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Grey Chronicles
Sixteen
(10/09/06 0330 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
The trussed steer stared mournfully up at Iain and mooed. He grinned and scratched it on the head. “Hey, buddy.” It raised its head and licked his fingers. “Yeah, I know being tied up sucks. It’s almost over, I promise.” He looked over at April. “Ready?”
She nodded.
Iain drew his pistol and shot the steer in the middle of the head just below the line of the eyes. This close there was an overlapping double report as the weapon went off and the explosive round detonated a millisecond later. The animal dropped instantly. Immediately Canaan and Zareen cut its bindings, grabbed the hind legs and hoisted it onto hooks hung from the portable gantry that had been set up. April set the clean tub into place and sliced the throat open with a short energy blade.
Zareen held the carcass by the back to steady it as Canaan grabbed the forelegs with her two lower hands and pressed on the chest with her uppers. She shoved, compressing the sternum and forcing the heart to beat. Blood poured from the neck of the steer into the tub with each compression.
Daphne, Lynn, Chuck, Allison and Rosemary watched from where they were sitting just far enough back to be out of the way of the slaughter. The Growlie lifted her head and sniffed deeply. “That smells heavenly. What are you going to do with the blood?” Beside her, Daphne surreptitiously swallowed a sudden mouthful of saliva.
April grinned. “I’ll make black pudding out of it. I’ve got an old family recipe that is wonderful. I haven’t made it out of cow’s blood before, just kattle, but I don’t think it’ll be a problem.” She pulled a bowl from her pack and held it under the diminishing flow of blood. “There’s some bread in my pack. I’ll cut it up and you can dip it into here for a taste of fresh blood.” By the time she turned around, Rosemary had already gotten out the loaf and was holding it for April to cut evenly. The Duelist, as beta and inner harem, was implicitly trusted to be impartial in most things.
The Kitten eyed Iain almost coquettishly. “Would you like some of my bread, sir?”
Iain didn’t look up from where he was beginning to remove the steer’s hide. He didn’t need perception to see the angry looks from the rest of the employees towards the smug looking Rosemary. She was smug and they were angry because she’d thought of it first. “Thanks but my metabolism is still human and I’m going to have to pass because I’d puke that back up in short order.”
The blood flow had slowed to a trickle and April covered the tub before moving it. “I’ve got another tub over there,” she nodded in its direction, “for the organs.” She gave Iain a halfhearted glare. “Don’t forget this time.”
He glanced up at her. “When I slaughtered that last steer you never told me you wanted the blood and small intestine. As for the rumen, we weren’t considering making cheese at that point so I tossed the stomach. In my defense, I did grill the kidneys for you.”
“That you did, but this time I’ll get to use them in a kidney pie.”
Iain muttered something about Irish and food as April took the tub of blood away with her.
Allison flicked her ears curiously as she watched Canaan begin using a knife to clean the carcass. “You know energy blade. Why not use that?”
“Because I wouldn’t know when I reached bone,” the Splice replied as she cut. “With an energy blade it would be easy to accidentally chop up the chest and ruin the ribs. And Texans have a particularly special place in their heart for barbecued beef ribs.” She grinned at the Umbrea. “You will be a convert too after you’ve had some. Right, Daphne?”
The Whorizard nodded vigorously. “If Iain cooks them she will. I thought meat was meat was meat, but I’m a believer now.”
Allison looked dubious. “So satellite harem gets to eat special things with everyone else?”
Canaan glanced over her shoulder at her. “We all eat the same things, Allison, if we want to. That’s been Iain’s rule since he first acquired a pokegirl and it’s not going to ever change. Sometimes it might mean we all just get a taste of something, but you will get your taste.” She shot Iain a sour look. “I will warn you that if Iain says something is spicy, it is.”
He chuckled. “I made some salsa. I made some that was mild for everyone else and made a batch for me that was spicier. Being pokegirls, several people had to try my food to see why mine was different.” He smiled mischievously. “It was funny to me.”
Canaan snorted. “If it had been any hotter it would have cooked itself.”
“You’re just not used to spicy food, although I will admit that it all depends on what you’re used to. I had some varhadi rassa mutton that made me weep from the heat.”
Canaan stopped cutting to gape at him. “I’d probably die from that.”
“Only on the pass through.”
The Splice frowned and resumed cutting. “What’s that?”
“It’s commonly known that spicy food is spicy going down and spicier coming out.”
