Chapter 40 - Gifts of Rabbits

I held Brittany in my arms as the door to the skating rink opened. Esther and the male concubine Petey stepped into the hallway. Kitty immediately noticed the young man. "Oh, a loincloth. I like the look."

Petey blushed and stepped a little away from Kitty, who immediately turned to Esther. "The AI suggested that Brit and I be here now. What's happening?"

Esther sighed. "Let's just say that Governor Johanes offered us an extremely clear example of the kind of leadership he offers. James was unhappy."

"We need to keep James far away from our visitors," I affirmed. "And since you two have new babies for James to be all excited over...."

Brittany shivered in my arms, but then giggled. "You mean that we should drag him back to the pod, show him our babies and then sit on him for a couple of days?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Yvette said. We all turned to see her stepping from the airlock with Theresa by her side. "I'm sure our good friend will try to get James into another meeting, but if we can delay that as long as possible, it would be best. And from now on, James does not leave this side of the colony without an escort from the other male concubines."

"Will that be allowed?" I asked. "That man keeps insisting that James is only a private. I don't think you usually have a bodyguard for someone ranked that low."

Captain Johnston shook her head. "You have to be more subtle than that. Don't openly defy the man; just insist that James is busy. I'm sure you can come up with hundreds of small jobs that need to be completed immediately. Make sure James is always engaged in a job requiring multiple people and should he be ordered to a meeting, have those working with him follow him to the meeting."

"The governor will simply insist the meeting be private," I said mournfully.

"Not if he wants to be able to use it as evidence in a trial," Yvette said. "He needs witnesses that James lost his temper and was not simply goaded into it. If all he has is the AI recordings, it will almost certainly show him violating the regs first. So he won't have a good excuse for sending someone away while keeping his own witnesses around."

"He didn't seem to mind goading James in front of you," I pointed out.

Yvette shook her head. "I think he jumped the gun there. We know that no concubines were brought by him and his men. I'm sure they are used to regular sex, so he's trying to fix the oversight."

"I'm sure it's not an oversight," James said. "Not with the way the marines have been when they are around just about any woman. I won't say they are completely oversexed, like Jack was, but they definitely are a bit too eager to take someone to bed."

Brittany immediately released me and threw herself at James, who had just stepped from the doorway. Beside him, I could see Pete rush over to Bernadette. The young man tried to hide behind his mistress as Brittany hugged James.

Yvette took charge. "Meiko, why don't you take our guests to the transporter room. The captains are going to return to their ships for now. I believe Captain Werfel was going to have her concubine bring..."

"Franz," Bernadette said. "I decided to call him Franz."

"Ah," Yvette said with a small smile on her face. "Yes, so Pete there will bring Franz down in a cage so that we can introduce him to a doe."

"We already have the doe picked out," Kitty said. "Match him up with Otterley."

Yvette just shook her head. "I wouldn't know that. Anyways, you can take Pete and Nadia when you do that. Nadia can pick up our gift for Captain Johnston at the same time."

I giggled. "We all know that it's really a gift for the concubines. Even you have turned over most of the responsibility to Roge,"

I was watching Nadia. Her head was sweeping back and forth in confusion as Yvette and I spoke. She finally held up her hand. "Um What's this about deer?"

"Deer?" Kitty asked.

"Well, you are taking about does," Nadia said slowly. "And all I can think about is that old song that started with Do being a female deer."

Kitty and Brittany burst out in giggles. Kitty inhaled, obviously about to say something, but Brittany reached out and pulled her into the embrace she shared with James. "No, let her be surprised." Brittany chirped. "For now, let's take this big hearted fool back to the pod and show him how much we love him. I think he owes us each a special night."

Kitty paused for a moment and then kissed James on the neck. "Why, I had nearly forgot about that. You're right; he has sadly neglected his duties as a master. Shall we take him home and remind him?"

