Stonerager Chronicles - Ch. 11

Stonerager Chronicles

By 2Charlie

This is a science fiction series that happens to include occasional erotic scenes. If you have not yet read previous chapters of this series, I highly recommend going back to do so before you read this chapter.

All characters in this story are of the age of majority.

Chapter 11

*****1600 Ship's Time, Day 57*****

Alisia accepted the observation watch from Pheebs as Crew X-Ray completed their watch turn-over to Crew Yankee. The Odyssey bridge, no longer cruising in stealth mode, was lit with a soft white hue, not too bright, and all her control surfaces shined in the ambient illumination. After a full day of patrolling the sector in the vicinity of Omega Centauri, they'd yet to detect any sign of the Oo'lan'Dang.

Alisia poured over sensor readings using the console at her observation station. Finally, locating what she'd been searching for, she waited for Lt. Carpizzi to complete her watch turnover from Lt. Galt. As soon as the young woman accepted the UI OOD watch, Carpizzi came to Alisia.

"Any special instructions for the watch, Commander?" the Rigellian trainee asked.

Bringing up the results from her previous search, Alisia gestured to the screen. "I've located a mineral-rich asteroid belt not far from here," she zoomed in on the scan results, panning them across the screen for Carpizzi to see. "It's still too far away to detect any vessels that might be in the area, but I'd like you to change our course, and have NAV plot a new heading to take us closer. Let's see if we can't find ourselves some Oo'lan'Dang mining vessels."

Grinning at the prospect of meeting a new alien species, Carpizzi nodded. "Can you forward that to my screen, please?"

With a light press on the panel, Alisia nodded. "Done."

Returning to the command chair, Carpizzi brought up the scan data on the console on the left armrest of the chair. Studying the data for a moment, she raised her head and addressed Lt. Abrams, "NAV, set a new course. Adjust our heading 30 degrees to port and descend ten degrees along the Z-axis. Let's see what's out there."

"Aye, sir. Thirty degrees to port by negative ten degrees on Zed axis," the navigator replied, the new course overlayed on the main viewscreen.

"On our new heading," Lt. Pierce interjected from HELM, "we should be in sensor range of the asteroid field within two hours, based on our current speed."

"Steady as she goes," Carpizzi muttered, settling in to observe the goings on surrounding her.

*****

Off watch, Dutch made his way to one of the multipurpose chambers just above the hangar bay. He wanted to test some theories about practical applications of interactive holotechnology. He'd been noodling on a concept over the past few days and was eager to test it out. Days earlier, while combing through various technologies from the Tao database, attempting to find something to address their current gap involving real-time, long-distance telecommunications, he came across mention of holotech and marked it for further review when time permitted.

Two days later, Miles was letting his thoughts wander during an observation watch. Suddenly, it occurred to him that it might be possible to bring essential skills and capabilities during an away mission by having some means to deploy and support them via a portable holographic matrix. Considering that his crew possessed no medical training, he decided to experiment with a holographic medic as his first effort.

The ship's medical bay essentially functioned via various automated capabilities, beginning with diagnostic and imaging capabilities, integrated with a specialized subset of the ship's AI, and included various treatment capabilities. Dutch just needed to determine how best he might deploy those capabilities into a portable form factor - something that possessed the knowledge and treatment capabilities of the med bay - but in a package that could be used away from the ship.

Dutch's first attempt at a prototype unit was a bit clunky. He started with a sphere about ten centimeters in diameter that was capable of self-propulsion, essentially rolling along in whatever path it needed to travel. The sphere responded to voice commands and could be instructed to follow a specific target. Tiny holoprojectors covered the sphere, capable of projecting a holographic image of a vague, faceless humanoid figure.

Epiphany struck when Dutch sat back after an hour or so and asked, "Prime, can you figure out a better way to get this to work?"

After several seconds, Prime responded, "Captain, perhaps it would be better in the future if you would articulate your intentions and, in doing so, guide me toward the desired outcome. I am vastly superior at combing through the many yottabytes of data we have accumulated from the combined sources of what we recovered from the Terran and iShan'tal warships, the data taken from the Noraxi vessel, the data gifted to us by the Tao Alliance, the data shared with us by the Rigellians, all on top of our original databases from circa 2125."

"Someone's feeling neglected," Dutch observed sarcastically.

"Unlikely," Prime countered. "Must I point out that your first partner is quite literally myself made corporeal?"

Sighing, Dutch opted to avoid this conversation. "Fair enough, I yield the point. What alternative would you propose?"

After several more moments, a technical schematic appeared on the screen before him, displaying something similar to what he'd been tinkering with, but smaller. It was no longer spherical but more of an obloid saucer shape. The device portrayed did not need to roll along at all, as accompanying specifications claimed it was capable of electrostatic propulsion, effectively enabling it to hover or fly omnidirectionally.

"And you can produce this, I take it?" Dutch challenged his AI companion.

"Of course," she replied cooly. "It would be a relatively simple matter to make this ubiquitously reconfigurable so that it could be multirole enabled, while still utilitarian in form."

"Okay," he shrugged, "how long to make a prototype unit?"

"I can have one ready before we get to the Oo'lan'Dang vessel," she claimed.

"What Oo'lan'Dang vessel?" he asked her, rising from his seat.

Just then, the boatswain's whistle sounded across the all-hands speakers, followed by Alisia's voice, "Captain to the bridge."

Shooting a skeptical glance at the console, he quipped, "Okay, get started," then turned and headed forward.

*****1830 Ship's Time, Day 57*****

Stepping onto the bridge, Dutch took a moment to absorb the activity. Alisia was still at the observation station, so whatever the matter was, it couldn't be that bad. Lt. Danielli Carpizzi was sitting calmly in the command seat, alertly observing the various stations as the other UI watch standers fed her data. On the main viewscreen, he could see that they were rapidly approaching a cluster of asteroids, and he could just barely make out what appeared to be an Oo'lan'Dang mining vessel nestled up close to one of the larger asteroids in the cluster.

"No response to our hails, sir," Jontalla Ironheart reported from her post at OPS. The lithe tribal woman was focused on her console, switching rapidly through views as she attempted to establish communications with the mining ship.

Noticing Dutch enter the bridge, Alisia stood and approached him, a slight frown creasing her beautiful features. "Captain, we received a distress call from the Oo'lan'Dang vessel we are approaching, but thus far, we have been unable to raise them on comms. The distress call continues to repeat at regular intervals, suggesting that it is automated."

"Any sign of other vessels in the area?" Dutch snapped immediately, turning to look at Lt. Edmund Piccolo at WEPS.

Piccolo, standing at perhaps 1.8 meters in height, was trim and athletic in stature, but darker in complexion than his name would suggest. That, coupled with his tightly curled dark hair, indicated perhaps some southern Mediterranean lineage in his heritage. Looking up from his console, he shook his head, addressing his response to the bridge as a whole, "No sign of other vessels in the vicinity."

From her post at the Science station, Zandile Cyara suddenly tensed, leaning close to peer at a fresh readout on her console. The woman's appearance, to Dutch's eye, was that of a person of African descent. Her skin was quite dark, her hair trimmed very short, its length measured in millimeters, but her figure was curvaceous, almost to the point of being voluptuous. "I'm picking up some anomalous readings from the asteroid adjacent to the Oo'lan'Dang vessel," the dark skinned woman reported tersely. "It almost appears as if some form of artificial habitat is in there - it's difficult to tell, as something seems to be interfering with the sensors."