“I don’t get,” she broke off and glared at him. “Oh.”
He laughed. “Yeah. Oh.” Allison joined in with the laughter. “But today is all about the barbecue. I’ll be cooking most of this steer and some chicken too, all for tonight.”
***
(10/09/06 0930 Port Arthur, Texas League)
Dave Pruitt looked at the people in the room. “Ok, you have your instructions. Nanette and I will be checking up on you.”
Lisa Cowan shrugged. “You won’t have any problems, Dave. I have a reputation to uphold.” She looked at the other people, a mix of humans and pokegirls. “Some of you are new to my employment so I’ll stress this once. If you besmirch that reputation, I’ll ruin yours.” She smiled to take the sting from her words. “But I wouldn’t have hired you if I had any doubts. Now hit the ground running and let’s get the word out.”
After they’d all left, Nanette looked at Dave. “So, do you want to attend tonight?”
He looked surprised. “You want to add someone to our family?”
“I think the right person might be a good idea. We’ll need more fighters to go against the Indigo tamers and we both know that ferals are a crapshoot, as you like to call it.” She grinned saucily. “Even if I was a perfect fit for you, not every girl we catch will be as good as I am.”
Dave wasn’t stupid. “That’s true.” He carefully didn’t smile when her eyes lit up at the praise. “Then if you think it’s a good idea, we’ll go.”
***
(10/09/06 1000 Port Arthur, Texas League)
Lisa Cowan rang her bell loudly and smiled to herself as people slowed curiously. She glanced at the paper in her hand one last time even though she already had it memorized. “Oyez, oyez! The Grey Ranch is proud to present the first Grey Mixer tonight from dusk until midnight at the McLaren House on Elm Street! Pokegirls looking for a family to join and humans looking for pokegirls to join them are invited to come to this free meet and greet! Dinner will be provided! Bathing is required for entry and no children please!” She watched as some people gaped at her while others laughed. A few looked thoughtful and a couple hurried away.
Lisa waited a moment to see if anyone had a question for her and, when nobody did, moved down the street to the next intersection so she could repeat the announcement. She knew that at carefully selected points across Port Arthur her employees were doing the same thing she was and spreading the word as they’d been hired to do.
***
(10/09/06 1800 Port Arthur, Texas League)
“I believe you aren’t aware that I am using a truth detecting spell, are you?”
The man stared at Eve for several seconds. “A what?”
“I’ll make it simple. You’re lying. Please leave and do not return tonight.”
“You can’t do this!”
Eve motioned at the sign on the wall behind her. “If you can read, you’ll know that it reads ‘We reserve the right to refuse admittance to anyone for any reason.’ I’m refusing you admittance because you lied to me. Next.”
The man folded his arms. “I am not going anywhere until you let me inside.”
There was a flicker of black beside him and then he was gone, whisked away by Dominique to be dropped on an abandoned pier on the other side of Port Arthur. Eve smiled reassuringly at the suddenly frightened Tigress who had been in line behind the idiot. “He wasn’t hurt and I didn’t want a scene. You’re next.” The Tigress stepped forward nervously. “Are you here to meet a human for the purpose of forming a relationship?”
The Tigress’s ears twitched as she bobbed her head in a nod. “I, uh, yes, mistress.”
“Are you a member in an already existing harem?”
“Yes, but my alpha is a cruel bitch and our man lets her be one so I want out.”
“And you’re telling me the truth. I can tell.” The Megami-sama used her precognition as she reached into a bag and pulled out a loop of ribbon with an iridium plaque hanging from the end. “This is your number for tonight. It is the number six. When they call for number six, you are to go to the person who called the number and give them your number. I hope you have a good evening.”
“Thank you, mistress.” Clutching the plaque in her hand the Tigress headed for the entrance where Raquel was playing doorwoman.
Eve looked at the person who had been standing in line behind the Tigress. “Next.”
Eve, Canaan and Pandora were using truth spells to filter out the lookie loos, the people with two or more pokegirls already and the people who were trying to get in just for the free food. Pandora had learned the spell specifically for the night’s events. Then they used precognition to assign plaques to both pokegirls and humans to ensure the best chances at matchups as possible.
Originally, Eve had also wanted to use her celestial abilities to weed out the people with unsatisfactory aura or psychic scans. Iain had looked at her skeptically. “So, do you think I am good for the women in my harem?”
“Of course you are, Iain.” She smiled amusedly. “Since I’m one of those women I can attest to that personally.”
