Chapter 20 - Opening Night Jitters

Nightmares caused Janice to toss and turn most of the night. I held her close and tried to kiss the dreams away, but her mumbled words made it clear she was worried about the musical. During the first part of the night she woke me four times, before finally settling down sometime during Devil hour.

After the dreams faded she was sleeping so peacefully that when Joy woke up hungry early in the morning I fed her myself rather than wake my friend. I ended up having to go downstairs to wake Bethany when Tolwin and Astrid also woke. We had brought all four babies downstairs and were just finishing changing them when Janice appeared in the grav elevator.

She was rubbing her eyes and stumbled to the replicator. I could not hear her mumbled order, but a moment later she was sitting on the couch sipping a fruit drink and watching Bethany tease Astrid.

"Thanks," Janice whispered.

"Worried about tonight?" Bethany asked.

"Definitely," Janice said. "But our little one here kept the demons at bay. Now though, we have a few hours of cleaning and room preparation before the show."

"We can do it," Bethany said. "Bren and Rene were going to convince Reggie to allow the older children to join in. That will give you eight extra workers for today. And I understand you only have two more barracks to set up."

"What about me?" I asked in a whisper.

Janice giggled. "Simple, watch over our man and make sure he doesn't burn himself out in those silly meetings. We all know he cares and wants to protect us, but he can't protect us if he worries himself sick."

"I'm sure the AI and the medical pods could prevent me from being truly laid up," James said from behind me. I whirled around to see him in the entry from the bedroom. He was leaning against the doorjamb.

I jumped up and ran over to my master. Up close I could see that the long meetings had definitely left their mark. His normally shining eyes were dull and his forehead was crossed by several lines. It was a surprise to see him looking aged. Confederacy medical technology seemed perfect for keeping a person young, but fatigue and stress were aging my master. I put my arms against his chest and pushed him back into the bedroom.

"You are going to rest more," I growled. "You aren't fit for duty today."

"But," James said while trying to stay in the doorway. For a moment I struggled to push him, but then a pair of hands appeared over my shoulders and added their force to mine.

"No," I heard Bethany say. "Meiko is right. One day won't hurt and you need to rest."

"What about my meeting?" James said as he gave ground. Behind him there was a giggle and then Kitty and Brittany put their arms around James and started pulling him towards the bed.

"Tina can let them know you need a break," Bethany said. "We have weeks more before anyone arrives, and there are only two more barracks to prepare. I'll get with Craig and make sure we complete it by lunchtime. Now you, and really all of the citizens, need to relax until tonight. I assume you are going to show up on time."

"I will, but are you sure we can relax? We need to be prepared," James said.

"AI?" Bethany called out. "Would you allow me to make a general announcement?"

There was silence as we finished pushing James back to the bed. Kitty and Brittany quickly wrapped him in hugs and pulled him down to lie flat. Kitty immediately began massaging James' chest while Brittany attacked his feet. He struggled for a moment, but then looked directly at Bethany.

"AI, allow it this once," he said. "I want to hear what announcement Bethany is going to make."

A moment later a loud ping sounded throughout the colony. Tiffany and Tamara had suggested that the AI signal when announcements were being made and that was the agreed signal. Bethany just smiled at James.

"This is Bethany. I know that concubines aren't supposed to be in charge, but today we're going to have to stage a small mutiny. Concubines, make sure your citizens stay home and rest for the morning. I don't know how yours is, but James needs and deserves a break. Let's give them a day of rest so they will be relaxed tonight," Bethany called out.

James stared at Bethany. "You can't expect that to work," he growled.

Just then the speakers cracked. "James," Yvette called out. "Are you going to go along with this?"

"He'd better," Kitty hissed as James tried to sit up. She put all her weight on his shoulders, but he kept fighting. Brittany grabbed his hands and rolled so she was holding them over his head. My master kicked a couple times, but then turned his head to glare at Bethany.

"I'm not being given much choice," he admitted. "Not unless I want to hurt my ladies."

Yvette laughed. "I've pretty much been given the same option. Do you think we've been driving ourselves too hard?"

"Our concubines definitely feel that way," James admitted. "And Bethany is right, there isn't much more we can do at the moment."

James struggled for a moment. "Tam? Tif? What about you?"

There was a giggle in response. "Sorry boss," I heard one of them say. "I'm afraid Marilyn and Craig have us a bit tied up at the moment. Nothing we can do."

James looked over at Bethany. "Did you plan this?"

"When?" Janice asked. "We had an all-concubine meeting last night, and there was no discussion of this. The only thing we discussed was making sure all the citizens are at the multi-use room tonight at eight, and who needed to arrive early."

"Ah, the mysterious event you all have planned," James said.

