by Jay Toney
According to our star map, the Aquarii Constellation consisted of twenty-three different solar systems, seven of which were named and had locations in my astrogation book. The starship Hope visited Delta Aquarii before arriving at the wormhole. That would be our first stop.
"Nugget, announce to the fleet, your choice of the first system we will be visiting. We depart 0900 hours Monday morning. Make any needed preparations."
Persephone, Demi, and I took the private elevator down to our quarters. Red was here with Natty and their son, Gunner. Amber kissed me then whispered in my ear, "Be nice. I invited them here to see our children. If you're not, get used to sleeping on the floor for a very long time. Jewel and I will gladly share our bed with Persephone, while you suffer." Amber didn't make idle threats. She meant what she said.
Red was like a brother to me. He was welcome to visit anytime he chose. I had mixed feelings about Natty though. I didn't trust her. If she behaved, I would too. If not, sleeping on the floor for the next year would be worth the pleasure I would get personally from kicking her off my ship.
Gunner was an unusual name for a child, but it fit Red junior. He had his father's square jaw and wide shoulders. He didn't need to worry about being teased by other children about his name. The other kids his age needed to worry about him. He was going to be a fighter like his father.
Except for of Demi, the rest of our children were sleeping together in a crib. They were only a few days old and spent most of their time sleeping. Doc came to my rescue again. He knew I wouldn't be able to tell the boys and the girls apart. Both girls had red hair and green eyes like their mother. Both boys were bald. There wasn't even any fuzz on their heads. They had bright blue eyes like Jewel. Each baby was wearing a wrist band with their names on them.
"It's a good thing your children got their good looks from their mothers," Red joked.
"Look again, Jett and Slate both have my good looks and Demi has my smile."
"She does not!" Persephone joked. "Will you be staying for lunch?" Before they could answer Persephone made a table laden with fruit, meat, different cheeses, freshly backed bread, and pancakes appear. "There is plenty for everyone. dig in."
"By the gods, how in the hell did you manage to find such a woman. She really is a goddess," Red said.
"You can thank the fates, my good looks, and my charming personality for that."
"The Fates surely were involved in bringing us together, the rest was pure luck," Persephone laughed.
Our luncheon went better than I could hope. Both Natty and I held our tongues, not arguing with each other. Amber and Jewel seemed satisfied with my not talking to her. I was safe from spending my nights alone on the floor, for now.
Amber and Jewel left, taking their babies with them, on a shopping trip with Natty and Red. Half of the stores in the ship's grand foyer were remodeled as apartments overlooking the central park. The other half remained open, selling the merchandise we inherited with the ship.
I lost the revenue I was collecting from the entertainment services I had aboard my old ship. It belonged to my sister-in-law Beverly now. There was no need to start a new adult entertainment service aboard my new ship. There were plenty of willing partners aboard for everyone. That explained all of the pregnancies and newborn babies we had aboard now, except for my own.
"Now is as good a time as any, to continue your training. I'll merge with you to help guide you through the process."
"Won't that make you pregnant again?"
"Don't you want to make another baby with me?"
"I do but..."
"I am not ready just yet either, perhaps in a hundred years or so. It's been nearly 14,000 years since I was born and my mother still hasn't gotten around to giving me a sister yet. I won't wait that long for my daughter. My mother adored me as a child. Having another daughter would make her very happy. I'm sure many of the gods would enjoy making a baby with her."
"How will you prevent yourself from becoming pregnant if we merge?"
"There are ways. You needn't worry. For now, we will be joining our spirits, not our bodies."
"Isn't that how we became bound to each other?"
"It is, but now that we are one, we might as well enjoy the benefits of sharing union together. Open your neurochip to me."
I sat down and willed the connection. It came much faster this time. Persephone was already waiting for me. Her spirit glowed with a light that was almost blinding, and I was drawn to her like a moth was to flame, and she was moved to me. Our spirits merged again. This time we held each other tightly, drawing energy from each other and much more. We could hear each other's most secret thoughts. There were no secrets between us. We were one, and yes, she did want another child with me.
"Spool your energy."
"I gathered as much energy as I could maintain."
"No, you are not doing it right. It is no wonder you keep failing at teleporting. You can't just hold your energy and let it go all at once. It will make your teleport random. You need to learn how to store your energy and draw what you need when you need it."
"How?"
"Kind of like the way a power cell works. You charge it, then draw its power when you need it."
I envisioned creating a power cell in my mind. "That's it, now hold that image in your mind and make it permanent." I tried doing what she instructed me to do. She helped me anchor it in my mind. I couldn't forget it now if I wanted to. "We will have to charge it and make it much larger to store enough energy. Draw your energy and charge your power cell with it."
I concentrated on drawing energy and feeding it to my imaginary power cell. When it felt full, I stopped. "You need to be able to hold much more energy than that." Before I could suggest creating a series of power cells, she started force feeding energy into it. It felt like my head was going to explode. "That is enough for today. We will work on doubling its size every day until it reaches its potential." It felt like I was long past my potential. Persephone put a temporary block on my energy, making me hold all the power she forced into me. Then she broke the connection.
