Chapter 4 - Family Version 2.0

After the initial briefings in the transporter room and mess hall, Constance quickly settled her group in Blue Twelve.  She didn't even take time for a tour of their assigned pod before escorting an anxious Aswani back to the transporter room with only a few requests for directions from the PDA she had been issued.

The pair were waiting in the transporter room when Sgt. Landry entered.  Before moving toward the nexus, Constance took Sgt. Landry aside.  "Do you know anything about the man that Leroy attacked?"

Landry snorted, "If the idiot had kept his cool we would have most likely ignored him.  We found out that he's wanted by several states and the FBI for armed robbery.  He must've thought that we'd set a trap for him in the restaurant.  He's nothing for us to be concerned about."

It took three stops to collect all of the Qureshi children, ranging in age from three to thirteen, from their schools and the day-care facility.  At each stop Aswani's excited children asked an overlapping stream of questions.  The first of which was why their mother was naked.  This had not even occurred to Aswani until the first stop when Roni, her giggling thirteen-year-old, asked, "Didn't Papa give you time to throw on a robe before sending you out for us?"

Aswani was only mildly embarrassed when she looked down at her nudity.  "Oh my, I do seem to have misplaced my clothing.  I have not been myself since being interrupted by Marines at the restaurant and have spent most of the afternoon dressed as you see me now."

Roni jumped up and down with energetic excitement, "You mean…  You've been picked by a sponsor!"  She immediately frowned and asked, "What about Poppa?"

"Your Poppa was also selected by my sponsor, but many things have changed," Aswani replied with a more serious expression that didn't register in the excited girl's consciousness.

A very content and pleased Aswani floated back to their new home with her collection of excited older children and apprehensive younger children.  She was immediately greeted and embraced by an equally nude Phaninath, which got the children gasping and giggling again.

Roni was entranced by her father's growing erection until she detected motion in the corner of her eye.  She turned and gaped at a statuesque brunette and a slender black man who was no taller than the girl standing next to him.  Like her father and mother, the pair were wearing nothing but big smiles.  Roni was admiring the sharply delineated bikini tan lines on the brunette's breasts and groin until the black man turned to face her.  She became mesmerized by the dark log that was bouncing between the young man's thighs with each step as he approached.  Her mouth went dry, her nipples ached, and her pussy clenched as it was flooded with lubricant when she had a brief vision of that monster pushing its way into her core.  Had her mother not grabbed her to get her attention, she would have stepped forward and grasped the amazing appendage with both of her delicate hands.

"Roni!  Where are you manners, daughter?  You know that staring is impolite!  Please say hello to Leroy and Judith."

Roni finally tore her eyes off of the thick shaft, but could not maintain contact with the sparkling eyes above it when she realized that they were silently laughing at her.  She focused on the big smile full of white teeth as she mumbled, "Pleased to meet you," to Leroy and then to Judith.

"We need to get our new home organized," Constance observed.  "It's not very large for the eleven of us."

A voice erupted from thin air, "There is a second level that is accessible through the lift pad in the far corner of this room."

Everyone looked around with confused expressions.  There was no response to the voiced questions until Constance asked, "Who's spying on us?"

"Not spying, merely observing," the voice replied.  "I am the AI responsible for this habitat pod.  Unless otherwise directed, I only respond to the sponsor assigned to these quarters."

"Oh?"  Constance questioned.  "What are you capable of doing?"

The AI replied, "I monitor the replicators and recycling equipment that make this pod mostly self-contained.  I can interface with the other AI units in the vicinity and can direct the remodeling of these quarters, within certain restrictions while attached to a ship.  There are fewer restrictions when the pod is permanently transferred to a colony world.   I can adjust the lighting, temperature…"

"I get the picture," Constance interrupted the disembodied voice.  "Do you have a name?"

"You may call me anything you like or simply address me as AI," the voice responded.

"It's probably best for you to continue to ignore the children unless they specifically address you," Constance instructed absently; then added, "That can be applied to the others as well.  What other limitations are applied to dependents and concubines?"

"Instructions noted," the AI replied.  "They are not allowed to operate the replicators or external access ports without express permission."

Constance asked, "Can I grant general permission for them to use the replicators for food, beverages, and typical household amenities, or do I need to be specific?"

The AI replied with, "If you asking if their health and hygiene needs can be accommodated without enumerating a list, then the answer is yes.  Do you wish to allow them this privilege?"

"Yes," Constance replied.

The AI responded with, "So noted."

