Chapter 10
“I’m impressed.” Admiral Lumbardon said as he set his cup of tea down on the conference table and smiled at Garret who was sitting across from him. The primary conference room, located just a few short passageways from the bridge was where Garret had just finished holding another staff meeting with his senior officers and their assistants.
When they’d left Lemos, they had been nearly twenty hours behind scheduled, but they’d managed to pull into Obduros orbit nearly an hour ahead of schedule. That run had put a lot of stress on the engines, moving at maximum thrust for the entire time it took them to get up to jump speed. Then they’d jumped as soon as they reached minimum speed. Their jump had also been further than the jumps on the way to Lemos. Adamant had enough power for full-range jumps, and they’d made maximum use of that ability, jumping out of the normal trade lanes, established for civilian ships that usually had a lot less power than military ships.
BGL’s military contracts were secure so far, with their having met the scheduled drop-off and pick-up times. Now their cargo hold was full once again and their passenger cabins were also full with several last minute bookings. The bad news was that because of the successive jumps, they’d not had time to use their wave-fold guides to transmit and receive information from the entertainment and news networks, as well as personal mail for the crew, or business messages from Marjaan in the corporate office. It took too long to download all the information and Garret had been more interested in getting to their destination on time than being current on the news.
Obduros had an accelerator in orbit, and they’d been shot through to jump speed almost immediately on leaving Obduros orbit. Now they were cruising along at just over half light-speed, receiving and transmitting information as fast as their communications system could handle the load. Garret had held his staff meeting to catch up on their material condition for the week-long run to Shinawa. Their abused engines would get a fair rest with their normal acceleration speeds, and O’Malley was actually looking to get some extensive maintenance done on them.
Their R’Kellan entertainment troupe had prepared a new stage play from an old-Earth fairy tale, and would be performing it for the first time tonight. Admiral Lumbardon and his wife would be Garret’s guest in the special Captain’s box that was part of the decent-sized theater in the middle of the ship. The theater had once been the assembly-hall for troops preparing to drop onto a hostile planet, and could hold most of their passengers without a problem.
“Thank you, Admiral.” Garret replied after taking a sip of his own tea. “The compliment means a lot coming from you.”
“You run your ship and its crew very well.” Lumbardon said with a nod of his head. He was dressed today in a pair of denim jeans and a green, long-sleeved tunic of supple levvin. “Your spa has kept my wife so busy that she hasn’t had a chance to complain about one thing yet and for her, that’s a miracle.”
“I’m glad she’s enjoying herself.” Garret responded. Mrs. Lumbardon was quite a conundrum he’d learned on the first leg of this journey. She was extremely polite to everyone, except her husband. While they often could be heard arguing in private, the two of them put on a loving face in public, and while it seemed they had lots of issues between them, it also appeared that they really did love each other.
“So am I.” The Admiral chuckled. “Seriously though, I’m amazed by how well integrated your crew is between True Borns and clones. You’ve got True Borns answering to clones in some of your departments, and I can’t see any bit of resentment from the True Borns, nor do I see any of the clones in superior positions misusing their authority over True Borns. Neither do I see any hesitation from the clones in exerting their authority when it’s needed. They’re still properly deferential, but they get their orders carried out. All of them are also fiercely loyal to you as an individual. You know that don’t you?”
“Yes.” Garret admitted, barely suppressing the blush on his cheeks. He’d had several conversations with the Admiral already, but they’d all been focused on military and political developments. “Admiral, you know the military cutbacks have caused a lot of anxiety and concern from those who thought they’d be able to serve all their lives. For the clones, well, their duties on this ship are designed to be somewhat similar to what they did in the military. That gives them the comfort of the familiar, while settling their concerns about being shipped off for terraforming on some proto-colony where they’d be doing who knows what type of work.
