Dark as Daylight Ch. 17

"I believe I'm starting not to like you, Laura."

"My trainer, and my best friend, George, told me he hated me when we parted company on Earth. We had been together for more than 20 years, and I trusted him more than anyone else in that world. I paid all my guys very well, and they protected me with their lives. I made them all millionaires on January 2, but I got even with George in a very big way. I made every one of his dreams come true.

Over the years, you get comfortable speaking with your client, and we became fast friends. When he thought he was getting information out of me, he forgot I had a photographic memory. I retained everything he said. The more I gave him; the more he gave me. Every tidbit of information he gave me, I filed a way for later use. I never anticipated leaving the planet, but it was the perfect way to get even with him for all that he did for me, while I was trying to grow up.

While I was lying in Adam's arms, on January 2, George was in my lawyer's office listening to a video of me tell him what was about to happen to his life. I could picture him sitting there wondering how I knew how to get him the exact type cattle, and those Spanish bulls. I gave him 1000 acres of prime land in eastern Oregon, at the confluence of two rivers, and mountains on the third side. I had my lawyer hire 20 experienced ranch hands, who he would pay for a period of two years, $200 million in investments, and cash, and an audiocassette of me that he had to listen to at the beginning and end of every day for one year.

I simply said to him, "Hello George, I hate you too! Then I laughed, a good hearty laugh, for about 20 seconds, and just before I turned off the machine I said, 'I do, George, I really hate you; just as much as you hated me' and hit the stop button." He probably tore apart my lawyer's office, when he heard me say that to him, because there wasn't a dam thing he could do about it."

"What makes you think George won't be on the Good Luck 2?"

"He would have to be away from the ranch for 10 years or more. I'm not sure he would be willing to do that."

"George sounds a lot like my mother. My father finally was able to get her to go on a vacation, with him, away from our ranch, after we launched. I hope she enjoyed it."

"I heard she went on other trips, didn't she?"

"Yes one, New Mexico. Friends of ours got married."

"Oh yes, I remember reading about it. The son married the adopted daughter. I swear, they should let your mother into the NSA building outside Omaha for one week. The Russians wouldn't have a working computer for the next century."

"Shit, my brother, sister, and I did that. We almost started the third world war, when we were kids."

"No shit!"

"We are getting company; I'll tell you about it later."

"How old were you?"

"Seven."

"No shit."

"Are you ready for your part of the test, Mrs. Thyme?"

"How many times have I asked you to call me by my first name, Captain Cushing? Unless we are on board the ship and discipline is required, it is not necessary to be used on the outside while we are at leisure."

"It just doesn't seem proper. You are so much smarter than I am, and 90% of the crew, I believe it is a sign of respect, and deference that you are due, Delicious."

"Thank you, Harvey, but my Seven-Year-Old twins are now smarter than I am, and I'm not saying that in jest. You will learn about their discovery, while we are on this trip. Are you more comfortable in the captain's chair yet?"

"I don't believe I was cut out for a position of command. I liked my anonymity. I liked my telescopes, computers, and radar maps. They always gave me time to make my own observations. In a collegial atmosphere, my other scientists and I could make decisions to the best of our ability. It was not just me making that decision, it was a joint decision, and usually we were right on the money."

"Harvey, may I remind you of your actions as we were flying towards the Sagittarius 'A' Star, and what would have happened to us if you had not had the courage to come forward and report to Captain Jamison what was going on in the science section?"

"My actions were caused by my wife's over active mouth, Delicious. I would not have volunteered any of that information, if she had not been on the bridge badgering me to tell the senior captain of the working conditions in the science section."

"Captain Cushing, my husband will attest to the fact that behind every brilliant man, there is a strong woman, pushing him along his way to greatness."

"She speaks the truth Harvey, just look at Grayson. There was a magnificent engineer at the top of his game at NASA, until she came along. He quit his job almost immediately to help build this magnificent ship, and along the way give her seven children. It was a tough job both ways, but he has survived so far. Delicious, you better control your mouth, little ears are with me."

"I saw my daughter standing beside you, and I was not going to say anything I would not say in church. What you said is true, and Gray could not be happier if he wanted to be. Isn't that correct, dear?"

