"Well my loves, we should get cleaned up. Supper is in about forty minutes," Hugh said.
Jenna's eyes twinkled and she got a mischievous grin on her face. "Hmm, a shower sounds really nice after all the stress today. Anyone wanna join me?"
"Oh yeah! But I don't want to get too frisky; even though it doesn't seem like it, breakfast was a long time ago," Fallon said wrapping her arms around her small lover.
"Maybe we should see how big the shower is first, ladies," Hugh grinned. "Let's go."
The apartment was opulent to say the least. Walking down the ramp, they found themselves on a cliff overlooking a small pool. The walls looked and felt like dark volcanic pumice. The floor was like semi-rough obsidian. On and along the walls, holographic tropical plants 'grew' and moved in an unfelt wind. Off to one side of the small pool was an even smaller pool of steaming water.
The three lovers were amazed at the beauty, having only seen the like in historical holos. Going through the nearest 'cave' they navigated an 'S' turn and entered their new bedroom. The tropical motif continued in the master suite as a large, very comfortable looking, four-poster bed dominated the area of this room.
The bed and posts appeared to be made of real bamboo. The walls were made of highly-polished, reflective, black mica, giving the room more of an open feeling. The wall with the entry door was more rough-hewn, black, pumice. Beside the entry door, was a large, walk-in closet.
Opposite the mirror finished mica was a virtual 'wall of glass'. Patio doors opened onto a comfortable lanai, over-looking the central pool. The deck was wide enough to be shared with the big beautiful bath. A 'wooden' walkway with handrails led to a secluded black-rock hot tub large enough for about six people. On one wall was a wet bar, and the back wall had a complete electronic suite, including a comm that could be set to 'private'.
As the lovers entered the plush bathroom to get cleaned up for supper, they all began dropping clothes. Whomever designed the private areas of the captain's suite must of had thought that six people was the magic number since everything seemed designed for that many people; the shower was no exception.
Seeing the two nude beauties before him, Hugh was almost totally breathless. Granted, when it came to the women he'd met on this ship so far, there seemed to be no ugly ones. Now he understood; they were all ugly, because all the beauty in the universe was standing nervously before him.
Even though Jenna had made love to him the night before, she'd been far too occupied to get a good look the parts of Hugh that had always been covered up. Both she and Fallon had seen Hugh in his bathing suit before, but this was the first time they got to see the rest.
Jenna was highly aroused. She could smell Fallon's arousal as well as her own, and it only fanned the flames of desire in her belly. When Hugh had finally gotten his clothes off, she only became more aroused by what she was seeing.
Fallon was nervous. She'd seen plenty of boys and men nude before, and none of them had ever aroused her. Now however, with perfect little Jenna also nude beside her and holding her hand, She was surprised by how wet she was; by how badly she wanted to wrap her arms, and legs, around this wonderful young man.
"Jesus! I'm going to be in pain long before we get back here tonight!" Hugh said.
Fallon looked confused. That wasn't exactly what she was expecting him to say. "In pain?"
Hugh nodded. "I've been shown the most beautiful, wonderful, amazing and sexy women in the galaxy, and I can't touch them until we get back here tonight!"
"I think we can help with that!" Jenna said in a soft purr. "Come on lover; you kiss him while I try to relieve the pressure that's building."
"I think I'd like to try that too, 'enna," Fallon replied blushing brightly.
"I'll be happy to show you what I've learned so far, but after dinner, okay? We really do need to get ready," Jenna replied, amazed by Fallon's reaction to Hugh.
On Tatyana's advice, Hugh and the girls picked out uniforms for the evening and arrived at the Captain's Mess at seventeen fifteen. They weren't the first arrivals, but the only two that were familiar to the three were the two beautiful blond girls acting as wait staff. Both Haley and Holly gave them kisses before continuing handing out hors devours and glasses of wine. Before they ran off, Hugh asked them to make sure that all the guests had either a glass of champagne, or Sparkling Cider if they weren't drinking alcohol, at their places at the table for the toast. They said they'd handle it.
