Chapter 37 - Friendly and Unfriendly Visitors

My master seemed exhausted as we left the command post and began to make our way through the passages. The halls were largely empty and I was going to ask why when the AI called out, "Devil hour has just begun."

"More than half a day spent dealing with this," James said quietly. "I shouldn't be too surprised."

"I just hope we can get some rest," I said. "That scientist seems..."

I paused, trying to think of a good adjective to describe the man we had watched walk out. James said nothing, but put his hand on my head. We continued on in silence until we reached the doors leading to our living areas.

During the walk through the doorways, I could feel James strength continue to leave him. We stepped through the third door and he sagged against me. I was losing the fight to keep him standing when someone ran up and lifted him from my shoulder.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"No problem," a feminine voice with a slight Hispanic accent said. I glanced up to see Marina holding James up.

"Marina?" I asked.

"Shawna is still helping in Medical Two," the woman said. "I couldn't allow my daughter to do all the work helping the citizens."

"I forget Lupe is your daughter," I replied tiredly.

"Why would you remember?" Marina responded. "I work mostly in the nursery watching over the children. Lupe helps there."

"I don't go there much," I admitted. "But why are you here?"

"Donna wants to check James before he gets some rest," the older lady said. "She sent me to let you know and I found him collapsing on top of you."

"Much as I'd like to deny needing help, I was struggling to keep him standing," I said.

Marina said nothing more as she slid to the other side of James and put his arm over her shoulder. James was now standing, but his eyes were half-closed as I tried to encourage him to walk the short distance to the medical bay.

The walk proved to be difficult. Marina knew which passages were clear, but James was completely dazed and unresponsive. We were practically dragging him though the passages when Rene approached us. She was pushing a gurney and offered a faint smile.

"Donna sent me," she said. "She was wondering what was taking so long."

I was about to say something, but Rene hit a switch on the gurney. It dropped to knee level. Then she reached out and grabbed James. She guided his body to the gurney and helped him lie down. Marina helped position him so he was lying comfortably and then raised the gurney back up to waist level.

Marina sighed as she joined Rene in pushing the gurney. I followed quietly. The stress of the day finally started to get to me, and I staggered forward. The walk took several minutes, but we finally found ourselves back at the medical bay. Donna was standing in the doorway waiting for us.

"I figured that he'd be wiped out," she said as she noticed that he was sleeping on the gurney. "He really needs several hours of rest. But let me check him out in a pod."

"How are Tina and Bethany?" I asked.

"Tina is still in a pod," Donna admitted. "We had to rotate everyone through the pods and she's been one of the last. Bethany went home an hour ago with all of the babies."

"How are Brittany and Kitty?" I asked.

"Kitty is awake, but tired," I heard from the doorway. Kitty stepped out from the doorway. "Donna told me Brittany needs a few hours in a pod."

I nodded. Donna looked at me and frowned. "Kitty, take Meiko home and get her to sleep. She's dead on her feet."

"So are you," I whispered as my sister concubine rushed over to grab my arm.

"Donna's been taking naps," Kitty whispered in my ear. "Lindsay and Tanya have made sure she gets some rest. Now let's get you home.

Kitty gently pushed me down the hallway. Behind us I could hear Donna instruct Marina and Rene on bringing James into the Medical Bay so they could get him into a pod. I wanted to go back, but Kitty was not going to allow me to change direction. We soon found ourselves standing in front of the door to our home.

To my surprise, Whitney was standing outside. "Oh good, you're home," she said. "Janice asked that I let you know that the bunnies have been fed and that all your babies are fed, changed and sleeping peacefully. You are supposed to go directly to bed."

"Is everyone going to give me orders now?" I whimpered.

"Only because we love you and you are almost asleep," Kitty whispered. "Also, you are the best of us at keeping James from losing it with that maniac. He's going to have to keep his temper in check and the best way will be to have you around him."

"But he loves all of us," I replied as we entered our home. "Any of us can be with him and keep him calm."

"You'll be the best at it," Kitty said quietly. "Now stop protesting and let's get some sleep."

I fought her gentle efforts to guide me to the bedroom. "I have to check on Madoka."

Bethany appeared by sitting up on one of the couches we kept in our living room. "She's fine, and I'm on baby watch tonight," she said. "Stop fighting and get some sleep."

I froze for a moment. Kitty kept pushing me towards the bedroom. Part of me wanted to fight, but the look in Bethany's face made it clear that the decision was not going to be changed tonight. I scowled at her one last time before I allowed Kitty to push me into the bedroom.