“As for the True Borns,” Garret continued. “We’ve discussed the high unemployment rates. Most of my True Born crew was looking at having to be re-trained for planet-bound lives when they’d really rather be among the stars. Most of them are young, without families, and didn’t want a planet-bound life. They view this ship and their jobs here as a rescue from that, and if it means they have to put up with a clone telling them what to do, that’s a small price to pay.
“I had figured out most of that on my own.” Lumbardon said with a smile. “You know most commanders would kill for loyalty like that, and those seeking to take over the military would kill you for having loyalty of that caliber. They’d see it as a threat, especially with your ship being so heavily armed. Luckily for you there’s not really anything they can do to strip that from you or your ship, unless you’re convicted of a capital crime.”
“True.” Garret agreed with a furtive smile. It had been Lumbardon who’d made that possible with his military commissioning, or at least the Admiral had contributed to making that happen.
“Captain, you know that if I’m right about the direction things are going, you’ll end up in the middle of the conflict, don’t you?” Lumbardon asked and Garret frowned before nodding his head.
“I don’t understand why exactly, but yes I’m beginning to realize that.” Garret admitted and Lumbardon gave him a fond smile.
“You’re the heir to a Great House, even if it’s not widely known yet.” Lumbardon told him softly and Garret’s head jerked involuntarily. He’d known that, deep down, but hearing it said aloud was something different. “It is illegal to make a replacement clone like you, but the laws still stand that a replacement clone can inherit. You’re fertile, you’re of age, you meet all the other requirements, so there’s no real opposition anyone can make to you claiming your seat in the Deliberatorium. Those I believe that are trying to shift the balance of power in the Republic don’t quite have a majority yet, and your taking the Atrix speakership would put them further behind. The only thing preventing you from making that claim as soon as you return to Peladon is that Timat did break the law, and is being tried in secret. His reduced sentence will likely be contingent on it remaining secret, which will mean you can’t claim the seat yet.”
“But when he dies of old age, the claim would still be valid.” Garret supplied and the older man nodded. “The only thing is… well, I have no interest in marrying a woman and having children with her.”
“Son, that should be the least of your concerns.” Lumbardon chuckled. “There are millions of women that won’t have a problem marrying you knowing you’re not interested in a traditional wife. They’ll bear you children, conceived by artificial insemination, and live their entire lives in luxury based on your huge accounts. Last I saw, about a year ago, House Atrix had nearly thirty billion in cash reserves from their continued revenue based on cloning technologies.”
“I just don’t like the idea of… marrying without a real desire for the person I’m marrying.” Garret sighed. “Marriage in the Republic is forever, with divorce almost impossible.”
“I know that very well.” Lumbardon frowned. “My own marriage isn’t quite like yours would be because I’m not from a Great House, but my wife married me in part because I was going to be a career officer. She’d be able to live in relative luxury and not have to deal with me being around all the time. My retirement has her scared, but hopefully this position with House Ito will take care of that. I’ll spend more time on Peladon and she’ll get to enjoy Shinawa.”
“I’ve heard Shinawa is a very comfortable planet.” Garret said with a smile that quickly turned into a frown.
You need to see these right away. Ada’s message was terse and Garret gave a silent assent while holding up a hand for the Admiral. The holo-viewer shimmered into life in the middle of the conference table and both of them turned to watch the recorded news transmission. A time/date stamp above it showed that it was three hours old.
“Preliminary information is still sketchy, but Republic-Wide-Networks is now able to confirm that Fleet Admiral Milo Richardson has indeed perished in a tragic accident aboard the soon-to-be-decommissioned battleship Andover.” The older male newscaster said with an excited tremble in his voice.
“Oh, gods, Milo, no.” Lumbardon breathed softly and Garret glanced at him to see tears in his eyes. Milo Richardson had been a year-mate of Lumbardon at the Academy.
“Admiral Richardson’s distinguished career included the successful campaigns of Melos and Androsia, as well as the Long Spear advance into Earth territory that is credited with helping to bring the war to an end.” The newscaster continued steadily. “Richardson was a graduate of the famed Colonial Elite Forces Academy, and has been widely credited with drawing down the armed forces following the end of the Great War without seriously neglecting the protection of the Republic’s citizens.