“What do my aura and psychic scans look like,” he’d asked mildly.
Eve blinked and scowled. “That’s beside the point.”
“No, that is exactly my point. Sometimes people who aren’t the best persons are still good for someone. Precognition for the matchups will have to suffice. There will be no rejections based on your or anyone else’s opinion of their goodness unless they do something boneheaded at the event.”
Eve had wisely dropped the subject at that point.
The Tigress went inside and joined the growing collection of pokegirls and humans standing around. The room had been filled with tables that held place settings for the advertised meal.
Eventually, Ninhursag stepped to the middle of the room and clapped her hands loudly. “Good evening everyone, my name is Ninhursag and I’ll be playing hostess tonight. Since you’re all new to this, a few ground rules are in order.” She looked around the room to make sure she had everyone’s attention. “First of all, this is an opportunity to meet people. There is no guarantee that you will find that special someone here tonight. If you do not, don’t be discouraged. Second of all, this is going to be peaceful gathering. We’re all Texans and I am telling you that any violence will be suppressed quickly and overwhelmingly. If you get offended, you can swallow your pride and live with it, leave or take it somewhere else. I will get my deposit back and that won’t happen if I let someone damage this building. I will enforce this rule near this building as well to prevent collateral damage from techniques.”
She clasped her hands together behind her back. “I must stress that the numbers you have been given have no particular value. The people of table one are not any better or worse than the people of table fifteen. When your number is called, you will be directed to a table with other people. This is where you will eat. Every table will get the same appetizer, the same main course, the same drinks and the same dessert. If you don’t want to eat there, you can leave. You will not move to another table since every table is going to be full and there isn’t room for anyone else at them.” She eyed the gathered people. “Bullying someone to get her or his seat is violence in my opinion which takes us back to the second rule. To make sure there isn’t any bullying, we’ve decided that there just won’t be any chair switching.”
“Finally, no provisions have been made to accommodate those who might wish to get to know one another more physically. Just like violence, that sort of behavior here could easily cost me my deposit. I don’t care how much you want to get laid, you are not getting laid here while I am renting this building. Take it somewhere else.”
“If you have any problems with any part of what I have just told you, feel free to leave right now.” She waited a moment but nobody moved. “If there are no questions, I’d like the people who have the number one to come forward and be seated at this time.”
***
(10/10/06 0130 Port Arthur, Texas League)
Iain dumped the mop bucket and put the mop up to dry. Behind him the kitchen floor gleamed wetly in the lamplight. He ran his fingers through his hair and yawned.
“Sleepy?” April looked around and smiled satisfactorily. “Nice job. Who helped clean up in here?”
“Everyone was busy with the rest of the building so I did this. Since we precooked the food, brought the table wares and we’re taking them away with us, most of what happened in here was just heating stuff up. Cleaning it didn’t take too long.” He gave her a curious look. “As I’m sure was planned by someone, I spent my evening in almost complete seclusion in the kitchen. How did the mixer go?”
April smirked. “What do you consider a success?”
Iain eyed her suspiciously. “The building is still standing and that’s a good start. Was blood spilled?”
“No. And I know some arrangements were made for second dates or even first tamings in some cases.”
“I’d call that a success.” He looked around. “The next question is, of course, was it worth it?”
“We introduced pokegirls looking for tamers to tamers looking for pokegirls.” April took his hand and squeezed gently. “We won’t get the money back that we put into this, but yes, it was worth it.” She hugged him. “Remember we met fortuitously too, but not every girl can be as lucky as I was.”
A tear traced a line down her cheek and he wiped it with a finger. “Are you all right?”
Her eyes were bright as she nodded. “I’m just so happy, Iain. I expected that my next tamer would be someone who only wanted a secure place to retire to. Instead I’m loved, married and pregnant. I, I didn’t dare do more than dream for any of that and I have it all.”
“You dreamed of being married?”
“Iain, do you know what the bestselling genre of book in the Blue League is?” He shook his head. “It’s romance novels. In pokegirl romances the pokegirl gets recognized for being so wonderful that her man can’t stand not being married to her. Sometimes she is quite literally recognized.” She poked him gently. “You saw the size of the pokegirl center that I worked at. The chores usually only took a couple of hours and then I had nothing to do except threaten the occasional idiot, sleep and read romances.” She grinned. “Pokegirls are such a large percentage of romance readers that the romance industry in Blue spends a lot of money promoting literacy in pokegirls. They even sponsor reading T2s to place in pokegirl centers. Then they supply extra copies of novels for the newly literate girls to practice reading with.”
