Ship's Interface Ch. 019

The hard heels of his expensive leather shoes clicked loudly as they struck the dark stonework of the complex floor, the sound barely audible over the din of the other Brothers and Sisters hurrying through the low-lit corridors of the underground complex. Holding the satchel slung over his shoulder tight, he moved through them with a purpose they instinctively recognized and parted for him like a shark among a school of fish.

There was a roaring of whispered tones in the throng, some in hushed conversations, others chanting softly in groups headed to various ceremonies of sacrifice. Dust ignored them completely, paying them the attention they deserved, as he made his way to the sacred lower levels where adepts and low priests were forbidden.

He had been summoned by the Divine herself to deliver the precious items in his charge. Over his decades among the true believers, he had plotted and schemed his way into high position, as all currently on the Red Council had done before him, but this was going to be the first time he would see the face of the Divine himself. A clear sign, he thought, that his current machinations to supplant his target on the Council were blessed and would succeed.

He straightened his hood as he approached the two massive, red-cloaked guardians who barred the entrance to the winding staircase leading to the Divine's sanctum. They grimaced at him with tall halberds crossed, the sharp edges stained and left uncleaned as a clear signal of past and potential future use.

"Halt. None may enter," rumbled a not-quite-human voice from beneath the red iron chain link veil covering the guardian's hooded face.

"I am Brother Dust. I have been summoned," he snorted derisively. "You will allow me to pass." In unison, their heads turned slightly towards the entrance as if listening; then, they returned their gaze to him.

"Proceed," said the guardian as they uncrossed their weapons. Dust walked past and descended the narrow and unlit spiral staircase, its steps worn smooth by the passage of countless feet.

The stairs descended deep into the bones of the bedrock, and Dust had to feel his way carefully as he went. The darkness was absolute, and no amount of adjustment of his eyes could pick up any light for most of the way down. After several long minutes, he detected a faint green glow that grew steadily until he reached the bottom.

The narrow stairs opened into a small empty chamber, devoid of decoration, lit only by a single wrought iron lamp of ancient design affixed to the left wall. The illumination was produced by a crystalline rod running through the center, from top to bottom, with an odd green lightning that danced inside.

Dust stepped into the center of the small room and stood patiently in front of an ornate stone door, which had no apparent nob, handle, or latch. As he waited patiently before it, he silently appraised the iconography.

It was intricately carved with hundreds of figures either kneeling or prostrating around a radiating starburst, surrounded by what looked to be the broken bodies of their defeated foes. Every face was shown as a twisted mask of pain and terror. 'Appropriate,' he thought to himself. Although this carving was ancient beyond the count of years, it still reflected the truth of the universe: there was only the Divine, the devout few who worshiped her, and those who were only meant to be devoured or destroyed.

After a moment, the door swung silently inward, and Dust stepped through.

Despite the tall, vaulted cathedral ceiling of the Divine's sanctum, the air was oppressive, causing Dust to become conscious of his breath as though his lungs needed to work harder in this space.

Intricately carved alcoves lined the walls in an unfamiliar style that simultaneously was and wasn't proportionally accurate; the carved figures seemed to defy dimensionality, appearing flat and static, then, in a blink of an eye, seemed to bulge from the stone and move. The alcoves depicted alternating scenes of conquest of worlds and huddled masses bent over prostrate in worship, vast destruction of unimaginable scale, counterbalanced by absolute submission.

At the head of the long, cathedral-like space were steps leading up to a large throne of rough hewn stone upon a dias. Heavy green curtains hung behind it and to the sides, framing the large seat and focusing the eye upon its occupant.

A great statue of a woman, large and in proportion with the massive stone throne, sat upon it, dotted with gold and jewels too numerous and dazzling to count. Magnificent gemstone rings and hooped bangles adorned the numerous well-shaped arms and long, luscious legs and toes. A magnificently opulent golden headdress crowned the statue, but the feature that most struck Dust was the statue's eyes. He felt laid bare, pierced to the core, naked before it, the twisted, harsh expression of its beautiful face emanated judgment and contempt, as if all before her were unworthy.

Two groups of hooded priests kneeled to either side of the dais, praying silently at the feet of the statue, leaving an aisle directly through their midst in the center.

"Approach, Child," Boomed a powerful feminine voice, seeming to come from every direction. Dust's heart quaked, feeling the raw power emanating from the altar, but he strode forward confidently, his pride not allowing him to show it outwardly.

Entering the circle of priests at the foot of the dias, he knelt, bowing his head, resting his elbow on one knee. He retrieved an ornately engraved box covered in fine golden filigree from his satchel. He unlatched the small golden hook on the lid, flipping it open, exposing two acorn-sized chunks of a broken green crystal, then held up the box on open palms over his bowed head in offering.

One of the thirty-odd priests stood, gently took the box from Dust's hands, and placed it reverently on a small altar in front of the dais.

"Divine, I have humbly performed the task set before me and retrieved the precious fragment you provided to your priestess, Sister Flair," Dust said with as much solemnity as he could muster, "along with the one you tasked her to find."

There was a moment of silence as Dust knelt, waiting to see if his offering was sufficient to earn further dialogue with the Divine. He didn't have to wait long. "You have done well, Child. I am pleased," boomed the omnipresent voice. "And I sense there is more you wish to reveal."

Silently pleased he had managed to pique her curiosity, he replied. "Yes Divine, there is. I have witnessed first hand the return of the ancient enemy, the Silver One. She has begun reconstituting her strength and gathering followers."

"Of this, I am aware," she said, her voice thick with derision.

"Of Course, Divine. That was your priestess' mission, to test the Silver One's strength and set a wolf among her sheep." Dust paused for dramatic effect, trying to gauge how the unfathomable presence before him felt about him discovering her priestess's secret mission. He wasn't sure how to interpret her silence, so he continued. "I wish to inform you that the Bloom has made first contact, indicating it is becoming stronger."

"You believe yourself clever, Child," she chided. "Just one of your many machinations coming to fruition, revealed to me as a means to curry favor; in hopes, perhaps, that I would bless your campaign to unseat a certain member of the Red Council and install yourself?"

He blanched slightly at the revelation of her knowledge of his plans. The care with which he had been positioning himself and arranging the pieces on the board for his impending coup had been impeccable. Though he shouldn't have been, he was surprised at the casualness with which she mentioned it; she was, after all, Divine and powerful beyond measure.

"You need not worry that I will disturb the scheme you have laid out," she said with a slightly condescending tone. "The weak must be culled, and if your target on the council no longer has the whits to see your attack upon his postion he no longer deserves it. This is how I've kept my flock strong over so many millennia, the weak are devoured and the strong take their place."

"By your grace, Divine," Dust said, much relieved. Time to reveal his ace. "The other matter, Divine." He reached into his satchel for the other item he had brought with him and offered it in the same manner as the box.

"During her escape, Divine, the Silver One sacrificed a part of herself to save her minions. This is what I was able to recover." Dust felt a wave of satisfaction sweep over him, emanating from behind the stone statue's curtains.

"You have done well, Child. I am pleased." Dust looked to the priest standing next to the altar before the dais. His hooded head nodded towards the altar, indicating that he should approach. Dust rose to his feet, and with his head still bowed, he placed the transparent container full of silver snow, swirling as he moved it, onto the altar next to the box containing the shards. He backed away and knelt once more.

"With the body of the enemy, we have the key to enslave them once and for all," said the Divine, her voice loud in the chamber, echoing through the cathedral with certainty.

****

The Nestia cut through the cloud cover at supersonic speeds, popping neat holes through its centers, causing it to lose its fluffy cohesion and disperse. The three pods and shuttle trailed close behind but spread out for maximum sensor coverage to scan for survivors as they headed for the first location. In their wake, they dropped steady streams of emergency information sheets as they streaked by.

"We're five minutes out; all pilots, match our speed as we slow for approach," June called to the others in the pods.

"Roger," Will acknowledged, followed by a "Ten-four," from Ben and an "Affirmative," from Artona. The Nestia and the pods slowed to a more leisurely pace as they made their final approach to the intended first aid location in the small city of Spearden.

"June, we're going to going to peel off and start our search grids while all of you find a spot to setup," Will said over the open channel between all craft.

"Understood. Good luck, everyone. Let's find and help those people out there," June said with earnest hope.

"We're off as well," Thea called over the open comm channel. "According to the city planning map provided by the AAN home office, the water treatment and power plant are co-located in the industrial park on the edge of town, a couple of minutes from here, as the crow flies."

Inside the Nestia's shuttle, The lead Caimar engineer cocked his head in Thea's direction. "Crow?" Zarvok asked, blinking both sets of reptilian eyelids in confusion.

"It's an old Earth expression; a crow is a kind of bird there. It means 'in a straight line'."

"Ah, I see," Zarvok replied. "Similar to the Caimar expression 'to dart eel'. Though it's usually in context of swimming away as fast as you can from an angry Matron in heat. If you manage to upset a mating female, the consequences are, let us say, extreme."

Thea chuckled. "No worry about that at the moment," she said, steering the shuttle full of Caimar engineers off Nestia's flight path and heading to the town outskirts. "Only friendly females, here."

Thea slowed the shuttle, bringing it in low, flying fifty meters above the ground. Close up, the destruction took on new focus. Most of the buildings were not built to withstand the titanic forces of a wall of water and were simply crushed and swept away, piling up as debris in lower-lying areas as the water receded. Sturdier older structures made of brick, stone, or concrete crumbled where they stood, piled cairns memorializing the structures they had been. A tall marble obelisk celebrating the town's founding lay on its side, the ground around it and underneath torn and undermined.

As the shuttle passed over the wreckage, they kept a sharp eye on the ground below for anything or anyone alive and moving. Thea knew this mission would be hard, but she still wasn't prepared to see the scale of devastation up close. "Focus on the mission," she mumbled to herself as they sped along.

The power plant had been constructed to withstand all kinds of emergency scenarios, partly as a safety measure to protect the population from plant failures and partly for externally caused issues, such as accidental collisions from flying craft or natural causes like earthquakes, wildfires, or floods. So, it wasn't surprising that the main reactor building stood intact.

"Thea, please circle the facility slowly so we may do an aerial survey before we touch down," Zarvok requested, as a couple of the other engineers produced meters and scanners, making sure that it was safe to approach.

Thea flew the shuttle in a slow circuit around the fortified structure while the engineers monitored their equipment. "The containment vessel is intact," Zarvok declared. "Let's land and continue our survey."

