Stonerager Chronicles - Ch. 08 (Final) (Patreon)

Stonerager Chronicles

By 2Charlie

This is a science fiction series that happens to include occasional erotic scenes. If you have not yet read previous chapters of this series, I highly recommend going back to do so before you read this chapter.

All characters in this story are of the age of majority.

Chapter 08

The dinner on the Antares station was outstanding in its diversity, with a sampling of various cuisines available for the crew of the Odyssey to enjoy. The locals swore that Reginald’s was as good as - if not better than - any restaurant down planetside. Accompanying the dinner was a live orchestra, entertaining the diners with wonderful strains of music new and old alike, some of which was tantalizingly familiar, and much of which was entirely new.

The shopping was an interesting experience, as none of the women possessed any currency. Fortunately, Dutch had done a bit of preparatory research on the sly before they’d docked at the station and had prepared a transactional account with an existing balance of over one hundred thousand credits. It turns out that uncorrupted entertainment data from Old Earth was extremely rare and valuable on Rigellia if one knew the right buyers. Fortunately, Adjutant Horizon was able to direct Dutch to a buyer in the market for such data, and the contact had proven to be a windfall.

As such, when the women began to find little items of interest – along with a few not-so-little items – Dutch was able to step in and make payment for the items, much to his wives’ delight. In the end, each of the women managed to find a few trinkets or odd things they couldn’t possibly live without, as well as a few articles of clothing – especially of the more intimate variety - after which they’d all returned to their ship.

Dutch was exhausted after the day he’d had but still did the women the courtesy of sitting very attentively as they each ducked into the adjoining bathroom to change before coming back out to model their new outfits for him. He’d just made a mental note to have the droids combine this room with the adjacent cabin and convert half of it into closet space when the girls began modeling their more intimate attire.

His attention riveted on each of them as they struck provocative poses for him, he lost all track of time, mesmerized by the collection of beauty parading before him. Eventually, Pheebs stepped up to him and gently placed her fingertips under his bearded chin, pushing his mouth closed before she leaned in to kiss him.

Knowing that tomorrow was already upon them and that the day was going to be the first of many very busy days, the women decided to simply coax Dutch into their bed and cuddled up all around him, enjoining him in a much-needed slumber.

****Starship Odyssey, 0730, Day One of Crew Training****

Formality. It felt very strange aboard the Odyssey, but Dutch wanted to make a good impression. As such, a quarterdeck watch had been posted just inside the Starboard-side docking ring, with Service Droid 06 standing by alongside Jjan’tira as they awaited the new trainees. Dutch stood off to the side, while the rest of the crew manned watch stations on the bridge, observing the events via the main viewscreen.

Dutch had done his research, and had synthesized a Ship’s Bell for the Odyssey, placing it just inboard of the quarterdeck watch stand. A large, polished bronze bell hung from a mahogany wooden yokel with the starship’s name and date of commissioning proudly engraved in bold letters across its waist. Dutch had added an automated clapper, programmed to strike the bell at regular intervals to keep the ship’s time. The sound of the bell would be broadcast across the ship’s 1MC circuit every 30 minutes to track the standard watch rotation, each rotation ranging from one to eight bells, although the volume would be significantly reduced in the crews’ quarters.

As the time approached 0745, footsteps could be heard approaching the docking ring from the Antares Station side of the docking bridge. Abruptly, the Admiral and her assistant, Commander Doherty, stepped just inside the hatch and, upon seeing the posted quarterdeck watch, snapped to attention, with Doherty calling out, “Admiral Bearing, requesting permission to come aboard!”

Jjan’tira snapped to attention and responded in a loud and clear voice, “Permission granted!”

The service droid turned to the bell and tapped it twice before announcing over the ship’s main communications circuit, “Rigellian Flight Academy, arriving!”

Fleet Admiral Bearing and Doherty nodded at the quarterdeck watch, then approached Dutch, who stepped forward and extended his hand to the admiral. “Welcome aboard, Admiral!” he said as she took his hand.

Turning to Doherty, he nodded, then the three of them stepped back to watch the larger group as it approached the hatchway.

The sound of two dozen pairs of feet marching in step grew ever louder, until the front ranks of two columns of uniformed trainees stepped onto the ship’s quarterdeck before the guide-on called out, “Detail, halt!” The trainees all came to a stop, and the ensuing quiet was broken as the lead trainee turned to address Jjan’tira, “Training Crew Zero-One, requesting permission to come aboard!”

“Permission granted,” Jjan’tira responded once again.

At that moment, Pheebs entered the quarterdeck from the inboard passageway and called out in a commanding voice, “Trainees, follow me!” Spinning in a quick about-face, Pheebs disappeared back down the corridor at a quick pace, with the new trainees hustling to follow her.

As the last of the trainees disappeared down the corridor, Dutch grinned at the Admiral, stepping close to avoid being overheard. “Well, Cathrice, are you going to wish us luck, or did you want to tag along?”

“Tempting offer, Dutch, but my duties require that I remain behind, I’m afraid,” Bearing replied wistfully. “I look forward to your debriefing upon the completion of your training cruise, Captain,” she replied, standing at attention.

Dutch snapped to attention and gave the Admiral a quick nod. He wasn’t sure if saluting was still done, but he’d be damned if he’d salute inside, uncovered.

“Carry on!” she called out as she turned and departed through the hatchway, followed quickly by her aide. Droid 06 once again rang the bell twice, announcing over the ship’s 1MC “Rigellian Flight Academy, departing.”

“Lieutenant,” he addressed Jjan’tira, “secure the hatch, then secure the quarterdeck watch and resume your duties.”

“Aye, aye, sir!” she responded, then quickly carried out his orders.

Heading to the bridge, Dutch passed the main briefing room, where Pheebs was well into her orientation lesson, outlining the upcoming training schedule for the trainees and assigning them to their duty rotation.

As he stepped onto the bridge, he quickly noted that D’narius was sitting in the command chair, and Alisia was at the helm. The two had been in the process of completing a pre-launch checklist when he’d arrived, so he stood by patiently until the task was complete. Standing from the chair, D’narius turned to Dutch and reported, “All systems show ready for departure, sir. The boarding gantry has been retracted, and we are free of all moorings and clear to navigate.”

“Thank you, Lt. Commander,” he nodded at her. “I have the con.” As soon as she had stepped away and taken a seat at the Navigator’s station, Dutch quickly surveyed the bridge, then called out, “Helm, maneuvering thrusters only, move us away from the station.”

