by Chogan Swan
“You do that,” said Kest. With his nose plugged, his voice came out sounding like a cartoon character’s.
Ayleana giggled.
The sound of it almost startled him. He hadn’t heard her laugh since before they’d raised the Valishnu.
“Hold still now,” she scolded. “Don’t make me laugh when I’m in the middle of this.”
CHAPTER 31 – BATTLE STATIONS
Kest lowered the 32-kilogram kettlebell to the tatami after finishing his last set of cleans. He took a few deep breaths and shadowboxed his way across the deck to cool down. His eyes roamed across the view of the blue-green waters of the Caribbean. The air was warm and calm. The sky was clear, the sun bright.
Kaitlin finished her set a few moments later, and they sparred lightly, without contact, for a minute until their breathing returned to normal.
Since she’d knocked him out six days ago, Kaitlin had turned the heat down during their full-contact MMA encounters, and Kest had been trying to think of a way to bring up the matter. The way he saw it, you could never have too many challenging sparring partners, and he wasn’t happy about her new reluctance to go all out.
They were the only one’s working out today. Amber and Ayleana were heads-down in their spare time working on the family-jewels upgrade, so Kest had found himself with extra hours in his daily schedule recently.
There was still work to do clearing and cataloguing Valishnu, but there were now more hands available than jobs until they were scheduled to dock in about two weeks. Amber had gone to Edward and demanded some family leave time, and she and Ayleana had been using it for rapid prototyping using the ships 3D printer and Materials Science.
Amber had made it clear that this first stage was a girl’s-only project.
That didn’t mean his preliminary growth treatments weren’t already underway though, and the extra three centimeters length added over the last week had already made an obvious difference for Ayleana. Kest was glad for that, but he was even happier that the difference wasn’t even apparent until the equipment was … turned on.
At least so far.
He stepped back, disengaging. “Water?” he said, nodding to the bottles on the side of the mat.
“Sounds good.” Kaitlin trotted to the bottles and tossed his to him.
Kest took a couple of deep swallows then sealed the top again. “So what have you done with my sparring partner?” he said. “Do I have to pay a ransom or something?”
Kaitlin brought her bottle down and her gaze flicked to him then away. “I’m sorry,” she said then sighed. “When I saw you go down after I kicked you, it brought back old traumas I’d been busy burying. Everyone I’ve ever killed so far had it coming, but it was still hard to deal with. Then—when I saw you on the ground not even moving—I felt like I was drowning.”
Kest took a deep breath, he’d heard stories from Calypso about some of Kaitlin’s past, but he hadn’t realized she’d had to kill people on her journey. No wonder she’d pulled back. He nodded then took a longer drink of water, using the time to think.
He closed the bottle again and put it back on the ground. “Like you said, they all had it coming,” he said. “I’ve had to fight for my life before, but I’ve never had to kill anyone in a fight yet. I did have to sentence one man to staying in a coma, and when the power grid went down that probably killed him. But I’m sure what you’re talking about must be harder to deal with.”
He paused, looking for a way to express what he wanted to say. “Can I ask how many of the people you killed were trying to kill you or someone you loved?”
Kaitlin’s face seemed a bit paler against her freckles. “Some of the people on that cutter could have died that I don’t know about, but I don’t know that, and I wouldn’t even be sure how to classify them if they had. The six I know about for certain were all attacking me and people I cared about, and one of them had already shot Bernice Handy because I didn’t see him coming.” She sighed. “And I really, really should have.”
Kest winced. “The older woman in Texas?”
“Yeah.” Kaitlin’s voice had turned dull.
Kest sighed. Beatrice Handy had made an impression on him when they had met. “Kaitlin, I’m sorry—really sorry. But how many people would have died if you hadn’t acted when you did those six times?”
Kaitlin nodded agreement. An answer wasn’t required.
Kest put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. “Let’s do something a little different today. Have you ever danced the roda?”
Kaitlin shook her head. “I’ve had a few lessons with Joseph when I was at Sun Sea. After that, Razor and Caly showed me some of the moves, and I’ve seen you and Caly practice.”
“Good, so you probably know it can be gentle but as scalable for potential mayhem as a real fighting style.”
“I’d like to learn. I’m already convinced it’s legit. Marian’s been telling me about her capoeira practice every time we talk on the phone since our radio silence lifted.”
Kest grinned. “So let’s begin,” he said and reached over to tap the control knobs on the sound system near the tatami. The speakers, mounted on both the port and starboard sides of the exercise space, began the twanging rhythm of the berimbau introduction to the roda, and they crossed hands to clasp them in the beginning ritual.
“We’ll start slow,” Kest said. “If you want to speed up, just tell me.”
