The Hellas team had been assembled and moved from Sinai with a caravan of gear through the tunnel.  Mara was in charge in a general way, their supervisor, and the one that called Sinai every day to report on their progress.  There were several teams among the larger one.

      Both Etan's were going to be there for a while and so they had decided that when speaking in general of one or the other Sadian's son would go by Etienne.  He was to be head of a small team composed of himself, Ebrian, Zetjan, Xmanda and Etan.  They would work on building as many vehicles and if time and supplies allowed new bugs and droids.  In addition they were needed in Hellas and also in Midway because there were few systems in place as there were in Sinai that could centrally control climate, lighting, temperature, communications and all the other things that Trip thought should be centrally controlled and completely wired together. 

      Iolanthe was returning with them as head of the team that would build new structures at Hellas Station.  They badly needed an expanded crop growing location and had relied on their droids rather than permanent industrial structures for much processing.  She had planned  a large underground crop field similar to the one in Hempshire to be located immediately north of the present buried structures.  She had brought as her helpers in this many of the younger women.  Caith, Eleria and Ethe were among them, also Ovenia, Lae and Aphi.  All this group of women had no training and self defense and would be led by Mara in learning the basic skills. 

      Also, Brittany had been assigned to go with them because with the others busy she had the ability to work on the array of dishes, also Mara was to help Brittany in learning to control her inherited powers of a witch.

      The living quarters at Hellas were very small and so the first order of business had been to blast out much more of the area just north of and further below the existing space in order to build on it.  All the group then excavated and marked off the hollows wearing their suits, older ones because Lade hadn't had time to make the new ones yet. 

      The next day a metal framework and in some areas concrete walls or floors went up.  It was four days sleeping in a pressurized plastic bubbled in a complete tangle trying to keep warm but then the exterior walls were sealed and the air processors filled the chamber with breathable air. 

      Etienne and his team took control of the oldest section and went to work on drafting vehicles and collecting parts already made for existing vehicles.  It annoyed Iolanthe, but she was busy with the new sections of construction. 

      Already Caith, Eleria and Ethe were spending all their waking time fitting together plastic tubing and putting loads of soil through washes to remove the salts.  Every day they were covered in mud and waited till it dried so they could scrape it off.  They badly needed larger supply of water. 

      There were processors at work trying to convert the dry ice cap into carbon and liquid oxygen, then mixing the liquid oxygen with liquid hydrogen collected from the air by compressors.  It was slow.  So water was rationed, they needed to fill the new reservoir tank so that future processing would only have to make up for use a day at a time and not all at once.  And then there was a small lagoon planned.

      Iolanthe felt that Hellas station needed some animal life, aquatic life.  In the lowest part of the new excavation she planned an indoor lagoon, a pool of water for quick swims and to house fairly harmless fish, reptiles, birds and amphibians. 

      Iolanthe, Mara, Brittany, Ovenia, Lae and Aphi spent their time hard at work continuing with the welding together of metal framework and attaching floor sections and walls according to Iolanthe's plans.  They now had actual rooms, all empty.

      The crop field now had properly irrigated hydroponic tubes connected to the reservoir, but shut off by valve, and wide brick lined beds of soil.  Still dirty all the time Caith, Eleria and Ethe planted seeds and small plants Sadian had provided them and opening mesh bags of insects Sadian had bred and given them. 

      Now, when taking short breaks they would sit and watch Etan on a ladder wiring the ceiling with lamps and speak about how good he smelled.  Caith said she was beginning to think Dori was right: Etan put out some sort of pheromones that made him nearly irresistible.  Xmanda said she was sick of it, she didn't want to be distracted from her work.  It had been her idea to send Etan away to wire the lamps.

      Now Caith would come into the large room they all slept in from working in the dirt and see it was not Brittany Etan was snuggled with or kissing but Zetjan.  And though they liked him, it upset Eleria and Ethe just a bit because Zetjan was theirs, if Etan was around, he wouldn't have time for either of them, and not actually being lovers, all they really wanted was their friend back to sleep between them and tell them they were pretty and to give them hugs and kisses even when they were covered in mud.

