Dark as Daylight Ch. 16

"Why don't we just take apart the other spacecraft, and tell those people they have to stay with us."

"Everything's ready for them to leave next week, and now you come up with this idea? You really want to start a revolt don't you?"

"I'm just frustrated that everything is moving so slowly. On earth, if I wanted to fry an egg, I would take a frying pan out from the pantry put on the stove crack an egg, and have a fried egg. If I wanted steel, I would call up U.S. Steel and order it. Here, I can't order, buy or find a paperclip."

Gordon backed away from Laura before he said, "I think someone's having a temper tantrum. I think she needs to be spanked by her mommy."

"You cock sucking bastard." She took off after him as if she was shot out of the canon.

He yelled over his shoulder, "That's your job; I eat hairless pussy, it's tastier."

He ran her by a circuitous route all the way back to their home site. The centuries saw them coming first and sent out word that Gordon was in trouble. Laura was chasing him, and she did not look happy.

As they ran through the field of oats and wild rice, Gordon could hear the chants of the people egging Laura on.

"Catch him, you have to catch him Laura. Beat his ass."

He slowed his gait and allowed her to close to within a few feet of him. They had run nearly 3 miles from their digging site, and neither one of them was winded. Atwater Luck was truly a wonderful place to live and grow, but it was not a place for scientists to expand their knowledge. They had to leave this wonderful place in order to do that.

As they approached the meeting area, Gordon was ready. Laura was less than 4 feet behind him when he sprung his trap. He hit the brakes, tucked into a tight ball, and wait for her to stumble over him, and land unceremoniously on her back in front of him. He would lay his body across her chest and ask her to submit, which, of course, she would not. He would kiss her, help her up, and deliver her to her husband defeated again. She would be furious.

It happened exactly as he planned it, and she was more furious than even he thought possible.

"One night, I'm going to sneak into your apartment, and relieve you of your most prized possession."

Zoey complained mightily.

"Why would you take your anger out on me? That part of him is mine, and I needed functional. What good is it if I have it bronzed and placed on a mantle?"

"He's too damn smart, I can't beat him any other way."

"You're not supposed to beat him; you are supposed to be allies. You are supposed to get us off this rock carrying with us new ideas and new inventions. So far the only thing you to do is watch our children, and play with rocks. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"We need a furnace to separate the properties that are in these rocks that were playing with. Without that, we don't know what we have."

"So do what they did in the Middle Ages; use rocks and make yourself a forge. It may not be perfect, but you can get it up to 2000°. It says so on the discs we have from National Geographic. It's how they made their swords, shields, arrow tips, cauldrons, and torture devices. What a wonderful idea, I can make a torture device for you, Gordon."

"You already have a torture device for me dear. Your using it now to talk."

"Laura, if you hold him, I will cut it off."

Teddy asked, "What did uncle Gordon do wrong this time?"

"He said something nasty to me, Teddy."

"I think it is time for us to go to chapel, uncle Gordon. I think you're not praying enough."

"Teddy, I could pray all day, and not praying enough. Let's go talk to God, and see what she has to say about our next flight."

"Didn't I tell you where God said we're going?"

"No Teddy, I think you left that part out."

Everybody looked at her with great anticipation, wondering where their next sojourn would take them, and how long it would take them to get there.

"She say we are going to visit her first two stars, the two she designed everything in the universe around. It will take us millions of years to get there, and none of us will be alive when we do. It will be our children's children's pleasure to see them, and through their eyes, we will receive happiness. She calls them R & R Lyrae. We can pick out any route we want to go, visit any planet we seek, stay as long as we wish. Eventually, our children will find Lyrae."

Delicious asked, "Teddy is Lyrae Heaven?"

"I don't know mommy, God didn't tell me, and I didn't think to ask Her. She sent us here, and this is not a bad place, is it?"

"No baby, on a scale of 1 to 10, this is definitely a 9.99."

"Why not a 10 mommy?"

"Because I still have to change dirty diapers."

***********************

"Hello Yenny."

"Hello Viggo, are you ready to leave?"