As Gray passed Gordon, he smacked him, and continued to Delicious' side, to kiss her.

"What the hell was that for?"

"You are absolutely correct dear; I am the happiest man on this planet."

"Do you see what I mean, Gordon? My husband is not only brilliant; he is smart also."

"I understand Delicious, and you are forgiven for hitting me, Gray."

"That is mighty nice of you, Gordon. If you didn't forgive me, I would have had to check out a gun from the armory to shoot you in the foot."

Teddy said, "God would not be happy with you, daddy."

"Would God be happy with uncle Gordon, after he beat me up to with in a fraction of my life?"

"Uncle Gordon would not do that to you. He would only beat you up enough to get mommy upset. That's when he has fun with her. When he finishes with mommy, she goes to sleep, and wakes up refreshed. She's able to think clearly, and ready to go to work. Uncle Gordon knows how to push every one of mommy's buttons, and he enjoys doing it."

Gray laughed, which was the wrong thing to do. Delicious was on his back hitting him on his head and shoulders.

Teddy was about to scream at her, but she saw her uncle Gordon sneaking around behind them.

When he was in position, he said to Teddy, "Get your mother's attention, and have her count down from three. 3-2-1-0. Okay?"

"This is going to be fun uncle Gordon?"

"Yes, it is, Teddy."

Teddy yelled so loud Delicious heard her and stopped hitting Gray immediately. She didn't get off him, but she did stop hitting him.

"Mommy, try this, 3,2,1,0."

"He deserves a beating Teddy, but I'll try it anyway. 3, 2, 1, 0."

"Thank you, mommy."

"For what, Teddy?"

"This!"

SSMMAAACCCKKKKK!!!

Delicious ass hurt so much all cognizant thought left her, and she had to attend to it. Her hands left Gray's neck and reached for her bottom to comfort it. The tension in her legs that were wrapped around his middle melted away, and she began falling backwards.

Under normal circumstances, Gordon would have let her fall to the floor, and receive another indignity, but this was not one of those times. She was pregnant, and as she left Gray's body, he cradled her in his arms and laid her on the floor.

"I told you to be good to your husband, and you weren't. You received a smack because of it, and by your reaction, I take it it hurt. Do you want to try for a second, sis?"

Like lightning, her hands went from her ass toward his throat, but by the time they got there, he wasn't. She was in the air turning over, and on her way down, when she received the second smack he promised. It wasn't as hard as the first one, but it's still made her howl in pain.

"You cock sucking son of the bitch. I'm going to get you for that."

"Mommy, nose in corner for two hours, and pray hard, very hard. Your language is moving backwards, and I don't like it. What if Tatum had heard you say that?"

Delicious got up and charged into the spacecraft after her brother. She shouted, "2 hours, it wasn't that bad, was It?"

"2 hours mommy, and I will be at your side every minute of it."

"I'm going to murder my brother when I find him."

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

Gray knelt next to his daughter and asked, "Do you know what the words mommy said means, Teddy?"

"Yes, daddy, I know what the words mean, and what the act involves. When I was very young, and slept in my crib, I remember seeing mommy doing it with you many times. I am confused. You both seemed to enjoy it very much. I don't understand why mommy would wish something so pleasurable on uncle Gordon, when she is so very angry with him?"

"Honey, you know words can have more than one meaning, and they can be used to heap praise on a person, or to denigrate him or her. Believe me, your mother was not wishing anything pleasurable on your uncle when she said that to him."

"Thanks daddy, now at least I know mommy was running true to form."

"What do you mean Teddy?"

"Save your energy today, daddy. I'll keep Tatum, Truman, Lane, and Lynn with me in my room tonight. You are going to be very busy, and mommy is going to be very happy, and busy in the morning."

"Thankfully she's already pregnant, so I can't cause any more damage than I already have. Thank you for telling me Teddy, and thank you for watching your brother and sisters."

"You're welcome daddy."

Laura asked, "Does Teddy always give you advanced warning when a hot night is coming your way?"

