The Carlson Chronicle Chapter 1

11:45am, 24-Mar-2323

Shopping for a family that never ate together was a chore Mattie didn’t enjoy, but Klaus, while older then she, was always good company. As he examined the currrent crop of fresh kiwi, she looking at several lobster, her wrist COM beeped. Disguised as a brooch she told all was a family heirloom, she stepped quickly away from the fresh seafood section, and onto the baking goods aisle. There was no one on this one, as she flipped up the jewels covering the COM unit’s face. On the screen, flashing in priority red, read the message:

’Target compromised, evac from Earth ASAP! Drop cover, try to explain real family, your mission, and true feelings. Use actual appearance! Do NOT let him see Martin Shaw, at all costs!

Director Iris

Temporal Overwatch Division

“Temporal Overwatch!!” She nearly blurted out loud, looking around for anyone who may have heard her. She was still in the clear however.

Eyes wide, she looked around the corner. Klaus was still picking out fruit. Spotting the sign for the restroom, she made a beeline for it, disappearing into the last stall, the one normally reserved for handicapped and special needs patrons. Shedding the costume took all of 30 seconds, though picking out her scarlet locks would require a mirror if she wanted her hair to look correct. Using a simple vanish spell, the baggy clothes and hand purse would simply fade from view until the spell expired, some 12 hours from now, then the cleaning staff would find her old identity, one Maddie Forsythe, 46, of NSW, Australia...

Adjusting her belt pack at the small of her back, former Kanin Arcanist Operations Specialist Amythyst, all of five foot nothing and 45 kilos, moved with a fluid like grace from the store, the blue and gold gown not really a gown at all, but mage robes, the sandals on her feet more comfortable then those awkward boots she wore as her cover ID, and the knit cap on her head hiding the top of her head, and her nearly foot long ears. Hailing a cab, she stepped in, and in her own Aussie twang, ordered the cabbie to Karen’s apartment building, tossing him 3 20 credit notes to get her there yesterday.

‘I’ve been watching this charge his whole life, what could possibly be going on for me to have to expose myself to him?’ She thought to herself as the cabbie whipped through traffic, arriving at Karen’s rundown brownstone-style building at exactly 12 noon...

The next morning, Alex awoke. The sun streaming through the window in the living room landed right on his face. He never could sleep in the daytime, and tried to roll away from the light. Unfortunately, the couch was barely big enough for him, and he rolled onto the floor.

“Ooooof! Not smart.” He groaned.

Picking himself up off the floor, he made for the bathroom. While he sat there, he thought about what Karen had eluded to the night before. Yes, he loved her, but not in the way she was obviously hoping for.

Finishing, he stood, looked in the mirror, and hit the wall switch to turn on the fan. It squeaked and rattled to life.

`Something I ate last night definitely didn’t agree with me.′ He thought to himself with a chuckle, as he looked himself over in the mirror. Rummaging through the medicine cabinet, he found a pack of disposable razors, and gave himself a shave.

“Good morning Alex.” Karen said with her usual cheerful tone as she stood in the bathroom doorway. She was still wearing only her night shirt.

“Morning.” He said, putting the razor in the trash. He smiled to her, and adjusted his jeans. The gun-belt caused them to ride lower, so he tightened his belt.

They sat and talked for what seemed like hours, thoroughly catching up each other’s lives. Despite how he knew she felt about him, he simply stated that he wasn’t interested. She looked very sad, until he explained why.

“Look Karen, besides the fact that we’re still brother and sister, I’m destined to be one of these ‘Eternals’ and you aren’t. Which means, while you may live to almost 200, given current advances in medicine, I’ll out-live you by decades if not centuries.”

“But...” She began, but he cut her off.

“And, I want kids. Someday. We could never have children together because of that ‘Eternal’ issue, despite not being genetically connected. This matter is closed, please, don’t hurt me by bringing it up again.”

She sat back in the recliner and as tears fell into her lap, she nodded.