It was a good thing I was sitting down. If I had been standing, I would have collapsed. I was exhausted. I could tell that she was tired too. Both of us were covered with sweat from our ordeal.
"Demi and I could use a bath. You need one too." We had a shower in our suite, but no bathtub. I missed having a hot tub in our quarters, but the trade off was a view that couldn't be beaten and luxurious furnishings. The adjoining cabin was added to our space and remodeled. It added four bedrooms for our growing children, two bathrooms, and a large playroom for them that was being used as a nursery.
"I suppose we could go to a bathhouse. Doc can recommend one." I knew she wanted to relax and soak in a bath and wouldn't settle for a shower.
"Absolutely not. We shall use my private bath." Persephone, Demi, and I were instantly transported to a lagoon. Trees, flowering bushes, and flowers of all colors, sizes, and aromas surrounded a sandy beach. The lagoon wasn't very big but it included a waterfall cascading down a rock cliff.
"This is a bath? Where are we?"
"We are in a pocket universe created by my mother when I was very young. It isn't very big, but it is large enough for my bath."
Persephone removed her dress and draped it over a bush. Then she removed Demi's toga and shoes and waded out into the water with her. I undressed and followed after them.
The first thing I noticed was that there was no feedback from my cybernetic limbs. I was expecting a temperature reading and pressure readings from their sensors. Instead, I felt cool, refreshing water.
Two naiads, Ella and Lara, broke the surface of the water. So much for being alone. Persephone handed our daughter to them; then they disappeared below the surface of the water.
"Don't worry, they are friends of mine and will see that no harm comes to Demi."
I was worried, how could Demi breathe under water. Persephone knew what I was thinking and answered my unspok
en question. "Our daughter is a goddess. Lara and Ella will see to her every need. They helped mother raise me and know how to care for babies."
The lagoon was shallow. Its deepest point was only a little over four feet deep. Persephone swam to the waterfall, letting its water cascade over her body. I joined her, held her to me, and kissed her.
Persephone led me to a rock outcropping covered with moss. It was surprisingly soft. We used it to share our love as gods and goddesses, merging body and spirit. Persephone kept her string shielded from mine. We became as one, sharing everything. Afterward we fell into a deep sleep, exhausted from sharing our essence. I don't know how long we slept, but I felt refreshed when I woke.
"Now we shall have to bathe again," Persephone teased, leading me back into the water. After we were finished bathing Lara and Ella broke the surface again with Demi. She must be starved. Persephone mentioned the need to feed her six times a day. She hadn't eaten since lunch. We had been here for hours, maybe longer.
"Thank you, for watching Demi for us."
"You are welcome, Persephone. Please bring her again soon. We enjoyed her company. She has just fed and will not need feeding again for a while."
I was definitely a little slow in understanding what they said. It took me a few minutes to realize how they fed her. Demi looked happy, and Persephone wasn't worried.
"Lara and Ella were a couple of my companions when I was growing up. They always made sure I got plenty to eat. As I recall, their milk tasted very sweet. I'm sure Demi enjoyed feeding from them, as much as I did, when I was her age."
We made our way to the shore and dressed. When we were ready, Persephone opened the portal that would take us back to our suite. Hardly an hour passed since we left. I was sure it would be late at night or early morning. "Time passes differently in every different dimension." She put Demi into her bassinet and covered her with her blanket.
"If you could transport us to another dimension, can you transport us to Earth?"
"I'm afraid not. It has been thousands of years since I was last there. The only memories I have of Earth were from my childhood. That place and time no longer exist. You can ask my mother; she may be able to take us there."
****
"Persephone! Have you no shame? Both you and Nathaniel are worse than goats, always laying with each other as if you were mortals. As goddesses, we are beyond such behavior. We haven't lain with each other like that in tens of thousands of years."
"Maybe we goddesses haven't, but the gods have. It is no wonder that they seek the company of mortal women. I have come to appreciate the old ways."
"I can tell, just by looking at your auras that it is more than the mere pleasures of the flesh that the two of you seek. You both have shared Union again. Your auras are identical now. The sin from your time with Hades is equally divided between the two of you."
"It is still late at night. What time is it?
"How observant, but incorrect. It is a few minutes past what you call midnight. It is, in fact, the start of the new day. It is Sunday."
"Mother, that sin belongs to Hades. It was his violation of my body that caused the stain on my soul."
"Sex, stains the soul?"
"Not sex, the blackness on our souls comes from his raping me, forcing me to submit to his pleasure, every night we were together. We carry the burden from his sin. I could heal the physical wounds easily. As a goddess, he could cause me no real harm. However, I cannot cleanse the blackness he left on my soul."
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize what Hades put you through."
"It is in the past and of no concern. Laying with you is much different. I enjoy our time together."
"I think I am going to be sick."
"Mother, goddesses do not get sick."
I didn't need to remind her just how sick she got a few days ago. She knew all too well just how sick a goddess could get. Persephone was just arguing with her mother. I remembered Jewels story about Athena and Arachne. I realized just how dangerous Persephone's argument with her mother could be.