Kaitlin smiled and nodded. Then they began … whirling and spinning across the tatami, increasing speed gradually as Kaitlin caught on. Kest already knew—after discovering the hard way—just how flexible she was. But her balance and acrobatic skills pushed her threat-level as a fighter much higher. She moved with sinuous power and grace even on new moves.
She learns fast.
When the music track ended twenty minutes later, they were both smiling and sweating freely. The breeze from the water licked away the moisture, bringing Kest an immediate sense of refreshment. “Feel better?” he said.
Kaitlin nodded. “A lot.”
The sound of clapping came from behind him, and Kest turned to see Amber coming across the deck.
“That was some mighty fancy steppin’ there, Sherriff,” she said. “Sorry to interrupt your fun, but Aylie and I need Kest’s input on a project now.”
Kaitlin nodded. “Of course,” she said, bending down to pick up their water bottles then turning to toss Kest’s to him. “Do you mind if I use your music track again, Kest? I’d like to run through the techniques you showed me.”
“Sure,” said Kest, picking up his towel. He trotted to Amber and gave her a quick kiss. Together they walked back toward the hatchway.
“You know,” Kaitlin said just before they turned the corner. “The whole ship is curious about this project y’all have been working on. Should we be expecting to see anything soon?”
The sudden wicked gleam in Amber’s eye was all Kest needed to prompt immediate action. He yanked her around the corner as she was drawing a breath to reply.
“If—” was all she managed to get out before Kest put his finger on her lips.
“Don’t even think about it,” he whispered.
Amber pouted. “But she wants to see the project.”
Kest glared.
“Fine,” Amber huffed. “I was only teasing you anyhow. You are such a—”
Kest raised an eyebrow. “Caly says she’s sixteen-years-old.”
Amber frowned “What? Really?” She paused. “That’s not what it says in her file. Okay, I’m sorry. She’s off limits then … for now.”
Kest stepped back, but Amber stepped forward and put her arms around him to hold him tight. Kest held her while she remained silent.
Put yourself in her shoes. It must be a different perspective when a relationship with almost everyone else in the world is cradle robbing.
He struggled to imagine what it might be like.
After a few moments, she took his elbow in her hand and tugged him toward the
door. “You aren’t going to believe this,” she said.
“Contrary to what you might think, that’s not all that reassuring.”
Amber just pulled harder. “Come on, you big wuss.”
When they entered their room, she pulled him to the bed where Ayleana was kneeling and typing away on her tablet computer. She stopped for a moment to hand Kest a pair of augmented-reality HUD goggles.
Kest fitted the bubble-eyed lenses over his head then took an involuntary step back from the bed where a body appeared to be lying down, naked and asleep. It looked just like him.
“What’s wrong, sweetie?” Amber said in his ear. “Overcome by your own sexiness?”
“I just thought my evil twin had finally caught up to me.” Kest managed to keep his voice light even though the sensation of looking at himself in three dimensions without a mirror was oddly disturbing.
“Oooh! I wish,” Amber said.
“I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience.” Kest wanted to take another step back, but Amber’s body pressed against him from that direction already.
Amber stepped past him and knelt down by the bed at Ayleana’s left hand and pointed to the space between them.
Kest took a step forward. “Okay,” he said, settling to the floor and shifting his head to the right to catch a different angle. “I thought you were going for longer, but this seems about what I would look like after swimming in ice-cold water…. Other than it being a little thicker maybe. Also, I can’t help but notice a lack of testicles. I don’t want to be negative so soon, but this would make taking a shower in the locker room an event that would prompt speculation that I’d rather not endure if you don’t mind.”
Amber giggled.
Ayleana snorted. “Other than bio-mechanics, this part happens to be my contribution to the design. Amber calls it ‘battle stations’. In this temporary state, the testicles retract into a protected cavity behind the pubic bones. The state is triggered by vigorous action or the body’s readiness for combat, but if you’d rather leave them out where anyone can kick them or slice them off during a fight, just let me know. The males of my species eliminated that design flaw over three millennia ago.”
“What do your people call this … state?” said Kest.
“Rayt la,” Ayleana replied.
Kest smiled. The translation was probably as close to ‘battle stations’ or ‘general quarters’ as you could get.
Ayleana tapped the keyboard, and testicles emerged below the penis.
“I like that,” Kest said. “… especially the part where they’re less likely to get sliced off. What do I have to do, stuff them in and zip them up?”
Ayleana smiled and inclined her head. “The body takes care of itself. I’m glad you like it, because the rest of the changes are all for my benefit.”
“Actually …” said Amber. “Though it’s true that I made sure to get lots of feedback on Aylie’s preferences during rapid prototyping, there are plenty of features I like too. Not that I wouldn’t have been ecstatic with the way things were.” She put her hand on his arm reassuringly, and he had to smile at himself for actually feeling reassured.
She waved her hand. “Anyway, moving on.”