“Besides, even though I hated playing match-maker to my friends who were less than stellar at finding dates, I do know someone who is interested in you. He’s a really nice guy, and I think after you meet him, you’d agree.”

“Not your old wingman, Bad Ass, is it?” She gasped, but Alex just laughed.

“Hahaha! No, not Bob. He was the gyrine that rescued me after my plane died over Alphenshore. We got to talking during the long ride back to the ‘Kitty Hawk’, and after I showed him your pix, I think he fell in love.”

“Really?” She asked, perking up almost immediately. Fishing out his wallet, he pulled out a small, glossy pic he kept folded in there, a reminder that there are good people still out there. Unfolding it, he showed it to Karen.

Pictured, with a Tri-Tach heavy lifter shuttle in the background, was Alex (kneeling), with the pilot of the shuttle, a cute blond, Bad Ass standing beside the blond, and a guy that was easily bigger than Alex in every direction holding a Kurita over his shoulder. His boyish face betrayed how he really looked, as Karen traced his image with her fingers.

“He looks so young!”

“Barely 18 in this pic. He lied about his age, and the recruiters believed him considering how big he is. His family are ranchers from Carstairs.”

“Holy Shit! It’s almost 12!” She said, looking over at the clock on the end table. She quickly began to dress as he threw on his shirt. He was finished before she was, so he moved into the kitchen and helped himself to a glass of orange juice while he waited. As the clock ticked noon, he called Martin Shaw.

“Martin Shaw’s office.” The receptionist said.

“This is Alex Carlson. I’m running a bit late, but I’m on my way.”

“I’ll let Mr. Shaw know sir.”

“Thanks.” Alex said, as he hung up the phone.

Paying the cabbie but asking him to wait, she looked for something, anything that she could use to get Alex into the cab without making the wrong kind of scene. Spotting Karen’s sport bike, she hiked up her robes, and climbed on. It had been a long time since she had ridden one of these ‘iron horses’ as the humans tagged them, but it came flooding back as she magically hotwired the bike. It screamed to life just as Alex and Karen came out the front door.

“HEY! Get off my bike!” Karen screamed at her, as Amythyst dropped it into gear and launched the bike off the sidewalk on one wheel. Dropping the front wheel inbetween shifts, she glanced into the mirror, and saw Alex and Karen pile into her waiting taxi and give chase. Pulling the knit cap down tighter onto her head, she raced through alleys and side streets, coming upon the back pads of the star port.

Using his barely touched hand-COM, Alex called Martin Shaw’s office.

“Mr. Shaw’s Office.”

“This is Alex Carlson, can I speak to Mr. Shaw?”

“One moment please.” He heard a few clicks, then an older man’s voice.

“Martin Shaw here.”

“Mr. Shaw, Alex Carlson. I’m afraid I won’t be making our meeting today. Can you tell me what it was my Uncle left me besides a ship?”

“That’s it, just the ship.”

“Keep it or scrap it. I don’t want or need a Commercant. The merchantman’s life isn’t for me. There’s a whole galaxy out there to explore, and I’m well off enough to be able to just go and find my place in it. Take care sir.”

“Good luck to you sir, and take care as well.”

Hanging up the phone, he realized he never told Alex about the slave girl on board, but figured the breakers would find her and turn her over to the proper authorities.

“Helga! Contact Charlie at Star Port Maintenance, tell him the ship on pad-14 is a wreck and to scrap it for parts.”

“Yessir, I have him on the phone now. He asks where you want the slave on board sent.”

“Turn her over to port security. Their responsibility now.”

“Yessir! Got all that Charlie? Ok, g’day!”

As hammers and other demo equipment began working on dismantling the ‘Barnard’s Star’, Cygna awoke. Moving to the cabin door, she peeked out, only to see 4 burly construction workers heading for her cabin. Gasping, she closed and locked the door. Teleporting first to main engineering, she nearly landed on two workers as they were dismantling the main reactor. Before they could say a word, both were unconscious at her feet.

<MISTRESS!!> She called out mentally.