"Thank you," Constance responded before asking, "Can you tell me what my career options are as a Volunteer?"

The AI quickly checked the records and elected not to enumerate the hundreds of tasks that Constance was qualified to perform.  It replied with, "Most are given opportunities within the Marines or Navy.   Have you discussed you preference with anyone?"

Constance thought about the underlying question before answering, "No.  I'm an engineer by training and disposition, and believe that I can best serve in that capacity rather than being assigned to a combat position.  Would my skills be of benefit in the development of human colony worlds?"

"Almost certainly," the AI answered immediately.   "The Fleet Auxiliary is the Confederacy branch primarily responsible for finding and developing suitable worlds for colonization.  They also populate them with the humans that they extract from Earth with assistance from the Confederacy Marines.  You will get a lot of this information during the briefings and interviews that are scheduled for the next several days."

"Thank you, AI.  You've been very helpful," Constance noted.  "I guess I need to get everyone organized and headed out to the first of those briefings."  She turned to her younger concubines, "Would you two please keep an eye on the kids while Aswani, Phaninath, and I get our initial medical scan?  Since none of us smoke or have any known medical issues, I don't expect this to take long."

Upon returning from medical with the older pair, Constance escorted Judith and Leroy to the med bay.  While waiting for them, she retrieved information from the PDA device about the habitat unit she had been assigned.  The standard setup had concubine and children's quarters on the second floor with a galley, dining room, living room, study, a master stateroom, and two smaller staterooms on the first floor.

She was pondering about whether or not to assign Judith her own stateroom, and who, if anyone, she would set up in the other two staterooms on the lower level when the technician working on Judith asked, "Do you want to flush this female's birth control and trigger ovulation?"

"I really hadn't considered that," she responded while clearly distracted as she considered the question.  "Let's keep her from getting pregnant for a few weeks.  I'd like to know how everyone adjusts before adding the stress of dealing with pregnant women."

"Tell you what: Let's go ahead and flush the chemicals and have the nanites suppress ovulation until you feel that it's time for her to become pregnant," the technician suggested.  "The training pod in your quarters can program the nanites to trigger ovulation when you're ready.   Something that simple won't require a trip back here.  The sleep training unit in your quarters can easily handle that task."

Constance smiled in appreciation.  "That sounds like a good plan.  Thanks for your help."

Rather than eating in their pod, Constance had everyone clean up and escorted her new family to the mess hall for dinner after the last of the briefings for the day had been delivered.  She was pondering her future when she spotted an Asian-looking man a few tables over.  He was with three women, three teenage girls, and several youngsters that were moving around too much for her to get an accurate count.  The skinny redheaded woman looked familiar, but from her poor observation angle she couldn't place where she had seen her.

Constance was distracted as the family ate their evening meal in the noisy room.  She was considering sleeping arrangements for the night, and for the foreseeable future.  She wanted to reinforce the concept that previous relationships were different, but really wanted to snuggle with Judith to ease her own anxieties.  She considered having Phaninath spend the night with the two of them, but that was not what she needed for her own emotional support.

Rather than have Leroy or Phaninath sleep alone she decided to have them team up on Aswani.  Yes, if Phaninath could share his wife with another, then she could be assured that possessiveness between the former married couple would not be an issue.  Perhaps she would have Aswani and Phaninath scratch her itch before bedtime.  Then again, she was also really looking forward to being seriously stretched by Leroy's fine equipment.

Constance was brought out of her reverie by Aswani's gentle voice, "Miss Constance, the children are getting restless.  May I take them home?"

"Home?"  Constance was puzzled momentarily.  Yes, this was home now.  "Of course.  I'll need to come with you, though.  I don't think the AI will let you in without me."

Constance lagged behind her group as they made their way back to Blue Twelve.  She was feeling exhausted even though it was early.  It had been a long day and much had changed in the lives of everyone with her.  In that moment of clarity she came to a decision.

The pod's portal opened as the lead member of the group approached.  Constance was a little puzzled, but figured that the AI knew she was with the group and that the pod was their destination.  She took Leroy aside as the group milled about in the foyer.

"Leroy, do you think you can sleep upstairs tonight and keep an ear open for the kids?"  Leroy's eyes quickly sought out Roni and a concerned look appeared on his brow.  Constance laughed, "Yes, Roni does seem to have her cap set for you, but you will have to be in control of the situation.  It will be all right if she wants to give you a blowjob; no one will be upset by that.  You can even give her a little tongue-ride if you like, and she agrees, but you absolutely cannot allow any penetration of your cock into anything other than her mouth.  Can I trust you to stay in control?"