Once there, I found the bed to be far more inviting than I expected. I didn't even attempt to remove my clothing before I sprawled out on the mattress. Then, I barely had time to close my eyes before I was asleep.

I woke up some time later to find that Brittany, Tina and James had joined me on the bed. Tina had me wrapped up in a close embrace. My back was against James and when I sat up I found Brittany clinging to him in her sleep. It was such a peaceful moment that I took a few extra moments getting out of bed as I tried to avoid disturbing everyone. I tiptoed to the doorway and slipped through without waking anyone.

In the main room I was greeted by Janice, who was sitting at a table eating some cereal. Bethany was sitting up on the couch with a couple of babies in her arms.

"Meiko, you're awake!" Janice called out. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused," I said. "Last night it seemed like everyone was pushing for me to be a constant companion to James while the scientist is here."

Bethany smiled and shook her head. "Well, we'll probably have Brittany and Kitty around him almost as much. The key is to have him feel a little extra protective of someone so that he doesn't get into his head to confront our new Dear Leader. I've already heard enough about the man to worry."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I think he's hoping to goad James into doing something he can charge him with. I don't know military law at all, but I'm sure that our new governor will happily charge James with a crime if he ever openly refuses an order, and will try to charge him if he feels he can prove that James isn't supporting him 'properly'".

"But James has done everything he's been ordered to," I replied. "And I've yet to hear him say anything that could be construed as trying to avoid obeying."

Bethany nodded. "True, but the twins listened to him when he was in the command post. Governor Johanes has very clear ideas about how he will rule over the colony, and a huge part of that requires that he break us. He wants the citizens to all but worship him."

"Why?" I asked.

"Who knows," Janice replied. "I don't think James and Yvette ever found out much about the man."

"Nothing," Bethany said. "At least nothing spoken about in front of a concubine. Esther and Marilyn have been trying to get Yvette and the twins to reveal anything, but so far they've had no luck."

"Can they get General Montgomery or Admiral Himmel involved?" I asked.

"I don't know," Bethany replied. "There is some evidence that officially all the citizens on Ishtar are under General Montgomery's command, which makes any command given by Governor Johanes illegal."

"I don't believe he's going to care about that," Janice said. "We need to find out what his plan is."

Bethany smiled. "And that is why you need to stay near James. He'll protect you and hopefully, you'll hear something."

"How about Kitty and Brittany? They should spend some time with James, and he'll protect them as well," I replied. "It also might hide what we are trying to do? And who will keep Yvette calm."

"Esther has a plan for how to keep Yvette out of trouble," Bethany said. "So are you willing to help?"

I nodded. "I'll do it." I sat down at the table. Janice offered me a brief hug before he got up and went over to the cribs. She picked up Joy and gave her daughter a hug.

Bethany giggled and brought Madoka over to me. My daughter was obviously a little bit upset, but once I had her in my arms she calmed quickly. I put her to my right breast and held her as she started to feed.

Bethany watched me for a minute and then walked over to the replicators. "I'm guessing you are starving. I'll get you a big breakfast and then we can start planning."

"I can go along with that," I said. "How much longer will James sleep?"

"The medical pod set things up so that James would sleep for eight hours once he returned to bed after leaving the medical bay," the AI intoned. "He should wake in about two more hours."

"I like how the AI will answer just often enough to confuse us," Janice said as she bounced her daughter on her knee.

I giggled as I switched Madoka from my right to my left breast. My daughter continued to suckle. As she did, Bethany brought over two trays. She placed one in front of me and I found that it contained a large omelet.

Shifting Madoka slightly to my left, I used my right hand to pick up a fork. It was a bit awkward to eat while feeding Madoka, but I was able to fill my empty belly before Madoka hiccupped and pulled away from my breast.

Bethany heard the sound and quickly reached out to take Madoka from my arms. She proceeded to pat Madoka on the back a few times before walking back over to the cribs to lay my daughter down.

She was standing back up when the AI intoned, "Governor Johanes is requesting to speak with James."

Bethany sighed. "I guess you need to put him through."

A moment later we could hear the man's rough voice. "I need to talk to Private Rabb."

"He is still sleeping," Bethany replied. "The AI just informed us that the medical pod induced an eight hour sleep for him and he won't wake for about two more hours."

"Who is this?" the scientist growled. "Identify yourself."

"I am Bethany. James is my sponsor," Bethany replied.

"You're a concubine?" the scientist growled again.

