Chapter No.6

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
- Psalm 22 -

"We have entered normal space, Honey."

"Reduce our velocity to 5000 kps, Delphi."

"Yes, Honey."

"We are back in the human system," Arby said.

"No kidding," Honey said. "That's where we are supposed to be."

"You never know," Wendy said.

"Hopefully, there are no bad aliens out here," Arby said.

"Keep looking for them," Honey said. "You never know."

"You guys are kidding me," Arby said.

"Who else do we have to kid," Honey said. "You are the only male."

"Thanks," he said with a frown.

"How long will it be until all of these people wake up?" Wendy asked.

"The crew should begin to wake up in 4.3 hours, Honey."

"Thank you, Delphi."

"You are welcome, Honey."

"I wonder if all of the people down in the transport deck made it," Arby said.

"How about it, Delphi."

"All health monitors are active, Honey."

"That's good," Honey said. "I wouldn't want anyone dying on my watch. By the way, Delphi, have you transmitted a message to Space Command?"

"Yes I have, Honey."

"Good. They know we're coming."

"Adjust our course for the third planet, Delphi."

"Of course, Honey."

"Well, kids, we have at least four hours. What do you want to do?"

"I think that we should spank him," Wendy said, pointing to Arby.

"Why me?" he reacted. "I didn't do anything."

"You're the only male," Wendy said.

"Okay, but only if I can spank one of you."

"It's a deal," Honey said. "You can spank Wendy."

"Thanks," Wendy said with a frown.

***

"Good morning, Angelina and Martin," Honey said.

"Where are we?" Angie asked.

"We are three hours out from Earth," Honey said.

"We are getting an escort, Angie."

"Good, Delphi. Raise COM to the escort."

"Yes, Angie."

"This is the X-3003. We will be escorting you back to Space Port Alpha."

"Is that you Kim?" Marty asked.

"Yes, Martin. It is Kim Ji-Hyun. Welcome back."

"Thank you. I'm glad to see you in command."

"I owe it to you, Martin."

"No, Kim, it is because you have earned it."

"Thank you."

"These young people will be our replacements," Angie said. "They are a good group."

"Yes they are," Marty said. "Space Command has done it correctly. It won't be too long until we see aliens in command of star ships."

"What a wild idea that is," Angie said. "When that happens we will be a true galactic society."

Marty turned to Honey. "I want to know something: what do you three do while you're waiting for us to wake up?"

"We spanked Wendy and Arby," Honey said.

"You're kidding," Marty said.

"No. We had fun, didn't we, kids?"

"Next time we'll spank you," Wendy said.

"You forget, kids. I am the parent. Parents always spank children."

Marty laughed.

"I have COM to Space Command, Angie."

"Open it, Delphi."

"This is the X-5001. Admiral Sarasota speaking."

"Welcome back, Admiral," Arthur said. "We are preparing for the disembarking of your human cargo."

"Many of these people are naked."

"We understand. Supplies are being readied to clothe them before they disembark."

"Copy that," Angie said.

"Do you have any casualties?"

"We have three Drak females with wounds that are in the process of healing. Many of the women that we rescued from the Dragons are pregnant. Some are near term."

"We will be ready for them."

"Copy that."

Angie and Marty exchanged smiles.

***

An armada of transport pods descended on the X-5001 after it had come to a complete stop. An army of people entered the transport deck and began the process of clothing and organizing the people there for transport.

After squaring things away, Angie, Marty and the two Dragon females rode a pod over to the receiving deck of Space Port Alpha.

"I'm going to hang around and make sure that my girls are treated properly," Angie said.

"That's a good idea," Marty said.

When the pod docked, Angie escorted her girls to the receiving station where a surprised cadet nearly fainted.

"I'm Admiral Sarasota and this is Yin and this is Yang."

Several Space Command officials gathered around. They seemed more curious than fearful.