<Yes little one, what’s wrong?>

<There are strange men here! They look to be taking the ship apart!>

<WHAT!? Barnard assured us his son would accept that vessel. Hide, hide wherever you can!>

Teleporting all over the ship, Cygna soon realized it was hopeless. Everywhere she went, more of the men in ‘Port Maint’ jumpsuits were everywhere! Finally, with no place left to hide, she concentrated hard, hoping she was indeed as powerful as everyone predicted, and teleported home to Marrok.

She arrived in Ashia’s temple, atop the pillows behind the altar, her head pounding and blood running from both of her nostrils.

<Cygna! NO! Why, why did you come here!?>

<I’m sorry Mistress, I had no place left to hide!>

<Don’t you understand? You have no idea what you’ve done! Without that ship or you a board, the ‘Chosen One’ has no way of finding us!> Ashia screamed at her. Sinking into the pillows, Cygna pulled her knees to her chest and quietly wept, as Ashia did also.

“Damn man! This chick can ride!” The cabbie said, as he slid his cab through a 90 degree turn at nearly 50mph.

“Get closer, maybe I can shoot out her tires!” Alex yelled over the screaming engine. The cabbie nodded, flooring the accelerator, as Alex pulled out one of the hand cannons his father had given him, rolling down the back window, and leaning out, taking a careful aim...

Amy sensed something was wrong, but she was too close to her ship, a modified Garshan scout ship, externally resembling a ‘Perry’ class escort. She could see it sitting on the pad not a quarter mile away, when the first gunshot spranged a bullet off the frame behind and below her seat.

“Shit! He’s shooting at me! Ok, no more Miss Nice Mage!” She cursed, slamming on the back brake, skidding the bike hard to the left, T-stopping it not 4 car lengths in front of the cab. Facing the cab, she sheeped everyone inside! The car, no longer controlled, slammed into the star port security fence, launched skyward and flew over her prone position, landing with a crunching thud on it’s rightside, then rolling over onto it’s roof. It slid to a stop a few feet further along, as sirens could be heard in the distance. Moving quickly, she attached ID tags to the two sheep recovering their wits in the backseat, activated her COM, and both sheep and herself vanished in transport beams...

Knocking them both out with a simple sleep spell, She shackled them together in one of the spare cabins, then moved to the bridge. Within minutes, and without clearance, her small ship was winging it’s way skyward, and despite the patrol ships giving chase, her ship simply faded from view upon reaching orbit.

“Roger that Control, it just vanished, like it had some kind of ECM shield. Disappeared from my sight as well as my scope.”

“Understood Foxtrot 2. RTB. It disappeared from our scopes as well. RTB.”

“Foxtrot 2 roger and out.”

Setting the auto pilot to place them in orbit of Jupiter, Amy shed her robes and took a long hot shower. Checking herself for injury, and finding none, she moved from her shower and ran right into a thoroughly displeased Alex!

“AHHH!” She screamed, first at the surprise of him being free, and the other at her being naked. But before she could sheep him again, he slugged her! She collapsed at his feet, knocked out cold.

“Alex? You ok?” Karen asked from the doorway.

“Yeah, I’m good. Damn, she’s gorgeous! But, check out the ears. Must be a sci fi junkie. What was that show we watched as kids, Star Trek?” He asked.

“Yeah, Star Trek. What is she, a Vulcan? No, wait, their ears were simply pointy. Her’s are almost a foot long! She looks like a Blood Elf from WoW!” She said, moving around her as Alex lifted her and placed her on her bed. Not wanting to seem like a pervert, but his other head sending mixed signals, he gave her a medic’s examination. Two breasts, C cups from his best guess, since Karen was a B and Amy was clearly larger in that regard. Slender, athletic figure, small, yet round behind, with an anus and a vagina in the same places as a human female, the latter shrouded in a dense scarlet jungle of hair that matched the hair on her head in color if not in texture.

“Ok, that’s enough voyeurism for me.” He said, pulling a blanket atop her.

“Should we tie her up?”