“Which just makes pokegirl readers a larger percentage and therefore the industry caters to them even more. Cute.” He looked around the kitchen one last time. “Is it safe for me to come out of my hiding spot?”
April gave him a lofty look. “Are you insinuating that we hid you away from all those needy pokegirls?”
“I am not insinuating anything. I’m stating that’s what you did.”
“We have an investment to protect.”
“I’m an investment now?” Iain shook his head sadly. “Let’s see what else needs cleaned up.”
Eve was waiting for them when they entered the main room. “I think that went well. A whole bunch of matches were made tonight.” She eyed Iain briefly. “So how often can we hold a mixer?”
April answered before he could say anything. “We could hold one every night, but I think that once a quarter will be sufficient for the time being.”
Eve didn’t look happy. “Iain? What do you think?”
Iain gave her a sour glare. “I think that trying to pit me against April is going to piss me off. However, to stay on topic, I also think that it’s a lot easier to switch to more mixers if we need to than it is to change to fewer ones if attendance is low. I don’t really want to spend my time in Port Arthur listening to someone whine because we used to hold mixers twice a week and now we only hold them every month. My alma mater has a saying that anything done twice is a tradition. Let’s not set a tradition where we have to feed people good beef for free any more often than we need to. I won’t argue against your belief that charity is important since this will be a good way for our children to meet tamers or pokegirls as the case might be. But I will state categorically that I despise waste.”
Both Eve and April were looking surprised. The Megami-sama recovered first. “That makes excellent sense and for the time being once every three months is fine.”
“One thing I will suggest for the future is that potential tamers should tell where they’re from.” Iain’s voice was firm. “This should be mandated as part of the quizzing beforehand and one of the rules during the mixer itself. Color coded nametags might even be in order to make sure this happens.”
April frowned. “Why?”
“Indigo isn’t that far from here and prospective tamers from there might come to a mixer looking for pokegirls. There’s no reason to try to forbid it if they’re willing to follow the rules, but I do think that any pokegirl should know beforehand that the polite fellow wooing her intends to take her back home where pokegirls are property so she can make an informed decision.”
***
(10/10/06 0830 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
Everyone watched as the transport slowed to hover over the clearing in the middle of the crop rings. The nose unfolded as Theodora spoke to Iain. I don’t really have anything else that needs brought to Earth right now, but this is the clan house and I wanted to get it on the ground before someone comes up with yet another change to it.
“Personally I’m surprised they reached consensus before the deadline.” Iain kept his voice low.
In his mind’s eye Theodora suddenly radiated innocence. I might have lied to two people and suggested that everyone else was finished and that you were insisting that we move forward with the house immediately in order to expedite their decisions.
“Lying to family is not a good way to go about doing things.”
Perhaps, but the implied incentive that the last pokegirl to give me her wants and needs for our home was holding it up and you would remember her was a powerful tool with which to convince them to make final decisions. The house can still be remodeled, but it will exist and it will get Vanessa and our daughters out of the employee bedsits.
She was right, but Iain couldn’t let it drop entirely. “When things have settled down a little, you will admit your duplicity to those you lied to and ask their forgiveness.”
Are you forbidding me to use the tactic again?
“No. I’m telling you to make amends for using it this time.” He grimaced to himself. “Apparently my hypocrisy knows no bounds.”
The transport finished opening up and the clan house floated out. Iain had been one of the first to give Theodora his suggestions and the exterior reminded him of a scaled down model of Chatsworth House in England, although the place had far less than the hundred and twenty six rooms that the original had. Iain had meant for the place to be a home to him, his harem and children as well as an administrative center for the running of the clan, such as it was.
The place had some substantial passive defenses, such as the thick walls with an inner metal core and windows that only looked like glass but were really an armored composite, but like Sparta, the real defenses lay in the inhabitants of the house and any surrounding buildings.
I intend to remake the exterior of the employee building to match your new home.
“I’m sure the ladies will like that you intend everything to match. All I ask is that you just don’t call it the Grey House or GreyMansion. There are already too many fucking things with my last name tacked onto them. It’ll get confusing.” He laughed bitterly. “Hell, it’s already confusing.”
What should it be called then, Iain? It will need a name to identify it.