“The Admiral was attending the decommissioning ceremony of the Andover, the first ship he commanded, with most of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is unclear at this time how many have survived. Defense Headquarters has issued a statement from Banner General Abraham Leonev who has assumed temporary command of all Armed Forces until the Deliberatorium has an opportunity to confirm a replacement…”
“Bridge to Captain.” The ship’s intercom blared and Garret paused the recorded announcement with the push of a button.
“Go ahead.” Garret said tersely.
“Sir, we are receiving a live transmission from Shinawa.” Petty Officer Markal’s voice was slightly elevated, an example of his excitement. “It is Speaker Ito of House Ito for Admiral Lumbardon. I mentioned the Admiral was in conference with you and he requested to speak with both of you directly.”
“Patch him through on a private channel, Mr. Markal.” Garret ordered when Admiral Lumbardon nodded at him. The older man had a look of deep concern on his face, something Garret shared at that moment.
“Aye aye, sir.” Markal said before the comm line clicked off. The holo image changed from the paused form of the news broadcast and resolved into a crystal clear image of Speaker Ito. Toshiro Ito was tall for a man of his Japanese descent, but still below six feet tall, although that was difficult to tell from the holo image. He was dressed in a traditional robe of dark colors with white swans decorating it all over.
Shinawa was a planet steeped in the traditions of its mostly-Asian colonists. House Ito represented the largest ethnic group, the Japanese, and was one of the oldest and richest Houses in the Republic.
“Speaker Ito, it is a pleasure to speak with you.” Garret said formally, bowing his head slightly. Admiral Lumbardon matched the gesture but remained silent. Protocol dictated that the commander of the ship speak before a retired flag officer.
“As always, it is a pleasure to speak with you directly, Captain Garret Atrix Lars.” Ito said with a bow of his head. His words caused Garret’s stomach to flip over, and he barely kept the groan from escaping his lips as Ito turned to face the Admiral. That was when Garret noticed there was no time delay on this transmission. Ito was using a comm relay very close to his planet, maybe even one freshly launched. Probes reached the necessary speeds fairly quickly. “Admiral, it is good to see you are doing well.”
“Your concern touches me greatly, Speaker.” Admiral Lumbardon said formally, bowing with his hand over his heart in a formal gesture of appreciation, subordinate to superior. “I am pleased to still be of service as an advisor to your great house.”
“I have great need of your service already, Admiral.” Ito said and he turned to give Garret a very concentrated look. “Captain Atrix-Lars, have you heard the news regarding the fleet?”
“Yes, Speaker, we were just listening to the broadcast.” Garret responded quickly.
“The funeral will be in six days, Peladon time.” Speaker Ito spoke clearly and concisely, his eyes never leaving Garret. “Can you provide transport there in time?”
The question sped Garret’s mind into overdrive as he calculated ship’s power for long-range jumping, acceleration capabilities, wear and tear, and a dozen other factors, but Ada was quicker than he was. She fed information into his brain through his implanted transmitter and he relaxed immediately.
“Speaker, we will need twelve hours to offload passenger and cargo before loading cargo we are contracted to carry to Peladon. During that time we’ll also need to conduct preventive maintenance on our main engines and reactors. For that we’ll need to be connected to station power. That was not in our original plans and so we did not request a docking berth so equipped.” Garret said clearly and concisely. “With that delay, we can dock with the primary government docks in orbit of Peladon exactly eighteen hours and twenty-three minutes before the funeral.
“Tokyo station will stand by to provide any and all assistance.” Speaker Ito said with a pleased look. “I have been asked by Speaker Laro Haxong and Speaker Shin Tsu Ma if you will be able to provide passage for them and their retinues.”