“Nah. I think if she was here to kill me or us, she would have done it by now.”

“Well, there was that moment when we were all wooly. I know real magic exists, I just never figured I’d meet a real mage.” She said, looking at the way Alex was studying Amy.

“You want to have sex with her, don’t you?”

“Yep.”

“So, have at it then, why wait for her to wake up?”

“Because rape isn’t my thing Karen. Every woman that comes to my bed, comes willingly. I’ve never forced myself on anyone.”

Amy awoke at about that moment, heard what Alex said, and sighed happily.

“Ok, ok, I promise, no more sheeping.” She said with a happy sigh, looking at the two of them.

“Oh, you’re awake! Good. Who the hell are you lady!?” Karen shouted at her.

“My name is Amythyst, though you may know me by another name, Mattie.”

Karen’s eyes nearly bugged out of her skull, as Amy slipped into the voice of their butler’s helper.

“One helluva disguise kit, if you really were Mattie. You don’t look a day over 21.” Alex said, sitting beside her on the bed. She shied away only slightly.

“Ok, all my brother wants is to have his way with you, and judging by the look in those bright green eyes of yours, you’re about to give up your virginity to him. This broke the tension, both hostile and sexual, all at once.

“Virginity? OH! My purity?” Amy asked, and the read Alex was getting on her face told him she didn’t have a clue. He chuckled.

“Have you ever had sex, you know, this part of me going into that part of you.” He explained, pointing at his waist and then at hers. Her eyes went wide.

“Have I ever coupled! We call it coupling where I’m from, and no, I’ve never coupled before.”

He leaned down and kissed her tenderly, her arms going around his neck a few seconds into the kiss. All Karen could manage was a shocked stare, wishing she could trade places with Amy. After breaking off the kiss, he pulling her free of the blanket, it dropping to her waist, exposing her breasts and the erect nipples on them. She was lost in his eyes however.

“So, what are you Amy, since you’re obviously not human.” He asked. Breaking off from his gaze, she looked away, trying to get a grip on her raging emotions and hormones. Karen sat on the other side of her bed, looking at her face as she wrestled with orders versus her own needs.

“My people are called Galhadians. We’re pretty much responsible for, well, everything in this area of space. Center, as you call it, was made by us. Well, made by your sister, Lorelei.”

“My sister?” Alex asked, startled. Karen was equally stunned.

“You have a sister, Barnard and Claudia are your real parents. You didn’t know this already? Klaus said you saw James’ will.”

“Yes, I saw it, but it didn’t mention a sister. Hear that Karen, I have actual blood relations!” He said happily, hugging Amy tightly. She coughed then coo’ed in his embrace. Lifting her chin after she sighed, pulling her into another long kiss.

“OK! I get it, I’ll go someplace so the two of you can get it out of your system!” She said, storming out in a huff.

“You do know she’s known about the not related thing for a while, and she has a huge desire to be your lover, Alex.”

“I know, but all things in time. I’d rather she found someone her age, who will love her for who she is, and not just use her for sex.”

“Am I about to get used in that way?” She asked, a demure little smile crossing her face. Shedding his clothes in record time, he was under the blanket and atop her in seconds. She gasped quite loudly as he mounted her, her not entirely ready for the girth of his manhood...

A few hours later...

“Wow! I used to spy on you when you were with Maggie, and I have to say, you really do know how to ‘rock someone’s world’, is that it?” Amy said as she snuggled against his chest. His mind was elsewhere however.

“Yes. Amythyst? Are you eternal?”

“Yes.”

“How old are you really?” He asked, as she stared at him wide-eyed.

“Well, I’m not a human woman, or I should be offended you’d ask that, but ok. Good thing you’re sitting, well, lying down.” She said with a small giggle.

“Ok, and?” He pushed. She looked into his eyes, two ice blue orbs that seemed to look through her soul. She shivered once, pulling the blanket back over her shoulders.

“When I was birthed, the people you call ‘Egyptians’ ruled all.” She said, comparing the year of her birth with the human calendar. He blinked.