The Captain's Mess was as opulent as their quarters had been. It was spacious and formal, yet comfortable and warm. The deck was covered in a deeply padded carpeting, and the walls a warm faux-wood paneling. The deck head had a hologram of n-space projected on it, with the closest star and the candle-holding wall sconces provided the light for the diners.
Hugh and his wives, being the hosts, began to mingle with their guests and introducing themselves. Hugh was very pleased to see that he wasn't the only male on board. Two of the dinner guests were also male as was one of the marine guards. Since he'd never met a male marine before, Hugh made a mental note to chat with him as soon as he could.
Seeing an older woman in the uniform of a ship's captain, Hugh excused himself, and made his way over to her. "Captain, I really must apologize for not issuing you this invitation personally, All of this is happening far faster than I care for. Hell, I didn't even know you wouldn't fire on us until I got the countersign to our message."
The older woman smiled slightly at him. "I can appreciate that, Captain. I hadn't taken offence once I thought it through. I figured something different had to have happened when it wasn't Captain Reynolds' voice I heard. From what I can gather, Wilma shanghaied you into this. She did tell you what this is didn't she?"
Hugh slowly shook his head. "Nope, I'm supposed to get the full explanation after dinner tonight, while we're all still here. Hell, I don't even know what my cargo is other than a medical pod and at least one pod of Mechs. I'm not a big fan of surprises when it comes to my command, so I hope this is at least simple."
Captain Ayers tried not to grin, and nodded her head. "No Captain likes surprises. Especially the kind Wilma's going to dump on you. Please, when it's just the two of us, call me RyeAnn."
"Call me Hugh. Is it going to be that bad?" Hugh asked curiously.
"Just ... please don't keel-hull her, or kick her out an airlock; we still need her," RyeAnn said grinning.
"I'll keep that in mind; flogging is still okay, right?"
"She would probably enjoy that a great deal."
Hugh nodded as if thinking hard on the subject. "I'm sure we can find something ... maybe paint her Mech hot-pink."
Captain Ayers burst out laughing, and Hugh chuckled with her. As the laughter began to die down, Willie entered with a happily glowing Mercedes on her arm. Both were in uniform, although Fallon pointed out that, like the other military people in the room, the Colonel wasn't wearing a Confed uniform.
Excusing themselves, Hugh and the ladies met Willie and her daughter for a round of hugs and kisses. Since it was getting close to dinner time, the guests had begun to find their seats. As he walked the women to their seats, Hugh asked Willie, "Do you know how the Master Chief's doing? Fallon told me she'd been brought on board."
"She's doing really well. She should be up and about sometime tomorrow, but her ribs will be tender for a few days," Willie replied.
"I'll try to stop in and see her tonight. What'll happen to Hanna? Will the ConFeds just let her go?" Hugh asked.
"They probably would if she was still in Confederation custody, which she isn't. We have her in a cryo-stasis pod with a bio-seal on it. I'll tell you all about her after we get finished with dinner; it'll make the explanation more understandable," Willie winked when she saw the look on Hugh's face, then took her seat.
Holding with the not very old traditions of space travel, the Captain was the last to be seated, but before he did, Hugh picked up his wine glass and looked out at his dinner guests.
"May I have your attention, please?" He hadn't yelled, but spoke in the 'Captain's Voice' that Elizabeth Blazedell taught him. It worked well, all conversations stopped and people turned to the head of the large table.
Hugh held his glass high for a toast. "In case I didn't get to introduce myself, I'm Hugh Goodwin, Captain and Master of the free trader Titania. I ask all of you to please indulge me while I begin a new tradition on my command. Before we begin, I would like to raise our glasses in a moment of silent remembrance to those who have given their lives in the defense of others. Soldier and Civilian alike who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. I wish to salute our fallen."
Holding his glass aloft, he bowed his head for a moment, then looked up again. "To our Fallen!" then he drank the requisite gulp.