Leroy was clearly in shock, both by the subject and object of the conversation.  "I… I…," Leroy stammered before finally getting control of his voice.  "Yes ma'am, I'm not a danger ta li'l girls.  What 'bout her momma and poppa?"

"I'm going to give them some quality time with each other tonight.  This is a big adjustment for all of us and they can be a comfort to each other.  Are you sure you're okay with being saddled with the kids on the first night of a new life?"  Constance wasn't really concerned.  Leroy had been living alone for several months and from both his CAP sub-scores and demonstrated performance she was sure the kids would be safe, although she was half expecting to wake in the morning to find that he had locked Roni in a closet.

"Dat soun's nice for dem, but will day be okay 'bout me bein' wit' Roni?"  Leroy asked with a great deal of trepidation.

"Oh," Constance laughed when she finally understood the original question.  "I'll make sure they'll be fine with the arrangement.  What about you?  Will you be okay being with the kids tonight?"

Leroy smiled with pride, "I be fine, an' so will day."

Constance made a note to herself to ask the AI about helping Leroy learn better English.

Aswani and Phaninath each thanked both Constance and Leroy for giving them a chance to catch up with each other.  Judith smiled and accompanied her lover into the master stateroom where the two women prepared for bed and collapsed in each other's arms a short time later.

The children, especially Roni, were admonished to not be trouble for Leroy and the two parents retired to one of the smaller staterooms on the main level of the pod.  They had less to discuss than they suspected and were soon asleep.

Even the energetic kids wound down and prepared for bed with only a little coaching from Roni and Leroy.  When the last of her brothers and sisters were tucked in, Roni turned to Leroy.  "I really don't want to be alone tonight, and don't want to sleep with the girls.  Will it be all right if I sleep next to you?  I promise to be good."

Leroy was very nervous, mostly about what the others would say if they found the two of them in bed together, but he was a sucker for Roni's sweet, innocent eyes and gave in.  He wore a loose pair of shorts and insisted that she wear pajamas.  The AI allowed the pair to select appropriate nightclothes, and Leroy retrieved them from the replicator while Roni took a shower and got ready for bed.

Roni was asleep when Leroy emerged from the small shower cabinet.  He quickly completed his evening ritual and joined the young girl in a very comfortable bed.  He was unconscious in seconds.

Leroy awoke the next morning with a pungent, but pleasant aroma in his nose and an incredible sensation from his morning erection.  Roni had discarded her PJs and was stretched out on his supine torso with her twat at his chin and her mouth and hands busily polishing his knob.

Leroy took a deep breath and attempted to sit up and push the tall child away, but his lips brushed the soft down covering the plump labia near his face and his mouth instinctively clamped on them.  The delicate petals popped open and Leroy's tongue was welcomed between them as his eyes surveyed the pale cinnamon colored cheeks brushing his nose.

The stimulation was too much for the young man and he began spraying copious quantities of his rich cream into the girl's waiting mouth.   Roni didn't release his cock until her own climax washed over her as she pushed as much of her groin into Leroy's mouth as possible.  His darting tongue stole her breath away, and because her mouth was full she couldn't even scream her joy.

Roni collapsed back onto Leroy and her tiny naked breasts pressed into his equally bare but rock-hard abdomen as she caressed his twitching shaft with her cheek and fingers.  Leroy had to take a few deep, cleansing breaths before he could speak.  "Yo promised ta behave!"

"No," Roni corrected him.  "I promised to be good.  Wasn't I good?"

Leroy smacked one of the cheeks above the splayed legs and gaping sex, but the sexual stimulation he got as he watched the shock wave accompanying the strike danced across the firm cheeks almost caused him to lose what little control he had regained.  Had the girl not drained his balls moments before he might have done something terribly wrong.

The tense muscles of his abdomen as he laughed help him push the girl off his chest.  He considered resuming the spanking he had started, but was fearful of the reaction both he and the girl might experience.  They both might enjoy it just a bit too much.

Leroy's fingers clung to the curved surface as he stroked the soft cheek next to him until he sat up.  Roni sighed and made no effort to guard her sex as he again caressed her firm flesh.  He knew that she would welcome his exploring fingers if he were to let them follow the curved surface down its vertical equator and continue down to the space between her thighs.   They remained open almost as wide as they had been when his face was between them.