"These are females, I assume," Shaun said. Shaun was a thirty year old Receiving Inspector with short red hair and a square jaw. His job was to make sure no contraband entered the space port.

"Obviously," Angie said. "The males have prehensile organs that most people mistake for tails."

They laughed.

Arthur came over and caused everyone to stiffen. "I want these individuals treated with respect. They are members of Space Command now. We have negotiated a treaty with the Dragons."

"Yes, sir," Shaun said.

"Thank you," Angie said to Arthur. "We've paid dearly for this treaty and I don't want to screw it up."

Nobody could argue with her statement.

***

Marty looked up from a book to watch Angie strut into the common room and plop down into a chair.

"How are your girls?"

"They're fine. I got them quarters near ours."

"That's great. We'll have to keep an eye on them. There has to be a lot of incipient hatred for Dragons around here."

"Hatred is the vice of narrow souls; they feed it with all their littlenesses, and make it the pretext of base tyrannies."

"That was from Balzac, wasn't it?"

Angie smiled. "Yes."

"Who is in charge of them?" Marty asked.

"Uma."

Marty shook his head. "That's wild. They almost ate her, and now she cares for them."

The request signal interrupted their conversation.

"Come in," Angie said.

Uma and Lucia entered with Yin and Yang.

"Is something wrong?" Angie asked.

"No," Uma said. "Could we use your swimming pool?"

Angie smiled at Marty before turning back to Uma."

"Sure. You can undress in my quarters."

"Thank you, ma'am," Uma said, smiling.

"Do you want us to increase the opacity of the wall?" Angie asked her.

"That will not be necessary," Lucia said, smiling at Marty.

Ten minutes later Uma and Lucia struted into the pool chamber, followed by the Dragon females. Uma and Lucia dove into the water and the Dragons emulated them.

Marty turned to Angie. "Do you get the impression that modesty has been thrown out of the window?"

"What difference does it make. Nobody cares,  and there are no regulations on it."

"I believe that this loss of chastity is the result of dealing with aliens who are less emotionaly involved in procreation than we are, combined with the introduction of libido inhibiting drugs into our food supply."

Angie gave him her best serious expression. "You think too much."

"I've been accused of not thinking enough."

Angie laughed at him.

***

Arthur was more upbeat than usual, which meant that he was pleased for a change. But, like Honey would say: 'you never know'. In any event, he had plenty to say.

"We are pleased with the treaty that you made with the Dragon command. The remaining Dragons in this galaxy have gone back to Andromeda, allowing us to rescue many thousands of people from Dragon farms all over the galaxy. Those people owe you their lives. We are also elated by the number of humans that you have returned from Andromeda. I think that we can put this unfortunate affair behind us."

"There may be more humans in the Andromeda galaxy, but they're now under Cyborg control," Angie said. "We still have plenty of work to do to rescue them. I believe that the Cyborgs are a much more intractable enemy."

"We agree with your assessment, and the ULGP has decided that this new enemy must be stopped before they invade our galaxy. It is obvious from your mission report that many biological intelligent species have been destroyed in the Andromeda galaxy. We can not allow that to happen in this galaxy."

"What do you want us to do?" Angie asked.

"We are going to send you back in the X-5001 along with Brian in the X-4001, which has been updated to carry a doomsday weapon. In fact, the doomsday weapon on your ship will be updated, based on an actual test firing."

"You tested the weapon?" Marty said.

"Yes. We fired it into a G-class star that had no habitable planets and it exploded like a supernova. The parameters of that test are available to you for review, along with a recommendation of how close you can be when the star explodes."

"So what you're saying is that both Brian and we will have one of these weapons," Marty said.

"That is correct. We consider this necessary in case one of you is destroyed."

This must have been what the guys who dropped the first atomic bomb had to go through, Marty thought.

"We are pleased that you have incorporated the two Dragons into your crew," Arthur said. "This shows that we are serious about making peace."

"They seem to be good crew members," Angie said. "They follow orders and are grateful for how we treat them."