He thought quickly. “We’ll call this house the Sabine House and one in Austin the Barton House.”
Not the Barton Springs House?
“No, I don’t need someone referring to it as the BS House.” He flashed a quick grin. “I’d call it the Tonkawa House, but then I’d have to explain to way too many people that I’m Native American enough to claim tribal ancestry. Besides, I’m not Tonkawa and the tribe I could claim kinship with is, was,” he corrected, “in Arkansas and Oklahoma.”
The drones finished shifting the building into its position and returned to the transport as Pandora glanced at him. “I presume you’re talking to Theodora.” She gave him a quick impish smile. “Or perhaps your mind has finally shattered. Which is it?”
“Depends on who you ask,” he said smilingly.
***
(10/10/06 1030 Austin, Texas League)
Ellen Thompson looked very much like her brother, Iain thought to himself. She was around the same height and thinner than Buck, but they both had the same eyes. The likeness was only emphasized by the fact that her hair was in a buzz cut shorter than Buck’s. It was both practical and defensive. The practicality came from the fact that it required very little care while she was exploring the ruins of old Austin. It was defensive in that, from a distance, the hair and her slender frame would lead others to think she was a man. Considering that pokegirls were the primary problem for explorers, not being thought of as female if she was alone might keep her from being shot at or having someone order their pokegirl to attack her.
She leaned back in her chair. “Buck tells me that you have a job for me.”
Iain smiled slightly. “That’s interesting since he told April that you wanted us to find a job for you to get you out of the ruins.”
Her face hardened. “Did he now?” She looked around, but Buck had slipped out of the room after introducing them. “That explains why he fled so quickly.”
“He’s worried about you. That’s what brothers do.”
She eyed him curiously. “You have a sister?”
He nodded. “I’ve got two of them. I’m the eldest and I worry about both of them. But that’s not what we’re discussing. Do you want to get out of the ruins or not? If you do, we can explore whether or not I would want you as my factor in Austin. If you don’t, I’m not going to try to convince you to change your mind, other than to point out that eventually the odds will catch up with you in the ruins.”
“I know. I haven’t told Buck but I’ve had several close calls.” She patted her right thigh and winced. “I’ve got rock shrapnel in my leg muscle from a near miss and more scars elsewhere. My bikini days are over.” She gave a hollow laugh. “Not that it matters since I’m sterile.”
“I’ve got a couple of medical personnel in my family and they can at least get rid of the shrapnel if you’d like. However, my question still is unanswered. Are you interested in working for me as my factor?”
Ellen was silent for a while before she nodded slightly. “I think I am. Exploring the ruins wasn’t nearly as fun or profitable as I thought it would be and it was a damned sight more dangerous than I imagined.” She frowned. “Do I have to work with pokegirls?”
“You have a problem with them?”
“Yes, I do. I was here in Austin when they leveled the city and killed my husband. Sally’s ok and Dave keeps sending letters with glowing tales of Nanette, but I wouldn’t lose a moment’s sleep if the rest of them dropped dead today.” She met his gaze evenly. “I know you have some, so if you have a problem with that I’m not your girl.”
“If I hire one to work with you, could you?”
“I have before. Just don’t expect me to share my body with her.”
“You are a free person, Ellen, and I’d never try to force you to do anything with anyone else.” Iain smiled without humor. “You’ll find out pretty quickly that I have no particular love for my fellow man or woman, and that includes any person I don’t know. So I don’t have a problem if you don’t love everyone around you either. In fact, I don’t really understand the people who do. They kind of freak me out.”
Ellen laughed. “I’ve never understood them either. What would I do as your factor?”
“I’ll have a storefront here that you’ll either run or staff for me. If you find someone who wants to order something special or a large order, you’ll negotiate the price and terms and collect and hold the payment until someone from my family can come get it. In return, you’ll get a ten percent stake in the store and any business the store transacts here in Austin. I’ll also pay you a flat salary to go along with the commission. Any staff that you hire will be paid out of the store’s budget and you can’t give away any of my ninety percent stake. If we dissolve our agreement, we’ll decide if you will buy me out at going prices, I’ll buy you out or if you’ll keep your interest in the store. It’s the same deal I have with Dave and Nanette.”
“That seems reasonable. Do we need a lawyer to draw up a contract?”
“I haven’t needed to with Buck or Dave, so no. Are you interested?”
“There are a lot of rumors going around about what happened to President Robinson. Buck knows something about it and what he won’t say suggests you were involved. Is that true?”