Ayleana touched the tablet again, and the holographic sex organ rose to attention.
“Is there a way to super-impose a measuring grid on the display?” Kest said.
A faintly glowing grid appeared over the image for a few moments.
“That’s the same length I had originally. It’s actually smaller than what you’ve done to mine already. And—except for that thicker part at the base—I don’t see a difference. What is that, by the way?”
“Move a little closer, and I’ll show you,” Amber said, reaching out to the image. She was now wearing shiny, tight-fitting gloves. When her hands intersected the hologram, it moved as if it were real. She pulled the shaft down and ran a finger down what Kest could now see was a ridge of gathered skin that rose to a wedge between the top of the penis and the pubic bone. It moved elastically, springing back as soon as her fingers passed over it.
“The skin here serves two purposes,” she said. “First, it offers my clitoris some extra excitement as it moves across it, like this.” She formed a ring with her fingers and slid it from the tip of the penis to the base. When the ring reached the gathered skin, it spread out, gathering at her knuckle then squishing against it as it slid down.
“Believe me,” Amber said. “From the test models, I really, really like this part.”
“I can see how you would,” Kest said. “But I thought the distance from tip to base was the main point to all this.”
“Well yeah, right now, this one’s at 23-centimeters. However, with your new model’s equipment …”
She touched thumb and forefinger to the spot and spread them, opening a close-up interior view window that hovered in the air above the shaft. “You will have a series of chambers that can extend—allowing them to receive more blood—after a strong external pull, like this….”
She made a grasping motion around the shaft with her gloves and pulled. The hovering window showed a realignment of the chambers inside that immediately began to swell with simulated blood. The shaft extended about three centimeters and swelled slightly wider as well.
“Aylie can use either her hand or the muscles in the walls of her bagua to pull,” Amber said, demonstrating with a series of grasp-and-pull motions that lengthened the shaft further. “She can continue this process until your shaft reaches the length desired. The folds of skin—that my clitoris enjoyed earlier in the demonstration—now stretch to allow for the extensions. So everyone gets what they need.”
She continued moving her hand up and down the shaft. “This is my favorite part,” she said. A moment later, holographic cum sprayed across the room in a high-pressure jet.
“Woah!” Kest said. “Can I assume that’s an exaggeration?”
Ayleana grinned. “What? Too much of a good thing?”
Amber laughed. “It is a bit of an exaggeration,” she admitted. “But I thought the firehose visual effect was hilarious so I put it in the demo version.” Her eyes danced as she giggled and bounced on her knees. “But we also wanted to give you some extra storage space outside the sperm factory so Ayleana can increase your production without causing you discomfort. Though our reasons differed for that item, the solution still works for both of us…. We can jointly assure you none of it will be wasted.”
“As long as you’re both happy,” Kest said. He’d been rehearsing that remark so he could say it convincingly no matter what. But he was relieved he didn’t have to force it … much.
CHAPTER 32 – SHADOW ON THE FLOOR
ShwydH leaned back in Valishnu’s new command chair, tilted his head and ran his eyes over the bulkhead above the bridge. He traced again the temporary circuits he and HumanaH had run from the controls to Valishnu’s various defense and control systems.
HumanaH’s nose rubbed against his chin just below his jaw as she sampled his blood and balanced the antidote in his system; the position of his head and neck allowed the possibility for him to live another day.
Valishnu—secure on her perch atop the huge catamaran barge that the El Salvador was towing—rocked to the gentle swells of the Bahía de Campeche. Her open hatches welcomed the ocean breeze and ushered the air throughout the ancient corvette. Over two-hundred years ago, HumanaH had probably sat at this same command station to fire the missiles that had critically damaged the niiaH fast packet he’d been on back then. His lips twitched as he remembered his frantic flight to the escape pods. Now HumanaH’s teeth were at his throat, and he found he didn’t mind.
Comparatively speaking, she had set him free.
“You know, I wouldn’t object if you sat on my lap while you did that,” he said. Her lips tightened on his skin and a whisper of her amusement drifted to his nose. Her hand moved down and slid beneath the black nylon athletic supporter that covered his sex—for t
he benefit of human sensibilities—and her finger filaments traced a path across his foreskin to the tip of his glans. He encouraged her, letting a trickle of semen escape.
Though reproduction was no longer possible for him, he still produced seed. It was better for his body to maintain that cycle, and—when he offered—HumanaH took it for its nutritional value. His ruined genetic code didn’t affect its value as a food product.
Human females he’d entertained had also responded to his semen positively, for mysterious reasons of their own. But though they occasionally swallowed it, they didn’t require the nutrients it carried. Though neither did HumanaH or her branch-sisters—especially when you considered the number of willing human males available, each producing around 60,000 sperm and the fluid to carry them, every minute of the day.