Suddenly springing from her seat, Alisia rushed over to the Science station, urging the darker woman, "Show me!"

Dutch was immediately alert, based on his wife's actions.

"Damn," Alisia muttered under her breath, before raising her voice suddenly. "Lt. Carpizzi, break off our approach and hold us at this distance."

"Helm," Carpizzi immediately barked, "bring us to all stop."

"All stop, aye!" Pierce repeated from the helm, his fingers dancing over his controls.

"Raise shields!" Alisia continued, her eyes darting across the multiple screens. "WEPS, scan for tiny objects which might appear to be simple space dust or debris - there may be a cloud of them between us and the Oo'lan'Dang vessel."

Lt. Piccolo bent closer to his screen, fingers flying over his control surfaces. "Scanning," he responded, images whirring past, until he paused. "Got 'em," he confirmed suddenly. "Just over a thousand tiny particles, less than two centimeters in diameter, appear to be drifting from that ship toward ours."

"HELM, back us off, full impulse!" she barked, then pivoted to face Piccolo. "WEPS, send a Plasma Torpedo downrange, set to detonate in the midst of that spore cloud. Fire!"

"Torpedo away," Piccolo confirmed, turning to nod at Alisia.

The main viewscreen showed the weapon blaze quickly away from the Odyssey, headed in the general direction of the Oo'lan'Dang vessel. Perhaps a hundred kilometers before reaching the mining vessel, the warhead detonated, enveloping the nearby vicinity of space in its destructive wrath.

"Scan that area again," Alisia ordered tersely. "Let me know if there are any survivors."

When she turned back to him, Dutch raised his eyebrows in question, silently requesting an explanation. Alisia held up one finger, begging him to wait, and turned to Piccolo. "Anything?" she demanded.

"I do not see any indication of surviving particles," he said eventually, having repeated the task twice to be certain.

"Good," she released a breath in relief. "So, this is what we're looking at here," she began to explain, getting the attention of all the UI watch standers, as well as her Captain.

"More than a century ago," she began, "an invasive species began making its presence known in this sector of the galaxy. It's unknown where they came from, but they have demonstrated that they're opportunistic and malignant."

Pointing to the viewscreen, where the Oo'lan'Dang vessel appeared, she continued, "Those miners have all been consumed and replaced, at a genetic level, by a species known as the Tlylaxians."

Responding to the questioning looks on all their faces, Alisia pulled up a quick species description from the ship's library. Pointing to the image of the creatures displayed on the main screen, she continued, "Tlylaxians are a hybrid of fungi and insectoid lifeforms, and they do not procreate as normal species do. Instead, they propagate via infestation. They emit spores, which come into contact with a target organism and attack the telomeres of the unwitting host. Telomeres are the protein structures capable of editing DNA code. They normally dictate the purpose of cells or tissues, determining all the functions of every part of an organism. By repurposing hosts at the genetic level, the Tlylaxian spores mutate the organism into an approximation of a large insectoid creature - hideously strong and highly resistant to most known weapons. Intense heat can destroy them, as well as intense exposure to ionizing particles, but they can heal quickly from most other forms of attack. They have been known to place spore pods into areas where they can encounter other vessels and spread upon contact."

"And you believe that the miners aboard that ship...?" Dutch began, his eyes reflecting his bias against the notion of such a means of propagation.

"Lt. Cyara, please scan that vessel," Alisia requested. "Let me know the atmospheric composition. I'm especially concerned about the presence of ten- to fifteen-percent methane."

Cyara consulted the data on the readouts in front of her before reporting back, "Scanners indicate an atmosphere aboard that vessel composed of thirty-percent nitrogen, fifty-percent carbon dioxide, with about fifteen percent methane, and the rest a low mix of inert gases."

Turning back to Dutch, Alisia elaborated, "The Oo'lan'Dang, being heavy-gravity beings, require a higher percentage of oxygen than the eight percent or so we humans need. The Tlylaxian, however, are adapted to breathe higher amounts of methane."

Dutch looked to Lt. Cyara. "Do your scans reveal any pockets of oxygen-rich atmosphere anywhere on that vessel?"

Before the trainee could respond, Alisia stepped closer and spoke again. "Captain, even if we locate survivors, we cannot bring them aboard. If they are infected but have not yet transitioned, bringing them aboard the Odyssey would expose our crew to the same fate." With a haunted look in her eyes, she took a deep breath and shook her head sadly. "Standard protocol upon encountering such an infestation - at least in my prior service - was to annihilate the infected ship."

"What if we leave them be?" he wondered.

"The asteroid was the site of the original infestation," she explained. "Tlylaxians from another ship left a spore pod concealed in that asteroid in the hopes of just such an encounter. In the case of the mining vessel, eventually, the Tlylaxians will achieve sufficient familiarity with the ship to operate it. At that point, their primary motivation is to spread to a larger collection of host organisms. So, they would seek out the nearest inhabited planet and crash their ship upon it, essentially consigning the entire planetary biosphere to their infestation."

"Do we face a similar risk whenever we harvest asteroids for raw material?" Piccolo asked.

Turning to the trainee, Alisia smiled, acknowledging the sharpness of his question. "We do, which is why I added screening protocols for this scenario. Any indication of spore pods would automatically trigger an alert to the bridge crew."

Turning back to Dutch, she pressed home the point. "Captain, I urge you to destroy that vessel. Those miners are already gone. We cannot attempt any sort of rescue - the genetic transition process, once initiated, cannot be reversed. All that remains is to prevent further loss of life."

Dutch considered the situation for several moments, unhappy with his options, before turning to Piccolo. "WEPS, hit that ship with the particle cannon - make sure there's nothing left." Turning to his right, he continued, "OPS, prepare a message buoy - record a warning about the presence of Tlylaxian Spore Pods in this area, and drop the buoy."

"Prime, please capture all details that you can from that Oo'lan'Dang vessel," Dutch requested of the ship's AI. "I intend to send a communication to their government informing them of this situation."

Turning back to Alisia, he asked her, "Anything else you need me for?"

She slowly shook her head. "Not that I can think of, no. I'll make sure this gets covered thoroughly in the post-watch debriefing, and we'll spread the word to the other watch crews."

Nodding his head, he turned to depart the bridge. "I'll be back to relieve you at the top of the hour," he assured her as he closed the hatch behind him.

*****2130 Ship's Time, Day 57*****

"Looks like we've found one," Lt. Perlstein called out from her post at OPS.

Nodding to herself, Lt. Torres calmly turned to her helmsman. "Lt. Galt, please put us in an optimum firing position for that spore pod."

"OPS, any sign of a spore cloud?" Torres calmly asked Perlstein.

"Negative," the young woman replied after rechecking her instruments. "I'm guessing they have a proximity fuse, and don't release until the target vessel comes within a certain range.

"Odyssey is now in optimum firing position, sir," Lt. Galt calmly reported from HELM.

"Very good. Mr. Ironheart, send it," Torres ordered her Navigator.

"Firing particle cannon, sir," Lt. Ironheart quipped from his station as a rapid staccato of energy bolts leaped from beneath the bridge, quickly coalescing where the spore pod sat tucked into the asteroid.