"Your treatment of aliens will go down in textbooks that all future cadets will study. You have shown both respect and mercy beyond anything that has been exhibited in the past."

"I don't know any other way," Angie said. "We are not the most intelligent species in the universe. In fact, we may be the least intelligent species. That's a fact that we all must get used to. In any event, we must do something to gain the respect of these other intelligent species. It is our duty to do so."

"We, and the members of the ULGP wholeheartedly agree with you, Admiral."

The meeting was about to break up, but Marty had one more point to bring up. "Ah, we . . .  I mean Onuki has evidence that libido inhibiting drugs have been placed in our food. Is this a policy?"

Arthur's eyes widened briefly before they returned to their usual squinty serious mode. "We felt that such measures were necessary to avoid problems with sexual matters. When you have male and female crew members packed together for months at a time, such problems will inevitably develop. In defense of that policy, we have suspended all rules concerning indecency and dress. There is essentially no discipline specified for sexual behavior."

"Is that why there is no rule about wearing bathing suits?" Marty asked.

"No, not at all. The reason for no bathing suits is that it was felt that the expense of supplying them was unreasonable. Why; is it a problem?"

"No."

"This has nothing to do with our mission," Angie said. "When are we going back?"

"We should be ready in three weeks," Arthur said. "We've been working on this very situation for some time and we think we're ready. We're installing several weapons upgrades and we will provide both you and Brian with six fighters, all with enhanced weapons."

Marty smiled. "Ninja will be happy."

Arthur smiled. "Relax and have a good time. You'll be busy when you go back to Andromeda."

"Yes, sir," Angie said, saluting.

On the way back to their quarters, Marty had his usual comment. "Arthur seemed upbeat. I wonder if he's convinced that we will be successful."

"Who knows? He's a moody administrator who really doesn't know what it's like to go out into space."

"Someone has to keep us military types under control," Marty said.

"Speaking of control, I told you that there were no rules on decency."

"Except when we're on duty."

"That's true, but when we're not, anything goes."

"Oh, I love it when you talk dirty."

She laughed.

***

Arthur looked at Angie, Marty and Brian before he consulted his reader. "I've called this staff meeting to discuss strategy and tactics for your next mission. We will be sending full compliments in both vessels and want to be sure that we have thought of everything before you launch."

"What will my compliment consist of?" Brian asked.

"You will transport a marine regiment with full battle capability, including six 500 series fighters with enhanced weaponry. The remaining members of your crew will consist of science and medical personnel. You'll also have your own flat-alien to help in case of computer problems." He turned to Angie. "You will have your standard crew with the addition of eight 500 class fighters. I believe that you now have 220 Drak females under Ninja and Moto. We've added four new pilots to your crew."

"Thank you," Angie said.

"Good," Arthur said, smiling. "Are there any questions?"

No one had any, including Marty, surprising Angie.

Arthur had a question. "We have little intel on these Cyborgs. What are they like?"

"What we've been told is that they are a mixture of biological and mechanical life," Angie said.

"From the descriptions, they must look like Robocop," Marty said.

"I'm not familiar with that reference," Arthur said.

"It's a movie character from the last century. He was a cop that died and they used his face and brain to create a cyborg that was able to stop a serious crime spree in a dystopian near-future Detroit."

"Oh. Well, we're going to need some actual data to assess this new enemy's capabilities."

"I think that we'll have to assume the worse," Marty said.

"That could be. Since we don't have data on them you're dismissed, except for you, Admiral."

Marty and Brian got up, saluted and left. Angie sat there with anxiety etched into her face.

Arthur's face went through several changes from serious to amused and back to serious. "This is out of my expertise, but I understand from Onuki that several of you are lactating and suffering from other menstrual-like symptoms."

"Yes, we are. Is there a problem?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure that having your hormones stimulated every time you go through a jump is not good."

"The main problem is the inconvenience of having to be milked and the headaches, but we're dealing with it."

