said. "You're close to giving birth. It's nice you want to pamper us, but you deserve to be pampered."

Brittany giggled. "Don't worry, James gave each of us a bit of cuddle time before he went to sleep."

"He's asleep!" Janice said, twisting so quickly that Joy's mouth lost its connection to her breast. My friend's daughter fussed for a moment until Janice lifted her back to her breast.

Kitty sighed. "He was so tired when we got in. He couldn't do more than offer a few lazy kisses before he headed to bed. It was his idea that we do this."

"What about tomorrow night?" Janice asked worriedly.

"We told him," Brittany said with a giggle. "We told him that he had to be at the multi-use room at five to eight, but to stay away before then. He promised that he'd be on time."

I sighed. Madoka had finished emptying my right breast, and was clearly still hungry, so I shifted her to my left one. As I did, Bethany and Tina arrived and looked around. Bethany nodded at everyone as she walked over to pick up Astrid.

"Let me guess, James is lying in the bed asleep," she said as she removed her top and sat down.

Tina rushed in to pick up her son and allow him to start feeding as Kitty nodded. Bethany just smiled and shook her head. "I thought that might happen,' she said. "He's been driving himself way too hard."

"Why?" Kitty asked. "Why does he have to do so much?"

"Because he wants to be worthy of our love," Tina whispered.

Bethany sighed. I looked over and her daughter was fidgeting as she suckled. The room was silent for a moment. Everyone was looking at Bethany and she blushed. "What?"

"You sighed," Brittany said. "We thought you were listening and had a thought."

"I do," Bethany admitted. "But I was distracted by my daughter. Tina, James does want to be worthy of our love, but his actions now are much more than that. He and the others are clearly worried."

"Well, duh," Janice snapped. "They have been driving us like dogs for the past few days."

Bethany sighed. "I forget. Meiko goes to most of the meetings with James and she doesn't talk much, so you don't hear."

I blushed and looked down. "Sorry, but I thought that James would tell you if it was important."

Bethany laughed. "Oh, it's not that Little One. Most of it really is minor and the council has been fairly confident that they have the problems under control. I just spend a lot of time with Marie and Carol."

Tina nodded. "But I thought Yvette rarely had them with her at meetings. Estelle seems to be the concubine she takes."

"Estelle is a bit more talkative than Meiko. She talks to Marie and Carol when they are together. And they then will ask me if I know anything. The problem is that while Admiral Himmel likes James, what few communications we have with Central Command tend to be harsh. No one here is certain what kind of commands we will be issued, and there is a question whether James will outrank the scientist," Bethany said.

"I thought James was the governor," Kitty said.

"No,' I whispered. "At least he wasn't appointed by Central Command. We know that the AI will listen to him and usually responds, but I don't think he's ever received orders that made him the planet's official governor."

"So he just needs to ask Admiral Himmel to declare him governor and give him the right rank," Kitty said bluntly. "Then we don't have to worry."

"It doesn't work that way," Bethany said. "The problem is that James and the others were never officially trained. We were all plucked from Earth, carried here and dumped. Other than the sleep training, there was no boot camp or training program, and no one has a rank. And according to Estelle, one of the twins checked the regulations. Central Command officially is the only group to appoint human governors of Confederacy planets."

"But the AI listens to James," Tina refuted.

Bethany shrugged. Her daughter appeared to have finished eating because she lifted her daughter to her shoulder and patted her back. "I'm not sure the AI is locked into the rules set by Central Command. But I can't say. I agree the AI does treat James like a governor, and Admiral Himmel appears to agree with the AI, even if James wasn't officially appointed to the position."

Madoka released my breast. I lifted her to my shoulder to pat her back. She fussed for a moment and then burped. The burp was accompanied by a small amount of milk that splashed onto my back.

"Ick!" Kitty said as I settled Madoka on my lap and reached for a towel. "That's just gross."

Janice laughed as she lifted Joy to her shoulder. "No, that's part of having a baby."

"But Madoka just spit on Meiko! It's just sick to see that," Kitty repeated.

"It's not like Madoka is sitting all day and planning to do that after Meiko feeds her," Bethany replied serenely.

Tina, Janice and I all burst out laughing. Madoka and Joy both froze for a moment, but then settled down. Tina winced as Tolwin flailed in surprise, but he calmed quickly and resumed suckling.