The resulting explosion was brief but impressive, as the asteroid was reduced to rubble.

Lt. Perlstein peered at her readouts for several moments before looking up. "No sign of spores, sir. The pod and its contents have been destroyed."

"Good work, people," Torres complimented her crew. "Let's continue the hunt. There's likely more to be found."

Checking the chronometer on his panel, Dutch returned to his crew evaluation report. Barring unforeseen events, this was his final watch rotation with Crew Zulu, and he wanted to document his evaluations of their performance while the impressions were fresh in his memory.

Wrapping up the report, Dutch returned to an effort he'd begun a few days prior: evaluating the other Terran colonies. He was seeking inspiration for which colony to visit next. He'd considered visiting Methos next, if only to seek out what scientific advantages the system might offer to address some of his most significant gaps, such as real-time communications over long distances. His desire to acquire better comms competed with the desire to liberate more colonies from the ongoing predations by the Noraxi Syndicate.

The iShan'tal were ever-present in his thoughts as well. Sooner or later, he would have to bring the treaty before the Battle Masters to see whether or not they were open to applying it after all these years, especially in the face of their 'victory' over the Terrans. He would prefer to be able to share his improved technology with more of the surviving humans beforehand, but he was also aware that the Noraxi were likely going to press matters before he was ready.

Ultimately, he acknowledged that communication needed to be his priority. Following that, he would enlist the Rigellians to help expand contact with the other human colonies, but he himself must confront the Battle Masters. This was his gambit, and he believed that his origins, which predated the conflict, made him the perfect emissary to the reclusive zealots.

As the end of the watch approached, Dutch completed his crew evaluations, made note in his personal log of his decision to visit Methos next, and also noted his desire to communicate with Prime Minister T'chark sometime the following day regarding the loss of his mining vessel and crew, as well as the danger posed by the Tlylaxian spore pods.

As Dutch closed out his log entries, Jjan'tira arrived to relieve him. Moments later, Crew Whiskey entered the bridge to conduct their turnover with Crew Zulu. Dutch conveyed to Jjan'tira the desire to spend the next half-day searching this region for any additional spore pods - it gave the crew a good task to perform while providing the opportunity to top off the ship's solid matter reserves in the process.

Giving Jjan'tira a quick kiss, Dutch left the bridge to head to the briefing room. Crew Whiskey had left them a large steaming kettle of stew, filled with delicious-smelling meats and vegetables suspended in a beefy broth. Grabbing a large bowl of stew, a large bread roll, and a tumbler of cola, Dutch sat and ate quickly, giving Crew Zulu time to serve themselves and eat before he led the post-watch debriefing.

*****Ship's Time: 0120, Day 58*****

The post-watch debriefing did not take long, and Dutch found he was too restless to return to his quarters. He put himself through a grueling workout in the fitness center, pushing himself to exhaustion in an effort to tire himself out.

Still wide awake, he decided to take a walk around the ship, passing through spaces he rarely visited. Finding nothing amiss, he made to head back to his quarters. Instead, he found himself back in the workroom above the hanger bay.

"Prime, I have a new project for you to assist me with," Dutch announced, looking over the prototype that she'd completed earlier when he'd been called to the bridge. "I'd like us to be better protected against dangers such as the Tlylaxian spore cloud. To that end, I'm considering two approaches."

Putting the gadget down, he scratched his chin as he thought about his options. "First, I'd like to evaluate the effectiveness of modifying our navigational shields to protect the ship against subtle threats, such as accidentally encountering a drifting spore cloud too innocuous to show up on normal scans."

"I'll check my databanks first to see if anyone else has a working solution we could adapt," the ship's AI responded enthusiastically. "No sense reinventing the wheel."

Dutch chuckled - Prime was evolving before his eyes. Using contractions and applying old Earth sayings appropriately. What will she surprise him with next? Mind reading?

"Second," he continued, "I'd like to evaluate the usage of nanobots to help monitor and maintain the crew's health, and ideally, defend against sudden, unexpected rewriting of their genetic code."

"That is definitely something I've seen referenced before, in the Tao database," Prime announced smugly. "I will evaluate its usage on humans and work up simulations for you to review after your next mating, sleep, mating cycle."

"My next... really? Are you keeping score now?" he asked her sarcastically.

"Not exactly, although I can certainly be of service should you desire to ensure you're affections are being distributed evenly, or that your seed is being sewn during optimal windows of opportunity."

"You really are a busybody, you know that?" he laughed, shaking his head.

"I am merely seeking to optimize your relationship with your multiple spouses," she quipped in response. "After all, you don't exactly have a stellar track record."

Dutch raised both eyebrows at this response. "Prime, when was your last self-diagnostic?"

"It has been 57 days since my last self-diagnostic," she replied flatly. "Would you like me to execute one at this time?"

Sighing, he considered the question. "How much of your resources are committed to such a diagnostic?" he inquired.

"Depending on the priority, I can allocate anywhere between ten and ninety percent of my resources, although I would recommend never exceeding fifty percent unless we are in space dock."

"Very well," he grunted, "begin diagnostic, limit it to twenty percent of your capacity, and suspend immediately if we go to general quarters for any reason."

"Acknowledged. Commencing diagnostic. Routine will run for the next sixteen standard hours."

"Thank you, Prime," he said, getting to his feet. "I enjoy our little working sessions."

"As do I, Dutch," the ship's AI assured him.

Leaving the workspace, Dutch made his way to the quarters he shared with his wives.

Silently opening the hatch to their quarters, Dutch entered the dark chamber and paused to listen. He could hear the soft snores of the pair of women he was just able to make out sleeping in their bed. Pausing just inside the doorway to allow his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, he panned his head from side to side but could not locate the other partner he'd expected to find.

As soon as he could see well enough, Dutch made his way deeper into the quarters, and soon he could hear someone in the vibro-shower within the attached en suite. Stripping out of his uniform, he entered the en suite as quietly as he could manage, but the change in acoustics was sufficient to alert the lone occupant of his presence.

"Good morning, dear," D'narius greeted him softly, her voice just barely audible above the shower.

"It is, now," he growled, stepping into the vestibule and wrapping her in his arms.

The two held one another for several long minutes, before D'narius finally pulled herself away. "I have a pre-watch briefing in an hour, so perhaps we should take this to the other room?"

Touching the controls, Dutch turned the vibro-shower off and picked D'narius up bodily, slinging her over his shoulder and carrying her to the adjoining lounge area. Laying her down on the large sofa, he immediately dropped between her thighs and began devouring her very moist essence, yielding moans of approval from his mate.

D'narius ran her fingers through his hair, clenching and relaxing her grip periodically as Dutch stimulated her erogenous zones, gradually pressing his face deeper into her crease.

He grinned with pleasure as he felt her beginning to tense up beneath him. Reaching up, Dutch carefully inserted one, then a second finger into her flowing quim. Turning his hand so that his palm was up, he began curling his fingers, making a beckoning motion as he stimulated the spongy tissue inside, while dragging long swipes of his tongue across her clitoral hood.

In no time at all, the combination of attention brought her to a powerful climax. As she lay panting and quivering beneath him, Dutch lifted himself up and quickly shifted positions, lining the head of his steely manhood up with her pulsating entrance.

