Chapter 49 - Last Dances

"Perhaps that is the problem with the research," Major Bonham replied sweetly. "The good scientist is rather stressed due to the importance of his mission and needs a bit of relief."

"Tell him to take two Rolaids and call me in the morning," James growled. I looked over at the twins in confusion. Their faces showed equal confusion. Janet was hunched over. I noticed her shoulders twitching and moved to comfort her, but before I could arrive she threw her head back. Howls of near hysterical laughter poured from her.

"Do what?" the voice of Colonel Johanes filtered out through the laughter.

"Clint," James replied. "I'm about out of patience with your games and ignorance. Now, we told Central Command about the artifacts because we felt they might be important. They sent you so they must have agreed. However, to us the most important thing is to provide what assistance we can to the navy to help defeat the Sa'arm. Part of that requires that we give exhausted crews a place to rest up before they return to the fight. That rest does not including having to fight off some over-sexed fool who is visiting this planet and neglected to bring his own concubines. Now why don't you spend the next few days studying the remnants of an ancient civilization and stay out of everyone's way?"

"I resent the implications you have made. I have an important task to complete here," Governor Johanes snapped. "And while you might encourage overly familiar interactions on this planet, you will extend me proper military courtesy from now on."

Tiffany shook her head. "Yes sir. Right away sir. How much must I chap my lips on your ass sir?"

Everyone in the command post started to giggle. We covered our mouths to muffle the sounds as we listened for a reply. However, James did not respond to the governor's final words. Janet and Monique turned back to their consoles, paying attention to the data coming in from the ships as they made their way towards the docks on Astarte and Inaana.

The governor must have realized how much of an ass he had sounded like, because he left us alone as Janet and Monique guided the ships into parking orbits above the planet. Monique grumbled for over an hour about the trouble she was having getting good scans due to the damaged repeater. Finally the replacement repeater passed the ships and Monique obtained clear scans. Tibet had a couple of buckled armor panels and several gunports needed to be repaired, but none of the ships showed significant damage. She passed this information on to Linus who promised to review the scans as soon as he finished washing his babies. Everyone in the command post giggled when we heard him say that.

Janice dashed in before Linus arrived. She grabbed me in a quick hug and then pulled me to my feet. "Get to the theater," she ordered. "James said we can perform if we want."

"Will Mike and Cleo be there?" I asked.

"They should be on their way," Janice reported. "Right now I'm trying to confirm that all the concubines can show up."

"I know Edith is willing to cover the command post," Janet said. "And I can do a double shift if none of the other unattached concubines is willing to come."

Tamara shook her head. "Not this time. I don't think we can take the risk that our good governor will try to charge us with dereliction of duty. I'll stay here to cover the command post."

"Which means I'll be here as well," Tiffany said. "But don't allow our concubines to back out. I want to hear that Whitney shined. I know she has worked hard on the song that Claire and Marilyn put together for her."

Janice nodded. "We've figured out a place to fit in the song. It's going to be a bit raw though. I don't know if our orchestra knows it."

"We will get through it," I promised. "If I hurry, we can probably practice it a couple times. Which song is it?"

"Marilyn called the song, 'A Torch for my Mistress'. It's a poem Claire wrote about how much she loves living in our pod," Tamara said.

"Marilyn came up with the tune from one of the old ballads she loves to sing. She changed the tune quite a bit, but the final version is quite good," Tiffany added.

"Sounds like fun," I replied. "I should go though. I need to stop at the pod and feed Madoka before I start to warm up."

I started walking to the doorway. "James said he was going to tell Captain Travis that her people could come down thirty minutes after Cabo is parked in orbit. That's about three hours away, so you don't have to hurry too much."

"That gives us more time to practice the new music," I called back as I left the command center.

The hallways were alive with citizens and concubines dashing around. It was clear that all of the concubines were aware of the promise James had made to allow us to perform the next time Cabo visited. Most of the people out on errands were gathering items for the show, or getting children settled for the afternoon. I ran into Donna, who was walking the halls and letting any citizen she met know that Reggie was going to keep the nursery open. She promised to be helping him along with Shawna and Deb. From the smile she gave me as I passed, it was clear that quite a few citizens had accepted her offer.

I arrived at James' home pod. Bethany and Tina were organizing a small fleet of strollers. The duo looked up as I stepped into our living area.

"Little one!" Bethany called out. "You must be here to feed Madoka and grab your flute."

"Yes," I replied as I looked for my daughter. I did not see her at first and then Kitty strolled out of the bedroom carrying Madoka.