I could see Bethany glare at the ceiling. "Governor, most of the adults on Ishtar are concubines. And if you try to call a sponsor when he's asleep, the AI can only connect you to the concubines who belong to them. Now, I repeat, the AI has informed us that James will sleep for about two more hours. Do you have a message you wish me to pass to him?"

"He's supposed to be providing assistants to me," the scientist growled. "I need people to help in the laboratory here."

I waved Bethany over. She looked surprised, but came over to me and bent down so I could whisper in her ear. "James was going to have Terrence and Louis help. You should see if they can go."

Bethany nodded to me. "Obviously, I don't give orders, but I'll pass your needs on to the citizens. Someone should be at the lab shortly."

"I demand that you come here now!" Governor Johanes screamed.

I gasped as Bethany stiffened for a moment. "First," she growled. "You don't own me and cannot order me to do something. Second, even if James had passed on instructions that I was to obey you, and he hasn't, I can't get to the lab. The lab is housed in an area of the colony that is off-limits to unescorted concubines. There are doors in the colony that won't open to a concubine, and I'm on the wrong side of them to come to the lab."

"That will change," the scientist growled.

There was silence after that. I sat with my jaw open as Bethany glared at the ceiling. We were all waiting for the man to say more when the AI interrupted. "He has ended the call. Terrence has been made aware of the need to send someone to the lab. He will report there in a few minutes."

Janice let out a long, slow breath. "I can't believe it. He actually tried to issue orders to you, Bethany? I thought he couldn't do that."

Bethany shrugged. "Officially he can't, but it's clear he was hoping I would be submissive enough to just follow his command rather than question him. It does fit with the other things we have heard about him."

I nodded. "He just keeps testing our resolve. Eventually he's going to find a way to cause a real problem."

"He already is," Bethany said. "And for now, it's our job to make sure that none of the citizens of Ishtar does anything that he can formally recognize as a violation. I expect the consequences won't be pretty."

I nodded. Just then, the AI spoke. "I have a request from Captain Werfel."

Bethany had a puzzled expression on her face. We all stood silently for several moments and then the door to the bedroom opened. "What kind of request?" Tina asked sleepily from the now open door.

"She was wondering if it would be possible to breed the rabbit she was given after her last visit here," the AI said.

"Wait, I though Mongolia had never visited Ishtar before," I cried. "How did the commander of the ship get a rabbit?"

Janice started laughing. "Don't you recognize the name? Captain Werfel has to be Bernadette Werfel. She's been here twice before. The last time, she was the executive officer on Pebble Beach."

"I completely forgot her," I admitted. "Can we allow her to breed her rabbit?"

Tina paused for a moment. "AI, we keep records of which rabbits we hand out, don't we?"

"Affirmative, Kitty and Brittany have maintained the records on who is given a rabbit and the rabbit's pedigree," the AI said.

There was a long pause and Tina shook her head. "I wish the AI was willing to anticipate the next question sometimes. AI, can you give me the pedigree information on the rabbit given to Captain Werfel?"

"Captain Werfel was given a buck with the otter color pattern," the AI replied. "There are currently two dozen does he could be bred with."

Tina winced. "I'll check with Brittany to figure out which one is the right one. She's got a better idea of the family lines and which does might make the best mates. But then we'll have to take the doe we choose to her. It's best if you take the doe to the buck when you are attempting to breed them."

"We can work that out later," Bethany replied. "At worst, we reopen the old teleport room. It's still there and we can use that to teleport directly to the ship."

"Can we do all of that? It's not going to be easy," I said worriedly.

Yvette's voice interrupted our conversation. "Bethany, can I get you and Meiko to meet me in the main command center? We need to talk."

"We're on our way," Bethany replied. "Tina, when Brittany and Kitty wake up, keep them here for the day. They should spend time bonding with their children."

"Oh my!" I said with a gasp. "Did Brittany have a chance to name her new daughter?"

Tina giggled. "Yup, she went with Jamie."

The rest of us laughed at that. Janice was the first to regain her breath. "That so fits. She's the most attached to James, so she gives her daughter the closest name she can."

"It definitely works," I said. "But now that Madoka is fed, I guess Bethany and I need to go meet with Yvette."

Bethany laughed. Taking my hand, we left the pod, heading for the command center. The hallways were empty with no one wandering. Our walk was uninterrupted and we soon found ourselves staring at Tina's tapestry, which concealed the door to the command post.

The tapestry slid aside as we arrived and the door opened. Inside, we could hear several voices speaking in strained tones. They got quiet as the door opened.

