Elisabeth was a blue eyed young woman with short and sassy blond hair and curves in all the right places. As it turned out she wasn't alone this trip. The order had been large enough that her step father, Richard, had accompanied her to help with the supplies. Richard was a short stoutly built man. What hair he had was gray but his green eyes wielded an intense gaze that spoke of a will as strong as his body.
On this occasion Elisabeth's mother, Jane, had also come along. She had wanted to consult with David's wife, Judith, about a few bolts of cloth. Jane was a slender redhead. Her breasts were large enough to be the first thing most people noticed about her. By the time David had opened the outer door, there was a large bundle of assorted produce suspended from the winch and an even larger bundle of other assorted goods sitting on a skid on the pier. Elisabeth and Richard were just beginning to swing the winch over the other empty skid they had positioned on the pier.
As soon as the second pallet was loaded David introduced his guests.
“You two sure loaded up the skids this trip,” David said. “Your welcome to use the electric skidjack to get them up the hill.”
“And you know how I feel about that contraption,” Richard replied. “We'll do just fine with the two unpowered ones you keep in the lower storage hold.”
“Yes I know you prefer those,” David acknowledged with a sigh. “It's just that I'd have expected you to spread this load across a few more skids. There's plenty of them in the pile at the edge of the pier you know.”
“What? And spend half the evening running up and down the ramp?” Elisabeth expounded with a grin. “I think not! Especially not when my Pa comes along to give me a hand with it. Now the sooner you step aside, the sooner we can grab those mechanical jacks. Then we'll haul your order to the upper storerooms and be out of your way.”
“Nonsense,” retorted David with a slight chuckle, “The two of you'd not know how to be in the way even if you tried to just stand around all night. And seeing as how your Mom came along, I expect you've no need to hurry off tonight. Which is a good thing because it seems we're going to turn this evening's festivities into an all nighter. Thanks to you, we now have more than enough supplies. So why don't the three of you stay and honor us with your company?”
Elisabeth's eyes lit up.
“Oh can we Papa?” she asked.
“I don't know,” Richard replied. “But I suppose there's no reason you have to come home with us. Just as long as you promise not to shirk your chores tomorrow.”
“I'll get my chores done Pa,” she replied. “But it'd be a lot more fun if you stayed. I bet David would let you play one of his hand made fiddles.”
“To hear you play it,” David confirmed. “I'd even give you one.”
“No you won't,” Richard countered. “But I dare say I wouldn't mind playing one for a song or two while Jane talks to your wife. I'm just not so used to staying up all night. So after a bit I'll be taking the barge back to the farm.”
“But if that's the problem,” David replied. “You know your welcome to one of the bedrooms. Or if you prefer, you can even use the cottage where you can hear and smell the river flow by all night.”
“It would give me more time to make up my mind about which pattern I want Judith to weave for me,” Jane kibitzed.
Richard gazed back and forth between his wife and daughter. Then into the eyes of the only prime he ever really had much respect for. Finally he shrugged.
“All right, I know when I'm out gunned,” Richard admitted. “I'll get blind drunk on your beer, while I'm playing one of those wonderful fiddles of yours till I'm more than half asleep. And then I'll stay the night in that cottage of yours. All on two conditions...”
“Just name them,” David answered with a huge smile.
“First when I say I feel like I'm about to pass out, somebody's going to have to lead me by my drunken hand all the way to that cottage.”
“I'll see to that myself Richard,” David promised. “But you said there was another condition?”
“Yes!” Richard replied. “And this is the important one. Second, like Elisabeth said, everyone needs to step aside, so we can get them damn jacks under these skids. Then we can finish delivering the goods and get on with the celebrating.”
A few seconds later, Elisabeth had one skidjack under the skid of produce and Richard had the other under the larger mixed load. Sam noticed that these manually operated mechanical tools resembled the one he sometimes used at Hillside except that instead of an internal hydraulic jack, it had a crank wheel that operated something resembling a built in version of an old scissors style car jack. He was about to offer to help Elisabeth haul her load up the ramp like tunnel when Jake made the mistake of beating him to it.