Esther and Nadia started to giggle as my sister concubines grabbed James and started to drag him down the hallway. The trio had traveled about twenty feet down the hallway when Kitty stopped pulling on James and looked over at me. "Meiko, this is the first visit to Ishtar for Mongolia and Sif, don't forget that when you present Nadia with the gift for Theresa."

Nadia stopped giggling and looked over at me as James was dragged around the corner and out of sight. I said nothing, but nodded to Yvette, who had a hand over her mouth. She smiled at me before turning to the two captains. Captain Werfel had a knowing smile on her face. Captain Johnston was clearly confused and kept looking at me.

"Well, on that note," Yvette said, breaking the silence, "why don't we get to the transporter room so that we can get you back to your ships."

The two captains agreed with the idea, so Yvette led us through the tunnels. The new doorway to our old transporter room opened up as we approached. It was now a short distance down the passage from the tapestry which guarded our command post door. Nadia noticed the tapestry and gasped.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing towards the wall hanging.

"Something my sister concubine made to help provide a bit of color to the hallways," I said. "We were tired of looking at bare walls."

Nadia turned to her mistress. "May I?"

Captain Johnston looked a bit confused; I decided to give her some support. "We'll be walking past it when I take Nadia to get the gift. And she'll be perfectly safe in the halls."

"Are you sure?" the woman asked me. I was going to answer when Cleo walked up.

Tyson's concubine was dressed in a lacy white bra and a pair of thong panties. She had her baby in her arms and smiled as she stopped next to Yvette. "Sure about what?" she asked.

Captain Johnston looked at Cleo for a moment. She then turned back to Yvette. "I'm surprised you aren't worried about all the concubines wandering around."

Cleo giggled. "This place is too small for anyone to really think of that. I might not know everyone well, but there are less people here than were in the graduating class of my high school. Someone causing a problem will be quickly recognized."

"It's that safe?" Captain Johnston asked.

Yvette was shaking her head as she stepped into the transporter room. She turned around and spoke through the open door as we followed her into the room. "I won't say that it's perfectly safe, but right now a concubine walking around here definitely has nothing to fear."

Cleo giggled again. The two captains had entered the room and she joined me as we followed them. "Our masters work hard to make sure that we are happy. Of course, we turn around and do our best to make our masters so deliriously happy that they forget they are masters. Then we sneak out of our pods and play."

Pete and Captain Johnston appeared very confused. Captain Werfel said nothing, but walked over to the transporter pad and waved for her concubine to follow. She looked over at me. "I have a question, would it be easier to have Franz wait back on Mongolia? After all..."

The look of confusion reappeared on Captain Johnston's face. I giggled. "I'll have to check, but I see where you are going. I believe we can do something along the lines you are thinking. So, will Pete stay behind?"

Captain Werfel shook her head. "No, just check for now, and we can handle the transfer a bit later. I want him to meet someone back on Mongolia."

I nodded and activated the transporter. The pad glowed brightly as a connection was made with Mongolia's transporter room. "I'll make sure you are contacted to set up a time."

Bernadette just laughed as she put her arms around her concubine and pushed him into the transporter field. As soon as they vanished, I began resetting the controls to connect with Captain Johnston's ship.

The woman was looking around at all of us. "Will someone explain what's going on?" she asked.

Yvette giggled. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad and we'll return your concubine in a short time. She'll be untouched."

"Unless she likes handling newborns," I said. "In which case she might get some drool on her."

Cleo and I laughed again as the pad flashed to indicate that a good connection had been established. Captain Johnston just shook her head and entered the field.

Once she had vanished, I shut down the transporter. Yvette looked over at Cleo. "What brings you out in the halls?" she asked.

Cleo shrugged. "A new idea of Bethany's. The concubines will keep up a roving patrol in the hallways. Our job is to distract and tease any citizen we see. The idea is to try to keep the stress levels down. All of us noticed how the arrival of our new governor has everyone on edge."

"Good idea," Yvette said. "However, one of his scientists thinks he found something," she said. "Right now they are looking at one of the alien artifacts. Hopefully, it will be a while before he turns his attention back to us."