“Ay, sir, thrusters only,” Alisia responded. After a short pause, she turned and announced, “The Odyssey is now one kilometer out from the station, Captain. Heading?”

“For now, let’s plan to do a long patrol around the system while we get the trainees settled,” Dutch suggested, scratching his beard while he considered options. “After that, we should take a longer voyage – maybe go back to where we’d encountered our space mining friends…”

“The Oo’Lan’Dang,” D’narius prompted.

“Right, the Oo’Lan’Dang,” he agreed. “I like the idea of letting the newbies get a feel for piloting through a bit of an obstacle course, literally as well as figuratively. I know that wasn’t a very dense asteroid field, but it’s good for starters, plus I want to check on our new friends to ensure they’re behaving.”

“Course plotted, Captain,” D’narius reported, simultaneously displaying her navigational calculations on the main screen. “The Odyssey will initially make her way to the innermost planet in the system, then progress outward again to the outer edge of the system, pausing to perform brief surveys at each planet along the way, bypassing Rigellia, of course.”

Eyeing the projected journey on the screen, Dutch nodded in approval. “This looks appropriate,” he concluded, adding, “Each watch rotation will have adequate opportunities to learn more about the handling and capabilities of the ship before we take them outside of their local region and do some real exploration with them.”

Turning to address Alisia, he ordered, “Helm, lay in this course, and as soon as we are clear of Rigellia’s outer defense ring, engage at one-quarter standard sub-light.” Standard sublight equating to twenty percent of the speed of light, one-quarter standard sublight left his ship traveling along at a relatively brisk pace of one-twentieth the speed of light.

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Alisia replied calmly as she input the commands to her console.

The multiple small shuttle pods and Defense Force interceptors gathered near Antares station slipped past the edge of the main viewscreen until only the stars remained. As soon as the Odyssey was navigationally in the clear, Alisia gradually increased her speed and adjusted her heading to take her on a long, graceful path that spiraled toward the system's innermost planet.

Trusting in D’narius and Alisia to get the Odyssey to the initial position for the upcoming training events, Dutch brought out his tablet and reviewed the training schedule for the remainder of the week, adding a few additional notes, but otherwise just ensuring an even distribution of experiences were going to be available across the crew rotations. Once he was comfortable that each of the crews would have similar opportunities at the various basic elements of planetary exploration – at least as much as could be done from aboard their vessel - he turned his attention to a matter that he’d been giving some consideration for a few days.

He needed to make a design adjustment to the Odyssey. He’d already discussed this matter with Director Philson, and the new class of ships being built would have this feature already included, but his ship lacked a decontamination chamber. This would quickly become an issue once he and his crew began to undertake exploration missions, so he planned to review with Prime the ideal means by which a decon chamber could be adjacent to the med bay.

Bringing up a structural diagram, he used his finger to identify the space that he’d want to convert, then opened a dialog with Prime to describe the purpose of the chamber. Once the requirements had been captured, he left the structural design task to Prime and began to look at other preparations that would need to be completed. Checking his stores of raw materials, Dutch decided that he had enough to complete the modifications necessary to create the decon chamber, but after that, his reserves would be quite low.

Switching back to the training schedule, he added to the mission task list the need to lay in additional materials as opportunities presented themselves. He’d make sure the team leaders understood that he wanted each crew to have some experience with this task, as it was a long-term necessity for the ship’s sustainability.

Satisfied with the training schedule, Dutch checked the progress of the orientation. Pulling up the video feed from the briefing room, he was pleased to see that Pheebs was in the final stage of her new crew orientation lesson plan. In short order, the trainees would be shown to their quarters, instructed to change into their new uniforms, and the first watch team should be reporting to the bridge in about an hour.

Bringing back up his running task list, he had Prime queue up a task to synthesize four more androids – given the volume of refit tasks that were on the list, more hands would make for quicker results. Pausing to slightly edit the task, he added a step to label the droids as their final finish was applied, reflecting on the arduousness of having to do so manually.

Consulting the ship’s chronometer, Dutch decided he had enough time to dictate a log entry for his Captain’s Log. Pulling out his datapad, he tapped the screen and opened his log to create a new entry. Although he’d estimated that it would have been the year 3125, late February back on Earth, it made no sense to continue to track his logs based on Earth time, given that no one remained on Earth. And given that time, from hours per day, to days per year, would vary between the different systems he planned to visit, it made no sense to base a ship’s calendar on any one system’s time. Eventually, he figured once the Alliance became a formal reality, some central reference time would be adopted. Until then, he’d decided to base time on the number of days since he’d re-awakened, and he kept the ship on a 24-hour clock out of life-long habit.

‘Captain’s Log, Day 47, 1130. The Rigellians have endeavored to create a fleet of starships based on the Odyssey’s design, with minor modifications and upgrades. While those ships are under construction, we’ve taken on two dozen trainees from the fledgling Rigellian Space Fleet to train them in the general operations of an Odyssey-class starship. Given that none of these trainees have ever ventured beyond the confines of their system, we will start by walking them through basic navigational tasks and planetary surveys. The trainees have performed these tasks using simulators for the past week, but now it is time to do so in real life. Once we’ve completed those basic feats, we will move to extra-system navigation, simulated combat, and first-contact protocols.’

Dutch paused his dictation for a moment, considering what else to add. Once he had his thoughts organized, he continued. ‘I remain optimistic about the Rigellians’ ability to deploy a functional presence, adding reinforcement to the human factor within the structure of the Alliance, and thus help to ensure the iShan’tal will take the Treaty seriously and not simply dismiss it out of hand. As soon as I get a few more of the post-Terran systems on board with the plan, I hope to be able to pursue the next logical steps. These will ultimately lead to a renewed attempt at negotiating a cooperative alliance in fact, not simply a treaty on paper. I expect life will get truly interesting at that point.’ Closing the log, he put away his pad just as the first group of trainees entered the bridge, escorted by Pheebs.

The lead trainee popped to attention and sounded off. “Crew Alpha, reporting for Under Instruction Watch, Captain!”

Peering at the trainee’s nametag - Lt. Charlise Griffon, RSF - Dutch acknowledged the young officer, “At ease, Crew Alpha.” Turning to Pheebs, he continued, “First Officer Pheebs, is this watch crew ready to assume their UI Watch?”