"Well, you're not alone. The men are experiencing problems of their own. As I understand from Onuki, the men are loosing their ability to become erect."

"I thought that the libido inhibiting drugs were responsible for that," Angie said.

"Evidently, the hormonal imbalances from jumps are much more effective than any drug."

Angie frowned. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I am telling you this so that you don't misjudge Martin's interest in you."

Angie's eyes flittered around for a few seconds before they focused on Arthur's face. "I understand. Thank you for telling me."

He smiled. "Thank you."

"Oh, and before I forget, I want you to discipline some members of your crew."

Angie's face soured. "Now what did Martin do?"

"This time it's not the Commander. The first case is two of your new crew people: Theodore Klow and Edward Gomas."

"I wasn't aware that I had two new crew members," Angie said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I think I left their introduction up to Commander Sinclair. In any event, I want you to punish them."

"What did they do?"

"They were caught spying on several women in your crew while they were showering."

"I thought that the moral rules had been suspended," Angie said.

"They have. You're to punish them for infringing on the women's privacy rights. These two men should have asked for permission."

"Oh, I see."

"You'll take care of it, then?"

"Yes, sir."

"The other two cases are much more serious. We discovered that George Taylor, Karl Schneider and Jean-Michel Pellerteir left Space Port without permission. What's worse is that they got arrested for an altercation in a bar in Lake Tahoe."

"Oh, my!"

"Yes, I agree. The other case involves Lucia Fibonacci , Anna Petrovka and Brigit Lingrind. They also slipped off of the Space Port without permission, and were arrested for disorderly conduct in a casino in Las Vegas. I want you to severely punish both these men and these women. They must be made to realize that we're at war and that their services can be required at any time. What's worse is the fact that they have dishonored Space Command. Can I depend on you to take care of them, Admiral?"

"Yes you can, sir."

"Good. Have a nice day."

She saluted.

***

When Angie got back to her quarters from a staff meeting, she was greeted with a pleasant sight. Marty was the first to catch sight of her, and he waved, gestuing for her to come into the swimming pool chamber between hers and his quarters. Inside the chamber that held the pool, George, Karl and Andy were swimming around in the water; Tyler and Jean-Michel were standing near the diving board waiting their turn to dive; two new fully clothed men were seated on a bench alongside the pool watching the proceedings.

When Angie entered the pool chamber from her quarters, she stood near the entrance. "Good evening, gentlemen." She was wearing her full dress white uniform with white shoes and cap, giving her a formal appearance.

Marty gestured to the two new guys. "This is Theodore Klow and Edward Gomas. They're joining our crew."

They stood up to face her. Theodore was a tall blond haired young man with a chiseled face and an affable smile. Edward was shorter and more stocky but still in good shape. He had black hair cut military style.

"Welcome to our crew, gentlemen,"Angie said. "I was just informed of your assignments today."

"We're glad to be assigned to your service, Admiral. Your reputation has become legendary."

Angie smiled. "My reputation has been inflated by Martin, who has a reputation for exaggerating. By the way, I would like you two gentlemen to report to me at 1800 tomorrow. Come here to my quarters."

"We will, ma'am."

A request signal sounded.

"I'll go take care of that," Angie said. "I'll make the wall opaque, but I have to warn you men that the wall can be made to see through one way but be like a blank wall at the other side."

"We would appreciate it if you would allow us to see who is out there requesting entrance," Marty said. "In any event, come back when you're done with them, Admiral."

She smiled before retreating into her quarters and then coming into the common room to answer the door.

"Come in."

Uma, Lucia and Lia entered.

"We were wondering if we could use your pool," Uma said.

"Ah . . . you'll have to wait. The men are using it at the moment."

Uma looked at the blanked wall. "I would love to see that."

"Shame on you, Uma," Angie said to her, smiling to ensure that what she said was not offensive.

"I'm sorry, ma'am."

"Why don't you come back in a couple of hours," Angie said.