“That makes you almost 4000 years old! I have to say, you look great considering.” He finished, kissing her again. She smiled then returned his kiss, rising up and remounting him.

They made love some more, he teaching her this position and that, showing her how to give oral while giving her a thorough tongue lashing. Despite her slight stature, she was incredibly flexible and surprisingly durable. (He fell ontop of her when one position didn’t quite math out well, considering her short height. She was winded but came back for more all the same.)

“Now, all we need are some big balloons, and this would be loads more fun.” He said with a smile. She looked confused.

“Balloons? OH! Those giant spheres decorating Karen’s room as of the time before you left for military service, correct?” He nodded.

“You can do what we did ontop of them? And do they come that way?”

“Well, we can if the balloon is big enough. As for the way they start out, no, you have to blow them up first. Get us to Center, and I’ll get a bunch. Besides, I need to go to Center anyway. I need to check my accounts, and make a contract with GSE to have a ship built.”

“Is there something wrong with my ship?” She asked, looking surprised that he would be able to get better then her ship.

“Too small. It’s a scout type vessel correct?”

“Well, yes, but it’s far more powerful then anything in the entirety of the Terran Military. My shields alone make the ones on that ‘Dakota’ class seem downright flimsy by comparison.” She boasted proudly.

“Oh really?” He challenged. “How many kilo-joules are they rated at?” He asked, and afterward she nearly fell off the bed, she was laughing so hard.

“HAHAHAHA! Kilo-joules! HAHAHAHA!” She laughed, he catching her, and pulling her into a hug. She coo’ed in his embrace, giggling some more at his assertion about her shields.

“Alex, what part of what I said did you miss? My race BUILT Center! Well, actually, you’re sister Lorelei built it and the last class of battleships ever to leave a Galhadian shipyard.”

“Ok, let me ask you this, you say my sister built Center, or at least had a hand in building it. Where is she now? I assume she’s eternal, like us, and scientists don’t tend to get involved with wars. Is she on Center?” He asked.

Amy thought long and hard about this. She was telling him far too much information, more then he was able to comprehend if he actually stopped to think about it. Still, she’s been in love with him for years, so, helping him make a family connection would logically go a long way toward helping him retain his sanity, considering all she had to teach him.

“Yes. She’s the computer that runs the sphere. If I remember correctly from the last time I was there, before I came to Earth, she keeps her body in stasis, taking it out whenever she needs to do something ‘hands on’ a board.” He sat back stunned!

“Please Amythyst, take us to Center! I need to see her. I need to know I’m not alone out here.” He pleaded with her. She hugged him tightly.

“Dearest Alexander, you will never be alone out ‘here’. You have me and Karen, and soon, Lorelei. Who knows how many friends you’ve yet to make? You have the gene, and unless you do anything more reckless than the ‘Ambush at Alphenshore’, you’ll live a good long time.” She said, hugging him gently, kissing his chest at the end. He lifted her head, kissing her very passionately, so much so, he locked her feelings for him forever.

She would love him, live for him, and even die for him, if he asked, for the rest of her life...

Getting her wits back, she looked up into his eyes. All she saw was love, but with an underlying need for something. She concluded it to be completeness. He yearned to find a connection, since James and Rebecca weren’t really his parents, nor was Karen his actual sister. As she once yearned for a sister or brother, he too needed to find someone.

“Mega-joules. 25,000 Mega-Joules. That’s my shield strength. NOTHING in the Terran military inventory can scratch this ship, not even the fusion torpedoes. They’ll make a nice flash, and I’ll admit, my shields will be reduced a bit, but honestly, no. There’s nothing Tiberius the Bastard has that can hurt us.” She finished, quite proudly. He sat there, trying to do the sheer math, since even the mighty ‘Nimitz’ class he served on only had a 10,000 Kilo-Joule shield generator. Sighing, he set it aside as something he’d need to learn later.

“One other thing, how did you turn us into sheep? You’re an actual mage, and not the charlatans Karen and I used to see at fairs?” Again, all she did was giggle.