Brittany and Kitty both released James and moved to hide behind Bethany. James shook his head and lay back. "Oh, don't panic. I still don't know what the plan is. And unless the others are lying, none of the citizens do. We are looking forward to the surprise. Although I'm guessing that Tina's tapestry should be complete."

I struggled to stay calm and keep from revealing anything. James looked past me and at the others. Finally he looked down with a sigh. "Fine, I'll rest in the pod until it's time to go. It will give me some time to spend with my children. I don't get enough time with them."

"We'll get them!" Kitty and Brittany cried in unison. They dashed out of the room as James looked at Bethany. He has a look that combined love with respect and my sister concubine glowed.

"It's what you wanted isn't it?" James asked.

Bethany giggled girlishly. "I expected you to put up far more of a fight. I'm sure all the concubines expected more of a fight."

"We don't talk about it, but I think we all know we've been driving a bit hard since that call from the bloody scientist," James snapped. "I'm sure there are things we are forgetting, but we are trying to make sure that he and his are kept far away from our homes."

"He can't be as bad as the others were," Tina said as she walked in accompanying Kitty and Brittany. "Those apes were rejected. This scientist and his friends will be accepted citizens. Why would they be problems?"

James sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "Politics. This colony wasn't established through the normal procedures. I'm not a formally appointed governor. Heck, Admiral Himmel didn't even know we were here until the Nassau arrived. He's supposed to be in charge of the whole district, but we were placed here without his knowledge. Central Command knows this, and from the attitude of that scientist, there's a good chance they will try to enforce their own authority over us."

"So how do we stop it?" I asked quietly.

James shrugged. "First, we are not allowing the scientist or any of his people into this side of the colony. They can stay over there and not disturb the systems we have in place. Then, we've tried to put in place some procedures that will put everyone on duty in the command post on a near daily basis. But while he's here the concubines won't work in there. Hopefully he'll leave us alone and concentrate on his research."

"I thought that all you had were plates and such," Brittany said.

James frowned. "And that is what has everyone so worried. Admittedly, the AI has done all the cataloging of what we have found, but nothing we have has been identified as having military value. An archeologist would probably go crazy to look at what we have, but a weapon's scientist will find little of value. The question is: how will this Chief Scientist react when his big push to come out here and see our artifacts comes up with nothing?"

We all were silent after hearing this. I gave James a hug, but then Madoka started to fuss so I moved to check on our daughter. She needed to be changed so I took her out of the room, leaving my sisters to comfort James.

After two months, I had little trouble removing the old diaper from Madoka and cleaning her. She smiled at me as I secured the clean one on her, but continued to fuss, so I found a chair and sat down to feed her. I was holding her and stroking her head when Tina came out carrying Tolwin.

"The young ones are teasing James right now. I think they've offered to trade massages as long as he rests all morning," she said. "Tolwin was getting a bit fussy, so I figured I'd bring him out here and feed him."

She found a chair and offered a nipple to her son, who quickly latched on. A dreamy look came over her and I giggled.

"What?" she asked looking up at me.

"I'm just surprised James allowed you to leave the room," I said.

Tina giggled. "He does like to watch at times. But right now the cuddle kittens have him half asleep on the bed. I doubt he's sure who is in the room."

There was a momentary flicker of uncertainty on Tina's face, but it passed as quickly as it appeared. The dreamy look returned and she stroked her son's head until he was full. Once he finished she laid him in a crib.

"I'm going to head out and start helping the others with the rooms. The sooner we finish, the earlier everyone can get to the theater," she said.

"I'll make sure Tolwin is in the backstage area," I said. "I heard that Ktty and Brittany were going to watch all the babies while people were on stage."

"And they are hating that," Tina said with a sigh. "We never realized just how pregnant they'd be when we were ready to perform. They can't really dance at the moment, so we only have them in a couple scenes were they can sit in chairs and join the chorus."

"Next time, they can do more," I said. "I'm hoping I'll have more time to learn flute. Right now most of what I do is little trills to match movement on the stage."

Tina nodded. "Well, I'm only in one scene. I was too busy with the tapestry."

She got up and headed out. Madoka was done with her breakfast, but I held her too my chest and sang softly to her as she fell asleep. Once she was asleep, I lay her down in a crib and began straightening the pod.

Confederacy technology kept the pod clean, but I found little things I could do while James rested. Kitty and Brittany emerged around mid-morning, smiling yet somber. They told me that after a long massage James had gone back to sleep and was now sleeping peacefully. They suggested that we play some games to pass the time, and after a bit of discussion we found some cards and played cribbage.

We had played for some time when James finally stumbled from the bedroom. I dashed over to embrace him. He patted me on the head and looked around.

"How is the work going?" he asked.

"We haven't heard of any problems," I told him. He looked down at me and I got a clear look at his face. The worry lines on his forehead had faded and the shine was back in his eyes. It was not as bright as it could be, but he appeared far more refreshed than he had in the morning.