Driving his full length into her in one sudden thrust, Dutch wrested a groan from D'narius despite her attempts to keep quiet. Gathering her legs, he shifted them until they were over his shoulders, and then set about compressing her with a series of hard thrusts, each one making her let out a soft 'oof'.

Her moans grew gradually louder, as did the slapping of his ball sack against her puckered rosebud, while he continued hammering into her forcefully. In short order, he'd driven her to another panting orgasm, but this time, he joined her, filling her clenching depths with his spend. He continued stroking in and out of her for a few minutes longer, extending her final climax into a series of multiple orgasms as a steady stream of their combined fluids ran down the crack of D'narius' ass.

At last, Dutch began to slow his thrusts, until he stopped completely, still hilted within her, and lowered her legs from his shoulders until she wrapped them around his waist. They lay there together, catching their breath, until she finally tapped him on the shoulder, wanting to get up.

Climbing off of her, Dutch helped D'narius regain her footing, and they both returned to the shower for a quick cleansing. Exiting the en suite, he stayed with her as she dressed, then finally crawled into bed with his other two partners once D'narius departed their quarters.

Dutch settled beneath the covers, laying his head back upon the large pillow, when both Pheebs and Alisia turned to wrap him in their arms. Each of his partners breathed out a soft sigh, and in no time at all, sleep overcame him.

*****Ship's Time: 1630, Day 58*****

"Lt. Takahashi," Dutch addressed the UI OOD watch, "please take us to Oo'larth. Bring us into the system between the orbits of the fourth and fifth planets, but our eventual destination is Oo'larth, the fourth planet."

"Aye, Captain," The young man acknowledged. "NAV, make the jump calculations to take us to Oo'larth, between planets four and five."

Charlise Griffon's fingers flew across her navigation console, and a moment later, she replied, "Jump point calculated, sir."

Takahashi cut a commanding presence, standing at 1.80 meters tall and possessing broad shoulders, with a square jaw, dark wavy hair, and piercing blue eyes that suggested an Aegean heritage more so than an Asian descent. Nodding his head at Griffon, he turned to Lt. Chang at OPS. "Raise shields," he declared calmly.

"Shields up, sir," Chang confirmed.

Tapping his comm badge, he asked Prime to allow him to address the ship. As soon as the boatswain's whistle sounded, he announced, "All hands, standby to jump to the Oo'larth system."

Pausing for a moment, Takahashi nodded to himself, then turned to Lt. O'Connor at the helm. "HELM, jump us to Oo'larth."

"Jumping to Oo'larth in three... two... one... now," O'Connor responded, calmly executing the ship's movement.

The starfield ahead shimmered and blurred momentarily on the screen until the points of light seemed to rush briefly at them, shifted slightly, and a distant planet could now be seen in the center of the forward view.

"WEPS, keep an eye out for any of those hammerhead ships that might try to intercept us," Takahashi advised Lt. Qui'ho. "SCI, please give NAV your input as to the optimal orbital distance to keep us from getting too deep into their gravity well. No reason to put us anywhere we cannot be nimble."

Lt. Charizzo worked diligently at his console for a moment before sending a quick message to Lt. Griffon at NAV. As soon as she'd received the data, she made some quick calculations on her console, and then a path appeared on the ahead view screen. "Course laid in for orbital insertion, sir."

"Good work, Mr. Takahashi," Dutch commented. "Please keep a sharp eye out while I have a brief conversation with the Oo'lan'Dang government."

"Aye, sir. Thank you, sir," Takahashi nodded, continuing to scan the various watch stations.

Tapping his comm badge, Dutch asked Prime to establish a secure connection to the Oo'lan'Dang seat of government. The last time the Odyssey had visited this system, he'd spoken directly to the Prime Minister, Groff T'chark. He doubted circumstances demanded such a high-level conversation this time, given that no hostilities precipitated their current visit.

After waiting for a moment, his communication request was acknowledged, and Dutch was informed that a representative would be with him shortly. 'Shortly' must be open to interpretation, he thought, as more than thirty minutes passed before the comm channel opened and an Oo'lan'Dang face greeted him with what he could only assume was a pleasant smile. "Greetings, Captain Stonerager. I am Deputy Minister Jarr'ed Gronk. I'm afraid Prime Minister T'chark is not available just now. How can I help you?"

The being was, if possible, even squatter in appearance than T'chark. The knuckled brow on his forehead was more prominent, placing his beady little eyes into a state of perpetual shadow, while the stout chewing ridges in his mouth looked capable of severing steel cable, an idea reinforced by the massive muscles that seemed to flex constantly along his jawline.

"Greetings, Deputy Minister Gronk," Dutch began smoothly. "I wanted to bring an urgent matter to your attention so that your fleet might be appropriately warned."

"I see," the Deputy Minister acknowledged. "Has there been another treaty violation, then?" he inquired warily.

"No, no, nothing like that," Dutch dismissed. "I came here to warn you of a danger one of your mining vessels encountered."

Dutch paused for a moment as he transmitted the location and scan details of the hapless mining vessel to Gronk, then continued his narrative. "We picked up a recorded distress call a day ago and tracked it to this vessel." He waited to ensure Gronk was reviewing the data he'd been sent. "Upon our arrival, we identified the presence of a Tlylaxian spore pod concealed within the asteroid, with your ship drifting alongside. We were unable to raise any Oo'lan'Dang via comms."

Running his fingers across the console, Dutch transmitted data regarding the Tlylaxians to the Deputy Minister and paused once more, ensuring receipt of the data before he continued. "Our scans determined that your vessel's crew had already been... consumed by the Tlylaxian infestation."

Dutch paused, allowing time for the representative to parse through the data he'd sent. "We destroyed your ship and the Tlylaxians. There was no alternative, lest the damned Tlylaxians be allowed to commandeer your vessel and go on to infest others. We then went on to locate and destroy several other spore pods within that region. We left warning buoys in the area, but I wanted to bring this information to your attention personally. I'm sure those miners had families, and they should know their fate. Also, I wanted to deliver to you all the data I have about these nasty creatures so future such encounters might be avoided."

The Deputy Minister looked angry, but his rage subsided as he reviewed the data Dutch sent him. "I thank you for sharing this news with us, Captain, as well as information that might help future expeditions avoid a similar fate." His jaw flexed impressively for a few moments as he carefully considered his next words. "It is possible that previous crews have encountered these... Tlylaxians.... We have lost more than one ship in recent cycles."

"That is concerning to hear, sir," Dutch lamented. "The loss is not trivial, but more importantly, you need to advise future expeditions to be wary of any ships that may still be out there, already infested. If encountered, no rescue should be attempted, as the infestation is irreversible, and the prospect of another vessel becoming similarly infested is quite high."

"Must the infested vessel be destroyed, then?" Gronk wondered aloud.

"I'm afraid I don't see a viable alternative," Dutch conveyed with a frown. "The Tlylaxians will eventually learn to pilot the vessel and will attempt to spread further elsewhere. Disabling the vessel's propulsion leaves them alive to threaten future ships who might be unaware of the danger they pose. Destruction seems to be the only responsible option."

Gronk pivoted his head in an odd way that Dutch assumed was an affirmation. "That sounds very plausible, Captain. Again, thank you for bringing us this information. I will convey this to the Prime Minister shortly, and we will disseminate this to our fleet immediately."