"Yenny, we have worked together, eaten together, and discussed many things together for a very long time. I enjoy your company, I'm more than enjoy your company, I desire your company. I have been unable to tell you how I feel about you, because of your status aboard your ship. You are a senior captain, and I am, I am a nothing. I was just a passenger. No that is a lie. I am a political prisoner and as a condition of my release, I was forced to leave my home planet, and move to this new settlement to help repopulate it. It seems the males there weren't up to the job.

I guess you have noticed that when our men and women are enjoying wyandotta, several of us were not allowed to partake. That is the reason.

However, I have had a chance to watch your people, during our time together, and you in particularly. I find you deeply sensual, and extremely attractive in every way a man can look upon a woman. I have no idea how I'm supposed to do this in your culture, but in mine, my colors would turn to a bright blue, and the woman's would turn to an orange. It would give me consent to move forward and have intercourse with her. Would you please turn orange for me?"

Jennifer grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hallway, up the staircase, and down the next hallway to her apartment. She didn't say a word. She closed the door and locked it. She turned off her communicator, turned to Viggo, and shouted at him, "God damn you! You wait until one week before you going to leave to tell me you want to have sex with me? I've been waiting for months for you to say or do something. I thought you were interested, but I don't know your culture the same way you don't know mine. I bet you don't have any condoms on you either."

"What is a condom, Yenny?"

"You are going to leave next week, and I am going to be pregnant; I just know it. Even Luck, you cursed me. You are probably laughing your ass off in that computer chip of yours right now. You are howling at the moon knowing the predicament I find myself in. 7 ½ years with no sex, and the first man I want to have it with his leaving in a few days. I should crawl in that computer, find you, and beat the shit out of you for leaving me."

"Yenny, if we make wyandotta, I never leave you, never, not until I die."

"Why, why would you say something like that to me?"

"In my culture, first wife, wife forever. Second, third, fourth, just concubine. Just have sex with, mean nothing, just sex."

Jennifer walked into the kitchen, and returned with a long ceramic blade.

"Do you know what this is Viggo?"

"Yes, knife, cut food."

"It also will cut off the part of you that you want to put into me. Is that understood? It's either them or me. Take your choice."

"You have strong feelings for me, Yenny?"

"Yes Viggo, I have very strong feelings for you."

"You want to have wyandotta with me?"

"If wyandotta means sex, hell yes."

"I must warn you, I very big."

"Don't worry about it, so was my husband."

"I promise I try not to hurt you."

"Would you please shut up and get undressed, my husband was a big man also."

"Maybe you should sit down."

"Do you see this knife? I will use it if I have to. Get undressed!"

He began to turn away from her so she would not see what he was carrying between his legs. She stopped him, quickly.

"No, do not turn away from me. I want to see what I've been missing."

He removed his shoes first, and then his shirt. He was afraid she would faint when she saw his massive member, because the women on his planet often complained about his size when they had intercourse.

He pulled the Velcro that held the pants together at his waist apart, and held it up for a second. He looked at her, but her eyes were not looking at his. They were looking at the junction of his thighs.

He thought, "Oh well, here goes nothing," and released the fabric from his hands. It fell straight to the floor, huddling around his feet. With no undergarment to protect his modesty, he was there for her to see as nature made him as a man, and in the male department he was very well endowed.

He watched Jennifer's face and expected her to go pale, step back, or even faint. She did none of these. She looked at him in all his glory. He was truly amazed when the color of her face went from a pale white to a rosy pink, and the corners of her mouth drew up, and a big smile registered on her face. She reached out her hand to take his and told him that they were going to have a long and happy marriage.

As she removed her clothes, and slid into bed with Viggo, she said a silent prayer. "Thank you EVEN, thank you so much."

*********************

"I'm going to rip your lungs out, Jackson. You did this to me, I had the perfect life until you came along, and got me pregnant. You better leave on that ship, because if I have this baby and you're still here, you gonna wish you had left."

"Monty, you know the rules about threatening me."

"Jackson, do you know what you can do with your rules right nooooow!"

"Doc, I think she just had another contraction."

"Are you sure? Do you know because of the scream she let out, or because of the pain she's inflicting on your hand as she squeezes it, Jack?"