                      ?                ?                ?

      "Oh Captain, My Captain," the two Weird Sisters called with their usual dramatic flair, but actually they amused Kei.  "Captain, we have a plan."  Kei looked at Athracht and Blaith, then looked toward Martin who was also in the map room.  A small bow of the head told the women to continue.

      Blaith lay a drawn plan out across one of the tables.  "We've altered a copy of Martin's Eden topographical survey."

      "Think, fertile crescent, Valley of the Nile...good book says there were four rivers running through Eden, I do believe the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile were three."

      "I don't see rivers..."

      "Well, we don't need rivers when we have these!" Athracht said and flipped up a sketch on piece of paper.  Her chalk sketch showed stone structures, pyramids, ziggurats, and mastabas.  Kei looked down at the plan again, saw that locations of these structures were carefully marked.  A large pyramid was located over the grouping of modules they were in now.  Brittany's was clearly marked as were new buildings similar in plan.  Elsewhere there were stepped pyramids drawn out and smooth sided pyramids. 

      "Martin, maybe Alix should look at this," Kei said.  Martin activated his comlink to call Alix from upstairs.    He came to the table then and looked at the plan. 

      "Interesting layout," he said, "Won't it take too long to build these sort of structures?"

      Athracht shook her head and smiled.  "They aren't really made of stone!" Blaith butted in.

      "Our proposal: three large pyramids, all as the ones in Sinai, glass and metal framework with outer layer of protective camouflaged shutters.  We already are experienced at putting these up, can even program your machines and bugs using our old plans.  The outlying houses: as Brittany's is.  Time and resources permitting industrial plant and bug stables will be housed in ziggurats of concrete over metal skeleton."

      Alix came into the map room as Athracht was explaining their plan.  He looked over the drawing.  Without word he pulled a pencil from Martin's pocket and drew quick changes to the sisters' plan.  "Let's build it," he said.

      "What are the changes?" Kei asked.

      "He's shifted orientation and location of a few buildings, nothing major," Blaith said. 

      "Get the plans redrawn so we can program the machines!" Alix called from beyond the hatch. 

      "It'll be easier if we all just follow his orders," Athracht said, "He knows what he's doing, and we don't have much time.  I'll redraw the plans now."

      "Very well, when you are ready, get them to me, I am anxious to get the machines working."

      "Yes, My Captain," Athracht sang.

      "Goodbye, My Captain," sang Blaith.

      Martin came closer to Kei, whispered to him, "They are all a bit strange."

      "Yes.  But I wouldn't want to be fighting for the other side.  But, don't think on it too much.  Focus on doing your best in the building effort."

      "You realize we will have more to loose in the battle."

      "More to gain from overcoming," Kei smiled.  "Get some rest.  They need you to do some remote consulting regarding excavation at Midway and are working nights there."

                      ?                ?                ?

      The Midway team had left Sinai later than the other teams, not because they had a short distance to travel but because when the suits in good condition were taken they found that some of their team had no suits at all.  So the Midway team of eleven adults and one infant received the first of the suits they had helped Lade to make.

      The making of the suits required the building of the layered fabric in trays designed for this purpose, the pouring of liquid that would cure as tough elastic material, the addition of mesh of fibers to uncured liquid and careful placement of tubing to heat the suit and still more layers required either for simulation of pressure or warmth.  Once the suit shape was lifted from these pre-patterned trays the seams were joined by fusing or with seals that could open to facilitate dressing.  Lade herself had to create the layered fabric, but Arthen or others under her supervision could then assemble it. 

      Arthen was one of the better helmet crafters.  The interior was always similar, only different as wearer's size demanded, but the hard outer layer was often figurative, created of  molded plastic formulated to withstand the extreme changes in temperature.  As they had little time Arthen and Lade used older molds for many helmets, all these new suits and their helmets were a shade of pinkish orange they called Mars Red, intended to match the outer landscape and camouflage the wearers.  The helmets were usually in the form of horned face, beaked eagle, unicorn, or lion, a few were wolves. 