"So what now?" he asked.

"Lunch!" Kitty cried, grabbing James and pulling him towards our dining area. "You need a nice meal before tonight."

I joined my sisters as they summoned a large salad and some fine steaks from the replicators. James took a large serving of salad and began eating. I took a much smaller serving, but joined in.

Conversation was kept to a minimum. James appeared to be happy just to be with Kitty, Brittany and me. He looked around for the others, but concentrated on eating.

"The others are probably finishing the last barracks," Brittany informed James. "I know Bethany was hoping they could have both finished by four."

"And then?" James asked.

"More preparations for our surprise," Brittany told him. "I'm not giving anything away."

"Meiko," the AI spoke. "Craig and Philipe are requesting that you come to the multi-use room now."

James looked at me. "Why her?" he asked.

"They did not inform me as to the reason," the AI said. "Only that it would be beneficial for her to arrive now."

"Go then," James told me. "I'm still waiting to find out what the big secret is."

I stood up reaching for my empty salad bowl. Brittany immediately pulled it away. "I'll take care of this. You should go quickly."

With Kitty nodding in support, I turned away and dashed over to Madoka's crib. It took a moment to grab and slip into the harness we all used to hold our babies when we needed our hands free. Madoka barely stirred as I nestled her in the confines of the cloth and headed out the door.

The halls were quieter than normal as I emerged from the pod. At first, I didn't see anyone walking around, but as I got close to the entrance I saw David looking up and down the passage. "Quickly, get inside," he said. "We're trying to keep it a secret, but Debby and Amanda have both tried to sneak in."

I giggled and slipped behind him and through the door. The room was dark, with long shadows and dim lights keeping everything hidden. I stopped while my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

As I stood there I could see Craig and Philipe carrying a large reclining chair. Philipe was looking at the floor as they maneuvered the chair across the room. Finally, he stopped and the duo set the chair on the floor. Craig tested the movement of the chair briefly. I was puzzling this out when Philipe looked up and noticed me.

"Meiko! Come over here," he called out.

Craig whispered something and headed back the way the two men had come. I made my way forward, looking around.

It was clear that the room had changed quite a bit since I had last been here. One wall was now dominated by a raised platform. The platform was clearly going to be the stage for our play, as I could see red curtains to the side. On the stage Tom and Nathan were moving a fake tree while Orlando stood in the middle of the stage. I couldn't figure out what Orlando was doing until I noticed different areas were being lit up as he went over a checklist.

The floor of the room had also changed. I found I was walking down a slight slope as I made my way to Philipe. As I reached him I looked back to see that a short walk of some thirty feet had me descending about two from the entrance to the room.

"The technology is amazing when it has to be," Philipe told me. "This happened overnight. We even have a nice soundproof nursery in the backstage area. You can leave Madoka there once we're ready to start."

I nodded. "Why did you need me early?"

"Straight and to the point," Philipe said with a laugh. "Well two things really. First, you need to get your flute and set that up now, since you won't have time once everyone starts arriving. And second, with only twenty-two citizens, we figured we'd preset the seating. If you are the one showing everyone to their seats, it might be nice if you know where everyone should sit."

"Does it really matter?" I asked.

Philipe shrugged. "Not really, although Yvette and James should probably sit right in front so we can present them with the tapestries at intermission. Other than that, we just tried to match up citizens who get along well."

"That makes sense," I said. "Let me run to the Refuge to get my flute and then I'll be ready to see your seating suggestions."

Philipe laughed at that. "I'll be here. The AI could make the chairs, but didn't place them, so we have to move them into position. Once you come back you can just walk around. Michael taped names to the floor in front of each chair. Just please remove them before the citizens start arriving."

He turned away and started walking the same direction Craig had disappeared in. I turned around and headed to the door. It opened only halfway, and I had to squeeze through the narrow opening. Outside I found David holding back Tiffany.

"I want to know what my concubine is up to," Tiffany demanded. "I know Craig is in there, and I want to know."

David shook his head. "It's a surprise."

"I want to know now!" Tiffany hissed.

David smiled. "Are you the kind of person who opens their presents before Christmas? Are you the type to ask a magician to tell you his tricks?" Tiffany looked uncertain for a second and David continued in a sing-song voice. "That's why I'm not gonna tell you."

I ducked behind David and dashed off towards the Refuge. Behind me I could hear Tiffany give a scream of frustration. She called for me to stop, but I ignored her cry.

I ran into no one the rest of the way to the Refuge. Unfortunately, my fast pace had shaken Madoka enough to wake her, and I had to take her out of the sling and rock her gently once I was inside to calm her down. She was just falling back to sleep when Maggie stepped into the room.