Standing straight, Pheebs grinned slightly as she barked in response, “Sir, yes sir! Crew Alpha stands ready to assume their UI Watch, sir!”

Resisting his urge to grin in response, he replied, “Very well. Have your crew assume their watch stations.”

Sitting back in his command chair, Dutch watched with interest as the trainees each went to their assigned stations. Their crew leader, Griffon, stepped up to Alisia at the helm station and requested a watch turnover. Griffon was an interesting individual, in Dutch’s estimation. She had a blending of features that his culture would have categorized as mulatto, in that she had a dark mocha skin tone, but Anglican facial features – a long, narrow nose, piercing blue eyes, thin lips, and high, angular cheekbones, topped by wavy brown hair with blonde highlights. She stood tall, about 1.75 meters, and possessed an athletic build with a mass of perhaps 60 kilograms. She filled out her trainee uniform in ways that Dutch appreciated, though he would never admit such.

Alisia ran through a quick update of their current heading, directing Griffon’s attention to the flight indicators depicting Odyssey’s speed, direction of travel, and relative alignment with the Rigel system ecliptic. As soon as Griffon had acknowledged the turnover, Alisia vacated the chair, allowing Griffon to assume the post.

To their left, D’narius was conducting a similar turnover with her watch relief, one Lt. Jontalla Ironheart, a striking young woman whose features Dutch would have classified as heavily American Indian – what the hell the Rigellian equivalent might be, he had no idea. Ironheart was only slightly smaller than Griffon, but similarly athletic in stature.

At the science station, a man in his late twenties, or perhaps very early thirties was logging into the console. Lt. Bryce Fallon had been quiet but attentive during the pre-flight training the day prior, and Dutch was curious to see how the young man performed, especially under stress. Hopefully, Dutch mused, he’ll be calm and capable, not prone to analysis paralysis.

At operations, Lt. Cameron Galt - a tall, lanky man who stood a few centimeters taller than Dutch, but with a much slimmer build - took the seat, logged into the console, and reviewed its heads-up display. “All systems indicating within nominal operating parameters, Captain,” the young man called out.

Dutch acknowledged his report, then turned to address the watch team as a whole. “Welcome to your first watch aboard the Odyssey,” he announced to the group of trainees. “As you have no doubt been informed, your team is on a four-and-twenty watch rotation. This means you will be on watch for four hours, then off-watch for twenty. The Odyssey runs on a twenty-four-hour day. As such, every day, you will have the noon-to-sixteen hundred watch rotation. You will also have classroom training each day from oh-seven hundred to ten hundred, plus a post-watch debriefing. Any questions so far?”

None of the trainees responded, so Dutch pressed on. “The regular crew of the Odyssey will be on a longer watch rotation of six-and-eighteens, allowing us to rotate through the UI watches so that we will each have an opportunity to observe your performance during your training period. Our observations, along with your periodic quizzes and final exam, will factor into your overall performance rating for this part of your training. In addition, periodic oral knowledge checks will be used to evaluate your functional abilities to perform your assigned tasks. Still with me?”

Ironheart turned to look over her shoulder at him, asking, “Oral knowledge check, sir?”

“Affirmative, Ironheart. For example, given our current course and velocity, how long will it take us to achieve intercept with Alnit, the innermost planet in your system?”

Turning to check her instruments, she did the math out loud, calculating, “Let’s see – according to my NAV charts, on our present course, we’re about 878 million kilometers from intercepting Alnit. At one-quarter standard sublight, we’re traveling at about one-twentieth the speed of light, or roughly fifteen thousand kilometers per second. Divide 878 million kilometers by fifteen thousand kps, you get…” she paused to crunch the numbers in her head before announcing, “fifty-eight thousand, three hundred thirty-three seconds, which equals…,” another round of mental math, then, “about sixteen hours and fifteen minutes, sir.”

Turning to look to his Operations watch, Dutch asked, “OPS, what is the capacity of our raw materials hold?”

“Too easy, sir,” Galt replied quickly. “Your hold measures ten meters wide by ten meters tall by sixty meters deep, giving you a total capacity of six thousand cubic meters.”

“Science, what is the typical composition and size of asteroids in this system?” Dutch asked Fallon, seemingly in an unrelated query.

The young officer at the Science station consulted his console for a moment, then replied, “The asteroid field between Saiph and Betel contains asteroids averaging 15 cubic meters in volume, comprised mostly of a nickel-iron amalgam.”

“And what is the average density of these nickel-iron asteroids, Fallon?” Dutch pressed.

Pausing to once again consult his console, the young man refined his query before replying, “The average density appears to be roughly eight thousand kilograms per cubic meter, sir.”

Turning back to Galt, Dutch further refined his query. “Given this average density, OPS, how many asteroids will we need to harvest to fill our raw materials hold?”

Galt paused for a moment to compose his response before answering, “Assuming we can idealize our utilization of space by demolishing, then compacting the materials being harvested, we should be able to fill the hold’s six thousand cubic meters with materials from about four hundred asteroids, assuming the average remains close to the fifteen cubic meters per, sir.”

Looking back to his Science Officer, he continued the line of thought, “Science, given the location of the asteroid belt, and estimated density of the asteroids within the belt, how long will it take us to harvest the requisite volume of material?”

Fallon looked down for a few moments, glancing at his console readouts, then doing the math in his head before responding, “Scanners have identified the appropriate asteroids possessing the requisite composition, sir. The average travel time between asteroids will be fairly trivial, assuming we don’t come to a full stop, but instead tractor the asteroids while continuing at a reduced speed. It will take an average of thirty seconds to pulverize and onboard the materials, so we’re looking at twelve thousand seconds to harvest the asteroids, but only about one-third of a second to move on to the next asteroid afterward, assuming we keep an average of one percent light speed. All totaled, we’re looking at a delay of about three hours and twenty minutes to fill the hold, sir.”

Turning to look forward once more, Dutch continued to query, asking his Navigator, “NAV, adjust our course to take us through the asteroid belt, and recalculate time to Alnit based on our new heading and time to take on materials.”

After performing the briefest of course recalculations, Ironheart reported back, “The new course will take us off our current heading a bit, adding about another three hundred thousand kilometers to our net trip sir, plus factoring in the three-hour twenty-two-minute delay, I make our new travel time about twenty hours and fifty-eight minutes.”