Iain nodded. “Some pokegirls can regenerate lost limbs and such and my family helped Lorena out. That’s why I offered to have them remove that shrapnel and generally fix you up.”
“They couldn’t bring the dead back to life, could they?”
Iain shook his head. “No, they can’t. Pokegirls, as far as we know, can’t.”
“I guess it was too much to hope for.” Ellen sighed and got up. “I’ll work for you if you’ll have me, Iain.”
“You have a home here in Austin?”
“I rent when I’m not in the ruins. Why?”
“The first order of business is for you to acquire a storefront. I’d recommend purchasing one with a dwelling on the second floor. I know they’re rare and most have been built since Autumn’s forces came through, so it might be best if you buy a piece of land and have one constructed.” A thought struck him. “I own a piece of property on Polk Street. I want to build a restaurant there and I think I’ll have you take care of the construction for me.”
“Wood’s not cheap, Iain. Not many people make lumber.”
“That’s ok. I have money. And if it’s too expensive, I can probably supply the lumber for the buildings too.”
“Oh. Ok. When do I start?”
“You just did.”
***
(10/12/06 0630 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
Vanessa handed Myrna to Iain. The redheaded infant stared into his eyes for a long moment before snuggling against him and dozing off. The legendary settled Saoirse into her arms and chuckled softly. “They don’t fall asleep like that for anyone but you and me, did you know that?”
He nodded. “Yesterday Eve briefly complained to me about it. She thinks that they should trust her since everyone involved is a celestial. I pointed out that they are nursing from her so she shouldn’t be too upset.”
Vanessa’s lips thinned. “I see I need to have another talk with Eve. She’s not supposed to feed them unless I let her and right now I’m making more than enough milk for my girls. Maybe if I break some fingers she’ll hear me.”
“Oops.”
“No, I needed to know. I won’t hurt her too much.” She poked herself in the stomach. “And I won’t do it for another day or two.” Pokegirls recovered from pregnancy at inhuman speeds. After four days Vanessa had already lost most of the pregnancy fat and her figure was almost back to where it was before she’d tossed an evolution stone at Dominique so long ago.
Vanessa eyed the transport where it rested. “It looks a lot bigger on the ground than it does while hovering,” she commented. “I think it’s the fact that now it’s sitting next to them I have a better perspective on how big it is compared to the buildings here.”
“You’re right.” Iain watched as a tracked drone moved into the cargo bay. “Imagine if the Theodora landed here instead. She’d blot out the sun.”
The substrate is not suitable for such an undertaking and the hull of the Theodora would sink several dozen meters into the ground. It is a moot question in any case as the ship is not designed for intra atmospheric operations. Major structural changes would have to be made in order for that to happen.
Iain shrugged. It was a rhetorical question anyway. “How’s the loading going?”
It is eighty percent complete. April has collected the blood samples from the cattle and other livestock, but I have not received them yet. We should ready to leave before midnight.
“That’s good,” Vanessa commented. “I left some things at my home that I want to retrieve.”
And my private project, Iain asked through his twee.
Theodora replied only to him. As instructed, I have spent the time since Dominique started her project to make a gate large enough for the Theodora collecting marrow samples from the remains of humans, pokegirls and livestock I have found across our property and neighboring counties. They have all been stored and I am processing the human samples as quickly as I can. Roughly thirty to fifty percent of the DNA will be viable for cloning, but if the clan is lost in space and time I will be able to grow several thousand humans who are not related to you to maintain the human genetic viability in the clan. You will not have to tame your daughters.
That’s good.
What do you wish me to do with the pokegirl DNA samples that I have collected?
Process them along with the rest of the samples and keep them. If we’re that lost, more pokegirl breeds will benefit the clan as much as if not more than the humans will.
I agree, Iain.
***
(10/12/06 1945 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
The seats for the clan’s members reminded Iain of overstuffed recliners and were grouped by color. “Oh, wow, these look awesome,” Daphne said behind him. “I want one for my room,” there was a squishing sound. “Argh!” Iain twisted around to see Daphne launch herself out of a blue seat. She twisted around to glare at it. Her back, wings and skirt were soaked with water. “What the fuck!?” Her fists were clenched and she looked ready to rip the unoffending piece of furniture to shreds.