“I will make room, although I cannot guarantee them the best quarters.” Garret said after Ada gave him more needed information. There was never a problem with arriving early at a station, but leaving early could be very problematic. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about his early departure affecting his military contracts. The law specifically waived penalties for government emergencies, and conducting Speaker-level individuals to the State Funeral of a Fleet Admiral was one of the situations covered by the automatic waivers. “I will have to have my factor on Peladon contact our clients and passengers about our changed itinerary. We will be docking at Tokyo station in forty-three hours.”
“All expenses incurred by this change will be covered by House Ito.” The Speaker said sternly. “We will pay double rates for this expedited service.”
“Speaker, that is not…” Garret started to protest, but a subtle wave of Admiral Lumbardon’s hand silenced him. Instead he took a deep breath. “I thank you for your kindness and generosity, Speaker.”
“Kindness freely given is a pleasure to the giver.” Ito said formally with a short bow of his head. “I will see you in a little over forty-three hours.”
“In two days.” Garret responded with a bow of his head and the image winked out.
“Bridge, this is the Captain.” Garret called out and the communication line was opened by the computer. A thought flashed across Garret’s mind at that moment. He really had to see what he could do to get implant transmitters for his crew. They were so useful that it was like having one hand tied behind his back for his crew to not have them.
“Bridge, sir.” Commander Harrington’s voice answered and Garret almost sighed with relief at the readiness apparent in her voice. “Engineering is standing by for a change, sir.”
“Best speed to Shinawa.” Garret ordered. “We have forty-three hours to be docked with Tokyo station. Inform the loadmaster he has twelve hours after we are docked to handle cargo transfers. Inform Marna and Gary to have all passengers offloaded as quickly as possible and the cabins turned around for maximum occupancy. Transmit the changes in our itinerary to Marjaan and tell her to work with Gary and Marna on arranging passenger manifests. We’ve been asked to take on Speakers Haxong and Tsu Ma as well as their retinues. Have the three of them get it arranged. Make the jump as soon as Marjaan has been informed. We’ll hold the next jump until we are able to receive and acknowledge her replies.”
“Got it sir.” Harrington assured Garret who mentally signaled for the computer to close the channel.
“Accident my ass.” Lumbardon breathed, looking at the holo image on the table which was now showing a still image of Admiral Richardson giving a speech last year.
“I wonder.” Garret murmured aloud as he pressed a button and the image began to move, with the sound of an announcer discussing the late-Admiral’s lifetime of achievements.
Garret did wonder, as did a lot of other people as his ship’s announcing system came alive, and Commander Harrington informed the crew and passengers of the change in their itinerary, and informed them the ship would be jumping in thirty minutes.
“What do you wonder?” Admiral Lumbardon said fifteen minutes later as Garret switched off the news holo.
“Just something Speaker Ito said.” Garret shrugged it off, but Lumbardon was curious enough to push.
“Was it the name he used to greet you?” Lumbardon asked and Garret shuddered. “Ah, I see. Your brother and I discussed your father’s trial. It must be over by now, and I know it was to be kept secret.”
“But if Speaker Ito knew about it…” Garret’s voice drifted off and the Admiral nodded. Speaker Ito was a senior member of the Deliberatorium, so it would not be unusual for him to know about it, especially with the possible impact on the claim for House Atrix. What was troubling was his public acknowledgement of Garret’s possible claim to House Atrix.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to discuss it with him in two day’s time.” Lumbardon said softly. “Something else you should think about is that we know damn well that the Fleet Admiral’s death was no accident, not when you put the attack on your brother’s ship, and all the other things together. You’re going to have three of the most prominent anti-democracy Speakers on your ship, as well as yours truly who has already been the target of an assassination attempt.”
“We’ll be ready.” Garret assured the Admiral, standing as he spoke. “If you will excuse me sir, I have a lot to do before we arrive at Shinawa.”
“If you need any assistance or advice, please let me know.” Lumbardon said formally and Garret nodded before turning to leave the room. When he did, he was greeted with the sight of Marko Blashame’s departing gifts standing on either side of the doorway. That was enough for another sigh.