"I think she broke my left hand 10 minutes ago, but I'm sure it was the scream that let me know she had a contraction, Dr. Finch."

"Monty, would you please dilate. I don't want to have to give you a cesarean, and cut through all that muscle. That's all you are now is muscle. Every bit of weight you lost was excess, and you are down to lean red muscle. Don't make me cut through that muscle. Your recuperation time could be as long as two or three months, during which time, Jackson would be forced to wait on you hand and foot while your muscles knit together. Don't make me do that to you."

"How far am I dilated now Joe?"

"8 cm."

"How much further until I can deliver normally?"

"Two more centimeters, but you've been stuck here for the last minute and ½, and I want to go to lunch."

Gordon said, "Go ahead Joe, I finished reading the obstetrics manual. I'll take the delivery from here. I have Callie, and my father to back me up if it becomes necessary to perform the cesarean section, but I can handle Monty, and her moods from here. She's a piece of cake."

"Who let him in here? He wasn't supposed to know I was down here. He's not allowed to see me like this. I'll kill him if he does."

"Come on Monty, you saw me naked. As a matter of fact, you took my clothes off, and embarrass the hell out of me. Now it's my turn to see you naked, and I can watch the kid pop out."

"Jackson, kill him. That is not a request, that is an order."

"I'm sorry dear, but you are under a great deal of stress at this moment. I cannot obey you at this time; you have just issued an illegal order."

"Give me a gun, I'll shoot him."

Gordon handed her a gun, and by the feel of it, she knew it was fully loaded

"You don't think I'll do it, do you?"

"I'm sure you won't do it Monty, but who would you yell at tomorrow if I was dead?"

"I would yelllllllllllllllll"

Gordon removed the gun from her hand, as Monty went through another contraction.

Joe Finch said, "You know Monty, with all this yapping going on, you forgot to tell me that you were pushing the baby out. Your son is crowning. Would you mind pushing the rest of him out now please. Push hard."

"Move out of the way Joe. I want to be able to tell my best man that I was the first person to hold his son, when he came into the world."

Monty pushed, and screamed at the same time, "Gordon Luck, I hate you."

With those words, the newest member of the Good Luck 1 expedition entered the world, without a peep. His eyes were open, and he was wiggling around, but he didn't cry until Andrea took a tiny bit of blood from the heel of his foot to take his Apgar reading which was 8 point 9. She didn't even have to put a Band-Aid on the tiny hole, because it healed instantly.

Gordon placed him in receiving blanket, as Joe Finch held the umbilical cord taught for Jackson to cut. He did so without his hand quivering, but there was a tear in his eye.

He turned to his wife and kissed her.

"Get away from me you bastard."

"I just wanted to thank you for the most awesome gift a woman can give a man. He is beautiful, almost as beautiful as me."

"You are going to die when I have the strength to stand up Jack."

"You're not going to stand up, until we start on the next one."

Finch said, "Jackson, I am sorry to inform you that there will be none of that for six weeks. None, as in zero. Her insides need a rest, and even though she did brilliantly, she is not going to start on your second one until then."

Monty said, "You have nothing to worry about Joe. He won't be alive in six weeks. I'm not going through that again."

"Monty, compared to everyone else on this ship that gave birth so far, yours was the simplest delivery I've had. You pushed that puppy out as if it was nothing, and you could push a dozen more out without any problem."

"Joseph shut up. He does not need a cheering section to want to corner me and make love. He is insatiable. I don't know why he waited this long to get married, but he's making up for it now."

"Mrs. Oberlin, what were you told about discussing our personal lives?"

"I'm discussing it with my doctor. He can't say a thing about it, because of doctor-patient confidentiality."

"And what about HIM, the man who is holding our son. Is he under the same restriction?"

"Do you think I can hold my son now, Gordon?"

"I don't know Monty, can you?"

"Give me Brendan, before I make you a eunuch."

"Way to go little kid, they gave you a great name."

"Damn right we did."

"Before I hand him over, I have one question for you. Am I going to be his godfather?"

"In a pig's eye, you are."

"Who else did you have in mind? Who is better than me?"

"That's none of your business, now give me my son."

"Come on Brendan, let's visit the contamination control units in the nuclear containment area."