“I'll thank you to take your hands off the jack handle and let me earn my spool sir!” she said with such vehemence, that Jake stepped back as if he'd been bitten. Sam smiled, it was nice of Jake he thought, to save him from accidentally insulting this hot looking young woman.
It hadn't taken long for David to get them all settled in to the west lounge, where Arnold was rapidly recovering from his shock as he stared into the center of the fire Judith had built. Mary was snuggled up next to him in front of the fire. He was absently stroking her hair. When they entered the room, Arnold looked up and seemed to really see Jake for the first time since they had arrived.
“I guess I owe you an apology sir,” Arnold began. “It seems that instead of deserving all the curses I've wished upon you and your guild, I actually owe you a debt. For Mary tells me that she wouldn't still be alive if not for you.”
“No Arnold,” Jake said with a sigh. “You don't owe me a thing. She probably wouldn't have been in danger in the first place if I hadn't been there.”
“No!” Arnold insisted. “You shouldn't try to take the blame for the deeds of those anti-technology extremists. That is not on you. But I hope you understand, I'll not be letting her out of my sight for a while. Which means that since I know for a fact that our host doesn't condone orgies, your just going to have to do without her services for a while.”
A few minutes later David was back with a beautiful wooden fiddle, which he set down along with a bow, on the table next to the chair Richard was sitting in. When Richard saw it he fairly quivered as he protested.
“But that's the priceless antique you keep in the glass case over your desk,” he said. “Surely you don't expect me to play that. I mean it should be in a museum. I'd probably break it.”
“Yes it's a priceless antique,” David agreed. “But I keep it tuned up. And I've read up on the man who built it some seven hundred years ago. He believed that the best way to honor a great musical instrument was to make music with it. And frankly your the best fiddle player I know. Please, I long to hear it played properly.”
Richard sighed and gently picked it up. He caressed it as a man might caress a woman he loved. Then he picked up the bow and hesitantly began to play. Soon the sweetest of music flowed from the fiddle as tears of joy streamed down Richard's face. The next selection was a lively foot stomper. By the time Richard was playing his third song he didn't even notice David and Judith slip out of the room to fetch food and drink for their guests.
The evening was filled with much music and talking. With lots of food and drink but there wasn't much laughter. Every now and then the atmosphere would start to turn mirthful but before long someone would remember the hundreds who perished when the Scuttlebutt blew up. Then true to Slowlane convention, they would usually call for a sailor's toast to the honor of the fallen crew. Then someone would call one for their passengers. By the time that they had also toasted the bystanders on the riverbanks, the mood would be far too somber for laughter. After a while Sam pulled Jess to one side.
“Arnold sounded sincere to me,” he whispered. “When he told Jake that David wouldn't put up with wild sex parties.”
“And your point?” Jess responded.
“So how come,” Sam queried, �
�You keep making googoo eyes at Judith?”
“Oh David doesn't mind that,” Jess said with a chuckle.
“But?” Sam began to protest.
“David just doesn't hold with group sex,” Jess interrupted. “He thinks it should be a private thing between one man and one woman. At a time that is. And he believes that it should usually be based on the kind of attraction that only develops when you take the time to get to know someone. Fact is, sooner or later he's going to want an extended private conversation with Jake. And he likely expects that I'll keep Judith entertained. Speaking of which, I think Mary's going to be a bit busy with Arnold. So if I were you I'd spend some time talking with Elisabeth.”
“Perhaps I will,” Sam replied. “But I gotta tell you that I'm impressed. Usually you aim for the prettiest young thing in the room. And while Mrs. Miller seems like a real nice lady...”
Sam was suddenly interrupted by Judith Miller. Who they had failed to notice quietly walking up behind them.