      Blath was leading this team to Midway and now wore a wolf helmet as she had given her helmet to Brittany.  Carlo was part of her team, and all of those who lived within D Den.  Begh, Irais and their child Helen went with this team, Helen in sim suit with helmet that extended to cradle her back and having large transparent face to it so that she could easily be watched and see what was going on.  Begh would carry her in harness of sorts on her back or against her stomach.  Begh's parents Io and Kien also were on this team, and completed it.

      Before ever reaching Midway they had discussed plans to keep the existing tiny rest-stop-like structure intact as a decoy of sorts and build larger complex on the opposite side of the tunnel with ground level greenhouse protected by camouflaged shutters.  They would then connect the new structure to the old with small passage hidden from the interior of the old modules that made up the present stopping place.

      Now they were beginning excavation alongside the tunnel.  Carlo and Blath used portable terminal to conference with Martin about the area's areology.  Midway was in the darker more obviously cratered half of the planet that seemed to remain ancient at this outer layer.  They were concerned as they had been to some extent in excavating Sinai and Hellas that long ago impacts had caused compression of the ground into denser rock. 

      Martin said he hadn't the time to come out and do a reading with ground sonar.  They should try to get core samples.  If digging or drilling seemed difficult they would have to blast.  They had been blasting in Hellas without consultation at Iolanthe's orders. 

      Aedan reported that they were digging into fines and dense rocky soil and then more dense rock.  But the blades of the construction droids should be able to handle most of the work.  So, they had the droids dig.

                      ?                ?                ?

      Tathai, Rozz, Acyndia and Kiara had been sent as escort to an army of large treaded mining droids and worms from Eden base that would dig the tunnel from Hellas to Cydonia.  They met with the group in Eden as they were putting up the framework of a large pyramid aided by their large mantis robots. 

      "We have worm sign!" Athracht's voice came over their comlinks.

      "Gutentag, I've got a digging plan for you right here and our Captain's ready to assist with any programming of the worms...how'd they test out?"

      "Sinai's got a few new secret bunkers and new underground site for crop farming!" Tathai called over their link.  "How are things here?"

      "Recreating the birthplace of civilization Hempshire style...with a few surprises of my own," Alix called as the fleet of robots stopped and Tathai and Kiara emerged from the belly of one of the miners, a large automated driller with large diamond tipped nose. 

      "You just need helmets shaped as Ibises and jackals, a falcon perhaps," Kiara said.

      "Lade's working on them," Blaith cut in.  

      They went inside for a quick rest and light meal.  "It's really just the five of you working here?" Rozz asked.

      "We've got a large number of the bugs with us that do most of the labor, otherwise we'd never get this done," Martin said.  "But if there were any more of us I'm afraid we'd never decide what to build, the sisters and Alix have had so many ideas, a new one every day."

      "I've decided against camouflaging most of these structures, we want the look of splendor and yet we want heavy defenses.  This location will be known to the enemy already.  The buildings will all appear to be stone, will have shutters of a sort with real stone attached to them, but they are designed to be able to change in shape.  Athracht got the idea from some Earth movie, but I adapted it," Alix said.

      "They've convinced us to build something really splendid we will want to fight for," Kei said.  "If we have time we are going to create a long lined avenue leading up to the main pyramid and a sort of temple as the facade of this pyramid.  No one can get to the entrance without going through some part of this avenue and temple like structure, and we can target anything within it, place automated weapons even."

      "So, ready to dig?" Alix asked.

      "If you've got a decent survey of the topography and a location for the tunnel to pass by or through Eden," Tathai said.

      Alix smiled at his half-brother, "Certainly," he said handing over a plan on graph paper. 

      "Excellent, then we can get the machines working on this," Tathai said.

      "Do you have enough stores for your stay out on site?" Martin asked.