Dutch turned slightly to his right, asking, “Helm, if I wanted to arrive at Alnit on my originally scheduled time of sixteen hours and fifteen minutes, but continue on my updated heading, what would my new speed need to be?”

Quickly punching in the numbers, Griffon was quick to respond, “Sir, I’d need to increase my speed to about 18,943.2 kilometers per second, essentially adding just under four thousand kps to our original speed.”

“Increase your speed by an additional 3,943.2 kilometers per second, Helm,” Dutch affirmed with a tight grin on his visage as he sat back to quietly observe the UI watch, satisfied with their performance during his impromptu mission change.

“Changes laid in, sir,” Griffon confirmed. Glancing at the ship’s chronometer, she added, “We should arrive at Alnit at about zero-four forty-three hours tomorrow, sir.”

Dutch nodded in agreement, having already done the math in his head. His watch rotation would have him on watch after the ship arrived at their first waypoint, allowing him to observe Crew Foxtrot as they performed the planetary survey.

The remaining eighty minutes of the watch passed uneventfully, and just before the ship’s bell tolled at 1600, the members of Crew Bravo arrived to relieve Crew Alpha. As soon as Lt. O’Connor opened the hatch, she announced in a loud voice, “Crew Bravo requesting permission to enter the bridge to conduct watch relief, sir!”

Still getting used to their formal mannerisms, Dutch winced slightly, then nodded to the young woman and responded, “Enter and conduct watch turnover.”

Observing the new group of trainees file in and disperse to their watch stations, he noted with pleasure the crisp way each member of Crew Alpha summarized their current status, asking at the end if their relief had any questions before surrendering their seats.

In short order, the off-going watch team had departed, heading for their debriefing, and the members of Crew Bravo were busy updating their station logs and running routine updates to their various dashboards.

Dutch was content to simply observe this watch team initially, until the trainee manning the Operations console turned to him and asked, “Excuse me sir, but is it true that this ship is over eleven hundred years old?”

Turning to respond, Dutch paused for a moment to collect his thoughts before replying, “That’s a short question, Lt. Cyara, that has a potentially long answer. As you know, this ship was originally a prototype vessel testing Earth’s first faster-than-light propulsion system. The short version of the story is that the test encountered an unexpected anomaly at the light-barrier, and was caught up in a time-dilation event, so time passed differently for the ship than the space around it. Thus, while it’s true that almost eleven hundred years passed elsewhere, only about twenty-five years passed for the Odyssey. So, to answer your question, no – the Odyssey has only been in service for a little more than a quarter of a century and was completely overhauled and updated less than fifty days ago.”

“Surely you were in suspended animation or something during that time, right?” the trainee manning the Science station asked.

Before Dutch could answer, the lead trainee manning the Helm turned and admonished her teammate. Lt. O’Connor – a woman who could have passed as a distant cousin for three of his wives – spoke in an even tone when she reminded Lt. McKenzie, “Eddard, don’t you recall the story we were told back on the station? The Captain perished during the test flight, but his body was perfectly preserved, and the alien station that updated the Odyssey restored him to life.”

“In a nutshell,” Dutch added, addressing the Science officer, “What Lt. OConnor said.”

Turning back to Lt. Cyara, he continued, “And as for the Odyssey, she does still have her original FTL drive – the Tao station corrected the flaw that caused the original mission failure, and we have had opportunities to use the drive a few times since, but it does come with the original problem of the time dilation effect. So, for most of our long-distance journeys, we opt to use our jump drive instead, as there are no temporal effects to take into account.”

“It still amazes me that a ship this small carries a jump engine,” his Navigator chattered.

Turning to address the trainee, Dutch agreed, “Lt. McIntyre, the Tao station that overhauled this ship gifted us some truly amazing and advanced capabilities. I am encouraged that your Science and Engineering directorate was able to easily reverse engineer the systems aboard the Odyssey. This means that, as we add the Tao tech to our own, we will likely be much better prepared to return to the stars. I only hope that the other Terran colonies prove to be as capable as your people are.”

O’Connor turned to look back at him again to pull on that thread. “Sir, is it true that you intend to travel to the other human colonies in a broader endeavor to reconnect us all?”

“That is true, yes,” he acknowledged. “The war with the iShan’tal ended with the destruction of the Terran home world. My home world.” He paused for a moment before continuing, swallowing his emotions. “And they disabled your jump gate systems and destroyed all jump-capable vessels, which served to not only isolate the various colonies within their own systems, but also prevented inter-colony communications. All done without the knowledge that a treaty had been signed by both sides which should have resulted in a completely different outcome.”

“I plan to reverse as much of that outcome as possible,” he stated, then went quiet as he wrestled with his thoughts.

The other trainees exchanged a few glances, then resumed their duties in relative silence.

When Jjan’tira arrived to relieve him as Officer of the Deck at 1800, he informed her of the alteration to the ship’s course and the additional resource-gathering task, which would impact the third watch rotation of the OOD and occur during the balls-to-four watch, meaning that Pheebs would be OOD when Delta crew began refilling their raw materials hold, and would hand over the watch to D’narius before that mission element was completed.

Standing to allow Jjan’tira to take the command seat, Dutch left the bridge and headed to the galley for a quick meal. Changing his mind along the way, Dutch opted to stop by the maintenance bay and check on the droids he’d had synthesized earlier. Checking on their assembly and programming, he satisfied himself that they were of the desired quality before heading for the galley, this time determined to get some food and drink.

No sooner had he entered the galley than one of the trainees leaped to her feet, shouting, “Captain on deck!” and causing all others in the room to snap to attention.

Grimacing at the unaccustomed formality, he quickly blurted out, “As you were,” then moved over to the synthesizer to give his order to Janet, his digital assistant. Deciding that he wanted something classical, he ordered a dozen boneless chicken wings, lemon pepper flavored, with ranch dipping sauce, crispy curly fries, and a large cola.

Taking his tray to an empty table, he sat down to enjoy his food while quietly observing the trainees at the other tables. He’d barely begun eating when the hatch opened and Pheebs entered, getting a drink from the cooler before joining him at his table. Dutch observed several of the trainees surreptitiously following her movements with interest, but none were bold enough to approach the two senior officers at their table.

Grinning to himself, he pitied the first male who attempted to hit on any of his women, although he had to admit to himself some curiosity as to how each might shut down such an attempt.

“So,” she began, arching an eyebrow mischievously as she peered at him over her drink, “I’ve heard feedback already from your first watch.”