“Everything in good time my love. I promise, I won’t hold anything back.”

She said with a hug and a smile. Dressing, she bade him to do likewise, though after her arm passed her nose, she immediately shed her robes, dropping them into a slot in the wall. The wall seemed to hum for a moment, and her robes, pants and blouse appeared out of a slide panel in the wall, folded neatly and smelling freshly laundered. He was wide eyed to say the least.

“That right there is a handy device. Where do we get showered?” He asked, catching his own musky scent, she grabbing his hand and leading him into a small room with a basin, a toilet and a form of shower. Pulling him into the shower, lukewarm water pulsed over the two of them, she taking full advantage and he responding to her needs. An hour later, they were toweling off, trying not to get wrapped back up in each other again. As she dressed, he figured it was time to get serious, since as an eternal, they’d have tons of time for more fun...

After dressing, he followed her to a cabin across the hall from hers. In it was Karen, reading a computer terminal. She was naked as the day she was born, and all Alex could do was stare. When she turned to face him, he manned up, and didn’t turn away. She stood, walked over to the two of them, hugging Amythyst tightly, whispering into her ear something that made Amy’s eyebrows shoot way up, then stepped in front of Alex.

“Despite how you feel about me Alex, I love you in every way imaginable. I know I’m not eternal, but if you’ll have me, I swear, I’ll never leave your side, from now until my dying day.” She declared, as a tear rolled down her cheek. He pulled her into a hug and lifted her chin, kissing her softly yet lovingly, exploring her mouth with his tongue as she explored his...

Several hours later, and another run through the shower...

“Ok, so, does this ship fly like our ships? Stick and throttle?” He asked, looking across the two seat bridge at Amy. She smiled. Karen sat behind them on one of the two jump seats. Her shorts and t-shirt smelled of wildflowers in spring, so overpowering was the scent, it nearly made Alex’s eyes water.

“Why did you launder your clothes twice Karen?” He asked, as even Amy was trying not to gag.

“Sorry, should I just sit here naked?” She asked teasingly. He chuckled, considering her awesome curves.

“Sure, but if you’re gonna be naked, you have to be naked also Amy.” He said jokingly, but Amy shed her robes and such in nothing flat, her love for him so complete, she’d obey any request, regardless of how weird it may sound. Karen was likewise sans clothes in nothing flat, moving over to his chair, and kissing him softly. He returned it.

“Ok you, go back to your quarters. I need you to study astrogation and sensor ops. You’ll need to have a useful shipboard skill set, ok?” He told her. She nodded, moving over to kiss Amy, who returned it in such a fashion, Alex needed to re-adjust his jeans.

“DAMN! You two keep that up and we’ll never get to Center!” He said jokingly. They broke off the kiss, Karen whispering something into Amy’s ear, her nodding with a big smile afterward. She then went back to her quarters, grabbing her clothes on the way.

“Ok, I’m curious, what did she say?”

“She told me to get ready for balloon sex, since it’s your favorite type of sex. I told her as soon as we got a few, I’d program them into the computer’s replication system so we never run out.”

“Replication system?” He asked. She sighed.

“When we get to Center, I’ll have Lorelei re-educate you. Otherwise, trying to teach you our tech will take way too long.” She said, as she programmed in Center’s coordinates, and activated her ship’s Fold engine.

A bout of nausea ripped through Alex, and it was a fight to keep his previous meal down. Once the moment of bile in his throat passed, he looked forward through the view screen. Unlike other ships he’d served aboard, her view screen literally was a window, with a HUD style of control and sensor images super-imposed over it.

“Nice HUD. Need me to do anything?”

“No lover, we’ll be in Center’s range in seconds.” His eyes widened to their limits! Looking up through the window above him, hung Center!

“Holy frack! How the hell?!” She was giggling again however.

“Yes, yes, I know. Center is about 100 parsecs from Earth.”

“138 to be exact! It takes a MILITARY hyper drive 6 skips to get here!”