“Why thank you Sam!” she said with a slight smirk on her face. She paused a moment to enjoy the expression on Sam's face. “I always suspected that Jess was a would be cradle robber. And thank you for thinking of me as a ‘nice’ lady. And not just another pretty face.
Speaking of which Jess, why don't you tell us why you'd rather cozy up with an old lady like me than chase that hot blooded daughter of Arnold's?”
“Arnold's?” Jess nearly choked. “But I thought Richard...”
“Oh, to be sure Richard is more of a father to her than Arnold,” Judith explained. “But the genetic branch tends to occasionally arrange for a prime like Arnold to procreate with someone they think genetically ideal. And it seems they thought Jane's genetic profile was a good fit for Arnold's. But back to the point Jess. Why is it you'd rather climb into my bed than hers? And I want the truth.”
“Well to be sure,” Jess admitted. “Elisabeth currently looks more like my usual first choice. But, there's more to it than how pretty the woman I'm with happens to be. If you must know I'm very fond of you. Besides, last I knew you were very good at making it seem more like fun.”
“That she is!” said David. Who Judith hadn't bothered to tell the boys was now standing behind them. “Can I safely presume dear, that you won't mind if I drag Jake off to my office for the rest of the night?
Just as soon that is, as I can convince Richard that it's time for me to escort him to the cottage.”
As it happened, Richard was so unsteady on his feet that Jake volunteered to help David get him to the secluded cottage. To get there, David led them back down the tunnel to the pier. One side of which abutted a path in the side of the hill. They followed the path around to the other side of the hill where the shoreline became a beachless stretch of exposed rock. There, on the point of a ledge that protruded into the river, sat a small cottage made of hewn stone. It's location commanded an excellent view up the river on one side. In the other direction one could see the water rush through the relatively narrow channel that flowed under the bridge.
Once inside, Richard abruptly wrapped his arms around his wife's waist. Then he sat down on the couch which was next to a small woodstove.
“Before you leave us,” Jane asked. “Would you be so kind as to help me get his boots off David?”
Even as she asked, her husband started to unfasten her blouse. David simply grabbed one of Richard's legs, and began loosening the laces of his boot. Without a word, Jake grabbed Richard's other leg and did the same. They worked quickly but by the time they had unfastened his boots, Richard had completely exposed Jane's ample bosom. He then proudly demanded their opinion.
“Now boys, have you ever seen such a pair?” he asked.
Richard then planted his feet firmly on the floor before they had quite pulled his boots off.
“No my friend,” Dave allowed with a sigh. “I can't say I've ever seen another pair quite like them.”
“And you Jake?” Richard asked. “Have you seen the like of them?”
“They look magnificent Richard,” Jake replied, taking his cue from David. At which point Richard smiled and began to unfasten Jane's wrap around skirt. She didn't resist this any more than she had resisted his assault on her blouse but she did loudly protest.
“At least let them pull those damn boots off you Richard,” she pled.
In response, Richard lifted his feet off the floor even as he finished exposing the rest of Jane's feminine charms. Jake couldn't help but notice that Jane hadn't been wearing any undergarments. Even as they pulled his boots off, Richard twisted around and dove face first into her crotch. Jane for her part didn't appear embarrassed at all.
“Thanks gentleman,” she said. “It's always much better when he's not wearing them boots.” Then she just stopped talking.
“Well Jane, it looks to me like you won't need a fire in the stove to keep warm for the rest of the night,” David said without the slightest pretense of ‘not’ looking. “So unless you say otherwise, we'll be leaving now.” As they left, Jake and David heard Jane begin to moan in the throes of her first orgasm.
“I do hope you'll forgive Richard's vulgar behavior,” David said to Jake, as they walked back to the pier. “He's really not like that when he's sober.”