Thea had been looking for a spot to put down as they circled; debris was everywhere, so she picked a mostly clear spot next to a squat, bunker-looking building that must have been on the leeward side of the rushing water.

The shuttle touched down gently, and as Thea powered down the drive and opened the shuttle door, the ground beneath the craft shifted suddenly. This threw the shuttle a degree off level, surprising the engineers and causing them to stumble about the cabin.

After a moment of holding their collective breath, waiting for more movement, none came. "Everyone good?" Thea asked the dozen Caimar in the back as she unclipped her harness.

"I believe so," Zarvok responded, looking around to his fellows. Though wide-eyed, they gave a unanimous round of thumbs up. "Okay, then. Let's get a closer look, but tread carefully. We can't afford to become injured ourselves. Teams of two, if you would, gentlemen." His team nodded, then proceeded to exit the shuttle.

Zarvok and Thea followed them out. The pairs of engineers fanned out, picking their footing carefully as they monitored their equipment, walking slowly and testing the firmness of the ground as they went.

"It's not unusual for portions of the facility to be below grade; we will need to be careful not to fall into any buried vaults or compromised tunnels," Zarvok explained.

Thea nodded in understanding. "So, where to first?" she asked.

"We inspect the control building," he said, indicating the nearby bunker that a pair of engineers had just disappeared into. "The plant monitor and control systems should give us a good picture of which sub-systems have been compromised and which are still functional," Zarvok said as they walked. "We'll still need to inspect everything, but it'll give us a place to start."

Thea noticed his expression was dour. "But you don't have high hopes, I'm guessing."

"No," he replied. "Along with the control building, there should be several others housing auxiliary and support equipment, cooling systems, power distribution switchgear, maintenance facilities. All of these seem to be missing." Thea wondered briefly if the debris they were picking their way through were the remnants of Zarvok's missing buildings.

Thea and Zarvok found the entrance to the control bunker the other engineers used. The heavy sliding doors were forced open with hydraulics and braced open with rods. Stepping into the entryway, they noted that the engineers had already affixed emergency lighting to the walls at regular intervals, allowing them to see that at least the inside of the control bunker seemed to have survived unscathed.

They followed the trail of emergency lights until they found the two engineers who had entered before them. They already had an electrical cabinet open, shining portable torches this way and that over the wiring and equipment mounted inside.

"How's it looking, Suiden?" Zarvok asked the Caimar with his head in the steel cabinet.

"The auxiliary power supplies are dead, but the control electronics seem to be in good shape," Suiden replied.

"Well, that's some good news. Waizek, please get some help and fetch the heavy duty rad-battery. We'll run the power cables down the hallway and patch it directly into the cabinet."

The engineer jogged back down the partially lit hallway and back outside. Ten minutes later, Suiden returned with two other Caimar, helping to uncoil the long power conduits. Thea stood back as Zarvok supervised the other engineers, who traced circuits back to a main disconnect and swapped the external power leads for their temporary ones.

Zarvok nodded his approval, and Waizek called down the hallway, "Fire it up!"

A hundred blinking red and amber lights flashed in the cabinet as the electrical components again came to life. After a minute of self-checks, some amber lights turned green, though many indicators remained red. The built-in emergency lighting sputtered on as equipment panels throughout the control room sprang to life.

Thea looked up, about to ask why the overhead lights hadn't come on, but Zarvok beat her to the punch. "The lights are on the main power distribution for the plant, which I'm guessing no longer exists."

Suiden, already at a terminal, indexing hundreds of alarms generated by the control system, looked up at them and nodded in agreement. "There are no sensor readings from the transformers, rotary condensers, heat transfer systems, or neutronic scrubbing systems. Just about everything except the reactor and primary loop subsystems inside the containment building."

"I suppose it was too much to ask for; we'll need to run new cables and replace the equipment sensors," Zarvok sighed, disappointed. He lifted his communicator to his snout and depressed the 'talk' button.

"Nadir, how bad are the pumps and plumbing?" he asked one of the engineers outside, inspecting the remnants of the building containing the supporting equipment.

"You should probably come take a look," Nadir replied.

Zarvok gave Thea a sideways look. "That doesn't sound good."

Thea shrugged her shoulders as they walked the hallway back outside. "You never know, stranger things have happened; maybe it's not too bad," she commented as they stepped into the light, managing to make it through the overcast sky.

"Sorry to say, it is bad," Nadir replied, overhearing their conversation. "Could be worse, but I can't imagine how. It's like a Dengmar Titan played a bad practical joke; all the piping that should have been straight has been bent, twisted and pinched, everything that should have bends are straight and flattened. Even if half of it was salvageable, we'd be chasing the leaky seals until the stars blink out."

Zarvok's frown deepened as he stared out over the large array of twisted and broken piping, naked under the sky after the building sheltering it had been torn away. "What a mess. I don't know what we're going to do with this." Zarvok crossed his arms, his mind racing, looking for a solution.

Brakken and Threx, the two engineers assigned to check out the nearby water treatment plant, picked their way through the debris field as he pondered what to do about the wrecked piping.

"I hope you two have better news for me than what we're dealing with here," Zarvok said, gesturing to the plumbing turned gordian knot.

Threx held the back of his head with one hand. "Well, there is quite a bit of muck to clean out of everything, but yes, the water treatment plant mostly survived; most of the facility was subteranean; if we selectively canabilize some systems to repair others, we should be able to get a significant portion of the treatment plant operational, provided that we have power, that is."

Zarvok nodded, grateful for a little good news. "Thank the Stars. Threx, take two teams and get the water plant operational; the rest will keep working on the power plant." Threx acknowledged him with a nod, and then he and Brakken turned, heading back to the water plant.

"I hope the others are having an easier time setting up the mobile hospital," Zarvok said, not liking their prospects. Thea put an arm around his shoulders in support.

****

Devens leaned over June's shoulder as she brought the Nestia to a silent hover over an enormous pile of debris they assumed was the remains of the Spearden municipal center. The Nestia cast a large shadow over it, hanging in the air quietly as they decided their course of action.

"Have the search and rescue crews already surveyed the city center?" Devens asked, her expression flat, masking the anguish she felt at knowing what they would find below them.

"No, but I've been running a deep scan of everything within a three-kilometer radius," Inta replied. An overhead map appeared on the right-hand side of the forward view screen next to the actual view from outside. Red dots began populating the map, radiating in all directions from where the Nestia was currently positioned. "These are all the hits the sensor received for organic masses, roughly humanoid-sized, all at ambient temperatures," Inta said grimly. Green dots began populating alongside these, smaller and not as numerous. "The green ones have a higher than ambient heat signature, but smaller in mass; probably scavengers or rodents. It doesn't appear that any survivors stuck around once things settled."

"Probably headed to the outlying areas with fewer people, and likely more resources," Deven said with faux optimism. "Let's hope the pods pick them up on their surveys."

Devens studied the map momentarily, and then her eyes settled on an area devoid of red and green. "Here. This spot, what used to be at this location?" she asked, pointing at the empty spot.

"Local directory says it was a shopping mall," June replied.

"Let's go take a closer look," Deven said eagerly. "If we have any measure of luck, the concrete flooring will still be intact and we can setup shop right on top of it."

June piloted the Nestia to the new location, and Inta performed a deeper scan of the area with the Nestia's sensors. "The foundations seem to be intact, and there are no biomarkers in the area. The people here must have received an evacuation order just before the water hit," Inta said, making an educated guess.

"Excellent," Devens said, gathering a head of steam. "Jyn, inform your team that we'll be deploying them to clear the mall foundation and the surrounding area of wreckage. We'll begin setup as soon as they've cleared the foundation. After your team has cleared the foundation, clear and level this area here," she said, pointing to an area to the southwest at a slightly lower elevation, about half the size of the mall. "We need to have both of these areas cleared ASAP, preferably before the end of the day."

Jyn nodded, then asked, "what are you going to put up in this other area?"

Devens steeled her expression. "The morgue."

****

Inta stood next to Jyn, dwarfed by his mammoth size, as he directed the heavy equipment operators close to the edge of the open door of the hangar. "Careful, a little more, STOP!" He said loudly, holding a big fist in the air, instructing the operator to hold position.

The faint blue rays of the tractor beam sprung to life, bathing the first in a line of many pieces of equipment, rumbling to life, ready to be deployed. Inta locked onto the first bull dozer and gently guided the tractor beam to lift up and hover the heavy dozer out the hangar door, suspended high above the ground, then slowly lowered it, crunching the debris below as the tractor beam lessened and let the dozer's weight settle.

The dozer's engine immediately rumbled from idle to full roar as it began maneuvering across the broken building material. It pushed a large pile to one side and cleared a spot on the concrete for other equipment to be lowered onto.

One after another, Jyn and Inta guided the rest of the heavy equipment to the ground until they were all down and busy clearing the site. "How long do you think it'll take them to clear the area?" Inta asked.

"These folks are pros, maybe an hour, hour and a half for the initial push. Once the immediate debris is cleared, we'll identify a suitable spot away from the area then move and dump everything there. You wouldn't want the piles near the temporary structures or where people might possibly be; we'll setup an out of the way spot as a dump where people are less likely to get hurt."

"Yeah, makes sense," Inta said in agreement. "That and we wouldn't necessarily want a huge reminder of the destruction piled up right nearby. I think we'd want to create a sense of beginning to return to order and stability. The people we rescue and bring here are going to be traumatized and making it feel safe is almost as important as caring for them physically."

They quickly emptied the hangar of the Netherlands' construction equipment, depositing them on the ground below. The experienced equipment operators danced their earth movers in a coordinated ballet, backing up as others pulled forward, turning and swinging around each other, and clearing the ground efficiently.

Almost as soon as the last piece of equipment was on the ground, Inta received a call over the Nestia's private comms network. "Inta, can you inform the medical teams that we've found a group of survivors and are headed back," Ben informed her. "There's a dozen in this group; none are seriously injured, but they're all showing signs of dehydration and exposure. They've elected to ride back in groups of four."

"Understood, Ben," Inta replied. "Attention, all medical personnel. The first recovered survivors are inbound. ETA is ten minutes," she announced over the ship's public address. She sensed the medical teams scrambling in preparation to receive them, some prepping a spare lounge-turned-reception area while others headed straight for the hangar. A team readied the med bay for action.

Another voice, gruff but feminine, spoke over the Nestia private comms. "Inta, we've found survivors as well. A couple; these two are pretty beat up, three broken bones between them, two arms and a leg. First aid has been administered, but they'll need further attention."