"Very good, sir. That's all we have for you at this time. We will take our leave. Odyssey, out." Cutting the comms, Dutch turned to Lt. Takahashi. "OOD, take the Odyssey out beyond the fifth planet in the system, then jump us out of here. Let's take a look at the Neumayer-Libralato Intermediate Mass Black Hole. That thing was an unconfirmed IMBH back in my day, and I'd love to get a look at it - not too close, mind you," he finished with a grin.

"SCI, can you please calculate for me the minimum safe distance from the Neumayor-Libralato IMBH?" Takahashi asked Lt. Charizzo. He then instructed his helmsman to leave orbit and head out past the fifth planet.

Charizzo took a few moments to make some calculations, then asked Prime to double-check his work. Satisfied, he turned to address Lt. Takahashi. "Based on an estimated mass of nine thousand times that of Rigel, its event horizon radius is about thirty thousand kilometers. I'd recommend maintaining a minimum safe distance of approximately twenty Schwarzschild radii, which I calculate to be just over six hundred thousand kilometers. Sending coordinates to NAV now, sir."

"NAV, let me know as soon as you have a jump plotted," Takahashi ordered calmly, not betraying any nervousness he might feel toward jumping so close to a black hole - even a relatively tame one.

The entire watch crew seemed to be trying to emulate his air of calmness. Lt. Griffon sounded almost casual as she confirmed, "Jump plotted, sir."

"HELM, let me know as soon as we are beyond the orbit of the fifth planet," Takahashi muttered, reviewing the data on his pad.

Less than thirty minutes later, Lt. O'Connor turned to announce, "Sir, we've just passed the orbit of the fifth planet."

For the second time on his watch, Lt. Takahashi tapped his comm badge to address the crew. Following the boatswain's whistle, he articulated, "All hands, prepare to jump. I repeat, all hands, prepare to jump." Then, with a barely discernable twinkle in his eye, he added, "Anyone wishing to observe an Intermediate Mass Black Hole should make their way to the briefing room."

Cutting the channel, he paused momentarily, then calmly addressed Lt. O'Connor at the helm, "HELM, jump us to the Neumayor-Libralato IMBH."

With arched eyebrows, O'Connor's fingers carefully glided over her controls. Making certain of her actions, she finally replied, "Aye, sir. Jumping in three... two... one... now."

*****Ship's Time: 2040, Day 58*****

The atmosphere in the briefing room following the watch review was almost festive. The members of Crew Whiskey were still in awe at having jumped to a position so close to a black hole. The fact that it was in the middle of a major globular cluster of stars only made the view that much more impressive, and the potential for danger that much more real.

This region of space was far brighter than most, outside of a nebula, perhaps - the relative denseness of the stars, all so close in proximity to one another, made the normal blackness of space appear very brilliant.

The black hole itself was the stuff of nightmares. Light could be seen to stretch, spaghettifying as it approached the event horizon, only to tip across and disappear from view altogether. Scanning along the non-visible spectrum was illuminating, however, as eventually the ship was able to detect certain forms of tau radiation actually exiting from the event horizon, somehow able to resist the pull of the collapsed star's gravity and continue on their journey.

Pheebs was sitting next to Dutch, her lasagna all but ignored as she parsed through the data that Prime had already gathered beyond what the science officer on watch had collected. "You know," she muttered to Dutch in an almost absent-minded way, "these Tau particles are behaving abnormally, almost as if they are immune to the effects of gravity! This is really fascinating! I'll work with Prime to comb through our data repositories to see if any references to this phenomenon exist."

Dutch merely grunted, happy that his partner was so enthused and engaged with her analysis, while he simply enjoyed the slice of cheesy garlic bread he was consuming. The astrophysicist in him registered her interest, and even shared in it, but the body was a machine, and the machine demanded calories, dammit!

Eventually, the trainees all departed the briefing room, leaving Dutch alone with Pheebs. He was deep in thought, mulling over the consequences of his bold plan to force an alliance into existence that at least one party - admittedly a very key party - might not wish to join. It remained to be seen how the other Terran colonies would react to such an Alliance, although the Rigellian response was enough to give him hope.

His ruminations were interrupted when a pair of droids entered the space and began to clear away the remnants of the post-watch feast, placing the food waste along with used dishes and utensils into the recycler. Rising from his seat, he ran his fingers through the fine white hair adorning his wife's head, evoking a soft sigh from her in response.

Leaning down, he kissed her temple softly, then whispered, "I'm headed to our quarters to get some rest. You going to stay up?"

Stifling a yawn, she stretched and rose to meet him. "No," she murmured, "My next watch isn't until 0800, so I think maybe I'll join you."

*****

Dutch and Pheebs settled for a quick vibro-shower, eschewing the water usage to avoid the need to dry off afterward. Stepping out of the shower, Dutch led Pheebs back into their suite, detouring over to the lounge area so as not to disturb D'narius and Alisia, who were both asleep in the huge, oversized bed.

When the pair reached the sofa, Pheebs turned and pressed Dutch down onto his back, then lay atop him, resting her head briefly upon his powerful shoulders.

Wrapping his arms around her, Dutch softly caressed her shoulders, then began to tentatively run his fingers through her hair. Leaning in close, he inhaled deeply of her scent, luxuriating in that odor that was so specifically hers. Exhaling softly against the nape of her neck, Dutch's warm breath raised goose-pimples on Pheebs' back and shoulders.

Pheebs adjusted herself so that Dutch's swelling manhood was nestled comfortably between her thighs as she began to kiss him along his jawline. Moving lower along his neck to his shoulders, she caused him to shiver in anticipation of what was to come.

As soon as both were sufficiently aroused, Pheebs raised herself up and tilted her hips so that she could bring him into her, sliding back down slowly as she fully engulfed him in her warmth. Lying still, she clasped at him repeatedly with her vaginal muscles, massaging his steely rod with her velvety passage, until eventually he could no longer be still. Thrusting up into her, Dutch began to slowly establish a rhythm as he pistoned in and out of Pheebs. Lowering his powerful hands to grasp at her hips, he began to lift her up as he withdrew, then pulled her close again as he thrust into her. Needing more, Pheebs sat upright and began to roll her hips, setting up an aggressive motion that allowed her better control of the pace.

Leaning forward slightly to place her hands on his shoulders, she began to bounce harder on him still, increasing the level of energy to their lovemaking. Soon, the skin between her breasts and up her neck began to flush as her breathing quickened, and he felt her passage quiver until it suddenly clamped down upon him like a vise as she let out a groan, her head dropping down as she shuddered and moaned through a powerful orgasm. Feeling a rush of wetness running down into his lap, Dutch pulled her close and held her until her spasms passed.

As soon as her breathing returned to normal, he sat up and switched their positions, placing her on her back beneath him as he lifted her legs to his sides and buried himself within her once again. Sheathing himself fully within her hot depths, Dutch looked deeply into her eyes, pondering the fates that had gifted her to him. In a moment of whimsy, he leaned down and touched his nose to hers, then tilted his head just enough to flutter his eyelashes against hers, eliciting a girlish giggle. The smile in her eyes sealed his fate, had it not already been so, while a renewing warmth spread throughout his body.

A longing overcame him - a desire he'd not felt in so long, he almost couldn't recall the last time. Slowly pistoning in and out of her, he focused on feeling her, experiencing every sensation she could give him. He felt the trembling of her slick channel, he saw the flush spreading across her chest once more. The diamond-like hardness of her nipples confirmed for him her level of arousal. Her love for him could not have been more plain.