Kitty smiled shyly as she approached and then held Madoka out. I ripped my top up over my head and then reached out to take my daughter. She was not too hungry, but once I had her lips against my right breast, she started to suckle.

Kitty sighed. "I never realized how special it was to feed your own child."

"You should talk," Tina called out. "You have two."

"You can always borrow one," Kitty said. "It's not like I'm going to complain if you do."

Everyone in the room laughed. I moved to sit on one of our couches and then looked around. "Where's James?"

"He snuck out to visit with Yvette," Bethany replied. "He's afraid something will happen despite the lack of protest from the good colonel. I believe he was going to see if Yvette could suggest anyone to act as armed guards at the entrance to the theater."

"Who will it be?" I asked.

"Alexis already said she'd do it," Tina said. "That surprises me considering how little she socialized in the past. I believe Brad is going to agree. James talked to him from here before heading over to Yvette's."

"Brittany is with him?" I asked.

"Yes," Kitty replied. At that moment, Madoka decided she was full and her lips dropped my nipple. She coughed up some milk onto my chest. I gazed down to see her staring at me.

The moment mesmerized me and I sat there holding my precious daughter for a minute. In the background I could hear the others talking, but I ignored it to marvel at my daughter. It was not until a hand waved back and forth between Madoka and me that I looked up. Kitty was standing next to me with a wry smile on her face.

"You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" Kitty asked.

"Wha?" I asked. Beyond Kitty, I could hear Bethany and Tina burst out laughing.

"Nothing," Kitty said with a smile. "I should let you get going. You have several new numbers to work on."

"And little time," I replied with a grimace as Tina gathered Madoka from my arms. "Don't worry," she told me. "James is going to participate in the grand daycare that Reg is setting up. He can't feed our babies, but he promises to do everything else. Madoka will be fine."

I nodded as Bethany pulled me to my feet and thrust my flute case into my arms. "Go!" she ordered.

Tina and Kitty giggled as I turned and ran for the door, instinctively obeying Bethany. I had left the pod and was nearing Yvette's before I finally slowed down. My face burned as I realized that I had accepted Bethany's authority so completely, but kept up a brisk walk through the halls as I made my way to the theater's back entrance.

When I arrived, Cleo and Mickey were waiting by the door. Cleo smiled as I walked up. "Do you really want to perform topless?" she asked.

I looked down and realized that I had run from the pod without putting anything on after feeding Madoka. Screaming, I dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around my chest to hide my breasts. I cowered on the floor and cried until a footstep behind me caught my attention.

"Well, I knew you were shameless," I heard Alexis say. "But I didn't realize it was this bad. Stand up girl."

"No," I said back with a sniffle. "I can't perform if I'm dressed like this."

"Then don't," I heard Tyson rumble. "Let's get into the theater and I can have the replicators there produce an outfit for you. Crying in the hallway won't help."

"Tyson!" Cleo shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, we get to play usher," Alexis replied. "Just to make sure that we don't have problems during the show. Now can we go inside? I understand you have some practicing to do."

I stood back up. "Yes, Janice said there were some new songs and routines. It seems like she's constantly changing the show around just a bit."

"Keeps it fresh and fun," Tyson replied. "Now if I could only get Cleo on stage somehow."

We all made our way to the airlock and filed through. Once we were inside, Tyson walked over to one of the costume replicators. I did not stay to watch, but made my way down to the orchestra pit area and set up my music stand. I was beginning to warm up my fingers when Alexis tapped me on the shoulder.

"Let's see how this looks on you," she said. She was holding a short white shift in her right hand. I set my flute down on the music stand and stood up to accept the shift.

"You'll need to take your skirt off to wear that," Mickey observed. She was adjusting the height on her chair and flexing her fingers.

I sighed and reached to the back of my skirt to unbutton it. It fell to the floor and I snatched the shift from Alexis and scrambled into it. It slid down, clinging to my body until it stopped high in my thighs. I glanced down and could see some gold chord separating different sections of the sleeveless garment.

"You look like some Greek goddess," Cleo observed. "Although I don't think they have any with Asian features. The shift does look wonderful on you."

"It's awfully revealing," I replied as I gave the hem one last tug before sitting back down and picking up my flute.

Cleo laughed. "Let's practice. AI, give us the song to work on."

The stand lit up and began flashing. I could see the timing line appear. As before it advanced along the music making it easy to track what I should be playing. I followed along, playing the slow haunting trills as Cleo used a sideways motion to tease one of the cymbals. I was concentrating too hard to look over at Mickey, but a mournful piano medley soon rang out across the room.