      "We're on rations now, but yes," Rozz answered.

      Martin nodded.  "Let us know if you need help out there."

      "When you get close to Cydonia my sister will be able to give you a plan for the connecting section of tunnel," Athracht said, "she and the men are up there installing defenses and tending the crops."

                      ?                ?                ?

      Almost a month had passed since Trepidation had learned of the ship coming and alerted his family and new friends.  Already so much progress had been made, sure there were glitches in the system all across the board, too much salt in D Den, not enough in C Den, too little or too much rain or snow came down in A and B Dens.  The temperature had gotten rather cold in E and F Dens. 

      They would need an herb and not find a stocked supply in any of the pantries, no one had been collecting them.  They ate thin stew pretty much daily and woke up at odd hours still exhausted.  But their lives seemed right now to depend on getting certain tasks out of the way. 

      There were twelve of them left in Sinai, all living at the castle and cutting power to all the systems they could afford to.  They stockpiled while they starved.  Diverted power to Midway or to the heaters in the new crop field. 

      It was just one kilometer below the surface, not two as the bases of the dens.  But it was many times wider, taking up the space that had been left when the six shafts were dug in a circle for the dens so that new airlocks and passages connected many of the dens to the crop field.  It could be opened to the sun by opening of elaborate system of shutters they had been building all month or lit by strong lamps.  Right now it was all uneven mud and hemp seeds open to the sun, with stabilizing metal girders, beams and catwalks crisscrossed in the space between outside and inside ground levels, a few lamps. 

      But in three months time when the ship's people had only just arrived they would already have tons of hemp ready to harvest and process and the crop would have enriched the soil with nitrogen so that they could plant rows of many different crops for future harvest.  And then it didn't matter if they got F Den. 

      Athracht often caused Trip to think she smoked the stuff the way she raved about growing hemp, but they'd grown enough of it that they could process the fiber and still live for years off  rationed high protein hemp seed cakes.  Apparently Sadian was expanding the quinoa crop, as she claimed this seed too was high in protein. 

      So what if every meal eventually became a choice of which bread you wanted to dip in blood: hemp, quinoa, wheat, or corn?

      Trip was crowded in the small space under a console in the DeSal station between C and D Dens, missing his talented techs that were in Hellas building transports.  Zetjan had always kept this station working, but Trip hadn't yet grasped his logic in placement of cables.  It was a real custom on-the-fly type mess he had to deal with before the dolphins and manatee tried to beach themselves, he'd found a few dead fish. 

      "Claudia," he called.  She was slow in responding these days, almost entirely devoting the mainframe's processors to running battle sims. 

      "How may I help you?"

      "Can you conference me with Zetjan?"

      "Wait, please.  I'll work on it."

      "I think maybe it's these cables running to the primary filters...or is it the boiler temperature?  I bet that's it.  I don't know what I'll divert power from.  Midway better get their generator up."

      "I am having trouble contacting anyone at Hellas station," Claudia said, "Shall I continue to try?"

      "Yes!" Trip said and scooted from under the console, "Now I want to know why you can't reach them."

      "Curiosity will get you everywhere," Claudia mused.  Trip thought she was sounding overworked.

      "Forget that a minute, call up the schem on DeSal, what components in here could be causing salt levels to rise in D Den?"

      Such along wait for a supercomputer.  "Check the boiler interior or exit tubes for salt deposits."

      Trip went to the boiler and closed the valve of one of the tubes.  He loosened its connection at a bend with a wrench then looked inside.  "Fuck! The system's choked with salt deposits.  I'm going to have to shut it all down.  The waterfall, the river, the sea pumps, everything!"

      "Database prescribes flushing the boiler interior with a cleaner and replacing tubing wherever possible."

      "Verdammt Schieß!  Get Zetjan for me, or Etan, I need help, things are falling apart everywhere."

      "I have Hellas Station now, I will patch into the DeSal console monitor."

      Trip looked down at the monitor.  It was Mara there, she looked a bit...frustrated.  "Hi hon," Trip said to her.