"Thanks, Artona. I understood." Inta relayed the information to Devens, who began coordinating medical efforts and mobilizing a team to the hangar to receive patients. She sent a dozen nurses and assistants to the hangars, who set up an initial intake station where they could perform initial diagnoses and bring patients to the med bay if their condition was serious or to the reception room, located in one of the repurposed lounges.

Artona was first to return to the Nestia and the developing aid station and hospital developing below as Ben was further out. The first report of her return was the sonic boom as her pod sliced through the air at supersonic speeds. The modified pod's speed dropped on final approach until Artona slowed it just outside the hangar, eased in, and touched down softly on the deck.

The canopy melted away as the medical team rushed to the pod. "Two injuried, male and female human. The woman, Janet, has a fractured left humerus, the man, Caleb, has a broken radius and possible ulna as well as a femur fracture."

Artona's stoic search and rescue partner, Londo Sarn, rattled off the relevant details to the medical staff in a crisp, professional manner. 'He may have the personality of a rock, but he's good when it counts,' Artona thought to herself.

Londo turned his seat and assisted the nurses loading the patients onto the gurneys. Once they had pushed the hovering beds clear of the pod on their way to the med bay, Londo rotated his seat to face forward again. "I'm pretty sure I spotted a few more people not far from the last pickup. If we hurry, we can get there before that rain hits their location."

"Alright then," Artona replied, with a subtle grin. "Better buckle up, buttercup; I'm about to show you what this pod can really do."

A hint of nervousness cracked his stony expression. "Ah, okay. Ready?"

The canopy flowed up and melted closed, and Artona piloted the pod back into the sky. A short ways out, a devilish grin crept across her face. "And... punch it!" She said, cackling madly, as the pod shot off in a burst of speed, leaving a thunderclap in her wake as it streaked back to their previous position.

"Take it easy on the new guy," Inta said into Artona's earpiece, listening as she continued to laugh maniacally.

"Just a bit of fun," Artona replied, sparing a quick glance behind her. The Silvestrian's eyes were as wide as saucers as he white knuckled the hand grips to either side of his seat.

In the hangar, the day quickly developed a rhythm; a pod would return, occasionally a couple at the same time, with survivors who would be efficiently unloaded and tended to by the medical teams, then whisked away to the upper decks for further treatment. All the while, beneath the silver hull of the hovering Nestia, the ground crew worked quickly to prepare the way for the mobile hospital.

Just after noon, Jyn called the Nestia on the common communications channel. "Command, we are ready to begin deploying the facilities structure down here. Send the crates down, and we'll get started right away."

"Understood," Devens replied, standing at the makeshift intake station in the hangar. "I'll send a couple of technicians to assist and answer any immediate questions." She instructed a couple of nearby techs to release the maglocks on a few of the crates.

"Inta," Devens called, walking over to where the silver girl stood by the open hangar door, watching the action below. "We need to start sending down the crates full of structural pieces."

Inta nodded, having listened in on their brief conversation. "Bring them over and I'll lower them with the tractor beam."

Deven waved the techs over as they pulled the large crates behind them, buoyed by the anti-grav disks embedded in the cases, parking them by the open door. Blue rays extended from the ceiling, bathing the crates in light, then lifted them out the door and down towards the ground. Once the cases touched down, Inta turned to the techs. "Ready?"

The techs looked nervously at each other. "Oh don't worry, I haven't dropped anyone in a long time," Inta joked, which fell spectacularly flat with the two, who now looked more nervous than before. "I joke; it's perfectly safe," she said, taking each of their hands in her silver ones. "I'll go down with you to make sure." Leading them to the hangar door, she paused, with a tech to either side of her. "Okay, here we go."

Blue light surrounded them and floated them out of the hangar doors and down towards the ground. Inta beamed the two techs a huge smile. "Isn't this fun?" she asked, giggling. They relaxed as they descended; something about the silver girl made them feel cared for and protected. She carried herself with an aura that was hard to describe but was felt, nonetheless.

The beam's blue light blinked out as their feet touched the ground, and the techs immediately began undoing the locks on the cases. Inta had been monitoring the ground crew's progress along with everything else, but having a close-up view of their progress was nice. The entirety of the mall's previous structure had been removed, leaving behind the flat concrete floor covering a few hectares--plenty of room for the planned facilities.

Some of the heavy earth-moving equipment continued to rumble in the distance, but many were now parked in a line a short distance from the soon-to-be repurposed foundations. Jyn, upon seeing Inta and the technicians descend with their crates, gathered the equipment operators not currently busy and ushered them over to where the new arrivals stood.

"Your operators are quick and efficient, Jyn. Nice work," Inta complimented the mountain of a man.

"They know their stuff," he replied in a deep, rumbling voice. "What's next?"

The senior tech, Marty, looked up at the sky as if to judge how much daylight they had to work with, then answered. "These crates contain the electro-polymer tents we'll use for shelter from the elements. Once these are up, we'll bring down the rest of the equipment from the ship: generators, furniture, medical equipment, and other supplies. Since the medical staff can handle new arrival intake from the ship for now, we'll focus on getting living quarters set up so they'll have a place to go." His expression darkened slightly. "After living quarters are set, our instructions are to set up the morgue. Have you been able to clear an area for it yet?" Marty asked.

"Yes, down the hill over there," Jyn said, pointing, " close but somewhat out of sight." He turned to Inta. "We're about done with the initial clearing of debris. We're clearing out a space on the far side where it looks like the parking lot once was for a landing strip. It was pretty torn up, but the sub-grading was mostly intact, making it easy to clear and flatten. Once we're done, you can set the Nestia down over there."

"Great!" Inta chirped. "That'll make loading and unloading a lot quicker and easier." Inta walked over to the crates and then turned to the techs. "Okay, Marty, how does this work?"

The senior tech stepped up beside her, unlatched, then opened the lid, revealing stacks of gray tubes filling the case to the brim. "These work just like a modern hiker's tent, just on a larger scale," he explained as he took two of the five-foot tubes out of the crate. "First we arrange and connect these into a framework then deploy and engage the walls. Observe."

With help from the other tech, who grabbed two other tubes, they began to work. The tubes were light enough to manipulate with one hand, and easy to hold the two together end on end. With a simple twist, a small pulse of light emanated from the touching ends, joining the two into one, ten-foot-long rod. His assistant did the same with his pair of tubes, similarly connecting them. Then, carefully considering their placement, the techs stood their long tubes vertically, about ten feet apart, being sure to hold them as straight as possible. Then, with a twist of the tubes, the ends touching the concrete glowed for a moment and then dimmed. The techs let go, and the tubes stood on their own, anchored to the concrete.

"And now, the walls," Marty said, continuing his explanation. He gripped an unseen edge along the length of one of the tubes and pulled a thin, mostly opaque sheet of material from one tube across the distance to the other. As the edge he held made contact with the other upright rod, there was a corresponding small flash of light beneath his fingers where the film touched the rod.

Marty released it for a moment, and it held in place, the unsecured edges fluttering in the light breeze. "The film automatically bonds upon contact, so you'll need to be careful to align it properly so that it joins correctly." He and his assistant then ran their fingers along the edge, bonding the entire film edge to the opposite pole. "And finally, once all the connections have been made, all that is left is to firm up the wall." He ran his fingers over the first upright tube, looking for a particular spot, and once he found it, pressed it for a count of three. A wave of light traveled across the film, and where it was once flexible, it was now hard and firm, which he demonstrated with a couple of raps of his knuckle.

"Once set, the walls can withstand a hundred kilograms of force and are thermally non-conductive, giving it excellent insulating properties. Once enclosed, the space will only need a small heating unit to keep it comfortable inside." He then leaned on the single free-standing wall as if to demonstrate its strength.

"Wow, that's going to work great!" Inta exclaimed. "And it'll go up quick, too!"

"Emerson and I will mark the floor with the layout, per Coordinator Devens' specifications, while the rest of you can assemble the structure." All nodded in agreement. Jyn called his crew not currently working over as the techs referred to their data tablet and marked the concrete with the layout.

Dozens of hands got to work, Inta and Jyn among them, setting up walls along the proscribed paths marked on the floor. Soon, they had the walls of the first few rooms done, and then Inta looked past them to the open sky. "Marty, what about the ceilings?" she asked.

"The process is the same as the walls," he replied, "though being ten feet high, you'll probably need ladders." He then returned to marking the floor.

Jyn, standing eight feet tall, stepped next to Inta. "I don't need a ladder; I can reach," he said, extending an arm as wide as her waist and grabbing the top of a wall to demonstrate.

"Yeah, but there's a lot of ceiling to do, and even as strong as I'm sure you are, your arms will get tired," Inta replied, appreciative of his efforts in spite of it. "I think I have a better solution," she said, with a mischievous grin and a wink.

Inta took a couple of steps back from the others, the soles of her bare silver feet tapping lightly on the concrete. Their expressions quickly shifted from confused amusement to wide-eyed astonishment, and their jaws nearly dropped to the floor. As they watched, Inta expanded, growing in size until she was twelve feet tall, though she maintained the bubbly curves of her previously five-foot-six frame.

"Uh uh, no peaking up my dress," she playfully chided Marty, as she caught the hem of her sundress, now at eye level, from blowing in the breeze.

Marty, his face a deep crimson, jerked his head in the opposite direction so fast that Jyn, now familiar with the silver girl's antics, thought it might spin right round.

"Now I can do the ceilings while you all put up the walls," Inta chirped, delighting in showing off like a school girl.

"You'll still have a bit of trouble stretching out the sheets evenly without help," Jyn grumbled.

Inta scratched her chin thoughtfully. "I suppose you're right. I'll need a little help," she said with a smirk.

Two more titan-sized Inta instances unfolded from 4D space to either side of the first. "Eh? Whadda ya think?" she said, unable to contain her mirth. Marty, already in shock from Inta's first trick, tried to step back but fell on his butt, silent with his mouth agape.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she said, concerned, her first instance shrinking back to normal size, then bending to help Marty to his feet.

"That's some trick," he said, once his words returned to him.

"I can do all sorts of tricks," Inta said coquettishly, running a finger along his collar. "If you're a good boy." Marty's face went crimson once more, his mind thoroughly scrambled and unsure what to say.

Jyn, having seen all sorts of weirdness in the galaxy, overcame his shock first. "Well, if you've quite finished with your bit o' fun, we've work to do," he chided, then began passing wall tubes to everyone just standing around. Taking the hint, they got back to work.