Again, Leroy got control of his own hormones, "Yo gona be big trouble fo' me, ain't cha?  We'uns betta' clean up afo' we sees anyone, or day sees us'n.  Git movin'!"

Leroy resisted the suggestion that they shower together and had Roni brush her teeth and hair while he took a quick shower.  He finished his morning routine and was wearing a shift when a naked Roni emerged from the shower and smiled at him.  He tossed her a towel and admired the adolescent body as she dried herself.  She was just beginning to develop breasts and hips.  The delicate curves she now had promised to become much more pronounced as she developed.  She would be a tall, striking woman in a few years.

Tara came bounding through the door as Roni finished dressing.  She was followed by Ela who was still rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"I'm hungry," Roni's youngest sister announced.

"Me, too," Roni replied as she pulled her shift on over her head.  "Let's go downstairs and see what we can find to eat.  Are the boys up?"

"No," the middle sister replied.  "They're being their usual lazy selves."

Downstairs Leroy had Roni help her sisters.  He vetoed donuts, but reluctantly agreed on sugarcoated cereal if they also had juice and a scrambled egg.  After getting a clear promise from Roni, Leroy was heading back upstairs to roust the boys when Aswani stepped out of the small corridor leading to the staterooms.

"Good morning," Aswani said with a smile.  Her hair was still wet from a shower.  All she had on, other than a big smile of satisfaction, was a pair of slippers.  She looked past Leroy and was pleased to see Roni helping her sisters get breakfast.  "Are the boys up?"   Aswani asked as she returned her attention to Leroy.

"No, ma'am," Leroy answered.  "I wuz jus' on mah way ta check on dem."

Aswani shooed him away with her hand, "I will see to them and get them out of bed.  You should get something to eat."

Phaninath stepped into the dining room just ahead of Constance and Judith.  He greeted everyone with a big smile.

"Good morning, Poppa."  Roni greeted her father.   "You seem very pleased this morning.  You don't normally wake up in such a good mood.  Momma must have been very good to you this morning."

Roni's remark earned her a scowl from her father, but she just laughed and bit into her toast.

"Good morning everyone," Constance greeted the group.  "I see that most of us are up and having a good time.  I was going to suggest breakfast in the cafeteria, but eating here is good if we know how to work the gadgets.  What are we having?"

Her attention was diverted by a giggling shout.  "That was fun!  I want to do it again!"

"That is not a toy for your amusement, Rajiv.  Come.   You need to eat now."  Aswani was carrying three-year-old Kamadev and herding the other two in front of her where she could keep her eyes on them.

Constance was very pleased with the outcome of the sleeping arrangements she had made last night.  Everyone seemed relaxed and in a good mood.  There was another long day of briefings in store for everyone and she was not anxious to interrupt the warm feelings she was detecting from her new family.

As she considered much of the information presented in the briefings she realized that her biggest hurdle was the expectation that she eventually become pregnant.  She knew it was her duty and looked forward to being a mother, but it meant she would probably be expected to have sex with a man.  Part of her looked forward to feeling Leroy's big shaft clean the cobwebs from her long ignored tunnel, but another part was repulsed by the thought of letting a man have any contact with her tender parts.  She wondered if it would be politically correct to ask for artificial insemination.

The group was much more somber during the lunch break.  The information being dispensed about what should be expected from colony life, and the rules for both sponsors and concubines were both graphic and sobering.   Everyone was a bit shocked.  Being extracted might mean that they would live, but it would be a bigger change than just having sex with whomever the sponsor indicated.

Again, Constance spotted the redhead across the room, only this time she remembered her name: Celeste McCreless.  It had been two years since she had worked on the nightmare body shop project.  Celeste had been working for a small outfit that was doing the control systems for the overhead power and free conveyors and the drop lifters.  Constance's company had been awarded the larger contract to upgrade the precision floor-level conveyors and the associated robots.

The new robots that positioned the spot-welded truck bodies for the bead-welders that created body joints that would hold up to undulating Mississippi highways and New York City potholes were glitching.  Celeste spoke with Constance's robot team during a lunch break and stayed late to help them out even though they were working for a competing company.  Over the next two nights Celeste had rewritten a large part of the control code for the robots even though it wasn't in her scope of work, and she wasn't being paid to do it.  She had both the robots and the equipment she was responsible for running smoothly when the workers returned from their shutdown vacations.