“Lucky for us, I don’t have a hyper drive.” She said with a grin.

“Oh? So how did we get here?” He asked, looking at her with what had to pass for surprise. She smiled lovingly to him. He broke out in a grin as Center tractored them into a docking bay. All around them, before she could answer, they heard, ‘Welcome back Operative Amythyst. I assume you are rotating back home now?’

“No Lorelei, I have someone here to meet you.”

“Amythyst! You know I don’t use that name anymore. Twenty One Twelve, or just Twelve if you must.” She said, berating the small mage. She giggled however.

“Lorelei, I have your brother Alex with me.” She said finally. There was a long pause, and Alex felt tingly all over, as his view of the bridge was replaced with a control room more complex then even the airboss’ station back a board the ‘Kitty Hawk’, his last duty posting. A small girl, roughly Amy’s age, came running from a back room. She stood about 5′ tall, with elven features, much like Amy’s. Scarlet hair framed her face in such a way as to make her even more beautiful in person, as opposed to the hologram everyone saw whenever they asked ‘Center’ a question. Her gray-green eyes seemed to shine with absolute authority as she looked Alex up and down. He knelt in front of her, his knees no longer able or willing to hold him up. They locked into an embrace a second later, both crying against the other.

“I have a sister.” He kept repeating as he held onto her tightly, her shushing him and kissing the side of his head. Amy moved over to a control panel, pulled up a listing of all the available classes in the library computer, checked what stores would be available to build each class, then ruled out any that the station didn’t have resources to build. It ruled out only one design, a ship even Amy concluded was much too big for a crew of 5.

Looking back to Alex and Lorelei found them sitting cross-legged on the floor swapping life stories.

“Hey! We have all eternity for that stuff! Lorelei, he needs to learn everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING!” She ordered, and since among the Galhadian science community, Amy out-ranked her, she kissed his cheek, grabbed his hand, and practically drug him to a room in the far wall behind Amy. Parking him in a very comfortable chair, she slipped a band of silver metal around his head, handed him a small pink cube, and told him to chew.

“Looks like bubblegum.” He said. She nodded.

“It’s this new stuff that was released about 2 years ago. It’s finally hitting it’s stride. The company that makes it is having a tough time keeping up with demand, and it’s only going to get worse once they free the animal men that need it. Tigresses I think they said.” She finished as he chewed the strawberry sweet. It was bubble ready in seconds as she explained.

“Animal men? Tigresses?” He asked, looking and sounding confused, but the only answer he got was welcoming and total blackness. Amy came in, pulled up a chair, and held his hand as he twitched and writhed in the chair.

“Well, you did say EVERYTHING. So, I started him off with our history.” She said, as Amy opened his mouth, fished out the gum so he didn’t choke on it, and popped the sweet treat into her mouth. Lorelei blanched.

“What? We’re a couple, if you didn’t know.” Lorelei was stunned to say the least.

“You gave him your purity?! Well, that’s a shocker. I never thought you’d find anyone.” Amy smiled, chewing intently. Thinking back on how Karen did this just a few years ago, she pursed her lips, pushing a nub of gum out on her tongue and blowing softly. She was rewarded with a small pink bubble. Lorelei smiled.

“You’re a member of the Arcanist Council, right?” Amy nodded, drawing in another breath through her nose, and blowing more air into her now 10 inch sphere. It swelled to almost 18 inches.

“That will be a huge bubble then. According to the president of the company, anyone able to work with mana, like you, and the bubbles never pop, short of being sliced by a blade, and just keep getting bigger, even with one piece.” She finished, as Amy blew even more air into her now 2 foot around bubble.

She only blew harder.

Within an hour, Lorelei was holding her 12 foot tall sphere off of various control panels as the edu-system beeped. Alex slowly regained consciousness, and upon seeing his new girlfriend pinned to her chair by what had to be a weather balloon, he leaned over and scratched her belly. She jumped, but kept puffing. Lorelei, tired of holding up this damn bubble, and sensing that Alex was awake, grabbed two small handfuls of gum, and ripped.