Jyn handed a couple of tubes to the regular-sized Inta. "There's more to you than meets the eye," he said in a hushed tone. "If I were you, I'd try to be a bit more discrete. Your ship itself is enough to raise an eyebrow or two, but if you continue to show off to strangers, eventually, you will draw the attention of the wrong sort of people which will end badly for you or your friends."

Inta frowned at the thought of her antics harming her family. "Thank-you, Jyn. I do tend to get carried away. Though I'm confident that the intentions of these people here are good." Inta decided to take his advice and keep to herself the fact that she had already vetted them when they came on board with a close examination of their auras.

"Here the thing, though," Jyn continued, putting a kindly hand on her shoulder. "People talk. And it's possible that the wrong people overhear an innocent conversation then you and your friends have a target on your back. There's evil out there; you must remain vigilant."

Belying his coarse exterior, Inta felt his genuine care and concern radiate through more than just his words. "You're right, Jyn. I need to be more cautious."

"Good Girl," he replied without a hint of condescension. "I'll get a couple of front-end bucket loaders to help lift us up to put up the ceiling here. Why don't you and your giant twins go help set up the outbuilding down the hill?" It was tough to see the affectionate smile under the thick, grizzled beard, but it shone clearly in his eyes.

"Okay, I will." The titan-sized instances of Inta shrunk to normal proportions, and the three of them left the team working on the main facility to their work. As they walked single file down a recently cut path down the hill, her two trailing instances slipped away discretely back into 4D space. She approached the technical staff at the bottom of the hill she had lowered down from the Nestia before she came down with the others.

They wore dark blue, close-fitting jumpsuits, already slightly dirty from their efforts. The two young men worked on setting up the walls while one of the two women worked on a machine, half-stuffed inside an opening, tightening down an internal component. The blonde, whose hair was tied up in a tight bun and not currently stuffed inside the machine, reviewed a schematic diagram and occasionally passed tools to the other tech.

The four of them were somber as they went about their work; they had already put up and solidified the outer walls, then split up, two and two; a pair continued erecting inner walls inside the structure, separating the smaller building into three rooms, a small front room, and two rooms towards the back, one much larger than the other. While two of them worked on setting up the walls and doors for the structure, the others were busy removing components from a series of crates and assembling a machine that took up a significant portion of the larger back room.

Inta cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Oh, hello," the blonde technician said, looking up from the machine she was helping to assemble. "Are you here to help?"

"Yeah," Inta replied. "I thought you might need a hand with the ceilings."

"Yeah, that would be a big help, thanks. I'm Ashley, by the way," she said, offering her hand, which Inta accepted and shook. "And this is..."

"Sue, Jim, and Nate," Inta said. "Pleasure to meet you all." Ashley's and the others' surprise was evident on their faces. "It's my job to know everyone who comes aboard and see to their needs," she explained, her tone warm and comforting. "Will you four be the operators here?" she asked, referring to the partially assembled machine.

Ashley's face grew serious. "Yeah, it'll be our job to maintain and operate the morgue." The four collectively straightened their spines, keenly aware of the size of the responsibility laid before them.

"I dare say you'll have the toughest job," Inta said sympathetically. "Caring for the victim's final arrangements doesn't receive the same rewarding satisfaction of healing the wounded or saving a life in the emergency room, but it's no less important." Inta could see that they all understood their task would be unpleasant but necessary and were determined to give the victims one last measure of dignity they deserved. It impressed Inta how much these young folks understood the importance of their roles and the amount of compassion radiating from their auras. These were good kids doing tough work.

"I think what you're doing will be the most important job here; there's been so much death and heartache, with hardly anyone left to tell their stories. You'll honor those who've passed and be helping to give closure to their loved ones." A sober pride welled up in the young med techs.

"Part of my job," Inta continued, "is to see to the well being, physically and emotionally, of everyone who travels with us on the Nestia. If you need anything, a sympathetic ear, or a shoulder to cry on, please don't hesitate to ask. I am here for you, if you need it."

"Thank-you," Ashley said softly. "We will. But for now, we have work to do."

Sue poked her raven-haired head out of the guts of the machine, brushing the bangs of her pixie cut out of her eyes. "If you're done being all sappy, I could use a ten-mill socket," she said with a friendly bit of sass, disguising her feelings. Ashley smiled, shaking her head slightly as she handed Sue the requested tool.

"Did you bring ladders to help hang the ceilings?" Jim asked Inta. He and Nate wore their hair in the same close-cropped style, though Nate's was bleached platinum white while Jim's was a natural light brown.

The glances between the four of them and the tendrils of connection visible to Inta in their auras told her they were slightly more than work associates. 'Young love,' she sighed internally, then turned to answer Jim, thinking about her conversation with Jyn earlier. "Oh yes, I brought a few from the ship. Mind lending me a hand? They're just outside."

Jim and Nate followed her to retrieve the ladders, where Inta had displaced them moments before. The two young men grabbed all three white metal ladders in one go, not noticing the small patch of silver on the surface shrinking and disappearing from view.

With ladders now in hand, Jim and Nate quickly installed the ceilings, with Inta's help, while Ashley and Sue continued to work on machine assembly. The boys assembled some large shelving in the smaller side room, filling its shelves with hundreds of little bins. As Inta spent time helping Jim and Nate assemble furniture, another of her instances stood next to Margaret Devens in the hangar aboard the Nestia as she barked orders like a field marshall, orchestrating the activity of the dozens of techs and medical staff preparing to fill the empty building below with supplies and people, turning it from an empty shell to a living breathing hospital.

"Yes, we'll need those crates of supplies over there, as well at these here," Devens instructed. "No, that row of crates is for the next location; everything's already been apportioned." She waved her hands, pointing out several stacks of supplies that all looked identical.

"See? These stacks of crates are for this location, these are for the second," Devens said, gesturing to each, "and the next one and then the next one." The inexperienced young man she spoke to nodded his head furiously, making copious notes of all the information that Devens clearly had memorized.

As her instructions were carried out and crates were moved to be staged by the hangar doors, Devens turned to Inta. "We're about ready for everything to be brought down to the hospital. The sooner we get this location up and running, the sooner we can stand up the next location." The urgency in her voice spoke volumes. "Can you begin ferrying the supplies and personnel down?" She asked.

Before Inta could reply, Jyn's gravelly voice sounded on Devens's communicator on the common comms channel. "Attention, Nestia, a landing area has been cleared and leveled for you on the north side of the camp."

Devens took the communicator from her belt. "Excellent timing; we were just about to begin unloading for the next phase of setup. We'll be able to deploy that much quicker on the ground. Good work; thank you, Jyn." She then turned to Inta. "Can you let Ms. Harding know and ask to have the Nestia set down?"

Inta looked up and forward in the general direction of the bridge. "June's been monitoring the comms; she's bringing the Nestia around and setting her down."

Though they couldn't feel the corresponding movement, the scene through the transparent force shield at the open hangar doors changed as the ship was brought about and lowered over the open flat space cleared by the Netherlands' earth movers.

Once on the ground, the wide ramp again poured from the hull's surface, creating a sloped walkway from the cargo bay to the ground outside. As soon as the transparent barrier blinked off, crews began moving the dozens of crates down the ramp, suspended on their built-in anti-grav pads.

Devens received another call over the comms about ten minutes into the off-loading process.

"Ms. Devens, this is Sue Mulkern from the mortuary team. Do you read me?" called the voice.

"Yes, Ms. Mulkern, I hear you. Do you have news?" Devens replied.

"Yes, ma'am. I wanted to let you know that the assembly and checkout of the equipment here have been completed and that the team is ready for processing." The young woman's voice may have been cool and clinical, but Inta could hear the task's weight in her tone.

"Excellent. Please extend my thanks to your team and inform them that the search and rescue teams will begin their local recovery efforts shortly," Devens replied, in her usual matter-of-fact manner.

"Thank you ma'am; we will be standing by," Mulkern said, ending her transmission.

Devens closed her end of the communication link with Mulkern and immediately dialed Tarek Dargan on his private link. "This is Tarek," he said, answering the call.

"The morgue is online and ready," Devens relayed to the search and rescue team lead.

"Understood. My team will concentrate our recovery efforts on the targets marked on the first site scans in a three-klick radius around camp, then scan the area again with a fine-toothed comb. We can't afford a disease breakout this close to the hospital," Dargan vocalized the immediate concern. "We'll continue to expand the radius of the search until the Nestia is ready to move on to the next location."

"We should have a better idea of when that will be after this evening's status meeting. Until then, good hunting," Devens replied.

"Ten-four. Dargan out."

Devens pinched the bridge of her nose as she watched the other teams of med techs guiding lines of hovering crates down the ramp of the hangar to equip the new temporary facility. Per the plan, barracks and communal facilities would be the first to be furnished, so that posted personnel and rescued survivors would have a place eat, sleep, and recover; the Nestia would continue serve as the clinic and operating theater until the hospital set up was complete and those functions could be handled on the ground.

"How are you holding up?" Inta asked, appearing silently next to Devens. She had ceased to be startled by the silver girl, getting used to the behavior of her odd host.

Through the open hangar doors, they watch the first Silvestrian teams heading out on flat-bed hover trucks to begin their grisly but necessary task. "This is always the hardest part for me," Devens explained, looking off into the distance. "When a patient comes in, no matter how serious the injury, we at least have a chance to save them. But when you know that it's already a recovery effort and not a rescue, you don't even get that chance. The only thing you can hope to do is give the dead and their loved ones a measure of peace and closure."

Deven wore a mask of cool composure, intended to inspire confidence in teams she managed, but Inta saw the deep blue undercurrents of sorrow swirling in her aura and knew that she felt everything deeply.

As a token of support, she put a small, silver hand on Deven's shoulder and released a small stream of warming energy to comfort and bolster this woman carrying an immense load on her shoulders. After a moment, Devens placed a hand on Inta's, resting on her shoulder, and smiled.

"Thanks," she said, grateful for the small gesture even if she was unaware of the energy exchange. Then she cleared her throat. "We're moving operational control to the new facility; I need to gather my things and find my new office." Devens patted Inta's hand affectionately, then headed up to her quarters to pack.

****

Emily and the other nurses handling the intake and care of survivors needing medical treatment did everything they could do to keep up with the pace of the search and rescue teams returning from the canvassed areas as they offloaded those they found. Many of the survivors had already found one another after the cataclysm and banded together in small groups for mutual aid. So when the pods flying overhead found them, they would end up shuttling them back to camp in several trips, keeping the medical staff very busy.