      "We have a small problem or two here," Mara said and put her hand to her temple, always a bad sign. 

      "Everyone's OK?"

      "Trip, Brittany and Caith are both pregnant."

      Trip turned from the monitor for a moment.  Etan.  What was he thinking?  "Etan?" Trip asked looking again at Mara.

      "Yes.  Trip, I think there's something about him, like Tris had, like the opposite of the fear.  It's rather got us all crazy spending so much time sleeping in one room.  It's not constant, you only feel it when he's the slightest bit aroused."

      "So every time a pretty body of either sex walks by anyone around Etan is drawn to him?"

      "Caith tells me he's always done it.  Dori and Blath had noticed it before."

      "Somehow I don't think he'd need any special power to get Blath and Dori to play with him...but what can we do?"

      "I want to send him and the girls back there.  They should stay with Sadian right now."

      "If they leave won't it be less trouble with him there?"

      "Well, Eleria would be here.  And actually now he's got Zetjan quite interested in him and they have trouble working together."

      "Send me Zetjan, Caith and Brittany.  I need Zetjan here to help me do some repairs, it's why I called.  Try to deal with Etan.  I know exactly how hard it is, not being in control of something like that, but tell him to try."

      "Trip, I'll send them to you, but I'd rather have Etan go to Midway so Blath can deal with him."

      "I see," said Trip.  Mara was finding the young man irresistible too.  "When can you come back?  I miss you."

      Mara sighed.  "We are making progress.  We've got the team here making vehicles and making a big mess in operations.  We're putting heating elements within the depression to facilitate a liquid state of water within it.  And we've got a sort of glass wall in the depression wall, a bio habitat forming below, inside.  But we're still working on getting anything to grow and putting up walls and doors.  We're not heavily fortified, except that we are mainly underground."

      "I'd ask you to come visit, but it wouldn't be fair to the others."

      "I know."

      "Maybe when we send the animals to Midway I could go along and we could meet halfway."

      "That would be nice.  I love you, I know we can get through this."

      "I love you, Mara."

                      ?                ?                ?

      Construction on Midway was going well.  Excavation was complete, the exterior walls, doors and seals were intact and they had their secret entrance in the old stopping point.  Now they tended young plants within a large rectangular habitat, more like the dens of Sinai than the greenhouses and crop fields of the other bases.  All the crops and plants they needed were here but seemingly wild. 

      They had used many of the plant bio material Sadian had that would be found in the lands within Earth's Pacific Ocean, including many plants native to Australia.  They waited for delivery of their animals, having been removed from stasis and implanted in surrogate wombs, or cloned from only a few cells with intact DNA and also implanted.  They would have a few sheep and cattle, as Australians did, and rabbits, a number of insects, birds, and other small animals that grew on Earth's island nations. 

      They drained rabbits for their blood so often, and were so quick they didn't think the rabbits would be a problem. 

      Soon Trepidation would come along with the animals.  But meanwhile construction went on with interior walls being put in place in the living and working quarters, all located below the habitat, a few having skylights to let some amount of light filter down.  They were working on their generator, on placing hidden solar panels and windmills in the nearby area.  They had air processors and compressors to assemble yet, they had only just enough, and no backup system. 

      The work was going along fairly well.  Carlo's help in creating the habitat had been most valuable.  It was something like a collection of large rooms with irregular rounded shapes to walls and floors.  There were pools of water, a small stream, trees, shrubs, flowers, grass, and insects...yet all this was obviously indoors.  A clearing with grassy floor might have a table several chairs and a shelving unit built into the lichen-covered wall. 

      It was a nice place, peaceful.  Except that Etan and Blath had been at war since he arrived there.  It was not a real war in which one wishes to destroy the enemy, the others knew, but a planned struggle.  Blath wanted to force Etan to control his strange abilities, and she wanted to learn them at the same time. 