"Amen," I said. "Meanwhile, I left a visiting concubine looking at Tina's tapestry. I'm going to go surprise her with a couple of bunnies."

Yvette just waved at me. "Go, and before I forget, good job earlier. You held James down long enough for him to calm down. The governor may know he can goad James, but James will be more aware next time. However, it does mean..."

I nodded. "None of us can be with James in the future. I know. He wants to protect us and that makes it easier for that monster to goad him. Hopefully, the scientist will be very distracted for a few days."

Yvette nodded and waved at me. "Go!"

I dashed out of the room. Nadia was standing in front of the tapestry. She had her right hand out and was tracing the petals of a flower with her finger. She seemed caught up in the artwork and stood there examining the fabric silently.

Finally, I coughed to let her know I was there. She pulled her hand back, like a child caught reaching for a box of cookies, and whirled to look at me. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "It's just... How did you get this? It's so beautiful."

"My sister concubine, Tina made it," I said.

"Sister concubine? Made it? What? How?" Nadia sputtered.

I sighed. "I can explain as we walk," I said as I took Nadia's arm and started to lead her down the passage.

"Where?" Nadia asked, although she did not fight me as I guided her through the tunnels.

"We have a gift for your mistress and another for the ship you are on," I said. "Now for your other questions. On Ishtar, we consider all the concubines owned by the same citizen as family, so a sister concubine is another female concubine with the same master as you."

"So a male concubine, could be a brother concubine?" Nadia asked.

"I guess," I said. "We don't have many male concubines, and they usually just make fun of their status. But it would fit how we do things. As for the other part of your questions, Tina weaved that tapestry. She drew the artwork and then had the AI assist her in setting up the loom."

"That's a huge project!" Nadia said. "How long did that take?"

"She came up with some ways to make the work easier," I admitted. "But it took her many weeks."

"And your master didn't mind?" Nadia asked. We were starting down the passage that led to James' pod as well as the rabbit pod.

"He supported the idea. We have a special pod that's for concubines only. In there, we have a weaving room with several looms. Since Tina finished her tapestry, five more have been made. The rest hang in one of the recreation areas we have," I replied.

We had reached the one door that blocked access to the joint pod setup James had requested when we first landed. The door opened as we approached, revealing the two closed pod doors.

"Two pods so close together?" Nadia asked.

'Yes," I replied. "If we turned right, we'd be entering James' home. That's where I live, but your surprise is to the left." I approached the left door, which opened immediately. Inside, I could hear some children giggling.

Nadia appeared to notice the giggles. "You have older children?"

"Little Meiko?" I heard Janice shout from the room. "No, her only child is still a baby. We just invited a few children in here to help out for the day."

Nadia looked completely confused but followed me into the room. Her gasp as she saw the array of cages lining the walls caused the children in the room to turn and look at us.

I immediately recognized Roge and Lily. They were sitting next to Louis' two children. I tried to remember their names, but finally gave it up and just watched as the children gathered up the four baby rabbits that had been playing on the floor in front of them. They looked over at Janice and then carefully carried the babies back to the large cage we kept for weaned baby rabbits.

Nadia was standing in the doorway, slowly scanning the room. Many of the rabbits came over to the front of their cages to gaze back at her. "What?" she gasped.

"Let's see," I said, deliberately not answering her question. "I believe James said that Captain Johnston is to receive one, and that we will give one to your ship. So if you'll follow me, I'll show you the rabbits we have ready for adoption."

"But," Nadia sputtered. "Only humans are taken from Earth. Everyone knows that!"

"James didn't," Janice said. "He asked the AI if he could take a few rabbits. And, as he once joked, if you put a female rabbit and a male rabbit together, they tend to commit parenthood."

"So many?" Nadia whispered as she walked over to a line of cages. The rabbits all pressed up against the bars of their cages. It was clear they were hoping for a little attention.