Emily, for one, was grateful to be busy. It meant that for every person they found and treated, there was one less horrible ending, one less person who would never go home to loved ones, and one less black mark on the book of records for this terrible tragedy.

After a long, fourteen-hour shift, the search and rescue teams suspended flights as daylight faded. The survivors, checked out and found to be in good condition, were sent to the barracks to be assigned temporary living quarters, while the more seriously injured were kept aboard the Nestia until the critical care facilities on the ground were deemed operational. Exhausted, Emily took the card with her new room assignment from the sympathetic admin passing out the assignments.

"You should grab a bite to eat before bed," the admin recommended. "The mess halls fully staffed now and are keeping late hours today."

"Thanks, Julie," Emily said with an appreciative but weary smile. I'll do that." Room assignment in hand, Emily made her way to the mess hall. The brightly lit hallways of the new facility had signage everywhere pointing to all important locations within the camp; once the survivors were transferred, they would be able to navigate the newly constructed labyrinth.

The mess hall had already stopped serving hot meals but had plenty of sandwiches and snacks in glass-encased refrigeration units, so she grabbed a turkey sandwich, an apple, and a small container of milk. Though it wasn't labeled, she guessed it was Cantroni yak milk based on the slight blue tint.

She finished her simple meal, said good night to the other nurses who had finished their shift with a quick bite to eat like her, and then headed to her new lodging.

The barracks had been divided up into a couple of sections; the rooms closest to the infirmary were assigned to patients who were on the mend but still might need medical attention, while the rooms the farthest away were designated as longer-term accommodations for those who were well enough not to need medical attention. The nurses and medical staff's lodging was situated in between.

Emily wound her way through the well-laid-out corridors until she found room 3502, which was hers for the foreseeable future. The biometric scanner unlocked the door when she placed her palm upon it, and she entered the darkened room. It was somewhat spartan in design, but not uncomfortable; there was room for a bed, a desk and chair, and a small table. It had no bathroom, as the communal lavatories were down the hall, very much like the dorms from Uni.

Emily was tired and stripped off her scrubs as she walked towards the beckoning mattress, not bothering to turn on the lights. As she reached behind her back to unhook her bra, a chill ran down her spine, and she suddenly got the impression that she wasn't alone in the room. Spinning around quickly, she verified the door was closed and locked, but she couldn't shake the feeling.

Suspicious now, she sat on the end of the bed, kicked off her shoes and slid her scrub bottoms down over her ass, bending to pull her feet through the legs of the fabric. As she bent over, a large shadow clinging to the far corner of the ceiling shifted and sprang on the unsuspecting nurse and quickly wrapped her up in strong, unmovable arms.

"Ah!" Emily squeaked as a pair of dainty fangs shallowly pierced the skin of her shoulder. Her muscles went slack, and fire bloomed in her core as familiar hands began wrapping her in silk, binding her arms over her head. "Oh, Rhen!" she cried with drunken lust as her Linyphiidae lover trussed her up, spinning silken strands around her torso, squeezing her tits to prominence, then across her ass cheeks and around her thighs in artful support that would make a shibari practitioner envious.

"Hello, my lover," Rhenna purred, then passionately kissed Emily's lips. She returned it with gusto, as the venom coursed through her veins, heat and need blooming throughout her body.

Rhenna quickly secured her broodmare, anchored the webbings, and secured her to the ceiling while still supporting most of her weight. "Rhen," Emily whined her name plaintively, "I've been needing you all day. The ache was almost too distracting."

"I know, my Love. The unfertilized eggs don't carry the same potency as fertilized ones, so I'll need to fuck you twice as often," Rhenna explained without a shred of regret. She kissed her way down Emily's body, throwing her legs over her shoulders and grabbing two handfuls of Emily's well-toned ass, pulling her quim close as she licked her lips.

Emily squirmed in her silk bondage as Rhenna's tongue lapped and danced among her inner folds and across her clit. "FUGG!" Emily grunted, cumming hard on Rhenna's tongue.

"Mmm, the way you cum for me; such a good girl," Rhenna cooed into Emily's ear, her fingers still pumping in and out of her sopping wet cunt as she gently swung in restraints. "Do you want me to tie you up more, or let your legs dangle?" she asked the bound girl hanging from the ceiling. "Your choice."

Emily's face was flush with a desperate desire. "More!" she begged softly.

"As you wish," Rhenna acquiesced in a breathy whisper, licking a line up her neck and along her feminine jawline. Grabbing one ankle, she tentatively tested Emily's range of motion while rolling her thumb over her swollen bean and easily swung her foot over her head.

"My oh my, aren't you the flexible one," Rhenna praised, binding the leg along side Emily's arms.

"Yoga every mornin'," Emily replied, her words slurring drunkenly as her lover slid two fingers in deep, soaking in divine ecstasy. Rhenna bound her other leg with the other, posing her lover in a delightfully obscene manner, her pussy lips splayed open wide. It squelched noisily as Rhenna added a third then a fourth finger to her pistoning ministrations.

Rhenna nibbled on Emily's right nipple, eliciting a delighted gasp and a fresh flood of wetness. "Oh, Honey, you're dripping down my arm," she said with four fingers sliding slowly in and out, thumb pressing firmly on Emily's nub.

Emily squirmed and squealed, and as she came again, Rhenna withdrew her slick fingers. "I'm going to stretch you out good, and get you ready for me, okay?" Emily bit her lower lip and nodded furiously, needing more.

Rhenna traced the line of dripping wetness from Emily's soaked snatch to her puckered backdoor. Massaging the ring of muscle with her slickened fingers, Rhenna coaxed Emily into relaxing, then gently, but firmly, slid a finger in.

"Errg!" Emily grunted, another climax building. Rhenna gave her asshole a couple of gentle pumps, then added a second finger. Her bound broodmare whined as she teetered on the edge of another monster orgasm. Rhenna stuffed the four fingers of her other hand hard into Emily's cunt, mashing her pearl hard with her thumb, and Emily exploded, squirting across the room, exposed and suspended as she was.

"Mmm, I'll never get tired of making you cum. I'm going to wring every last delicious orgasm from your beautiful body; you understand?" Rhenna declared possessively. Emily's body convulsed for more than a minute as Rhenna continued to play her body like a fiddle.

With her four fingers stuffed up to the last knuckle inside Emily's slit, Rhenna declared, "I think I've stretched you out as much as I think you can handle tonight. Let's see how much of me you can really take."

Rhenna withdrew her fingers from Emily's holes, causing her to moan mournfully at the loss. After wiping her hands on a nearby towel, Rhenna rose from her crouching position and grabbed the twin firm globes of Emily's ass and began grinding her slowly emerging member on her spread and waiting pussy.

The wide rolling ridges of Rhenna's ovipositor parted Emily's lower lips, making it slick with the evidence of her arousal. Grabbing a hold of one ankle then another, the Linyphiidae gently raised the nurse's feet over her head, folding her in half and binding her legs to her arms with silk on either side of her head.

Rhenna stepped back for a moment and admired her lover. Emily was bent to resemble a lewd dew drop, replete with deliciously sweet nectar dripping from her splayed nether. "You look good enough to eat," she said, taking her time, dragging a finger through her wet folds and sucking them clean. "Such a delicous sight."

"Now shut up and stuff that monster egg pumper in me!" Emily panted through gritted teeth.

"Yes, ma'am," she replied with a hungry smile, taking one last lick along her broodmare's honeyed folds. Holding Emily's waist to steady her, she rested the tip of her member at her dripping entrance. "Is this what you want?" Rhenna asked, unable to resist teasing Emily one final time.

"YES! DO IT!" Emily practically screamed. Without another word, Rhenna pulled Emily and her needy pussy towards her, slowly impaling her on her massive shaft.

Emily's climax was titanic; she shook and thrashed, bound tight in silken thread, unable to form words as she screamed silently. Rhenna stuffed as much of the tip of her mammoth rod into Emily as she dared, fearful of tearing flesh instead of just stretching.

Rhenna looked down between their sweat-glistened bodies and noted proudly that Emily had managed to take most of her enormous tip. 'A good start,' she thought to herself; there would be plenty of time in the future for the rest.

Grabbing a fist full of the artfully tied gosamer thread around Emily's navel in one hand, and gripping the base of her rod tight in the other, Rhenna thrusted shallowly into Emily's core, the flesh of her pussy stretched thin around so massive an intruder. She stroked the base of her ovipositor in a tight fist, hastening her impending climax as she fucked Emily through hers.

Rhenna rammed just a slight bit deeper, sending another overlapping wave of ecstasy through Emily, just as she climaxed, pulsing hot, thick, egg-filled jelly into Emily's receptive depths. Rhenna's tip pressed tight, providing a perfect seal, and the flood of eggs and fluid had nowhere to go but deeper. Emily grunted, and her face turned a deep crimson as pressure mounted against her final barrier. It was too much; the continued pulsing pressure applied by Rhenna forced several eggs through, filling her womb. Emily squeaked, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

Rhenna took a staggering step back, her cock like member continuing to pulse out eggs, making sloppy wet splatting sounds as they hit the floor. Still, she wasn't quite done. She grabbed Emily's half-conscious face and brought the squirting tip to her lips. She squeezed the last two soft eggs into her mouth, then pinched her nose, forcing her to swallow them whole.

Partially collapsing from exertion, Rhenna fell to her knees, clinging to Emily's bound, swollen, and sweat-covered body hanging from the ceiling as if she were a life preserver and was the only thing keeping her from drowning.

"Oh wow, I needed that," Emily said drunkenly. Her head lolled to one side, resting on her arm, and wore a broad smile.

Rhenna stood, took her face in her hands, and kissed her softly but passionately. "Me too." Taking her down from the ceiling and unwinding the long silken threads binding Emily's arms and legs, she laid her on the mattress, then rubbed her limbs with long, luxuriating strokes, helping circulation to return and soothe aching muscles.

Emily was soon fast asleep, drunk on hormones from the eggs inside her and the warmth at her back as Rhenna spooned her, resting a hand on her slightly distended belly. The lovers drifted to that place halfway between dreams and the world, bathing in afterglow and deep affection.

****

Diana marveled at how quickly the rough camp was evolving into a serious facility capable of handling the steady influx of survivors arriving by pods and, although less numerous, on foot. The pamphlet drops seemed to be a huge success; even though the flight teams searching the area were as meticulous as possible, folks on the ground were traveling as soon as they saw the lit beacon over head; armed with maps and directions provided in the pamphlets, a lot of people ended up crossing into areas that the search and rescue teams already scanned and slipped by undetected.