“Is that so?” he chuckled, wondering what she’d heard.

“Oh, yes!” she giggled softly, lowering her voice just a bit. “It seems that Ms. Ironheart thinks you’re a… what was her phrase? Oh yes… Star Stud. That, and the watch team enjoyed the way you conducted the oral evaluation by applying a practical application of whatever the hell you pushed them to do. Something about a coal-run?”

Dutch snorted, then grunted as he swallowed his bite of chicken. “Yes, I wanted us to top off our stores of raw materials, so I had them scan the asteroid belt we’ll be passing through, then calculate the delay stopping to top-off our stores will cost, then adapt our course and speed to compensate for the delay. Simple shit, I would think.”

Nodding her head, Pheebs agreed, “Yes, simple enough for a visual mathematician such as yourself. Ironheart is a close second, able to do the math in her head, but the others had to rely on their instruments.”

“Nothing wrong with relying on the instruments,” Dutch groused as he took another bite of his late lunch.

“Just be careful, dear,” she murmured, again using a lowered voice. “Nothing stings so bad as disappointing your hero, save perhaps being disappointed by your hero.”

“Who’s hero? What are you talking about?” Dutch puzzled, checking to ensure the trainees weren’t eavesdropping.

Pheebs rose from her chair, putting her empty drink container through the recycler. Passing back by the table, she leaned down to whisper to Dutch, “We can discuss this further in our quarters, dear. After you’ve completed your briefing and exercise.” She poked him mockingly in the sternum, then exited the galley. Several trainees watched her go with keen interest, then returned to their private conversations.

Dutch focused on finishing his meal, then put his waste through the recycler and turned to exit the galley, intent on returning to his quarters to debrief with Prime on his UI Watch observations. As he reached for the door, he paused and turned to the trainee who’d called the room to attention upon his arrival.

Glancing at her nametag, he leaned down to address her softly, “Carpizzi, right? Listen, I want you to spread the word – make sure everyone gets the heads-up – I don’t want my crew, which includes you trainees, jumping to attention every time I enter a space. That might be what you’ve been taught, but it can get exhausting. Trust me – once you’re all on your own ships, you’ll probably come to the same conclusion. If it makes you feel better, feel free to say something casual, like ‘Hello, Captain’, just so everyone else knows I’m there. Nothing else is required. You get me?”

The young woman nodded her head quickly, her eyes wide as she took in what he had said.

Standing, he nodded to her, then gazed around the room before uttering a casual, “Carry on,” as he exited through the hatchway.

****1900 Ships Time, Day 47****

Dutch paused to compose himself at the hatchway to the briefing room before he entered. Having completed his post-UI Watch debriefing with Prime, ensuring that she could aggregate his - as well as his other officers’ - impressions for a final review, he’d come to the pre-watch briefing session to check in on the next set of watch crews.

D’narius and Alisia were already in the briefing room when Dutch arrived, as were the members of UI Watch Crews Charlie and Delta. As soon as he saw one of the trainees about to rise, he slashed his hand across the air before him and flatly growled, “At ease!”

Striding into the room, he stopped in the center front and nodded to his wives before turning his full attention to the Rigellian trainees seated in the room. Squaring his jaw, he eyed each of them in silence for a moment, allowing them to settle down and give him their full attention. At last, he cleared his throat and addressed them, “Alright, first things first. I do not – repeat, DO NOT – want one of you calling out ‘Captain on deck’ every time I enter a space onboard my ship. I’ve already told a few of your fellow trainees, so word should be getting around shortly, but let’s all agree to let that go – you’re welcome to greet me as a way to inform others of my presence, but let’s not make a big deal about it. Trust me – that shit gets old real fast!”

Scanning their faces to ensure they were listening to him, he turned to one of the women in the front row of seats. “Lt. Diamonte, how should you announce when I enter the room?”

The young woman, who appeared to be of North African or Middle Eastern heritage – having a mocha skin color, a bright smile, beautiful brown eyes, and dark hair that fell in ringlets past her shoulders – cocked her eyebrow at him saucily and responded with a warm, “Good afternoon, Captain.”

Dutch had to steel himself, as her voice was the kind that whispered to men in their dreams. Nodding his head, he confirmed, “That’s perfect. No need to disrupt whatever is going on – just let others know I am present, and the rest will sort itself out. Now,” he continued, turning to his officers, “Ladies, please carry on with your briefing, and I will add any details necessary or answer any questions that I can.”

Pulling up a seat, Dutch sat down and allowed Alisia and D’narius to return to their briefing. Alisia stepped forward to address the trainees, “As you have been told, the Odyssey does not carry reserve supplies of any kind. The consumables that we go through routinely, from the atmosphere to the food and beverages, to the fresh clothing, or the replacement munitions, are synthesized from raw materials that we harvest from various sources along our journey. We do not require exotic materials – but denser is better. Ideally, we pass close to such materials during our travels and do not have to detour very far, but if we get too low, we must do what is necessary to replenish our stockpiles.” Pacing in front of the class, she swept her arms out in a gesture meant to include them all, “With a crew this large – large for us, at least - we’ll have to monitor our supplies frequently in order to ensure we aren’t caught short on something during a crisis.”

D'narius stepped forward to add, “When the Odyssey dispatched the recent Noraxi raiders, we expended several thousand rounds of kinetic munitions, as well as more than a dozen missiles and their warheads. As soon as practical, we refreshed our spent armaments and then topped off our raw materials to ensure we were ready should another incident arise. This sort of endeavor will need to become tightly integrated into your daily routine, as regular and common as personal hygiene.”

Alisia spoke up at this point, “Whenever you are standing watch on the bridge, you need to be actively monitoring the volume of materials on hand, or watching for the presence of harvestable resources near our path of travel. It needs to become second nature for the Operations Officer to inform the Science Officer anytime we get below fifty percent capacity, at which point the Science Officer will begin scanning for appropriate resources.”

D'narius tagged into the conversation at this point, adding, “Once the Science Officer identifies the resources, he will communicate the location of these resources to the Navigator, who will plot the necessary course adjustment and provide the requisite information to the Helmsman. Now, as soon as the Helmsman has the appropriate information, he should inform the Officer of the Deck of the course change, as well as the reason. It will then fall to the OOD to determine whether or not additional measures are necessary to maintain our schedule.” D’narius turned to look at Dutch and nodded, making it clear that this was his story to tell.