Celeste was very goal-oriented without a competitive bone in her body.  She wanted everyone around her to succeed and did whatever she could to make the customer happy.  Constance remembered seeing the man across the table from her in the assembly plant on that and other occasions.  She was pretty sure that Celeste worked for the man with oriental features and a dusky complexion, and he now appeared to be Celeste's sponsor.

Constance asked the AI to admit everyone to the pod after lunch.  She had a few more briefings and an interview with Lieutenant Cooper, captain of Asimov.  She was both curious and apprehensive about the captain wanting to speak with her.

The early afternoon briefing was mostly highlights from the Code of Military Justice for the Confederacy.  Things that she needed to be sure she understood even before formal military training began.  Most were just common sense, but the items that were stressed were to not interfere with another sponsor's treatment of his property, and to not take liberties with the property of others.

Constance followed the directions on her PDA and made her way to the central core of the ship where the bridge and other critical areas were located.  She was not allowed into the command area of the ship, but Captain Cooper had a meeting room just outside of the restricted area.   Constance greeted the receptionist and took a seat after identifying herself.   She was admitted to the conference room precisely at two o'clock.

A petite woman in her mid-twenties stood and greeted Constance with her hand extended over a heavy desk.  "Good afternoon, I'm Captain Cooper.  Is it all right if I call you Constance?"

Constance took the extended hand and smiled through her confusion, "Yes, of course."

"Please take a seat and relax," Cooper said, indicating a settee to Constance's left before continuing.  "I'm actually a bit older than you."  She swept her hands down her trim body, "The magic of Darjee nanites."  Her amused smile turned a bit more serious, but no less friendly.  "I understand you may be interested in finding and developing potential colony worlds.  What did you have in mind?"

Constance remained a bit disoriented and off balance.  She shrugged a bit as she responded.  "I'm an engineer specializing in semi-automated manufacturing processes.  I'm familiar with both construction and automation of a wide range of plants, including the construction of their supporting frameworks and buildings.  I'm not familiar with the capability of the Darjee replicators, but I assume they require some kind of interaction with operators."

Cooper appeared mildly disappointed.  "It doesn't sound like you would be terribly interested in serving on a ship such as Asimov.   Not many candidates have your scores for organization and leadership.  But, there is a lot of construction taking place in the colonization effort.   Construction is at the heart of developing a colony world to make it a safe refuge for extracted immigrants and a base of operations for the military."

"I don't believe I'm qualified to operate a starship in any capacity, and I find the idea both intriguing and frightening."   Constance was beginning to relax in the presence of an obviously powerful woman, even if she did look more like a bright coed than a ship's commanding officer.  "I really don't believe that my current experience and skill would be of much use on a ship, but I'd be willing to learn.  Perhaps I could be assigned to something a bit smaller and less intimidating than Asimov?"

Captain Cooper laughed, "Asimov is actually a small freighter that is primarily operated by a Darjee crew.  We only carry ninety-six habitat pods.  My people are still learning the systems, procedures, and equipment in the hope that we can take over the operation once new interface equipment compatible with humans can be developed and installed.   There are smaller ships, though.  The Fleet Auxiliary also operates a small fleet of exploration ships.  There are also Fleet Auxiliary personnel assigned to various projects at colony worlds.  A priority item for us is the production of habitat pods for new colonists.  Perhaps something in that area might be of interest to you."

Constance nodded.  "Someone has to build the accommodations and infrastructure for a colony.  I'm sure my experience and skills could be quickly adapted to something like that."

Captain Cooper stood to indicate that the interview was over.  "I'll send a note to Admiral Pirelli on Dothan.  I'm sure he can introduce you to someone who is just dying to find someone with your skills."

The two women shook hands again before Constance left.

After returning to her pod, Constance tried to look up Celeste McCreless on the PDA.  The screen redirected her to a Tuan Nguyen.  She voiced a question to herself, "Where have I heard that name?  That must be the man who was sitting with her at lunch."

The voice from nowhere spoke, "Tuan Nguyen is the sponsor of the concubine formerly known as Celeste McCreless.  Mr. Nguyen is an engineer from the same geographic area as you.  In fact, you were both picked up yesterday at the same restaurant during lunch."

Constance asked, "Can you put me in touch with Celeste?"

"Not without permission from her sponsor," the AI responded.  "Would you like for me to ask, or shall I put you in contact with Mr. Nguyen?"

"I remember him now.  He underbid me for the paint shop job in Canton."  Constance was thinking out loud again before answering. "Yes, put me in contact with Mr. Nguyen."