She figured that was probably for the best, leaving the transports free to pick up those too injured to make the arduous journey across the flood-blasted landscape to the safe haven the aid camp provided.

Ms. Devens took a liking to Diana early on, knowing what she had recently been through, and was delighted at her offer to help however she could. Diana caught up with her as she headed down the hangar bay ramp with a cart loaded with several boxes and a couple of pieces of luggage, with everything she had originally boarded the Nestia.

"Hi there!" Diana greeted her chipperly. "Need a hand with all this?" she asked, trying to be helpful.

"No, it's alright. I can manage this myself." Devens noticed Diana's shoulders slump a little as she deflated a bit. She had seen enough restless patients cooped up in a hospital to recognize that the young woman felt like a burden and needed a way to contribute.

"Well, you know there are already lots of folks handling the technical stuff," Devens said, lightly scratching her left temple in thought, "but what we're really light on is basic hospitality; greeters, guides, people to help with the patient experience, show them a little humanity and help them when they are a little lost. With an effort like this, there is a lot of effort and focus on efficiency, which can sometimes leave a patients with a cool impression. Having a warm, smiling, helpful face with the little details can make all the difference. Would you be willing to do that?" Devens asked.

"Oh definitely! Hospitality is right up my alley!" Diana exclaimed cheerfully, happy to have a way to help.

"Good. I'll have my assistant, Debbie, assign you some work. Do you think you can handle a two-hour shift on your feet?" Devens inquired, conscious that although she was getting around remarkably well, her strength was still on the mend.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can handle it," Diana said proudly. "Thank you so much. It'll be nice to help and not be a burden."

"I'll let my assistant Debbie know, and she'll get you setup. I'll walk you to the info desk; she should already be there."

As they entered and made their way through the pop-up facility, activity seemed to increase exponentially. Refugees from the outlying areas poured in, and the last of the required medical equipment was set up to outfit the clinics and surgical theaters.

Not far from the main entrance, sitting behind a wide desk covered in data tablets displaying bills of lading, schematic drawings, and duty rosters, was a curvy, strawberry blonde, fully in three separate conversations with the original bearers of the various data tablets, trying to coordinate their separate responsibilities with the tasks already laid out as the days objectives.

Deb Liddenhouse handled them all with diplomatic aplomb; even though the tension pouring off two men standing on far side of the desk felt that the other team leads didn't understand their point of view and needed the extra resources, Deb had a subtle way to remind them that they were all on the same team, working towards a common goal.

"Bob, you know I can't divert any more resources from John's logistics team," Deb said sweetly, looking up through her eyelashes at him. "He's already given you three from his team to complete the setup of the exam and operating rooms." She turned her gaze to the other man, looking somewhat vindicated by Deb's pronouncement. "And John, you'll probably have to do without those members for the duration until the next batch of aid workers arrive. We all have to do the best we can with what we have to get everything done." Then she smiled a huge smile and leaned forward showing off her ample cleavage (unintentionally on purpose), "You boys have managed to work wonders with what you've had to work with; I'm not sure what we all would do without you."

Both men respected Deb as a well-organized administrator and enjoyed her wit and charm. They knew the game she played, but their knowledge didn't change the inevitable outcome, which made them smile broadly.

"Well, If John's good with it, I think we can make do with the team as is," Bob agreed, grinning like a bobcat.

"Yeah, and it's probably best to get those folks cross-trained in other functions as well; it'll make them more well-rounded in the long run," John acquiesced.

"You two are so wonderful to work with, thanks, both of you," Deb said, flashing a bright smile.

"Well, you make it easy to," Bob replied. John said nothing but rolled his eyes, throwing a gentle elbow into Bob's side, grinning as much as he was.

As they turned to leave, Deb called behind them. "My shift's done at seven; meet me in the mess for dinner, then we'll see from there?" Bob and John both turned their heads and nodded enthusiastically.

They headed for the doorway at the same time Devens and Diana were entering; Bob and John stood to one side and let them pass.

"Excuse us," John said, his walking cadence almost breaking into a skip. Bob gave him a sharp elbow, encouraging him to play it cool. John shrugged his shoulders and gave Bob a foolish grin, and then they chatted in a hush about how they imagined the evening would turn out.

Deven approached the desk with Diana in tow. "Afternoon, Deb. Where do we stand on readiness?" she asked in a casual manner.

"Temporary power routing has been completed; the transfer switchgear is set for when the Caimar engineers have restored the main power and water from the local systems. Supplies are still being offloaded from the Nestia, and the last of the big medical equipment, scanners and resonance imaging, should be ready for use early tomorrow morning."

Deb picked up one of the data pads left on her desk and scrolled through a Gantt chart recording the progress of the work. "I estimate that the Spearden aid facility will be fully operational by this time tomorrow."

"That's excellent news," Devens remarked, nodding her head with approval. "Please send me the synopsis to share at the general debrief this evening."

"Sent it, just now," Deb replied, having anticipated the request.

"And that's why you're the best at what you do; always a step ahead of me," which earned Debbie a rare Devens grin. "Speaking of what you do, I'm betting you could use another set of hands in Hospitality, right?"

Deb let out an exasperated sigh, "Don't you know it. There's always more to do." Then she glanced Diana over. "I'm guessing you're to be my help?" Diana nodded enthusiastically. "Well, first things first, a couple of questions: How are you with the public?"

"I was a hostess, slash barista for a coffee shop on Penrose Station. I can handle people." she answered.

Diana's response triggered Debbie's memory. "Oh that's right, I remember hearing about you and your..." she paused, looking for the right words, " rescue. You look like you're getting around pretty good; can you handle some light lifting? I imagine I'll need to on the desk here mostly, and then maybe a meal shift in the mess hall. Think you could handle a couple of hours serving food?"

Diana lifted a silver hand and wiggled all of her fingers, demonstrating her dexterity. "Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. I don't even really need a cane anymore. Besides, Inta says the more I work at it, the stronger I'll get."

"Perfect, your hired," Debbie said, then smiled at Devens. "Your timing is impeccable, as always."

Devens nodded in acknowledgement. "It looks like you're in good hands. I have other things to do. Good luck," she said, then left, hurried but unrushed.

"Okay, Diana," Debbie declared gregariously. Let's show you around and get you to work, shall we?"

After introducing Diana to the others working the mess hall, they circled back to the front desk, where Debbie left her to attend to some other matters. "If you need me, just call me on my private channel, and I'll answer any questions you may have. I need to check up on the final supply transfers and make sure everything allocated for this location has been moved. Good luck!"

After Debbie left, Diana was kept busy with a constant stream of questions from newly arrived folks looking for their assigned lodging and the location of the mess hall, which Diana happily answered.

Some questions she had to defer: Could she send an off-world communication to the family for them? "I don't know," she told them, "but if you can give me your name, the intended recipient, and Q-Net connection info, I'll do my best to relay your message." Some were disappointed, some were angry, but Diana's sweet charm soothed them enough that they agreed to return later when she had a better answer.

The hardest questions were also the most numerous: 'Have you seen my son? Husband? Wife? Daughter?' 'Are there any survivors from this town or that city?' 'How bad was it really?'

Diana did her best to answer these questions, but more often than not, she ended up only being a shoulder to cry on. She was glad for her shift in the mess hall; she received grateful smiles as she dished out one meal after another, at least able to give the survivors something to sustain their bodies when she couldn't soothe their souls.

She was tired at the end of her shift but was satisfied with helping in her own small way. She said goodnight to the crew, then headed back to the Nestia to get some sleep. Stepping out the main doors of the facility, a cool breeze blew, chilling her slightly, as she faced the setting sun in her eyes. She turned to walk the perimeter of the camp, heading to the ad hoc landing area cleared for the Nestia and other flyers. Aside from the noisy hustle and bustle of the camp, the surrounding area seemed unnaturally quiet, a stark reminder of the devastation that had befallen the wider area. As she rounded the north side of the camp, she was startled slightly as the beacon high overhead burst into illumination, guiding all those in need who could see it to them.

Diana stopped and shaded her eyes with her hand from the setting sun, looking straight up to get a good look at the beacon. The light pulsed on and off like a regular heartbeat; when it dimmed, she could just make out the shape of the drone hovering overhead.

As she stood gazing upwards, Diana suddenly became aware of a sound in the distance, over the mound of debris that the Netherlands team hadn't yet dragged to the dumping ground they picked out. It sounded like something being dragged through the rubble, accompanied by ragged, irregular panting of hard labor. It sounded like a wounded animal to Diana; the thought of some poor animal suffering hurt her heart, so she ran towards the sound to see if she could help it.

Clambering over the huge pile, she froze at the top for a moment when she saw a woman, dirty and bruised, her clothes ragged and as dirty as her face, gaunt from dehydration and overexertion. Behind her, she dragged a makeshift stretcher made from a blanket wrapped around two differently sized pieces of lumber, on which an unmoving figure was tied to so they wouldn't slide off.

The ragged woman heard Diana's gasp and looked up, eyes unfocused for a moment, unable to process, then she exclaimed, "Oh, thank the gods," then collapsed beneath her load.

Diana scrambled down the far side of the pile, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Someone help! There's people over here! HELP!" Reaching where the woman fell, she put two fingers to her carotid artery and felt a weak pulse. "Don't worry, help is on the way," Diana told the woman, as she gently slid her out from under the stretcher and turned her onto her side in the recovery position, then went to check on the occupant of the stretcher.

The odor of rotting meat told the story before Diana even got close. The man's eyes were closed, and the face of his skin was a pale mottled gray. His legs, much too long for the short stretcher, were both broken, twisting at points where they shouldn't have been able, despite the crude attempts at splints. His pant legs were stained the dark red of old blood, long dried and covered in the dirt they were dragged through. Even to Diana's untrained eye, it was clear that he had experienced some devastating physical trauma that had broken both of his legs, and the woman had been unable to successfully stop the bleeding.

Diana returned her attention to the stricken women. "Please," she begged, her voice little more than a hoarse whisper, "please help, my husband." The woman reached out her hand in supplication, and Diana held it softly in both hands.

"We're going to do everything we can for both of you," Diana promised, kneeling next to the woman. The expression on the poor woman's face shifted quickly from pain and fear to a weak relief that everything would finally be okay. Diana knew more anguish was in store for the woman but didn't dare at the moment to burden her with the truth. Instead, she knelt, holding her hand, comforting her until help arrived.