"We will, ma'am," Uma replied.

When they left, Angie headed back to the pool.

"What did they want?" Marty asked her.

"They wanted to use the pool. I told them to come back in a couple of hours."

"We appreciate that, ma'am," Karl said. "We have had a lot of trouble reserving the main pool."

"I understand," Angie said. "You're welcome here anytime."

"Thank you, ma'am. Why don't you have a seat and keep us company."

"I don't think that it's appropriate for the Admiral to enjoy the the male contingent of her crew, gentlemen. You have a right to your privacy, and I have no right to infringe on that right."

She turned and entered her quarters.

The men remained still for a few minutes before going back to having fun in the water.

***

Marty sat in the X-1007 and relaxed. He wasn't flying the craft so he didn't have to worry about anything. He and Ninja had been ordered to go down to Earth and visit the Advanced Weapons Lab at Area 51. The good news was that they would be flown directly there and would not have to suffer the indignity of taking a flight out of McCarren in Las Vegas.

When Marty and Ninja exited the X-1007, they were greeted by an old friend.

"General Wilson!"

"How have you been, Martin," the General said, energetically shaking Marty's hand.

"Good. I can't complain." He turned to Ninja. "This is Ninja, my chief security officer."

"I have heard much about you," General Wilson said, saluting. "You are very good with weapons, I hear."

"It is the primary duty of any warrior," Ninja said.

"Well, the reason we called you to this place is to show you a new weapon." He gestured to a stone building. "Come, and I'll show you."

Marty and Ninja followed the General into the building where all sorts of interesting physics research were being done. Two men were over near a test chamber and were monitoring processes that were taking place inside. One older man with gray hair and a beard to match was bent over a bench fiddling with a circuit board.

"This is Commander Sinclair and Ninja, Albert," Wilson said to him.

The old man looked up, pausing for a time to look at the Mehen before looking back at Wilson. "You're late."

"I'm always late," Wilson said. "This new Space Command is run by a bunch of bureaucrats who seem intent on wasting my time in endless meetings."

"I suppose you want me to show them the death ray," Albert said.

"Yes, I want to have them try it in combat," Wilson said. "They're going back out to Andromeda and will be faced with a more dangerous enemy. The death ray should give them an edge."

"We only have two prototypes and they're both hand weapons."

"It will have to do." Wilson turned to Marty and Ninja. "This new weapon is an energy beam device with a twist. It penetrates to the inside of an enemy and burns from the inside out. It should be most effective against these new Cyborgs."

"It sounds rather insidious," Marty said. "I imagine that it would be a terrible way to die."

"There is no good way to die in battle," Wilson said. "It's the best we could come up with on short notice."

***

Angie was relaxed with a book when the request signal sounded.

"Come in."

"Uma, Lucia, Lia, Anna and Brigit marched in and stood in a line at attention.

"May we use your pool?" Uma asked.

"Of course."

"Would you care to join us?" Anna asked her.

"I can't," she said, offering a smile. "I have to take care of some business in a few hours."

"We understand," Anna said.

They entered Angie's quarters to undress and then entered the pool chamber to use the showers on the far wall.

"I'm surprised that the men aren't here," Uma said while lathering up.

"The men are probably at The Black Hole." Anna said.

"I wish that we could watch them swim." Uma said.

"What I would love to see is the men being punished," Brigit said. "I hear that the Admiral makes them strip."

"Now, that would be a show worth seeing," Lucia said.

"You girls are bad," Lia said, grinning.

They laughed.

Later when Angie had settled down in the common room with her book, she watched Marty enter.

"Hi."

"Good evening, Admiral"

"You missed the show," Angie said, giving him a teasing grin.

"Show? What show?"

"The women were here using the pool: Uma, Lucia, Anna, Lia, and Brigit."

"I couldn't help it. Ninja and I got hung up testing a new weapon at Area 51 and we missed the shuttle. We had to wait four hours for the next one."