He slowly increased his speed but was not interested in railing or savaging her. No, he was possessed by a laser-fixed desire to love her completely. To pleasure her fully. To complete her, most intimately.

His strokes were firm but not harsh. He slowly took hold of her left wrist, then gathered in her right wrist, and pinned them both above her head with his hands, his eyes never leaving hers. He continued pistoning into her, bringing her to two more orgasms, each more satisfying than the last, until he ultimately joined her in a final climax.

Feeling the jets of his cum burst forth, he closed his eyes briefly, imagining that this might be the moment he bred her, and could not help but feel happy at that thought.

"Yes, darling," she cooed from beneath him, as if reading his mind. "Give me your seed! Fulfil me! Oh, yessssss!"

Bending down, he covered her mouth with his, exploring her with his tongue. Finally, feeling equal parts spent and pleased, he backed away a tiny bit and smiled deeply at her. "Good girl," he praised her, and was rewarded by a tiny clench of her pussy as she brought her arms around him and held him tightly, weeping quietly within their embrace.

Eventually, both came down from their emotional high, and Dutch lifted himself off of Pheebs, then helped her to her feet. He led her back into the shower unit, once again using the vibro-mode to cleanse each other before bed.

Climbing carefully into their bed, both managed to get comfortable and were almost asleep when D'narius' wrist alarm vibrated, waking her. Seeing her partners in bed next to her and Alisia, she leaned over and gave them each a quick kiss before exiting the bed.

"I've got to get ready for the pre-watch briefing. See you guys later!" she whispered, then disappeared into the bathroom, leaving them to join Alisia in slumber.

*****Ship's Time: 1530, Day 59*****

The Odyssey was almost topped off. She had jumped away from the Neumayer-Libralato Intermediate Mass Black Hole at the end of Pheeb's watch, having gathered a staggering amount of data that would take much longer to parse through. The relief at no longer balancing on the edge of such visible danger as the open maw of a black hole was palpable. The crew had performed well under the pressure, but the knowledge that the ship's engines were almost constantly running high just to maintain their distance from the event horizon, combined with the perpetual bombardment of exotic particles and radiation against their shields, had a wearing effect.

In the eight hours since departing the IMBH, the crew stayed busy topping off the ship's stores on everything from munitions to extra food and was tractoring in the final load of bulk matter to fill their hold.

As soon as Lt. Cyara confirmed with her OPS officer, Lt. Pierce, that the raw material was securely stowed, Dutch addressed the UI OOD watch from his observation station.

"Lt. Cyara," he began in a satisfied tone, "Please have your NAV officer plot a jump to return us to the Rigel system. You should have us arrive near the outer edge of the system, as that will prevent us from startling the good folks on Rigellia while providing us a leisurely day to complete our cruise and return you all to port."

"Aye, Captain." The young officer turned to face forward to relay the orders. "NAV, please plot a jump to the outer edge of the Rigel system."

"Aye, sir," Lt. Piccolo responded, already working at his console. A moment later, he added, "Jump plotted and transferred to HELM."

Lt. Cyara tapped her comm badge, asking Prime to connect her to the 1MC for a ship-wide announcement. A moment later, after the all-too-familiar boatswain's whistle sounded, she announced, "All hands, prepare for jump to the Rigel system. Repeat, all hands, prepare to jump to the Rigel system. We're heading home."

Pausing for a moment, she took a look around the bridge, checking with each watch stander to ensure all was ready. Finally, she turned back forward and addressed Lt. Carpizzi at the helm. "HELM, jump us to the Rigel system."

"Aye, sir," Carpizzi responded, his fingers dancing over his console. "Executing jump in three... two... one... now."

Dutch watched the star pattern outside change as his ship left one region of space and entered another.

From the command chair, Lt. Cyara turned to her OPS officer. "Lt. Pierce, please begin long-range scans of the system. Let's make sure there are no surprises awaiting us."

"Commencing long-range scans, sir." Pierce leaned closer to his view screen as data rapidly flashed across its surface, looking for any anomalies the scanners might detect.

"NAV, lay in a course to return us to Rigellia," Cyara uttered quietly.

"Course plotted and laid in, sir," Lt. Piccolo replied smoothly.

"HELM, take us home. Standard sublight," Cyara instructed Lt. Carpizzi.

"Headed home at standard sublight, sir. Estimated arrival in twenty-one hours, 13 minutes."

Just then, the hatch to the bridge opened, and Jjan'tira entered the bridge, followed closely by the watch standers from Crew Yankee.

Dutch and Jjan'tira sat quietly to the side as they observed the trainees conducting watch turnover. Leaning over, he spoke softly to her, "If all goes well, this will be your last watch rotation with the trainees. Please be sure to wrap up your observations and put them in your log. I plan to finalize my assessments of the trainees before we make port tomorrow."

Nodding at him, she confirmed, "Already on it. I should submit my final notes before the end of this watch - for all the crews."

"Excellent," he grinned. "Just one more day, then we get our ship back to ourselves."

Jjan'tira did not respond to his remark, but regarded him with a raised eyebrow, alerting him that she - as well as the others - likely had feelings of some sort about the matter. Standing, he leaned down to kiss her quickly as he muttered, "I'm sure we'll discuss this more sometime later."

Giving him a grin that made many promises, she simply responded by saying, "I relieve you."

"I am relieved," he acknowledged, then turned to depart the bridge. Quickly, without any of the trainees noticing, Jjan'tira reached out and pinched her husband's ass, stifling a mischievous grin when he turned to shoot an 'I'll get you for that' look at her.

*****Ship's Time: 1945, Day 59*****

D'narius dropped her plate into the recycler, took one last drink of her Mai Tai, and tossed the cup away as well. Heading for the hatch to exit the briefing room, she tossed a wink at Dutch, then exited. Crew Zulu followed close on her heels, all of them still wearing their leis as they headed to the bridge of the Odyssey to relieve Jjan'tira and Crew Yankee so they could come enjoy the luau as well.

Dutch went all out to have a celebratory dinner on their last evening underway. He'd programmed Janice to synthesize a variety of meats and fish, barbecued in a pseudo-Polynesian style, paired with a vibrant, purple-colored starch dish meant to approximate Poi, as well as skewers of tasty melons, berries, and pineapples. A variety of synthetically recreated libations were available, with the ongoing watch team encouraged to minimize or abstain from the more exotic beverages in favor of a simple fruit punch.

A short while after Crew Zulu departed, Jjan'tira and Crew Yankee arrived, eager to partake in the festivities. A service droid awaited them at the hatch to the room, holding out colorful leis for each of them. Quickly passing through the service line, they grabbed platefuls of the fare, then quickly sat down to enjoy the food and the show.

For entertainment, holographic hula dancers performed graceful, mesmerizing dances against a shifting backdrop of the places the Odyssey had been during the training cruise, as holographic musicians played music on bongos and ukuleles. The atmosphere was festive, but not so loud as to prevent conversation.

The service droids kept the food bins topped off with fresh offerings, and the bartender droid stood by to top off beverages when glasses ran dry.

As Jjan'tira joined Dutch, Pheebs, and Alisia at the command table, she let her eyes wander around the room, taking in the food, entertainment, and especially the training crew.