Several machine operators from the Netherlands had heard Diana's pleas and swiftly directed the med techs over the mound of debris to where they were. They hurried two hovering gurneys to where the couple lay and immediately began evaluating the woman's condition.

One med tech performed a perfunctory pulse check on the husband and confirmed what seemed obvious to everyone except the man's wife. "What's your name?" the tech asked the woman.

"Donna. Donna O'brian," she replied weakly. "How's Kenneth?" The tech paused his checks for just a moment, then continued his evaluations without answering. He determined that she didn't have any major injuries that required stabilization before being moved, so they gently lifted her onto a gurney.

Weak, the woman gripped Diana's hand desperately and refused to let go. "Stay with me?" she pleaded.

Diana could only nod and gave as much of a reassuring smile as she could muster."Of course. For as long as you need." The woman held her hand as if it was the only thing keeping her from tipping over into the abyss. Diana glanced back past the woman's field of vision and watched the other med techs set the man's body into a gray, opaque bag on the second gurney, covering his face as they sealed it shut.

The team of medics rushed the gurney carrying the woman through the emergency room doors and swiftly brought her to an examination room where several nurses and an attending physician connected several instruments to her and hung an intravenous drip to begin replacing the fluids she'd lost.

As they began working, one of the nurses said, "It's okay, Diana. We've got her from here. " But as she began to withdraw, the woman's eyes went wide, pleading, "Please, don't leave." Donna's pitiful tone struck Diana hard.

"Would it be okay if I stayed with her?" Diana asked the nurse. After a short internal debate, the nurse allowed it and continued her work. Donna smiled weakly, then closed her eyes, resting for the first time in days.

****

Diana sat by Donna's bedside throughout the night. Exhausted from her ordeal to get there, Donna quickly fell asleep, still holding Diana's hand. While she slept, the nurses stripped her of her torn, dirty clothes and sponge-bathed her, washing off the dirt and grime.

Donna's grip eventually became slack, so Diana placed her hand at her side on the bed and slipped it under her blanket as she slept. Then, she returned to the bedside chair to continue her vigil.

Diana must have fallen asleep at some point during the night. When she woke, she found that someone had covered her in a light blanket as she slept in the chair. There was a stirring in the bed, and Donna rolled over slowly, facing where Diana sat. It took a moment, but then recognition flashed in her eyes.

"I don't even know your name," croaked a weary but much more lucid Donna from her hospital bed.

"Diana Davis, pleased to meet you," she answered with a kind smile. The woman watched her silently for a moment, then spoke.

"Thank you, Diana," the woman on the bed said with gratitude. There was another moment of quiet between them, and then, with trepidation, she asked the question Diana had been dreading. "Diana, where is Kenneth, my husband? Is he being treated in another room? Is he okay?"

Unsure of how to tell her, she stared at the white, soft-soled shoes covering her silver feet. The long, awkward silence was broken when the nurse softly knocked on the door and came in to check on her patient.

"Oh good, you're awake," the nurse commented in a chipper voice. "How are you feeling?"

"Nurse..." Donna asked, prompting a name.

"Sundar, Erica Sundar. Nice to meet you," she said pleasantly.

"Nurse Sundar, Erica... I need to know; where is my husband? Is his room nearby?" she asked, a deep dread edging her voice.

The moment the nurse's expression shifted from upbeat and cheerful to one of sober empathy, Donna knew the horrible truth. Tears flooded her eyes and ran in sorrowful torrents down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. O'brian. There was nothing we could do; he was already gone by the time you got here." Sobbs wracked her body as the reality she had been holding at bay finally crashed down upon her. Instinctively, Diana reached over to console her, and when she did, the weeping woman pulled her to her chest, holding her tightly, burying her face into her shoulder. Diana embraced her, accepting silently the outpouring of grief and loss. She wished there was a way to ease her pain, but Diana knew from bitter experience that sometimes, the only way was through.

The nurse waited patiently, but after a few minutes saw that Donna needed time to process. "I'll be just down the hall; press the call button if you need me. I'll be back in a little while." Then she slipped out of the room.

The crying continued for some time, and Diana compassionately held her, rubbing her back as tears stained the shoulder of her blouse. Between sobs and inarticulate jibbering, occasional wails of "Kenneth!" burst from Donna's lips, followed by a renewed round of sobbing.

After a long period of crying, the tears slowed and then stopped, but the two continued to embrace, giving strength and comfort when it was needed the most. Donna finally lifted her head from Diana's shoulder, her eyes wet, and gave her a sorrowful smile. "Thank you," she said simply, unable to express the true depth of her gratitude.

The increased noise from the hallway from the comings and goings of others signalled the starting of a new day. A look of determined but fragile strength bloomed in Donna's expression, gave Diana a small smile, and pressed the call button for the nurse.

A couple of minutes later, Nurse Erica returned. "Hi, Donna. Is there something I can help you with?"

Donna's grip on Diana's hand tightened as she slowly nodded. "Yes, there is," she managed bravely, her voice barely above a whisper. "I assume my husband's body is awaiting final disposition?"

The nurse nodded soberly. "His body was brought down to the morgue last night." She paused, judging how best to proceed, then continued. "Unfortunately, the scope of this emergency constrains what we can do; we don't have the resource for burial. His body will need to be atomized."

Donna nodded softly as fresh tears ran down her cheeks, but they were gentler this time. "We discussed it before... everything; that's what he would have wanted." She turned her head towards Diana, gave her a small smile, and gently squeezed her hand. "I'm ready to say goodbye."

The nurse nodded, left the room, and returned a moment later pushing a hover chair over to the bed. She and Diana helped her into the chair, and then Nurse Erica got behind to push and bring her to where she needed to go.

"Will you come with me?" Donna asked, looking up at Diana, eyes full of vulnerability.

"Of course. I'll stay with you as long as you need," she replied without hesitation, patting the hand that lay upon the nearest armrest of the chair.

Nurse Erica guided the hoverchair through the hospital's hallways and out into the early morning sun. The weather had snapped a little colder than the previous day, and a fine layer of frost glazed every surface, causing it to sparkle and shimmer in the low-angle sunlight of early morning.

Making their way down the hill to the building set apart from the rest of the hospital, they were greeted by a smiling but subdued young man in the reception area. "Good morning, " he said quietly. What can I help you with?" he asked.

Donna swallowed hard but troopered on. "I believe my husband's body is here; I'm here to give him a final goodbye before he is..." She choked back a soft sob but continued. "Before his body is atomized."

"Of course. Mrs. Donna O'brian, I assume?" he asked. She nodded. He looked down at a data tablet on his desk. "Your husband's body has already been prepped. If you'll follow me," he said, leading them down a short hallway and into one of the backrooms.

The moderately large room was mostly empty, save for a bank of half a dozen storage coolers intended for short-term storage. A large machine took up a full third of the available space.

A gurney hovered alongside the machine, in front of an open door that ran almost the entire length. On the gurney, a shrouded figure lay still upon it.

Diana and Nurse Erica stood back as Donna rose gingerly from the chair and slowly walked to the shrouded figure. Sniffing back a runny nose, she placed one hand on the figure's chest and bowed her head silently. After a long moment, she put her fingertips to her lips and placed one last kiss upon her husband's covered face. Then, she stepped back and returned to the chair the nurse held still for her, clearly fighting not to burst into tears again.

She nodded to the technician and returned it with a nod of his own before beginning his work. Manipulating the controls on the gurney, force fields gently lifted the body and slid it into the waiting cavity of the machine, then he moved the gurney to the far side of the room, out of the way.

As he began pressing buttons and adjusting settings on the control panel, the door on the machine slid closed. "The atomizer will first perform a deep scan capturing every minute detail of your husband's body. If family isn't present, this step can be extremely helpful in identification."

The machine began to hum as it worked. A few indicators blinked rapidly as the hum grew louder for a moment and then quieted once again. "Now that the scan is complete, the atomization will begin, completely reducing his body to its elemental constituents, which is then released back into the universe." The machine began humming again, but its pitch was deeper and a little louder this time.

"We capture a small portion of the carbon to form the crystalline matrix in which we encode the data from the scan we capture, as well a reconstructed profile of the individual, depicting them as they were in life," the technician explained as he worked. After a few minutes, the humming stopped, and the tech walked over to the machine and opened a small slot revealing a nearly flawless diamond, about five centimeters long by four wide.

He withdrew it with a pair of forceps and placed it in a small, felt-lined box. He then walked over to a shelf, about a quarter full of similar boxes, and opened a lower drawer to retrieve a small electronic device. He closed the drawer and then approached Donna.

"This is your husband's Tombstone Gem," the young man said solemnly. "This T-gem is his last remains in this world, and I now return it to you, his kin." He then handed the box and small device to Donna.

With tears in her eyes, she took the T-gem out of the box, and it glittered in the light as she held it up. Sniffling, trying hard not to sob, she placed it into the small slot in the device until it clicked, then pressed the button on the side. A small holographic portrait of a smiling man appeared, projected from the device. Through rough sobs, Donna managed a broken "thank you," turning off the projection and holding the device close to her chest.

Diana placed a hand on Donna's shoulder, moved to tears by the pain in her eyes. The young technician stood back, sympathetic to the woman's pain, and allowed her to grieve.

"Let's go outside and get some fresh air," Nurse Erica offered, and Donna nodded weakly. The three of them headed back outside and up the hill to a quiet spot in crisp sunshine.

The nurse gave Diana a glance, and she nodded, replying, "You must have a lot to do. I can help her from here." Donna looked up and nodded, too inconsolable at the moment to speak.

"If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask," the nurse said. Donna nodded mutely and cast her gaze back down to the object in her hands as the nurse left. There was a bench nearby, so Diana navigated the hover chair over to it and then sat beside Donna, a silent companion as she dealt with her grief.

****

Much later that day, Diana sat at Ben's usual station on the Bridge of the Nestia, looking at a map of the area surrounding the hospital. In the dimmed lighting of the inactive bridge, the display partially illuminated her face.

The soft padding of bare feet on the metal plate floor announced Inta's approach behind Diana.

"You should come to bed, Love," Inta said softly in one ear. "It's been a long day. I'm already helping everyone else, 'unwind'; let me take care of you too," she said soothingly as she ran her hands lightly over Diana's shoulders and back.

"It's uncanny how you know just what I need," Diana replied, smiling softly while softly brushing her silver arms with the tips of her fingers.