Standing, Dutch raised his voice to ensure all could hear him as he detailed the events from the watch earlier. “I ran Crew Alpha through the exercise to make the necessary calculations to determine how many asteroids we would likely need to harvest to top off our hold, where they could be found, and how to change course and adjust the ship’s speed to allow us to collect the resources without impacting our time to destination. They now understand how this is to be done, and were informed of the reason during their post-watch debriefing. Any questions?”

A sandy-haired young man with an impish grin perpetually on his face and a devilish twinkle in his eye raised his hand.

“Lt. Bruen, go ahead,” Dutch acknowledged.

“Captain, how do we actually go about harvesting the resources? Do we simply open a hatch and scoop up the asteroids?” the young man pondered.

“We prefer to pulverize the asteroids in order to better maximize usage of the available space within our hold. We can shoot them with kinetic rounds, or in some cases we use the tractor beam to pulverize them. In either event, what we end up pulling aboard – using the tractor beam to do the pulling, of course – needs to be reduced to gravel in the process,” Dutch explained. “Just remember,” he added, “munitions expended will need to be replaced, and the usage of energy weapons can diminish the volume of material that is harvested. On occasion, we have used our navigational shields to hammer the asteroids, breaking them into smaller chunks that the tractor beam can then reduce further, so I suggest you experiment to determine what seems to work best for you.”

Another trainee, the other male from Crew Delta, raised his hand. Upon being acknowledged, Lt. Charizzo asked, “Sir, do you know which crew will actually be tasked with the harvesting?”

“Sooner or later,” Dutch responded with a grin, “each of your crews will be involved in this endeavor. We should reach the nearest edge of the asteroid belt with an hour left on your watch, Delta, and then when you are relieved by Echo, they should complete the task and put us back on course for Alnit. I am confident that we will have to perform this task several more times during this training cruise.”

Just then, the ship’s bell rang out seven chimes. D’narius stepped to the front of the class and informed them, “Crew Charlie, you will relieve Crew Bravo on the bridge in thirty minutes. Please go get prepared to take the watch. Crew Delta, go grab some rack time or chow – you’re to relieve Crew Charlie in four hours and thirty minutes. Remember, post-watch debriefing will take place back here following your watch turnover.”

Dutch stood up and made to leave the briefing room, turning his head to address his women, “I’m going to hit the gym, then be back here for the last part of Bravo’s debriefing. See you later.”

D’narius nodded, and Alisia followed him out of the briefing room. Walking close behind him, Alisia asked Dutch, “Care to spar for a bit, dear? Might not hurt for word to get around that we ladies can handle ourselves.”

He chuckled as he considered her suggestion, finally accepting her invitation. “Just go easy on me – no need to show me up in front of the trainees, dear.”

****2000 Ships Time, Day 47****

The workout facility aboard the Odyssey had been modified to include a sleek dojo, illuminated by holographic displays and ambient lights. Dutch and Alisia stood a few meters apart, facing one another, wearing form-fitting combat attire equipped with sensors to monitor their movements and vitals in real-time. Their eyes lock for a moment, and with a respectful nod, the match begins.

Alisia moves with the grace of a panther. Her combat style incorporates traditional Krav Maga techniques and enhancements from styles taught to her by the iShan’tal. Dutch, equally agile and formidable with his enhanced athleticism, readies himself, his suit shimmering in the light.

Alisia initiates the first move, using a quick feint to distract Dutch, followed by a powerful strike aimed at his midsection. Anticipating her attack, Dutch shifts his weight and uses a swift parry to deflect her blow. The sensors within their suits analyze the impact, providing feedback on the efficiency and effectiveness of their techniques.

The match intensifies as they exchange a series of rapid strikes and counterattacks. Alisia employs a mix of high kicks and low sweeps, her movements fluid and seamless. Dutch counters with a combination of blocks and strikes, relying on his enhanced reflexes to keep up with her savagery. They move in a synchronized dance of offense and defense, each testing the other’s limits.

A crowd begins to gather in the gym as word spreads quickly through the ship of the exhibition bout taking place. Trainees from the off-duty watch crews stream in and jostle to observe the match, and wagers are rapidly made on the outcome.

Suddenly, Alisia executes a dazzling aerial maneuver, leaping into the air and delivering a spinning kick. Dutch reacts with lightning-fast reflexes, dodging her attack and retaliating with a sweeping leg kick. Alisia lands gracefully, immediately transitioning into a defensive stance as she avoids his counter.

The sparring match continues, with both combatants demonstrating remarkable skill, agility, and adaptability. Their suits, equipped with nanotechnology, provide an on-going analysis and suggest optimal strategies, pushing them to their peak performance.

After an intense and exhilarating bout, they pause, breathing heavily but with smiles of mutual respect. The holographic displays show the match’s highlights and areas for improvement. Alisia and Dutch exchange a nod, acknowledging each other’s prowess, and the two combatants exit the dojo together, leaving the trainees to argue over who won and whether any of the bets mattered.

Locking the door to the changing room, Alisia turned to Dutch and stripped off her suit, exhorting him to do the same. The moment he was nude before her, she dropped to her knees to engulf his manhood with her mouth, her hunger for him intensified by their sparring match.

In turn, he grabbed her by the head and fucked her mouth vigorously, equally aroused by their exertions. After a few moments, he withdrew from her mouth and pulled her to her feet, turning her around to mount her from behind. Bracing herself against the nearby bulkhead, she angled her hindquarters toward him, taking him fully into her canal as he began to rut her like a lust-crazed beast.

The two of them rapidly increased their pace, him pounding into her from behind, until both found the release they sought. Coming down from their peak, they hurried into the adjacent shower room to refresh themselves before getting back into their uniforms, parting ways upon exiting – Dutch returning to the briefing room as Alisia went to their quarters to grab a nap before her upcoming watch.

****2100 Ships Time, Day 47****

Following the debriefing, Crew Bravo headed to the galley to grab some chow, while Dutch went to his quarters to catch up with Pheebs.

Entering, he heard sounds of moaning coming from the bed. As soon as he cleared the entry foyer, he was met by the sight of two of his wives on their bed. Alisia was straddling Pheebs’ head, fucking her face, urgently grinding her pussy into the copper-skinned woman’s mouth as she sought yet another climax.