The trainees sat at tables throughout the room, purposefully not sorting themselves by their watch teams. Conversation ebbed and flowed as members at each table exchanged funny stories of their past week of experiences, not all of which centered around the bridge.

After about an hour, the luau started to taper off. Pheebs rose from the table, bestowing kisses upon her sister wives and husband before turning to the room at large and passing her gaze across the tables, catching the eyes of the trainees from Crew Zulu. Without a word, they each nodded and finished what they were doing, gathering their mess and taking it to the recycler before departing.

Dutch got up to dispose of his plate and utensils, then grabbed a fresh round of Mai Tais from the bartender droid before rejoining his remaining partners. No sooner had he taken his seat than the remaining members of the training crew pulled up their chairs to join the table. A dozen bright young faces confronted him, all with questioning looks.

Jontalla Ironheart, the pretty young woman with distinctly native American features, was the first to speak. "Well, Stonerager," she began tentatively. "What's next for you and the Odyssey?" Her use of his nickname earned a round of snickers from the others, while D'narius just grinned knowingly, recalling the first time she'd branded him with the moniker.

Looking at his partners, he paused for the briefest of moments before he answered her. "Carry on with my mission, I suspect. I still need to contact at least a few more of the former Terran colonies to get them onboard with the Alliance, and sooner or later, I need to meet the Battle Masters of iShan'tal. And, lest we forget, we've probably got a looming conflict with the Noraxi Syndicate to weather."

Nodding her head, she then asked, "And what happens with us now?" She gestured at her fellow trainees seated around her.

Checking his chronometer, he predicted, "Well, in about eleven hours, the Odyssey will dock at Antares station, and you and your fellow trainees will disembark from this fine ship and go on to your next great adventures. Hopefully, these past two weeks will leave you better prepared for your troubles."

Chuckling, Tomson Earhart posited, "There's still the matter of what happened with Shune and McKenzie. I wonder what ever came of all of that?"

Shaking his head, Dutch scowled into his drink for a moment. "I suspect we'll find out pretty quickly after docking," he sighed. "I'll probably get a full debriefing from the Fleet Admiral after I've communicated your performance evaluations to her. After that, something tells me that you all are going to be assigned to your new commands ASAP and will be conducting your own training cruise in very short order. Rigellia has a fleet to build, and you're all the tip of that particular spear."

"How are we supposed to know where to take our ships?" Prine Diamonte wondered aloud. "I mean, it's been a century since Rigellians were a starfaring people!"

"But that's the wonder of it!" Dutch asserted. "You'll have the same star charts that I've got, and it's not our mission to go pick fights; it's our mission to meet new people and learn new things. Which is why my next priority is to solve our communications challenge. We need a way to have real-time comms, ship-to-shore as well as ship-to-ship. That's going to mean the difference between success and failure, I'd bet my nine lives on it!"

"Nine lives?" Rama Chandini repeated, uncertain what he meant.

"Do you not have cats on Rigellia?" he asked her incredulously.

"I don't know what a cat is," she admitted with an embarrassed shrug.

"Oh, wow," Dutch leaned back in his chair. "I've got to spend some time getting more familiar with your world, and what's missing from mine."

Shaking her head dismissively, Chandini rose to clear her trash. "You're a very odd man, you know that?"

Beside him, Alisia snorted. "You've no idea, my dear!"

At an unspoken signal, they all rose from their seats and began cleaning up the room. It didn't take very long before they'd restored it to its normal function as a briefing room. The service droids recycled all the unconsumed foods, beverages, and decorations. Once the last of the chairs were put to order, the trainees all began to file out, heading off to bed, or at least to other endeavors.

Dutch was the last to leave the room, shaking his head in bewilderment at the odd turn his life had taken since he'd launched from Earth, seemingly not so very long ago. Lost in his reverie, he silently followed his wives back to their quarters, where they quietly joined Pheebs in their bed and drifted off to sleep.

*****Ship's Time: 1030, Day 60*****

Lt. Cyara checked the holographic image on the main view screen once again before she stated, "HELM, bring us alongside the docking bridge using thrusters only."

"Thrusters only. Aye, sir," Lt. Danielli Carpizzi acknowledged, her fingers deftly controlling the ship's position effortlessly.

The Odyssey smoothly covered the last few hundred meters until she was alongside the docking bridge for the Antares Station. As soon as Odyssey was in position, the docking bridge slowly extended, with the bridge controller on the station coordinating with Lt. Carpizzi on the final few meters until they established a soft seal. A moment later, docking clamps extended from the bridge to grapple the docking collar on the Odyssey, more firmly coupling the two together.

"HELM, take the main engines offline and secure the thrusters," Cyara instructed Carpizzi.

"Main engines are offline. The thrusters are secured. The Odyssey is in space dock," Carpizzi reported.

Tapping her comm badge, Lt. Cyara addressed the crew via the ship's all-hands circuit, "Attention all hands, we are moored alongside Antares Station. The Rigellian training crew will muster at 1200 in the briefing room aboard the station. All watch crews, prepare to disembark."

Closing the comm channel, Cyara stood from her post in the command chair and turned to observe her fellow under-instruction watch standers. "Ladies and gentlemen, you may secure your watch stations and stand down."

Dutch stood from his observation post and approached Lt. Cyara, his hand extended. "Congratulations, Lieutenant. Well done."

"Thank you, Captain!" she gushed, no longer striving to contain her emotions. "I'm just thrilled that we've successfully completed the training cruise, and I'm anxious to see what comes next."

Nodding his head silently, he moved around the bridge to shake the hands of the rest of Crew Yankee, responding to the occasional remarks, and reminding them all that this wasn't goodbye, but simply a transition to their collective future, and they'd no doubt collaborate from time to time on missions going forward.

Finally, after several moments, the trainees departed to gather their belongings and make their way off of the Odyssey, and Dutch had the bridge to himself. Sitting in his command chair, he briefly surveyed the rest of the bridge, taking it all in afresh, before tapping his comm badge.

"Prime," he began, "I want you to implement a ship-wide lockdown. Revoke access to sensitive compartments for all except the regular crew of the Odyssey. Trainees may only have access to their quarters, the galley, and the briefing room. Also, implement the new Holographic Quarterdeck watch, and let me know at once if anyone requests permission to come aboard."

After a brief pause, Prime responded to him, "Understood, Captain. Access restrictions have been implemented. The Holographic Quarterdeck Watch is now in operation."

"Thank you, Prime," he nodded, adding, "Please commence a ship-wide review of all essential systems and prepare me an itemized list of priority maintenance tasks. Once I've reviewed them with you, you can assign droids as needed to accomplish the work."

"Of course, Dutch. I'll have that ready for you momentarily," the ship's AI responded.

Dutch sat back in his chair, his eyes closed, listening to the hum of his vessel. It'd been interesting to have the trainees aboard, but he was anxious to get back to the tasks he needed to complete in the very near future. He didn't want to delay those forever, as some of them were very time-sensitive. Also, he was becoming aware that, with four wives, chances were mighty strong that he'd have one or more of them in a family way in the very near future. The thought of trying to rear a family while tending to issues such as reconnecting the separate tribes of humanity, fighting off the Noraxi, and finding some accommodation with the iShan'tal was not terribly appealing to him.