"I can just picture that," Tina said. "It's one of these babies sitting in their crib and plotting to take over the colony."

"Might help if they could talk to us first," Janice said. "I've taken the sign language class offered by the sleep trainer and have a good idea of how it works. But the AI says I should wait for Joy to reach four months."

"I never understood why sign language," Brittany moaned.

"I don't know," Janice admitted. "We'd have to ask one of the others."

"Not tonight," I said. "We need to sleep so we'll be ready for tomorrow."

Kitty started bouncing. "So we get to join James in bed?"

"Let's not be too energetic tonight," Bethany said. "We want him to sleep well so he's awake for the show tomorrow."

"But Kitty and I are too pregnant to do much in the show," Brittany complained. "We have one scene and the rest of the time will probably be spent helping watch all the babies. It's not fair!"

I set Madoka down and hurried to Brittany. She turned away from me, but I enveloped her in a hug. Moments later, Tina and Janice joined me in hugging our youngest sister.

Brittany struggled a bit against the hug. I heard no comments from Kitty and glanced around to find that Bethany had her in another embrace. Bethany gently caressed her back and spoke. "I know, you don't feel pretty, and you want to be in the show. I promise that we'll make sure you can star in the next one if you want."

Kitty slumped. I heard a muffled sob before she threw her arms around Bethany. "How can James still want me? I'm fat and ugly!"

Tina quickly released Brittany and swooped in to gather Kitty in a hug. "Kitty, has James ever made it seem like he only wanted us for our looks?"

"No," Kitty sniffled. I could hear Brittany sniffling as well and reached up to stroke her hair.

"Of course he hasn't. Our master isn't like that," Tina affirmed. "Kitty, you've seen how he is with the babies now. He loves them, and he never stopped loving Bethany, Meiko or Janice just because we were pregnant. You even got to receive some of the love he lavished on us."

"Lavished?" Janice quipped. "I do think Tina's becoming a word snob. Next she'll be eating caviar and sipping champagne."

"Not if it came from a replicator," Tina replied. "Besides, doesn't 'lavished' fit?"

"It does," Janice admitted. "But the real question is if Kitty and Brittany are feeling better."

"I am,' Brittany said, reaching out to return the hug I was giving her. "I'm sorry, it's...."

"You don't feel pretty and when James went to sleep alone you worried," I finished for her.

"Yes," Brittany admitted.

Bethany nodded. I heard a slap and Kitty squeaked. "That's enough then. We have a big day tomorrow and need to be rested ourselves. Now, we shouldn't wake James, but I think we can climb in with him. Just our being there will help remind him that we love him."

Kitty and Brittany laughed at that idea. Brittany squirmed out of the embrace Janice and I had trapped her in and dashed towards the bedroom. I wanted to follow. However, I walked back around the couch to check on my daughter. Madoka was lying on her back, her eyes closed as she slept after eating. I made a quick check of her diaper, and found that either Kitty or Brittany had changed it already, so with a gentle caress, I lifted my daughter and carried her to the grav elevator.

The grave elevator whisked me to the second floor. No matter how many times I used it, the trip frightened me, but Madoka did not react and continued to sleep peacefully. I found her crib and slid her into bed before making my way to the bed we kept in the nursery and lying down. Janice was following me. She stopped when she noticed me preparing for sleep.

"Not going to sleep with James tonight?" she asked.

"Someone has to watch the babies," I reminded her. "Kit and Brit need James more tonight, so I can watch the babies. I don't mind."

I pushed myself back onto the bed. Janice said nothing more, but slid onto the bed and put her arms around me. Her lips pressed against mine for a moment. "If you can sleep here, I will as well," she said.

We held each other. My eyes were closed, but I could hear as Bethany and Tina arrived to leave their babies in cribs for the night. They left without a word.

Once they had left, Janice kissed me on the forehead. I tilted my head to return the kiss. Her arms caressed me as she sighed. "Just one kiss tonight. We have a busy day tomorrow."

I gave her the one kiss, letting my lips linger lovingly on her cheek for a moment before laying my head on the pillow. Janice pulled her body closer to mine. I could hear her breathing slow as she fell asleep. And then, with her warm breath on my cheek, I joined her in restful slumber.