It was an effort, but Iain managed not to let any of the amusement he felt show in his voice. “Daphne?” She turned to give him a halfhearted glare. “The colors correspond to pokegirl typing. Blue is for water types.” He got out of the pilot’s chair he’d been sitting in. “Let me show you to the bath so you can dry off and then you can try a red chair. There’s one that’s just for you and should keep your wings from being crushed against your back.”
Theodora’s hologram appeared as he led Daphne towards the closest bath and began explaining the colors and what they represented to everyone else.
The Whorizard glared at him out of the corner of her eye. “Did you just make an example out of me?”
To be honest, he thought that someone trying the blue chairs would have noticed they were wet before sitting down, but he had planned to give a quick lesson about the seating. He’d gotten too busy and forgotten. “Not intentionally. I forgot to explain about the seating. I’m sorry for that and I apologize.” He opened the door to the bath. “Do I need to make amends to you?”
Daphne clapped him on the back hard enough to make him stagger as she pushed past him into the bathroom. “Do you know how many times anyone apologized to me before I went to work for you? Zero. As far as I’m concerned, for something this minor you already have made amends, Iain.” She started to shut the door and paused. “I’ve talked to some of the Elves and I know what my life would be like if I’d been caught by someone from Indigo. You’ll have to do a lot more than get me wet without me enjoying it to make me consider leaving.” She winked and slid the door shut.
Iain shook his head and chuckled softly as he headed back for his seat. A few minutes later as he was finishing up the preflight checklists, Theodora’s image looked at him from an inset in his display. “Do you want to take us up?”
He thought about it for a few seconds. “You do it. I want more practice in the simulator before I take a chance on doing something stupid while my family is on board.”
“You’re a better pilot than you think, Iain, but your caution is to be commended, at least for now. However, when we’re light minutes away from the Theodora, it’ll be hard for me to control a transport with the precision I want to protect my family if something happens to the autopilot. You need to become confident in your skills. That and other members of the clan need to learn to be pilots.” The screen showed the transport lifting into the air and turning to head for the coast, swinging wide around any inhabited areas as it sped towards the Gulf of Mexico and safety.
“Speaking of the other clan members,” Iain said quietly, “I want you to offer everyone a twee once we’re on board.”
“Even the satellite clan?”
“I said everyone. Twee are too useful and too necessary to use them as a wedge between various members of my new family, even the distant relatives.”
She gave him a pleased smile. “I agree. I’m just surprised that your circle of advisors agrees with your assessment.”
“I didn’t consult them. Pokegirl status issues are not going to cripple the people who are under my protection.”
“While I hesitate to say anything negative about my sisters in your organic harem, I think your reasoning is quite accurate. They would eventually make the same choice, but eventually could take a few weeks or even months in the case of the satellite clan.”
“Hey, Iain,” Allison put her hand on his shoulder. “How long are we going to be gone?”
He bent his head backwards to look up at her. “We plan to be gone a week or two. Why?”
“I just thought about it and I’m pretty sure that nobody cleaned out the fridge in either the main house or the ones in our bedsits.”
Iain rotated his chair around to look directly at her. He leaned sideways. “Ninhursag?” The Elfqueen looked up from where she was playing with the keyboard built into the arms of her chair. “Did you have anyone clean out the food that’s going to spoil while we’re gone?”
She blinked. “No, I didn’t. It never crossed my mind to have it done.”
“Then you and April can take care of it personally when we get back.”
Ninhursag nodded. “That sounds fair. I’ll let April know.”
He turned his attention back to the Umbrea. “Good catch.”
“Just trying to prove I’m useful. Don’t forget that when I come up for review for outer harem.”
“I won’t. You’re much better than the first Umbrea who wanted to join the harem.”
Allison’s ears flicked and went flat as her eyes hardened. “The first?” There was a dangerous lilt to her voice. “Who was this first Umbrea?”
“She was a murderous pirate who would have waited until she got bored and then tried to slit my throat in my sleep one night. I never gave a serious thought to approving her request.” He reached out and squeezed Allison’s hand. “You, on the other hand, I am looking forward to getting to know much more intimately.”
Allison’s ears came up and she gave him a mischievous smile. “There’s no time like the present.”
He matched her smile. “Now, now, lass, we both know that no matter how much I’d like to earn my mile high wings, doing an end run around the rules that have been set up will only cause trouble for everyone involved.”
“You can’t blame a girl for trying.”
“No, I probably won’t but Ninhursag and Eve will blame her without any hesitation. Then they’ll find a way to punish me, too, claiming some silly nonsense about how I should keep better control of my dick in the presence of beautiful women. Now shoo.”