"Come in," we heard Yvette call out. "Everyone, let's go to the briefing room."

We followed about two dozen people into the room. Once inside, Bethany and I sat next to each other. The last to enter was Yvette, who smiled at us.

"Glad to see you all could come," she said. "I know I was asking quite a bit, bringing all of you here this early and without your sponsors."

This surprised me and I looked around. I found that, except for Yvette, everyone on the room was a concubine.

To my left sat Candi and Randi, beyond them were Marilyn and Craig. After that, it looked like at least one concubine for each citizen was arrayed around the table. I could hear Bethany whisper next to me. "Wise, get all the concubines together."

Yvette coughed. The room became quiet again. "Nice to hear you agree with me," Yvette said "I'm sure all of you have at least heard about our visiting scientist and his demands."

"Too much," Craig muttered. "The twins didn't want to go to the command post this morning. They said the man and his marines made them feel like meat in front of starving lions."

Yvette nodded. "That's actually probably the first thing. The scientist and his marines didn't bring a single concubine. Now, officially, they can't touch any of you, but I get a feeling they will see if they can get away with something."

"And from what I hear, there is no chance that our new governor will do anything to stop them," Esther said. "I just wish we could listen in on the briefings he's been having."

"If we did that, Governor Johanes will definitely find out and try to court martial James," Yvette replied. "When I was giving him a tour, he was asking about all our procedures. It was clear he was looking for something he could proclaim that we were doing incorrectly."

"Do we even have written procedures?" Randi asked. "I thought we just developed a process and stuck to it. It's not like there are so many people here that we couldn't teach everyone."

"We never wrote anything down," Yvette said. "But the AI does track our process. It was able to produce reports that satisfied our new governor."

Everyone relaxed a bit after that announcement. I was about to say more when Tamara's voice broke in. "Yvette, we have a call from Borneo, its Admiral Himmel."

"I can speak to him from here," Yvette replied. "James isn't awake yet. The medical pods set it up so he'll sleep for a couple more hours."

"You should come to the command post," Governor Johanes growled.

"Why would Yvette need to do that?" Admiral Himmel's voice called out. "I've found that the citizens of Ishtar can get the information I require no matter where they are. Why waste time?"

"Who are you?" the scientist growled.

"Admiral Himmel. I command the Borneo Military District. Ishtar is part of my district," was the curt reply. "Now, I'm guessing you are Colonel Clint Johanes. I have orders from Central Command saying you are being assigned to Ishtar to head a temporary scientific investigation. I can't change your orders, and you don't appear on my district's table of organization, but the citizens on that planet do. I trust you won't try to change that."

"You don't have command authority here!" Colonel Johanes screamed out.

"We could argue that for hours," Admiral Himmel replied calmly. "And I'm sure that General Montgomery will try to call you later about how your unit fits into the district's marine units. However, I'm calling to check on ship movements. Yvette, can you give me a report?"

"It was quiet until yesterday," Yvette replied. "However, yesterday we had two Sa'arm cruisers arrive. They were defeated by the timely arrivals of Mongolia and Sif. Both ships have sustained damage."

"Do you have casualty counts?" Admiral Himmel asked.

"Mongolia had three crew killed. Two more were critical when we rushed them into medical pods last night. They will survive, but won't emerge from a pod for days," Yvette said. "Sif had six of their gunners killed, but all of their wounded have been healed and can return to duty."

I heard the Admiral sigh. "I hate so use the term, but at least the casualty rate was acceptable. And how about the ships? How long will they take to turn-around?"

"Last I heard, the expectation is three days for both. The Sa'arm attacks weren't penetrating deep into the ships, but the amount of damaged armor and bent structural plating will require considerable time to fix. Right now, the surface of Sif looks more like the surface of the moon than an area for gunballs to roam," Yvette said.

"I'll need to communicate with their captains as soon as they are available," Admiral Himmel said.

"I cannot support using that much power just to receive a report!" Governor Johanes spat out. "I need to be conducting scientific experiments and studies here!"

"Studies you aren't performing right now," Admiral Himmel barked back. "I want those reports so we can change our tactics a bit. The Sa'arm aren't stupid and they are learning with each attack we make. If we don't keep refining our tactics, they will eventually start destroying our ships. The priority for this district is to stop the Sa'arm. Just beyond the edge of Borneo district lie two planets that are home worlds to races that helped found the Confederacy. The Sa'arm must be stopped before they jump to those planets. You are not to disrupt the timely repair of my ships. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," was the icy reply from the scientist. "I'll make sure that Ishtar continues to repair your ships."