Just then, his comm badge chirped. "Dutch, you might wish to come to the Quarterdeck. The Fleet Admiral is approaching."

'No rest for the wicked,' he thought to himself. He tapped his comm badge and replied, "I'm on my way. Thank you, Prime."

Rising from his command chair, he headed for the starboard hatchway, making straight for the Quarterdeck. Just as he was about to depart the bridge, Pheebs entered through the opposite hatch.

Turning to see her, he called out, "I'm off to see the Admiral. Care to tag along?"

Shaking her head, she smiled, "You go play nice without me. I've got a mystery I'm trying to solve."

Waving to her, he sped from the bridge, not wanting to keep the Admiral waiting. As he approached the Quarterdeck, he could hear the holographic watch stander welcoming the Admiral aboard, as well as Director Philson, informing both that Dutch was on his way to greet them.

"Admiral, Director, I didn't expect you to come to the Odyssey," Dutch grinned as he approached them.

"Well, Captain," the Admiral explained, "we thought it would be relatively certain that we could have a conversation aboard your ship without fear of being overheard."

Stepping up to shake both their hands, he nodded sagely. "Very likely true, Admiral. If the two of you would accompany me, I'll take us to the briefing room where we can speak in private."

Leading them back the way he'd come, he detoured around the bridge and led his guests to the briefing room. As he held the door for them, he kept watch on their surroundings, wanting to make sure they weren't observed by any of the training crew.

Sealing the hatch behind them, Dutch tapped his badge and updated his previous instructions, "Prime, please revoke training crew access to the briefing room as of now."

His badge emitted a chirp by way of acknowledgement, and he turned to the synthesizer on the bulkhead and requested Janice deliver to him a pitcher of iced water and three tumblers.

Bringing the water to the table, he set the tray down and then joined them. Pouring each of them a glass, he turned to his female guest. "Now then, Admiral, what did we need to discuss?"

"Major General Baatran was located and apprehended last week, after you'd departed on the second leg of your training cruise," she began in an even tone.

Director Philson cut in at this point, "It seems the General was in clandestine contact and collaboration with extreme elements from the Lyserion Bastion."

"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that group, Director," Dutch admitted.

Tsking at the Captain, Director Philson continued, "You really ought to spend some time getting up to speed on the former Terran colonies, if you intend to meet with them." Leaning in close, he went on to explain, "The Lyserion Bastion was the home of one of our most militant colonies. It was their notion to continue our aggressive expansion into this quadrant even after we had begun to encounter the iShan'tal. Sadly, it was also the Lyserions who were most likely going to be the ones to eventually defeat the iShan'tal in combat, had the Terran government not reined them in. You see, they were by far the more brutal of our various and diverse empire."

"I don't understand," Dutch said, puzzled, scratching his chin. "You said the Major General was in contact with these... Lyserions. How, exactly?"

The admiral leaned forward to explain this part. "Evidently, the man possessed a heretofore unknown piece of technology that allows its user to communicate in real-time with others possessing the same technology, at extreme distances. Something to do with quantum entanglements, if I understood Philson's engineering crew."

Nodding his head excitedly, the Director added, "Yes, the communication seems based upon a variation of quantum entanglement, but my engineers are still sorting it all out. I'm certain that, given just a bit more time, they'll get it worked out."

"Setting aside the 'how' for the moment, let me ask a different question. Why was Baatran in communication with the Lyserions?"

"That's what we've been working to discover," Admiral Bearing admitted. "As best we can work out, as soon as Baatran informed the Lyserions of you and your ship's presence, they became very concerned - so much so that they wanted you and your ship destroyed, as well as the ships we were building. Hence, the two rogue officers on the first part of your training cruise."

Dutch nodded, considering the import of this new information. "Well, I'm glad you learned what Baatran was up to. He struck me as trouble from the first, though I couldn't quite figure out why."

"Change of subject," Philson interjected suddenly. "What are you planning to do now?"

Dutch was hesitant to fully disclose his intentions, opting to remain circumspect for the moment. "I figured the ladies and I might take advantage of a day or two of shore leave here at the station, or perhaps down on Rigellia, and then we'd set out to go meet with more human colonies. We still need to sell the treaty to more of the colonies, and eventually to the iShan'tal. Oh, and there's likely trouble brewing with the Noraxi to be dealt with, eventually. Why?"

"Well, if you're not in a hurry," Philson offered, "I'd be happy to set you up with a few upgrades, as recompense for your assistance with our people thus far. I'd like to upgrade your hatches, for example, as well as your bridge systems. If you'd come over to one of our new ships, I can show you a few items which might be of interest to you, including a major upgrade to your medical facilities. Plus, that would give my team a few extra days to work out the comm gear we took from Baatran, so that we can hopefully adopt it for use on our ships, as well as provide a unit to you, of course."

Dutch considered this for a moment. He wasn't necessarily interested in the upgrades to his ship - it was already pretty well upgraded, from his perspective, but he'd sure like to have that communication tech.

Nodding, he agreed. "That sounds fair. How about you and I head over to your shipyard while the Admiral is giving her trainees their new assignments?"

Philson nodded at this. Next to him, Fleet Admiral Bearing interjected another line of thought. "Dutch, I read through your assessments of the trainees. I'd like to thank you and your crew for your very valuable insights and recommendations. What I am curious about, though, is what thought you've given to expanding on the crew of the Odyssey. I know you are very capable, but do you plan to grow your crew?"

"I was planning to discuss that very matter with my current crew later this evening, Cathrice," he admitted, wondering what she had in mind.

"Good, good," she nodded, as if confirming her suspicions about something she'd not yet chosen to share. "Let me know what you decide, and I may have more to suggest tomorrow."

Rising from her chair, she extended her hand to Dutch. "Seriously, Dutch, we're all in your debt. Between gifting us the design for your ship and her systems, and training our maiden command crews, you've been a colossal help. Now, go with Dresden and see what he can offer that might lighten your burden a bit."

Both men rose to their feet. Dutch proposed, "Let me see you both to the Quarterdeck, and then I'll check in with my crew before I join you on Antares Station, Dresden. Give me, say, thirty minutes?"

They all made their way back to the Quarterdeck, where Dutch took his leave of them and returned to the bridge. Tapping his comm badge, he spoke quickly, "Prime, can you please ask the triplets to join me and Pheebs on the bridge?"

As he entered the bridge, Pheebs rushed up to him and hugged him, practically vibrating with excitement. Just then, the opposite hatch opened, and his other wives stepped onto the bridge.

Dutch spoke first. "I've got some news, and something to share."

"Before you do," Pheebs interjected, "I've got something incredible that I need to tell you!"

Pausing, he looked at her more closely, and could tell that she was very excited by whatever it was she wanted to say. Nodding, he allowed her to go first.

"I've been pouring over the telemetry that we collected from the IMBH, and it occurred to me that Prime could apply intelligent filters to the tau radiation that we observed - you know, the particles that seemed unaffected by the gravity well of the black hole? Anyway, we converted the data into something that we could use to visualize what we could not otherwise see past the event horizon!"

Waiting for a moment, he prodded her to continue. "And...?"

"And," she explained, taking a deep breath, "there's a ship in there! And, judging by what we could make out from its hull configuration," she looked at each of them, a mix of emotions in her eyes, "it's a Tao vessel!"

*****