The sentiment was echoed around the table as the guests, who had risen for the moment of silence drank the toast and retook their chairs. Once everyone was seated, Hugh finally took his seat. That was the signal for the girls to begin serving dinner.
When Hugh got back to the bridge, Fallon was standing beside the command chair, and Jenna was at her station plotting their course. Hugh stepped behind Fallon and slipped his arms around her waist as he softly kissed her neck. He felt her stiffen, and he noticed that she was really fighting her emotions.
"Honey! I'm sorry!" He said to her softly. "That really bothered you, didn't it?"
She nodded her head as a tear slipped down one perfect cheek.
"Lover, just wait until we get to bed tonight; then I'll show you the difference between me making love to a friend, or me making love to the women I really love." Hugh said. "I swear to you, I'll go out of my way to show you that you and your sister are the centers of my existence."
She turned around and threw her arms around his neck. "I don't know what's happening to me! I barely know you, and I love you so much I have a hard time breathing around you and Jenna."
"Shhh, lover. We have the rest of our lives to love each other now. Now, let's get out of here before the Confeds figure out what's going on!"
"What is going on?" She sniffed.
"I have no idea, but I do know we don't want to stay here to find out!" He hugged her and, stepping carefully to avoid the puddle, took his seat.
"Jenna, do we know where we're going?"
"Course laid in, Captain."
"Sir, docking control is refusing to grant us clearance. They say we're smuggling contraband and are demanding permission to board us."
"Contraband? Did they say what type of contraband?" Hugh asked puzzled.
"Uh ... they claim we are smuggling a national breeding asset. They say it's you sir," Hackysack replied, trying not to laugh.
Hugh just shook his head as he glanced at the course displayed on his screen. "Helm, come about on heading one-zero-seven relative, speed point five. As soon as we're clear of the system, make the jump."
"Aye sir, what about the docking buoy?" Hackysack asked.
Hugh smiled. "We have the mass of a very small moon, and that buoy might have five hundred tons with all of its reaction mass. It's not going to keep us from leaving. They'll drop it shortly.
Sure enough, before the ship had finished its turn, the buoy released and floated back to its position. It took the better part of the day to get out of the system. Hugh kept expecting Mars base to launch fighters to chase him.
When they passed the orbit of Saturn, he knew they couldn't catch them before they made the jump. Once the ship was in hyperspace, tracking it without knowing its course would be futile. Considering the size of the ship, they could go as deep into the upper bands as they wanted.
"Sir, I have a Confederation Heavy Cruiser sitting picket at the system boundary, I don't think they've seen us yet, but it's only a matter of time," Yumi said. "They have to know we're coming."
"Could you get Colonel Kinds on the com for me, Mr. Yumi?"
"Aye sir."
"This is Willie, what can I do for you Captain?" Wilma's voice issued from the bridge speakers.
"We're coming up on the Invincible, Colonel. Do we need a password to get past her, or do I need to think about a deceleration profile?" Hugh asked.
Willie chuckled. "Yeah, send to the Captain; 'hoist the Jolly Roger'. You should get a reply of 'Yo-Ho and a bottle of rum!' They should start powering up at that point, so don't panic, they're coming with us. However, if they bare their fangs, call red alert. It'll be dust before the weapons finish powering up."
"Uh huh, my parents are on that ship, Willie. I'd really like to know the rest of this story soon. All this Cloak and Dagger stuff is getting tiring," Hugh said. "And since when does a freighter, even one this friggen' big, have guns?"
"I understand Captain. Can you wait until dinner tonight? I promise I'll explain everything; there're a few people I'd like to introduce you to, and I'll explain about the guns," Willie replied seriously.
"Alright Colonel, I won't pull your tail unless you don't show for dinner," Hugh said. "Mr. Yumi, please send to the Captain of the Invincible; 'Hoist the Jolly Roger!' expect a reply."
"Aye Captain, sending the message."