      When he felt attracted to a person, aroused by a stray thought, Blath spit disgusting frightening words at him.  Etan would use the voice on her: tell her things that would soothe her, invite her to see imagery that would seduce or excite her.  And struggling to resist Blath would continually try to capture the voice, to use an equal power of her own.  She was one ancestor away from being as much Angel as Etan was, only her blood did not come from one who had been called by mortals Venus and goddess of Love.  Blath's blood came from Mephistopher the Ravenstar.  And Mephisto was better known for seduction of another kind, con games, scams, life or death stakes on a bet or a deal, a charming manner and silver tongue but always it dripped with poison. 

      Blath had called up this power from within her, acknowledged this dark lineage and would suggest to Etan imagery of her own. 

      To the others this was frightening, to see Blath and Etan cooing and growling at each other, one hissing the other kissing.  It was hard to believe they did not truly hate each other, their arguments were so violent and graphic.  "You smell like shit, you reek like the dung of a hundred old elephants," Blath said.

      "Your blood comes to you from the Lord of Flies, shit is your favorite meal, you can't resist the smell of it."

      "Then watch me lay foul eggs on you and my million maggot children devour your rotting flesh!"

      "I love maggots, maggots are tasty, I devour your children, lick them from my skin with pretty, long, pink tongue."

      "Vagina denata!" Blath shouted, skipping ahead as she knew where Etan was going.

      "Then my penis is hard as steel, the cold hard metal barrel of a gun aiming straight into your womb...I got a bullet for ya right here."

      Blath almost gave in, managed to recover, "My Martian pussy is cold enough to turn your steel as brittle and fragile as a dead twig.  I shatter your manhood, Etan."

      Blath had won that argument.  There had been those she had lost, and had given in momentarily or for an entire night.  Once lured into these matches Etan did not wish to just stop when he had won, and in winning he would have kept Blath from saying she did not want him. 

      The others might get upset but Etan and Blath knew they fought these matches for a reason, so that Blath might learn to make others do as she willed in much more reliable manner than putting a chain on Dori.  Blath had been the first to say she thought Etan could be a weapon, and if that idea sickened him, she would become one.  What better defense could she have for herself than to suggest with simple words, images or ideas that would cause an enemy to fear her.  Already she had this fear, from Trip, from her father Astoric.  Now she was learning to use her voice to turn it on when she wanted and use it to her advantage. 

      Fortunate, or unfortunate as things might turn out, Blath had also become pregnant.  She had told Etan, and told Dori, and didn't care to announce this to anyone else whether or not they might figure it out for themselves.

      It seemed, actually, that either the time of year, the knowledge that a battle came or some other mysterious force had rather gotten everyone a bit twipperdated, to use a Disney phrase.  Athene had become pregnant with Carlo's child.  Weird Sister Blaith now carried Kei's child within her.   The only reason so many more of the women were not pregnant was that they had not felt compelled to stop taking their pills. 

      Perhaps it was a sort of madness, a desire to bring new blood into the gene pool while they were able.

                      ?                ?                ?

      Trepidation arrived in large truck with many containers containing animals.  He parked the truck in the tunnel and waited for the others to help him unload the truck.  Theodoric was with him, wearing one of the new suits and some of the new armaments he had just created.  The helmet was the face of Mayan deity Quezalcoatl, red like all the new helmets and having metal slave rings about the neck.  He wore outside the sim suit an armored vest that was a darker blood red in color, thick protective gauntlets, the left one with plate of polished metal and outer boots that protected his knees and shins, as well there was an armored flap belted at the waist to protect the genitals that also served as holster to hand weapons. 

      Carlo, Aedan, Minerva, and Edil came out to help them unload.  The containers had to be quickly brought through the passages into the habitat because the animals only had a limited air supply within. 

      As they came into the new section of Midway Trip and Dori, still both suited and armored, though Trip was somewhat more lightly protected, stopped to look around.  The others who were inside took the containers from this point while those in suits continued to unload the truck. 