"No, she doesn't. Apparently, this must do with her getting to work on her new engine. So, it's going to be all hands-on deck tonight, and I am to clear all the cobwebs from her mind so she can start imagining what the next one will be. I have no idea what type propulsion system it will be, but it will be interesting, I'm sure of it. I had my doubts on the nuclear engine, until Gordon came up with the fusion reactor. I had no idea how it would produce energy in space. On earth, nuclear engines boil water to produce steam, to turn turbines to produce electricity. It's all very simple. However, in space, where are you going to get all this extra water? You sure as heck aren't going to carry it with you, because you would need a spaceship as big as from the Earth to Mars to do it. The mass alone would prohibit you from getting anywhere near light speed for 2 million years or more. It would take 30 minutes for a control input to get from the crew capsule, at light speed, to the engines, in something that big. It's nonsense on an unfathomable scale. I just had a thought:

a) How are you going to get pure water up to that monstrosity?

b) What ocean are you going to drain to fill that monstrosity up?

c) How many decades will it take to fill that thing up with pure water?

d) The longer the vehicle sits in one place, the greater the chance it will get hit by a micro- meteorite, a piece of space junk, or something else, which will puncture the skin of the vehicle.

We will need a spare spacecraft to carry patch kits to cover the pierced aluminum, and spare parts. However, we must know exactly what is underneath that piece of punctured aluminum before we move forward to repair it. Did that screw floating around in space at 17,000 miles an hour, pass through the aluminum, and hit a steel support column, causing no damage? Or, did it destroy a secondary communications module, which we wouldn't know about until the primary fails. We are 100 trillion miles out in the universe, and there we find ourselves, without a backup, or the part is in the spare spacecraft, which will require a dangerous spacewalk.

These are just some of the questions we must have answer and that's after she figures out how she is going to use the Dark Energy as a propulsion system to move us around the universe, at speeds that frighten me.

We don't know if we can use this vessel to hop around the universe using her new engine. I don't know about you, but I've come to call this big black ball 'Home.' I've become quite attached to it. I know our apartment is quite like my dorm room at Penn, but I don't think I'd like to leave it behind for any another mode of transportation."

"I feel the same way Gray. Remember, tomorrow is only the first day, and she hasn't lifted a pencil yet. If you are a very good husband, you may be able to distract her quite a bit. As you said, you can't do any more damage than you already have."

"Laura, you are evil. You are asking a man to use sex to distract his wife from her job. I may have to report you to the Senior Captain."

"Well, I am off to the infirmary to take a little test. I am about to find out if Tiffany and Stephan are going to have a sibling. We have run out of those little test kits, and they are doing it the old-fashioned way; with a sonogram."

"Have you chosen your gynecologist?"

"I don't know if I'm pregnant yet."

"It was just a fun question. With our five new doctors roaming around looking for patients, it just shows the brilliance of my father-in-law. Everyone is forced to train upwards. The janitor must train up to his/her highest level of competence, including the captaincy if he/she is capable of it. Nothing is put in their way. My son, Newton, started out as an engineer apprentice, now he's working with Adam learning how to be a plumber. If he doesn't stop eating shit, he'll start listening, and wind up being a dam good plumber."

"Adam tells me that he is listening, and learning now."

"I'm very happy to hear that Laura. Go make Adam a happy daddy."

"It was bound to happen again, sooner or later. We practice a lot."

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

Teddy was walking with Lynn and Lane towards the ponies. They were gathered by the trees, in the shaded areas. It was an unusually warm day, and even the rambunctious twins were walking very slowly. Teddy saw Daylight. She was very pregnant, and due to give birth any time. She asked the twins to stay close behind her, because she was going to greet her friend.

This would be the fourth foal for her friend, and she had been beside her for the first three girls. It always amazed her that immediately after giving birth the young mother was up and caring for her baby. She was never in the infirmary to watch the birth of a human baby, but was hoping to begin training as a nurse, as soon as she was old enough, and could pass the exam. She was unsure what her calling in life was to be, but helping people was something she had always done, and nursing seemed like a perfect fit for her. In years to come she would train to become a doctor, because she did not have the calling for the sciences, like her brothers and sisters seemed to have.

Daylight and Teddy greeted each other as they always did; by touching heads together. This time Teddy sensed something was wrong with her friend. She put her hands on the young horses' head, and closed her eyes. She felt her friend's pain. She was in labor, but something else was wrong inside her friend. She told her friend help was on its way.

She turned to Lynn and Lane. "Will you both do me a big favor, and do it right away?"