The Umbrea gave a throaty laugh and headed back for her seat, her tail dancing jauntily behind her.
Ninhursag didn’t look up from playing with the display settings on her chair. You handled her well, Iain. She knows you want her and you know she wants you, but letting her wait will make her more eager when the right time comes.
Thanks. I also wanted to make sure that she could pass along that the rules needed to be followed or I’d have pokegirls hiding in places where they thought they could catch me for sex.
On the display the Atlantic appeared and swept underneath the transport as it crossed the beach and headed out to sea. As soon as it was a couple of kilometers out, it accelerated past mach and began to climb. The sky around them slowly deepened from blue to black as they entered orbit and turned towards Luna.
A few minutes later they began disembarking into the Theodora. For the next hour, everyone was busy getting people settled into their rooms or, in the case of the inner harem and Iain, suites. Then Ninhursag and her Elves headed into the gardens to see it and the fifty meter deep lakeTheodora had built for Heltu and her people while Iain, Eve, April and Dominique headed for the bridge.
Pandora and Canaan were waiting for them. Eve frowned. “I thought you two were helping the newcomers explore.”
“Theodora has that well in hand and nobody gave me orders in that regard,” Canaan replied loftily. “Not that I’d have obeyed them if someone had. I’m not missing this.”
Eve turned her attention to the Archangel. “And why are you here?”
Purple eyes smugly met green ones. “Nobody rescinded the order that Iain has a bodyguard. I’m it.”
Iain ignored them as he dropped into the captain’s chair and keyed his systems live. Eve blinked in surprise. “How can you do that?”
“When I was here the other day, I had some spare time and spent it learning about the Theodora and her parasite craft. Theodora says I’ve learned enough to be trusted not to detonate anything that’s not supposed to go boom.”
Theodora’s hologram appeared next to them. “He’s actually a very quick study but I will admit that sometimes I find his self-deprecation to be as tiresome as the rest of you do.” She gave him a stern look. “So feel free to stop at any time.”
“Fine, I’m the greatest pilot ever, even better than Daniel Leary.” He snickered at the confused looks his remark elicited. “Is the hyperspace module attached?”
In answer, Theodora created a holographic display in front of him. In fast forward, the stubby cylinder that was the Theodora slipped into the hollow cylinder that was the hyper drive. The cylinder contracted around the Theodora, locking in place. The image vanished. “Yes. While we are moving to the transit point I’m bringing weapons online now in case we have to make a hot exit from the portal.”
Dominique waved a hand at the front of the bridge and a large hologram appeared. “When we were doing our testing, we discovered that the portal is visible for nearly a light minute away from the opening, which means that it is easily seen from Earth if we’re on the far side of Luna, even if we tuck in close to try and use the moon as shield. To keep from panicking every league on the planet by our arrival, we’re moving five light minutes south of Earth’s orbit.”
“We started off as soon as you docked and we’ll be in position in fifteen minutes,” Theodora supplied helpfully.
Iain leaned back in his chair. “Well, I guess you can spend the time briefing us on the hyper drive unit.”
“I’d be more than happy to.”
***
Iain Grey
Living Harem
Ninhursag - Elfqueen & maharani
Eve Grey - Megami Sama
April Grey - Duelist & beta
Dominique - Blessed Archmage
Pandora - Fiendish Archangel
Canaan - G Splice (Hunter Amachamp & Alaka-Wham)
Zareen - Nightmare
Raquel - Fiendish Rapitaur
Sofia - Peekabu
Vanessa - Evangelion
Dead Harem
Eirian - Silver Dragoness
Aurum - Gold Dragoness
Skye - Blue Dragoness
Emerald - Green Dragoness
Beryl - Red Dragoness
Julia - human
Ling - Cheetit
Matilda - White Tigress
Liadan - Twau
Sorrel - Armsmistress
Natalie - Blazicunt
Slutton
Ranch employees
Daphne - Whorizard
Lynn - Growlie
Chuck - Doggirl
Ryan - Ponytaur
Winifred - Rack (German)
Rosemary - Kitten (Uruguayan)
Allison - Umbrea
Silver - Ponytaur
12 Elves
2 Elfqueens - Dionne & Adrianna
Joyce - Milktit
Lara - Milktit
LakeEmployees
Heltu - Wet Queen
6 Wet Elves
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