"It's my purpose, Love," she said, giving Diana a lingering kiss on her neck just below her ear.

Diana smiled, soaking up the attention. She let out a big sigh, then turned to face her silver lover.

"What's on your mind, Sweetheart?" Inta asked, sensing Diana's unsettled emotions.

"There's so many people hurt, in pain, here." She began to explain. "This is bigger than anything that I've ever experienced." She paused whistfully, then continued. "I have to help, Inta. Right now, I'm just along for the ride, but today, I really helped someone through one of the hardest parts of their life. I think I can really help people." Diana wasn't sure how Inta would react but felt compelled.

"I want to stay here at the Spearden facility while you and the others go and set up the other locations. I can make a real difference here, but I don't want you to think that I don't want to go or be with you. I think I'm really needed here." Diana held her breath, afraid of disappointing the one person she cared about the most.

"Honey, I love you with all that I have, and I know that you only have the best of intentions," she said, squeezing Diana in a tight hug. "I'm so proud of you and nothing you could do would make me love you any less. And it's really no problem at all. I'll barely be a continent away; I can displace from there to here in a blink of an eye. You won't need to be alone at all."

"Oh, I hadn't thought about that," she said excitedly. She wouldn't need to sacrifice anything to help. She sighed, the tension she'd been holding released all at once. Inta stepped around in front of her and leaned forward, touching her forehead to Diana's, the spaghetti straps of her sundress barely supporting the neckline covering her pert silver breasts.

Beneath the hem, Diana spotted the tell-tale tent declaring Inta's ramping arousal. She reached beneath it, knowing Inta never wore panties, and found both her hardening rod and dripping snatch. She wrapping the fingers of one hand around the meaty rod, and dragged the fingers of the other along Inta's wet slit, bringing them to her lips, sampling her nectar.

"Oh Inta, I can't tell you how much I need this," Diana purred.

"Then don't," Inta commanded in a smokey voice, pushing her down from her seat onto her knees. Show me." Diana released Inta's dick just long enough to slide her palm across her cunt, parting her pewter lips just enough to make her whole hand slick with her love juices then resumed her slow, methodical pumping. She leaned forward and tilted her face up to lick slow luxuriously lines through her folds; Inta moaned loudly and parted her thighs to allow better access.

Gripping a silver ass cheek to steady herself, Diana stuffed her face into Inta's crotch, licking and sucking with gusto, maintaining the steady stroking rhythm along the rock hard cock just above her head. Inta's knees trembled, telegraphing just how close she was to bursting; Diana took it as a signal to hit the accelerator and redoubled her tongue's attack on Inta's silver nub. She smiled inwardly, and unleashed her piece de resistance and stuffed her index finger into the tight muscled ring of Inta's backdoor and was rewarded with a shuddering shriek as Inta came undone, her quim blasting warm, sweet smelling liquid into her mouth and on her face.

"Mmm. Inta, you taste delicious," Diana purred. "I want more."

"Oh, you greedy girl; I'll give you more," Inta growled, hooking her hands under Diana's armpits and hoisting her up off the floor and over one shoulder. Diana squealed in delight as Inta roughly grabbed two hand fulls of ass, then pinched the fabric of her light cotton pants.

"Inta..." Diana warned, but incensed silver sex pot ignored her and tore her pants along the seam of the crotch. She then let her slide down until they were pressed together, face to face, tits squishing tits. Diana had no choice but to wrap her arms around Inta's neck as the split of her pants exposed her own sopping wet pussy to Inta's throbbing, invading member.

"Oooh, Fuuck yesss," Diana moaned as she slid down Inta's body and was impaled. Her mouth silently made the same 'Oh' shape that the lips of her pussy did as they were stretched around Inta's massive rod, and when she settled, balls deep on Inta, her eyes fluttered as an explosive orgasm tore through her.

Inta gave her no respite, and began jerking Diana's ass up and down along her silver length, jackhammering into her squelching pussy over and over; Inta's near mythical skills were either prolonging this first orgasm or sending cascades of them through her back to back; Diana couldn't tell which in her delirium.

The cadence of flesh slapping flesh reached a frenzied creciendo, and with one final thrust, Inta pulled Diana's ass down hard, burying cock to the hilt and grunted out her release. Riding continuous orgasmic waves, Diana stood no chance against the combination of Inta's cock unloading buckets of spunk into her depths and the psychic blast waves of orgasmic pleasure radiating from the silver girl; every neuron and synapse in her lit up and the universe seemed to flash before her eyes before she passed out, stricken insensate with pleasure.

Inta stood panting, leaning heavily against the control console, Diana's limp and buzzing form wedged between her body and the instrument panel, her cunt dripping copious amounts of silver precursor fluid down Inta's softening shaft, still stuffing her core.

Standing up straight, Inta held Diana tight to her. Reacting on instinct alone, she wrapped her legs around Inta's waist, unwilling to release her cock from her depths. Diana's head rested on Inta's shoulder. She smiled with satisfaction, and another of her instances stepped out of 4D space and stood admiring the image of her lover, sweaty and dripping, wrapped around her other self.

"Damn, if you aren't the loveliest thing ever," the newly arrived Inta whispered into Diana's ear, kissing her check. Diana didn't reply but smiled with her eyes closed, resting her head on Inta's shoulder. Inta carried Diana off the bridge and back to their lounge to join the others.

The Inta remaining on the bridge watched the two leave and then produced a washcloth and a mop to clean up from their fun. There was a wet ass print on the console consisting of a mix of Inta's and Diana's juices; she ran a finger through the sticky mixture and brought it to lips and licked the evidence of their passion from her fingers. "Mmm, so sweet," she murmured, smiling, then set to work cleaning as the renewed psychic echoes of passion ripped through the air emanating from the lounge.

****

The carefully straightened and repaired large bore steam pipes groaned and vibrated as they were slowly brought up to pressure for the third time in as many hours. "Nearly there," Zarvok called over the open comms channel to repair teams scattered about the power plant complex, monitoring several klicks of piping. "Just another five hundred kiloPascals and we'll be ready to initiate startup," he told the other engineers.

The last couple of days had proven to be a massive exercise of frustration for the Caimar engineering team. With the help of the Netherlands heavy equipment operators, they combed through kilometer after kilometer of twisted and shattered piping to scavenge what could be salvaged and put to use in a new secondary loop between the power core and one of only four moderately sized turbine generators they had brought with them amongst their supplies.

Although the power core and turbine were severely mismatched, they calculated that the turbine could easily handle the core at minimum output. Setting the core failsafes at the lowest setting possible, they proceeded to bring the plant back online.

Thea stood behind Zarvok and the other Caimar in the control bunker, watching as they fiddled and tweaked a series of nobs and buttons on the control panels, as they wrestled the beast of a plant back to life, like some Frankenstein-ian monster.

"Almost, just another hundred and we'll be there," Zarvok said hopefully, as the pressures inched higher. His hopes were dashed soon after; the tell-tale high pitched shrieking of escaping steam, coupled with increasingly wild fluctuations of their pressure readings told Zarvok it wouldn't happen today.

"Shut it down, shut it down!" he cried urgently over the comms channel. Open the vents! We must maintain control!" After much scrambling for control buttons and dials, the relief valves sounded in the distance. The roaring rush of escaping air and steam was released, sounding disproportionately loud across the otherwise quiet valley.

Thea couldn't do much more that passively observe the short engineers as they continued to work through the problem, pulling data from this last round and discussing how this recent failure compared to the numerous failures that preceded it and where the root issues lay.

"It was piping section thirty seven that failed this time," one of the engineers reported.

"A burst wall?" Zarvok asked, his reptilian brow furrowed.

"Doesn't appear to so; more likely a failure of the knife-edge seal on the joint," the engineer replied, zooming in on the offender in a diagram on a datapad on the table.

"I thought we were checked all of those and replaced the trentium gaskets?" Zarvok pressed.

"We did. Threx and Nadir are pulling it apart right now to inspect it," he countered.

Zarvok sighed heavily and turned to Thea, shrugging his shoulders slightly to express his frustration. She stepped close behind him and kneaded the muscles of his neck and shoulders, which were tight from days of pent-up tension. He sighed, giving Thea a toothy smile of gratitude.

Threx jogged into the control room a minute later, carrying a small object wrapped in a rag. "We've found the cause of the failure," he announced, setting the object on the table and unwrapping it. A small chunk of metal that looked to be part of the piping joint was revealed. "It appears that the joint had been contaminated by mineral deposits when the flooding knocked everything out. We cleaned and stripped the mating surfaces before joining the sections, but the surface bonded with whatever was in the water, weakening it."

Zarvok cursed their bad luck; they just couldn't catch a break. "How much of the piping we've rescued do you estimate has been contaminated in the same fashion?"

Threx scratched the underside of his pointy snout, coming up with an estimate. "A lot. Upwards of forty, fourty-five percent."

"What we fought and scraped to find was the absolute bare minimum for a system this size," Zarvok spouted angrily, his frustration not aimed at anyone in particular, just the universe in general. "And now we find that almost have of what we were able to salvage is unusable. If we can't stand the infrustructure back up here, it's unlikely we'll have any luck at the other sites."

Threx had great sympathy for Zarvok's frustration; he shared the sentiment and would share the disgrace if they were unable to complete their task. "We need a larger supply of unaffected parts to work with; are there any other industrial facilities we can salvage the needed parts from? It's a big continent, there's bound to be something."

"Unfortunately not," Zarvok replied, shaking his head. "One of the selection parameters that lead us to choosing this site, along with factors like proximity to population centers and geographic equidistance to the other locations was the presence of large industrial power and repairable infrastructure. If what we need isn't nearby, it isn't available."

Threx harumphed. "And of course requisitioning the needed components will take far too long; we can add it the list of supplies that the next wave of aid brings, but who knows how many more people will..." He didn't finish the thought. Thea and the engineers around the room looked at each other, downtrodden and silent.

"ARRG!" Threx shouted, helpless irritation getting the best of him. "I wish an idea would just fall out of the sky, and hit me in the head."

"Yeah, out of the sky or out of your ass," Nadir joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Thea smacked her hand on her forehead and groaned as if in pain, startling the Caimar surrounding her. "Out of the sky,' she said, grinning like a crazed woman, much to the confusion of those around her. "Of course! Why didn't I think of this before!"

Thea suddenly held the rapt attention of the engineers packed into the control room. "Boys, I know what we're gonna do, and it's going to be great!"