The four-year-olds nodded their heads.

"This is it very important. My friend, Daylight, is getting ready to have her baby, but she is in terrible pain. Something is wrong inside her. I want you to run back home and ask any adult to have Mrs. Oberlin, Uncle Gordon, and any doctor to come here to help her. Will you remember all that, and do it for me quickly?"

"Yes, you want Brendon's mommy, uncle Gordon, and a doctor to come here to help your horse have her baby, right?"

"Yes, now hurry and do it."

The twins were off and running like rabbits.

Teddy kissed Daylight on her head and stayed by her side.

Daylight walked over towards an area where she could be alone, and lay on her side.

Gordon came running full tilt.

"Are you okay, Teddy? How bad are you hurt?"

"Who told you I'm hurt?"

"Lane came to me and said you were by your friend, and you were hurt. I knew she meant you were by Daylight, so I came running."

Gordon had just finished speaking as Monty came to a stop.

"How bad are you hurt, Teddy?"

"I'm sorry big captain, but it seems my four-year-old sisters have been pulling a fast one on the two of you. I am not hurt; Daylight is in distress. She is in labor, but there is something wrong. I can tell by the way she is breathing, and I can feel it when I touch her head. Can you help her?"

Monty said, "It's been a lot of years since I've helped an animal give birth, but I will certainly give it a try. You keep her comfortable, while Gordon helps me deliver the baby."

"This isn't going to be like cutting open the Buffalo, is it?"

"Do I have a knife in my hand?"

"No, but if you did, I would be running away as fast as my legs could carry me."

"Pull the ponies top leg forward and up, so I can get my hand inside to feel what's going on in there."

"Rather you than me."

As Monty inserted her hand into Daylight's vagina, the mare bucked in pain, and whined loudly.

Monty said, "That's what's wrong. The baby is in a breech position, I'm going to have to convince it to turn, or they both will die."

Teddy screamed, "Please Monty, don't let them die. I'll babysit for Brendan every day for a year if you don't let them die."

"This is not 'Let's make a deal Teddy', even though that is a very generous offer. The life and death of these two animals is up to God, not to me. You know what you have to do, so get to it."

Teddy didn't need any more hints. She stroked Daylight's head, and prayed for her friend, and her baby.

"God, I know you are very busy, and I don't mean to be a bother, but I don't usually ask for anything for me, and if you could help Monty save my friend, Daylight, and her new foal, I will pray an extra hour every day this month. I'm not trying to bribe you, really, I'm not. It's just I love my friend, Daylight, and she was willing to give up her life to save mine from that beast, a long time ago. She is a very good friend, and she is a wonderful mommy. Please don't let her and her baby die."

"Gordon get over here. You are stronger than I am. Stick your hand in here and convince that little sucker to turn. It won't do it for me."

"You're just doing this for the thrill of it, Monty. If you had a camera you'd be taking motion pictures of me with my hand up there."

"You bet your ass I would."

As Gordon got down on the ground and started inserting his arm gently into the horses opening, Doctor Bernice Hernandez arrived on the scene. She saw Teddy with tears in her eyes.

Monty was smiling, as she watched Gordon insert his arm into the horses' vagina, and she had to ask the dumb question, "Hi guys, what's up?"

"Hi Doc, we have a horse in labor, but the baby is in breach. I couldn't get it turn because the mother kept going into contractions. That's why Gordon is giving it a try."

"I guess the reason I was called is to see if I can give a muscle relaxant to the horse to stop the contractions."

"Do you see why Joe Finch promoted you to a Full Doctor, instead of just a daytime doctor?"

"It goes to show you what seven years of studying will do for you."

"As I recall, you volunteered to come along on this expedition."

"You bet your ass I did. I've gotten laid more in space, then I ever did on earth."

"Doctor a young girl present."

"It's okay Teddy, I got married first."

"God doesn't care if you're married. She only cares that you are using your own free will to make the appropriate decisions in your life, and that you are happy with those decisions. When my mommy was sick, she wasn't making the right decisions, and everyone suffered. My dad helped her, and she began making better decisions about herself. When she made those decisions, everyone else's decisions became easier, and life here became better. All our lives became better because my mother was making the right decisions for herself."