"Get back here you bastard."

"Did you just have a change of heart?"

"I'll think about it."

"That's good enough for me."

He handed Monty the fruits of nine months of her labor, and kissed her on her cheek.

"You always do everything perfectly, Monty. First you did me, and now this little guy. He is going to be just like me; I'll make sure of it."

"Get the hell out of here, Gordon. I will kill you later."

"Your wish is my desire, Senior Captain."

"In a rats' ass."

"You're holding your newborn baby, and talking like a drunken sailor on shore leave. I'll send Teddy here to pray with you."

"Go to work Gordon. I have decided that we are leaving at high noon, Christmas day, three years from now. Get everything you need done by then, or you will leave without it."

"I guess that means you are staying here. I could never get you ready by then."

"Out, now, get out of here, before I throw a bedpan at you."

Brendan started crying because of his mother's verbal outburst.

Gordon whispered, "You're a mommy now. You are going to have to watch that temper of yours."

"When I get off maternity leave, and resume my captain's duties, you are going to visit the brig."

"I believe that's called abuse of power. I should write down today's date and have Joe countersign it for me. Maybe you and I could walk the plank together."

"No Gordon, only you were brave enough to do something like that."

"I've had a chance to look at my children, while they were sleeping. I decided it wasn't brave, it was the stupidest thing I could have done, because I could not have been there to help them grow up, and to protect them."

Jackson said, "Monty maybe the boy is growing up?"

"There is also the possibility of this planet splitting in 2 tonight, Joe. Which one would you like to bet on?"

"What side of the planet is the ship going to be on?"

"Exactly Joe, my point exactly."

Without warning, there was a loud boom, the ship started to shake violently, and a loud cracking sound. It lasted four seconds, and security came over the speaker system and announced it was all clear.

Gordon asked, "What the hell was that?"

Tom replied, "Our friends did a quick test of their main engine to make sure it was working properly. It is."

"Thanks Tom."

"I flew that thing from the icy side to here, with Newton, using their engines, and we didn't get anything that sounded like that."

"It's probably because you only patched them up, not fixed them. They fixed them properly, and now it's ready to boogie."

"It certainly sounds like it's ready to go. I think I'll go to their ship and see what they did to it."

Newton stuck his head in the infirmary door.

I'm going over to the Vadus. I want to see what changes they made to get that much power out of that engine. Do you want to join me?"

Monty said, "He was on his way out the door, when you stuck your head in it. You're lucky you two didn't wind up with a concussion. I want a full report when you get back, and don't forget to tell your wives where you're going, otherwise they'll send out a search party."

"Is she off maternity leave already?"

"It doesn't matter cousin, when she talks to us like that she means business."

"Yeah, it sounded that way to me too."

"Why are you two still here?"

"Don't answer her, she will think it's just our fading images as we ran out of the room."

A plastic bedpan hit Newton in the chest.

"How do I explain that to her?"

"I don't know. I'm gone."

With that, Gordon flew out of the infirmary, removing his paper gown, booties, and hat on the way. He called Zoey to tell her where he was going, and he did not know when he would be back, and ran to the school area to take Teddy with him. She was already waiting for him.

"Hello uncle Gordon."

"Hello oh most gorgeous niece, Teddy. How did you know I was coming?"

"The ground shook, and there was a big noise. I knew you would want to investigate it, and would want me to go with you, if only to pray."

"I don't want you to come with me just to pray, Teddy. Do you realize how smart you are? For a 10-year old, you are as smart, or smarter than I was at that age."

"Is that really true, uncle Gordon?"

"It sure is Teddy. Look at all the wonderful things you've taught me. You've learned the language of our visitors faster than anyone else, and it's a very hard language to learn. I am close to knowing it, but I am nowhere near as fluent in it as you are. Your math skills even impress your mother now, and she is the best mathematician I have ever known. If grandpa was here, he would pick you up, throw you into the air, and catch you on the way down to show you how excited he was with your progress. Have you talked to him lately?"

"We talk a lot, and he is very funny. He is helping me design something that I was working on, but I kept getting stuck."

"Have you gone into Callie so she can help you too?"

"I haven't done that in a very long time."