This was not a song I recognized. I glanced over at Cleo. She had a pained expression on her face and was staring at the music. More than once, she shook her head after struggling with a difficult passage. When we finally reached the end of the song, Cleo threw her drumsticks on the floor.

"Who composed this!" she screamed.

"What's wrong?" Tyson called out. We all looked up. Tyson and Alexis were standing near the door that led to the visitor"s side of the colony. There was a new kiosk there.

"The percussion part is insane. I can guess as to what the melody the singer will be singing is, but my part doesn't match. It's designed to be a counterpoint where my drums and cymbals provide accents to certain words and phrases. But without hearing the song I have no clue what I'm accenting so it's nearly impossible to learn," Cleo snapped.

"It happens," Mickey replied. "I'm guessing this is a new song someone on the colony wrote."

"The song is 'A Lonely Concubine's Lament'," the AI called out. "Marilyn wrote it for Whitney to perform."

Mickey nodded. "And with her love of haunting jazz ballads, she probably wrote the percussion line to be very offbeat."

"Are you saying that Cleo doesn't know how to swing?" Alexis asked. "I thought it was only the white boys who were square?"

Tyson turned to glare at Alexis as Cleo giggled. She stood up quickly and put a hand out towards her master. "Oh, don't get so bent out of shape," she chirped with a giggle. "Bonnie has all the rhythm and verve you could ever want. So I can't really play a lot of jazz solos. I still enjoy playing. As for this piece, I'll be ready tonight."

"We all will be," Mickey added. "We always are."

"But we definitely can use the additional practice," I said. Cleo and Mickey nodded. Cleo sat down and we resumed our work. Tyson and Alexis moved back to the kiosk. We ignored their conversation as we concentrated on perfecting the new arrangements.

Over the next two hours, we managed to struggle through the new pieces. Cleo proved that she could pick up the oddball jazz rhythms of some of the pieces but it took considerable effort and time. Mickey and I had much less trouble and were soon adding little flourishes to each phrase. The AI helped by switching to new pieces to practice once it became clear that we had stopped improving one. Finally the screens went dark.

"Citizen James wishes to speak," the AI intoned.

Cleo and Mickey giggled. I looked up at the ceiling. For a moment no one said a thing, but finally Tyson broke the silence. "Well, let's hear him."

"Tyson, Alexis," James began. "Brad will be arriving in a minute. He'll be carrying some of our flechette guns. I don't expect trouble, but it's best to be prepared. The crew of Cabo have been told they can make their way to the theater to start finding seats. If any of the governor's thugs show up let them in, but make sure they have no weapons and understand that they are to behave."

"What about the governor?" Alexis asked.

"He says he's just discovered something important," James replied. "I expect its part of an attempt to get us to offer a private show sometime in the future."

"I'd rather be thrown naked into the locker room of a professional football team at halftime," Cleo said with a moan. "Can we tell him, 'hell no' right now?"

Everyone in the room laughed. James did not join in the laughter. He waited silently until we stopped laughing and then continued. "Meiko, I won't be able to attend, but I will be watching with the babies. All of you make me proud."

I blushed from his praise. "I try," I whispered.

"That was about it," James said. "Everyone here is making a few last minute preparations. Most of it is to bring the children to the nursery. The cast should be arriving shortly."

"Or already here," Janice called out. I turned to look and she was standing at the edge of the stage. "James, my love. We're almost ready, and I know you have seven babies to take care of. Bethany has promised to take care of the backstage. You can relax."

"I'll reward you later if you do," I chirped. The gasps from Cleo and Mickey alerted me to what I had impulsively said and I ducked down behind the music stand. My face felt like it was on fire.

Cleo and Mickey burst into giggles at my antics. "And on that note," Janice said slowly. "I say the music should begin."

I looked up as Janice turned and walked away from the front of the stage. The curtain came down as she passed, closing off the stage from the orchestra pit and seating area. Immediately the lights covering the orchestra pit faded. Soon only the glow from the music stands remained.

"Ready?" Mickey called out.

I shook my head rapidly one last time and then picked up my flute. "Set," I replied.

Cleo giggled. "Go!" she snapped.

The stands flashed twice and then the timing line appeared and began blinking. Cleo matched the pattern for a moment. "One, two...One, two, three, four," she chanted before beginning a deep bass drum roll.

Mickey and I joined in as the music built. The piece was slow, but the long bass passages seemed to fill the theater. The AI was adding to the sound the three of us produced and the majestic music sang a welcome.

I was concentrating hard on the music. We had practiced this before, but in the back of my mind, I still worried about what our acting governor might be planning. However, by the time the lights dimmed to indicate that the show was about to begin, I was lost in the music.