For her part, Pheebs was eating her partner with gusto, relishing her juices, as well as some of Dutch’s, no doubt. In spite of having recently showered, Alisia was glistening with moisture, and shivering with pleasure as Pheebs’ efforts began to push her partner once again to climax.

Dutch casually moved past the bed and disrobed quickly, then moved over to the two women and placed his hands on Alisia’s shoulders, leaning in to kiss her passionately. This edged her closer to her peak, and she began to emit little squeaks of passion as her quivering grew more fierce. Deciding to tip the scales, Dutch moved his hands to Alisia’s jiggling breasts and took her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, giving them a slow, firm tweak as he probed her mouth aggressively with his tongue.

That was all that the sexy redhead needed. Stiffening, she groaned into Dutch’s mouth as her floodgates opened, drenching Pheebs with her girlcum. For her part, Pheebs eagerly swallowed as much as she could while burrowing deeper into her partner’s quim, attempting to push her to an even stronger release.

Overstimulated, Alisia pushed Dutch away and stood up, pulling herself free from the grasp of the white-haired nymph beneath her. Stepping over to the side, she embraced Dutch for a quick hug and whispered into his ear, “She’s ripe and waiting for you, husband. Give her what she needs!”

Smiling in anticipation, as well as the pleasure of being called ‘husband’ by one of his beautiful wives, Dutch climbed onto the bed above Pheebs, swinging himself around to line himself up for entry. Rubbing his glans along her smooth, wet entrance, he confirmed that she was more than wet enough. Ramming himself deep into her tight channel, he leaned forward to mash his lips against hers, kissing her deeply as he began to piston in and out of her.

“That’s it, husband!” she cried out in ecstasy. “Fuck me! Give me your cock! I’m a bitch in heat, now sow me with your seed! Ungh!!!”

Grabbing her legs, he threw one over each shoulder, then leaned into her and began to rapidly hammer his steely shaft into her depths. Beating a tattoo against her cervix as he thrust deeper and harder into her, he began to feel his balls tightening and tingling, precursors of his pending climax. Grabbing her breasts with his hands, he pinched her stiff, bronze-colored nipples while he gyrated manically into her. At last, just as he felt his climax rising from the depths of his balls, she cried out as her orgasm overtook her, causing her to thrash and clench beneath him.

Hilting himself within Pheebs as deeply as he could, pressing right up against her cervix, Dutch held himself against her as his prick fired volley after volley of his jism into her womb.

Eventually, as post-orgasmic bliss overtook them both, he gently lowered her legs, then sank to lie atop her. Rolling them both to one side to avoid crushing her beneath his weight, his softening member eventually slipped free of her, and he drew the sheets up to cover them both as she recovered next to him.

Moments later, as Alisia was drying herself off with a towel, Pheebs disentangled herself from his arms as gently as she could, trying not to wake him from his slumber. Exchanging a knowing glance with Alisia, Pheebs disappeared into the adjoining bathroom to cleanse herself. They both had to prepare, as Alisia was due to conduct the pre-watch briefing for the oncoming UI watch crew, and Pheebs was to debrief the off-going UI watch crew after they were relieved.

Back in Uniform, and prepared for their separate duties, each of the women paused to softly kiss their husband before they stealthily left him to sleep. Once out of the room, the hatchway closed silently behind them, Pheebs tapped on her communications pin and asked Prime to set an alarm in their chambers to wake Dutch in five hours, then the two of them hurried off to their next assignments.

****1700 Ships Time, Day 52****

“Captain’s Log, Day 52. The Odyssey is approaching Saiph, the third planet in the Rigel System, to conduct a planetary survey as part of our ongoing training mission. Effective this day, this watch, we have transitioned from a six-crew watch rotation to a four-crew watch rotation. This allows the trainees to man two additional watch stations per rotation – Weapons, and Duty Officer. This transition has also resulted in new watch teams being formed, comprised of six trainees per team, instead of four. Each watch team will stand a six-hour watch once a day. Odyssey’s command crew will continue to stand six-hour watches on a six-on, twenty-four-off rotation, enabling us to rotate through the watch teams, maximizing their diversity of experience.”

Dutch paused his dictation to his pad to observe as Crew Whiskey eased the ship into a standard orbit above Saiph. Turning his attention back to his log, he drew it to a close. “We will continue to conduct planetary surveys as we work our way outward to the edge of the system, and when those missions are complete, we will take the trainees outside the system for additional experiences.”

Closing his log, Dutch stowed his pad into its pocket within his uniform jacket and relaxed, attempting to allow the trainees to perform the duties as they’d been taught.

The Odyssey glided silently through the void, her glossy-white hull reflecting the light from the system’s star, Rigel. Lt. Charlise Griffon, standing her first UI Watch as the Officer of the Deck, stood forward of the command seat, her gaze fixed on the blue-green planet below. This was their third survey mission this week, and while it was mostly routine, each survey held the promise of new discoveries.

“Commence orbital survey sequence,” Griffon commanded, her voice steady and authoritative. She watched as her crew swung into action, their movements tentative, but growing more assured with practice.

Lt. Jules Takahashi, from her post at the Science station, tapped at her control panel. “Deploying orbital probes,” she reported. A series of small, spherical drones detached from the ship’s underbelly, descending toward the planet’s atmosphere. Their sensors scanned the planet’s atmosphere and surface features, transmitting data back to the ship in real-time.

“Probes deployed,” Takahashi confirmed. “We’re receiving telemetry.”

Griffon nodded, pleased with the efficiency of her crew. She turned her attention to the forward view screens, now filling with a detailed map of the planet. The survey data illuminated various regions, highlighting areas of interest.

“Lt. Chang, what’s the status of the planetary survey grid?” Griffon asked, directing her query to the Navigation officer.

Sid Qui Chang’s fingers danced across his control surfaces. “All sectors are aligned, Lieutenant. We’re ready to begin high-resolution scans.”

“Proceed,” Griffon replied.

The ship’s advanced scanners hummed to life, sweeping the planet’s surface with precision. Griffon observed as the data streamed in, revealing geological formations, vast mountain ranges, sweeping seabeds long devoid of moisture, and massive storm-swept plains that stretched to the horizons, but no signs of life, past or present. Regardless, the scans were providing valuable information that brought them closer to understanding the planet’s potential for future colonization or resource extraction.

“Captain, sensors have detected an anomalous reading in sector three-seven,” Takahashi announced, a hint of excitement in her voice.