"Well, the ones in this room are mostly James' personal favorites as well as ones we are keeping for breeding," Janice said. "But we have plenty to share. Come, we'll show you."

Nadia followed Janice and I. She walked slowly as if she was in a trance. Frequently, she stopped for a moment to reach out and touch a rabbit. Her face was frozen in an expression of surprise and wonder as we entered a side room of the pod. There as the lights came up Janice pulled Nadia into the center of the room.

"So you can choose any two," Janice said. "The left side of the room are bucks, the right side are does."

"Does? You mean that the talk earlier about a doe was..." Nadia said with a gasp.

I nodded. "Captain Werfel was asking if we were willing to allow the male rabbit she was given could be bred. Now that James has said her ship will receive one as well, she was decided to wait and just choose a good partner."

"Actually," Janice reminded me as Nadia reached out to pet one bunny through the bars of its cage, "we'll just ask Brittany about which does we have ready to adopt who would make good partners. I can never remember which fur patterns should not be mated."

Nadia was gazing lovingly at one rabbit. The doe was leaning on the bars of the cage and welcoming the petting it was receiving. "Can I?"

I nodded as Janice walked over. My sister concubine reached up and gently pulled the cage from the rack. "One rabbit for the lucky lady," she called out.

I giggled as Nadia looked around a bit more. The first rabbit she had picked was beautiful, with snow white fur and bright blue eyes. The rabbit was watching intently as Nadia examined the male rabbits available. Finally, she put her hands on a cage containing a gray furred buck. "Would he?"

Janice shrugged. "It's not the best combination for breeding, but it will definitely work. You might end up with babies that don't have a solid color pattern."

"Is there anything wrong with that?" Nadia asked.

I giggled again. "Nope. Not here, but back on Earth they have rabbit shows, much like they have dog shows. The color combination is one that isn't approved, so you might have babies that wouldn't be able to compete in a show, that's all."

"We don't have shows here!" Nadia exclaimed. "I didn't even know we had rabbits."

"Someday we might," I said. "But by then who knows what color patterns will be standard."

Just then the speakers above crackled. "Meiko? Do you still have Captain Johnston's concubine with you?" I heard Brad ask.

"Yes," I said. "Although we can send her back anytime."

"Could you do that immediately," Brad said. "The AI just finished it's final checks on the repairs we did. Sif is ready to leave."

"I thought it was going to take days to repair!" I cried.

"Captain Johnston wants to get back into the fight," he said. "We've repaired all of the major damage and were able to replace the six gunballs lost in combat. For the others, Captain Johnston asked that we just have the docks remove all of the damaged components and supply replacements. She'll have the crew work to repair the gunballs while they head to the Wolf system."

"They can do that?" I asked.

"Captain Johnston is sure her crew can," Brad responded.

Nadia smiled. "If she believes they can, they'll definitely try. But how can I carry the bunnies?"

"We can help!" Roge called out. I glanced up to find Roge and Lily standing in the door way. Lily looked at the two cages and shook her head.

"I thought it was supposed to be three cages," she said.

"How?" I asked.

"Kitty," Roge said. "She peeked in before they took Bossman into his pod. She said that Otterley had a half-sister in here who would work."

One of the cages on the doe side of the room was instantly spotlighted. I looked up at the ceiling and shook my head. Roge immediately walked over to pick up the newly lit cage.

"Right," Janice said. "I wish we could get to know you better, but it appears you have to run."

Nadia ran over to throw her arms around Janice. "Thank you," she whispered.

My sister concubine returned the hug. The two held each other for a moment, and then Nadia released Janice only to dash over and gather me up in a hug. "I'll take great care of the rabbits," she promised.

"Mieko," Brad called out. "I know you want to walk Nadia back, but how about you and Janice go and spend time with James. I am at the transporter room. Roge can lead them."

"How did you know he was here?" I asked.

"Yvette told me," Brad said. "Just like she told me to send you to James. Now get."

I gave Nadia a squeeze and then separated. She giggled as Janice and I raced from the room to head to home.