“POP!” Went the mighty sphere, the two hemispheres of gum collapsing onto the floor, where small robots came shooting out of spaces in the walls and cleaned up the mess. Amy looked sad and pouted.

“Damn, that was a bubble!?” Alex exclaimed, scooping Amy out of her chair, hugging her tightly.

“Yes Alex. It’s called Magi-Bubble and it’s made here on Center. Now, go to that console behind you and find a ship suitable to your liking. If I have the stores aboard, I’ll have it built. But, can you tell me the input variances for a total conversion unit with an output of 21.5 gigawatts?”

“Yeah, it’s 5 ounces per hour cubed to the fourth. Why?” He asked, and was wide eyed by his response.

“How the hell did I know that?!” He asked as both girls were a mess of giggles.

“Well, he’s still sane, considering. Usually a primitive mind needs lots of breaks to learn as much as we forced on you. But, we both wanted you to know everything, so you’d be better prepared for the rest of your life.” Amy said as he set her down. She did smell great, like wild strawberries.

“Well, remind me to get more of that gum before we leave.”

“I will lover. I think it would be better then balloons, since my research of them finds them just a bit fragile for something like sex.”

“That’s what makes them so much fun. The fear of it popping only heightens the level of climax. I cum so hard ontop of them, well, I mean I did whenever Maggie and I did it. Maybe we will too.” He said with a grin to her. Lorelei simply walked back to her room behind the control room.

“Call me when you need me Brother. My place is here. Center runs very smoothly when I’m here to supervise. I know I want to come with you, and you want me to come with, but, too many people rely on this place, so my place is here.”

“I understand sister. Let me look through these designs. I may have a few ideas of my own, is that ok?”

“Completely. Be good to him Amythyst, I’ll see you both when you return.” And with that she was gone. Alex sat down and began studying the designs Amy had pulled up, her sitting on his lap.

“We need to get Karen up here, to train her as well.” But Amy shook her head.

“I set up an account here for her. She’ll live here in White Sector. We need a point of contact here we can trust, and she fits the bill for the time being. I explained this to her already, and while she was sad initially, she understands.”

“Had a few coins did you? To set her up I mean?”

“The banking system here is electronic. Besides, Lorelei will cover anything she needs or buys. She’s undergoing her own re-education process. Once completed, she’ll be in a position to take the money we give her, reinvest it and make us all a sizable fortune within a few years.”

“You do know, I am just a bit loaded right?”

“1.5 Billion credits, give or take a few million, correct?” He blinked.

“Yeah, that’s about right. So, what are we doing with all of this money?”

“Well, initially we’ll need it to fund the construction of a dozen of that freighter on page 3. Your people call it a ‘Spiro’. Then, we’ll build a half million robo-miners, load them onto the freighters, and send them 256 parsecs toward the core. There are three star systems there with several mineral rich asteroid belts. We need to mine them to their limits, and ship those minerals back to my home. We are technology and information rich, but resource poor.”

“Ahh yes, the civil war. We processing this into a war fleet to take care of the Garshans and Vor’Gosh should they decide to turn on us?” He asked as she smiled.

“Yes Alex, now you are my equal. Well, not entirely, but the magic side will come in time. As a raw talent, it takes time to develop.” She added, hugging him tightly. She then found herself on all fours baying up at him!

“Silly little sheep, EVERYTHING was taught to me, including how to access and tap mana. Besides, practice makes perfect.” He said to her sheeped form, as she reverted back to herself, looking up at him with absolute love yet total surprise.

“You...You sheeped me! Oh my word, ohhh!” She coo’ed, hugging him tightly. He returned her hug.

“Come on, I have a ship in mind, and as soon as I finalize the design, I’ll submit it to Lorelei. Let’s go to Omar’s, find us some good crew. Then we’ll get some clothes, balloons, and a couple pallets of Magi-Bubble.” He said with a smile. She grinned like a fool up at him as they walked out, and headed first for Brown Sector.