Maggie jumped when she looked up and saw me, but quickly calmed down. "Damn girl. I thought no one would be here," she hissed.

"I came to get my flute for tonight, but Madoka woke when I ran from Tiffany."

Maggie nodded. "Louis was pressuring me to tell him what's happening tonight. Heather is good at deflecting him, but I was struggling, so she sent me here."

"What about the tapestries?" I asked.

"Moved this morning," Maggie said. "Philipe suggested that Tina and I not be involved in the move, since a citizen might remember that Tina was the one talking about tapestries. They have to expect to see her work tonight."

"I just hope James likes it," I said. "Tina needs the approval."

Maggie giggled. "I got to see it before we rolled them for transport last night. It's amazing."

Madoka had finally settled back down so I slipped her back into the sling and made my way to one of the newer features in the Refuge. Bethany had suggested that each concubine have a small box here to store items being worked on that we wanted kept from our owners. James had never appeared to do much searching in the pod, but since I did all my practicing in the Refuge, I kept the flute in my box. Retrieving it and my sheet music took only a moment.

I was heading to leave and Maggie whispered. "Think I can go with you? I don't really want to just wait here."

"Sure, it looks like they need a bit of help still," I said.

We slipped from the room and made our way to back to the theater. There were a few more people in the passages and as we passed the command post we saw two concubines I did not recognize entering.

"Who was that?" Maggie asked.

"Bethany said that Tracy and Monique were going to be watching the command post during the show. That must be them," I said. "I believe they were part of the group that arrived when the ceiling came down. I never really got to know them. Bethany and Estelle spent the most time with the ones who arrive then. They had a lot of nightmares and anger issues when they first arrived."

Maggie shivered. "I can imagine," she said. "I was very lucky to end up with a man like Louis."

"Are things going better with him? From what I heard at the parties, I thought that you were closer to Heather," I asked.

Maggie shrugged. "I still am very close to Heather. I was working as their full-time babysitter and spent a lot of time with Heather. Back then I didn't even know Louis had the CAP to volunteer. It was Heather who convinced him to ask me to come and then convinced me to join them," she admitted as we turned a corner and could see the entrance to the multi-use room. Orlando had taken over from David and was talking to Barbara.

It was quickly obvious that Barbara was not trying too hard to enter. She was holding Ann, the child of her concubines, and asking Orlando about what it was like being a father.

Orlando was blushing as we walked up. I have no idea what Barbara had asked, but he pleaded with his eyes for Maggie and me to redirect the conversation.

Maggie seemed up to the task. "Hey Babs. Nice baby. Think she'll score better than your oldest daughter?"

"It's too early to say," Barbara admitted. I held my hands behind my back, trying to conceal the flute I was carrying. "I'm assuming that you are going inside."

"There's still quite a bit of preparation to do," Maggie said. "And we can't do it if citizens keep interrupting us because they can't wait two more hours. We said the door would open at seven-thirty."

Barbara frowned. "Concubines giving orders. Next thing you know they'll be helping in the command post and medical and soon there goes the planet." She winked and then walked away shaking her head. Maggie and I giggled before darting inside. Orlando whispered his thanks as we passed.

Inside, we separated. I took my flute down to just in front of the stage where I found the three chairs and stands. Early on Janice had realized that we couldn't do large dance numbers if we also tried to have a full orchestra. After some tests, she decided that the show would be better with more singers and dancers, so only Cleo and Mickey would be with me. It turned out that Mickey had years of piano and was happy to work with a keyboard. Cleo was going to be providing help with sound effects. Surprisingly while her sister concubine loved all forms of dance and was an excellent dancer, Cleo clearly did not enjoy the type of dancing required to perform in the musical.

Once my flute and music were ready, I began walking the floor, looking at the pieces of tape Philipe told me about. It was soon clear that someone had planned carefully. Alexis would be sitting between Donna and Shawna, the only two citizens she appeared to completely trust. Tyson was with Mike and Xavier. The newer girls Amanda and Debby were with Barbara. I even found that they had placed Brad with James and Yvette. With the council only having two men, and Brad being one of the more outgoing male citizens, I could imagine that Philipe was hoping that Brad would be added.

I slowly walked to each area. Removing the tape once I was sure I could remember who was in the trio. Tom and Michael joined Craig and Philipe in getting the last chairs in place. I had removed the last piece of tape when the door to the room opened and a stream of concubines began entering.

Janice quickly ran to the stage and jumped up onto it. "The citizens will start arriving in thirty minutes," she hissed. "If you can, feed and change your babies now and get into costume."

"We know," Heather said as she walked to the side of the stage. She walked up some steps I had not noticed before and headed towards the back. "Don't worry we will be ready on time."

There was a chorus of agreement from the entering concubines. At my side, I felt Madoka stir in the sling, so I headed to the back, planning on feeding her before the show began.