Griffon’s curiosity was piqued. “Display the source of the readings on the main display.”

The main display zoomed in on the sector in question, focusing on a mountainous region. A pulsating beacon of light marked the source of the sensor reading. Further magnification revealed wreckage of what appeared to be an ancient probe, likely originating from early survey missions that were performed centuries before when the system was being cataloged by the initial colonists.

Excitement draining from her, Griffon’s posture relaxed as she realized what they had discovered. “Mark the position of the finding, Ms. Takahashi. Historians may be interested in knowing the final location of one of our early Artemis probes.”

Data continued to pour in from the probes throughout the rest of their watch, stretching well past the end of the day. Once the data had begun to reach the point of negligible value, the crew of the Odyssey would recall the probes and resume course, heading outward toward the next planet in the system.

During their post-watch debriefing, Takahashi commented to the others, “For a brief moment, I thought that perhaps we’d made some amazing new discovery, and I got pretty excited.” She chuckled, adding, “Too bad it turned out to be something of a letdown.”

Dutch patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Lieutenant. You’re in for many new experiences, some of which will be fascinating, others… not so much. It’s all part of the package.”

The debriefing wrapped up after a fairly standard rehashing of all their experiences during the UI watch. As the trainees gathered to leave the briefing room, a few of them held back to speak with Dutch. He couldn’t help but notice it was only the females who had remained behind, Lieutenants O’Connor, Griffon, and Takahashi.

“Captain,” Lt. O’Connor began hesitantly, “a few of us were wondering about something. We were reviewing the holo vids from your sparring matches, the one the other day with Lt. Commander Alisia, and the one from yesterday with Lt. Commander D’narius. Well, we aren’t familiar with that style of combat, sir, and…,”

Dutch eyed the young woman closely. She was the epitome of professionalism during her UI watches, but suddenly she was unsure of herself, and blushing slightly. Concealing his amusement at her sudden bout of shyness, he prodded her to continue. “And… what, Lieutenant? Spit it out.”

“Well, sir…,” she continued, “a few of us were wondering if you could teach us that particular fighting style. We believe it would be of benefit… sir.”

Maintaining his poker face, he internally gave points to Pheebs. She and the others had a running wager going as to how long before one of the trainees attempted some form of ‘personal contact’, and this rated a pretty close attempt, in his estimation. Straightening his uniform jacket, he opted to be gentle with the trainees. “You should ask one of my ginger officers, O’Connor. They were taught that fighting style as part of their training when they were in the iShan’tal military.”

“I beg your pardon, sir?” O’Connor responded with incredulity. “I did not know that your officers… that they are… errr… were… iShan’tal. How did they come to be part of your crew, if you don’t mind me asking, sir?”

“First things, first, Lieutenant,” he proffered. “Why don’t you, and any others who you think would like to learn their form of Krav Maga, reach out to one of them, and I am sure they will see about setting up a few lessons, as well as put together holo instructionals that you can use to continue your training on your own vessels after this cruise. As for your other query, you should ask them. Now, I’m afraid I am late for my next appointment. You ladies enjoy your downtime.”

Making it clear that he had no further time for non-training related conversation, Dutch left the briefing room, and the female trainees, heading for his quarters to grab a quick bite before his evening sparring match. Something told him that there would be a larger crowd than ever this evening. At least word had gotten out that he did not want them wagering on the matches…

****2200 Ship’s time, Day 52****

The fitness area buzzed with anticipation as the trio stepped into the holo dojo. For this evening’s sparring match, Alisia had been joined by D’narius, with the two of them squaring off against Dutch. Holographic displays adorned the walls, showcasing several dynamic combinations from recent sparring matches. Today, the trainees had gathered to witness and exhilarating match-up: their Captain, a stalwart physical combatant, against two of his officers, both proven to be experts in martial arts.

Dutch stood tall, his muscles rippling beneath his form-fitting combat suit. Alisia and D’narius mirrored his stance, their suits equipped with responsive nanotechnology designed to adapt and enhance their movements. The air was electric with anticipation as the match commenced.

D’narius initiated the first move, her reflexes sharp and precise. She launched a series of rapid strikes, testing Dutch’s defenses. He parried with equally quick movements of his own, his suit amplifying the smoothness of his responses. Alisia seized the opportunity to flank him, her movements a blur as she aimed a powerful kick at his midsection.

Dutch anticipated her attack, shifting his weight to evade the blow and countering with a swift elbow strike. The suits’ sensors analyzed the impact, providing real-time feedback to each combatant. Alisia and D’narius adapted their strategies, synchronizing their attacks with uncanny precision.

The sparring match unfolded in a flurry of calculated strikes and fluid movements. Dutch’s speed and raw power met the combined agility and finesse of his opponents. Alisia executed a dazzling aerial assault, her jump seeming to allow her to hover momentarily before delivering a devastating kick. Dutch blocked her with his forearm, the force of the contact resonating through his suit.

D'narius capitalized on the distraction, sweeping low with a leg kick aimed to destabilize him. Dutch stumbled, but recovered quickly, using his enhanced reflexes to regain his balance. He retaliated with a rapid series of punches, forcing Alisia and D’narius to retreat momentarily.

The trio moved in perfect harmony, their combat suits augmenting their natural abilities. The match intensified as they continued to exchange blows, and the excitement in the gathered crowd of observers began to reach a fever pitch. The women’s attacks forced Dutch back on his heels, pushing him to his limits.

In a final, breathtaking sequence, Alisia and D’narius executed a perfectly choreographed double attack, Alisia feinting high, drawing Dutch’s attention, while D’narius lunged in low with a powerful kick. Dutch, caught off guard, was forced to the ground. But with an inhuman burst of energy, he rolled and sprang back to his feet, preparing a counterattack.

Just then, the speakers in the overhead emitted a high pitched whistle, followed by Jjan’tira’s voice over the 1MC, requesting the Captain to contact the bridge.

Panting from their exertions, the three combatants separated, nodding quickly to one another, and then Dutch strode over to the intercom. Tapping the interface, he replied in a calm voice, “This is the Captain. Go ahead.”

“Captain, our probes are reporting a number of ships emerging from a jump portal that formed on the outer edge of the system. They appear to be Noraxi vessels, sir.”

“Engage Stealth Screens, Lieutenant. Have NAV plot a course back to Rigellia and get us moving there at full sublight. I’ll be up there in a few minutes.”

*****