"Good," Admiral Himmel replied. "That's all I have for now. Please have my captains call me as soon as possible."

The system gave a long chime to indicate the end of the communication. Before anyone in the room could speak, we could hear the Governor scream. "Get me James! And get me Yvette! I want them here in the command post now!"

"James will be sleeping for another fifteen minutes," the AI stated.

"I don't care! Wake him and get him to the command post! I'm in command here and I demand that he appear before me!" the man ordered.

I reached out for Bethany's arm. Fear rippled through me, but Yvette signaled for calm and then waved Philippe over. "Philippe, take David and go to James" pod. If he isn't completely awake, work with Tina and Janice to get him a quick shower and get dressed. Then get him to the command post."

The two men stood and quickly left the room. Marilyn joined them as Yvette scanned the remaining concubines. "Craig," she continued. "Get to the command post and support the twins. I know you haven't spent much time in the command post, but mostly we just need you to keep the marines from getting too far out of control. Esther, you and Meiko will come to the command post with me. Bethany, I hate to do this, but see if you can coordinate with the two ship captains. Have them use one of the new briefing rooms, but try to keep Governor Johanes out of the loop."

"Won't he want to know what's going on?" Randi asked.

"It's not part of his duty to join in on every communication with Borneo Command," Yvette said. "I'm not saying that we need to actively lie to him; only that we don't tell him anything he doesn't ask for."

"What about working the command post?" Candi asked. "We've always supported Brad, and I know that in the past most of us worked there. Will we continue to do that?"

"No," Yvette said. "For now, no concubine is to leave the enclave unless they are escorted by their citizen or have specific duties. I hate to say this, but I just don't trust the marines who are with Governor Johanes, and one thing he demanded was the right to act as judge and jury should we have any 'incidents'"

Everyone shifted uncomfortably at that. Bethany stood up and put her hands on the briefing table. "Everyone, we knew this might happen. It seems he's a bit worse than we anticipated, but we will just have to make do. Diana, Bonnie, Michael, I need you to meet with me as everyone leaves. Let's set up some activities we can do on this side to help keep tensions down."

Yvette nodded at that. "Good idea. Now, I hate to break up this party, but it's time to get going."

Yvette swept from the room. I jumped from my chair and ran to catch up with her. Esther was walking at her right shoulder, so I settled in at her left shoulder as we made our way to the colony center.

As happened when I had walked this way with James the day before, the pressure doors in the middle of the colony were closed and only opened when Yvette vocally commanded them to open. We exited the third door to find four marines standing at attention. One looked at us. He had an obscene leer on his face as he stepped into the hallway.

"Halt and state your business!" he commanded.

Yvette stopped immediately. Esther and I both had to hop to the side to avoid crashing into her. Silence reigned for several moments. Yvette just glared at the marine, her arms crossed. Finally, the marine spoke.

"I told you to state your business," the man spat.

"And I'm trying to figure out how you could not know why I'm here," Yvette said. "There aren't enough people on this planet that you wouldn't know, and thanks to the atmosphere, there is no reason to place a guard. If anything, we should be considered within the command area already and not subject to guard protocols."

"My orders were to guard this hallway. You have entered the hallway," the marine barked. "Now state your business."

I scrambled to stand behind Yvette. The marine had taken a step toward her and was now looming over her. The scowl on his face terrified me, but Yvette just shook her head.

"Well, I thought I was going to report to Governor Johanes. He just commanded that James and I both attend him. But I guess we can stand here with you blocking the hallway indefinitely," Yvette said disdainfully.

The marine backed up a step at the scorn in Yvette's voice. He seemed ready to say more when the door opened behind us and James stepped through. My master was dressed in a fresh uniform and confidently stepped up to stand next to Yvette.

James looked at the marines and shook his head. "I see we need to remind Major Bonham that using heavy weapons in the tunnels will be fatal to the user. And having four guards outside an internal door is definitely a wise use of resources," he said to Yvette conversationally.

Yvette shook as if she was trying to stifle a giggle. The marine looked like he had been forced to swallow a raw lemon, but stepped aside to allow us to walk forward. James and Yvette stepped forward together, forcing Esther and I to follow behind. I ended up passing right in front of the marine who had blocked the passage. "Enjoy your little games," he whispered as I passed. "I'll be having your concubines warm my bed soon enough."

His voice was darkly confident and I reached out to grasp James' arm. I did not dare look back as we continued through the hallway, heading towards the command post and our next meeting with Governor Johanes.