As predicted, the heavily armed warship began immediately powering up her engines and flight systems, but not, Hugh noticed with relief, any weapons.
"Sir, reply from Captain Ayers of Invincible; 'Yo-Ho and a Bottle of Rum!'"
"Excellent, Mr. Yumi. Mr. Goodwin, prepare for interface. Sound jump warning, and stand ready," Hugh ordered and was pleased to see those orders being immediately carried out.
"Cargo 9C reports the Ogre Assault Mech is re-secured. I'm showing green on all pods, and all stations report secured for the jump," Yumi reported. "Invincible reports ready for the jump."
"We have Mechs on board? Belay that. Mr. Goodwin, link with the Invincible. You have the con; jump when ready."
"Aye sir, Navigation has the con. Sync with Invincible completed; stand by for jump in ten ... nine..." Jenna sounded out the count from her jump board and her voice was carried through-out the huge ship. Just as Jenna was getting to three, Hugh pulled a surprised Fallon onto his lap, and held on to her tightly.
Transitions were always hard, crossing the barrier between n-space and the alpha band was always the worst. Physics said that matter cannot travel faster than light in our universe. So they got around that law by altering the definitions of matter in this universe.
Technically, they didn't alter anything, they just figured out how to access something that already existed ... or didn't exist depending on your point of view. In order for mass to translate between energy-state dimensions, it must first be cancelled out in one of the dimensions so it can exist in the other. The problem with that idea was the small fact that once cancelled out, you were gone; poof! Your 'matter' scattered to the cosmos, supposedly in this other dimension.
The ultimate solution? A serious headache if you were not a human computer. The math is a forth degree nightmare with a heroin hang-over, but the long and short of it is, a 'bubble' comprised of theoretical particles called tachyons is formed to move your matter backwards in time to just before the cancellation, but since the cancellation already took place, then you couldn't be in n-space until the equation gets balanced by your downward translation back into n-space. See? Makes perfect sense.
When the normal disorientation passed, he kissed the smaller Fallon on the forehead, and loosened his hold on her so she could get up. She sighed deeply and reluctantly got up. She returned the favor of the kiss, then moved over to gossip with Jenna.
Hugh remained on the bridge until one hour after making the jump. Leaving the bridge in the hands of the third officer, HackySak, he asked Jinx to take him, Fallon and Jenna to their quarters.
It was a short trip. The Captain's 'ready room' was actually one of the rooms on the second level of the Captain's Apartments. Hugh stopped by the desk, and picked up his and Fallon's Command Cuffs. He handed Fallon's to her before pulling on his own.
A voice asked him to please place his Codex into the slot so it could get a genetic imprint of him. While he and Fallon both did as they were asked. His computer introduced itself in a slightly accented, female, voice. "Good Evening Captain Goodwin, I am your personal command interface unit and data assistant. Genetic imprint completed, sir."
Hugh grinned. "Thank you. Please call me Hugh. I really like your accent, so I'd like to call you Tatyana."
"Unit designation changed to Tatyana, Hugh. All systems are nominal, and we are on course. Beta translation will occur at eighteen-fifty, Delta translation will be at twenty-twelve. We will begin our downward translation to n-space in thirty-four days, three hours, and eleven minutes.
"All cargo pods are secure. The Ogre in Cargo 9C came loose again in translation. Although no damage is reported, a defective clamp is suspected; engineering has been notified."
Jenna watched her lovers talking to their cuffs, and she touched her own as if to reassure herself it was still there. She looked up at their large, but attractive guide. "Are you and Tabby joining us for dinner, Jinx?"
"No ma'am, not this evening," Jinx replied. "Dinner will be served at seventeen thirty hours. Your cuffs should be able to guide you from now on."
"Thank you, Jinx. We do appreciate your help with everything today. I owe you one," Hugh said.
The big woman grinned at him. "As you say, sir. May I be excused?"
Hugh nodded. "Have a good evening."
"Thank you sir, and to you," she said as she turned and left.