It didn't seem to bother Demeter, in the least bit. They shared these arguments often. Persephone changed the subject while she was ahead. "Nathaniel was wondering if you could teleport us to Earth?"
"Yes and no."
"What do you mean?"
"I can teleport us to a shadow of the Earth that existed 14,000 years ago, when you were still a child of 12, back to the time when Hades kidnapped you and took you for his own. I cannot take him to the Earth that he seeks. Too much time and distance have passed to bring him there. You should know this. You and Astrea were the last of the gods to leave the Earth, leaving it entirely in the hands of the mortals. We had such hope for them before they turned on us."
"Not every human has shunned us. There are those that I even call my friends. Perhaps humanity has changed enough for us to rejoin them and guide them as we once did."
"You and Astrea have always had high hopes for the mortals.
It is late. I have a wedding to plan and a granddaughter to spoil. I think we will start with a visit to a beauty parlor. Demi could use some berry juice for her lips, diamond dust to make her skin sparkle, and a new dress. I'm sure Athena can weave up something for her."
"Demi is less than a week old. You didn't start putting makeup on me until I was three."
"I'm sorry. You were so plain looking. I couldn't show you off, and I didn't know what to do with you. Demi is much more beautiful than you were, no thanks to Nathaniel. She will benefit from my efforts."
"Who's wedding are you planning?"
"Yours and Nathaniel's of course. There is so much to plan and invitations to send. Ares has agreed to be Nathaniel's best man and my stepdaughter, Aphrodite, is excited about being chosen as your maid of honor. That means her mother Dione will be attending the wedding too. Zeus is angry about this whole situation. When he has had time to cool down, I am sure he will insist upon giving you away. If not, Thanatos has volunteered to do it." Demeter picked up Demi and vanished.
****
Amber and Jewel had an entire maintenance crew in our suite all day. The first room had been designed for the girls and looked like a bedroom for a young princess, decorated in shades of pink and white. The boy's room had been decorated similarly, in hopes that Jewel would still have girls. A maintenance crew was in there now redecorating it to make it look like the boy's room was high in the sky atop a cloud.
The last room was being used as a warehouse, filled with all of our baby items. That left the third bedroom for Amber and Jewel to use when they were not with Persephone and me. Neither could stand the clean white modern look of the bedroom.
Jewel loved shades of pink. The girl's room that was Amber's design became her inspiration, and she started with those colors but with adult furnishings and bedding in mind. Amber didn't have much fashion sense but knew what she liked. She made the centerpiece of their room a four poster canopy bed with a sheer white fabric draping it. The head and foot board were made from a dark hand carved wood and was large enough for the two of them to sleep comfortably together. They had to use the replicator located in engineering to make their new bed.
Everything else that Amber contributed came from designing the bordello rooms aboard the Lucy, with Sally's help. In the end, somehow it worked. Both Amber and Jewel loved their new bedroom.
****
Persephone and I waited late into the night for Demeter to return with our daughter. She didn't show up until half past eight Monday morning, just in time for us to head to the bridge.
Demi had changed. She was older and larger now, nearly equal to Gunners size. Demi had a full head of curly blond hair. She had to be at least a year old, maybe older. Demeter handed Demi to her daughter.
"Mother, you shouldn't have kept her so long."
"Don't be such a worrywart. I am only a few hours late. Demi and I had lots of fun together. She has just fed, so you needn't worry about that."
"She's aged at least a
year."
"Yes, and she is even saying her first words now and walking. You can thank me later. I will see the two of you next Sunday unless you summon me sooner." Demeter vanished.
****
Jewel, Persephone and I headed up to the bridge. Amber remained below in our cabin, to watch over our children. Persephone summoned a couple of nymphs to help Amber with the babies."
"Persephone, inform the fleet, it is time to depart."
"Our course is set for Delta Aquarii," Nugget reported.
"Ahead one-half. Set cruising speed to .2c. Enter hyperspace when ready."
While we were accelerating, Persephone checked and rechecked our calculations, then engaged the hyperdrive.
Drax and Double Drax
We came out of hyperspace in a solar system with a hot blue dwarf sun. It was easily three and a half times larger than the star in Amber's home solar system of Buenos Aires, bordering on being classified as a giant star. It was entering its final stage as a main sequence star, slowly contracting as it burned its remaining fuel. Soon, all that would be left would be a white dwarf, then finally a black dwarf when all the remaining fuel was burned away, and it shed its gasses.
The fourth and fifth planets were teaming with life and activity. A space station orbited the fourth planet. Persephone put the local information on our main viewscreen. The system was full of both stellar and interstellar traffic.
Navigation satellites screamed for our attention. "How crude, I can barely understand the version of Galactic Common that the satellites are using. They are demanding that we slow down and enter the proper traffic lane."
"Follow their instructions. The last thing we need is to be fined for speeding so soon after our arrival."
Persephone changed course and had our fleet traveling inside of the trade lane, designated by navigation buoys. The navigation satellites stopped their warnings when we reduced our speed to 500kips, (kilometers per second). If system travel was this slow, when approaching the planets, we would have to devise a way to enter the star systems much closer to our objective.