Their new choice of outfits was even worse than what they’d shown up wearing. Devin and Davin took their roles of bodyguards for a member of House Lars quite seriously. When Garret had suggested they change out of the outrageous old-fashioned knickers, tunic and vest combination, they’d asked him what he wanted them to wear. His suggestion of a ship’s uniform had been greeted with disdain, and he’d told them in frustration they could pick out what they wanted to wear.
That had been a big mistake.
They now wore tight-fitting white lomex singlets. The bottom of the singlet ended right above their kneecaps, and Garret was grateful that at least the top half of the singlet covered their entire torso and had short sleeves that ended a few inches below their shoulders. The singlets left nothing to the imagination though, showing off their well-muscled, and well-equipped bodies. Sure, they were 10 models, but they’d been designed to be more muscular than normal. Over their singlets they wore a silver harness that criss-crossed their chests and held several small pouches Garret knew were filled with weapons and other equipment they thought might be necessary to defend him. White and silver were the formal colors of House Lars, which was why they’d chosen outfits in those colors.
“Trouble, m’lord?” Davin, the one on his right asked. That was another habit. For the last two years they’d been trained to call the owner of their contract ‘My lord or m’lord.’ Garret hated that address, something extremely taboo in the Republic. Apparently it had been a special request of the Lemos Governor and Garret had yet to break them of the habit. Of course they’d only been with him for about a week now.
“After a fashion, but nothing immediately life-threatening.” Garret said, and for a moment he was almost happy they were there. If it came to hand-to-hand combat, these two were better than anyone else on his ship, something they had already proven ruthlessly in sparring matches with Gunder’s security group.
“We heard the announcement, milord.” Devin added. “Should we be alert for anything in particular?”
“I’ll give you both a full explanation later.” Garret said and headed off down the passageway. He made it to the bridge without being stopped again, and the two of them immediately took up their stations on either side of the bridge hatch. Harrington gave them a head-to-toe look as she regularly did, and sniffed in approval, knowing full well it grated on Garret’s nerves.
“We’re ready for the jump, Captain.” She said with a smile. “Marjaan received our message and indicated she’d have results for us before our next jump. All other transmissions are being sorted out now and should be ready within an hour of our jump.”
“Commander, no transmissions are to be sent except to Marjaan if they contain any information about our change in itinerary.” Garret ordered, taking the Admiral’s concerns seriously. “If any of our passengers need lodging or transport because of this, we will pay for that.”
“Sir?” She asked with a confused glance, but she was smart and her eyes showed her understanding as she nodded. “Aye aye, sir.”
“Mr. Markal, enter into your standing orders that all outbound transmissions are to be monitored for any references to our change in itinerary.” Garret ordered next, and was pleased once again that he’d gotten a crew use to military discipline. He doubted a civilian crew would have followed his orders without a dozen questions.
“Will do sir.” Markal replied.
“Mr. Westley, where are the jumps going to take us?” Garret asked. Sure, he could have gotten the information directly from the computer, but he enjoyed listening to Westley speak sometimes, and the man always was happy to talk about piloting.
“Sub-Lieutenant has us making a thirty-two light-year jump to the Lozar System on the border of Federation/Republic space.” Westley reported. “That area of space has almost no gravity well or matter to worry about, so we will be able to accelerate with less resistance and with less power needed for our magnetic shields to repel space debris. That will shave off nearly six hours on our acceleration curve. From there it will be a twenty-six light-year jump to Markoz followed by a fourteen light-year jump to Shinawa. Total distance is actually fifteen light-years greater, but we’ll be making jumps a lot further in distance and accelerating nearly three times as fast to jump speed. At the same time, we’ll be reducing stress on our sub-light engines by twenty-percent as compared to another course that is actually shorter in distance.”