      They saw that Blath and Etan were coming toward them.  "Watch me scare the life out of him," Theodoric said.  As Etan came to stand before then Theodoric punched him square in the jaw so that Etan fell back onto the floor. 

      Etan looked up as Theodoric removed his helmet and smiled for Blath.  "I'm sorry," he said as Blath sidled up to Theodoric, herself smiling.

      Theodoric laughed.  "That'll teach ya to remember to include me next time!"  He reached into the narrow pouch at his waist and removed a small sealed plastic bag.  "Got ya a present, Meine Liebling."  Blath sighed as she watched Theodoric open the bag and remove a sugar cube. 

      Theodoric fed the cube of sugar to Blath's mouth, felt her lips kiss his fingers as he did. 

      "Sugar cube?" Etan asked. 

      "She is pregnant."

      "Our women crave sugar when pregnant, "Trepidation explained, "Actually we all thrive on it, but the women especially when with child."  He looked around for a moment.  "One of the containers has some sugarcane in it.  How is Athene?"

      It seemed Blath and Theodoric were now busy.  "I suppose she is fine.  I worry more about Carlo.  I do not think he can except that Athene and her parents are very pleased about this and don't really mind if Carlo stays with her or not."

      "I worried about this," Trepidation said.  "Blath!"

      "Hmmn?"

      "Blath, I want you to go back to Sinai, take Dori and Etan with you.  I'm counting on you to take care of yourself and keep these two out of trouble.  I do get the idea Etan hasn't a problem staying with the both of you, nor does Dori."

      Dori smiled rather wickedly, "Want me to keep him from playing with the girls?"

      "I am quite serious. Etan, I don't know exactly how it all occurs to you but from knowing Tris who was your grandfather I think its a very good idea you keep household, at least, with Blath and Dori.  For now the three of you should be content, and work well together.  I gather you and Blath have been in training of sorts, that's why she's pregnant?"

      "Yes," Etan said, "If they will have me...I like Blath and Dori...so it won't seem punishment."

      "Just wait," Blath said.

      "Blath, I need you to be my liaison in Sinai.  You'll have to work with Rachael and Claudia a lot, make decisions, but I trust you can do this," Trip said.

      "Where are you going?" Blath asked, tearing herself away from Theodoric.

      "I'll be making a round of the other settlements, to see how things are going.  I also have some more sugarcane in the cab of my truck to deliver.  Can you handle it, Blath?  You should get used to some level of leadership, we'll need it soon, more desperately."

      "Don't worry, Trip, I'll do my best, whip everyone into shape.  You just call me and I'll tell you what's going on."

      Trip nodded.  "Caith and Brittany have been working in Sadian's lab with her, as Dori will explain most of us are keeping house at the castle.  It will be nice for Etan to be with all three of you."

      Etan blushed.  Felt almost guilty. 

      "You liked it!" Dori said.

      Etan looked desperate and flung himself to Dori's shoulder in mock tears.  "I really really did.  Help me."

      "Oh, this is going to be fun," Blath groaned.  "Dori, you can drive, I'll suck sugar cubes and Etan can entertain us during the trip.  I want you to make me some scary armor when we get back there.  I only have to carry six months.  They'll probably be someone for me to battle then."

      "Yeah, but that last month of The Madness is tough," Theodoric said.

      "Madness?" Etan asked.

      Theodoric laughed aloud.  "You'll find out.  You'll have three of them going through it."

      "Two, actually," Trepidation said quietly, "human women don't go though the madness quite like ours."

      "Really?" Theodoric asked.

      "Unless it's one of our children," Trip said, "Mara went through it, my mother went through it and she was a Vampyre.  Killed my father the day I was born."

      "Just turned him undead?" Etan asked.

      "Don't worry, the Madness doesn't make them homicidal.  But it is pretty hard all the same."

      "Tell me," Etan said.

      "Well, they eat sweets like fiends, crave blood, appear to be arguing with themselves, but it's just them talking to the baby.  And then they get rather like you, Etan, demand sex, then tell you they don't really want to do it.  They are just mad."

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