“Before I could forgive him,” Jake replied. “I'd had to have been offended in the first place. Though I'll admit I'm a little surprised that you took it in stride like that. I've heard tell that you believe sex is supposed to be a private thing.” David stopped walking. Then he turned to look Jake squarely in the eyes.
“Whoever said that didn't quite get it right,” David explained. “I believe it should be something special between one man and one woman. But I've no objection to them making a show of it. In fact, I find it stimulating to watch another couple while I'm putting on a show of my own. But I'd first make sure that everyone involved liked the idea. And that nobody would be in the frustrating position of being aroused by the erotic display, without having a partner to play with.
Which reminds me, I feel like I should apologize for not warning you of Richard's tendency to show off Jane's charms. Especially since I wanted to monopolize the rest of your evening with some serious discussion.”
“I wouldn't worry about it much,” Jake replied. I already got the distinct impression that between Arnold, Sam and Jess there aren't any available woman left tonight anyway. Besides which I wanted to talk to you about a few things too.”
Chapter 28 Into The Pit
Questor was pleased with himself as he stepped through the airlock into his personal ship. He had, he felt, done well since he left XenDar. He had secured pledges of cooperation for the protection of the delicate balance between the unusual ecology of XenDar and it's colony, from the two most powerful personalities in the guild.
First the Captain of the Resonance, who was without a doubt the most powerful questor there ever was. No other questor had the strength to maintain even a tenth as many implementations of augmentation nano-nets, as he did for his crew.
Then the Professor, who was the scientific genius who had created the guild's nano-technology that made it possible to permanently attune large numbers of nanites to a host in such a way that they could be networked into a single multifunction organism and which had also made it possible to safely make them self replicating.
It had always puzzled Questor that those same nanites that were responsible for the existence of the sentient nanosymbionts that had given the questors the original advantage they had needed over the cybernoids of the old guild, had never accepted the Professor as a host-mind. The Professor had had to settle for a more simplistic form of the networked nanites that depended on direct command protocols.
It was too bad that they couldn't quite preserve the professor's health and vigor as well as a true nanosymbiont could have. The professor had survived 4 billion years of subjective time but his health was failing. It was doubtful that even the vast resources of the life support system he had built into
his artificial world, ‘University’ could keep him alive for more than another million years or perhaps two at the most of subjective time. For whatever time remained to him however, he was still the most influential person in the guild. He was also the wealthiest. Which coupled with his incredible intellect had made him the single most powerful man known to exist.
Getting the cooperation of these two was especially sweet because on any list of all the people with a known obsession for all things Kindred, they, along with himself, composed the top three names.
It wasn't necessary for the Captain to disengage the Resonance's stardrive for Questor to launch. He merely had to wait until he passed outside of the envelope of the Resonance's inverse temporal dilation field before engaging his own. In the imperceptibly brief moment it took for his own stardrive to engage, the Resonance had already arrived at it's next stop and was no longer near enough for a conflict to occur between the two inverse temporal dilation fields.
Questor's shuttle was in stealth mode as he selected a secluded landing site a little nearer to the cave. He quickly used his shuttle's adaptive camouflage to conceal his shuttle on the island like hilltop. Then he started down the hill. Which was covered with vine like plants but nothing that really resembled trees. For that he'd have to descend a little closer to the ooze covered forest floor.
Once he reached them he would walk along the top of the large branch like creatures that connected the separate giant trees they were in symbionce with. The branches were actually a strange form of animal the local people called a BranchCritter. Which was in a compound symbiotic relationship with both the towering trunks to which they served as branches and with the many kinds of upside down vines with their roots firmly embedded in the BranchCritter's underbelly.
The trick was to reach the BranchCritters in the first place. The more dangerous denizen of the forest sometimes hunted among the hills. Yet the real difficulty was that before he could get near enough to one of the giant trees to reach it's BranchCritters, Steve would already be in it's shade. Then he'd have to move very quickly before the voracious insect like omnivores, that nested in the mucky ooze of the forest floor, found him.
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