“Excellent job, both of you.” Garret said, including Markna in his praise. Westley smiled and turned back to his console, and Garret found himself almost sighing. A noise from behind had him turning to look at the tactical station where Petty Officer Lukas, he of the well-muscled legs, was cursing under his breath. When he saw Garret watching him, the Petty Officer went quiet and started blushing. Apparently he’d managed to bang his knee as he sat down. Garret could see the red spot on the knee, just above the hem of the tight-fitting black shorts.
Whatever had possessed him to pick uniforms that were so tight and showed off the bodies of his crew so well? It was almost as bad as the uniforms of the twins, as he’d come to call Devin and Davin.
“Sir?” Harrington’s voice made Garret realize he was still staring at Lukas’s legs, and he almost did blush this time as he realized why. Damn Billy! This was his fault. Garret had never had a problem dealing with sexual tension before. He’d always just masturbated while thinking of Billy, but now that wasn’t possible. Every time he tried, he felt dirty, thinking of his engaged brother that way, especially since Billy had made it clear there would never again be sex between them.
“Yes, Commander?” Garret replied, tearing his eyes away from the black-haired 07 Model clone at the Tactical station.
“Sir, we’ve finished the downloads from the holonet.” Harrington reported and Garret nodded, sparing a glance at the back of the bridge. Sure enough, Davin and Devin had small hand-held pads out and were most likely reading through all of his messages, sorting them in priority of personal and business messages. They were far more efficient at administrative duties than Marna, and his Chief Steward had gladly handed over these duties to the pair of them, allowing her to concentrate more on ship entertainment functions. He’d received a report from Harrington that the change was a good one for everyone involved.
“Very well, prepare to jump.” Garret ordered. He preferred being on the bridge when the ship jumped, a nervous habit reinforced by the eventful jump into the Lemos system. It was another ten minutes before he gave the order.
“Sensors are clear.” Petty Officer Molena reported.
“Begin acceleration at maximum thrust.” Garret ordered and turned to give the conn over to Harrington.
“Sir, belay my last!” Molena nearly shouted. “Small contact at maximum sensor range!”
“There should be nothing out here!” Westley commented and Garret frowned. They were on the border of Federation space, in a fairly desolate sector. Who could be out here, and more importantly, how could they possibly be expecting him, if they were expecting him at all?
“Report.” Garret ordered Molena who was bent over her console.
“Sir, they’re moving off.” Molena reported. “They would have picked up our active scans. They’re barely in range for us to get a return bounce.”
“What’s their size?” Garret asked.
“It’s a small ship, sir.” Molena answered quickly. “Best guess is a courier or scout ship, and they’re definitely heading away from us at a very fast rate.”
“Can you get a lock on their engine signature?” Garret asked as something nagged at the back of his brain.
“Just a moment, sir.” Molena said as her fingers flew over the keys of her console. She let out a sound that sounded like a squelched hiccup. “Sir, it matches the signature of the courier ship that fled Lemos.”
“Keep an eye on them.” Garret ordered coldly. “Record everything, and try to do an analysis of their original flight track. Increase power to sensors up to maximum to keep an eye on them as long as possible. Mr. Westley, keep us on course for acceleration. We can’t afford the time to track them down.”
“Yes, sir.” Westley said as Molena gave an aye aye. Garret really wanted to chase the courier down. It held so many possible answers, but he couldn’t afford the time.
Life really sucked sometimes.
He could stay on the bridge for regular reports from Molena, but that would only lead to worse anxiety for him, and might result in him giving the wrong order. Instead, he decided to get caught up on his comms traffic. “Commander, you have the conn.”
“I have the conn, aye sir.” Harrington replied as Garret stood and left the bridge. The twins followed him, putting their pads away as he headed towards his cabin. His muscles were tense, and his patience short as he entered the cabin.
“What do you have for me?” He asked them as they entered his cabin and locked the door behind them. Both of them tensed slightly before looking at each other.
“With all due respect, my lord, you need to relax.” Devin said with a smile that would have melted Citeesium ore.