"What new weapon is that?"

Marty pulled it out of a holster strapped to his leg. It looked more like a Buck Rogers ray gun. "This shoots an energy beam that penetrates into the center of the body and begins to burn from the inside out. It's quite an insidious device, which General Wilson calls a Death Ray."

"I'm surprised that they left you on the Space Port with that," Angie said.

"Ninja and I are commissioned security agents. We're authorized to carry any weapon we wish."

"Well, why don't you put the gun away and come here and give me a kiss."

Marty unbuckled the holster and laid it down. He unlatched his jacket, pulled it off and then approached her. She was dressed in a blouse and pants outfit, and when she unlatched the blouse to open it up, Marty took her in his arms and they mashed lips, softly at first and then with more pressure. He pulled her blouse down while kissing her.

"Admiral Sarasota and Commander Sinclair, please report to the Medical Station."

"Damn it, they have to be watching us," Angie growled.

Marty laughed.

After they adjusted their clothing, Angie and Marty went to the Medical Station on Deck 5. There they found a smiling Onuki and Ferris waiting for them.

"You are just in time to see Val give birth," Onuki said. "She is in here."

When they entered a room inside the Medical Station, Angie and Marty found a naked Val squatting on a strange looking stool made out of wood.

"That's a birthing stool, isn't it?" Marty said.

"You are correct," Ferris said. "It is an ancient but very effective method to deliver."

Val cried out from the pain of labor, raising up from the stool and supporting herself with handles carved into the side of the stool. The stool had a semicircle section carved out of the seat and there was a pan underneath, and its function became obvious when the baby began its final push out into the universe.

Onuki and Ferris aided the delivery, cutting the cord, cleansing the baby and presenting it to Val, who kissed its head and looked up at Angie and smiled.

"It is a male. My people will forever bless you for what you have done for me."

"That's what we do," Angie said. "We are here to serve, not be served."

That sentiment became the mantra of Space Command.

***

Angie heard the request signal sound and got up from her couch. "Come in."

Theodore and Edward entered the common room, and she got up to open her door. "Gentlemen, you're late."

"We're sorry, ma'am. We got lost."

"The reason I called you is that I've been given orders to discipline you for infringing on the privacy of the women."

"We apologize for that, ma'am." Edward said.

"Actually, I don't see that you've done anything that bad, especially considering that you are both young men, but I have my orders and I have to follow them just like you."

"We understand, ma'am."

"Good." Angie went to the common room door. "I have reserved a room down the corridor. Come with me."

They followed her to a gym chamber. There were no furnishings or objects in the room, and they stood at attention while Angie paced around in front of them.

"What are you going to do to us?" Theodore asked.

She stopped. "I don't know. What do you think I should do to you?"

"We've heard stories from Commander Sinclair about your discipline sessions," Theodore said.

"I've punished the Commander so many times, I've lost count," Angie said. She smiled. "I think I can come up with something that will give you bragging rights."

"We would really appreciate that, ma'am," Edward said.

"Okay, then, I want you to undress."

"Everything, ma'am?"

"Yeah, why not."

Angie watched them start to unbutton their shirts, but before they got very far she raised her hand. "Wait a moment. Keep your shirts on. Would you give permission for some of the women to watch?"

"I see no reason to object, ma'am," Theodore said. "Who did you have in mind?"

"How about the women you spied on?"

Theodore and Edward exchanged smiles. "That's okay, ma'am. It's only fair that they should enjoy watching us be punished for violating their privacy."

Angie walked over to a wall unit and punched a button. "Would you contact Uma Bharatiya, Anna Petrovka, Lucia Fibonacci, Lia Baidu and Brigit Lindgren and ask them to come to A-102."

"Yes, Admiral"

She walked back to the two men. "Relax, gentlemen. We'll wait until they arrive before we begin."

The two men exchanged glances. They were both elated and worried at the same time, but the idea of being disciplined in front of women was embarrassing, but they were committed now.