“I need…” Garret started to protest, but they moved so quickly he didn’t have time to react. Each of them lifted him by an arm and moved him into one of the rooms further back in his cabin. They’d obviously prepared for this, he saw, as they’d removed the conference table that he’d never really used and set up the room as a relaxation room, complete with masseuse table in the middle. Garret wanted to protest, but he couldn’t find it in him as they sat him on the table. Really, they were three years younger than he, but when they were like this, he had no desire to argue with them.
“Let me help you with this shirt, milord.” Davin said so softly Garret barely heard him. Davin had his shirt off so fast that Garret was wondering if he’d ripped it off. His t-shirt was next while Devin took off Garret’s boots and unbuckled his pants.
“No.” Garret protested but Devin chuckled.
“No protests my lord, this is for your own good.” Devin said as he pulled off Garret’s pants. Not even Garret’s boxer-briefs were safe, and before he realized it, he was nude in front of the two clones.
“Lay back, sir.” Davin said in a sultry voice, and Garret sighed before lying down on the massage table and twisting over so he was on his stomach. It was only a massage, and he’d both given and received many, many of those. The cabin room filled with the aromatic smell of oils being heated, and Garret had to admit that whichever one was giving him the massage was really good at the job.
So far, both Davin and Devin had proven to be very well trained at all the tasks set before them, and the Governor of Lemos had been an idiot for not taking them.
The two of them worked on him at the same time, one standing on each side of the massage table. They rubbed the oils into his back, tackling tight muscles together, and Garret found that he was soon drifting along in a haze of pleasure and pain as the muscles loosened. The oils left him tingling, and as the two clones moved further down, kneading his ass cheeks, the tingling increased, leaving him so hard down there that he wondered if they’d been using sarris in those oils.
Sarris came from a sea flower native to Melos. A month after the colony had been established on one of the larger islands, a patch of sarris flowers had bloomed, and the ocean winds had carried those blooms on land, where the people breathed them in to their bodies. For a week, the patch of flowers bloomed and the winds blew them onshore. During that week, the new colonists had rutted with each other, never caring about the gender of their partner what was performed, or the relationship they might have had, or not had. Nine months later, every woman on the planet gave birth, and in most cases no one knew who the father of a specific child had been.
That, Garret mused as the twins finished with his feet and rolled him over so that his hard cock stuck up into the air and they began working on his chest muscles, was what had sealed the fate of Melos as a vacation resort planet. It had also resulted in a society vastly different than any other in the Republic. Their citizens lived in mass communal homes, raised their children together, and were more open about sex and love than any other planet known to humanity. Besides tourism, the resin of sarris flowers was their major export item, selling for thousands of credits in the smallest of doses.
“Oh my.” Garrret murmured as something hot and warm covered his erect penis and his entire body shivered. He lifted his head to see Davin’s head buried in his crotch, and Devin lifting one of his feet, rubbing it firmly and sending even more waves of pleasure shooting through him. He wanted to protest, to remind them that he was meant for Billy, not for…
“No, milord, you need this.” Devin murmured softly and Garret was surprised to see tears with his plea. “Please, milord, don’t protest. We know about your brother. He’s made his choice, and now it’s time for you to move on. You need this my lord, and more, you deserve it. You’ve saved us, y’know. We would have been in that old coot’s service if it weren’t for you. Let us show you how much we appreciate this.”
“Mmmhhhmmm.” Davin murmured his agreement as he twirled his tongue around Garret’s cock, and Garret let out a loud moan of surrender and pleasure. It had been so long since he let himself enjoy something like this, and it was true, Billy was bound for another.
He never knew how loud his screams were, later, as he shot his load into Davin’s mouth. His entire body arched off the table, his feet jerked, and he panted heavily as the two personal servants lifted him gently before carrying him into his cabin. Garret deserved the afternoon nap, they thought, and they’d wake him in plenty of time for dinner and the play.
As with all my stories, E provides immeasurable input, grammar checking, and all those other lovely editing thingies that make the story so much better!
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